Abstract:
A food patty-forming apparatus for forming food patties from pressurized food product includes a mold plate that is guided to reciprocate longitudinally between a fill position and a discharge position. The mold plate has a cavity that is open to the source of pressurized food product when in the fill position. The cavity is exposed when in the discharge position. A mold pattern having open areas and solid areas is arranged adjacent a first face of the cavity, and indented from a second face. A knockout plunger has open areas corresponding to the solid areas of the pattern and solid areas corresponding to the open areas of the mold pattern. The knockout plunger is shaped to allow the solid areas of the plunger to penetrate into the cavity past the first face of the cavity around the solid areas to displace a patty formed in the cavity.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The invention relates to a food patty-forming machine. Particularly, the invention relates to a reciprocating mold plate food patty-forming machine. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Increasing use of pre-processed foods in homes and restaurants and other group eating establishments has created a demand for high-capacity automated food processing equipment. That demand is particularly evident with respect to hamburgers, molded steaks, fish cakes, and other molded food patties. 
   To increase consumer appeal it is known to provide a patty-molding or patty-forming machine with a mold plate having contoured cavities to form a two-dimensional horizontal profile patty that is curved or otherwise irregular to simulate the shape of a food item, such as a chicken drumstick. It is also known to provide a patty-molding or patty-forming machine with a mold plate with contoured cavities to form a two-dimensional horizontal profile patty, and an overlying breather plate with contoured areas, to provide a two-dimensional horizontal profile patty that also has a contoured top surface. However, in this arrangement, the bottom of the mold plate is flat to be flush against the flat fill plate or support plate provided on the mold patty forming machine. The corresponding molded patty has a flat bottom. 
   It is also known to provide a molded patty with ridges formed in the patty along the longitudinal direction of movement of the mold plate, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,418,446. It is also known to provide a molded patty with a center groove along the longitudinal direction of movement of the mold plate for the purpose of breaking the finished patty along the groove. Such an arrangement is useful for portion control for animal food and animal medicine. 
   The present inventors have recognized the desirability of providing a patty-forming apparatus that is capable of molding a food patty having one or more non-longitudinal depressions in at least the top surface of the patty. 
   The present inventors have recognized the desirability of providing a patty-forming apparatus that is capable of molding a food patty, the patty having one or more grooves in a top surface thereof that are not arranged in a longitudinal machine direction. 
   The present inventors have recognized the desirability of providing tooling for retrofitting a food patty-forming machine, wherein the tooling can provide for the molding of a food patty having one or more non-longitudinal depressions in at least the top surface of the patty. 
   The present inventors have recognized the desirability of providing a tooling for retrofitting a patty-forming machine, wherein the tooling can provide for the molding of a food patty, the patty having one or more grooves in a top surface thereof that are not arranged in a longitudinal machine direction. 
   The present inventors have recognized the desirability of providing a patty-forming apparatus or tooling that is capable of molding a food patty that has grooves facilitating breaking of the patty into three or more parts. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The invention provides a food patty-forming apparatus for forming shaped food patties from pressurized food product wherein the food patty can include non-longitudinally projected indentations. The invention also provides tooling for a food patty-forming apparatus, wherein a food patty-forming apparatus could be converted to one in which the food patty formed thereby can include non-longitudinally projected indentations. 
   The invention provides an improved mold plate for a food patty-forming apparatus that forms food patties from pressurized food product. The apparatus includes a frame, a first surface carried by the frame, a second surface also carried by the frame, a source of pressurized food product, the mold plate and a reciprocation mechanism operatively connected to the mold plate. The second surface is spaced from and facing the first surface. The mold plate is guided to reciprocate longitudinally between the first and second surfaces between a fill position and a discharge position by action of the reciprocation mechanism. 
   The mold plate has at least one cavity that is open to the source of pressurized food product through the first surface when in the fill position. The cavity is outside the first and second surfaces when in the discharge position. According to the invention, a mold pattern is arranged adjacent a first face of the cavity. The mold pattern comprises open areas and solid areas. The solid areas are within the volume of the cavity. The solid areas have a portion extending in a non-longitudinal direction. 
   The invention provides a knockout plunger that has open areas corresponding in shape to the solid areas of the mold pattern. The plunger has solid areas corresponding in shape to the open areas of the mold pattern. The knockout plunger is shaped to allow the solid areas of the plunger to penetrate into the cavity past the first face of the cavity. 
   The solid areas of the pattern can comprise a cross shape. 
   The solid areas of the plunger can comprise solid blocks or cup-shaped configurations. 
   The solid portions of the pattern can comprise curved portions. 
   The solid portions of the pattern can comprise oblique portions. 
   The solid portions of the pattern can be carried on an insert plate that is fastened to surrounding portions of the mold plate, or can be formed in unitary fashion with the mold plate. The insert plate can comprise an outside surface planar with the first face of the cavity that is flush with a surrounding surface of the mold plate. 
   The cavity can be open to the source of pressurized food through a second face of the cavity on a side of the cavity opposite the first face. The first surface can comprise breather holes for venting air during filling of the cavity. 
   According to the preferred embodiment of the invention, a plurality of cavities are provided through the mold plate, and an insert plate is installed onto each cavity, the insert plates being identically configured. However, the invention is not limited to this embodiment. There may be applications where it is desirable that the insert plates have varying shapes and configurations. 
   The mold plate includes annular recesses, each of which surround a cavity. The insert plates are each respectively fixed into one of the surrounding annular recesses. The insert plates each include a surrounding annular base that fits within the respective annular recess, and an interior area within the annular base. The interior area includes open areas and pattern-forming solid areas. The interior area is substantially in registry with the respective cavity. The pattern-forming solid areas occupy regions within the cavity so as to form a pattern in the top surface of the formed patty. 
   The insert plates have a thickness such that when set into the annular recesses, the insert plates include a top surface that is flush with surrounding top surfaces of the mold plate. Thus, when the insert plates are fixed to, or formed with, the mold plate, a continuous, substantially flat top surface of the mold plate is provided. 
   According to the preferred embodiment, the pattern formed by the solid areas can comprise a cross pattern of tapered grooves. These grooves allow the finished patty to be broken into quadrants, i.e., four substantially equal pieces. Other patterns are encompassed by the invention including letters, designs, shapes, logos, or any other desirable pattern. The solid areas can include transversely extending, obliquely extending, and/or arcuately extending elements. 
   In order to displace the patties from the cavities when the mold plate is in the discharge position, a plurality of knockout plungers are provided. Each knockout plunger has a shape that corresponds to the open areas of the interior area of the respective insert plate. By being so shaped, the knockout plunger can be driven down into the cavity through the insert plate to displace the formed patty from the cavity. 
   The mold plate is supported on a fill plate and located beneath a breather plate, all carried by a frame of the molding apparatus. The breather plate includes breather holes that are in communication with the cavity during filling of the cavity with food product, the breather holes also being in communication with non-pressurized atmosphere. The mold plate is arranged to reciprocate longitudinally between the fill plate and the breather plate between the fill position and the discharge position. Alternatively, the relative vertical positions of the fill plate and the breather plate can be reversed depending on the style of the molding machine. In such case the mold plate is supported on the breather plate. 
   The invention provides an apparatus or tooling to form patterns into patties without the requirement that the patterns are longitudinally extruded or projected along the longitudinal direction of movement of the mold plate between the fill position and the discharge position. The invention allows for forming patterns with non-longitudinally projected elements such as laterally, obliquely or arcuately extending elements, into the top surface of a formed patty. 
   The non-longitudinally projected elements can include one or more ridges for forming a pattern on the formed patty. The pattern can form grooves for dividing the patty into breakaway areas. The non-longitudinally arranged elements can form letters, designs, shapes, logos, or any other desirable pattern. 
   Numerous other advantages and features of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description of the invention and the embodiments thereof, and from the accompanying drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a fragmentary, diagrammatic elevational view of a patty-forming apparatus incorporating the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is an enlarged, exploded perspective view of a mold plate and knockout plunger arrangement taken from  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is a fragmentary, enlarged top sectional view of the patty-forming apparatus of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a patty taken from  FIG. 2  shown broken apart; 
       FIG. 5  is a view taken generally along line  5 — 5  of  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 6  is a bottom view taken generally along line  5 — 5  of  FIG. 2  showing an alternate construction; 
       FIG. 7  is a plan view of an alternate insert plate to those shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 8  is a plan view of a further alternate insert plate to those shown in  FIG. 2 ; and 
       FIG. 9  is a sectional view taken generally along line  9 — 9  of  FIG. 2 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there are shown in the drawings, and will be described herein in detail, specific embodiments thereof with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments illustrated. 
     FIG. 1  illustrates a food patty-forming apparatus  20  incorporating the structure of the present invention. The food patty-forming apparatus  20  can generally be configured substantially as shown and described in one or more of U.S. Pat. Nos. RE 30,096; 6,428,303; 4,418,446; 4,768,260; or 4,054,967, all herein incorporated by reference. The food patty-forming apparatus can be a FORMAX F-6, F-12, F-19, F-26, F-400 or MAXUM700 reciprocating mold plate forming machine, available from Formax, Inc. of Mokena, Ill., U.S.A. 
   According to a typical patty-forming apparatus, a supply of food product  26  is contained within a hopper  30  and conveyed into a food pump  36  comprising a piston or plunger  38  that compresses the food product into a cylinder  40 . The food product  26  is directed through a tube valve  42  which directs the pressurized food product through a fill channel  46  and through a fill plate  48 . A reciprocating mold plate  50 , having mold plate cavities  52 , is located above the fill channel  46  and fill plate  48  when in a fill position, and reciprocates to a discharge or knockout position such that the filled mold cavities are exposed, wherein a knockout mechanism  54  removes the patties  55  ( FIG. 2 ) from the mold plate cavities  52 . The knockout mechanism  54  includes a knockout drive  56  which vertically reciprocates knockout plungers  58  which are sized and shaped to pass into the cavities  52  such that the downward traveling knockout plungers  58  remove the patties from the respective cavities. The knockout mechanism  54  and knockout drive  56  can be configured as described in one or more of U.S. Pat. Nos. RE 30,096; 6,428,303; 4,418,446; 4,768,260; or 4,054,967, or as provided in one or more of the commercially available patty-forming machines from Formax, Inc. 
   The knockout plungers  58  correspond in number to the cavities  52 . The vertical movements of the knockout plungers  58  are synchronized for movement with the horizontal reciprocation of the mold plate  50 . 
   A breather plate  62  is located above the mold plate. The breather plate provides breather holes to remove air from the cavities during filling. 
     FIGS. 1 and 3  illustrate the apparatus with a mold plate  50  in a fill position.  FIG. 2  illustrates the mold plate  50  and knockout mechanism  54  in the discharge or knockout position. As it is understood from the aforementioned patents, the mold plate  50  is reciprocated horizontally from the knockout position rearward to the fill position above the fill channel  46 . The pressurized food product is filled from below into the cavities  52  of the mold plate via ports  63  formed through the fill plate  48 . In the illustrated embodiment, the ports  63  correspond in number and shape to the cavities. However, the invention also encompasses smaller or larger ports, narrow slots, a single port or narrow slot that fills more than one cavity or more than one row of cavities, a plurality of small perforations that function as ports, or any of the known fill arrangements into patty-forming cavities of a reciprocating mold plate forming machine. 
   It is also encompassed by the invention that the fill channel  46  and fill plate  48  could be located above the mold plate with the breather plate  62  below the mold plate. 
   The mold plate  50  can be horizontally reciprocated by being engaged at its rear end portion such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,428,303 or engaged at its front end portion by drive rods as shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. RE 30,096. 
   The food product  26  within a hopper  30  can be conveyed along a bottom of the hopper such as described in U.S. Pat. No. RE 30,096, and/or conveyed by the use of motor driven screws  36  as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. RE 30,096, 4,054,967, or 4,418,446. 
   The present invention provides an improved mold plate  50 . The mold plate  50  includes annular recesses  72  that each surrounds a cavity  52 . The mold plate includes an insert plate  74  that is fit into each recess. The insert plates  72  have select thicknesses such that when installed, the insert plates  74  have a top surface  74   a  that is flush with surrounding surfaces  50   a  of the mold plate  50 . The insert plates  74  are attached to the mold plate  50  using fasteners  76 . The insert plates  74  include a plurality of the counter sunk bores  74   b  that allow heads of the fasteners  76  to be flush with, or below, the surface  74   a  when the fasteners  76  are threaded completely into threaded bores  50   b  of the mold plate. 
   The insert plate could alternately be formed in unitary fashion with the rest of the mold plate, rather than being fastened to the rest of the mold plate. 
   Each insert plate  74  includes an annular frame  78  and an interior area  80 . The interior area  80  comprises a selected pattern that includes open areas  82  and solid areas  84 . In the illustrated embodiment of  FIG. 2 , the solid areas  82  comprise an “X” pattern. The solid areas  82  include a notch-shape or triangular shape in cross section as shown in  FIG. 9 , to form a corresponding shape on the formed patty  55  as described below. 
   As illustrated in  FIGS. 2 and 5  the knockout plungers  58  each have solid areas  90  that correspond in outside shape, albeit slightly smaller, to the open areas  84  of the respective insert plate  74 . The plungers  58  each have open areas  92  that correspond in shape, albeit slightly larger, to the solid areas  82  of the respective insert plate  74 . Thus, each plunger  58  can be moved through the respective insert plate  74  to displace a patty  55  within the cavity  52 , during a knockout operation. 
   The illustrated four plungers  58  can be solid blocks that are fastened to a knockout plate  98  by fasteners  99 . The plate  98  has attachment holes  100  such that the plate can be attached to a knockout arm  101  ( FIG. 1 ) that is raised and lowered by the drive  56 . 
   Alternatively, the solid areas  90  of the plungers  50  can be cup-shaped areas  102  as shown in  FIG. 6 , wherein the relatively thin walls  102   a  of the cup-shaped areas act to displace the patties. 
   Returning to  FIG. 2 , the mold plate  50  further includes a recess  113  open to through-holes  115 . The recess  113  and holes  115  are used for lubricating the top surface of the plate  50  with product and balancing pressure on opposite faces of the mold plate. At a rear edge of the plate  50  are located drive keys  117  used for connecting the plate  50  to a drive mechanism. 
   As shown in  FIG. 2 , the mold plate  50  includes four cavities  52  arranged in a grid pattern with two rows spaced apart along a longitudinal direction of movement of the mold plate  50 . Although two rows of cavities  50  are shown, any number or rows, and cavities within each row, are encompassed by the invention. The cavities can be in staggered rows or straight rows. 
     FIG. 2  illustrates a completed patty  55  from the patty forming machine  20 . The patty includes a contoured top surface  132 , having crossed divider grooves  134  that allow the patty  55  to be broken into four equal pieces  55   a ,  55   b ,  55   c ,  55   d  as shown in  FIG. 4 . It is also possible that the patty could be formed with unequal portions, or equal portions of a different fraction, such as equal one third portions. The invention is particularly advantageous when it is desired to divide a single patty into pre-selected portions. One example of this situation is the case of animal foods or medicines wherein a recommended, pre-selected portion might depend on the weight of the animal, wherein fractions of a patty could be broken off to administer to the animal. 
     FIG. 7  illustrates an alternate embodiment insert plate  204  that has an interior area  206  that utilizes a select design; in this case solid areas  208  are in the form of the letter “A”. The solid areas  208  thus include transversely and obliquely extending elements. If this design was utilized, the knockout plungers such as shown in  FIG. 5  or  6  would have solid areas corresponding to open areas  210  of the interior area  206  and open areas corresponding to the solid areas  208 . 
     FIG. 8  illustrates an alternate embodiment insert plate  304  that has an interior area  306  that utilizes a design wherein solid areas include some straight areas  308  and a curved or arcuate portion  309 , in this case a complete ring. If this design was utilized, the knockout plungers such as shown in  FIG. 5  or  6  would have solid areas corresponding to open areas  310  of the area  306  and open areas corresponding to the solid areas  308 ,  309 . 
   The mold plate and the insert plates can be composed of metal as known in the art. The knock out plungers can be composed of metal, such as aluminum, or plastic materials as known in the art. 
   From the foregoing, it will be observed that numerous variations and modifications may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is to be understood that no limitation with respect to the specific apparatus illustrated herein is intended or should be inferred.