Abstract:
A mold plate assembly for a patty-forming apparatus includes a reciprocating mold plate having patty-forming cavities, with at least two rows of cavities aligned in a longitudinal direction, and a fill plate arranged facing the mold plate. The mold plate reciprocates between a cavity fill position and a patty discharge or knock-out position. Fill slots are arranged through the fill plate to fill food product into said mold cavities when the mold plate is in the fill position. A valve plate is provided facing the fill plate and having valve openings corresponding to the fill openings of the fill plate. The valve plate is reciprocated between an open and a closed position, to fill food product into the mold cavities when the mold plate is in the fill position, and the valve plate is in an open position, or to prevent flow through the fill openings when the valve plate is in the closed position. The valve plate allows for the use of multiple rows of cavities in the mold plate and ensures consistent filling in both the rearward and forward rows of cavities.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to food patty-molding machines. The invention particularly relates to food patty-molding machines which incorporate a reciprocating mold plate having patty-forming cavities which are cyclically filled to form patties, and then emptied, the patties being discharged to a patty-receiving area.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Food patty-forming or molding machines are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,887,964; 4,372,008 and 4,821,376. A typical food patty-forming machine or apparatus  20  is illustrated in FIG. 1. This machine is described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 3,887,964 and has been marketed as the FORMAX 26 machine by Formax, Inc., of Mokena, Ill. Molding machine  20  includes a machine base  21  which supports the operating mechanisms of the machine and contains hydraulic actuating systems, electrical actuating systems, and most of the machine controls.  
           [0003]    The food patty-molding machine  20  includes a supply means  24  for storing and supplying a moldable food product, such as ground beef, fish, pork, chicken, potatoes, or the like, to the processing mechanisms of the machine. Supply means  24  includes a large food product storage hopper  25  that supplies a food pump system  26 . System  26  includes two alternately operating food pumps (one shown); other machines typically include only a single food pump. The two food pumps continuously pump food, under pressure, into a valve manifold connected to a cyclically operable molding station  28 . Molding station  28  includes a multi-cavity mold plate  32  that moves cyclically between a fill position, shown in FIG. 1, and a discharge position in which its mold cavities are outside of station  28 , aligned with a set of knock-out cups  33 .  
           [0004]    Food supply means  24  includes a conveyor belt  31  that extends completely across the bottom of hopper  25 . In FIG. 1, a limited supply of food product  38  is shown in hopper  25 ; a much greater supply could be stored in the hopper without exceeding its capacity. The forward end of hopper  25  communicates with a vertical hopper outlet  39  that leads downwardly into two pump chambers; only one pump chamber  69  is shown. Three motors drive three vertical feed screws. Only one motor  47  and one feed screw  53  are shown in FIG. 1.  
           [0005]    The upper part of a pump housing  71  comprises a plate  81  that supports the mold plate  32 . The mold plate  32  includes a plurality of individual mold cavities  86  distributed in a single row across the width of the mold plate; mold cavities  86  are alignable with the manifold outlet fill passage  79 . A mold cover  82  is disposed immediately above mold plate  32 , closing off the top of each of the mold cavities  86 . The mold cover  82  may include a conventional breather plate. Suitable spacers (not shown) are provided to maintain the spacing between the cover  82  and the support plate  81 , essentially equal to the thickness of the mold plate  32 . A housing  88  is positioned over the cover plate  82 . The housing  88  encloses the operating mechanism (not shown) for the knock-out cups  33 .  
           [0006]    In the operation of the patty-molding machine  20 , a supply of ground meat or other moldable food product  38  is placed into the hopper  25 , and is advanced toward the hopper outlet  39  by the conveyor  31 . Whenever one of the food pump plungers, such as the plunger  68 , is retracted to expose a pump cavity (e.g., the cavity  69 ), the vertical feed screws  53  aligned with that pump cavity are actuated to feed the food product into the pump cavity.  
           [0007]    In FIG. 1, pumping system  26  is illustrated with the mold plate  32  in its fill position, and with the pump  61  pumping the moldable food product through the manifold  27 . The pump  61 , as shown, has just begun its pumping stroke, and has compressed the food product in pump cavity  69 , forcing it under pressure into the manifold  27 . As operation of the machine  20  continues, the plunger  68  advances and food product flows into the mold cavities  126 , there is a relatively constant pressure on the food product and chamber  69 , manifold  27 , fill passage  79 , and cavities  86 .  
           [0008]    In describing the operation of molding mechanism  28 , and particularly the mold plate  32 , it is convenient to start with the mold plate  32  in the fill position in FIG. 1. In each molding cycle, mold plate  32  remains in this fill position for a limited dwell interval. As the mold cavities  86  move into the fill position, one of the two food pumps of machine  20  pumps food product through manifold  27  and fill passage  79 , filling the mold cavities. To assure complete filling of the mold cavities, the food pump must apply a substantial pressure to the food product.  
           [0009]    Following the fill dwell interval, mold plate  32  is moved outwardly, to the right from its fill position, as shown in FIG. 1, until it reaches a discharge position with its mold cavities  86  aligned with knock-out cups  33 . As mold plate  32  moves toward its discharge position, mold cavities  86  all move clear of fill passage  79  before any part of those cavities projects out of mold station  28 , beyond support plate  81  and cover  82 . Thus, the food pump in machine  20 , as shown in FIG. 1, remains sealed off at all times. A second dwell interval occurs at the discharge position of mold plate  32 , during which knock-out cups  33  move downwardly through the mold cavities, discharging the molded food patties onto a patty-receiving area, e.g. a take off conveyor (not shown).  
           [0010]    Following discharge of the molded food patties, mold plate  32  is moved back toward its fill position so that mold cavities  86  can again be filled with food product. Again, mold cavities  86  are completely inside molding mechanism  28 , sealed off, before they come into alignment with fill passage  79 .  
           [0011]    Although a single fill passage  79  is shown in FIG. 1, it is also known to provide multiple fill orifices which together are substantially coextensive with the area of the cavities, such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,356,595; 4,821,376 and 4,372,008.  
           [0012]    The present inventor has recognized that the throughput (quantity of patties per time period of machine operation), of food patties formed by the aforementioned food patty-forming machine is limited by the speed of the machine and the number of cavities that can be aligned across the single row. The present inventor has recognized that it would be desirable that the throughput of such a machine be increased, while maintaining a consistent quality of the patties formed by such a machine.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0013]    The present invention provides an improved food patty-forming apparatus of the aforementioned type having a reciprocating mold plate, and which includes two or more rows of cavities, for example, forward and rearward rows, which are substantially aligned along a reciprocation direction of the mold plate. The two or more rows of cavities are filled with food product from two or more corresponding forward and rearward rows of fill openings, which communicate food product through one face side of the respective cavities. A valve plate is arranged to reciprocate between an open and closed position, to control food product flow between food product fill openings and the cavities.  
           [0014]    According to the invention, the valve plate reciprocates to open the two rows of cavities to respective two rows of fill openings in a synchronized fashion such that the two rows of cavities are supplied with food product in identical, consistent fashion. In this regard, the rearward row of cavities is not thereby exposed to the open forward fill openings during retraction of the rearward cavities during mold plate reciprocation. Thus, the forward row of cavities is exposed to only the open forward fill openings during the filling interval; and the rearward row of cavities is exposed to only the open rearward fill openings during the filling interval. In this way, the rearward row of cavities which pass over the forward fill openings is not over-filled or over-pressured by being exposed to the forward fill openings before or after filling by the corresponding rearward fill openings.  
           [0015]    According to the invention, the production of food patties by the patty-forming apparatus per operating period is effectively doubled compared to an apparatus with only a single row of mold cavities. Each row of cavities is filled simultaneously without any row of cavities being over-filled, or over-pressured. The resultant food patties will have a consistent quality and density, and a resultant consistent cooking time.  
           [0016]    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, from the claims and from the accompanying drawings.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0017]    [0017]FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic sectional view of a prior art food patty-molding machine;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic sectional view of a food patty-forming apparatus according to the present invention, with the apparatus mold plate in a knock-out position;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic sectional view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 2, but with the apparatus mold plate in a filling position;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary, diagrammatic sectional view taken generally along line  4 - 4  of FIG. 3;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 5 a  is an enlarged, fragmentary, diagrammatic sectional view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 2 with the apparatus mold plate at an intermediate position between the knock-out position and the filling position;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 5 b  is a fragmentary, enlarged, diagrammatic sectional view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 2 with the apparatus mold plate in a filling position;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 5 c  is an enlarged, fragmentary, diagrammatic sectional view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 2 with the apparatus mold plate shown in an intermediate position between the filling position and the knock-out position;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 6 is a chart of the mold plate and valve plate cycles for the apparatus of FIG. 2; and  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic sectional view of an alternate embodiment food patty-forming apparatus according to the present invention, with the apparatus mold plate in a knock-out position;  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic plan view of the mold insert plate, mold valve plate and mold plate of FIG. 7, with the mold plate in the knock-out position;  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic sectional view of the food patty-forming apparatus of FIG. 7, with the apparatus mold plate in a retracted position;  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 10 is a diagrammatic plan view of the mold insert plate, mold valve plate and mold plate of FIG. 9, with the mold plate in the retracted position;  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 11 is a diagrammatic sectional view taken approximately as indicated by lines  11 - 11  in FIG. 8, with the valve plate in a closed condition; and  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 12 is a diagrammatic sectional view taken approximately as indicated by lines  12 - 12  in FIG. 10, with the valve plate in an open condition.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0031]    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.  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 2 illustrates a food patty-forming apparatus  120  of the present invention. Except as otherwise described herein, the apparatus  120  is of a type such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,887,964; 4,372,008 and 4,821,376, herein incorporated by reference.  
         [0033]    The apparatus  120  includes a supply apparatus  124  for storing and supplying a moldable food product, such as ground beef, fish, pork, chicken, potatoes, or the like to the processing mechanism of the apparatus. The supply apparatus  124  includes a storage hopper (not shown) and a food pump system  126 . The supply apparatus can be as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,356,595 and 4,372,008 herein incorporated by reference. The apparatus includes a mold plate  132  that moves cyclically between a discharge or knock-out position shown in FIG. 2 and a fill position shown in FIG. 3. In the discharge position, two rows of food patties  140   a ,  140   b  which occupy two rows of mold cavities, front mold cavities  142   a , and rear mold cavities  142   b , respectively, within the mold plate  132 , are discharged by downward movement of two rows of knock-out cups  146   a ,  146   b , respectively. The food patties can be delivered to a take-off conveyor such as shown in FIG. 7.  
         [0034]    The mold plate  132  is guided for reciprocation between a support plate  158  and a cover plate or breather plate  164 . The cover plate  164  provides breather holes  168  and an associated air channel  169  flow connected to the breather holes for allowing the expulsion of air during filling of the two rows of mold cavities  142   a ,  142   b . Breather hole locations and patterns are disclosed in the patent application “Improved Patty-Forming Mold Plate Assembly,” U.S. Ser. No. 09/545,804, filed Apr. 8, 2000, and herein incorporated by reference.  
         [0035]    A fill plate  172  is fit within the support plate  158  and includes a top surface  173  which is planar with a contiguous top surface  174  of the support plate  158 . The fill plate  172  includes a forward row of fill openings, such as fill slots  176 , and a rearward row of fill openings, such as fill slots  178 , where “forward” and “rearward” refer to the reciprocation direction L of the mold plate  132  from the fill position toward the discharge position.  
         [0036]    A valve plate  190  is arranged beneath the fill plate  172 . The valve plate  190  is reciprocatable along the reciprocation direction L of the mold plate  132 . In this regard, a pair of reciprocation mechanisms  208  are used to precisely reciprocate the valve plate  190 . The valve plate  190  includes forward and rearward rows of valve openings such as forward valve slots  216 , and rearward valve slots  218 . The slots are oblong in the transverse direction, having substantially the same size and shape as corresponding overlying fill slots. The valve slots include flared bottom edges. In the valve plate position shown in FIG. 2, the slots  216 ,  218  are effectively closed at their top ends by the fill plate  172 .  
         [0037]    Each reciprocation mechanism  208  includes a vertically disposed shaft  226  which has a horizontally disposed cam  230  connected thereto at top end of the shaft  208 . The cam  230  is positioned within a circular bearing  236  fit within the valve plate  190 . Rotation of the shaft  226  causes rotation of the cam  230  and reciprocation of the valve plate  190 . In a preferred embodiment, the shaft  226  is oscillated over an arc of 180°, rather than being continuously rotated.  
         [0038]    A housing  250  of the food product delivery system  126  underlies and supports the support plate  158 . Food product is pumped under pressure through a delivery channel  254 , and then through a valve cylinder  256 . Food product from the valve cylinder is pressurized into an expanded fill passage  260 . In the discharge position shown in FIG. 2, no food product can be delivered from the fill passage  260  through the valve plate  190  due to the solid features of the overhead fill plate  172 , when the mold plate  132  is in its discharge or knock-out position.  
         [0039]    The apparatus  120  is shown in FIG. 3 with the mold plate  132  in the completely retracted, fill position. At this position, the fill slots  176 ,  178  are in registry with the two rows of cavities  142   a ,  142   b  respectively. Additionally, in the fill position illustrated, the reciprocating mechanism  208  has moved the valve plate  190  to the left to cause a registry between the respective fill slots  176 , 178  and the valve slots  216 ,  218 . Thus, pressurized food product can flow from the expanded fill passage  260  through the valve slots  216 ,  218 , the fill slots  176 , 178  and into the two rows of cavities  142   a ,  142   b.    
         [0040]    [0040]FIG. 4 illustrates the fill plate  172  overlying the valve plate  190 . The two rows of cavities  142   a ,  142   b  of the mold plate  132  are shown in phantom in the fill position over the feed slot plate  172 , for reference. According to the preferred embodiment, two rows of cavities  142   a ,  142   b  are utilized, each row having six cavities. It is of course encompassed by the invention that more rows, and/or more or less cavities per row, could be used.  
         [0041]    The direction of reciprocation L is indicated on the left side of FIG. 4. The fill plate  172  is fixedly connected to the support plate  158  by a plurality of fasteners  270 . The valve plate  190  is shown dashed and located below the fill plate  172 . The reciprocation mechanism  208  includes two shafts  226  connected respectively to the two cams  230 .  
         [0042]    Referring to FIGS. 2 and 4, the shafts  226  are connected to gears  276  arranged below the cams  230 . A two-way cylinder  280  is provided below the fill plate  172  and arranged extending laterally. The two-way cylinder  280  includes a first output shaft  282  and an opposite, second output shaft  284 . The output shafts  282 ,  284  are fastened to an internal piston (not shown) of the cylinder  280  and are fastened externally thereof to racks  288 ,  290  respectively. The racks  288 ,  290  have toothed regions  291 ,  292  that are respectively enmeshed with the gears  276 . Thus, when the piston within the cylinder  280  and the shafts  282 ,  284  move from right to left, the racks  288 ,  290  move from right to left which causes counterclockwise rotation of the gears  276 , counterclockwise rotation of the shafts  226 , and counterclockwise rotation of the cams  230 . The cams  230  rotate within the bearings  236  which causes corresponding translation of the plate  190  along the reciprocation direction L. When the two-way cylinder  280  reverses direction and moves from left to right, the opposite translation of the valve plate  190  occurs. The cylinder  280  is controlled by the apparatus control C for synchronized oscillation.  
         [0043]    As shown in FIG. 4, the fill slots  176 , 178  are not in registry with the valve slots  216 ,  218 . The mold plate  132  shown in FIG. 4 is in the knock-out position or discharge position, as also shown in FIG. 2. When the reciprocating mechanism rotates the cams  230  180° from the position shown, the valve slots  216 ,  218  will be in registry with the fill slots  176 ,  178  respectively, and the cavities  142   a ,  142   b  will be located as shown in phantom.  
         [0044]    For simplicity, the valve slots  216  carry the same reference number across the transverse row of valve slots, and the valve slots  218  carry the same reference number across the second row of valve slots. Likewise, the fill slots  176  use the same reference number across the first row of fill slots, and the fill slots  178  carry the same reference number across the second row of fill slots.  
         [0045]    [0045]FIG. 5 a  illustrates the mold plate  132  after having the patties  140   a ,  140   b  removed by the cups  146   a ,  146   b  and being retracted toward the fill position, at the last moment before the fill slots  176 ,  178  begin to register with the valve slots  216 ,  218 , by action of the cams  230 . At this point, a trailing edge  142   c  of the rearward cavity  142   b  has just passed the forward fill slot  176 . The mold plate  132  is moving from right to left in FIG. 5 a.    
         [0046]    [0046]FIG. 5 b  illustrates the fill position wherein the mold plate has moved from the position shown in FIG. 5 a  to its most retracted fill position of FIG. 5 b . During the travel from the position shown in FIG. 5 a  to the position shown in FIG. 5 b , the valve slots  216 ,  218  have moved to become fully in registry with the fill slots  176 ,  178  and pressurized food product has passed into the cavities  142   a ,  142   b . After a dwell time in the position shown in FIG. 5 b , the mold plate begins to translate toward the knock-out or discharge position.  
         [0047]    In FIG. 5 c  the mold plate  132  is moving from the fill position toward the knock-out position. By the time the mold plate  132  has moved to the extent that the edge  142   c  of the rearward mold cavity  142   b  has reached the fill slot  176 , the valve plate  190  has been shifted from left to right by the cam  230  such that the valve slot  216 ,  218  are closed off from the fill slots  176 ,  178 , respectively. In this way, the rearward food patty  140   b  is not again subjected to a filling pressure from the fill slot  176  as it passes thereby.  
         [0048]    As set forth in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,356,595 and 4,821,376, and 4,372,008, the quality of the molded food patties can be improved by relieving the pressure on the food product and the pump cavity and in the fill passage throughout a substantial portion of the molding cycle. The valve plate  190  is also used to facilitate the control of the food product pressure. The preferred pressure relationship of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 6 as a function of the mold plate cycle timing.  
         [0049]    In FIG. 6, the phantom line curve  321  shows the cyclic movement of the mold plate  132 . The solid line curve  322  illustrates the pressure applied to the food product in the fill passage  260  of the apparatus  120 .  
         [0050]    As indicated in FIG. 6, a given maximum fill pressure  323  is applied to the food product in fill passage  260  during the fill dwell interval  326 , to assure complete filling of the mold cavities  142   a ,  142   b . Immediately following the fill dwell interval  326 , in a succeeding transition interval  327  in which mold plate  132  is moving away from its fill position but a part of each mold cavity  142  remains in communication with the fill slots, the pressure on the food product is reduced to an intermediate pressure  324  much less than the fill pressure  323 . Typically, pressure  324  may be approximately 20% of fill pressure  323 , though this value may vary depending upon the nature of the food product and the size and configuration of the mold cavities. Intermediate pressure  324  should be sufficient to preclude back flow of food product from the mold cavities into the fill passage  260  during the transition interval  327 . This requirement can be met by maintaining intermediate pressure  324  in a range of about 10% to 50% of the maximum fill pressure  323 , in most instances.  
         [0051]    As also indicated in FIG. 6, the pressure on the food product is preferably retained at or below the intermediate pressure  324  during the remainder of the cycle. That is, during extended interval  325  until near the end of the mold cycle, pressure on the food product remains at, or below, intermediate pressure  324 . The pressure relief interval  325  may be maintained through a major portion of the mold plate cycle.  
         [0052]    [0052]FIGS. 2 through 5 c  illustrate the apparatus  120  having a fill plate  172  with a single oblong fill slot  176 ,  178  per each mold cavity  142   a ,  142   b , and a valve plate also with a single oblong opening  216 ,  218  per each mold cavity  142   a ,  142   b . However, for some food products, a multi-orifice fill opening into the molding cavities is preferred in order to achieve uniform patty texture and subsequent minimal cooking shrinkage. Accordingly, it is also encompassed by the invention to use a multi-orifice fill plate with an underlying multi-orifice valve plate as illustrated in FIGS. 7 through 12.  
         [0053]    [0053]FIGS. 7 through 12 illustrate an alternate embodiment apparatus  330 . The apparatus utilizes a perforated, multi-orifice fill plate  332  having fill orifices  333 , recessed within slots  335 , in lieu of the slotted fill plate  172  of the first described embodiment. The fill plate  332  is located in a position below the mold plate  132  and at least partially within a recess  337  on the support plate  158 . The fill orifices  333  are open (via the slots  335 ) to a face of the cavities  142   a ,  142   b  in the fill position. A valve plate  340  is supported for horizontal reciprocal movement by the support plate  158  beneath the fill plate  332 . The valve plate  340  includes valve orifices  342  which are registerable with the fill plate orifices  333  in a fill position of the valve plate  340 .  
         [0054]    Whereas in the first illustrated embodiment the valve plate  190  was arranged to translate longitudinally (along the direction of mold plate reciprocation), the valve plate  340  of the alternate embodiment is arranged to be translated laterally to register the valve orifices  342  with the fill orifices  333  or alternately to close the fill orifices  333  with solid portions of the valve plate  340 .  
         [0055]    It is however also encompassed by the invention to arrange the valve plate  190  of the first embodiment to reciprocate laterally, and to arrange the valve plate  340  of the second embodiment to reciprocate longitudinally.  
         [0056]    To move the valve plate from a fill or open position to a closed position, a hydraulic cylinder  350  (shown schematically in FIGS. 8 and 10) can be used which is operationally connected to the valve plate  340 . The hydraulic cylinder can be pneumatically driven or hydraulic fluid driven. The valve plate is guided to reciprocate horizontally between the fill plate  332  and the support plate  158 , by force from the hydraulic cylinder  350 . The hydraulic cylinder is controlled to create a cyclic or oscillating lateral force on the valve plate  340 , synchronized with the reciprocation of the mold plate  132 . In this regard, the hydraulic cylinder can be a bidirectionally acting cylinder (“two way cylinder”) or can be a single direction cylinder (“one way cylinder”) combined with a return spring. Alternatively, instead of a single hydraulic cylinder, multiple hydraulic cylinders can be used. Furthermore, other motive devices can be used such as a cam arrangement driven hydraulically or driven by an electric motor, or by a linear electric motor or positioner, or other known device. The operation and timing of the valve plate  340  is effectively the same as the operation described above associated with FIGS. 5 a  through  6 .  
         [0057]    The apparatus  330  includes a cover plate  360  overlying a top breather plate  362  and a bottom breather plate  364 . The breather plates  362 ,  364  include breather holes  368 ,  370  arranged to register with the cavities  142   a ,  142   b , respectively during filling of the cavities with food product, and breather channels  372 ,  374  in flow communication with the respective breather holes  368 ,  370 . The breather holes  368 ,  370  and channels  372 ,  374  are used to remove air from the cavities during filling of the cavities with pressurized food product.  
         [0058]    [0058]FIGS. 7,8 and  11  illustrate the apparatus  330  with the mold plate  132  in the discharge or knock-out stage or position. The knock-out cups  146   a ,  146   b  are shown in a downward position, having just discharged patties  140   a ,  140   b  from cavities  142   a ,  142   b , respectively. The patties  140   a ,  140   b  can be deposited on a product conveyor  375  to move to a collection area for packaging. The fill plate orifices  333  (shown in FIG. 8 as open circles) are out of registry with the valve plate holes  342  (shown schematically in FIG. 8 as solid circles), i.e., the valve plate  340  is in the closed position.  
         [0059]    [0059]FIGS. 9, 10 and  12  illustrate the apparatus  330  with the mold plate  132  retracted in the fill stage or position. The valve plate  340  has been shifted laterally inwardly (upwardly in FIG. 10) by a distance x, and all of the valve plate holes  342  now register with, or are superimposed by the fill plate orifices  333 . This shift establishes a flow path of pressurized food product from the fill passage  260 , through the valve plate  340 , through the fill plate  332 , and into the cavities  142   a ,  142   b.    
         [0060]    [0060]FIG. 11 illustrates the relationship between the valve plate  340  and of the fill plate  332 . The valve plate holes  342  are not in registry with the orifices  333  of the fill plate, i.e., the valve plate is in the closed position.  
         [0061]    [0061]FIG. 12 illustrates the relationship between the valve plate  340  and of the fill plate  332  wherein the mold plate  132  is in the retracted position, and the valve plate is in the open position. The valve plate  340  has been shifted and the valve plate holes  342  to are in registry with the fill plate orifices  333 .  
         [0062]    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. It is, of course, intended to cover by the appended claims all such modifications as fall within the scope of the claims.