Patent GB-1396845-A (GB)
Title: Moulding apparatus
IPC: A23L13/00
Filed: 1973-08-29
Abstract: 1396845 Moulding patties HOLLYMATIC CORP 29 Aug 1973 [27 Oct 1972] 40691/73 Heading B5A In patty moulding apparatus of the type including a hopper 11 for mouldable material such as raw meat, a reciprocal ram 15 for pressing the material in a chamber 13 and forcing it via a passage to a mould cavity 18 in a reciprocal mould plate 17 movable from a mould charging to a patty discharge position, there is provided a patty removal means 100 which moves with the mould plate during part of its travel towards and away from the discharge position and enters the mould cavity at the discharge position and leaves the cavity on the return of the mould plate from said position. The mould plate includes a number of transversely spaced mould cavities and rams and the patty removal means includes a corresponding number of patty knockout cups 100 carried by a transversely extending bar 169, Fig. 10, secured at its ends to a pair of vertical rods 104. The rods slide vertically in bushings 117 attached to an assembly including a transverse bar 111 attached near its ends to depending bars 109 connected at their lower ends to blocks 110 which slide on transversely spaced racks 21 to which the mould plate is connected. Each rod 104 has a roller 113 which contacts the cam surface 106, Fig. 1, of a cam plate 105 at the side of the apparatus. In the mould charging position, Fig. 1, the racks are inward of the apparatus casing 29 and the slide blocks 110 thereon abut the casing and the cups 100 are in their fully elevated position; when the mould plate and its racks 21 move to the patty discharge position the blocks move with the racks until they are held by stops 108 on the cam plates, and the ends of the rods 104 and hence the cups are lowered. Rack movement is continued with the knock-out assemblies held by the stops and, at the discharge position, the ends of the rods 104 become aligned with passages 118 in the racks whereupon springs 119 urge the rods into the passages thereby further lowering the knock-out cups to remove the patties. The passage leading from the compression chamber 13 to the mould cavities is controlled by a slidable valve plate 14, Fig. 3, with a sloping surface 63 against which the moulding material presses to thereby urge the plate rearwardly against the action of an adjustable spring 65 to open the passage. The load on the spring is adjusted by a handle 71 which varies the position of a spring stop 68. Each ram has a relief passage 114 for the return of material to the hopper. Any meat or other particles on the top surface of the mould plate 17 are scraped therefrom by the edge 167, Fig. 12, of the plate 144 and compressed by the surface 149 of a bar 147 secured to the mould plate; the thus accumulated material is forced through the tube 152 back to the hopper; a similar arrangement may be provided for the lower surface of the mould plate. In order to prevent leakage of material around the sides and bottom of the ram, pressure bars 125, Fig. 7 and (133) Fig. 9, not shown, are located in grooves 126 and (134) of the ram and urged outwardly against abutting surfaces by the pressure of moulding material applied via passages 130, 131. The drive of the ram and mould plate is provided by a motor 30 via linkages and upper and lower toothed racks 20, 21 interconnected by a pinion; a further linkage together with a rack 87 and pinion 90 drive devices in the hopper for urging material towards each ram. The stroke of the latter is adjusted by a rod 59, Fig. 3, provided with an adjustment knob 61 for moving the ram forwardly or rearwardly.