Patent ID: 8066154

Claim:
A metering device dispensing semi-solid food material in controlled amounts, comprising: a hopper containing the semi-solid food material is placed; two counter rotating feed rollers with matched, grooved circumferential profiles, the two counter rotating feed rollers each having a horizontal centerline for each grooved profile the rollers being in a roller section communicating with the hopper and mechanically driven in a counter rotating fashion; two scrapers matching the grooved circumferential profile of and in communication with each of the counter rotating feed rollers; and an at least one die block and an at least one die nozzle coupled to and communicating with the two scrapers, wherein when the semi-solid food material is in contact with the counter rotating feed rollers the mechanically induced rotation of the counter rotating feed rollers causes the semi solid food material to become entrained and squeezed by the counter rotating feed rollers within the circumferential profiles spreading across and between the circumferential profiles as it is squeezed and entrapped gases and air are removed from the semi-solid material on and between the rollers and the rollers move the entrained semi-solid food material downward under high pressure due to the rotation of and spacing between the feed rollers and as the semi solid material moves with the rotation of the respective feed rollers the semi solid material comes towards the center of the roller section between the feed roller center lines under high pressure and is fed under high pressure out past the scrapers through the at least one die block and the corresponding at least one die nozzle.