Patent ID: 8783524

Claim:
A valve device for a pasty food product volumetric metering apparatus, comprising: a valve body with a cavity of revolution having a first radial or tangential opening connected to an inlet conduit, a second axial opening connected to a metering chamber, and a third radial or tangential opening connected to an outlet conduit; a valve plug rotatably arranged inside said cavity of said valve body; and a dynamic fluid cylinder that moves said valve plug between a first position, in which said first and second openings are mutually communicated and the third opening is shut to allow a flow of pasty food product from said inlet conduit to said metering chamber, and a second position in which the first opening is shut and the second and third openings are mutually communicated to allow a flow of pasty food product from the metering chamber to said outlet conduit, wherein: said valve plug has an outer revolution surface about an axis of rotation and an oblique surface inclined with respect to said axis of rotation, where said oblique surface permanently faces the second axial opening and alternately faces the first and third radial or tangential openings when the valve plug is in said first and second positions, respectively, while a plug portion of said outer revolution surface alternately shuts the third and first openings when the valve plug is in the first and second positions, respectively; the outer revolution surface of the valve plug is provided by a thin tubular wall inside which the oblique surface is located, a window being formed in said thin tubular wall facing the oblique surface, said window being located in coincidence with the first and third openings of the cavity of the valve body in the first and second positions, respectively; and wherein the thin tubular wall is thin enough to provide the window with sharp edges capable of cutting the pasty food product when the valve plug rotates with respect to the cavity of the valve body.