Patent ID: 7628106

Claim:
An apparatus for making a food product having a dough casing and a filling, the apparatus comprising: a filling-apportionment mechanism configured to apportion a supply of filling pieces into one or more predetermined portions of filling pieces; and a filling-transfer mechanism comprising a pick-up device that is fluidly connectable to a vacuum source, the pick-up device being configured to pick up one or more portions of filling pieces when a vacuum from the vacuum source is applied to the pick-up device and the pick-up device is positioned proximate the portions of filling pieces to be picked up; wherein the pick-up device comprises an air-permeable pick-up surface that is sized and shaped to pick up and hold said one or more portions of filling pieces when the vacuum is applied to the pick-up device; and wherein: the filling-apportionment mechanism comprises a plurality of filling cups, each of which is sized and shaped to receive a respective portion of filling pieces; and the pick-up surface is permeable to air at locations that correspond to respective filling cups, such that when the pick-up surface is positioned over selected filling cups and the vacuum is applied to the pick-up device, the portions of filling pieces from the selected filling cups are picked up and held against the pick-up surface.