초록 ▼

A method and a apparatus for forming a patty of food material are disclosed. The food material is forced through apertures in a foraminous member into a mold opening in a mold plate to form the patty. Multiple agitator bars are provided on the upstream side of the foraminous member to dislodge tissu

A method and a apparatus for forming a patty of food material are disclosed. The food material is forced through apertures in a foraminous member into a mold opening in a mold plate to form the patty. Multiple agitator bars are provided on the upstream side of the foraminous member to dislodge tissue fibers.

대표청구항 ▼

A method for forming a patty of plastic food material containing tissue fibers, said method comprising the steps of: (a) providing a foraminous member having an upstream side a downstream side with apertures in said foraminous member which communicate between said upstream side and said downstream s

A method for forming a patty of plastic food material containing tissue fibers, said method comprising the steps of: (a) providing a foraminous member having an upstream side a downstream side with apertures in said foraminous member which communicate between said upstream side and said downstream side and which define an array of openings at said upstream side which are arranged in a first set of sapced-apart parallel rows and a second set of spaced-apart parallel rows wherin the rows of the first set are oriented at an acute angle relative to the rows of the second set; (b) providing mold parts disposed adjacent said foraminous member with said mold parts having a mold cavity defining at least a portion of the exterior surface of said patty and having a mold opening to said mold cavity and relatively positioning said foraminous member and said mold parts to dispose said mold opening at a patty molding position adjacent said downstream side of said foraminous member; (c) forcing said food material under pressure from the upstream side of foraminous member through said apertures to the downstream side of said foraminous member and into said mold opening and cavity as extrudate masses which together form said patty; and (d) providing at least two agitator bars adjacent said upstream side of said foraminous member with one of said agitator bars having a plurality of spaced-apart teeth oriented with each tooth located between two adjacent rows of said first set of parallel rows of foraminous member openings and with the other of said agitator bars having a plurality of spaced-apart teeth oriented with each tooth between two adjacent rows of said second set of parallel rows of foraminous member openings, and then, before, during, or after step (c), reciprocating each said agitator bar along a path that is at an angle to the path reciprocation of the other agitator bar, the paths of travel of the teeth of said one agitator bar and the path of travel of the teeth of said other agitator bar defining parallelograms that each separately circumscribe one of the foraminous member aperture openings whereby the food material adjacent said upstream side of said foraminous member is agitated to dislodge tissue fibers that may have lodged on the upstream side of said foraminous member.