GB2122309A

GB2122309A - Pie filling depositer

Info

Publication number: GB2122309A
Application number: GB08210710A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Edward Fullerton
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1982-04-13
Filing date: 1982-04-13
Publication date: 1984-01-11
Also published as: GB2122309B

Abstract

The depositer comprises a manifold (1) to receive a bulk amount of pie filling, and a plurality of valve outlets connected to the manifold; each valved outlet comprising a through passage (13) leading from the manifold and from which pie filling can be deposited; the through passage being formed with a recess (19) housing a valve member (21) displaceable in the recess to provide a surface (23) to restrict the flow of pie filling through the passage from the manifold; the surface (23) being a plain surface and said member being such that when in one position in the recess it leaves the through passage substantially unobstructed. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Pie filling depositor The present invention relates to a depositor for pie fillings.

Depositors are metering devices and are used commercially to meter portions of pie fillings onto pastry bases or into containers. Usually, the pastry bases or the containers are fed to a filling station on a conveyor in line abreast and each line abreast may contain some two to ten pastry bases or containers.

At the filling station, a number of depositors is used equal to the number of pastry bases or containers in each line abreast; each depositor comprising a piston and cylinder device in combination with a hopper to hold the pie filling, and a valve arrangement and operating means arranged to deposit a portion of pie filling each time a pastry base or container comes below the depositor. Thus, a plurality of depositors needs to be used and this results in a very costly arrangement.

Attempts have been made previously to provide a depositor capable of dividing up a bulk amount of pie filling into separate portions and providing a plurality of valve outlets for the respective portions.

However, these attempts have not been successful.

A depositor needs to be able to adjust the amount that is to be metered in any one portion since a depositor may be used with either cake bases or containers and since, in any event, pies of different sizes may need to be produced; and it has been in providing this adjustability, that the previous attempts to divide a bulk amount of pie filling and meter the divided portions have not been successful, in that, a typical pie filling contains solid pieces which tend to get stuck in the valve when the valve is set to reduce the amount to be metered in any one portion with the result that successive portions metered by the valve in such a setting tend to vary an unacceptable amount. It is an object of the present invention to provide a depositor having the capability efficaciously to divide up a bulk amount of pie filling and meter the divided up portions.

There is provided by the present invention a depositor comprising a manifold to receive a bulk amount of pie filling, and a plurality of valve outlets connected to the manifold; each valved outlet comprising a through passage leading from the manifold and from which pie filling can be deposited; the through passage being formed with a recess housing a valve member displaceable in the recess to provide a surface to restrict the flow of pie filling through the passage from the manifold; said surface being a plain surface and said member being such that when in one position in the recess it leaves a through passage substantially unobstructed.

Preferably the member is in the form of a rotatable plug and the plug may comprise a body having a cross sectional shape of the segment of a circle with the recess being of a complimentary shape so that when the plug is orientated in the recess with a segmental surface parallel with the axis of the through passage, the segmental surface lies sub stantiallyflush with the surrounding surface of the through passage, and so that by rotation of the plug from that orientation the segmental surface can be progressively turned towards a position in which the segmental surface lies substantially normal to the axis of the through passage and in which it completely blocks that passage.Thus, the plug may be rotated between the fully open position, that is, in which it leaves the through passage unobstructed, and a fully closed position, that is, the position in which it completely obstructs the through passage, to assume a setting at any position therebetween so as partly to obstruct the through passage.

Because the surface of the member which obstructs the through passage provides nothing on which a solid piece of a pie filling could lodge, it assures a consistency in amount in the portions metered in any given setting of the valve.

Each time portions are to be metered from that valved outlets, pie filling is forced under pressure into the manifold and through each valved outlet and, for any given supply pressure used, the amount metered is dependent upon the setting of the valve.

The valve of each valved outlet may comprise a member to permit manual setting of the valve or it may be associated with means to permit mechanical or electrical setting of the valve, for instance, the means could be such as automatically to set the valves in response to control signals, which could be provided by means of a control program.

It is preferred in the present invention, that the valved outlet as its junction with the manifold provide a surface which is flared in the direction of the manifold to assist entry of pie filling.

The present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a front elevation of a depositor according to the present invention, and Figure 2 is an elevational section taken at the station of a valved outlet of the depositor of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings, the depositor illustrated therein compries a manifold 1 in the form of a tube closed at each end providing on its upper surface centrally between the two ends an inlet 3 for pie filling delivered to the inlet through a flexible tube 5 from a bulk source thereof. Depending from the underside of the tube are a plurality of valved outlets generally indicated at 7 and each comprising at its lowermost end a nozzle 9 pointing directly downwards and secured on a nozzle shank 11 seen in section in Figure 2. The shank contains a through passage 13 connecting with a hole 15 in the manifold to connect the manifold with the nozzle, and the passage at its junction with the hole in the manifold provides a surface 17 which is flared in the direction towards the manifold to facilitate entry of pie filling from the manifold into the passage 13.

The nozzle shank is also formed with a recess 19, in this instance, of part-cylindrical form, and the recess receives a valve member in the form of a plug 21 comprising a body having a cross sectional shape of the segment of a circle. The plug is rotatable about an axis such that it can be rotated to a position in which the body of the plug lies in the recess with the segmental surface 23 of the plug body lying substan tiallyflush with the surrounding surface 25 of the passage 13so asto leave the valve in afullyopen condition in which it leaves the passage completely unobstructed, and can be rotated from the position progressively to cause the segmental surface 23 to obstruct the passage until the plug body assumes a position in which the segmental surface lies substantially normal to the axis of the passage 13 and the valve is in its fully closed condition i.e. in which the plug body completely obstructs the passage.

In any position of the plug body between the fully open condition of the valve and the fully closed condition thereof, the plug body provides a surface obstructing the passage 13 to a greater or lesser degree, but the surface presenting the obstruction is a plain surface sloping downwardly in the direction of movement of pie filling through the passage and it provides nothing on which any solid parts of the pie filling could lodge. Although the surface 25 of the passage and the adjacent surface of the recess form a shoulder which is exposed when the plug body is rotated anti-clockwise from the fully open condition of the valve, it will be noted nevertheless that the shoulder is of such form as not to provide a lodgement for any solid part of the pie filling.Again, the exposed surface of the recess and the segmental surface form something in the nature of a shoulder, but the slope of the shoulder for any working position of the valve member likely to be used to regulate the flowthrough passage 13 is too great to provide a lodgement for the pie filling and any solids parts contained therein. As a result, the valve, for any given setting thereof, permits a consistency to be maintained of the amount of pie filling contained in successive potions metered by a valved outlet.

The plug body is terminated at each end by bearing members supported in suitable bores formed in the nozzle shank and one of the bearing members externally thereof may comprise a stub shaft having a bore therethrough to receive a handle in the form of a rod 31. The stub shaft may carry at the end thereof or the outer aspect of the handle a disc 33 bearing a radially directed mark 35 positioned so that when the mark is, for instance, pointing vertically downwards, the valve is in its fully open condition.

In use of the illustrated device, pie filling is forced under pressure for a predetermined period of time through the inlet 3 and manifold 1 to pass into each of the valved outlets where, as explained above, by a suitable setting of the valve body of each valve, the amount to be metered can be determined and consistently maintained.

CLAIMS (Filed on 5.1.83.) 1. A pie filling depositor comprising a manifold to receive a bulk amount of pie filling, and a valved outlet connected to the manifold; the valved outlet comprising a through passage leading from the manifold and from which pie filling can be deposited; the through passage being formed with a recess housing a valve member displaceable in the recess to provide a surface to restrict the flow of pie filling through the passage from the manifold; said surface being a plain surface and said member being such that when in one position in the recess it leaves a through passage substantially unobstructed.

2. A depositor according to claim 1, wherein the member is in the form of a rotatable plug.

3. A depositor according to claim 2, wherein the plug comprises a body having a cross-sectional shape of the segment of a circle with the recess being of a complementary shape so that when the plug is orientated in the recess with a segmental surface parallel with the axis of the through passage, the segmental surface lies substantially flush with the surrounding surface of the through passage, and so that by rotation of the plug from that orientation, the segmental surface can be progressively turned towards a position in which the segmental surface lies substantially normal to the axis of the through passage and in which it completely blocks that passage.

4. A depositor according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the valve of the valved outlet comprises a member to permit manual setting of the valve or is associated with means to permit mechanical or electrical setting of the valve.

5. A depositor according to claim 4, wherein said means such as automatically to set the valves in response to control signals.

6. A depositor according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the valved outlet at its junction with the manifold provides a surface which is flared in the direction of the manifold to assist entry of pie filling.

7. A depositor according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a plurality of the valved outlets.

8. A pie-filling depositor substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. tiallyflush with the surrounding surface 25 of the passage 13so asto leave the valve in afullyopen condition in which it leaves the passage completely unobstructed, and can be rotated from the position progressively to cause the segmental surface 23 to obstruct the passage until the plug body assumes a position in which the segmental surface lies substantially normal to the axis of the passage 13 and the valve is in its fully closed condition i.e. in which the plug body completely obstructs the passage. In any position of the plug body between the fully open condition of the valve and the fully closed condition thereof, the plug body provides a surface obstructing the passage 13 to a greater or lesser degree, but the surface presenting the obstruction is a plain surface sloping downwardly in the direction of movement of pie filling through the passage and it provides nothing on which any solid parts of the pie filling could lodge. Although the surface 25 of the passage and the adjacent surface of the recess form a shoulder which is exposed when the plug body is rotated anti-clockwise from the fully open condition of the valve, it will be noted nevertheless that the shoulder is of such form as not to provide a lodgement for any solid part of the pie filling.Again, the exposed surface of the recess and the segmental surface form something in the nature of a shoulder, but the slope of the shoulder for any working position of the valve member likely to be used to regulate the flowthrough passage 13 is too great to provide a lodgement for the pie filling and any solids parts contained therein. As a result, the valve, for any given setting thereof, permits a consistency to be maintained of the amount of pie filling contained in successive potions metered by a valved outlet. The plug body is terminated at each end by bearing members supported in suitable bores formed in the nozzle shank and one of the bearing members externally thereof may comprise a stub shaft having a bore therethrough to receive a handle in the form of a rod 31. The stub shaft may carry at the end thereof or the outer aspect of the handle a disc 33 bearing a radially directed mark 35 positioned so that when the mark is, for instance, pointing vertically downwards, the valve is in its fully open condition. In use of the illustrated device, pie filling is forced under pressure for a predetermined period of time through the inlet 3 and manifold 1 to pass into each of the valved outlets where, as explained above, by a suitable setting of the valve body of each valve, the amount to be metered can be determined and consistently maintained. CLAIMS (Filed on 5.1.83.)

1. A pie filling depositor comprising a manifold to receive a bulk amount of pie filling, and a valved outlet connected to the manifold; the valved outlet comprising a through passage leading from the manifold and from which pie filling can be deposited; the through passage being formed with a recess housing a valve member displaceable in the recess to provide a surface to restrict the flow of pie filling through the passage from the manifold; said surface being a plain surface and said member being such that when in one position in the recess it leaves a through passage substantially unobstructed.