GB949862A - Pie or like filling machine - Google Patents

Abstract

949,862. Filling pies. F. E. OWEN, F. L. MILLER, and COOLMOTA Ltd. March 20, 1962 [March 20, 1961], No. 10134/61. Heading A4R. A machine for injecting liquid jelly into pies comprises means for conveying a plurality of pies simultaneously to a position beneath a plurality of liquid jelly injection nozzles, means for engaging each of said nozzles through the crust of each corresponding pie, means for removing said pies after injection of said jelly and means for preventing the ejection of liquid jelly from any nozzle beneath which an unfilled pie has not been conveyed during that cycle of operation. A driven main shaft 2 carries cams 9 and 15 and drives at the same speed via chains 25 a shaft 23a carrying cams 23. Cam 9 actuates a cam follower 9a causing rods 7 and an injection table 8 carried by the rods 7 to reciprocate vertically towards and away from liquid injection nozzles 10. A pie loading ram 11 is reciprocated towards and away from the injection table 8 by the cam 15 acting through a cam follower 14 mounted on a link member 13a fixed to a depending arm 12. Jelly is contained in a reservoir 18 with a thermostatically controlled heater and is injected into the pies P by the depression of piston rods 20 by rocker arms 21 actuated by the cam 23 through a cam follower 21a. A pair of support arms 24, in which the shaft 23a is journalled, have their upper ends formed as toothed racks engageable by toothed pinion wheels 27 fixed to the shaft 22. Rotation of the shaft 22 by a hand wheel 22a varies the distance apart of the axes of the shafts 23a and 22 and hence the throw of the piston rods 20 and therefore the quantity of jelly injected. After adjustment the arms 24 are held in position by locking means 24a. A circuit is disclosed whereby the presence of a pie in position A by actuating a switch C causes a solenoid E to hold a ratchet member 28 in the position shown in Fig. 2. The absence of a pie de-energizes the coil E and energizes a coil F causing the ratchet member 28 to engage with a pawl arm 21b in its uppermost position so holding the piston rod 20 in its lowermost position and preventing the injection of jelly.