摘要 |
A method and apparatus for molding food patties, utilizing a pump with a tall, narrow, elongated pump chamber, an outlet port extending along one edge of the chamber, and a wide access port at one side of the chamber. A supply of hamburger or other poor-flowing food product is maintained in a position completely blocking the pump access chamber and can be drawn into the chamber by rapidly withdrawing a plunger from the chamber past the access port. A hydraulic drive powers the plunger, in synchronism with a mold plate cyclically moving into and out of a fill position beneath the outlet port; the hydraulic drive causes the plunger to pump food out of the pump chamber and into mold cavities in the mold plate under a constant pressure, with the hydraulic pumps of the drive cut off immediately following filling of the molds.
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