G70076/MP/sgh

DEVICE AND PROCESS FOR PRODUCING STUFFED FOOD PRODUCTS

The present invention relates to a device and process for producing stuffed food products.

Hereinafter, reference will be made in particular to paste, and specifically to ravioli, however the device and process of the invention can also be used to produce different food products, such as sweetmeats, confectionary products, etc. Pasta consumption has increased considerably in recent times

(aided by the "Mediterranean diet" concept), of the various types stuffed pasta being currently much appreciated because it combines the eating characteristics and consistency of pasta with the taste of a filling of various types, such as meat, ham, vegetables, etc. Stuffed pasta is currently produced industrially by devices provided with a laminator, in which the pasta to form the ravioli casing is rolled and brought to a thickness suitable for subsequent shaping and for obtaining a final product of the required characteristics.

The pasta sheet prepared by the laminator is fed to a moulding device in which a predetermined quantity of filling is deposited on a first pasta sheet, a second pasta sheet then being placed on this; the two superposed sheets with the interposed filling are then moulded (usually by rotary moulds) to form the finished product.

However these traditional devices present numerous drawbacks including, in particular, the large quantity of scrap which they necessarily produce.

This scrap derives from those pasta sheet portions external to the moulding regions and hence cannot be eliminated; it has to be collected and ground (possibly with the addition of additional ingredients) before being reused; this means that appropriate components have to be added to the device to collect and grind the scrap.

In addition, this scrap is often used to produce not pasta for human consumption, but instead animal feeds, a fact which represents a considerable drawback (because of its lower unit price) and should be advantageously avoided. The technical aim of the present invention is therefore to provide a device and process for producing stuffed food products which enable the stated drawbacks of the known art to be overcome.

Within the scope of this technical aim an object of the invention is to provide a device and process which enable stuffed food products to be produced while drastically limiting or even eliminating the production of pasta scrap.

Another object is to provide a simple and economical device which does not comprise those devices required for recycling pasta scrap.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a device and process which are economical in themselves and which, in addition, enable the costs associated with pasta recycling to be limited or eliminated.

The technical aim together with these and other objects are attained by a device and process for producing stuffed food products in accordance with the accompanying claims.

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will be more apparent from the description of a preferred but non-exclusive embodiment of the device and process of the invention, the device being illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, in which: figure 1 is a side elevational section through the device of the present invention; figure 2 shows an enlarged detail of the compression and extrusion chambers represented in the section of figure 1 ; and figure 3 is a partly sectioned front elevation of the device of figure 1 on a reduced scale.

With reference to said figures, these show a device, indicated overall by the reference numeral 1 , for producing stuffed food products; the food product is preferably stuffed pasta such as ravioli. The figures show a device with eight functional units for producing ravioli simultaneously (in parallel), however this number can be chosen at will and can be varied according to requirements; reference will be made to only one functional unit in the ensuing description for simplicity.

The device 1 comprises a frame 2 defined by uprights 3 extending from a base element 4 which supports the drive unit, and a main shaft 5 which operates and drives all the components of the device 1.

The frame 2 carries an extruder 7 to which means 8 are connected for feeding a predetermined quantity of pasta sheet to be extruded to form the casing of the food product, and means 9 for feeding a predetermined quantity of filling to be inserted into the pasta casing.

The extruder 7 comprises a die 11 to shape the pasta sheet into the form of a tube 12 and is associated with an insertion unit 13 for inserting the filling into the pasta tube 12.

The device 1 also presents a gripper 15 for squeezing the paste tube 12 with the inserted filling in order to close the ends of the food products being processed and to separate the finished food products from the pasta tube 12.

The extruder 7 comprises a hollow body 16 containing internally a tubular element 17 (the body 16 and element 17 are integral); between the hollow body 16 and the tubular element 17 an extrusion chamber 18 is defined, bounded by the die 11.

The filling feed means 9 feed the filling into the tubular element 17, the pasta feed means 8 feeding the pasta into the extrusion chamber 18.

Preferably (to facilitate assembly/dismantling and maintenance operations), the die 11 is fixed to the hollow body 16 and is interposed (at the end of the cavity in the hollow body 16) between the hollow body 16 itself and the tubular element 17.

The pasta feed means 8 comprise a first block 20 defining a pasta compression chamber 21 connected to the extrusion chamber 18. The block 20 also presents an aperture 23 for entry of the pasta sheet into the compression chamber 21 , such that the pasta inserted through the aperture 23 into the compression chamber 21 is forced to pass into the extrusion chamber 18, to then be extruded.

A piston 24 (shaped as a bar of rectangular cross-section) is movable within the compression chamber 21 to press the pasta sheet and cause it to pass into the extrusion chamber 18.

The compression chamber 21 and the extrusion chamber 18 mutually communicate via at least one passage 25 formed in the block 20 and at least one corresponding aperture 26 provided in the hollow body 16; both the passage 25 and the aperture 26 preferably extend along the top 27 of the compression chamber 21 and the top 28 of the extrusion chamber 18, the piston 24 being arranged to press the pasta sheet onto the top 27 of the compression chamber 21.

Upstream of the block 20 a laminator (not shown) is provided to receive the pasta and produce the sheet of predefined thickness to be fed to the block 20 (and inserted therein via the aperture 23) by a conveyor belt 29.

The filler feed means 9 comprise a second block 30 presenting a transverse through conduit 31 between a first end thereof connected to a hopper 32 to which the delivery of the filling feed pump is connected, and a second end thereof connected to the unit 13 for inserting the filling into the pasta tube.

A cylindrical member 34 rotatable in a cylindrical seat positioned along the conduit 31 is provided with a hole 35 partially closed at both its ends such that a ball 37 movable in its interior can slide between the two ends of the hole 35 without being able to escape from it.

In practice, when the cylindrical member 34 is in the position shown in figure 2 the hole becomes filled with a predetermined quantity of material, then when the cylindrical member 34 rotates through 180° the material accumulated in the hole 35 is expelled because of the new material which is introduced into the hole 35 and presses against the ball 37.

The insertion unit 13 comprises a plunger 38 (operated by the shaft 5 via transmissions 39) slidable within the hollow body 16 to urge the filling into the pasta tube being processed; the hollow body 16 has (in the present embodiment) a tubular cylindrical shape and is provided with apertures 40 enabling the filling to pass from the conduit 31 to the interior of the hollow body 16.

The gripper 15 comprises jaws with a contact portion 45 for squeezing and closing the pasta tube 12 and a cutter 46 for incising or cutting the squeezed pasta portion. When closed, the jaws of the gripper 15 define a cone 47 with its vertex at the contact portion 45, to shape the food product being processed.

Advantageously, the jaws of the gripper 15 are symmetrical about a transverse axis 48, that portion 15a of the jaws which faces the die 11 being arranged to squeeze and close a first end of the food product, the opposite portion 15b of the jaws being arranged to squeeze and close a second end of the food product opposite the first.

In a preferred embodiment, the device can also be provided with means for axially twisting the pasta tube; this enables a very particular and pleasing pasta format to be produced.

The axial twist means comprise a drive unit 50 for rotating the hollow body 16 and the tubular element 17 about a longitudinal axis 51 of the tubular element 17.

The drive unit 50 reciprocatingly rotates the hollow body 16 and the tubular element 17, preferably though 90° in one and the other direction.

The unit 50 is defined by a bar 53 provided with a projection 54 inserted into a recess of the hollow body 16 and drivable to translate with to-and-fro movement (i.e. reciprocating motion in two opposite directions); when the bar 53 translates it drags the hollow body 16 into rotation about the axis 51.

Advantageously, in this case the hollow body 16 presents a plurality of apertures 40 to enable the filling to pass when the hollow body 16 is in numerous positions relative to the conduit 31 ; the hollow body 16 presents four holes 40 in the illustrated example. The operation of the device of the invention is apparent from that described and illustrated, and is substantially as follows.

The pasta sheet is fed by the conveyor belt 29 into the compression chamber 21 , then when it is inside the chamber 21 the piston 24 rises to cut off a predetermined pasta quantity from the sheet and press it against the top 27 of the compression chamber 21.

This pasta is directed towards the extrusion chamber 18 (as the only aperture through which the pasta can emerge is precisely the die 11 ) and thrusts against the pasta already present in the chamber 18 so that it emerges through the die 20; hence in practice the compression of a predetermined pasta quantity in the compression chamber 21 causes an equal pasta quantity to emerge from the extrusion chamber 18 (in the form of pasta tube) through the die 11.

The pasta quantity introduced into the chamber 21 is regulated (by regulating the thickness of the pasta sheet by adjusting the laminator) so that pasta tubes of the required characteristics (in particular thickness)

are obtained by the extrusion; in other words the strip of pasta cut by the piston 24 weighs the same as the tubular elements being formed.

The pasta tubes emerging from the die 11 are inserted between the jaws of the gripper 15 (which is open), then the gripper 15 closes to seal the front end of the pasta tube.

At this point the pasta tube can to be perforated so that subsequent closure of the tube does not cause a quantity of air to be trapped, which could cause the ravioli to explode or undergo damage during the subsequent processing stages or during cooking. At the same time, a predetermined quantity of filling is thrust by the plunger 38 through the conduit 31 and tubular element 17 into the pasta tubes 12, which are closed at their front.

At this point (only if ravioli are to be produced rotated along their longitudinal axis; this step can be omitted) the unit 50 rotates the hollow body 16 and the die 11 carried by it, so that the pasta tube also rotates about the longitudinal axis 51.

The gripper 15 then opens to enable the pasta tube containing the filling (and possibly rotated about its longitudinal axis) to pass between its jaws, which then close to cut and separate the formed ravioli by the cutter 46.

At this point a new cycle commences and the plunger 38 rises, the piston 24 descends (the hollow body 16 rotates if the processed ravioli has been rotated) and the entire device returns to its initial configuration ready for a new operating cycle. The present invention also relates to a process for producing stuffed food products.

The process consists of forming a pasta tube, closing a first end thereof and inserting the filling into its interior, then also closing a second end of the pasta tube and separating the finished product from the pasta tube. Advantageously the closure of the second end of a product (ravioli piece) is simultaneous with the closure of the first end of another product (ravioli piece) formed by the same device from the same pasta tube.

The pasta tube may be rotated longitudinally before closing the second end. The device and process conceived in this manner are particularly advantageous as they enable pasta and other stuffed food products to be produced economically and with very high productivity.

The conceived device is susceptible to numerous modifications and variants, all falling within the scope of the inventive idea; moreover all details can be replaced by technically equivalent elements.

In practice the materials used and the dimensions can be chosen at will, in accordance with requirements and with the state of the art.