BACKGROUND ART In the book titled ,,Pasta Production" by Ferenc Kalman and Gyula Nádházi (Agricultural Publishing House, Budapest, Hungary, 1983), tradi- tional pasta production lines are described. According to the basic tech- nology applied there, a prepared dough goes into a thickener unit of a pressure apparatus in order to thicken the dough and drive it through the openings of a shaping die. From the headpiece of the thickener unit the dough gets into the die; the channels of the headpiece are shaped in a such a way that they distribute the dough evenly. The die and its acces- sories are fixed into this headpiece.

Although the basic principle of operation of the above production lines is practically the same, the shape of headpieces for producing long pasta products (spaghetti, macaroni, long vermicelli, etc.) and short pasta products (short macaroni, granulated paste, short vermicelli), respectively, are considerably different from each other. It is due to the fact that differ- ent dies are applied to them. Small ( short ) products are produced using a die of circular section, which is connected to a circular knife on the out- let side in order to cut pasta threads, whereas long pasta is produced us- ing a prismatic die making it possible to mechanise the process of putting the product onto a rod and simplify its further processing.

The external dimension of pasta products is determined by the openings in the die of the dough pressure apparatus. In order to produce hollow pasta products (e.g. macaroni), each of the openings of the die are provided with a coaxial punch determining the internal core section of the macaroni.

From our earlier patent specification No. HU-199,654 there are a macaroni production method and adapter known where the pasta thread coming out of the die opening is additionally shaped by applying a special after-shaping piece. This after-shaping is performed as follows: a spiral groove is die-rolled onto the pasta thread pressed onto the punch consid- erably protruding from the die opening, for which the punch projecting from the die serves as consistent internal support. Here a ribbing plate with openings was used as an after-shaping piece, which is circularly displaced relative to the die.

The above technology serves for making external spiral-like grooves only, and when applied, it must be taken into consideration that the punches projecting from the lower plane of the die can be damaged when the die is installed in or removed from the headpiece of the pressure apparatus (press) and when the die is cleaned. This may result in an op- erating error, which increases the burden on the operating personnel.

In principle, similar solutions are described in the Hungarian utility model specification No. U-94-0003 and the published Hungarian patent application No. 3779/93. But, it is to be noted that only screw-type maca- roni (mainly nibAype" pasta) can be produced using this solution. Here the ribbing plate positioned under the die is also circularly displaced rela- tive to the die. The only difference lies in the way the ribbing plate is moved as opposed to the solution described above, since here the ribbing plate is embedded on an eccentric pin of a shaft coaxially embedded in a hollow shaft of a cutting knife and in a slicing body. This hollow shaft is

connected to a driving motor with speed control. Its deficiencies are the same as those of the solution mentioned above.

On the part of users/ manufacturers in the food industry, there has been an increasing demand recently for widening the selection, that is, they require new pasta forms as the choice of presently known long pasta forms is considerably behind the variety of forms of short pasta pressed or cut in bulk.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION It has been recognised by the inventor of the present application, however, that the richness of pasta forms does not satisfy an aesthetical demand only, which is otherwise aimed at by pasta producers, but fur- thermore, by varying pasta sections, the (wall) thickness of the pasta can be reduced and the external pasta surface can be increased at the same time. Thus, the cooking time of the pasta could be decreased, its quality would be improved, and the procedure for preparing the pasta would be simplified.

An object of the present invention is to satisfy the demand above, that is, to provide an improved solution by which pasta variety can be greatly increased, that is, to be able to produce pasta threads with solid or hollow section in various forms much more economically on long or short pasta production machines, than according to the traditional solutions dis- cussed above.

The object has been solved by further developing the pasta pro- duction process described in the introduction, comprising the steps of thickening a prepared dough, distributing it by putting it into a die, press- ing it through a shaping opening of a die and applying an after-shaping unit for additional shaping a pasta thread emerging from the opening of the die, and cutting the pasta thread in its final form to a size required.

The essence of the invented process lies in that the additional shaping of the pasta with hollow or solid section emerging from the opening of the die is carried out exclusively by controlling ( mainly by periodically reduc- ing ) the transfer section of the shaping hole of the after-shaping unit placed in the immediate proximity of the outlet plane of the die opening, relatively to the section of the die opening.

According to a further feature of the invented process, the shaping hole section of the after-shaping unit can be controlled by periodically re- ducing the total opening section (in a given case a part of periphery ) of the shaping hole. This way, forms like circular grooves (or like side slots by partial reduction) can be produced on the external mantle of the pasta thread.

In another aspect of the present invention, the section of the shap- ing hole can also be controlled by moving the after-shaping unit transver- sally to the pasta thread direction, relative to the die. This motion can ei- ther be linear alternating motion or curvilinear, mainly circular motion, or it can be any other type of broken-line forced-trajectory motion or any of their combinations. Thus, an infinite number of pasta forms can be pro- duced by a relatively low input depending on current user demand.

The present invention makes it possible to eliminate punches pro- jecting from the bottom of the die when producing hollow pasta products, such as macaroni, because it has been recognised that it is enough to apply punches reaching only ( maximum ) as far as the outlet plane of the die openings. Therefore operation and maintenance are considerably simplified and the lifetime of the equipment can be increased.

For the procedure in accordance with the present invention can be used an adapter comprising at least one die provided with at least one product shaping opening, an after-shaping unit with at least one shaping hole, arranged after the die - seeing in the direction of the product prog- ress -, wherein the shaping hole is in co-operation with the die opening.

The essence of the invented adapter lies in that the transfer section of the shaping hole of the after-shaping unit is formed in such a way that it can be controlled relative to the section of the die opening, preferably it can be reduced periodically.

In a further embodiment of the invented adapter, each shaping hole is provided with an after-shaping unit which are connected to the die.These after-shaping units (or post-shaping units ) form at least a part of the periphery of the corresponding shaping holes, and can be moved radially by a controllable driving means.

Yet another embodiment is possible where a single common after- shaping unit is applied which is movable transversally, preferably per- pendicularly, to the pasta thread direction relative to the die, and linked to a drive. This drive may move the after-shaping unit in a linear, curvilinear, circular, or even broken-line fashion, or any of their combinations.

In a further embodiment the after-shaping unit is guided by a plu- rality of sliding pins relative to the die and is embedded on them in such a way that it can be moved linearly.The die opening can be provided with a punch forming the central hole in the pasta thread, the end of which does not reach further than the outlet plane of the die opening.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will be described in more detail with refer- ence to the accompanying drawings where some examples for embodi- ments of the adapter designed to perform the procedure in accordance with the present invention are shown. In the drawings: - Figure 1 illustrates a schematic exploded view of a first embodi- ment of an adapter in accordance with the present in- vention, together with a headpiece of a thickener unit of a dough pressure apparatus with a prismatic die;

- Figure 2 illustrates a longitudinal section of a detail of the design shown in Figure 1, in a relatively larger scale; - Figure 3 illustrates a view along arrow lil in Figure 2; - Figure 4 illustrates a version of the design in Figure 2; - Figure 5 illustrates a view of a detail along arrow V in Figure 4; - Figure 6 illustrates a transverse section of another version of the design in Figure 2; - Figure 7 illustrates a view of a detail along arrow VII in Figure 6; - Figure 8 illustrates a vertical section of a thickener unit of a dough pressure apparatus with circular die, equipped with the adapter in accordance with the present inven- tion; - Figure 9 shows a vertical section of the detail shown in Figure 8; - Figure 10 illustrates a transverse section of another version of the design in Figure 8; - Figure 11 illustrates detail Xl in Figure 2 in a relatively larger scale; - Figure 12 illustrates a section along line XII-XII in Figure 11; - Figure 13 illustrates detail XIII in Figure 2 in a relatively larger scale; - Figure 14 illustrates a section along line XIV-XIV in Figure 13; - Figure 15 illustrates detail XI in Figure 4 in a relatively larger scale; - Figure 16 illustrates a section along line XVI-XVI in Figure 15; - Figure 17 illustrates a vertical section of detail XV in Figure 6 in a relatively larger scale; - Figure 18 illustrates a section along line XVIII-XVIII in Figure 17; - Figure 19 illustrates a bottom view of another version of the adapter in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 illustrates an exploded view of a press 1 applied for pro- ducing long pasta, which is known in itself and is equipped with a pris- matic die 2. An after-shaping unit 3 is placed under the die 2, which is going to be discussed more detailed below.

Figure 2 illustrates the die 2 and the after-shaping unit 3 fitted to- gether; in the present case, there is only a minimal joint gap 4 left be- tween them, which is required for relative (mutual) displacement. Figure 2 illustrates only the left end of the after-shaping unit 3 connected to the die 2. In the present case, the after-shaping unit 3 is a plate embedded in the ends of the die 2 transversally to pasta thread direction, that is, in this case it is horizontally movable. It can be clearly seen in Figure 2 that a shaft 5 is driven through the after-shaping unit 3, the upper end of which is embedded in a plurality of bearings 6. A centre line with reference number 7 has been indicated for the shaft 5. Here, the shaft 5 is equipped with an eccentric 8 having an eccentricity e and provided with a cylindrical mantle in the present case, which is embedded in the after-shaping unit 3 by a bearing 9. A centre line with reference number 10 has been indicated for the eccentric 8. A bearing block 11 for the bearings 6 is fastened re- leasably into the die 2 by a plurality of screws 12.

The shaft 5 is connected to a rotary drive (not shown), which, in the present case, is an electric motor with infinitely variable speed . When the shaft 5 is rotated, the after-shaping unit 3 is displaced horizontally rela- tive to the die 2 due to eccentricity e of the eccentric 8.

It can be observed on the right-hand side of Figure 2 that a shaping bit 14 is placed into an opening 13 of the die 2 to form the outside of pasta threads, made of Teflon in the present case. There is an opening 16

in the shaping bit 14, below which there is a mating shaping hole 15 in after-shaping unit 3, the free transfer opening section of which is control- lable in accordance with the present invention. A detail Xl shown in Figure 2 will be explained more in detail in connection with Figure 11.

Consequently, in the arrangement in Figure 2, when the shafts 5 on both sides are rotated, the after-shaping unit 3 is moved circularly in its own plane, in the present case horizontally, by the eccentrics 8, thus the free transfer section of the shaping hole 15 is periodically changed rela- tive to the opening 16 of the die 2.

Figures 11 and 12 illustrate the relative operational position of the die 2 and the after-shaping unit 3 in a relatively larger scale when there is some prepared and distributed dough indicated by reference number 17 being pressed through the opening 16 of the shaping bit 14 of the die 2.

Because there is the minimal gap 4 between the upper plane of the after- shaping unit 3 and the lower plane of the die 2, meaning that the two sur- faces are linked together by a fitting allowing for relative transverse dis- placement. The shaping hole 15 of the after-shaping unit 3 is formed as close as possible to the upper plane of the after-shaping unit 3, which in the present case is a cylindrical bore of relatively small axial dimension, expanded into a section 1 5A which is conical downwards.

As mentioned above, the external product surfaces are determined by the opening 16 of the die 2; in the present case, the product is long pasta with solid section. A centre line 18 of the opening 16 is relatively displaced according to eccentricity e from a centre line 19 of the hole 15 for after-shaping (see also Figure 2). So, during the horizontal displace- ment of the after-shaping unit 3, the diameter of a pasta thread 20 just emerging from the opening 16 is reduced by the section of the shaping hole 1 5 shown on the left of Figure 11, and accordingly, in the present embodiment a spiral groove 21 is formed on the external mantle surface of a finish product 22, as shown at the bottom of Figure 11.

Figure 13 illustrates a version of the embodiment in Figure 11 for producing hollow long pasta ( similar elements have been designated with the same reference characters). Here the shape of the die 2 and the after- shaping unit 3 as well as the motion of the after-shaping unit 3 are identi- cal with those of the design in Figure 11. The only difference is that there is a punch 1 placed coaxially into the shaping bit 14 of the die 2 to shape the internal cylindrical hole of the product 20 which is here macaroni.

Similar punches T are also applied in traditional equipment for producing macaroni. In the case of the adapter in accordance with the present in- vention, however, the length of punch T has been selected not to reach further than the lower plane of the die 2 (see Figure 13). Therefore this punch T does not participate in the after-shaping of the product 20 (as opposed to traditional technologies) since this after-shaping is performed only by controlling the transfer section of the shaping hole 1 5 of the after- shaping unit 3 in accordance with the present invention as it has been explained above in more detail, that is, internal punch support is not ap- plied. An advantage of the punch T not projecting from the die 2 is that it remains hidden all throughout in the course of assembly and disassembly as well as during the cleaning operations of the die 2, so its hazard of in- jury has been entirely eliminated.

Figures 4 and 5 illustrate a version of the design shown in Figures 2 and 3 where the eccentric 8 of the shaft 5 has been applied in the same way for moving the after-shaping unit 3 in a transverse fashion relative to the die 2; nevertheless, the after-shaping unit 3 here is suspended through a plurality of rocker arms 23 to the die 2 in such a way that it is movable in a transverse fashion. Each of the rocker arms 23 are con- nected to the die 2 and the after-shaping unit 3, respectively, by a pair of pivot pins 24 and 25, respectively. When the eccentrics 8 are rotated, the lower part of the rocker arms 23 connected to the after-shaping unit 3 oscillate in a transverse fashion. Consequently the section of the shaping

hole 15 is controlled in such a manner that the product form produced by it practically corresponds to what is shown in Figure 15.

Figures 6 and 7 again illustrate another example for an embodi- ment of an adapter in accordance with the present invention. This is iden- tical with the embodiment examples described so far in that the eccentric 8 of the shaft 5 has been applied in the same way for moving the after- shaping unit 3 in a transverse fashion relative to the die 2. However, the difference here lies in the fact that a plurality of sliding pins 26 have been applied in order to guide the after-shaping unit 3 longitudinally, which can be shifted axially in a plurality of bushes 28 of a number of covers 27 fas- tened to the ends of the die 2. Therefore the after-shaping unit 3 performs a linear alternating forced trajectory movement transversely to the pasta thread direction and thus the section relative to the opening 16 of the shaping hole 15 is controlled, which is shown in more detail in Figures 15 and 16.

Figures 15 and 16 illustrate in a relatively larger scale that the left edge of the shaping hole 15, which latter is circular in the present case, produces a plurality of crescent-like transverse grooves 29 on a part of the left perimeter of the pasta thread 20 emerging from the opening 16 of the die 2. However, when the after-shaping unit 3 is relatively moved to the left in a linear fashion, the right edge of the shaping hole 15 will re- duce the transfer section of the shaping hole 15 and therefore periodical transverse grooves, also in a crescent-like format, will be produced on the right side of the product 22. Thus, due to alternating motion, the trans- verse grooves 29 are made on each side of the product 22, respectively, in an alternating fashion.

It should be noted that in the case of the adapter shown in Figures 6 and 7, even a single electromagnet, a pneumatic cylinder, or any other mechanism producing such motion or any of their combination can be

applied instead of the eccentric 8 in order to move the single common af- ter-shaping unit 3 in a linear alternating fashion.

Figures 8 and 9 illustrate a schematic embodiment of a dough pressure apparatus suitable for producing short pasta and equipped with an adapter in accordance with the present invention. Other details of the pressure apparatus are not detailed since they can be considered as known from the relevant prior art. The adapter in accordance with the pre- sent invention has a cylindrical die 30, which is only provided with a se- ries of product shaping openings 16 as known in itself, which is indicated by thin dot-and dash lines in Figure 8. Immediately below the lower prod- uct outlet planes of openings 16 of the die 30 there is a single common after-shaping unit 31 placed, which, in the present case, is shaped as a circular disc. The after-shaping unit 31 is provided with shaping holes 15 mating with the openings 16 of the die 30 (as described in the designs above); their transfer section is controlled in accordance with the present invention relative to the section of the openings 16 of the die 30, thus pro- ducing additional shapes on the pasta thread.

In the case of the embodiment shown in Figures 8 and 9, this sec- tion control is performed by a relative displacement of the after-shaping unit 31, for which a single central eccentric 32 is applied, fixed onto a central shaft 33 and embedded in a central bore of the after-shaping unit 31 (see Figure 9). The after-shaping unit 31 is horizontally guided by a plurality of pilot pins 34, the lower end of which is fixed into the after- shaping unit 31 in the present case, whereas their upper end can be dis- placed in a transverse fashion in a guide groove 35 formed in the die 30.

Furthermore, Figures 8 and 9 illustrate that there is a cutting device 36 placed under the lower plane of the after-shaping unit 31, which is separately rotated through a hollow shaft 37, a bevel gear pair 38, and a driving shaft 39 (see Figure 9). It can be seen in Figure 9 that the shaft 33 of the eccentric 32 is divided, thus it is connected to a central shaft 40

by way of a releasable joint, which latter is driven by an electric motor with infinitely variable speed gearing (not shown) through a bevel gear pair 41 and a driving shaft 42.

Therefore, the equipment shown in Figures 8 and 9 is suitable for producing any of the products illustrated in Figures 11-18 depending on the way of adjustment, which are cut into pieces of short pasta, e.g. short vermicelli, by the cutting device 36.

The adapter of the design illustrated in Figure 10 is a version of the embodiment illustrated in Figures 8 and 9 where the shape and the ar- rangement of the die 30 and the after-shaping unit 31, respectively, are practically identical. Here the difference lies in the fact that there is a conical slicing element 43 is placed below the after-shaping unit 31 to produce short pasta, to the lower conical surface of which the cutting de- vice 36 is fitted to cut the product. The slicing element 43 is provided with a series of holes 44 freely letting through the pasta threads emerging from the after-shaping unit 31 as known in itself.

For example, Figures 17 and 18 illustrate a further product shape that can be produced using the adapter shown in Figure 6. This adapter differs from the design shown in Figures 15 and 16 in that here the open- ing 16 of the die 2 is shaped in a way that it produces a flat pasta thread 45 ribbed longitudinally on both sides, the transverse section of which is shown in Figure 18. As a result of the alternating motion of the after- shaping unit 3 in a transverse fashion to the pasta thread direction, hori- zontal transverse grooves 46 are made in an alternating fashion on both sides of its external mantle surface by the plain edges of the shaping hole 15 of the after-shaping unit 3, as shown in Figure 18. Thus, long pasta the surface of which is grooved both in a longitudinal and transverse fashion comes out of the equipment as final product.

Figure 19 illustrates a bottom view of a further embodiment of the adapter in accordance with the present invention in a schematic manner,

where each of a plurality of after-shaping units 47 are shaped as curved plates, for example, instead of cylinder-like plates or circular disks. One of the ends of the after-shaping unit 47 is connected to the lower plane of a die 49, for example, through a pivot pin 48, in a way that an internal wing 50 coincides with an edge of an opening 51 of the die 49 in the external normal position of the after-shaping unit 47, as shown in Figure 19. The after-shaping unit 47, however, can be turned around the pin 48 along an arrow 52 into its internal end position, which is indicated by a thin dotted line. This displacement can be performed for example by an electromag- net or a pneumatic cylinder. In the internal end position of the after- shaping unit 47, the transfer section of a shaping hole 54 regulated by the after-shaping unit 47 is reduced to a section indicated by shading as op- posed to the section of the opening 51 of the die 49. This section means that a crescent-like lateral transverse groove 53 is produced on one of the sides of the pasta thread. Considering that the pasta thread emerges continuously from the die 49, these lateral grooves 53 are produced peri- odically on one side of the product if the after-shaping unit 47 is moved between its external and internal end positions. Needless to say, there can be several of these after-shaping units 47 arranged along the perime- ter of the shaping hole 54, making it possible to produce star-like or ring- like transverse grooves 53 on the external mantle of the pasta thread. The profile of the internal wing 50 of the after-shaping unit 47 can also be oval or broke-line, simplifying the production of a wide range of product forms.

Finally, it should be mentioned that the adapter to perform the pro- cedure in accordance with the present invention can be produced in a number of other versions as well besides the examples for embodiments described above. For instance, the transfer section of the shaping holes 15 and 54 of the after-shaping units 3, 31, and 47, respectively, can be periodically reduced by applying an inflatable ring tube (not illustrated), which, in its inflated position, produces a ring groove on the external sur-

face of the pasta thread. In this case, the shaping hole would be sur- rounded by this inflatable and deflatable tube.

A main advantage of the pasta products produced by the procedure in accordance with the present invention is that a significant increase in selection is provided by the possibility of creating nearly any kind of sec- tion form, which satisfies a wider range of demand on the part of custom- ers. Due to the proposed after-shaping, the specific surface of pasta products can be much larger than that of traditional products. Products with a larger specific surface can be dried quicker, and have more favour- able cooking characteristics. Food flavouring materials such as poppy- seed, cottage cheese, spices, etc., adhere better to products with various shapes, by which the tastiness of pastas is considerably increased. An- other advantage of the present invention is that it can be applied in the production of pasta of both solid and hollow section.