Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02286524 1999-10-18
MACSINE FOR MAKING STAFFED PASTAS
This invention relates to a method and
apparatus for making stuffed pastas, such as ravioli,
where the pasta comprises a filling, such as meat or
cheese, between two pieces of dough.
According to the invention there is provided
apparatus for producing stuffed pasta, comprising:
first dough support means for supporting a
first sheet of dough, said first dough
support means comprising a surface and at
least one dough receptacle formed in said
surface;
an expandable or inflatable bladder for
acting on said first sheet of dough for
pressing the sheet of dough into said recess
for creating a pre-formed pocket of dough in
said recess;
filler material injection means for
injecting an amount of filler material into
said pre-formed pocket of dough; and
second dough support means for supporting a
second sheet of dough and for contacting
said second sheet with said first sheet for
covering the pre-formed pocket and filler
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material with said second sheet to form a
stuffed pasta; and
means for separating the stuffed pasta from
said first and second sheets of dough.
A plurality of said dough receptacles may be
provided in the surface of said first dough supporting
means, an expandable bladder being provided for each
of said receptacles.
In one particular embodiment of the
invention said second dough support means also
comprises a surface having at least one dough
receptacle provided in said surface and an associated
expandable or inflatable bladder for pressing said
second sheet of dough into said recess for creating a
pre-formed pocket of dough in said recess, the pre-
formed pocket on said second sheet registering with a
pre-formed pocket on said first sheet when the first
and second sheets are brought into contact with each
other.
Also according to the invention there is
provided a method of producing stuffed pasta
comprising the steps of forming a pocket for receiving
filler material in a first sheet of dough by
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compressing the dough into a recess of a surface
supporting the dough by means of an expandable or
inflatable bladder; injecting filler material into the
pocket; closing the pocket by contacting the first
sheet of dough with a second sheet of dough to form a
stuffed pasta; and separating the stuffed pasta from
the first and second sheets of dough.
The invention will now be described, by way
of an example, with reference to the accompany
drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a three-dimensional view of a
pasta machine according to the invention;
Figure 2 is a part sectional side view of
the machine in Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a fragmentary view showing a
dough stuffing unit of the machine of Figure
1; and
Figure 4 is an exploded view of a feeder
mechanism for controlling the injection of
filler material between the dough layers.
Referring to Figures 1 and 2, reference
numeral 10 generally indicates a stuffed pasta making
machine comprising a hopper 12 containing a filler
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material 14, a first roller 16 supporting a first
sheet of dough 18 rolled up in a roll and a second
roller 20 supporting a second sheet of dough 22, also
rolled up in a roll. Alternatively, the first and
second sheets of dough may be fed to the machine 10
from another machine producing the sheets of dough.
The machine 10 further comprises a dough
stuffing unit 24, a cutting unit 26 and conveyors 28,
29 for receiving the manufactured product and waste
material for recycling.
The stuffing unit 24 is shown in greater
detail in Figure 3. It comprises a pair of opposed
rollers 30 and 32, a feeder mechanism 34 for
controlling the injection of the filler material 14
between the dough sheets 18, 22 and an air chamber 36
provided with a cover 39 housing a number of bladders
38, four in the present example, arranged in a row.
The roller 30 is provided with five
circumferentially spaced rows of recesses 40. In the
present example, there are four of the recesses 40 in
each row, which recesses 40 are spaced along the
length of the roller 30. An associated bladder 38 is
provided for each recess 40.
A number of the rollers 30 may be provided
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which are interchangeable on the machine. The rollers
30 may be provided with different shaped recesses in
order to form different shapes of stuffed pasta. The
recesses 40 on different rollers may be of different
sizes in which case a greater or lesser number of
recesses 40 are provided in a row, depending on their
size. Accordingly a number covers 39 having different
numbers of the bladders 38 may be provided to match
the recesses 40 on the roller 30.
The feeder mechanism 34, as shown in Figure
4, comprises a body member 42 provided with four
bores 44 therein. Each bore 44 is provided with an
inlet 46 and an outlet nozzle 47 at its lower end. A
plunger 48 is received in each bore 44. The plungers
48 are moved in unison under computer control for
injecting the filler material 14, as will be described
below.
As shown in Figure 2, the hopper 12 is
provided with a rotary mixer 50 and a pair of opposed
rotors with lobes 52 for feeding the filler material
14 along a passage 54, connecting the outlet of the
hopper 12 to the inlets 46 on the feeder mechanism 34.
The sheets of dough 18, 22 are fed by means
of two pairs of opposed calendaring or calibrating
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rollers 56 to the rollers 30, 32, respectively. The
rollers 56 reduce the thickness of the sheets 18, 22
to about 6mm (1/" )
The dough sheet 18 passes over the roller
30, as shown in Figure 3. As the roller 30 rotates
and the rows of recesses 40 each in turn reaches the
top centre position which is located beneath the row
of bladders 38. When this position is reached, the
recesses 40 on the roller 30 and the bladders 38 are
in register.
A burst of compressed gas or air is
introduced into the air chamber 36 from a source of
compressed air, not shown. The bladder 38 above each
of the recesses 40 in the row is momentarily inflated
and expands to press the dough layer 18 into the
recesses 40, thereby creating pre-formed pockets of
dough for receiving the filler material 14. For
decorative purposes the recesses 40 may be embossed
with desired patterns which are then impressed onto
the dough when the dough is pressed into the recess 40
by the bladder 38.
As the roller 30 rotates further, the pre-
formed dough pockets reach a position adjacent the
outlet nozzles 47, at which time the plungers 48 are
activated to move downwards in the bores 44 in order
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to inject a charge of filler material 14, flowing
though the passage 54, into the pre-formed pockets.
The filler material 14 is of a paste-like consistency
so that it does not run from the nozzles 47 without
being forced by the plungers 48.
As the roller 30 rotates further, the dough
sheet 18 meets the dough sheet 22 moving around the
roller 22, which results in sealing of the pockets of
filler material 14 between the dough sheets 18, 22.
As the roller 32 is rotated in an anti-
clockwise direction the dough sheet 22 is pressed
against the sheet 18 in an upward direction, which can
result in a wave effect in the dough producing an
undesirable seal, overflow of filler material or
otherwise undesirable product. In order to counteract
the effect of this wave effect, a shallow cut-out is
formed in the surface of the roller 30 around the
upper peripheries of the recesses 40 which cut-out
connects adjacent recesses 40 to each other. It has
been formed that this tends to compensate for the wave
effect by releasing pressure in a sideways direction.
For example, the cut-out may be of the order or 5 to
6mm (1/") deep and 5 to 6mm (1/") wide around the outer
sides of the recesses 40.
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The combined dough sheets 18, 22 are finally
passed through a conventional cutting unit 26 for
cutting the dough filled pockets out of the dough
sheets 18, 22 to produce discrete stuffed pastas, e.g.
ravioli 60, which are received on the conveyor 28.
The left over dough is received on the conveyor 29 for
recycling.
