A rotary molding system configured to mold food products includes a fill plate through which food product is configured to pass, a cylindrical rotatable drum having mold cavities into which the food product is configured to be deposited, and a platen mounted within the drum. The platen has a plurality of passageways configured to be in communication with the mold cavities. Drum roller supports and rollers are provided on the platen. The extends partially outwardly from the platen and are in contact with the drum.

A paper interleaver that is separate from the food patty molding machine for inserting a sheet of paper underneath a meat patty.

A patty forming machine is configured to mold food products. The machine includes a stripper plate through which food product is configured to pass when the stripper plate is in a fill position, a sensor configured to determine positions of the stripper plate, a movable mold, and a sensor configured to determine positions of the mold. A processor is operatively coupled with the sensors. The processor is configured to receive information from the sensors and to determine when the stripper plate is to be moved from the non-fill position to the fill position relative to a determined position of the mold.

A food forming device includes a mold plate and pushers. The mold plate includes n first forming holes and n second forming holes provided alternately in a circumferential direction of the mold plate, n being an integer of two or more. The mold plate intermittently rotates to a first rotation position and to a second rotation position. In the first rotation position, the first forming holes are respectively connected with the discharge holes while lower openings of the second forming holes are obstructed by the bottom plate. In the second rotation position, the second forming holes are respectively connected with the discharge holes while lower openings of the first forming holes are obstructed by the bottom plate. The pushers push out the foodstuffs from the first forming holes or the second forming holes to discharge the foodstuffs as formed food products every time the mold plate intermittently rotates.

An apparatus for formation of products comprising an edible material and an interleaver, the apparatus including a drum with mold cavities, each with a bottom and a sidewall, in which the edible material is formed. The apparatus including an interleaver storage having one or more interleavers, and a transportation means configured to transport the one or more interleavers from the interleaver storage to a circumference of the drum where the edible material is placed on the interleaver. The bottom and/or the sidewall is made from a porous material and pressurized gas is forced through the porous material to eject the edible material from the mold cavities. After ejection, the products are stacked such that one interleaver is between two edible materials.

The food product machine with a food supply, a rotary food pump connected to the food supply, a molding mechanism having a mold plate and a knockout drive, and a mold plate reciprocating between a fill and a discharge position. The knockout drive reciprocates a knockout plunger to discharge molded food products from the mold plate, the mold plate being reciprocated between a cavity fill position and a cavity discharge position. The machine includes a manifold connected an outlet of the food pump and having an outlet passageway connected to an inlet of the molding mechanism for filling the cavity of the mold plate. The machine can further include a fill plunger system for increasing the fill pressure of the food mass prior to filling the mold cavities. Plungers extend into the manifold to displace food mass volume and increase the pressure in the manifold.

A fill plate for a food patty molding machine according to some embodiments of the disclosure includes a plate having a plurality of spaced apart passageways extending therethrough. The plate has a center cylindrical passageway and a plurality of passageways surrounding the center passageway. Each surrounding passageway has an inlet section and an outlet section which angled relative to the inlet section. Sets of passageways have differing angles at which the outlet sections are angled relative to the inlet sections.

The production of three-dimensional products from a mass of pumpable fibrous foodstuff material includes feeding the mass into a chamber via an inlet. A perforated plate is stationary arranged at an outlet side and has a multitude of perforations therein between an inlet face and an opposed outlet face. A flow channels assembly include multiple flow channels. Each flow channel receives therein strands of fibrous foodstuff material emerging at an outlet face from a subset of the multitude of perforations. The strands merge into a coherent bundle, in which the strands are arranged against one another in a generally parallel orientation. A production device is arranged at the discharge mouths of the flow channels assembly, which production device is configured and operated to produce three-dimensional products, each product out of a portion of a bundle that is discharged from one of the discharge mouths.

A method of operating a device for preparing a formed food product includes receiving at a controller an input indicating one or more parameters of the formed food product, molding a portion of a food composition into a shape corresponding to the desired form in response to receiving the input, and separating the molded food composition from a non-molded portion of the food composition in response to receiving the input to create the formed food product having a desired thickness.

A rotary molding system for molding food products, mold cavities formed when a mold shell rotates mold shapes disposed along the mold shell into a fill position between a fill plate and a wear plate. Molded food products are removed from mold cavities using knock-out cups, the use of air pressure, or the use of a vacuum source disposed below the mold cavity, without the need to slow the rotation of the mold shell. Knock-out cups may be used with a heating system to reduce accumulation of unwanted materials on the knock-out cups. The rotary molding system can also be used to form products with contoured surfaces. A smart tagging system can be used to ensure that compatible sets of mold shells and knock out cups are being used. A vacuum region may be disposed upstream of the fill position to remove air within the mold cavity prior to filling.