Machine for making rissoles

Abstract

A machine for forming rissoles (2) has a hopper (3) for a food (4); a dispensing element (5) of at least a portion (6) of said food (4) taken from the hopper (3); a forming element (10) of each portion (6) having a shaped element (11) and a facing contrast element (12). The shaped element (11) includes a motor roller (13) provided with a pair of circumferential grooves (14) and the contrast element (12) includes a fixed guide (15) provided with two grooves (16) facing the recesses (14). Each recess (14) and each groove (16) form a channel (21) and internally have respectively a series of reliefs or notches (22) and a series of protrusions or cavities (23). The reliefs or notches (22) and the protrusions or cavities (23) interact with each portion (6) to help rototranslational movement thereof within the channel (21) to form a spherical shaped rissole (2).

Claims

1) Machine (1) for making rissoles comprising at least: a hopper (3) for food (4); a dispensing element (5) for dispensing a portion (6) of the food (4) taken from the hopper (3); a forming element (10) for forming the dispensed portion (6) comprising a shaped element (11) and a facing contrast element (12); the shaped element (11) comprising a motor roller (13) provided with a circumferential recess (14); the contrast element (12) comprising a fixed guide (15) provided with a groove (16) facing the circumferential recess (14), together defining a channel (21) into which the portion (6) passes; wherein the circumferential recess (14) includes reliefs or notches (22) in its interior and the groove (16) includes protrusions or cavities (23), the reliefs or notches (22) and the protrusions or cavities (23) for interacting with the portion (6) to facilitate a rototranslation movement of the portion (6) within the channel (21) so as to form the portion (6) into a spherically shaped rissole (2).

2) The machine according to claim 1, wherein the reliefs or notches (22) and the protrusions or cavities (23) are arranged obliquely or perpendicularly to an axis of the channel (21).

3) The machine according to claim 1, wherein the motor roller (13) has two circumferential recesses (14) on an outer surface of the motor roller (13) and the fixed guide (15) has two grooves (16) each facing a corresponding recess (14) of the motor roller (13).

4) The machine according to claim 1, wherein the shaped element (11) is cylindrical and has an external diameter between 75 mm and 200 mm.

5) The machine according to claim 1, wherein the contrast element (12) consists of at least one curved fixed guide (15) with an angular extent about a center of the motor roller that ranges between 50° and 160°.

6) The machine according to claim 1, wherein the forming element (10) is placed immediately below the dispensing element (5), allowing the portion (6) to fall by gravity from the dispensing element (5) within the forming element (10), at a distance of less than 100 mm, thereby determining a certain compactness of the machine (1).

7) The machine according to claim 1, wherein the dispensing element (5) comprises: a rotating head (9) located below an outlet of the hopper (3) and having a bore (24) for extrusion of the food (4) from the hopper (3); and a separating element (17) for detaching the food (4) extruded from the hopper (3) into the portion (6).

8) The machine according to claim 1, wherein the forming element (10) is partially surrounded by a second protection (20) for avoiding interference of machine (1) operators with the forming element (10) or with the spherically shaped rissole (2).

9) The machine according to claim 1, wherein an evacuation element (7) is placed under the forming element (10) to evacuate the spherically shaped rissole (2).

10) Th machine according to claim 9 wherein at least on a conveyor portion (18) of the evacuation element (7) a first protection structure (19) is arranged to avoid an accidental falling of the spherically shaped rissole (2) from the conveyor portion (18) or to avoid contact of the spherically shaped rissole (2) with an operator of the machine (1), or to avoid both.

11) The machine according to claim 1, wherein the shaped element (11) is cylindrical and has an external diameter of 147 mm.

12) The machine according to claim 1, wherein the contrast element (12) consists of at least one curved fixed guide (15) with an angular extent about a center of the motor roller of 120°.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] The characteristics of the invention are highlighted below with particular reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0019] FIG. 1 shows a schematic axonometric view of the preferred embodiment of the machine for making rissoles according to one or more of the objects of the present invention;

[0020] FIG. 2 shows an enlarged schematic axonometric view of a portion of the machine highlighted in FIG. 1, in which some parts are removed for better highlighting the others.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT

[0021] With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, numeral 1 indicates the machine for making rissoles 2 object of the present invention. The machine 1 essentially comprises a frame 8 which supports a hopper 3 destined to contain a food 4 of the meat, fish, vegetables and biscuit type or mixtures of these food types either cut into pieces, or ground, or kneaded.

[0022] Below the hopper 3 there is a dispensing element 5 of portions 6 of the food 4 that is extracted from the hopper 3 itself This dispensing element 5 is, for example, constituted by a rotating head 9 provided with niches, known and not shown, within each of which the food 4 is pressed when it comes out of the hopper 3 and which determines the formation of the relative food 4 portion 6.

[0023] In the preferred embodiment of the machine 1, the rotating head 9 is arranged below the outlet mouth of the hopper 3 and has a pair of bores 24 for extruding the food 4 from the hopper 3.

[0024] A separating element 17, of the wire-like arch type better shown in FIG. 2, is intended to detach from the dispensing element 5 the extruded food 4 through the bores 24 in the portions 6.

[0025] Under the dispensing element 5, a forming element 10 is positioned within which each portion 6 passes to be shaped like a rissole 2, preferably of an almost perfect spherical shape with any type of food 4, being it soft, hard, friable, sticky or kneaded.

[0026] The forming element or member 10 is partially surrounded by a second protection structure 20 acting as a box-shaped casing, open at the top, and it 20 is intended to avoid the interference of the machine 1 operators with the forming element 10 and/or with the rissoles 2.

[0027] The forming element 10 comprises a shaped element 11, consisting of a motor roller 13 provided with a pair of circumferential recesses 14, and a contrast element 12 facing the shaped element 11 and consisting of a fixed guide 15 provided with a pair of grooves 16 each of which faces the relative recess 14.

[0028] The shaped element 11 is cylindrical and has an external diameter that ranges between 75 mm and 200 mm, preferably is 147 mm.

[0029] The fixed guide 15 is curved with a central angle that ranges between 50° and 160°, preferably is 120°.

[0030] Each recess 14 with a semicircular section and each groove 16 with a semicircular section together define a channel 21 in which each portion 6 of food 4 passes to form the spherical rissole 2.

[0031] The recess 14 is internally provided with a plurality of reliefs or notches 22 (drawn in FIG. 2), in a variable number between 4 and 18, preferably 12 in the preferred embodiment, which are arranged obliquely or perpendicularly to the axis of the channel 21. The oblique, or in any case transversal, arrangement is preferred in order to create guides to facilitate the rotation of each portion 6 as it turns into a round rissole 2.

[0032] Likewise, the groove 16 is provided internally with a plurality of protrusions or cavities 23 (see FIG. 2) in a variable number between 2 and 8, preferably 4 in the preferred embodiment of the machine 1, which are arranged obliquely or perpendicularly to the axis of the channel 21. The oblique, or otherwise, transversal arrangement is preferred in order to create a lane or guide which, in cooperation and accordingly with the guide of recess 14, easily causes the roto-translation of each portion 6 while conforming into the relative spherical rissole 2.

[0033] Alternative embodiments of the machine 1 include the carrying out of the unique reliefs or notches 22 in the recess 14 without the protrusions or cavities 23 in the groove 16 and vice versa.

[0034] The operation of the machine 1, once loaded the hopper 3 with the desired food 4, provides the activation of the rotating head 9 and of the motor roller 13, so the food 4 is ejected from the hopper 3 through the pair of bores 24 and its detachment into two portions 6 by means of the separating element 17.

[0035] Each portion 6 then falls into the respective and corresponding channel 21, thus passing between the recess 14 and the relative facing groove 16. The rotation of the motor roller 13 causes the rototranslation of the portion 6 of food 4 so as to modify its shape from an almost cylindrical or diskette-like one to a nearly spherical one. The portion 6 of food 4 falls from the dispensing element 5 directly into the forming element 10 even with the cooperation of suitable known and not shown bulkheads.

[0036] Therefore, the forming element 10, located immediately below the dispensing element 5, allows each portion 6 to fall by gravity from the dispensing element 5 into the forming element 10, at a distance of less than 100 mm, determining the advantageous and enormous compactness of the machine 1.

[0037] The almost perfectly spherical shape of the rissole 2 is obtained by virtue of the reliefs or notches 22 and of the projections or cavities 23 which, cooperating, determine a “screw or spiral guide” within each channel 21 so that the portion 6 is forced to rotate as it moves due to the dragging motion of the portion 6 caused by the rotation of the motor roller 13.

[0038] At the exit from the forming element 10, each rissole 2 is transported by an evacuation element 7, located below the forming element itself, towards a known and not illustrated packaging station.

[0039] On the conveyor portion 18 of the evacuation element 7 there is a first protection structure 19, made as an elongated tunnel, intended to avoid the accidental falling of the rissoles 2 from the conveyor portion 18 or avoiding the contact with the operators of the machine 1.

[0040] Advantageously it should be pointed out that the reliefs or notches 22 and the protrusions or cavities 23 prevent the portions 6 or the meatballs 2 from releasing part of the food 4 of which they are composed within the channel 21, thus avoiding malfunctions or unwanted machine stops.