Hardee's Food Systems, Inc.

Robert E Richardson

Philip P Sabin

Ground beef at 28.degree.-31.degree. F. ground to pass through 3/32-1/8 inch grinder outlet openings is spread laterally and sheeted on a moving conveyor belt to a desired patty thickness with minimum pressure and working. The sheet passes under an endless track of transversally extending bars having a pattern of hexagonal cells cooperatively formed in their outer faces. The bars are mounted to chains which are entrained about sprockets that are driven to match the surface speed of the sheet conveyor. Intermediate the longitudinal extent of the lower run of the track of cutter bars, the cutters are gradually cammed down to abutment with the sheet conveyor, and gradually out of the sheet. At the downstream end, the hexagonal patties move over a fluidized bed-type transfer plate onto a take away conveyor, e.g. into a blast freezer, as a narrow selvage at both lateral margins drop away for recycling. As the patties are cooked, they become approximately if not perfectly round, displaying an appearance and texture more like hamburgers from homemade, handformed meat patties.

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Rocky Mount, NC, United States of America

Robert E Richardson