Abstract: A flow divider for use with fluent materials, such as raw sausage. The flow divider is a combination of at least two housing bodies with chambers defined by elliptical cylindrical sidewalls. Hubs with transverse vanes have necked-down regions at one end that are rotatably mounted in a similarly-sized aperture in an endwall of each housing body. The vanes' tips follow the elliptical cylindrical sidewalls in the manner of a vane pump. Sausage is conveyed from a conventional pump into the inlet of the flow divider, and flows through passages into inlet cavities, one inlet cavity per chamber, through the sub-chambers formed by the space between the vanes, and outlet cavities, one outlet cavity per chamber. The amount of sausage that flows through each chamber is equal due to the driving linkage between the hubs of each housing body.

Abstract: A pumping and slicing apparatus and method with a pump that pumps fluent food product material through a flow divider and into multiple tubes that restrict the flow of material to remove voids. The food product is extruded through an orifice and sliced, such as in a pendulum-slicing machine. The flow restrictions are formed by the orifices being flow-restrictive, by tapering the tubing from the pump to the orifice, or by interposing bodies, such as a plurality of pins, in the tubing to displace the food product. The flow restrictions remove unwanted voids in the food product, resulting in consistent food slices.

Abstract: A flow divider for use with fluent materials, such as raw sausage. The flow divider is a combination of at least two housing bodies with chambers defined by elliptical cylindrical sidewalls. Hubs with transverse vanes have necked-down regions at one end that are rotatably mounted in a similarly-sized aperture in an endwall of each housing body. The vanes' tips follow the elliptical cylindrical sidewalls in the manner of a vane pump. Sausage is conveyed from a conventional pump into the inlet of the flow divider, and flows through passages into inlet cavities, one inlet cavity per chamber, through the sub-chambers formed by the space between the vanes, and outlet cavities, one outlet cavity per chamber. The amount of sausage that flows through each chamber is equal due to the driving linkage between the hubs of each housing body.

Abstract: A machine for applying sauce to a pizza crust rapidly and accurately. The crust is placed on a turntable, is centered by stationary platforms having terraced surfaces, and the turntable raises the crust to beneath a plurality of nozzles. The nozzles are mounted to cylinder blocks in which cylindrical cavities are formed. Pistons are slidably mounted in the cavities, and are drivingly linked to a linear prime mover to be displaced upwardly and downwardly to pump sauce into and out of the cavities. Check valves control the flow of sauce from the source of sauce to the crust through the nozzles. The pistons are selectively linked to the linear prime mover for reducing the area onto which the sauce is dispensed, for accommodating smaller and larger pizza crusts.