referring more particularly to the drawings wherein the showings are for the purpose of illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention only , and not for the purpose of limiting same , fig1 shows the overall arrangement of a manifold - type dispensing head assembly 10 mounted to extend over a conveyor 12 and deposit predetermined quantities of cake batter or similar fluent material into pans 14 moved into position under the head . the conveyor 12 forms no part of the invention but is illustrated merely for the purpose of showing a typical environment for head assembly 10 . broadly , the conveyor 12 comprises a frame 16 mounted on casters 18 . a pair of spaced , horizontally - extending conveyor chains 20 are carried at the upper end of frame 16 . chains 20 are trained about sets of sprockets 22 , 24 located at opposite ends of the frame . each chain includes suitable pan - engaging fingers 26 for providing positive movement of the pans . chain drive means 28 are carried at the left end of frame 16 for imparting the desired movement to the chains 20 . in general , the drive means 28 include an electric motor and gear - reducer unit 30 connected through a roller chain 32 with the input shaft of a conventional drive unit 34 . the output shaft of the drive unit 34 is drivingly connected with shaft 23 which carries sprockets 24 by a chain 36 . the above - described arrangement causes pans 14 to be moved serially beneath the dispensing head assembly 10 where predetermined quantities of batter are dispensed into the pans . the head assembly 10 is capable of simultaneously making a row of deposits so as to uniformly distribute the batter across the pan or to fill the individual openings of a cupcake pan or the like . additionally , the head assembly 10 is arranged for rapid changeover so the number of deposits or deposit spacings can be varied . although the head assembly 10 could have a variety of constructions , it is preferably formed as shown in fig2 - 4 . in general , it is illustrated as comprising a main , elongated manifold body 38 formed from any suitable material such as aluminum . a generally cylindrical chamber 40 extends longitudinal through body 38 . batter is supplied to the left end of chamber 40 ( fig2 ) through an elbow 42 . the elbow 42 is carried by an end plate 44 which is releasably connected to main body 38 in any suitable manner such as by machine screws 46 . batter is also supplied to the right end of chamber 40 through an elbow 48 carried by an end plate 50 . end plate 50 closes the end of body 38 and is releasably connected thereto by machine screws 52 . typically , the inlet ends of elbows 44 and 50 are connected through releasable connections with a batter source or conventional pump supply 54 illustrated diagrammatically in fig2 and 2a . the chamber 40 is communicated with the lower side of body member 38 by a plurality of longitudinally - spaced outlet passages 56 . preferably , the passages 56 are spaced comparatively close and uniformly throughout the length of chamber 40 . extending inwardly throughout the lower surface 39 of body 38 and longitudinally aligned with the outlet passages 56 is a generally rectangular recess 58 . closely but slidably received within recess 58 is an elongated slide valve member 60 . valve member 60 can be formed from a variety of materials but is illustrated as plastic , preferably a high - density polyethylene . extending transversely through member 60 are a plurality of valve orifices 62 . the orifices 62 correspond in size and spacing to the outlet passages 56 in body 38 . the valve member 60 is retained in recess 58 by a bottom plate 64 which is connected to body 38 by a plurality of machine screws 66 ( see fig2 and 2a ). orifices 68 are formed through plate 64 in general alignment with passages 56 . as can be appreciated , with slide valve member 60 in the solid - line position shown in fig2 a , batter can flow freely from chamber 40 and out orifices 68 . however , when moved to the dotted - line position , flow is blocked through passages 56 . many different means , either power or manual , could be provided for shifting valve member 60 between the open and closed positions . in the subject embodiment , however , the means comprise a small air cylinder 70 mounted on the right end plate 50 . the outer end of the piston rod 72 of cylinder 70 extends freely through end plate 50 and is threadedly or otherwise releasably connected to the end of valve member 60 . consequently , by controlling the flow of air to cylinder 70 , the valve member 60 can be selectively moved between open and closed positions . of particular importance to the subject invention is the arrangement whereby a dispensing outlet subassembly 72 is releasably connected to the main body 38 . the subassembly 72 includes its own independent valve means and allows for rapid changeover of the apparent for a variety of dispensing patterns or dispensing outlet spacings . while the subassembly 72 could take a variety of different forms within the scope of the invention , the structure illustrated has been found to be particularly advantageous . specifically , in the embodiment shown , the subassembly 72 comprises a secondary manifold body 74 formed from aluminum or other suitable material . body 72 has a generally rectangular cross - section and extends the length of main body 38 . a manifold chamber 76 is formed longitudinally of the upper surface by a slot or recess 78 . chamber 76 is located such that when subassembly 72 is in the operating position shown in fig3 it receives the flow coming from orifices 68 . extending from chamber 76 are dispensing orifices 80 . orifices 80 are spaced and located to correspond to the dispensing pattern desired . flow through the orifices 80 is controlled by an elongated rotary valve member 82 comprising a cylindrical rod 82a carried in an opening 84 which extends longitudinally of the body 74 and aligned with orifices 80 . member 82 is provided with diametrically - extending valve openings 83 spaced to correspond to orifices 80 . as is apparent from the foregoing description , oscillation of the valve member 82 between the solid - line and dotted - line positions ( see fig3 ) controls flow through the dispensing orifices 80 . generally , because the batter is supplied to the small , secondary manifold chamber 76 from the larger chamber 40 by a multiplicity of uniformly - spaced small passages 56 , the pressure within chamber 76 will be comparatively uniform . this will normally assure relatively uniform flow per given time period through the dispensing orifices 80 . however , depending upon the spacing of orifices 80 , the type of batter and similar factors , it may be necessary to balance the flow through the orifices . in order to permit fine balancing , each outlet orifice 80 is provided with a balancing valve 98 . in the embodiment illustrated , each balancing valve comprises a pin member 100 extending through the side of body 74 and intersecting a respective outlet orifice 80 . an o - ring 102 is received about the outer surface of the unthreaded inner end of each pin member to provide a fluid seal . as is apparent , by adjusting the position of the pin members their inner ends can vary the effective flow area through the respective orifices 80 . consequently , extremely fine balancing can be achieved . many different types of operators could be provided for oscillating valve member 82 between its open and closed positions . in the subject embodiment , the means comprise an air cylinder 104 carried from a bracket extending outwardly from the end of body 38 . the outer end of piston rod 106 is releasably connected to valve member 82 . referring more particularly to fig1 and 2a , it will be noted that the air cylinder 104 has its cylinder end pivotally supported from a bracket 162 suitably connected to body 38 by bolts 164 . a pin 166 extends from the end of bracket 162 and through a lug 168 on cylinder 104 . an end plate 170 releasably connected to bracket 162 retains lug 168 on pin 166 . the rod end of cylinder 104 includes a clevis 172 which receives a short operating rod 174 . a pivotal connection between clevis 172 and arm 174 is provided by a pin 176 connected to a plate 178 and passing through openings in the clevis 172 and arm 174 . an operating shaft 180 is also connected to plate 178 and passes freely through clevis 172 . as shown , the pin 176 is normally maintained in the solid - line connecting position of fig1 by a spring 182 . however , it can be manually moved to the dotted - line position to release the arm 174 by pushing on operating rod 174 . the particular means used for controlling air supply to cylinder 104 are not important to the invention ; however , as diagrammatically shown in fig1 the means preferably comprise an air supply valve 106 actuated through an adjustable timer 108 from a pan sensing switch 110 . switch 110 is positioned to be engaged whenever a pan is in location beneath the head assembly . the use of the timer 108 permits the open period of valve member 82 , and consequently the quantity dispensed , to be adjusted . the compact and relatively small size of the subassembly 72 makes it possible to change the subassemblies quickly to thereby change the dispensing outlet pattern . in order to facilitate the changeover operation , the subject apparatus includes quick - release clamping means for connecting the subassemblies to the main manifold body . although many types of suitable clamping means could be provided , the subject invention uses a plurality of air - actuated clamps 112 . the clamps 112 are located in rows extending longitudinally of the main body on opposite sides of the vertical center line . in the embodiment shown , each of the clamps 112 are identical . accordingly , only one will be described ; and the description thereof is to be taken as equally applicable to the others . specifically , each clamp 112 comprises a piston 114 mounted for vertical reciprocation in a bore or cylinder 116 formed inwardly from the bottom of body 38 ( see fig2 a and 3 ). an o - ring 118 is carried about each piston 114 . this divides each cylinder 116 into upper and lower sealed chambers 120 and 122 , respectively . extending downwardly from each piston 114 are piston rods 124 . suitable guide sleeve members 126 seal the lower end of each bore 116 and guide the associated piston rods 124 . in the embodiment shown , the sleeve members 126 have a smaller diameter lower end portion which extends through bottom plate 64 and is clamped thereto by a nut 128 . a clamp element 130 is carried at the lower end of each piston rod 126 for engagement with grooves 132 which extend longitudinally of body 74 . elements 130 are illustrated as circular , metal discs threaded to the rods 126 . with pistons 114 in the upper or clamp position shown in fig3 the subassembly 72 is clamped in sealed , operational relationship with main body 38 . however , when the pistons are permitted to move to their lower position shown in fig4 the subassembly 72 is unclamped from the body 38 . thereafter , it can be slid longitudinally out of the assembly . a different subassembly can then be moved into position if desired , and the clamps 112 re - actuated . to effect the clamping operation , air under pressure is supplied to each chamber 122 through openings 134 formed laterally into the lower end of each bore 116 . similar openings 136 extend into the upper end of each bore 116 to connect each upper chamber 120 with the atmosphere . in the subject embodiment , conduit - forming plates 138 are connected to each side of main body 38 by machine screws 142 . as seen in fig2 a and 3 , the plates 138 extend the length of the main body and have spaced grooves 140 and 142 formed in their inner faces to respectively connect all openings 134 and 136 in common . as shown diagrammatically , a source of pressurized air 144 is connected to groove 140 through a line 146 having a manually - operable valve 148 ( see fig2 ). each of the grooves 142 are connected to atmosphere through suitable openings 150 . the invention has been described with reference to depositing operation only ; however , by providing needle - type discharge members on the outlet end of orifices 80 , the assembly can be used for injecting operations of the type described in our prior u . s . pat . no . 3 , 760 , 989 . the invention has been described in great detail sufficient to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the same . modifications and alterations of the preferred embodiments will occur to others upon reading and understanding of the subject specification . it is our intention to include all such modifications and alterations as part of our invention insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims .
the specification and drawings disclose a manifold - type dispensing head assembly . the head assembly disclosed comprises an elongated main body adapted to be mounted horizontally and defining a longitudinally - extending main manifold chamber . a plurality of spaced discharge passages extend vertically downwardly from the main manifold chamber . flow through the discharge passages is controlled by a first longitudinally - extending slide valve mounted in the lower surface of the main body . a dispensing outlet subassembly is releasably connected to the main body beneath the discharge passages . the subassembly includes a recess which extends longitudinally and defines a small secondary manifold chamber which receives flow from the discharge passages . outlet or dispensing orifices extend downwardly from the secondary chamber at locations corresponding to the desired pattern of discharge . a second valve is carried in the subassembly . the second valve controls the final discharge from the dispensing orifices .