The present disclosure concerns embodiments of an apparatus and method for
producing a filled-dough food product, such as a fruit-filled turnover
(e.g., an apple turnover) or a single-serve pie, on an industrial scale.
In one representative embodiment, the apparatus includes a
filling-apportionment mechanism and a filling-transfer mechanism. The
filling-apportionment mechanism is configured to apportion or separate a
supply of filling pieces (e.g., pieces of fruit, such as apple pieces)
into one or more portions of a predetermined size. The filling-transfer
mechanism includes a vacuum pick-up device that is configured to pick up
one or more portions of filling pieces from the filling-apportionment
mechanism and deposit the portions on a sheet of dough.