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US 4,392,803 AGranted
Stick confection extraction apparatus
AssigneeFMC Corporation
InventorsStephen D. Cross, Elmer F. Frost, Jr., David N. Anderson
Life of this patent
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AssigneeFMC Corporation
InventorsStephen D. Cross, Elmer F. Frost, Jr., David N. Anderson
Estimating the term…
An apparatus for extracting several frozen confections from the mold cups of the mold member of a freezing apparatus and for conveying the frozen confections away from the freezing apparatus while rotating each confection 90.degree. and separating the confections to wider intervals. Such extractor-conveyor includes a plurality of extractor bar assemblies and an endless conveyor for moving the extractor bar assemblies from an extraction station to an ejection station. Each extractor bar assembly includes a plurality of gripper units that are initially arranged at relatively close intervals along the length of the extractor bar assembly that are each aligned with their direction of travel. The gripper units are connected by links and are mounted within a transverse channel so they may be rotated and separated as they are conveyed by a camming rail that is positioned to engage a cam follower roller attached to an end gripper unit.
An apparatus for simultaneously extracting several stick confections from a row of mold cups of an apparatus for producing the stick confections and for transferring the extracted confections to a receiving area, each confection including a body of confection material and a stick projecting upwardly therefrom and from the mold cup in which it is formed, said extracting and transferring apparatus comprising:
An improved apparatus for extracting stick confections from an apparatus for producing stick confections and for transferring the stick confections to further processing apparatus generally including a plurality of extractor bar assemblies, a conveyor for moving the extractor bar assemblies from the extraction area where the stick confections are to be removed from said apparatus for producing stick confections to a receiving area where the stick confections are to be released to said further processing apparatus, each extractor bar assembly including a plurality of gripper units for releasably engaging the sticks of the confections to be extracted, means at said extraction area for lowering an extractor bar assembly to cause the gripper units to engage the sticks of the confections within said apparatus for producing the confections and for thereafter raising the extractor bar assembly to remove the confections from said producing apparatus, and means at said receiving area for engaging said gripper units to cause the confections to be released, wherein the improvement comprises:
A stick confection molding machine comprising a mold conveyor having rows of molds that are generally rectangular in section with the molds in each row having their widest dimension substantially parallel to the path of mold conveyor travel, extractor conveyor means comprising means for extracting the confections row by row from their molds, means for spreading the extracted confections along their respective rows, means for rotating the spread confections through a net angle of about 90.degree. and means for releasing the spread and rotated confections at a wrapping station.
A stick confection machine of the type comprising a mold conveyor having rows of molds that are generally rectangular in section and extractor conveyor means having a reach moving on a path that is above and forms a continuation of a path of the mold conveyor, the improvement wherein the molds in each row have their widest dimension substantially parallel to the path of mold conveyor travel, said extraction conveyor means comprises means for extracting the confections row by row from their molds, means for spreading the extracted confections along their respective rows, means for rotating the spread confections through a net angle of 90.degree. and means for releasing the spread and rotated confections at a wrapping station.
Apparatus for producing molded confections having projecting sticks, said apparatus comprising a mold conveyor mounting rows of mold cups for forming rows of spaced confections, an extractor conveyor having rows of grippers for gripping the confection sticks at an extraction station and extracting the confections from their molds and means for releasing the confection sticks and depositing the confections at a confection receiving station, the improvement wherein the mold cups are oriented with their major dimensions substantially parallel to the path of mold conveyor travel, means for spreading and rotating the grippers for a row of suspended confections relative to the gripper positions at said extracting station and means for depositing the spread and rotated confections at said receiving station.
A confection forming machine comprising a mold conveyor having transversely extending rows of molds, a confection extraction station at a delivery end of said mold conveyor and having substantially the same width as that of the mold conveyor, an extracted confection receiving station spaced from said extraction station and having a width substantially greater than that of said extraction station, means for extracting rows of confections from molds at said extraction station, means for spreading the extracted confections in each row to the width of said receiving station and means for releasing the spread confections at said receiving station.
In a stick confection forming machine comprising a mold conveyor of the type having transversely extending rows of molds for delivering confections to an extraction station, an overhead extractor conveyor having transversely extending extractor bars and stick grippers on said extractor bars for transporting extracted confections from the extraction station to a wrapping station, comprising the improvement wherein said extractor bars and said wrapping station are substantially wider than said rows of molds and said extraction station, means for slidably mounting said stick grippers on said extractor bars, and means for spreading the grippers in each row along their associated extractor bars from a row width substantially equal to the width of said extraction station to a row width substantially equal to the width of said wrapping station.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.