US 5,095,684 AGranted

On edge cookie loader

AssigneeFood Machinery Sales, Inc.

InventorsWilliam D. Walker, Charles T. Haley, Daniel W. Pruett

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Abstract

Cookies (30) of uniform but irregularly shaped perimeter are received from the cookie oven in a horizontal as-baked attitude onto a first surface conveyor (19). As the cookies are passed to successive surface conveyors 920) and (21) operating at successively decreased velocities, the cookies are raised to an edge standing attitude abutting one another. Laser detecting means (24-26) are positioned above the conveyors (19-21), and measure the height of the edge stacked cookies and adjust this height by varying the speed of the successive conveyors (19, 20 and 21). A counting means (28) at the discharge end of conveyor (21) counts out a predetermined number of cookies to be placed upon the loader (16) for loading into a cookie tray (104), and a pair of separator blades (42, 43) separates these cookies on the loader from the cookies remaining on surface conveyor (21). A cookie tray (104) is positioned under the loader (16) by a cookie tray conveyor (18).

Claims25

Dependent claims

Apparatus for loading cookies from a delivery end of an infeed surface conveyor extending from an oven into a receptacle, with the cookies having an irregularly shaped perimeter and having lengths greater than their widths, said apparatus comprising:

a first surface conveyor for positioning at the delivery end of the infeed conveyor at a level lower than the delivery end of the infeed conveyor,
first speed control means for adjusting the speed of said first surface conveyor in response to the rate at which the cookies are received from the infeed conveyor on the first surface conveyor so that the cookies are received in overlying shingle stacked relationship on said first surface conveyor,
at least one second surface conveyor aligned with said first surface conveyor for receiving the shingle stacked cookies from said first surface conveyor,
second speed control means for adjusting the speed of said second surface conveyor in response to the height of the shingle stacked cookies on said first surface conveyor so that the cookies are tilted toward an upright attitude as the cookies move from said first surface conveyor to said second surface conveyor,
gate means positioned at the delivery end of said second surface conveyor for intermittently closing and halting the movement of the cookies at said gate means and opening and permitting the movement of the cookies through said gate means,
sensing means for detecting the number of cookies moved through said gate means and arranged to intermittently open and close said gate means in response to the number of cookies moved through said gate means,
a tray conveyor positioned adjacent said gate means for carrying cookie trays in series along a path normal to the direction of movement of the cookies moved through said gate means, and
loading means positioned at said gate means, said loading means being responsive to the movement of cookies through said gate means to collect the cookies moved through said gate means and to deposit the cookies in a cookie tray carried by said tray conveyor.

5 more elements

An apparatus for loading cookies, each cookie being of irregular perimeter shape, in a receptacle, comprising:

a surface conveying means having a cookie input end and a cookie delivery end for moving cookies in an edge standing shingle stacked attitude, said conveying means including at least two surface conveyors arranged in succession and operating at successively decreased speeds for raising the cookies from a low shingle-stacked attitude to a higher shingle stacked attitude;
at least two detecting means positioned along said surface conveying means for detecting the height of the cookies as the cookies are raised to a higher edge standing shingle stacked attitude by said conveyors and for controlling the speeds of said surface conveyors;
loading means adjacent the cookie delivery end of said conveying means for loading a predetermined number of cookies into a cookie tray;
a counting means at said cookie loading end of said conveying means for counting a pre-determined number of cookies to be loaded into the tray by said loading means,
means for separating the pre-determined number of cookies from the remaining cookies on said conveying means and maintaining the horizontally stacked alignment of the cookies as they are loaded into the tray by said loading means,
a cookie tray conveyor arranged perpendicular to said conveying means for moving a cookie tray into position under said loading means, and
a tray detecting means adjacent said tray conveyor and adjacent to said cookie delivery end of said surface conveying means for determining the location and position of a cookie tray to ensure proper loading of the cookies into the tray by said loading means.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.