Patent GB-323299-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to confectionery conveying machines
IPC: A23G7/00
Filed: 1928-10-27
Abstract: 323,299. Greer, J. W., and Greer, F. W. Oct. 27, 1928. Carriers and receptables, attaching to chains.-A machine for conveying confectionery and particularly for conveying freshly coated confections through a cooling chamber, comprises a series of moving trays', means for removing the plaques in succession from the trays, and for loading them while they are away from the trays, and means for advancing the loaded plaques over a supporting surface towards the trays and for placing them upon the trays. As shown the trays 10, Fig. 9, are carried by trunnions 15 on chains 13 and have lugs 16 which run on guides 17 and prevent the trays from tipping. The chains are trained .in zig-zag fashion in a cooling chamber, and arcuate guide brackets engage the lugs and prevent the trays from tipping as they pass around the sprockets. The coated confections are passed from the coating-conveyer 33 to plaques on a table 32, the plaques being supplied to the table and moved over it towards the trays 10 as described below. The plaques are placed upon the travs 10 and are carried thereon through the cooler. On leaving the cooler, the trays pass down the substantially vertical flight 21 and are prevented from tipping by guides 22. At the bottom of the flight 21, the plaques are stripped from the trays, the confections at the same time are passed to a packing conveyer 105, and the plaques are returned to the table 32 bv a conveyer 48. Each plaque has a bar 37 about which the forward end of the plaque is looped and secured. The ends of the bars 37 are reduced to engage inclined notches 42 in the blocks 38 carried by the trays. In operation, the confections are arranged, in known manner, in spaced batches on the coating conveyer 33. The plaque bars are moved by fingers 51 on the conveyer 48 towards the table 32 and are received by notches 53 in brackets 52 from which they are removed by oscillating arms 54. The fingers 61 on a conveyer 62 engage the bars 37 when they are raised above the table 32 and move them over the table. The plaques, whilst being drawn around the knife edge 65, receive the confections. The edge 65 is withdrawn temporarily from the conveyer 33 to allow the bars 37 to pass, by a swinging spring-returned lever 69, the table 32 being slidably mounted on a table 66 having one end pivoted at 67 and the other end resting on the trays 10 at the loading position where the trays are moving in the same direction but slighty faster than the loaded plaques. Fig. 11 shows a plaque about to be loaded on to a tray 10, the plaque bar 37 being delayed and forced into the recesses 42 by fixed stops 45. Spring-pressed balls 47 prevent the bars from being dislodged accidentally from the recesses. The loaded trays pass through the cooler and, at the bottom of the flight 21, fixed stops 92 engage the bars 37 and disengage them from the notches 42. When the tray has moved horizontally sufficiently to disengage the bars 37 from the blocks 38, swinging arms 95 engage the bars and drag them through slots 94 to be received by the fingers 51 on the conveyer 48 which returns them to the same arms 54 and the table 32. The plaque is drawn over a knife edge 110'which is slidable to permit the passage of the bars 37 by a spring-returned pivoted lever 112. The mechanism is driven from the coating machine through the shaft 119 which is coupled to the conveyers 13, 48, 62 and also to a chain 85 which carries tappets 88, 89 on the sides of its links. The tappets engage levers 73, 79, 80, 101, 102, 116 which are connected by rods to the swinging arms 54, 95 and the swinging levers 69, 112 to effect the transference of the plaques from the conveyer 48 to the table and from the trays 10 back to the conveyer 48, and also to effect the sliding of the knife edges 65, 110.