Patent ID: 7344742

Claim:
A process of manufacturing of lollipops comprising holding lollipop sticks ( 3 ) with their longitudinal axes substantially horizontal in a hopper ( 4 ), transferring the lollipop sticks ( 3 ) from a substantially horizontal condition in a hopper ( 4 ) to a substantially vertical condition in a stick retainer ( 7 ) prior to placement in sugar confectionery, by ejecting the sticks from the hopper in a substantially horizontal direction and feeding the ejected sticks through a conduit downwardly into a stick retainer ( 7 ) prior to placement in the sugar confectionery, and the sticks are pushed along the conduit in an end to end train of sticks by a push rod ( 3 ), the conduit conducting the sticks from the hopper to the stick retainer whilst simultaneously changing the orientation of the sticks to that of a downward direction.