Patent ID: 8226401

Claim:
Gum manufacturing machinery, comprising: a gum loafing machine having an inlet receiving finished gum and a forming die providing an outlet proximate a knife adapted to generate loaves of finished gum; a gum conditioner arranged downstream of the gum loafing machine, the gum conditioner having a conveyor running through an environmental enclosure having a temperature control, the conveyor adapted to convey the loaves of finished gum through the environmental enclosure, wherein the conveyor comprises at least three conveyors in a vertical stacked configuration, including first, second and third conveyors, the second conveyor interposed vertically between the first and third conveyors, the second conveyor being configured to include a first operational mode that moves the second conveyor in a first direction that conveys loaves in a serpentine path over substantially the entire length of the second and third conveyors; and a second operational mode that moves the second conveyor in a second direction opposite the first direction to convey loaves in a cascading path thereby substantially bypassing the length of the second and third conveyors, wherein the second conveyor and the third conveyor are configured and positioned in a manner that allows the second conveyor to deliver loaves to the third conveyor from both ends of the second conveyor.