Patent ID: 7421947

Claim:
A roll-forming apparatus for association with a conveyor for forming a design in a raw dough roll transported by the conveyor, comprising: a stop gate movable into and out of an interfering position in a path of the raw dough roll for temporarily stopping the roll while the roll maintains sliding contact with the conveyor; an imprinter mounted proximate the conveyor and repeatedly movable between a registered position in preparation for imprinting a design on the roll before it leaves the stop gate and an imprinting position for imprinting a design on the roll after it has left the stop gate and is conveyed to the imprinter by the conveyor; first sensor apparatus for sensing the arrival of the raw dough roll at the stop gate; second sensor apparatus for non-contact sensing the positioning of the imprinter in the registered position; the second sensor apparatus activated in response to the sensing of the raw dough roll at the stop gate by the first sensor apparatus; a motor moving the stop gate out the interfering position in synchronism with the imprinter in response to the second sensor apparatus non-contact sensing the positioning of the imprinter in the registered position, whereby the raw dough roll is conveyed to the imprinter by the conveyer and imprinted with a design in the imprinting position of the imprinter.