GB852040A - Apparatus and method for applying paste to a comestible wafer - Google Patents

Abstract

852,040. Applying comestible paste &c., to wafers &c. MONACO, G. C. July 23, 1959, No. 25345/59. Class 87(2). Plastic comestible material 84, e.g. sugar, cream, jam, butter &c. is applied to an object 32, e.g. a wafer, in apparatus which comprises (i) a conveyer chain 20 from which pushers 22 project to advance the wafer at a fixed speed along a fixed path (ii) a circular extrusion member 58 rotatably mounted on a horizontal axis and having passageways 64 leading from its hollow interior to angularly spaced points on its periphery (iii) a feed screw 48 for forcing the comestible material under pressure from the interior of the member 58 so as to deposit a layer on the moving object 32 beneath, the comestible, after being cut away from the end of each passage, continuing to be extruded as the member 58 turns through 360 degrees when it is again cut away. The driving sprocket 16 of the conveyer chain is driven by a motor 19 through a chain 19a of which the upper and lower runs engage sprockets 19b, 19c which may be shifted to adjust the slack in one or other of the runs to alter the angular position of the sprocket 16 and so adjust the relative position of the pushers 22 and passageways 64 to ensure synchronisation. The wafers drop one by one from a shoot 30 and rest by their edges on ledges 38, 40 projecting from walls 24, 26 ; the pushers 22 being of angle section to centre the wafers between the walls as they push them along. After the layer of comestible has been laid on a wafer, another wafer may be deposited, to make a sandwich, from a shoot 122, the ledges 38, 40 inclining downwards to allow for the thickness. The filling may be gently squeezed between the wafers by pushing them beneath a weight bar 136 which is kept horizontal by rods 140 which project upwards from it through guides 142. The sandwiches are then stacked at the station 144 by known mechanism, e.g. as disclosed in U.S.A. Specification 2,358,413. The comestible material is contained in a hopper 44 from which it is forced by the feed screw 48 through a horizontal conduit 56 which also serves as the journal on which the member 58 rotates, driven by a motor 116 through a chain 110. The cutting mechanism 86, Fig. 3, comprises a wire 88 stretched between parallel arms 94, 96 projecting from a shaft 90, the wire being tautened by a nut 102. A counterweight 106 biases the wire against the bottom of the member 58 so that the extruded material 84 is cut away while it passes the wire, forming the layer 108. A feeler 152 of a microswitch 154 may be disposed beneath the weight 106 so that, if the wire breaks, the weight drops on the feeler and the microswitch operates to stop the motors 19, 116 and the motor which drives the feed screw 48. A circumferential relief passage 85 connects the passageways 64 with the opening 60 of the conduit 56 to prevent undue strain when they are disaligned. The desired peripheral shape of the layer 108 may be determined by an insert plate 65 at the end of each passageway 64, which otherwise itself imparts the required shape.