GB998643A - Improvements in or relating to conveyor apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

998,643. Ice-making. J. OLDHAM. Feb. 3, 1964 [Nov. 5, 1962], No. 41829/62. Heading F4H. [Also in Division B8] A freezing installation for the production of frozen confections, i.e. " ice-lollies," includes a conveyer having a main section 2 which comprises six parallel and side-by-side tracks 3-8. Each track is defined by a pair of guide rails 9 for supporting strip moulds 11 in which the confections are to be formed. Each mould has a rectangular tray 12 which spans the two guide rails 9 and which has a row of apertures from which depend individual moulding cells 14. The tray 12 has a pair of slide members 13 (Fig. 5), which slide along the track rails. The strip-moulds 11 are transferred laterally from one track to another by shuttles 15, 16 actuated by air pressure operated pistoncylinder devices 21, 23. For moving the moulds along the tracks, pusher bars 24, 26 are operated by piston-cylinder devices 25, 27. To effect a step-by-step movement of the moulds along the successive tracks and to operate the shuttles 15, 16 to transfer the moulds from one track to another, the pistoncylinder devices may be operated similarly to that described in Specification 970,862. A freezing tank 30 has partitions 32 spaced at their ends from the tank walls to permit the moulds to be moved laterally from one track to the next adjacent track. At one end of the main section 2 of the conveyer there are disposed a charging section 35 and a delivery section 36. These sections comprise guide rails 37, 38 disposed above the level of the main section 2 so that the cells 14 of the moulds 11 will, when located on the charging and delivery sections, be raised clear of the freezing solution in the tank 30. Inclined rails 39 connect the charging section 36 to the track 8 for gradual raising of the moulds on to the delivery section 36. Transfer mechanism 41 between the delivery and charging sections 35, 36 enables the moulds 11, after removal therefrom of the frozen confections, to be returned from the delivery section 36 to the charging section 35 ready for a succeding freezing cycle. The mechanism 41 comprises two rotary transfer devices 42, 43, each having four radiallydisposed cradle arms 44, 45 respectively. Each arm has a holding element 48 adapted to hold a mould 11 removably in position during a transfer operation. The rotary devices 42, 43 are driven intermittently from a driving shaft 49, the drive being effected in timed relationship with the step-wise movement of the moulds 11 through the feezing tank 30. The transfer mechanism also comprises a carriage 52, actuated by a piston-cylinder device 52a, for transferring successive moulds across a bridge-piece 51 from the rotary device 42 to the rotary device 43. Each mould 11 received from the delivery section 36 is positioned inverted, immediately above a mould-washer 58. Following the washing operation, the mould is moved by the carriage 52 and rotary device 43 into the charging section 35 ready for the next freezing cycle. A piston-cylinder device 62 of the charging section carries a pusher plate 64 for pushing successive moulds from the device 43 on to the guide rails of the charging section and thence above the first track 3 of the conveyer. Means are provided for controlling the discharge of confection material through nozzles 66 of a mould-filling tank 65, to permit filling of a mould during each dwell period between the step-wise travel of the mould along the tracks. At the end of the conveyer remote from the charging section 35 a device 67 includes means for introducing sticks 70 into the cells of successive moulds. For defrosting and extracting the frozen confection from the moulds a tank 72 is charged with hot water and is arranged to be moved up-and-down by a piston cylinder device 73. After the defrosting operation, the sticks 70 are gripped by gripper elements 78 of gripper units 77 which are fed successively along a track 80 to an elevator 75 of an extractor 74. gripper unit, with the frozen products depending therefrom, is raised to the position shown in Fig. 2. The unit is then transported along a track 81 to a bagging station (not shown). After release of the products, the unit is returned along the track 80 to the extractor 74.