US1257564A - Coating-machine. - Google Patents

Description

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A TTORNEKS W. 1. WELSH. 4COMING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED-FEB. 19. l9|6.

Peeeneed Feb.26,11918.

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APPLICATION FILED TEB. I9. |916.

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Patented Feb. 26,

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A injtthe cmivenient removal of thc coated arcles may NITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIcE.

WILLIAM J. WELSH, oF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, AssIGNoE To HEMENDINGEE,

'ALEXANDER a COMPANY, INC., A CORPORATION or NEW YoEK. v

COATING-MACHINE.

Application filed February 19,l 1916. Serial No. 79,333.

To al whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM J. WELS a subject of the King of Great Britain, 'an a resident of Jersey City, county of Hudson,'and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements 1n Coating-Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates more'particularly to a machine for coating chocolates and candies.

One of the principal objects of theinvention is to `provide a simple and ei'licient Inachine in which the articles to be-coated are automatically conveyed through a. coating apparatus, and during the passage through the apparatus have chocolate distributed uniformly thereon to form a coating therefor, and said articles conveyed from said coating apparatus or part of the machine in such condition and in a way as will perticles.

Other objects of the invention are to pro- `vide'an apparatus or machine in'which the articles may be auton'ia'tit-.ally fed, separated,

a coating of chocolate applied thereto and evenly distributed, and during the travel of the articles have an additional fancy line or design placed upon the surface thereof. Other objects of the invention are to provide a machine which is inexpensive io manufacture; to provide simple means whereby'thc different parts may be automatically actuated; to provide simphl means. for cooling the article, and to provide simpl(l moans whereby the chocolate or coated material may be maintained in propel' comlitii'in and suitablefor use at all times.

Another object of the invention is to pro- -vide simple means whereby the. mechanism for placing a sl'iecial design upon the artibe readily thrown out of act-ion. A further object of the invention is to provide simple andeiiicient. means whereby the coated article may7 be placed in a convenient. position and upon apronsl orsheets of paper to adapt-the article to be readily rcmoved from the machine. `l

' With these and other objects in View, the invention will be more particularly described with reference to the accompanyingr drawtzhis application,

the end of the description.

Patented Feb.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a longitudinal section, partly roken away, of one form o' machine embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical section of a part of the chocolate feed.

Fig. 3 is a. 'plan view partly broken away end partly in section.

Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken on` the line IV-IV of Fig. 3, showing means whereby the articles to be coated may be separated before entering the coating apparatus or part of the machine.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view in elevation .of a part of the means for providing a sinuous line as a decoration or fancy design on the articles as they pass through the machine.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of'Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is side elevation looking at-the side of the machine opposite to that shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary perspective View showing how sheets of paper to receive lthe articles may be held on a traveling apron or eonveyer; and

Fig. 9 is a transverse section showing the means whereby the feed hopper may be vibrated.

The candies or articles to be coated are' previously ]')repar ed and may be .substantially rectangular and of a relatively large size. or of any other desired form. These randics or articles are placed en, masse in a hopper l() and l said hopper is mounted transversely oi [he machine between the sides 11 of a main frame or support 12. The frame. 12 may be of cast iron or other material, and of any desired length and may be of a more-or less skeleton nature so as to be light and easyX to manufacture. I.The sides may be suitably held together by beams or otherwise and at the upper portion thereof have lengthwise rails r beams 13.' The hopper 10 is pivotally moi nted at 14 to lugs on the rails 13 or otherwise pivotally held thereto and has oneend,

ripheries to adapt the hopper to be vibrated or agitated during the rotary movement-of said'cams. The cams 1'( are secured to a' as 15, closed andthe inner end open to adapt ,the articles to Ido 'like in form having irregular orcamy pethejslze of the articles an y dies or articles said 'rotary rod Vora-shaft 18st `)the end oithe'm;

chine and a second rod or shaft 19 s 4'supported between the sides or ralls 18 'at any suitable distance fromV the shafty 18. About said shaftsor rolls is an endless carrier oi` conveyor belt 20. 'The conveyer belt 2O is located under` the mouth of the ho per and duringthea 'tation thereoft e candies` or.V articles to e` coated will -passffrom.

the hopper on to saidfbelt or conveyorcoatng'mterial closijllgthe space between andv uniting any :two articles.

- A coating part of apparatus 23 `.of the machine is'locoted adjacent tothe ini'e'r end of the belt or apron 20. .This coatingappa- .yratus may be 4vvariously .construct-ed. vAsshownit consists of a casing 24 of subs t' an'= n tially box-lik' form. v Thiscasing24com or section 26.- The ase 26 towhich the 'top section 2li's held either detachably-or otherf4 wise forins ,a receptacle for "chocolate'.or` other coating material anda double bottom to forma chamber27 by whichth'e Y chocolate or other materia-1 mayfbekept in a properstate. The base 26 is suitably sup# `ported byflcgs 28 of suchheig'htas will*v f placethereceptacleformed''byithc base 26 somewhat belowthe plane-o .movement of,

the 'traveling belli 2Qffund in 'position for surf ,rotate in unison.

art accordi-ligv `to :stance to the same to be 'individuallycoatedwithoutthi ttlic 's lplushocolate. fl

apronpasses Y, fs :belt 20' and" "at theother end of the casing'thebelt-passes sT-he shafts 19 fandourefspaced close togeti'hcrand sare 'ofzfsuchsizfethatthe articles] to,4 be .coated will I readily passromthe apron 'orconveyer 20 onto' the egon-29j as .to movey withvtjhe' h roughthe .coatihg apparatus.. f The-l'chocoljateinthe ,besef 26- isf"'con'tently., agitated'wli'ile the -niachineis nllib ,ai

ofiwhich is `:provided with e bevel .gear 36 which is in mesh with a bevel gear 36` held to. a lrotary shaft 37 so Vthat said shafts .will

i The chocolate is col- A lccted, by two wheels, drums or vcollecting Velements 38.. These Wheels 38 are held to a shaft `39 to rotateztherewith and seid` wheels have their lower portions movable` yin the chocolate so that es the `Wheels'rotate the chocolate will be collected thereon and b the arrow. At the upper portion of tli'eapparatusis a distributing hopper 40,. for the chocolate, This hopper` extends the entire width of the wire or metal-apron. 29 8 0 and h'asa trough-like portion Macross the bottom of which is a sievellike platev 4:2v of wire mesh or other formwhich is adapted to erinit the chocolate to pass therethrough to be distributed overthe candies or articles 8- to be coated a'stbelatter travels along with theqbelt or/apron 2.9.v The 'body' 41 of the carried/ thereby in the direction indicated distributing hopEer f lQiha-s an inclined ,front Walll and at rt e upper portionv thereof at both' -ends is provided with scrapers..4l 99 whereby:- the chocolate collected 'by the wheels 38 at opposite si es of the apparatus majr be removed from said wheels and l causedto pass into the hopper body @Oft-hoA f-f prises' a cover or to 4portion 25m-nd aV base ends of -thehopper being'inolned as at 44s 95 to direct thel chocolate into the trough-like body #l1-over the bottolnfflQ. The rear side of the bodylll extends upwardly and isbcntfsubstantallyU-form to'fit over' an'd be held" f to a;-transverselyextendihg bar 45 'by WhichHlO saidtroughdiko body is suitablyA supported.

The collectingand distributing for the chocolate ,will cause thechocolnte-.y

`to be deposited more o r less evenly over the 4 during `their travel or airun'der pressurefthrough an air inlet 11Q- pipe 4.6.\ This pipe46has ItSflUWerKend-r aretlfand l'spreadjas at 4'( to extendoverw :the entirefwdthf offthfe apron 29,'sorne what above thearticles dhd at.. its Youter .1"-

`Eend andfis" co'nnected"'tovv a. "source'uof airsupi115 plyas a.l combined "blower and exhaust-fan. Y u v 4The blbwer'isfof (Seen-annum es .Winsome air through the pipe flandNwithdz-awthe .z .v air from" the apparatus through a pipe or. .u

:connection 48. The exhaustconnection 4:82120 hopper-f bsnsffextended.

means. A As the articles tc'be coated travelthrough hopper 4th part;

.emlled at one edge to the apron and are dlg-tel. .for the reception: of sheets et paper or finer material 54 on to whichthe coated articles pass from the apron 29 and by which they may be placed ina cooling apparatus or otl'ierwise handled as desired. rlzhese sheets ol" paper are easily detached from the cli s 56, and when. one sheet is re-y niow-il anot ier is placed in position by the attendant. The sheets are held against accidental detachment during their travel with the carrier to a' point where they receive lthe coated articlesrby a belt or apron This belt or carrier4 55 at one end passes around` a roll or shaft 56 located under the roll 51 and at the other end passes about a. roll or shaf t 57 located forwardly of the roll 4 52 and in such a way that the carrier or belt will at its upper surface rest snugly against the louf'e';l portion of.' (he apron or belt 50 and will, thus retain the sheets of paper against detachnicnt from. the clips. The operator at that end of the machine as soon as one sheet is. removed replaces that Sheet by another'one so that there is a continuous supply of the sheets of' paper or other material to meet the requirements of v the machine, said sheets being parallin paper or oiled papelor of any suitable character. To destroy the plamness of the surface of the coatedv articles, and to have a more or less fancy decoration thereon means are pro-` vided whereby an additional amount of chocolate may be distributed on the articles as they pass through the apparatus and after th'ey pass beyond the air inlet pipe 46. As one means the additional chocolate is formed as a sinuous or wavy line on the articles during the travel of the belt 29. For this purpose a hopper or distributing receptacle 58 is supported to reciprocate on a transversely extending bar or rod 59. The receptacle 'or hopper 58 has its body 60 of such size as will hold a quantity of chocolate and has an inclined forward wall 61, the upper edgev of which kat one side is formed to provide a stantially the same and operates in the same manner as the Wheels 38 and collects the chocolate and moves it in the direction indicated by the arrow and is scraped therefrom and delivered into the body of the hopper 58. The hopper 62 ,is held to the bar or rod 59'and this rod 59 is guided in the 4sides of the casingso as' to move transversely @fille travel of the articles. Each end of the rod 59 may be guided in a bearing 64: and on one side the rod is made cyhndrmal asfat 65 and is connected by a crank 66 to a wheel 67. The wheel 67 is held to a shaft 68 and this shaft 68 is suitably mounted to rotate in brackets 69. The end of the shaft 68 opposite the wheel or disk 67 has a beveled gear 69 which is in mesh with the gear 70 on a transversely extending main drive shaft 71. The crank or link'66 at one end is held to an adjustable block 72 which is movable in a dove-tailed groove 78 and adjusta'pbly held therein so that different th'rows may be given to the cnank 60. This vpermits the different reciprocatory movements to be given to the rod 59 and hopper or receptacle 58 so that different extents of the wave or curvature of the sinuous line of chocolate distributed on the coated articles may be secured. The bottom of the hopper 58 -is provided with a series of openings spaced apart so that each opening is intended to be over or in the line of travel o'l' each coated article and during its travel will form wavy lines on the surface thereof. The hopper is held to the bar 59 by a springclip 74, Fig. 2l, and this clip adapted to engage either one of two recesses 75 and 75a. The purpose of these recesses is to permit two adjustments of the hopper 58. In the position shown in Fig. 3 the hopper is in position for use and reciprocates with the bar or rod 59, but by moving the hopper so that the clip will engage the recess 7 5 thescraper ofthe receptacle 58 will be removed out ofthe path of the collecting wheel 63 so that chocolate Will not be fediduring the rotary movement thereof to .the hopper 58, and this. will permit the apparatus to be used Without the extra deposit of chocolate as the articles pass through the apparatus. l

The casing 24 has openings 76 at the forward and rear portions thereof through which the belt or apron 29 passes and these openings are adapted to be artly closed by vmeans of gates or slides 7, the latterA having handles as 78 by Which-said slides may be forcedA downwardly so as to place the lower edgepthereofin close relation lto the upper surface of the belt or-apron, leavingsuHicient room for the article to be coated to pass into and through the casing, 'there being atrough or funnel atjone side as 79,

fr filling the receptacle 26with chocolate.A

on said shaft. A )ulley 83 is held to rotate vwith the clutclx member 82 and there is also a sprocket wheel 84 rotatable with the pulley. A sprocket chain 85 passes around the sprocket Wheel 84 and around a sprocket wheel 86 on the transversely eX- tending` shaft 37' -by which the stirrer or mixer 32 is operated. The mixer may thus be rotated constantly Whlethe rest oi the machine remains idle in 'order 4that the chocolate may be kept in proper Acondition even when the remainder"J of the machine is at rest. On the shafts 71 is a spur gear 87 and this gear is in meshlwith the gear 88 on the shaft 39 and with the gear 89 on the transversely extending'shaft 90 to which the wheel or drum 6 3 for collecting the chocolate is held and by which the said chocolate wheel is rotated. A sprocket chain 91 extends from a sprocket wheel on the shaft 90 to a larger sprocket wheel on the #moved in unison.v

drive shaft.

roll or shaft 31 so as to rotate .the latter, end said roll 31 and roll 51 4are connected by a short chain 92 to rot-ate in unison. On the end of' the roll 51 opposite the sprocket chain 92 is a beyeled gear'98 which meshes with a similar gear 94 on' a shaft 95. This shaft 95 may be extensible as by apihsand slot connectlon, as at 96 andat the opposite end' thereof is provi ed with' a. gear 97 which is 'in mesh with a gear' 98 whereby the rolls and Ithe two aprons 50 and 55 are A. s rocket chain 99 passesaround sprocket W 'eels yon .the 'shaft 20 is properly moved, thus all' of the parts are rotated in unison and from a common The operation of 'the invention will be rcadil understood from the foregoing description when taken in connectionwi th the accompanying drawings. Assuniing the parte to be 1n the position shown in the drawings and the hopper 10 filled with articles to be coated and thefpulley 53 .ro-y tated'after the clutchmemb'ers are placed' `in engagement 'tof rotate the shaft 71, the

articles in the hopper-101willcbe fed to the conveyer belt 20. sltheconveyer belt 'advances the artclesfare' 'separated bythe pins 21 and pass onf to vthe conveyor belt 29. yThe articles as they `pass1through-the coating apparatus will receive anointing of. chocolate from the hopper '41' andbe subjected to a. blast of tir fromthe .pipe 46to remove the surplus chocolate therefrom. The sur,

lus chocolate passesf'ihroughwthe apron 29 ack to't'he'rec'eptacle 26'.' fthe apio'n2'9L carriesthe articles forward a "sinuousL line `or other t decoration' isl placed .upon thev chocolate bythe vibratory movement of the hgpper 58 as already explained-and 4from the apron 28 thecoajte'd' articles' pass-to thei A Lap10n'50. Theapron 50 -contains-sheets' of;

paperox" other holding x'n'eans for thefarticles may be removed an placed on said lapron.

From the foregoing it will be evident that simple and efficient means are provided whereby previously 'shaped articles may be and after being conve ed a oertain'distance other paper sheets automatically fed, and caused to pass through a coating apparatus, a mating of chocolate" placed thereon as the articles are conveyed'.v

through the ap iaratus, and a sinuous line or decorative upon each article; that simple means is provided Whereb 4tl1e'coati1-ig material may' be evenly distri utedion each article/and-V eaeh articlecoated independentlyythat' sims eposit of chocolate placed' ple means is provided whereby the' coated i articles may be readily removed and handied; and that said machineis simple in i Aconstruction and entirely autonmticA in itsv l l sa my invention, I

claim as new and desire to secure by Letters action.

Having thus described Patent. :wm

l. In a machine of theclassdescribed,` the y combination of a reticulated endless ti'avelv ing apron adapted to vsupport articles to'be;

coateds means for delivering articles upon said apron 1n rows spaced apart transversely of th`e apron, a hopper supported abovelthe apron and adapted to deliver' apsheet of coating material transversely of the apronv to coat the several 'rows of articles carried thereby, a second hopper supported above the "apron and having a plurality of diss' charge outlets spaced apart transversely 'off A the apron adapted to deliver additionalcoat-'f ing material upon the spaced rows of coated articles, means for reciprocating said"'sec"' ond hopper transversely. of the path oij travel 'of the spaced rows of articlesgmean's interposed between said hoppers for distributing the coating material deposited b grthe first hopper upon `the articles and vfor forcing the surplus coating lsmaterial down; 4

.-wardly through `the apron, atreservoir-ffor liquid coating material supported Vbeneath 2. In a machine ofthe class descr-ibed,' the combination #of a -reticulated .'t'ratelin' i 'i apron2 means `for 'delivering' a plurality a spaced rows of articles lupon said apron,

coatin 1120 hopperadaptedtto 'dehver afsheet of liquid" material upon-the' rows of articles carrie by the apron, a'seco'nd hopper 'adapts ed to dischargeseparate streams of "mateeating said secon hopper transversely'- Vof I iso- 4 rial deposited by thehrst hopper and force the surplus material through the reticulated apron, a reservoir supported beneath the apron adapted to receive the surplus mate rial discharged from both of said hoppers and the material. removed by the air blast, and independentmeans for supplying said hoppers with coating material from said reservoir.

3. In a machine of the class set forth, the combination of a reservoir for plastic decorating material, means for conveying arw ticles to-be decorated over said reservoir, a hopper supported above the reservoir and conveying means and having discharge7 openings spaced. apart transversely of the path. of the articles, means for reciprocating said hopper transversely of the path of the articles, a dipping Wheel rotatably mounted adjacent one end of said reciprocatory hopper to have its periphery pass through the decorating material in said reservoir, and means held to said hopper to reciprocate therewith adapted to scrape decorating material from the dipping Wheel and discharge said material into the hopper.

et. In a machine of the class described, the

combination of a reservoir for coating ma a plurality of discharge outlets spaced apart transversely oi the apron, means for reciprocating the decorating hopper transversely of the apron a dipping wheel rotatably mounted in the reservoir at one end of the coating hopper, means carried by the coating hopper for removingr4 coating material from Said wheel and discharging it into the hopper, a dipping Wheel rotatably mounted in the reservoir adjacent one end of the rev ciprocatory decorating hopper, means can ried vby the decorating hopper 'for removing material from said wheel and dischargin it into said hopper, and means interposed between said hoppers for removing surplus coating material from the articles and forcing'said surplus material through the reticulated apron into said reservoir.

This specification signed this 16th day of February A.. D. 1916.

WILLIAM J. WELSH.

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