US1331752A - Noodle-laying machine - Google Patents

Description

K. GAMMEL.

NOODLE LAYING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 11, me. RENEWED JULY 9.1919.

1,331,752., Patented Feb. 24,1920.

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NOODLE LAYING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR-17,1916. RENEWED JULY 9,19l9.

1 ,33 1 ,752. Patented Feb. 24, 1920.

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APPLICATION FILED APR. I7. I916. RENEWED .IULY 9,1919.

Patented Feb. 24, 1920.

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NOODLE LAYING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR-17,1916. RENEWED JULY 9,1919.

1,33 1,752. Patented Feb. 24,1920.

7 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

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K. GAMMEL. NOO DLE LAYING MACHINE. ABE'LICATIWN FILED APR. 17, 19l 6- RENEWED JULY 9,1919.

1,331,752. Patented Feb. 24, 1920.

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NOODLE LAYING MACHINE. v APPLICATION FILED APR. 17. 1916. RENEWED JULY 9, 191's.

1,33 1,752. Patented Feb. 24, 1920.

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NOODLE LAYING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR-1?,I9l6- RENEWE'D JULY 9,1919.

1,33 1 Q 7 52. Patented Feb. 24, 1920.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

KARL GAMMEL, 0F CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE CLEVELAND MACAEONI COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

NOODLE-LAYING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Feb, 24, 1920.

Application filed April 17, 1916, Serial No. 91,625. Renewed July 9, 1919 Serial No. 309,781.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, KARL GAMMEL, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Noodle-Laying Machines, of which the following is a speci- My invention relates in general to a pneumatic conveying and distributing machine of general application and specifically relates to such a machine designed to receive strips of materials such as noodles, from a cutting machine and to convey and deposit the same in the form of nests on drying trays fed through the machine.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a commercial form of device of the class described, designed to handle large amounts of the products rapidly, economically and without the necessity of any special attention on the part of the operator except to see that a suflicient amount of material is fed to the machine and the filled trays removed therefrom.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will be in part obvious from an inspection of the accompanying drawings and inpart will be more fully set forth in the following particular description of one form of mechanism embodying my invention, and the invention also consists in certain new and novel features of construction and combination of parts hereinafter. set forth and claimed. i 1

In the manufacture of noodles as generally carried on at the present time, the dough is carried under a series of rollers in one or a number of troughs or runways and the final roller brings the dough down to the desired thickness. In the runway slightly beyond the final roller are a number of rotary cutters operated to cut the dough into strips.- The number of cutters in a runway of given width will determine the number andwidth of the strips and for this purpose thenumber and position of the cutters on the shaft may be varied. At or near the. {discharge end of the trough is a transverse vertically reciprocating cutter operated to sever the strips into lengths. Inasmuch as the dough is fed forward in the trough by the rolls and the rotary cutter at a substantially constant speed, the intermittent transverse cutter may be timed to cut-the strips into approximately of the flat character of the noodle, the capacity of the tray would be limited or the air circulation through the tray would be impaired if the noodles were placed on the tray in miscellaneous fashion and to overcome this difliculty it is customary to place the noodles on the tray in socalled nests. These nests are made by hand-an operator picking up a single handful of, say a dozen, noodles and bundling them together lightly so as to leave spaces for the heated air to circulate through the nest in the drying department. The nests are placed on the tray in rows until it is filled when it may be removed to the drying. room. The hand method of nesting the noodles is objectionable from the point of view of expense, factory space, etc., and also on account of cleanliness. Therefore, for economic and sanitary reasons, it is desirable to have the noodles nested by machines, and the main objectof the present invention is toprovide a machine to accomplish the automatic nesting of the noodles so that they are not touched by hand from the time the dough is placed on the runway until the noodles reach the packing machines. One form of such a machine is illustrated in the accompanying drawingsin which- Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view showing in side elevation, the assemblage of the machine with a noodle cutter and a source of pneumatic power for operating the conveying mechanism;

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation showing some of the details of the machine shown diagrammatically in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a front View from the left hand side of the device shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional'view taken on the line 44 of Fig. 3 and showing parts of the driving mechanism in plan;

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view longitudinally through the conveyer table of the machine with certain parts omitted;

Fig. 6 is a vertical transverse sectional V e taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a horizontal sectional view of the portion of the conveyer table below the nest-' Fig. 11 is a vertical sectional View taken.

through one ofthe rotary distributers.

. In the following description and in the claims, parts. will be identified by specific names'for convenience of expression but they are intended to be asgeneric in their application to similar parts as the art will per-- mit andit is to be understood that in the following description reference is made to a distributer tube, guiding tubes, and nest forming tubes, but these terms are used merely to distinguish the several tubes and it is not to be assumed that their functions are 11mited by their designations. 4

Referring generally to the operation of the device when used as a noodle laying machine and particularly noting the assemblage in Fig. 1, it will be understood that the dough is cut longitudinally and transversely in the manner well known in the manufacture of noodles by constantly acting parallel rotary cutters and an intermittently acting transverse cutter, both of which are indicated generally at A. In this way a plurality of relatively short strips of noodles are formed and when they are severed by the intermittent cutter they are allowed to'fall into a hopper B. From the hopper the noodles are projected by means of a blower G into aplurality of tubes D, two of which are shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, but four of which are contained in the machine from which the drawings were made. The hopper may be divided into vertical compartments tapered down to aboutthe size of the tubes and correspondingin number to the number of tubes, so that, if there are fifty strips formed by the cutters there will be delivered to each tube D periodically a bunch of about a dozen noodles. These tubes lead to the drying tray and as the bunch of noodles is projected through the tube the air currents cause the noodles to twist and turn and intermingle so that when the bunch is delivered on the tray it is in the form of a nest closely resembling the" nests made by hand but more uniform in character. While the nest is formed complete during its passage through the several tubes, its final movement on to the drying tray'or on to the valve gates, hereinafter described, tends to flatten the nests slightly andgives them the fiat mound configuration characterlglng sneh. products. now found on the market. By a distributing device correlated with the tubes D these nests are placed in rows on the tray and when the tray is filled it is automatically removed from the machine and replaced by an empty tray.

The machine comprises a supporting frame including in general a super-structure 15 carrying the" distributing mechanism, a noodle nesting frame 16 includin .the guiding tubes 17 leading thereto an an under frame 18, including the conveyer table 19. All of these parts are supported on connecting cross pieces 20 and upright end "frame 21 mounted on wide spreading bases 22.

Formin part of the superstructure 15 are four distributing devices, each fed from one of the tubes D, and arranged in the form of a square as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 As these distributing devices are similar in con struction and operation, the detail description of any one will be sufiicient for all... "Bevferring particularly to'Fig. .11 for the details of construction-of one of the distributing mechanisms, it will be noted that the 7 base portion of'the superstructure includes a horizontally disposed ring 23 fixed in position, in the hub of which is mounted a supporting post 2 1 free for rotary movement and pro ecting above ring 23. A hollow shaft 25 rests'on thehub of the ring and is mounted for rotary movement with the post and projects above the same. The upper end of the shaft provides a support for the discharge end 26 of the tubes D and forms an air tight joint therewith by means of a socketed coupling 27.

An oil tube 28 extends through the shaft 25 to convey lubricant to its interior bearings. A downwardly and outwardly inclined rotary tube 29 constitutes a distribu ter and has its upper end passed into the side of the hollow shaft, fixed to the upper end thereof and continuously in open communication with the discharge end 26 of the tubes D. The discharge end 30 of the distributer 29 depends vertically, terminates just above the ring 23 and is held in position spaced from the bottom of the shaft by means of a collared reach rod 31. The dis charge end 30 is'designed to traverse a circular path with a step by step movement and is driven through the rotation of the shaft by means of a gear wheel 32 fixed thereto. A post 33 is fixed centrally between the four gear wheels 32 andsupports a driving pin 1011 34 meshing with the four gear wheels so as drive the same inunison. The pinion is actuated intermittently from the distributor shaft 35 through the beveled gear connection 36. The shaft in turn is actuated by the one-way pawl and ratchet feed 37 (see Fig. 2), the pawl of which feed is actuated by means of the lifting rod 38, the lower end of which is fixed to, the free end of a lever BQ-fu QrumeQ o. one; of. the frames-.21.. The

lever is provided with a bearing roller resting upori the periphery of a cam 41 fixed to the main driving shaft 42. The main shaft is in the form of a stub shaft journaled in one of the frames 21 and driven through a chain and sprocket connection in turn driven from a similar chain and sprocket connection 44 driven through a chain 44 operatively connected with the driving mechanism for operating the cutter A. The main driving shaft is operated at high speed and in the particular device illustrated forty revolutions of the shaft causes each distributer to take a corresponding number of steps to complete its circle or cycle of movement.

The noodle arranging and nest forming parts of the machine include a plurality of nest forming tubes 45 mounted in order in the frame 16 and a plurality of guiding tubes 17 one for each forming tube and leading from one of the distributing devices to its correlated tube. The tubes 45 are relatively short and are fastened in longitudinal and transverse rows arranged so as to correspond to the nest receiving surface of the drying trays 46 hereinafter described. The

tubes have their upper ends squared as shown in Fig. 9 and fitted within the longitudinal and transverse sides of the frame 16. The front and rear sides 47 of the frame are extended to form straps 48 projecting beyond the outlines of the frame and demountably fastened to the uprights of the frame by means of bolts 49 as shown in Fig. 8. The machine illustrated is provided with one hundred and sixty of these tubes, forty of which are supplied from each of the four distributing'mechanisms. The tubes 45 are opened at top and bottom ex cept that the upper ends of certain of these tubes are provided with normally closed and downwardly opening gates or valves 50 hereinafter described. Each of the tubes 45 is provided with one of the upwardly extending guiding tubes 17, the lower ends of which telescope into the tubes 45. V The upper ends of the guiding tubes are fixed in position in the ring 23 and arranged di rectly beneath the discharge end 30 in posi tion to receive the noodles as they are ejected from the rotary distributer in its step by step motion while pausing over the entrance to each of the guiding tubes. The guiding tubes 17 and the distributing tubes 29 are each provided with a plurality of air vents 51 adjacent their discharge ends, arranged so as to release air pressure at this end and thus insure the movement of the material through the tubes even should thedischarge end become choked for any reason. Certain of the nest forming tubes are not provided with gates, but the guiding tubes are so disposed that when the drying tray hereinafter described is moving intoits noodle receiving position the distributer willv be directing its charge into those tubes which are provided with. stop gates and during the time that the tray is at rest beneath the forming tubes the distributer will be ejecting its product on to the drying tray through the valveless tubes. It is thus apparent that l the distributer is continuously discharging. into the guiding tubes even while the drying trays are being shifted.

Each line of gates is fixed to a gate shaft 59-, the ends of which shafts extend beyond the frame 16 and are connected by a pair of rocking links 53 (see Fig. 9) actuated from the shaft 54 through the meshed-gears 55. The shaft 54 is provided with a pinion 56 fixed thereto which pinion meshes with a segmental rack 57 defining the end of one arm of a rocking bell crank lever 58 fulcrumed in anend frame and the other arm of which is provided with a roller 59 bearing on the periphery of the gate operating cam 60 fixed to an auxiliary driving shaft 61. This driving shaft is actuated from the main driving shaft 42 through multiplying gearing 62 (see Figs. 2 and 4). A spring 63 acts on the lever 58 to maintain the roller in bearing en agement with the cam surface and this surface is arranged so as to maintain the gates normally in closed position.

The conveyer for the drying trays includes the long table 19 which extends from front to rear of the machine and below the frame 16. The table includes longitudinal tracks 64 (see Fig. 6) for supporting oppositesides of the trays 46 and an endless chain conveyer 65 for feeding the drying trays into a position to receive the noodles dropped from the compartment. This conveyer includes a pair of conveyor chains mounted within outlines of the tracks on opposite sides of the longitudinal center and are each provided with spaced apart fingers 66 designed to engage the drying trays and to feed the same from end to end of the table.

The chains are passed about end guide sprocket wheels 67 and are driven through a driving chain 68 from amain sprocket wheel. 69 loosely mounted upon an auxiliary shaft 70, which carries one of the gear wheels forming the gearing 62. Preferably a loose driving connection is provided. for the conveyor to eliminate any possibility of accident in case the trays became jammed for any reason. For this purpose a friction clutch 71, held by the spring 7 2 (see Fig. 3) maintains a driving connection between one of the sprocket wheels 67 and the adjacent sprocket of the driving chain 68. The hub of this sprocket wheel is formed into oneelement of a sliding clutch 7 3 and is designed to act with its correlated clutch element'which is fixed to the shaft 70 so as to be rotated therewith. The clutch elements are moved into active position by means of a control mechanism (see Fig. 4) including I similar period in which the clutch elements are inactively disposed and in this way the trays are advanced into position beneath the discharge end of the forming device and held there until they receive the charge. of noodles. The cam 76 is actuated from the longitudinal shaft 77 which shaft is driven continuously through the intermeshed gearing 78 driven from the shaft 61.

Positioned directly below the noodle forming frame is a tray elevating mechanism designed to raise the tray oli the conveyer into close engagement with the outlets from the noodle frame. This elevating mechanism includes two longitudinally spaced pairs of transversely disposed levers 80. Each member of each pair is hinged at opposite ends to the adjacent track 64 with the free end of each lever pivoted to a depending spring rod 81, the lower end of which forms a support for a coiled spring 82. The upper end of each spring bears against a strap 83 which is positioned beneath its corresponding lever (see Fig. 6). One end of each strap is fixed to one of the levers adjacent its pivoted end and the free end portion of each strap is bent upwardly and outwardly to form a horizontal seat 84 resting upon the adjacent track. The free ends of the straps on each side are connected by a longitudinal guide bar 85 designed to bear upon the longitudinal sides of the trays to center the same resiliently in position. Each pair of levers are crossed as shown in Fig. 6 and at their centers rest upon a supporting roller 86. The central portion of each roller rests upon and is guided by the peripheries of a pair of cams 87 fixed to the shaft 77 and driven thereby. These cams are so designed and timed in their action relative to the conveyer that after the conveyer has advanced the tray and has been stopped by the throwing out of the clutch 73, the trays are elevated into the position shown in dot and dash lines in Fig. 6.

In operation the strips of noodles are received from the cutting machine and passed to the hopper B from which they are blown by air pressure created by the blower G into the four projecting tubes D. The needle strips pass from the tubes D into the rotary distributing tubes and slide down to the discharge ends of these tubes. At the same time the rotary distributing tubes are describing a step-by-step circular movement about their discharging path, depositing one charge or strip of noodle to each of the guiding tubes from which they slide gravitationally and are curved into their correlated nest formine tubes. The noodles then pass either directly onto the drying frame through the gateless tubes or are intercepted by the closed gates controlling the outlet ment of the distributing devices through one cycle of operation will be sui'licient to deposit a tray full of noodle nests upon this tray when in receiving position beneath the discharge end of the noodle iorming tubes. The drying trays are positioned on the conveyer as is usual with endless conveyers and are successively fed thereby into position beneath the closely positioned noodle forming tubes. The operation of the conveyer is then interrupted for a period of time to permit the depositing of the noodles on the tray and the replacing of the tray on the conveye1,-after which the conveyer is again coupled to the driving mechanism to remove the filled tray and to bring an empty tray into filling position. The trays areraised from the conveyer into close engagement with the discharge end of the tubes during the time when the gates are moved into open position and during the time when the dis tributing tubes are open tothe several gateless noodle forming tubes. As the trays are raised into engagement with the lower ends of the noodle forming tubes it may so happen that some of the trays do not meet the tube ends squarely and this is very apt to be the case with warped trays. However, the resilient engagement of the elevating levers adjacent the four corners of the trays forces the corner or corners spaced from the tubes upwardly into engagement therewith. thus canting the trays to insure a close fit between the ends of the tubes and the trays. By means of a device of this character it is possible to handle large quantities of the noodles while in their wet condition and the operation isautomatic, each operation occurring in its proper sequence and without any necessity of the operator handling the goods. The device is simple both in construction and operation thus insuring an economical handling of the goods during this difficult stage in the preparation of the noodles. The noodle nests may be arranged on the drying trays in any desired order and arranged sothat the trays are ready tobe passed onto the next step in the treatment of this product.

While I have shown and described, and have pointed out in the annexed claims, cernoodle laying machine designed to deposit the noodles on drying trays, a conveying tube connecting said receptacle and noodle.

laying machine and meansoperatively connected with said tube for causing rapidly moving air to act on the noodles during their passage from the receptacle to the noodle laying machine. a

2. In a device of the class described, the combination with a noodle laying machine, of means for conveying the noodles to said machine, said means including a noodle conveying tube and an air blower designed to discharge an air blast into the tubes to form the noodles into nests during their passage through said tube to the machine.

3. In a device of the class described, a noodle nest forming machine, including a tubular member terminating in a vertically depending portion and pneumatically actuated means operatively associated with said tubular member to cause the noodle strips to be projected through said member and to form into nests by the time. they are projected therefrom.

4. In a device of the class described, a noodle nest forming machine, including a tubular member terminating in a vertically depending portion, pneumatically actuated means operatively associated with said tubular member t cause the noodle strips to be projected through said member and means for intercepting the movement of the projected noodle strips.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination with means for receiving a plurality of cut noodle strips, a tubular nest forming member and means for creating an air current through said tubular member for projecting the strips under air pressure from said receiving means through said tubular member and for interlacing the. same to form a nest.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination with means for receiving cut noodle strips, a tubular member, pneumatic means for projecting the strips under air pressure and for twisting the same during their passage from said receiving means through said tubular member, and a drying tray operatively disposed to receive the twisted noodles passed from said tubular member.

7. In a device of the class described, the combination of a plurality of open top guiding tubes in a circle, a revolving distributing tube having a vertically disposed discharge end designedto be placed in relatively close communication with the upper end ofsaid guiding tubes to convey the nodles thereto, and a step-by-step feeding mechanism operatively connected to said distributing tube to move the same into its several positions opening down into the guiding tubes.

u 8. In a device of the class described, the combination f a plurality of open top guiding tubes in a circle, a revolving distributing tube having a discharge end designed to be placed in relatively close fluid communication with said guiding tubes to convey the noodles thereto, a step-by-step feedin mechanism operatively connected to sai distributing tube to move the same into its several positions opening to. the guiding tubes and means for supplying the noodles continually to said distributing tube, said means including an air-tight coupling with the distributing tube.

9. In a device of the class described, the combination of a vertical support, a supply tube having a discharge end fixed in p051: tion above said support, means for propelling substances pneumatically through said supply tube, a vertically inclined distributing tube rotatably mounted on said support, with its upper end continuously in open communication with said fixed discharge end and forming a fluid tight .engagement therewith, and driving means operatively connected with said distributing tube to carry the lower discharge end thereof about a circle. v

10. In a noodle forming and distributing machine, the combination of a vertical support, a supply tube having a discharge end fixed in position above said support, a vertically inclined distributing tube rotatably mounted on said support, with its upper end continuously in open communication with said fixed discharge end, driving means operatively connected with said distributing tube to carry the lower discharge end thereof about a circle and a plurality of receiving members disposed'in a circle to receive the noodles passed from the discharge end of the distributing tube, said supply and distributing tubes and receivin members being free of sharp bends where y the possibility of the noodles impacting against side walls is reduced to a minimum;

11. In a device of the class described, a distributing tube designed to have the noodles ejected therefrom periodically, means for creating an air pressure in said tube to propel the noodles therethrough, said tube provided with means adjacent its delivery end for preventing the formation of ana'ir' cushion in the tube at the discharge end.

12. In a device of the class described,a depending distributing tube designed to have an air pressure therein for propelling the noodles therethrough, the lower end of said tube constituting a delivery end and having 'air vents in the side thereof adjacent the delivery'end whereby reduction of pressure at the delivery end is insured even should the delivery end be choked, and an open top receiving member disposed beneath the discharge end of the distributing tube and tube can receive the product free of the air pressure in the conveying tube. V

14;. In a device of the class described, the combination of a noodle distributing tube including a discharge end mounted for rotary movement, means operatively connected to said end to move the same with a stepby-step movement about its path of travel, said means including a pawl and ratchet feed, a rotary cam control operatively connected to the pawl of the feed to actuate the same periodically and a constant drive for said cam control.

15. In a device of the class described, the combination of a plurality of noodle distributing tubes, each provided with a discharge end mounted for rotary movement, meansoperatively connected to all of'said ends tomove the same simultaneously, said means including an intermittently moving shaft, gear connections between said shaft and each of said discharge ends, a main driving shaft and driving means designed to convert the continuous rotary movement of'said driving shaft into an intermittent movement of said intermittent shaft whereby all of the discharge ends will be advanced"simultaneously with a step-bystep movement. I 16. Ina device of the class described, the combination of a plurality of open top noodle forming tubes, with certain of the tubes arranged in a definite non-circular order, a distributing tube having a discharge end movable in a circle, a plurality of vertically disposed guiding tubes, one for each noodle forming tube and continuously openlng into its correlated noodle forming 'tu'be, the upper ends of said guiding tubes ,being disposed in a circle and designed to receive noodles discharged thereto by the distributing tube, said guiding tubes being relatively long thereby to assist in retarding the speed of the noodles before they are fed to the noodle forming tubes. 7

17 In a'device of the class described, the

combination of a plurality of open top noodle forming tubes, with certain of these tubes arranged'in a non-circular order, a

distributing tube having a discharge end movable in a circle, a plurality of vertically disposed guiding tube-s, one for each noodle forming tube'and continuously opening into its correlated noodle forming tube,'the upper ends of said guiding tubes being disposed in a circle and designed to receive noodles discharged thereto by the distributing tube, means for moving said discharge end of the distributing tube into its successive positions opening into the guiding tubes, and means for moving a drying tray into position to receive the noodles from th non-circulatory noodle forming tubes.

18. In a device of the class described, the

combination of a plurality of open top noodle forming tubes, with certain of these tubes arranged in a straight line, adistributing tube having a discharge end movable I in a circle, a plurality of vertically disposed guiding tubes, one for each noodle forming tube and continuously opening into its correlated noodle forming tube, the upper ends of said guiding tubes being disposed in a circle and designed to receive noodles discharged thereto by the distributing tube, means for moving said discharge end of the distributing tube into its successive positions opening into the guiding tubes and means operatively dependent upon the completion of a cycle of movement Ofrtll distributing tube fordischarging the noodle forming tubes of their contents.

19. In a'device of the class described,the

combination of a plurality 'of open top noodle forming tubes, with certain of these tubes arranged in a definite order in longitudinal and transverse rows and positioned relatively close together so as to position the maximum number of tubes in a given 7 area, a distributing tube having a discharge end movable over a definite path differing from the order of arrangement of the noodle forming tubes, aplu-rality ofvertically disposed guiding tubes, one for each noodle forming tube and continuously opening into its correlated noodle formingtube, the upper ends of said guiding tubes being disposed in said definite path and designed to receive noodles discharged thereto by the distributing tube, means for moving said discharge end of the distributing tube into' its successive positions opening into the guiding tubes and means operable at the termination of the pocket filling cycle of movement of the distributing vtube for discharging the noodle forming tubes of their contents thereby to cause the contents of all the tubes to be simultaneously disposed in the close order caused by the arrangement of the noodle forming tubes.

20. In a device of the class described, the combination of a plurality of open top noodle forming tubes, with certain oi said tubes arranged in a straight line, a distributing tube having a discharge end movable in a circle, a plurality of vertically disposed guiding tubes, one for each noodle forming tube and continuously opening into its correlated noodle iorming tube, the upper ends of said guiding tubes being disposed in a circle and designed to receive noodles discharged thereto by the distributing tube, means for moving said discharge end of the distributing tube into its successive positions opening into the guiding tubes, means operable at the termination of the noodle forming tube filling cycle of movement of the distributing tube for discharging the tubes of their contents thereby to cause the contents to be disposed in a row and a drying tray arranged to receive the rows of noodles so deposited.

21. In a device of noodle arranging device comprising a plurality oi conveying tubes provided with receiving ends arranged in a circle and discharging ends arranged in a non-circular order, said conveying tubes each constituting a downwardly curved guiding tube connecting the receiving end with the discharg ing end and pneumatic means for causing the noodles to pass through said guiding tubes, said tubes being gradually curved from end to end to assist in forming the noodles. 7

22. In a device of the class described, the combination of a noodle nest receiving co1npartment provided with a normally closed gate controlling the outlet therefrom and adapted to receive the noodles to flatten the same slightly, mechanism operatively connected to the gate to move the same into open position and a cam control for said mechanism designed to open the gate periodically.

28. In a device oi the class described, the combination of a noodle nest receiving compartment provided with a normally closed gate controlling the outlet therefrom and a second compartment opened at top and bottom, means including driving mechanism for distributing noodles in said compartments, a control for moving the gate into open position, means operatively connected with said driving mechanism for actuating the gate control after the noodleshave been deposited in the first named compartment and while the distributing means is placing a noodle in the second compartment.

In a device of the class described, a plurality or" noodle nest receiving coinpait the class described, a

ments each provided with a normally closed gate controlling the outlet therefrom, means for feeding noodles to said compartments, operating mechanism for moving said means successively into position to discharge into the different compartments and means controlled by the completion of the operating mechanism through a cycle of movement for simultaneously opening said gates.

25. In a device of the class described, a plurality of noodle nest receiving compartments each provided with a normally closed gate controlling the outlet therefrom, means for feeding noodles to said compartments, operating mechanism formoving said means successively into position to discharge into the different compartments, means controlled by the completion of the operating mechanism through a cycle-oi movement for simultaneaously opening said gates and means disposed in the path of movement of the noodles from the compartment for receiving the plurality of noodles passed from the several compartments.

, 26. In a device of the class described, the combination oi a noodle nest receiving compartment provided with a gate for controlling the movement of the noodles therefrom, a noodle nest receiving and supporting member movable into position to receive the noodle nest passed from the compartment and means actuated during the period of time following the movement of the member into position for moving said gate into open position.

27. In a device of the class described, the combination with a noodle nest containing chamber having a bottom designed to be opened, means formoving a noodle nest receiving tray into position beneath said chamber so as to receive the noodle nests passed therefrom, said means including an intermittent drive and means operable during the interval of rest of said intermittent drive for opening the bottom of said chamber whereby said chamber will be opened after the noodle nest receiving tray is in position.

28. In a device of the class described, the combination with a pneumatically actuated noodle nest fori'ning and feeding device, oi a tray table, a conveyor mounted in said table and designed to feed drying trays into and from a position to receive the noodles ejected from said forming and feeding device, means for actuating said conveyer in termittently and mechanism operatively co,- acting with said means to causesaid feeding device to dump the formed noodle nests onto the drying trays when one of said trays in receiving position.

29. In a device of the class described, the combination of a conveyor designed to carry drying trays into position to be elevated, a

tube for conveying pneumatic pressure and having its discharge end positioned above said conveyer, a tray elevating device disposed below the trays when in position and designed to engage the trays to elevate the same into position spaced from the con- Veyer and into substantially air tight engagement with said discharge end for a preset period of time and to reset the same into engagement with the conveyer at the end of same into position close to said discharge ends. I

31. In a device of the class described, the

V combination with a noodle nest feeding device. provided with means for intercepting the passage of the noodles therefrom, of means for conveying a noodle nest receiving tray from an inoperative position into a position beneathsaid feeding device, elevating means designed to engage said tray and raise the same into position close to said feeding device and means actuated during the period of time following the elevating of the trays to move said intercepting means into inoperative position and thus permit said feeding device to discharge the noodle nest onto the elevated tray.

In a device of the class described, the combination 'with a continuously acting noodle nest feeding device, of means for conveying a noodle nest receiving tray from an inoperative position into a position beneath said feeding device, elevating means designed. to engage said tray and raise the same into position close to said feeding device to receive the noodle nests as they are discharged therefrom, means controlling said conveying means to cause the same to become inactive during the period while the tray is elevated, and means for driving said feeding device and said conveying means.

33. In a device of the class described, the combination with an intermittently actuated movable feeding device, receptacles for receiving the articles fed from the feeding device and pneumatic means for passing the articles from the feeding device to the receiving receptacles, of a tray handling mechanism. including means for feeding the trays toward the device and means operable when tray is in position beneath the fe cling device to raise the tray intoposition to receive the noodles discharged from said receptacles.

34-. In device of the class described, the combination with a noodle nest forming device, a tray elevating device and a'tray conveyer designed to move the trays into position between the forming device and the elevating device, and a single driving means operatively connected to said device to elevate the tray and to cause said forming device todischarge the formed noodle nests onto the elevated tray.

In, a device of the class described, the combination with a plurality of discharge ends of a noodle handling machine adapted to constitute a means for limiting the elevation of a drying tray, of a drying tray, means for moving the tray into position engaging the discharge ends to receive the noodles when discharged from said discharge ends, means for elevating the tie; into engagement with said discharge ends and a resilient connection between said elevating means and the elevated tray, designed to permit said tray to adjust itself into engagement with said discharge end.

36. Ina device of the class described, a tray elevating mechanism including a tray support including 'two pivoted parallel levers withthe pivotal point of one adjacent the free end of the other and designed to engage the tray at more than two spaced apart points,v an elevating member and a resilient connection between said elevating member and said free ends of each of said levers designed to permit the tray to be canted into position when lifted by the elevating means. i

37. In a device of the class described, a tray elevating mechanism including a pair of spaced supports, a pair of crossed bars extending substantially parallel to each other with the end of one bar pivoted to one of the supports and the oppositeend of the other bar pivoted to the other support, a roller supporting said bars adjacent their centers, a cam operating on said roller to swing said bars and thus raise the free ends thereof and a tray supporting member shifted by the raising of said free ends. i

38. In a device of the class described, a tray elevating mechanism includinga pair of spaced supports, a pair of crossed'bars extending substantially parallel to each other with theend of one bar pivoted to one of the supports and the oppositeend of the other bar pivoted to the other support, a roller supporting said bars adjacent their centers, a cam operating on said roller to swing said bars and thus raise the free ends thereof, a tray supporting member shifted by the raising of said free ends and a tray supporting member and resilient connections between said member and the free ends of said bars.

89. In a noodle forming machine, the i combination of a relatively long tube adaptthrough the tube thereby to twist and bunch strands through said receptacle thereby to twist and bunch the strands into a noodle nest. r y

40. In a noodle forming machine, the combination of a relatively long tube ada ted to receive a charge of parallel and plia le strands of noodle paste and pneumatic means for blowing the strands forcefully the same into a noodle nest.

41. In a noodle forming machine, the combination of a relatively long tube, means for feeding a charge of parallel strands of noodle paste to said tube, means for directing a current of air through said tube to act on the strands as they are propelled therethrough thereby to form the strands into a noodle nest.

42. In a noodle forming machine, the combination of a relatively long tube, means for feeding a charge of parallel strands of noodle paste to said tube, means for directing a current of air through said tube to act on the strands into a noodle nest, a drying tray and means for distributing the formed noodle nests in spaced apart order on said 7 tray.

combination of a noodle nest forming device, means for distributing the nests in a layer with the nests spaced apart longitudinally and transversely relative to each other,

means for moving a drying tray into position to receive the noodles in said spaced apart position on said tray.

44. In a noodle forming machine, the combination with means for forming a long strip of noodle paste a receptacle for receiving the strip, means for subjecting the strip to a current of air to propel the same through the receptacle and to cause the same to change its configuration.

45. In a noodle forming machine, the combination with means for forming a long strip of noodle paste, a receptacle for receiving a strip, 'means for subjecting the strip to a current of air to propel the same through the receptacle and to cause the same to change its configuration, a receiving memj ber and means for directing the changed strip on to said receiving member.

Signed at Cleveland, in the county of.

Cuyahoga and State of Ohio this 25 day of 'February A. D. 1916.

KARL GAMMEL.

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