US2679215A - Molding apparatus having continuous belt-type printing mechanism - Google Patents

Description

J. S. TRUESDELL MOLDING APPARATUS HAVING CONTINUOUS May 25, 1954 BELT-TYPE PRINTING-MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 12, 1952 INVENTOR Jkn J fluesdell ATTORNEY May 25, 1954 Filed June 12, 1952 J. S. MOLDING APPARA TRUESDELL TUS HAVING CONTINUOUS BELT-TYPE PRINTING-MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR' J07??? 4S fiaesdell BY 1%W ATTORNEY Patented May 25, 1954 MOLDING i APPARATUS HAVING CONTINU OUS BELTeTYPE PRINTING'MECHKNISM John s. Truesdell, Los Angeles, -Calif.

Application June 12,1952, Serial No. 293,179" (cram-s) 4 Claims; 1

This invention has speciaL referenceto printing apparatus for producing cavitiesin the beds provided in mold trays of the. type employed inthe manufacture of articles ofconfection.

In candy manufacture, it: is customary, in the molding of candy bodies to provide apparatus in.--v eluding open-topped trayspontaining-rabed of starch, or other impression-receiving powderedor pulverulentamaterialw Such. trays are .brought into registry withmovablel dies whichenter the impressionable bed-.of material in each tray to' produce thereinisockets or cavities adapted for the reception of. fluid bodymaterials from which confections-are made; The cavities are of different shapesso that the body material, .upon

cooling or solidifying therein, will take the physical formiof the cavities;

Machines for producing ,the cavities the molding material are known as "mold printers; Hitherto most of these printers have operated on" the. intermittent principle; that is,:the'itrays are advanced along a confined guidewayglongitudi nally into vertical registry'with the printing dies. When in such registry transitional movement of? the trays is interrupted, so that the dies'may be" forced into the bed of impressionable"material contained in astatio'nary tray "in-producing the candy-forming cavities therein.

Ithas also been proposedf'as discldsedinmy prior copending: application, Serial" "Not" 257,043, fil'd" November 19, 195 1; to provide continuously operating, printers in which the'cavity forming" dies are carried by 'an'endlesschainpr belt means" mounted in a machine frame above'the horizontal and longitudinal plane of advance of the-starch=- filled trays, cooperative means being provided-fo'r eifecting relatively uniform tr'ansitional movementina common-longitudinal direction on the 11 part of the trays and the die-carryingbeltmeans;

so-"that While 7 the -=dies and trays" are moving mentcauses the dies to enter the bed ofpowdere'd receiv'ing cavities in" said powderedrnaterial.

While such a '-continuously'- operating printer i is 'able' to produce agiven-number of 'finished molds at a higher rate of speed than the intermittentrtype-of: printer, nevertheless the continuous::pr.inter: :hasnot been: altogether:satisfactory;' Inrparn'aatileast, th-is -isiattributableato itheinnattter-iv longitudinally in unison witheach otlier, thedies carried-- bythe' belt' means it may beaddition'ally' moved vertically orperpendicularly*tothe plane of travel of the trays. This perpendicular move of" providing app aratus which; will function in a smooth, uniform, non-vibratory and shock-avoid ing manner; It will be understo'od that shock 'and" vibrationfin'a machine of this kind are-undesir I able, since the samea interferes' with the: opera-.-:

tion'of the printer in its ability to" produce sharply and definitely defined cavities in the starch'or" other: powdered :material comprising the cavity-'-' receiving bed of'a molding tray.-

It' is, therefore, a primary'object of the present I inventionto provide a continuous mold-printing" ma 'chine" in which dies are "carried- "an-endless belt and wherein improved means;,are'iprovided" for efiecting without. Zjalfi or f'vibrationivertical movement of the dies while traveling. into and out of. engagement with-the; impressionable bedslof" molding trays.- 1

Itis another object of the invention to providemold-printing apparatus of *the chara'cteriirsetx forth in which the dies are 'mounted iforr-move sment inaunison with a frame-supported endlessa belt: means and wherein the:zdiesnare' iadvanced into and removed from engagement tvvithzrtray beds by: improved frame-"carried: cam meansf which cooperate with the dies to produce positive andacontrolled' *movementthereof 'towardziand. away from i associated :mold trays'.-

other-fobjectsof the invention are to: provide}: a continuous 'mold-printing apparatus: in which? belt ca-rried printing-dies are' moved into andzout' of: engagement with :the beds of associated molds through the action of reversely :dis'posed frame-1 carried cam devices; to provide cam devices which cooperate with :wedge. 'ielements formed 5011'" the 1- ends of spring pressed dieeca-rrying bars or strips;- the: arrangementa'beingsuch that as the die bars" or strips are advanced longitudinally" in unison with the associated molds bythe 'operati'omof a supporting endless chainor belt; the engagement of the wedge elements on said bars with the cam devices producing'easy, positive and non-j arring I movement of the die elements of saidbars'bothr into and out of the impressionable material con tained in'the molds; to provide apparatus of this. charactenwhich the wedge elements are carried by ,the die elementesuppoIting-bars are disposed j in pairs at-each end of each of said bars,.thewedge elements presenting. reversely .incl-ined surfaces which conform toethecinclinationeof the asso-.- cited eontactingl surfaeessof the I stationary cam. devices employed :in .impartingzmold bed ipene-r trating movement to the die elements andto provide mold printing apparatus for the production ofwconfectionery;articleswvherein saidiapparatuspa;

3 possesses a higher capacity for producing finished molds than prior apparatus of this nature.

For a further understanding of the invention, reference is to be had to the following description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. l is a side elevational view, partly in vertical longitudinal section, of a continuous moldprinting machine formed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken through the machine on the plane indicated byv the line 22 of Fig. l and disclosing more particularly the arrangement of the laterally off-set cam rails and the cooperative wedge elements of the die bars of the machine;

Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;- a

Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view showing one of the die bars and wedge elements carried at each end thereof.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, there has been disclosed at I a frame structure which, in this instance, comprises rigidly connected, vertically extending and transversely spaced side members 2 and a horizontally and longitudinally extending table 3, the latter being arranged between the side member 2. The upper surface of the table 3 is provided with transversely spaced longitudinally extending guide strips 4 which, in association with the table, provide a longitudinally disposed guideway for the reception and longitudinal advance of a plurality of open-topped mold trays 5.

The bottom of each of these mold trays, contiguous to the ends of each tray, i provided with uniformly spaced transversely extending cleats 6. These cleats are disposed for engagement with dogs 1 which are carried by and. disposed in uniformly spaced longitudinal order on a pair of drive chains 8, the latter passing around sprockets 9 fixed upon transversely extending frame-journaled'shafts ill. One of the shafts may be'provided, as shown, with a pulley l I, by means of which rotating power is imparted to the shafts in driving the chains 8. The sprockets and chains are disposed in vertical registry with longitudinally disposed'slots I2 formed in the table 3. The spacing of the dogs I is such that the same engage with the rear surfaces of the forwardly disposed cleats 6 of each mold'tray, whereby when power is imparted to the chains 8, the engagement of the dogs I with the cleats 6 will cause longitudinal advance 'of the trays along the guideway G provided longitudinally forsaid trays by the frame structure. The direction of advance of the trays along said guideway is indicated by the arrow b, as shown in'Fig. 1.

The trays each include relatively shallow, rectangular flat bottom devices, the same being formed with short upstanding marginal Walls l3 which produce in the trays shallow compartments or chambersadapted for the reception of a finely divided powdered orpulverulent material, such as starch, or other farinaceous substances. With the trays filled with starch or the like, as shown in Fig. 1, and advancing along the guideway G, the apparatus of the present invention provides printing mechanism adapted for producing in the mold beds, indicated at S, a plurality of cavities shown at C. In these cavitie candy-forming material in a fluid or formative state may be introduced for the molding of candy articles of desired configuration.

This printing mechanism, which is indicated in its entirety by the'letter P, comprises in a pre- 4 ferred embodiment a pair of horizontally and transversely extending, longitudinally spaced shafts M, the latter being suitably journaled for rotation in bearings l5 carried by the side mem bers 2. In this instance one of the shafts it, as shown in Fig. 3, is equipped at one end with a sprocket or its equivalent it, by means of which power applied to the sprocket may be used to effect rotation of the shafts l4 and the endless belt mechanism associated therewith.

, Each of the shafts is is equipped with a pair of sprockets it which are arranged within the confines of the side members 2. Passing around the teeth of the sprockets 18 are a pair of vertically situated, transversely spaced, endless chains or belts Hi. In this instance the chains or belts have been shown as being of the link type, and each pair of transversely registering links suicably joined therewith the ends of a transversely extending die-carrying strip 2c. The pintle pins 2i, 'used inarticulately uniting the ends of the links comprising the chains [9, are preferably extended, as shown in Fig. 3, in order to have their outer extended ends equipped with rollers 22, the latter being adapted to ride on horizontally disposed guide angles 23 which are stationarily positioned on the frame structure l.

Each of the strips 2|] is formed with a pair of longitudinally spaced openings disposed in registry with opening formed in bearing sleeves 24 mounted on each strip. Slidably positioned in these openings are stems 25 carried by hub 26 which are mounted on and project rigidly from the intermediate portions of a plurality of diecarrying bars 21. v.Thesleeves 24 constitute seats for the reception of coil springs 23, the latter surrounding the stems 25 and contact with nut-held members, 29 threaded on the outer ends of the stems 25. The springs tend to expand until the ends of the hubs 26 contact with the strips 2? as shownat the top of Fig. 3, thereby maintaining the strips 20 and the bars 2? in spaced parallel order. Each of the-bars 2! is provided with a die 39 which includes a plurality of cavity-forming projections 3 l..

. In order tomove the projections 35 of the dies 30 into cavity-producing engagement with the bed S of each of the molding trays a the latter move in unison with the printing dies, each of the strips 2'! has formed at each end thereof a pair of oppositely disposed inner and outer wedge elements 32 and 33; respectively. Each of these elements is formed with a surface disposed in a plane angular to that of the bar surface on which thewedge elements are formed.

These wedge elements are shaped and positioned for engagement with stationary cam rails 34 which are carried by and form a part of the frame structure. -As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the cam rails which are arranged-on each side of the frame structure, are positioned in reversely extending oppositely disposed order. The forward cam rail, indicated at 34c, has its bottom surface 34?) inclined downwardly and rearwardly from the thin forward end 340 thereof to the fiat and thickened rear edge 34d. The companion cam rail 346 at each side of the frame ha its lower surface 34f disposed to extend in an angular upwarddirection from the thickened fiat forward end34g thereoftoward therelatively thin rear edge34h.

By reference to Fig. 2, it will be noted that the rail 34a at each side of the frame is disposed closely adjacent the side member 2, whereas the smears:

cam rails' 34wwill' be disposed above and in vertical registry with the outer wedge elements 33 of the bars 21.

Theinclination'of the surfaces of the'wedg'e elements 33- corresponds with the surfaces 34b of th'e'cam ransom the outer surfaces of the wedge-elements '32 corresponds with the inclination of the surfaces 347 of the cam rails" 3 46;

In the operation of the machine; as the starch Likewise, the inclination of ZJFApparatusz fore roduc'ing :confectiomformingimoldsg comp smg::ta:frame tstru'ctureipro vided iivith a longitudinally extending guideway formed fon the reception: of a pluralityof fiat,

' shallow} open-topped mold' traysy each of said trays 7 containing- -a bed of Ia i powdered m'aterial adaptedfor the formation of confection-molding cavities therein,="means 'forproducing sustained uninterrupted longitudinal movement of said' trays in' adj 'a'ce'nt ord'en along said guideway, continuously operating printe'r= =mechanismcarried by said frame structure and 'disposediabove the trays positioned "em-the guideway, said printer mechanism includingan endl'ess bel-t supported bysaid frame structure, 'said 'bel-t having a lower. 6

run'mevable' longitudinally-"of and inparallel adjoiningrelationship withsaid-guideways and the filled mold trays move along the guideway G of the frame structure "into registry with the upwardly disposedprinting. mechanism P, the printing dies supported by the lower run of the conveyor belt l9 ar firstjby the action of the wedge-shaped cam-rai-lsM'd, forced downwardly and outwardly against the resistance ofieredby their coil springs 28. This operation causes the die projections 3t to-enter the-starch bed contained-in the moldtray, as shown inFig. 3, thereby producingthe-cavitiesC in said bed. When the cavities are fully formedthe die projections 3% are gradually released from contact with the moldbeds by theengagement of the wedge elements 32 with the surfaces 341* of the rails 34s. This result is accomplished in a manner avoiding any undue jarring or vibratingon the part of the mold trays, so that therewill be no undesired or imperfect formations produced in the die-formed shapes of the mold cavities. The arrangement of the rails 34b and 34e is such that the wedge elements 32 and 33 are in joint contact therewith as said wedge elements pass from engagement from one set of said cam rails to the next. This construction avoids the abrupt or sudden removal of the dies from engagement with the mold beds, as in the construction set forth in my above identified co-pending application, thereby resulting in the formation of more perfectly developed mold cavities.

I claim:

1. Printing mechanism for producing molding cavities in the beds of molds utilized in producing articles of confection comprising: a frame structure having a longitudinal guideway, means for advancing a plurality of molds in longitudinally aligned closely succeeding order along said guideway, endless belt means arranged above said guideway, printing dies carried by said belt means in longitudinally spaced positions thereon for registry with the molds on said guideway, means carried by said belt means supporting said dies in connection therewith for movement in. directions generally perpendicular to the plane of movement of the belt means, spring means retaining said dies in withdrawn non-printing positions in connection with the supporting means thereof, and relatively stationary cam devices carried by said frame structure and cooperative with said die-supporting means to produce perpendicular movement of said dies and in opposition to the forces exerted by the spring means when the dies are broughtinto printing registry with the molds on said guideway, said cam means including reversely disposed inclined surfaces engageable with said die-supporting means to produce gradual movement of the dies when traveling into and out of cavity-producing engagement with molds supported on said guideway.

-valsymeans supporting said dies-forsliding move-- mold trays disposed thereonyprinting dies carried bysaid endless belt at spaced longitudinal interment in connection with said belt perpendicularly thereof and'toward and away' -from the beds ofsai'd' trays when said dies are brought into registry therewith, spring means cooperative with *said'dies to maintain the same normally in withdrawn non+printing position with respect to said trays cam"means stationarily "carried by said frame structure and cooperativewith said die-" supportingmeans to produce movement of said dies against the'opposition of said spring means and into'and out of engagement with the beds of said trays while said 'dies'andtrays are traveling in relative registryandWith the "lower run of said belt' longitudinally "of said guideway, said cam means having reversely disposed inclined surfaces arranged longitudinally of said guideway, and wedge elements carried by said die-supporting means arranged to engage said cam means in a. manner causing the dies to be brought gradually into cavity-printing engagement with the molding material of said trays and gradually removed therefrom while the dies are traveling in cavity-forming unison with the mold trays.

3. Printing mechanism for producing cavities in moldable beds of confection-forming mold trays, comprising: a supporting structure having a longitudinal guideway, a plurality of flat shallow mold trays positioned in train-forming order on said guideway and movable in unison longitudinally thereof, each of said trays being formed with an open-topped chamber for the reception of a body of an impression-receiving molding material, an endless longitudinally extending belt means carried by said supporting structure and having a lower run positioned above and in spaced parallel relation to said guideway and the trays positioned thereon, said lower run being movable in the same direction and at the same linear speed as said trays, a plurality of transversely extending die-supportings bars formed with bearing sleeves, transversely extending die-carrying strips provided with stems slidably mounted in the bearing sleeves of said bars, spring means cooperative with said bars and stems and operative to apply forces to said strips in positions removed from printing contact with molding material present in the associated trays, a pair of transversely spaced, oppositely facing, stationary cams carried by said supporting structure and extending longitudinally thereof on each side of said guideway throughout substantially the full length of the lower run of said belt, said cams being formed to present reversely inclined surfaces, and a pair of cooperative, reversely inclined wedge elements carried by each end of each of said strips, said wedge elements contacting the inclined surfaces of said cams to move the stripcarried dies into full cavity-printing contact and formation with said moldable tray material in a manner effecting gradual movement of the dies into and out of said mold material in the formation of the cavities therein while the mold trays are moving in unison with the lower run of said belt means.

4. In a continuous press for producing cavities in candy-forming molds, said press being of the type having a frame structure formed with a longitudinally extending guideway for the slidable reception of a plurality of shallow, flat, open-topped mold trays containing pressureplaceable molding material: means for advancing said trays without interruption and at a predetermined rate of linear travel along said guideway, a pair of parallel sprocket-carrying shafts journaled for rotation in connection with said frame structure above said guideway, a pair of transversely spaced, parallel, longitudinally extending, endless chains trained around the sprockets of said shafts, longitudinally spaced, transversely extending bars secured at their ends to said chain, said bars being formed with hearing sleeves, die-carrying strips provided with stems slidably mounted in the bearing sleeves of said bars, spring means cooperative with said bars and stems and serving to apply forces to said strips which normally maintain the printing dies of said strips in positions removed from printing contact with the molding material present in the associated trays, elongated stationary cam members carried by said frame structure and disposed above the molds on said guideway, there being two of said cam members at each side of said guideway and which are disposed in transversely 01T- set relationship with respect to each other, having reversely inclined surfaces, and a pair of wedge elements mounted at each end of said diecarried strips disposed for registry with the pairs of cam members arranged at each side of said guideway for selective engagement therewith, relative engagement between said cam members and Wedge elements serving to move said die strips gradually against the resistance of said spring means into and out of cavity-printing contact with the molding material of said tray during longitudinal advance of the printing dies in registry with said trays.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 724,588 Koneman Apr. 7, 1903 805,702 7 Baggaley Nov. 2-8, 1905 844,911 Baroody Feb. 19, 1907 1,015,790 Dern Jan. 30, 1912 1,781,345 Sauy et a1 Nov. 11, 1930 1,839,050 Ponisch Dec. 29, 1931 1,967,565 Thurlings July 2 1, 1934 2,023,291 Roth Dec. 3, 1935 2,214,191 Batchell et al Sept. 10, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 152,101 Great Britain 1- Oct. 4, 1920

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