US3080830A - Serving-portion forming and dispensing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

SERVING-PORTION FORMING AND DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 2, 1960 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. .1

(7 y l J INVENTORSI PAUL E. WALTER BJ'ESSE. M. LEWIS ATTORNEYS March 12, 1963 P. E. WALTER ET Al. 3,080,830

SERVING-PORTION FORMING AND DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 2, 1960 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 2

INVENTORS. PAUL E. WALTER BgESSE M. LEWIS ATTORNEYS March 12, 1963 P. E. WALTER ET AI. 3,080,830

SERVING-PORTION FORMING AND DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 2, 1960 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Pie. 3

INVENTORS. PAUL E. WALTER v m-Q'ESSE M. LEWSS ATTORNEYS March 12, 1963 P..IE. WALTER ET AI. 3,

SERVING-PORTION FORMING AND DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 2, 1960 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Q m m N v N N 0 i Q 3 l g E g; 9 m N Q A w N i Q 2 a ,l\ T. :2 E51 I v 95 i h f- KQ I L @fl I I \P X g; R h\ I I I l X; 0 I

m 3 to WIN INVENTORS: PAUL E. WALTER JESSE M. LEWIS ATTORNEYS March 12, 1963 P. E. WALTER ETA]. 3,080,830

SERVING-PORTION FORMING AND DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 2, 1960 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG, '7

FIG. 6

7 h f Q INVENTORS AUL E. WALTER BgESSE M. LE.W\S

ATTORNEYS March 12, 1963 P. E. WALTER ETAI. 3,080,830

SERVING-PORTION FORMING AND DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 2, 1960 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 F'aca. 6 FIG. 9

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I PAUL E. WALTER TES$E M. LEWIS ATTORNEYS United States Patent Office 3,080,830 Patented Mar. 12, 1963 3,080,839 SERViNG-PORTIGN FORMKNG AND DISPENSING APPARATUS Paul E. Walter and .lesse Mead Lewis, Tulsa, ()lsla, as-

signors to Malt-A-Plenty, Inc, Tulsa, Okla, 21 corporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 2, 1960, Ser. No. 53,728 12 Claims. (Cl. 107-8) This invention relates to apparatus for forming and dispensing a succession of serving portions of a moldable food substance supplied in bulk, being concerned more particularly with apparatus of this character which is employed to form and dispense a succession of serving por tions of ice cream and other related refrigerated food.

An object of the invention is to provide new and improved apparatus of the foregoing character which is more economical to produce, is more reliable and satisfactory in operation, is more readily taken apart for cleaning and sterilizing, and is more readily reassembled thereafter.

Heretofore, apparatus employed to form and dispense a succession of serving portions of ice cream and the like, while capable of fulfilling their intended purpose under selected conditions of operation, have been open to several objections which have detracted from their usefulness.

One objection or drawback to the noted prior apparatus is that it requires attachment to an existing power driven dispensing machine of comparatively bulky proportions,

thereby precluding the use of the forming and dispensing apparatus in locations of reduced floor space.

A further drawback is that the noted existing apparatus lacks provisions for discharging the molded serving portions at precisely timed intervals and in synchronisrn with commonly used conveying apparatus such as that employed to convey the molded articles into a hardening or freezing room.

According to the invention, the foregoing and other dnawbacks of the prior apparatus having been overcome by the introduction of a series of interrelated features of improved design and operation which are contained in a unified and compact construction which includes all the driving and driven apparatus necessary for accepting the pressurized Output of a source of bulk supply of the product to be dispensed, molds the supplied product into serving portions at a desired frequency, and discharges them precisely when desired, with all parts which contact the product being dispensed being capable of ready re moval for sterilization and reassembly.

According to one feature, the structure which effects the molding of the successive portions and the discharge thereof is located in front of a main gear housing containing control structure through which the molding and discharge operations are controlled.

According to a related feature, provisions are conveniently made for attaching the outlet of a source of bulk supply to the inlet to the molding apparatus, which inlet is located above and forwardly of the molding struc ture.

A further feature resides in the provision of driving structure located behind the noted gear housing and comprising a driving motor and including a speed-reduction gear box interposed between the driving motor and the main gear housing, a clutch and a brake being interposed between the driving motor and the speed-reduction gear box. The clutch and brake are employed for starting and stopping the molding operations at precisely the desired time, and are controlled by pilot structure which insures that the operation of molding a serving portion is started only when desired and is terminated only after being fully completed.

According to a further feature, the rotatable moldopening parts of the mold structure, which are opened after a portion has been molded to permit discharge there of, are readily removable for Washing and sterilizing. According to this feature, these parts are hingedly secured to the main gear housing rather than being hingedly attached to the fixed molding structure, thereby facilitating their being removed for the noted purpose by the simple expedient of loosening retaining thumb nuts.

A still further feature relates to the construction of the mold and its supply fixture as matching parts which fit respectively below and above a ring-like fitting fixed to the gear housing, with the three members being held together by a pair of bolts fitted with a thumb screw, enabling them to be readily loosened to permit their disassembly, for washing and sterilizing.

According to a still further feature, the normal position of the rotatable sprue-cutting knife of the molding apparatus is adjustable as desired by the turning of a backstop screw against the end of which a rotation-control member for the sprue cutting knife normally rests.

The above-mentioned and other objects and features of this invention and the manner of attaining them will become more apparent, and the invention itself will be best understood, by reference to the following description of an embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, comprising FIGS. 1 to 12, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a preferred form of structure according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the structure of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the structure of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a right-side view of the stripping-knife control box;

FIG. 5 is a left-end view of the structure section;

FIG. 6 is a rear sectional view of the main gear houss;

FIG. 7 is a left sectional view of the main gear housing;

FIGS. 8 and 9 are sectional views of the mold structure in closed position and open position respectively;

FIG. 10 is a top sectional view of the main gear box of FIGS. 6 and 7, showing parts which actuate the stripping lonife of FIGS. 8 and 9;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of a modified mold structure; and

FIG. 12 is a profile view of the loosening knife of FIG. 11.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 10, item 1 of the preferred embodiment (FIGS. 1 to 10) is the main gear housing which contains cams and related apparatus through which the mold structure is controlled; item 2, mounted on and in front of main gear housing 1, comprises the fixed portion of the mold structure, supported from the main gear housing by plate-like or shelf-like extension 44 (FIGS. 5 and 7), attached to main gear housing 1; item 3 is the L-shaped mounting plate of FIGS. 1 to 3, having the rearwardly disposed extension plate 14 attached thereto; and item 4 is the driving motor of FIGS. 1 to 3, having a shaft 5 (FIG. 2) to which pulley 6 and fly wheel 7 are attached.

One end of the longer member of mounting plate 3, 14 is secured in place against the back of main gear housing 1, as by the screws of FIG. 2 by which the reducing gear box 30 is mounted.

Motor 4 is suspended from motor mounting plates 21 and 2.2, to which it is attached by screw 23. Motor mount 21 is secured to end plate 14 by screws, one of which is seen in FIG. 2, while motor mount 22 is secured in place by having an opening therein (not shown) which receives the body portion of clutch 16.

As seen best in FIG. 2, disposed above the motor 4 partly in is a driven shaft 8 rotatable around which is pulley 9 driven by belt 10 from pulley 6 of motor 4. Shaft 8 is journaled at one end within the solenoid-actuated brake 17 and at the other end in reducing-gear housing 30, and passes idly through the solenoid-actuated clutch 16.

Normally, pulley 9 (FIG. 2), along with collar 9a and clutch ring 16a, rotates idly around shaft 8 without turing the shaft, ring 16b being secured to the shaft through collar 9a. Clutch 16 contains a solenoid (not shown) which is energizable to attract the periphery of the shaft-attached plate 16b into contact with clutch ring 16a, thereby causing plate 16b to rotate with ring 16a to turn shaft 8.

Brake plate 17b is secured to shaft 8, through its associated illustrated collar, and thus turns with the shaft. A solenoid (not shown) in brake 17 is energized when desired to stop the rotating shaft 8 at its predetermined normal location, causing brake plate 17b to be attracted into firm engagement with brake ring 17a, thereby quickly braking shaft 8 to a stop. In practice the deenergization of the solenoid occurs contemporaneously with the energization of the brake.

When rotated, shaft 8 drives reducing gears (not shown) within reducing gear housing 30. The base 31 of housing 30 is secured to the back wall of the main gear housing 1 by screws 32 which also clamp the main gear housing to mounting plate 3.

As seen best in FIGS. and 7, gear box 30 has a reduced-speed shaft 90 at right angles to shaft 8. Shaft 90 is aligned with shaft 134 in main gear housing 1, and is coupled thereto through collar 91 and pin 93, the coupling being in the nature of a universal joint. Shaft 134 is thus rotated at the same reduced speed as shaft 90. One end of shaft 134 is provided with a bearing assembly 128 fixed in wall member 127 of the main gear housing 1, and the opposite end of shaft 134 is provided with a gear assembly 129 fixed to the associated front wall of housing 1. Wall member 127 is preferably an insert plate which is secured to housing 1 by screws (not shown).

The described deenergization of clutch 16 and the energization of brake 17 to stop the operation at the desired predetermined point may be controlled by cam 92 fixed to the periphery of collar 91 of shaft 90. For this purpose, an auxiliary plate 33 (FIGS. 2, 5, 7) is mounted on base 31 of speed reducer 30 and has microswitch 35 mounted thereon with its actuating stud 36 extending upwardly a short distance therefrom. Plate 33 includes a strip-like portion extending to the right between the legs of the housing 30 (FIG. 2). This portion of plate 33 is overlapped by lever 34, pivoted thereto at 37 to lie just below collar 91. When shaft 90 and collar 91 are just completing a revolution, cam 92 engages lever 34 and moves it downwardly, actuating microswitch 35 through its actuating plunger 36. Thereby, solenoid 16 is deenergized and brake 17 is energized to stop shaft 8 and its gear connected shaft 90.

As seen in plan view in FIG. 3, the wiring for the control of solenoid 16 and brake 17 is carried to junction box 157 mounted on the front of plate 3. This wiring includes cable 156a for microswitch 35, cable 15611 attached to binding posts 18 for solenoid 16, and cable 156a attached to binding posts19 for brake 17. Apparatus accommodated by junction box 157 further includes start-stop switch 159 for motor 4, and pilot light 158.

Mold-support plate 44 (FIGS. 1, 5, 7) is molded with or secured to the front wall of the main gear box 1, and has finished upper and lower surfaces with which surfaces of flange 43 of mold 2 and of flange 42 of receiving fixture 41 make sealing contact. Members 2 and 41 are held detachably in contact with plate 44 by screws 45, secured by wing nuts 46 (FIG. 1). Plate 44 has a central opening 160 (FIG. 7) for the passage of the material to be molded from the entrance fixture 41 into the upper portion of mold 2. This passage of material is controlled by valve 100 (FIG. 5), normally held closed by spring 104 surrounding valve stem 101. Valve is normally seated against the inserted valve seat 38. Valve spring 104 is contained within spring bore 103 in the upper stem portion 154 of part 41, and is retained by cap which has a bore 106 to act as an upper guide for valve stem 101, the lower guide being at passageway 102.

Valve 100 is controlled by the ladder-like lever 72 (FIGS. 3, 5, 7), pivoted at 73 to pivot hub 74 attached to main gear box 1. Lever 72 has bridging rungs or cross members 71 to hold the side members together. The front end of lever 72 is pivoted at 107 to the stem of valve 101. The pivot 107 is movable up an down in a pivot slot (not shown) in the upper stem 154. The up and down movement of lever 72 is controlled by lever 75 pivoted thereon at 76. In the normal seated position of valve 100, the front end of lever 75 rests on the upper end of stop stud 78, locked in adjusted position by nut 79, and the rear end of lever 75 is substantially in contact with the upper face of vertical actuating rod 77 slidably mounted in main gear box 1 (FIGS. 5 to 7).

In the main gear box 1 (FIGS. 6 and 7), actuating rod 77 for lever 72 is slidingly mounted in guide sleeve 81, fitted into the illustrated bored opening into the top wall of the main gear box and into reinforcing boss 80. The lower end portion of tube 81 is vertically slotted at 82 to provide a non-turn guideway for the stirrup-like member 83 affixed to rod 77. Member 83 carries a cam roller 85, pivoted thereto at 84, and normally in contact with drive cam 136. Roller 85 is normally on a reduced-diameter portion of the cam 136, as illustrated.

When shaft 134, to which cam 136 is rigidly attached, is rotated one complete revolution to power a molding operation hereinafter described, roller 85 is raised when contacted by the raised portion of cam 136 thereby raising control rod 77 through stirrup member 83. Pivot member 75 is thereby rotated, raising its pivot 76 to rotate the lever 72 upwardly about pivot 73. Thereby, valve 100 is opened by the consequent upward movement of valve stem 102 induced by 72 through pivot 107, against the restoring tension of spring 104. Valve 100 remains open while the raised portion of cam 136 is passing under roller 85, and closes under the downward force of spring 104. The raised portion of the cam is so dimensioned that one serving-quantity portion of the food substance to be molded is passed by the valve while in open position.

As illustrated best in FIGS. 1, 8, and 9, the lower half of the mold cavity, of which the upper half is defined by mold 2, is defined by a pair of similar quadrants 94 and 95 which are mounted on respective rotatable shafts 121 and 122 contained within the main gear housing and extending forwardly therefrom, and journaled at and 131. By the turning of these shaft-s, the quadrants are rotatable between the closedmold position shown in FIG. 8 and the open-mold position shown in FIG. 9. Quadrants 94 and 95 are provided with respective hinge bosses 96 and 97, each of which is bored to receive its associated mounting shaft .121 or v122. -As seen best in FIGS. 1 and 5, the quadrants 94 and 95 are held assembled with their actuating shafts by thumb nuts 123 and 124. As seen in FIG. 5, left quadrant 94 is keyed on its operating shaft by pin 66 carried by the shaft and received within slot 69 in hinge boss 96 of the quadrant. As hereinafter described, the quadrants 94 and 95 are normally held in closed position of FIG. 8 and are maintained in that position until the valve is opened to cause the mold to be filled, following which the shafts 121 and 122 on which they are mounted are rotated in opposite directions to bring the mold to its open position shown in 'FIG. 9. When the molded contents of the mold are discharged, the shafts 121 and 122 are rotated back to their normal position to again close the mold. It will be observed that this illustrated construction facilitates the removal of the quadrants 94 and 95 for cleaning, which is accomplished simply by removing thumb nuts 123 and 124 to allow the quadrants to be removed by slipping their hinge bosses 96 and 97 off the end of shafts 121 and 122.

Collar cams 125 and 126 areapplied to shafts 121 and 122 and fixed rigidly therewith as by set screws (not shown). These collar cams are radially slotted as shown in FIG. 6 to receive actuating rollers 143 and 144. These rollers are carried at the ends of cross arm 142, fixed to yoke-like cam-controlled member 139. Member 13-9 is vertically slidable in slot 140 in the front wall of the main gear housing 1, and is normally biased upwardly by quadrant-restoring springs 151 and 152, attached to brackets depending from the inner upper surface of housing 1. Member 139 carries actuating roller .138 in peripheral contact with mold-control cam 135, fixed to drive shaft 134. Normally, cam-controlled member 139 is in its uppermost position, wherein the mold quadrants 94 and 95 controlled thereby are in the normal mold-closed position of FIG. 8. When cam 13 5' is rotated until its raised or outwardly extended portion engages roller 138, yoke member 139 is slid downwardly against the tension of restoring rings 151 and: 152, carrying bracket 14-2 and its attached rollers 143 and 144 downwardly a substantial distance. These rollers act through their illustrated radial slots in quadrant- control cams 125 and 126 to rotate these cams substantially 90 degrees, thereby correspondingly rotating the shafts 121 and 122 to which cams 125 and 126 are rigidly attached. The quadrants 94 and 95 are thereby rotated about 90 degrees from the closed position of FIG. 8 to the open position illustrated in FIG. 9.

When the raised portion of drive cam 135 has passed control roller 13-8, springs 15 1 and 152 'bring the associated cam-controlled parts back to their illustrated normal' position, again closingthe mold.

It will be observed that the mold quadrants are driven .to open position and are spring-restored to closed position.- This control arrangement is conducive to safety since a workmans finger caught between the quadrants during the closing of the mold will hold the mold in a partially open position, rather than being severed by the closing quadrants as would be the case if they were positively cam-driven to closed position. Additionally, the closing springs 1 5 1 and 152 yield as required to permit the mold to partly open for the escape of excess filling material during an off-standard filling operation, thereby reducing strain on the mold parts.

As shown best in FIGS. 8 and 9, mol'd 2 has-horizontal openings through its side walls to receive pivot 111 and shaft 112 of cutting knife 110. Knife 110 is employed to loosen a molded portion from the mold after quadrants 94 and 95 have moved somewhat toward the fully opened position shown in- FIG. 9. For this purpose, the knife L- is normally in a forward position as shown in FIG. 8 and is rotated upwardly and rearwardly through about l 80 degrees to the rearward position shown in FIG; 9, from which position it is rotated reversely to the position of FIG, 8 upon the subsequent closure of quadrants 94 and 95.

Tosecure the noted forward and reverse lsO degree operation of knife .110, knife shaft 112 is coupled to the aligned knife-operating shaft 114 (FIGS. .1, 4, 8) by collar 113, secured to shafts 1'12 and .114 by set screws 16 1 and 162 (FIG. 8). Shaft 1.14 is journaled in knife gear housing .115 of FIGS. 1 and 4, secured to the right-hand side of main gear box 1. The inner end of shaft 114 carries pinion gear 120 (-FIG. 4) operatively associated with segment 119, carried on the forward end of knife lever 118; pivoted at 153. The rearward end of knife lever 118 carries crank arm 149 (FIGS. 4, 6, 10), which is reciprocable in vertical slot 117 in gear box 115 and in gear housing 1. As seen in FIG. 6, crank arm 14-9 is normally biased in. an upward direction by spring 150 against lever 148, which is one of two levers of an operating lever assembly (FIG. 10) pivoted at 133 to pivot care 132 fixed to back wall 127 of main gear housing 1.

The other arm 147 of this assembly has a short crank attached thereto which underlies rear-Ward extension 141 of yoke 13-9 with a definite normal clearance as is illustrated in FIG. 7.

The normal position (FIG. 8) of knife 210 is controlled by longitudinal adjustment of screw 108 (FIGS. 1, 4, 6), to adjust the normal position of segment 119. Screw 108 is provided with lock nut 109 (FIG. 4) for retaining the adjustment imparted thereto.

When cam undergoes a rotation as hereinbefore described to act through roller 138 to force slide yoke 139 downwardly, nothing occurs to actuate knife 110 until the quadrants 94 and 95 of the mold have moved erhaps halfway toward open position. At about this point, rearwardly extending arm 141 of yoke 139 has moved downwardly to contact the short crank arm 125 attached to lever arm 147. Lever arm 147 is thereby carried downwardly throughout the remainder of the described downward movement of yoke 139, carrying lever arm 148 of FIGS. 6 and 10 downwardly through the same degree of rotation. rank arm 149 of lever 118 is thereby moved downwardly in slot 117 to rotate lever 118 (FIGS. 4 and 10) away from stop screw 198. Segment 119, carried by lever 118, thereby rotate pinion gear 121) and knife 111i clockwise (FIG. 4) through approximately degrees. In undergoing the noted rotation, knife 110 passes smoothly along the inner surface of the mold and substantially in contact therewtih to cut the formed molded article loose from the mold and from the attached sprue in the upper part of the mold cavity. While this cutting operation of the knife begins as described when the segments of the mold are only partly open, the molded article is not loosened suificiently to permit it to drop from the mold until the cutting knife has performed substantially more than half of its semicircular cutting movement, wherefore the quadrants 94 and 95 have then moved sufficiently far apart that they are not struck by the falling molded article.

Operation of the disclosed structure reveals that frozen dessert material of the character of ice cream tends to adhere sufficiently to quadrants 94 and 95 that the molded article tends to'be torn and pitted by the described openmg movement of these quadrants. Air supply structure, as seen best in FIGS. 1, 3, and 5, is provided to overcome this tendency. It includes an air supply hose 88 under pressure (FIGS. 1 and 3), and a hollow distributing tube 48 closed at its left-hand end. Stem 51, attached to tube 4-8, passes through split collar 52 and is held locked in the desired adjusted position therein by thumb screw 53. Collar 52 is attached to yoke 48', held in mounted position by the screws 45 and wing nuts 46 through which the mold is assembled to the fixed mold structure.

Tube 48 passes through the body portion of control valves 49 and 50, each of which includes the illustrated knurled-grip valve stem to permit adjustment of the discharge of air therethrough. The valves 49 and 50 are provided with short flexible discharge hoses 87 and 88',

secured sealingly thereto to conduct the air output of the valves to jet fixtures 58- and 59. Each of these fixtureshas a nozzle opening directed toward its associated quadrant, as shown at 61) for fixture 58. Fixtures 58 and 59 are held in position by links 54 and 55, assembled around shafts 121 and 1 22, and tightened under thumb nuts 123 and 124.

Warming air from jet fixtures 58 and 59 continuously jets onto and flows over the outer surface of quadrants 94 and 95, thereby maintaining them warm enough to slightly melt the surface portion of a molded article in contact with the quadrants, permitting them to break away from the molded article without tearing or pitting of the article. Air supplied at room temperature ordi narily sufiices.

During the described operation of the mold quadrants 94 and 95, the links 54 and 55 swing outwardly and inwardly with the quadrants, holding jet fixtures 58 and 59 at the illustrated constant distance from the quadrants, whereby the jet streams of air continue uninterruptedly to be directed onto the quadrants during their opening and closing movement. Thus, in efiect, links 54 and 55 connect jet fixtures 58 and 59 rigidly with quadrants 94 and 95 for rotation therewith.

Access may be had to the interior of the main gear box 1 through inspection plate 98 (FIG. held in position by screws 99 over the inspection opening in the main gear box indicated in dotted outline.

In the operation of the disclosed mold structure, brake 17 of FIGS. 1 to 3 is normally released along with clutch 16, and motor 4 is operating to turn shaft 6, belt 10, pulley 9, and parts 9a and 16a. The parts driven by shaft 8 through reducing-gear box 30 are thereby permitted to remain in their normal described position.

During operation, ice cream or a comparable frozen dessert is supplied to the mold apparatu under pressure by way of inlet 4% (FIGS. 1 and 5) of supply member 41.

When a molding operation is to occur, the noted solenoid (not shown) in clutch 16 is energized, attracting the shaft-mounted plate 16b (FIGS. 1 to 3) into contact with the rotating ring member 16a, thereby clutching shaft 8 with pulley 9, thereby causing shaft 8 to revolve enough times to cause one revolution of the reducedspeed output shaft 98 of gear box 30 (FIGS. 5 and 7) producing one revolution of the coupled control shaft 134 within main gear housing 1. When this operation has just been completed, the noted solenoid of clutch 16 is deenergized and the solenoid (not shown) of brake 17 is energized, whereupon brake plate 17b is attracted to the fixed brake ring 17a, thereby abruptly stopping the rotating movement to terminate the molding operation in the correct starting position for the next ensuing molding operation. Fly wheel 7, carried on shaft 5 of motor 4, acts to prevent a momentary lowering of the motor speed when the above noted clutching operation occurs.

When the shaft 134 (FIGS. 5 and 6) starts to undergo its described single revolution for a molding operation, its attached cam 136 first raises valve stem 77 as described to raise valve stem 101 to open valve 168 as described. Thereby, the moldable substance received under presusre, through 40 and 41, is passed through the open valve 100 to fill the mold, whereupon valve 108 is closed as described by spring 104 when the raised part of cam 136 passes out from under valve-actuating roller 85.

Shortly thereafter, the larger cam 135 acts upon roller 138 to slide yoke 139 downwardly, as described, to rotate shafts 121 and 122. through collars 125 and 126 by the action of rollers 144 of cross member 142, attached to yoke 139. This movement continues as de-' scribed until quadrants 94 and 95 have been rotated from their closed position of FIG. 8 to their fully open position shown in FIG. 9.

When the described opening of quadrants 94 and 95 is about at its midpoint, the described lSO-degree rotation of cutting knife 110 begins, at the completion of which the molded article has been cut loose and discharged between the then fully opened quadrants 94 and 95. This operation of the cutting knife, it will be recalled, is responsive to downwardly moving rearward extension 141 (FIGS. 6 and 7) contacting crank arm 135 of lever 147 to force that lever downwardly, whereby the associated lever 148 is moved downwardly to carry crank arm 149 of knife lever 118 along with it (FIG. 4), responsive to which segment 119 is rotated sufiiciently to cause pinion gear 120 to turn knife-control 8 shaft 114 clockwise about 180 degrees to free and discharge the molded frozen article. Knife 118 is then in its described rearmost position illustrated in FIG. 9.

When cam 135 has rotated the raised or radially extended portion thereof out of contact with roller 138, that roller and attached slide member 139 are permitted to rise to normal position. Rollers 143 and 144 (FIG. 6) carried by arm 142 are thereby permitted to rise to their illustrated normal position, the rising action being induced by the described tension springs 151 and 152 and continuing until quadrants 94 and are again closed. During the first part of the closing movement of the quadrants, spring 154 urges crank arm 149 upwardly against lever 148 and thereby returns the knife reversely to its normal position, as lever 148 is permitted to rotate upwardly when lever 147 is permitted to rise by the raising of rearward extension 141 of the rising yoke 139.

Subsequent similar molding and molded-article-dis charge operations may occur as long as desired. It will be understood, of course, that the pause between successive molding operations can be controlled by suitable timing apparatus (not shown) to reduce the frequency of molding operation as desired, and can be increased by that timing apparatus up to the point at which clutch 16 is maintained continuously energized and brake 17 is not energized, whereupon one operation succeeds the immediately preceding one without any inter-operation interval.

Preferably motor 4 rotates shaft 8 at such a speed that a molding operation occurs during an interval which is sufficiently short that as many molding operations as may be desired occur within a selected interval. Then, when fewer operations during that interval are desired, the noted timing-apparatus starting operations are merely ly set further apart, giving idle running time of motor 4 following each molding operation. The length of the noted idle intervals varies inversely with the frequency of the molding operations.

Modified C0nstructi0nFlGS. 11 and 12 In the modified construction as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, mold parts 200, 294, and 295 are similar respectively to mold parts 2, 94, and 95 of the first embodiment except that the shape of the second embodiment is modified to provide an egg-shaped mold cavity, being merely one of a number of feasible departures from the spherical shape of the molded article produced by the structure of FIGS. 1 to 10.

Additionally, FIGS. 11 and 12 disclose a modified knife arrangement at 210 which permits the knife to be removed (as for cleaning and sterilizing) from the mold structure without requiring the loosening of a set screw, such as set screw 161 of FIG. 8. With the mold of FIG. 11 opened, or with segments 294 and 295 removed, the left end of the curved knife 210 is pried inwardly to withdraw the associated pivot member 211 from its bearing opening in mold 200. Then, knife 210 may be drawn downward, whereupon it may be pulled to the left from its assembled position, since the outer end of knife shaft 212 slides freely to the left out of collar 213. For this purpose, the right-hand end of shaft 212 has a non-circular shape, such as the illustrated square shape, and the receiving opening therefor in collar 213 is correspondingly shaped to key the parts for rotation together when they are in their assembled position illustrated in FIG. 11. Collar 213 is retained on shaft 214 by set screws 262, parts 213, 214 and 262 corresponding respectively to ts 113, 114, and 162 of the first embodiment as seen best in FIG. 8.

While we have described above the principles of our invention in connection with specific apparatus, it is to be clearly understood that this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation to the scope of our invention.

We claim:

1. Sanitary mold structure for receiving and molding quantities of a moldable edible food product, comprising a mold and means for operating it, the mold comprising a stationary mold member and two movable mold-closure members operable between a mold-closed and a moldopen position, the three members cooperating to define a mold cavity which is closed in the said mold-closed position and is open for molded-article discharge in said mold-open position, the said stationary member containing a passageway leading into the mold cavity for receiving therein the product to be molded, means including valve means for discharging a succession of serving-portion quantities to the mold cavity for molding therein, the said means for operating the'mold structure including means for moving the said mold-closure members into mold-closed position prior to each said discharge into the mold cavity of a serving portion, the last said means including means for rotating the mold-closure from moldclosed to mold-open position for each said discharge only after the discharge is completed, the said operating means including a pair of rotatable shafts external to the mold and disposed symmetrically about the fixed member thereof in a plane passing through the mold cavity, and means for fixing each said movable mold-closure member to a separate one of the said shafts.

2. Sanitary mold structure according to claim 1, wherein the said means for fixing the said movable mold-closure members to the said shafts includes means for keying them for rotation therewith and means for clamping them on the shafts including a separate thumb screw for each shaft.

3. Sanitary mold structure according to claim 2, wherein the said passageway-defining parts comprise a fixed mounting plate having a passageway therethrough, and an inlet member abutting the mounting plate on one side in surrounding relationship to its said passageway, the mold abutting the mounting plate on the other side in surrounding relationship to its said passageway, and the said screw clamping means extending through the mold, the mounting plate, and the inlet member to clamp them together when said thumb screws are tightened.

4. Mold apparatus for molding a succession of similar articles, comprising an upright mounting plate, a main housing mounted on and in front of the mounting plate, an openable and closable mold mounted on and in front of the main housing, power apparatus mounted on and behind the mounting plate, and being controlled by the power apparatus and operating through the main housing for opening and closing the mold, wherein the said means for opening and closing the mold includes a power shaft located by the said power apparatus and extending forwardly into the said main housing, and a plurality of operating shafts controlled by the power shaft and extending from the main housing to the said mold for opening and closing it and wherein the apparatus comprises a control cam carried by the said power shaft, a reciprocable member controlled by the cam, and means controlled by the reciprocable member for operating said operating shafts for opening and closing said mold.

5. Mold apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the apparatus comprises a second control cam carried by the said power shaft, and means controlled by the second control cam for filling the said mold while closed.

6. Mold apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the apparatus comprises an auxiliary housing supported on the side of the said main housing in operative association with said mold, and means controlled from one of said control cams through said auxiliary housing to effect ejection of a molded article after the mold has been opened.

7. A mold combination for molding a succession of frozen dessert articles, comprising a mold including a fixed mold portion and a pair of quadrants, means mounting the quadrants to swing away from and back to the fixed mold portion to open and close the mold, the fixed mold portion containing a passageway for filling the mold with the said frozen dessert material when the mold is closed, to thereby mold a said article, the molded article tending to adhere so tightly to the quadrants that it tears and pits when the quadrants are opened, and quadrantwarming means for inhibiting said tearing and pitting, the warming means including jet fixtures secured fixedly with the respective quadrants and swingable therewith when they are opened and closed.

8. A mold combination according to claim 7, wherein warming air under pressure is admitted through an airsupply yoke mounted on the said fixed mold portion and having air outlets, and flexible hose connections extend from the air outlets to the said jet fixtures, respectively.

9. A mold combination according to claim 8, wherein a separate adjustable valve is included in the said airsupply yoke for each said outlet and jet fixture.

10. A mold combination according to claim 7, wherein warming air under pressure is admitted from a common source, and wherein the apparatus comprises means including a separate valve for each of the said jet fixtures for delivering warming air from the source thereof to the fixtures.

11. A mold combination for operating a mold mounted on and in front of a main gear housing and operable therefrom, comprising an L-shaped upright mounting plate having an end portion extending to the rear thereof, means mounting the main gear box on the front of the mounting plate, a power shaft and means mounting it along the rear side of the mounting plate and for journaling it thereon and on the mounting-plate end portion, a speed-reduction gear box mounted on the rear side of the mounting plate behind the main gear box, the gear box receiving one end of the power shaft and including a reduced-speed shaft extending forwardly into the main gear box, means in the main gear box driven by the reduced-speed shaft, to operate the mold, and means for rotating the power shaft including a motor mounted on the mounting plate and disposed below the power shaft, the last said means including a pulley on the motor and one on the power shaft, and including a belt trained over the pulleys.

12. A mold combination according to claim 11, wherein the said pulley on the power shaft normally turns idly thereon, and wherein the apparatus comprises means including a solenoid clutch for clutching and declutching the power-shaft pulley with the power shaft, and means including a solenoid brake for stopping the power shaft promptly when declutched.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

Claims (1)

1. SANITARY MOLD STRUCTURE FOR RECEIVING AND MOLDING QUANTITIES OF A MOLDABLE EDIBLE FOOD PRODUCT, COMPRISING A MOLD AND MEANS FOR OPERATING IT, THE MOLD COMPRISING A STATIONARY MOLD MEMBER AND TWO MOVABLE MOLD-CLOSURE MEMBERS OPERABLE BETWEEN A MOLD-CLOSED AND A MOLDOPEN POSITION, THE THREE MEMBERS COOPERATING TO DEFINE A MOLD CAVITY WHICH IS CLOSED IN THE SAID MOLD-CLOSED POSITION AND IS OPEN FOR MOLDED-ARTICLE DISCHARGE IN SAID MOLD-OPEN POSITION, THE SAID STATIONARY MEMBER CONTAINING A PASSAGEWAY LEADING INTO THE MOLD CAVITY FOR RECEIVING THEREIN THE PRODUCT TO BE MOLDED, MEANS INCLUDING VALVE MEANS FOR DISCHARGING A SUCCESSION OF SERVING-PORTION QUANTITIES TO THE MOLD CAVITY FOR MOLDING THEREIN, THE SAID MEANS FOR OPERATING THE MOLD STRUCTURE INCLUDING MEANS FOR MOVING THE SAID MOLD-CLOSURE MEMBERS INTO MOLD-CLOSED POSITION PRIOR TO EACH SAID DISCHARGE INTO THE MOLD CAVITY OF A SERVING PORTION, THE LAST SAID MEANS INCLUDING MEANS FOR ROTATING THE MOLD-CLOSURE FROM MOLDCLOSED TO MOLD-OPEN POSITION FOR EACH SAID DISCHARGE ONLY AFTER THE DISCHARGE IS COMPLETED, THE SAID OPERATING MEANS INCLUDING A PAIR OF ROTATABLE SHAFTS EXTERNAL TO THE MOLD AND DISPOSED SYMMETRICALLY ABOUT THE FIXED MEMBER THEREOF IN A PLANE PASSING THROUGH THE MOLD CAVITY, AND MEANS FOR FIXING EACH SAID MOVABLE MOLD-CLOSURE MEMBER TO A SEPARATE ONE OF THE SAID SHAFTS.

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