Hershey Foods Corporation

Hershey Corp.

C Thomas Mullen

Lloyd C Leeper

Larry R Fittery

Michael C Schiavone, Jr

Bruce A Rambacher

Herman P Rhoads

James P Foster

A method and apparatus is provided, for separating articles from product boards and transporting the product articles to another processing station or packaging area. Because of the sticky nature of confections which may be handled the product must be scraped from a product board. Articles are separated from product boards on which they rest upon encountering a blade member which acts to wedge the product from a board surface. The boards are ejected from the machine for reuse, while product or confections are moved downstream along a belt take-up transport conveyor for deposit onto product delivery conveyor, whereby product orientation may be accomplished.

Method and apparatus for handling confections

In the commercial production of licorice bites, each about 1 inch long, a group of extruded 54-inch licorice strips are lifted by a programmable controlled robot from the discharge end of a lower conveyor and deposited at the input end of an upper conveyor which carries the strips to a cutting station. The robot hand has a lower stainless steel blade for insertion under the group of licorice strips to wedge the sticky strips from a board on which they are being carried by the lower conveyor. The robot hand includes an upper bar. The bar is moved relative to the blade after insertion of the blade under the licorice strips, thereby clamping the strips between the bar and the blade. The arm of the robot then lifts the hand and clamped group of licorice strips and deposits the front ends of the strips at the input of the upper conveyor.

Apparatus for moving strips using mechanical manipulator

In the commercial production of licorice bites, each about 1 inch long, a group of extruded 54-inch licorice strips are lifted by a programmable controlled robot from the discharge end of a lower conveyor and deposited at the input end of an upper conveyor which carries the strips to a cutting station. The robot hand has a lower stainless steel blade for insertion under the group of licorice strips to wedge the sticky strips from a board on which they are being carried by the lower conveyor. The robot hand includes an upper bar having a food-grade rubber undersurface. The bar is lowered relative to the blade after insertion of the blade under the licorice strips, thereby clamping the strips between the lowered bar and the blade. The arm of the robot then lifts the hand and clamped group of licorice strips and deposits the front ends of the strips at the input of the upper conveyor.

In licorice manufacturing equipment, a cylindrical multibladed cutter assembly for cutting licorice strips into bite length has its blades radially positioned in a cylindrical roller and its cutting edges transverse to the direction of movement of a conveyor carrying extruded licorice strips. For the purpose of preventing the severed bites of licorice from becoming wedged between the adjacent cutting blades, ejector rods are provided, one between each pair of cutting blades. Camming means cam the ejector rods radially outwardly at the circumferential position at which cutting takes place, thereby to dislodge and eject the licorice bites from the cutter.

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Hummelstown, PA, United States of America

C Thomas Mullen