Kraft Foods Global Brands LLC

Kraft Foods Holdings, Inc.

Kris K Hulett

Zbigniew Stanislaw Borkiewicz

Timothy J Drebing

Minoru Kasai

Tatsuo Nakamura

Provided herein are various suspension devices and associated methods and apparatus to open loops (or form opened loops) in a chain of linked products suspended from one or more suspension devices in a conveyor system. In one implementation, a suspension device for a chain of linked products includes a link support portion pivotally coupled to a conveyor, the link support portion configured to suspend a portion of the chain of linked products therefrom and comprising a lower portion downwardly extending from the link support portion. The lower portion is configured to engage a portion of a respective link of the chain upon a pivoting motion of the link support portion about a pivot axis in order to open a respective loop suspended from the link support portion to an unloading orientation for unloading.

Suspension device for linked products

A system and methods for conveying linked chains of food product in a production cycle. In one implementation, a system comprises a first and second conveyors each traveling from a loading station proximate a linker to an unloading station and back, each conveyor having link support members for receiving linked chains discharged from the linker and conveying them to the unloading station. Preferably, the conveyors are independently driven such that while the link support members of one conveyor are at the loading station, the link supports members of the other conveyor are conveyed to the unloading station and/or are unloaded at the unloading station. Thus, the receiving of one linked chain at a conveyor is not affected by interruptions in movement of the other conveyor. Similarly, the unloading of one linked chain is not affected by interruptions in movement of the other conveyor.

Growing community of inventors

Rocheport, MO, United States of America

Kris K Hulett