Gold Bond Ice Cream, Inc.

Gold Band Ice Cream, Inc.

Vernon L Bero

Thomas H Lutsey

Fredrick W Schultz

A method of forming and conveying hot baked shells is disclosed. Confectionary discs are picked up after baking and fed in succession to a rotary wheel which folds the disc into taco shapes. A fixed rail receives the folded shell so that the shells hang therefrom. An endless belt, coextensive with the support rail, holds the formed shells to the rail and frictionally drives the shells freely sliding therealong. In the embodiment disclosed, the support rail and support device are tubular and fluid flows therethrough to cool and harden the formed shells. The traveling folded shells are subjected to an oil spray which tends to make the shells remain crisp and generally impervious to moisture from a subsequently applied filling.

Forming and conveying of baked confection shells

A generally imperforate conveyor belt of articulated design carries a plurality of longitudinally spaced confection carrier assemblies. Each assembly includes an outer table having peripheral guide surfaces for receiving and supporting the sandwich. The table is connected via a rotatable shaft which extends through the belt to an inner sprocket. The sprocket engages a fixed rack as the conveyor passes through a coating station to thereby rotate the sandwich, which is in the path of sprayed chips. The chips are fed from a supply hopper onto a horizontal conveyor and hence to a chute which feeds the chips into a whirling brush which sprays the chips onto the edge of the sandwich. A sandwich squeezing device is positioned upstream of the chip spray, while an air jet disposed downstream of the spray removes unwanted chips from the top cookie surface of the sandwich. The unused chips lying on the conveyor finally drop off the conveyor end and are recycled back to the supply hopper.

Apparatus for the manufacture of ice cream sandwiches

A machine is provided which includes a pick-up station adapted to receive flat confection discs from a baking machine, and feed them in succession to a rotary wheel at a forming station to lap fold the discs into taco shape. A fixed elongated support rail having a curved upper surface extends generally the length of the conveyor and receives the folded shells thereover so that the shells hang therefrom. An endless belt is coextensive with the support rail and biasingly holds the formed shells to the rail and frictionally drives the shell freely slidingly therealong. A pair of shell leg receiving channels are disposed beneath the support rail, with the channels formed by inner and outer generally parallel walls coextensive with the rail. The inner walls are defined by a support device beneath the rail while the outer walls are formed by plates which are transversely adjustable to thereby control the channel width and shell leg angle. In the embodiment disclosed, the support rail and support device are tubular and fluid flows therethrough to cool and harden the formed shells. The traveling folded shells are subjected to an oil spray which tends to make the shells remain crisp and generally impervious to moisture from a subsequently applied filling. Furthermore, the drive belt is cooled adjacent the shell discharge to counteract belt expansion covered by engagement with the hot baked shells.

Growing community of inventors

Green Bay, WI, United States of America

Vernon L Bero