Fmc Corporation

William M Easter

David N Anderson

Ronald J Billett

Gregory J Larsen

Stephen D Cross

Elmer F Frost, Jr

Wilber C Belk

Apparatus for extracting frozen stick confections from several mold cups of a mold strip of a stick confection freezing apparatus is disclosed. At a pre-extraction station, the sticks of the frozen confections are individually grasped and individually pulled with separate spring forces while the mold cups are heated from below by hot water sprays. Each confection is lifted from the mold cup as soon as the surface layer thereof sufficiently thaws, and before each confection is completely removed from the cup, it is released and dropped back into the cup. At a second extraction station, all of the confections are simultaneously removed and thereafter conveyed to apparatus for wrapping the frozen confections.

Apparatus for extracting frozen confections

An improved method for extracting frozen stick confections from several mold cups of a mold strip of a stick confection freezing apparatus is disclosed. At a pre-extraction station, the sticks of the frozen confections are individually grasped and individually pulled with separate spring forces while the mold cups are heated from below by hot water sprays. Each confection is lifted from the mold cup as soon as the surface layer thereof sufficiently thaws, and before each confection is completely removed from the cup, it is released and dropped back into the cup. At a second extraction station, all of the confections are simultaneously removed and thereafter conveyed to apparatus for wrapping the frozen confections.

Method for extracting frozen confections

An apparatus for producing frozen confections of the type including sticks projecting from a block of frozen confection material including a plurality of detachable mold strips and a screw conveyor arrangement for indexing the mold strips through a closed rectangular path in a horizontal plane with the mold cups of the mold strips opening upwardly. The conveyor includes cradles to which the mold strips are individually and pivotally mounted, a rectangular arrangement of tracks for guiding the cradles through the rectangular path of travel, and several conveyor screws which are driven continuously for propelling the cradles along the tracks. The conveyor screws have screw grooves therein adapted to cause the cradles to dwell under a confection filler, a stick inserter, a confection extractor and mold cleaning apparatus. Between the extractor and mold cleaning apparatus a photodetector unit is mounted to scan the row of mold cups of each strip as it is laterally transferred from the extracting lane to the filling lane, and a turn-over device that is responsive to the photodetector unit is provided to invert only those mold strips found to contain confection material that was not removed by the extractor. The confection material is then dislodged from the inverted cup by an air jet, and the inverted mold strip is returned to its original orientation with the cups depending from the strip so that confection material may subsequently be deposited therein.

Apparatus for producing frozen confections

A citrus fruit juice extractor capable of processing at least 900 fruit per minute includes a set of lower extractor cups rigidly mounted in a linear arrangement to the extractor frame and a set of movable upper extractor cups adapted to interdigitate with the lower cups to extract juice from fruit received in the lower cups. The upper cups are mounted upon separate drive rods that are respectively clamped to cam follower arms, and the follower arms are sequentially driven by cams affixed in a balanced arrangement upon a camshaft to drive the upper extractor cups in a preselected sequence. The juice extractor further includes perforated strainer tubes extending downwardly of the lower extractor cups and hollow orifice tubes slidably received within the strainer tubes. The orifice tubes are sequentially driven by hydraulic slave cylinders that, in turn, are respectively controlled by master cylinders. Such master cylinders are driven by further cams mounted on the aforementioned camshaft so that the orifice tubes are sequentially operated in synchronization with the movement of the associated upper extractor cups.

Citrus fruit juice extractor

In a system for producing frozen confections without molds, a transfer conveyor is provided for picking up the confections from a freezer conveyor and dropping them on a wrapper conveyor which transfer conveyor includes a large number of carriages pivotally mounted in series to an endless chain. Each carriage has a pair of scissorable arms and tongs detachably mounted to the arms for engaging a confection. The arms are opened by a wedge mounted on a push rod, and a pneumatic cylinder is used at the drop zone to rapidly extend the push rod and thereby quickly open the tongs so that the confection will fall through a predetermined trajectory. The retracted position of the wedge and rod, and thus the closed position of the tongs, is controlled by a stop assembly that is slidably mounted on the carriage. The positions of the stop assemblies of the carriages can be sequentially reset as they engage an adjustable deflector mounted to the main frame, thus vastly reducing the switchover time to a new type of confection. A track arrangement is provided for supporting the free ends of the carriages and includes a rod at the pickup point that is vertically adjustable to select the height at which a confection is grasped. A mechanism is also provided for sensing when a confection is stuck to the freezer conveyor which operates to disengage the tongs from the stuck confection at the pickup point.

Growing community of inventors

Lakeland, FL, United States of America

William M Easter