The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 14, 1987
Filed:
Apr. 15, 1985
Lloyd C Leeper, Harrisburg, PA (US);
C Thomas Mullen, Hummelstown, PA (US);
Hershey Foods Corporation, Hershey, PA (US);
Abstract
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.