Abstract: Apparatus is disclosed for slicing or scoring bakery products which comprises a stationary horizontal bed over which muffins or other bakery products are sequentially moved at high speed. Movement of the muffins is effected by first and second endless conveyor belts, each having a flight disposed adjacent the stationary bed and in opposition to the other. A hold down plate is suspended in overlying relation to the stationary bed, so that travel of the bakery products is bounded on the top and bottom by stationary surfaces, and on the sides by the conveyor belts. A disc cutting blade rotating at high speed projects into this travel space (in the preferred embodiment, one of the conveyor belts comprises dual belts which are spaced apart to permit projection of the blade therebetween), and the scoring or slicing function occurs as the bakery products move sequentially in slicing engagement with the rotating blade.

Abstract: Apparatus is disclosed for cleaning the surface of a disc cutting blade used for slicing bakery products. The apparatus includes a pair of arms disposed on opposite sides of the disc cutting blade, with the extreme end of each arm having a scraping device projecting toward the blade surface. The arms are pivotally mounted remote from the blade about an axis transverse to the blade rotational axis, thus permitting the arms to swing toward and away from the blade and each other. The arms are normally biased to a position in which the scraping device has engaged the blade. The arms are mounted in a frame assembly that is rotated about an axis that is parallel to and spaced from the blade axis, thus permitting the arms and scraping devices to arcuately sweep across the blade surfaces. A cam and cam follower are provided for spreading the arms away from each other as the blade scraping devices sweep toward the blade edge, so that the blade edge is not engaged and damaged.

Abstract: An improvement in comestible cooking equipment comprising means for preventing convection currents in the cooking fluid, color variation in the comestibles when cooked, and rapid breakdown of the cooking fluid, by improving the uniformity of heat transfer to the fluid from heaters submerged in the fluid, each heater comprising a tube connected to a flue at one end and having a flame directed by a burner into the other end. The improvement reduces the proportion of heat transmitted to the fluid at the burner end of the heaters, and increases the portion at the flue end. The heater tube contains a shroud tube of perforated metal, at the burner end, and an axial, conical baffle tube at the other end. The former converts a portion of the direct heat to radiant heat, and the latter displaces hot gases outwardly toward the inner surface of the heater and increases their velocity.