Abstract: A spaghetti and food cooker for cooking individual portions having a housing containing a pair of adjacent segregated temperature-controlled cooking chambers, a pivotable bracket movable from one chamber to the other, a series of perforated compartments for retaining individual food portions clustered and mounted on said bracket, motor-controlled means for positioning said bracket with said compartments into one of said temperature-controlled cooking chambers for a predetermined time cycle for cooking and displaying said compartments through one of said temperature-controlled compartments before elevating and pivoting the bracket and supported compartments out of said chamber and pivoting the bracket and supported compartments into the other chamber for further treatment and displacing said compartments through the other chamber before elevating the bracket and compartments to a discharge position for draining above said chambers for unloading the individual portions from their compartments.

Abstract: A conveyor tray is longitudinally tilted downwardly in the direction of the movement with a front stop wall having a center notch to support the back of a load applied to the preceding tray. Each tray is also split or divided longitudinally into two tray members, each extending upwardly from the pivot point to an outer portion projecting outwardly at a significantly more shallow angle to the horizontal. A continuous surface cover in which the central portion overlying the pivot line is readily flexible. The pivot axis may be located vertically on a line between the tray members to provide a specific radius in the flexible cover. Each tray half is held by a latch mechanism including a plate with a latch notch within which a latching roller carried by a lever is disposed. The plate has a curved guide edge which engages the roller to produce a guide movement to a release position.

Abstract: An induction rotary loader is mounted between a loader and a sorter for loading of articles onto the sorter, the loader may be tilted with respect to the horizontal preferably a tilting discharge tray unit. Several loading arms are connected for independent pivotal movement about a loader arm pivot unit. A spider plate is provided with a fixed rotating axis radially offset with respect to the pivot unit and includes individual coupling trunnion units which are equicircumferentially spaced and connected one each to the loading arms. As the spider rotates at a constant speed, the couplings carry the arms about their fixed axis with a varying drive position which correspondingly varies the effective length of the pivot radii for the arms with a corresponding variation in the speed of the outer end. Load supports are pivotally mounted on each arm with a support wheel riding on an outer track having a dip to automatically pivot each structure.

Abstract: A conveyor includes a plurality of carriages with a longitudinally tilted tray having an end stop wall to support a load. Each tray is longitudinally divided into a pair of side-by-side tray members which are individuall pivotally mounted by bushings on a shaft. Similar bushings are provided on the shaft between the mounting bushings to provide a continuous circular closing surface immediately adjacent to the lower edges of the tray members. Each of the tray members, in particular, extends upwardly as a continuous surface having a first inclined portion merging with a second outwardly inclined portion. The outermost upper surface is provided with a stepped construction to provide a plurality of interlocking load portions each having a generally vertical wall merging with a generally horizontal wall.