Abstract: A system for controlling a molding machine utilized to mold food products on a stick. The system incorporates fluidic logic elements that are responsive to signals generated by the piston position in actuation cylinders so that the system control is dependent on the process condition, rather than on timing or other indirect process control methods. The fluidic logic elements command the actuating cylinders through air piloted valves, in a wholly pneumatic system. The control system is continuously recycled with minimal delay between cycles unless a failure of the system to produce a complete and dispensed produce is sensed. The dispensing of the product is positively determined by a fluidic sensor and a logic control circuit that determines that the product has dropped into and through a sensing airstream. If a malfunction is detected the machine shuts down and will not restart unless the start-stop control is cycled, so that the machine may be safely serviced.

Abstract: A method of and apparatus for blow molding an article having an insert permanently affixed thereto. The insert is placed on a removable member insertable through a wall of a mold section for positioning the insert in spaced relation to a mold cavity wall. An extruded parison is fed between complementary mold sections which are closed about the parison for enclosing a portion of the same. Air is introduced into the enclosed parison to expand the same into conformity with the cavity defined by the mold sections and the insert. Plastic material flows into the spacing between the insert and mold cavity wall to partially encapsulate the insert in sealed, interlocked relation to the wall of the plastic article.

Abstract: A machine base for injection molding machines with a hydraulic controls arrangement in which the various hydraulic distributor units and solenoid valves are combined in a compact block assembly and mounted on the outside of the rear longitudinal wall of the base, the associated control knobs being located on the front longitudinal wall and connected to the throttle valves of the distributors by means of universally-jointed shafts.

Abstract: An improved dough scaler for preshaping and cutting a predetermined amount of dough comprising: a dough pressure chamber; a movable pressure plate slidably engaging the upper end of pressure chamber for compressing the dough; equalizing compression springs connected between the pressure plate and the pressure chamber to maintain constant dough pressure throughout the chamber; switching means to control the proper amount of dough pressure for the dough to be extruded through sizing ports on an extrusion plate mounted at the lower end of the pressure chamber; and valve-like cutting means connected to the extrusion plate to cut the extruded dough to the proper size. Consistent dough quality, size, and shape are produced at a rapid rate with a fewer number of intermediate operational steps.

Abstract: An apparatus for filling cheese moulds with curd portions issuing from vertical sieve cylinders with a feed for a whey/curd mixture at their top, the cylinders cooperate with the upperside of a table having an aperture. Under the table a conveyor is advancing moulds each consisting of a sleeve with a separate bottom movable in vertical direction by means of a cam surface. At least a part of said cam surface is displaceable for altering the vertical travel of said supporting bottoms so as to change the length of the curd portions.

Abstract: This invention relates to an improvement in the process for shirring cylindrical tubular casings, especially artificial sausage casings of synthetic material, in which an inflated casing is conveyed in the direction of its longitudinal axis and shirred, with pleating, against a counter-force by shirring forces acting upon the circumference of the casing, the improvement comprising that the forces acting upon the surface of the casing do so continuously and simultaneously, at equal intervals, at a plurality of points on at least two straight lines extending parallel to and symmetrically about the longitudinal axis of the casing, the action being at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the sausage casing, and circumferentially thereof, and, simultaneously, in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the casing, against said counter-force. The invention also relates to an apparatus for performing the process.

Abstract: A vertically disposed nozzle continuously extrudes a descending column or bar of semi-frozen confection which passes through a ring gear. A cutoff wire is anchored to the ring gear and to a second, laterally adjacent ring gear. Slip rings adjacent the ring gears electrically energize and heat the cutoff wire. Both gears are driven in the same direction, and the anchor points are located to maintain uniform interspacing and thus keep the cutoff wire linear to transversely slice the moving product bar. The gears and cutoff wire are adjustably mounted to be unitarily tilted from the horizontal so that the product bar is repetitively severed along parallel lines to produce slices each having uniform thickness, with the severance lines perpendicular to the side surfaces of the product bar. A wiper is arranged to clean the cutoff wire after each cutting stroke so that the product will not accumulate and burn onto the cutoff wire.

Abstract: The disclosure embraces a method of and apparatus for molding a product and the product produced thereby and involves delivering a supported body or mass of material that may be molded such as mineral fibers impregnated with a binder into a contoured molding facility, the body or mass of material being compressed and shaped to the mold contour, the binder set or cured and the molded product removed from the mold concomitantly with the advance of a succeeding supported mass or body of moldable mineral into the molding facility.

Abstract: A molding apparatus is provided having an interchangeable material feed cylinder selected either for injection molding or transfer molding. The selected material feed cylinder receives the molding material and discharges the same to the cavity mold supporting structure. Displacement means in the form of a dual piston cylinder having a selectively variable stroke is provided for feeding the molding material through the selected material feed cylinder. The apparatus further provides for control means for controlling the length of travel of the displacement means depending upon the material feed cylinder selected for use in the apparatus.

Abstract: A mould for use in a confectionery moulding plant and consisting of a thin flexible sheet of plastics material which is vacuum or pressure formed with at least one moulding cavity extending downwardly from it and has at its sides downwardly extending flanges whereby it may be detachably secured to a supporting carrier frame.

Abstract: An injection-molding machine, especially for thermally crosslinkable and thermosetting materials, and a method of operating same, wherein a resin-distribution or manifold plate is provided along one of the mold halves and is clamped in place by the mold-closing and retaining means during injection, but the plate is withdrawn thereafter to prevent heating of the distribution channels and hardening or crosslinking of the resinous material therein.

Abstract: A shell is formed from shredded potatoes placed in a perforated basket form which defines the basic outer configuration of the shell. An inner forming core is moved into the basket with relative rotation established between the basket and the core. The core is provided with one or more peripheral grooves which are especially shaped to develop a forming and shaping means which initiates movement of the shreds and distributes the shredded material within the space between the core and the perforated basket means. The shredded potatoes may be placed within the basket or fed thereto through the head. The shreds are formed with at least a partial curved outer surface. A perforated closure basket is secured telescoped into the shell for cooking. The assembly is cooked with the shell opening horizontally. The shredded potatoes are processed to remove moisture prior to forming thereof and the total process may be done by an automated line.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method of and apparatus for the manufacture of articles, for example of imitation tortoise-shell, by injection moulding, in which local masses of at least one material are embedded from place to place in at least one other material, said materials being respectively each delivered by a separate plastification unit and terminating at an injection mould through a single common discharge channel, said method comprising the steps of delivering said materials in continuous and simultaneous streams by means of said plastification units; breaking-up each continuous stream of material into a series of measured quantities of said material, the quantities of one of the streams being intercalated with the quantities of the other stream; and successively injecting each measured quantity into said mould while causing them to penetrate into each other. The injection of the materials into the mould is preferably effected transversely to the plane of movement of the materials.

Abstract: A receiver and transfer device mainly intended for use in a dough treatment apparatus for receiving divided pieces of dough from a dough divider, and transferring such dough pieces to a discharge location, preferably a moulding drum. The device comprises catcher members pivotally mounted on a shaft for movement between a receiver position and a discharge position, the catcher members also being displaceable parallel to the axis of the shaft between first and second axial positions. The catcher members occupy the first axial position when they receive the dough pieces from the divider, and undergo axial separation to the second axial position, by operation of a ram and parallelogram linkage, before operation of a further ram takes place to effect partial movement of the catcher members to the discharge position.

Abstract: An adjustable fish bait forming device is disclosed having a body, a pusher, a tip, an adjusting screw, an adjustment knob, the same being assembled in sequential order of tip and body, pusher within the body, an adjustment knob being at the end of the body remote from the tip. A piston is provided to reciprocate within a cylinder defined at the tip, beginning at a predetermined position within the cylinder so that a bait may be formed of infinitely variable length within the confines of the structure by pressing the tip into the bait, removing the same, and then actuating the pusher to remove the bait. As disclosed the threaded means for determining the position of the piston at the beginning of the formation of the dough is a left-hand thread in order to provide for clockwise adjustment to decrease the size of the bait. Also, at the top of the pusher, an index point is provided which operates in conjunction with graduations to predetermine the length of the bait.

Abstract: A housing is formed with a quieting chamber which opens in one direction into a mold and with a mixing chamber opening in another direction at right angles to the first-mentioned direction into the quieting chamber. A pair of reactive components are introduced into the mixing chamber to form a mixture therein. Thereupon a mixing piston or plunger is shifted along this mixing chamber at right angles to the quieting chamber so as to force the mixture out of the mixing chamber and into the quiescence chamber. This piston at the end of its stroke lies with is end face flush and contiguous with a planar inner surface of the quieting chamber. Thereupon a displacement piston or plunger moves the full length of the quieting chamber so as to press the mixture from this chamber into the mold. The quieting chamber has the cross-sectional shape of a circular segment and the mixing chamber is of uniform circular cross-section.

Abstract: A closure mechanism for an injection molding machine or extrusion press having a frame, a number of parallel extending rods, a first tool support fixedly connected with the frame and a second tool support displaceable along said rods. There is also provided a hydraulic mechanism or device for displacing the second tool support along the rods. According to the invention the rods possess engaging means and the second tool support possesses engaging elements which can be engaged in the engaging means of the rods. The rods are displaceably connected with the first tool support and the hydraulic device possesses at least one displacement mechanism serving to displace the second tool support with respect to the rods and for each rod possesses an additional displacement mechanism fixedly connected with the first tool support which serves to displace the relevant rod with respect to the first tool support.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for forming dough and dough pieces to a thickness of as little as 1 mm. The apparatus generally comprises a plurality of powered externally rotated rollers spaced above a plurality of moving conveyor belts. The dough is pressed and stretched without breaking by the action of said rollers and said conveyor belts.

Abstract: An injection-molding machine with a set of stacked mold plates, defining several axially spaced mold cavities therebetween, includes an injection unit with one or more nozzles movable perpendicularly to the stack for contact with respective inlets, leading to the several cavities, which are aligned with these nozzles in the closed position of the multiple mold. The mold plates may be interconnected by a lazytong linkage or by lost-motion couplings for proper relative spacing in the open mold position.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for the intermittent manufacture of multi-layer shaped thermoplastic parts with a foamed core and an unfoamed shell, where at first a part of the unfoamed plastic and later a plastic that contains a foaming agent is injected simultaneously with additional unfoamed plastic into a mold through a central nozzle and a ring nozzle that surrounds it.