Abstract: A device for forming dough in a U or annular shape includes a gripper carrier, at least one retaining jaw attached to the gripper carrier and first and second pivot carriers. The pivot carriers are each pivotably supported about a respective pivot axis in the gripper carrier and perform an opposite pivot motion. The second pivot carrier is pivotally supported by a shaft that extends into and engages the gripper carrier, such that a pivotal motion of the second pivot carrier engages the shaft with the gripper carrier to simultaneously pivot and lift the second pivot carrier in a direction of the respective pivot axis so to lift one end of the dough piece in relation to another end of the dough piece. Shaping jaws are attached to the first and second pivot carriers and can be brought into contact with the respective dough piece on an opposite second side.

Abstract: The present invention provides a molding apparatus by which it is possible to make a frame located around a mold contact thermoplastic resin. In the molding apparatus of the present invention, the thermoplastic resin extruded from an extruding machine in a sheet form is adsorbed onto a cavity surface of the mold. As a result, the thermoplastic resin is shaped into a shape according to the cavity surface. The molding apparatus includes a frame that is positioned around the mold and is movable relative to the mold. In the frame, a suction part to suck the thermoplastic resin is provided.

Abstract: The invention provides a holding jig for supporting a solid material capable of being foamed by application of heat in a cavity of a hollow structure. The holding jig may be provided with a plate-like base body made smaller in diameter than the cavity of the hollow structure, a holding part that is provided in a predetermined width in the form of a ring on the periphery of one side of said base body and supports one side of the foamable material, a step part with predetermined height, which is projected in the form of a ring at the inner peripheral end of said holding part and supports the inner peripheral surface of the foamable material, and an attaching means with which the base body can be freely attached to or detached from the hollow structure.

Abstract: A mold for foam molding which can sufficiently prevent burrs from being formed on a molded product, and a foam molding method using the mold are provided. A groove 6 into which a packing seal is to be fitted is formed in a mating surface 3a of a lower mold 3 so as to extend around a cavity 7. The groove 6 has a deep groove portion 6a which is deeply recessed from the mating surface 3a, and a shallow groove portion 6b which is located on the cavity 7 side with respect to the deep groove portion 6a and which continues to the deep groove portion 6a. A portion of the mating surface 3a that extends from its edge on the cavity 7 side down to the groove 6 has a width “a” of from 0.1 mm to 10 mm. A packing seal 5 has a base portion 5a which is inserted into the deep groove portion 6a, and an overhang portion 5b which continues to the base portion 5a and is engaged with the shallow groove portion 6b.

Abstract: In a present invention, in a pneumatic tire 1A, a circumferential groove 32 extending in a tire circumferential direction is formed by land portions 20 constituting a tread surface 10 coming into contact with a road surface. A flat groove portion 60 and an in-groove land portion 70 are formed in the circumferential groove 32. The flat groove portion 60 is a flat surface of a groove bottom 32a of the circumferential groove 32. The in-groove land portion 70 is raised toward the tread surface 10 side from the groove bottom 32a of the circumferential groove 32. Multiple narrow grooves 80 extending in a tread width direction are formed in the in-groove land portion 70. A wide-groove width W1 of the circumferential groove 32 in the tread width direction is 5 to 30% of a tread width TW of the tread surface in the tread width direction.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a shaped confectionery center made by a cold forming process comprising compressing a flowable, particulate fat based material through a forming apparatus comprising one or more forming pins to provide at least one hollow section therein, wherein the at least one formed hollow section has ends that are sealed by the fat based material and at least one hollow section extends through a substantial portion of the center, and wherein the shaped confectionery center has a percent density reduction of at least about 5% achieved by creating the at least one hollow section in the center.

Abstract: A pelletizer, preferably in the form of an underwater pelletizer, having a cutter and/or grinding head and a tool carrier is provided. The tool carrier can rotatably be driven about a tool carrier axis of rotation, and at least one cutting and/or grinding tool, which is attached to the tool carrier and is spaced from the tool carrier axis of rotation, is used to knock off plastic melt emerging from a pelletizer die plate and/or for grinding the pelletizer die plate. In one embodiment, the cutting and/or grinding tool rotates together with the tool carrier about its tool carrier axis of rotation, and in another embodiment, the cutting and/or grinding tool can rotate about its own axis of rotation relative to the tool carrier.

Abstract: A granulating device for producing pellets from a plastic material can have a die plate, a cutting chamber housing adjoining the die plate, and a cutting device with a cutter. The cutting device can be driven via a cutter shaft by a cutter drive device located in a cutter drive housing. The cutting chamber housing can have a cutting chamber housing flange section connected with a cutter drive housing flange section of the cutter drive housing by a connecting element. The connecting element can have a clamping collar arranged to enclose at least one section of the flange sections, and an eccentric closure element. The eccentric closure element can be connected to the clamping collar, and can have an index opening. In a closure position, the index opening can be located in alignment with a locating pin that passes through the index opening.

Abstract: An apparatus for granulating plastic is described, comprising a granulating head (1) with nozzle bodies (2) which are inserted in the granulating head (1) and protrude axially beyond its face, and a perforated plate (5) placed axially in front of the granulating head (1), the pass-through holes (6) of which receive the protruding nozzle bodies (2) by interposing a ring seal (10) with play. In order to provide advantageous cutting conditions it is proposed that the nozzle bodies (2) are flush with the perforated plate (5), and that the ring seals (10) are held in a pretensioned manner in the radial direction between the walls of the pass-through holes (6) and the nozzle bodies (2).

Abstract: A pneumatic tire has a tread that is provided with a plurality of blocks comparted in a tire circumferential direction by a lateral groove. A sipe formed in each of the blocks has a narrow portion that is open in a tread surface, and a wide portion that is communicated with an inner side in a tire diametrical direction of the narrow portion and is widened than the narrow portion. The wide portion gradually increases a widening length in one side in a width direction and gradually decreases a widening length in other side in the width direction, from one end portion of the sipe toward other end portion, and accompanies an angle change at a time of appearing on the tread surface due to a progress of a wear.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides apparatuses and methods for non-contact printing on comestible products. The apparatus includes an extruder for extruding a slab of an edible substrate and a non-contact printing device for printing an edible ink on the slab. The apparatus provides versatility as the printing device may be placed anywhere along the apparatus. The printing device may be positioned along the apparatus as desired to operate in cooperation with other components of the apparatus.

Abstract: An apparatus is disclosed for concurrently imprinting and piercing of dough consisting of flour, water and yeast to produce loaves imprinted with an image that represents Coptic religious symbols including Coptic letters, crosses, circles and squares. The imprinting is accomplished using embossed patterns engraved onto an upper plate that is pressed onto a lower plate containing the dough placed inside depressions disposed below the surface of the lower plate. The imprinting is implemented after the step of proofing the dough in a process for preparing the loaves that includes the steps of flattening, proofing, imprinting and baking.

Abstract: An apparatus configured for concurrently cutting, imprinting and piercing of a sheet of dough consisting of flour, water and yeast to produce imprinted loaves is disclosed. Arrays of molded frames each containing edged borders and an emboss pattern are placed onto the surface of a cylinder member configured for rotating onto a sheet of dough to simultaneously cut out loaves, imprint the loaves with the emboss pattern and pierce the loaf with pins. The emboss pattern contains areas raised above the surface of the cylinder member and recessed areas below that surface. The emboss patterns include a plurality of Coptic religious symbols that are imprinted onto the loaves to form a Korban used for ceremonial purposes. The emboss pattern is heated and initiates a par-baking process when the cylinder member engages the dough. The formation of the Korban loaves is completed by baking the loaves in the oven.

Abstract: According to a first aspect, the invention relates to a mass-distributing device (18) for supplying a mass of foodstuff starting materials suitable for consumption, in particular a meat mass, to one or more mold cavities (44) of a molding member (16) for molding three-dimensional products (46) from said mass. The device (18) comprises a housing (30), which has an open side (38) which can be turned towards the molding member, in which a flexible abutment element (40) for the housing to abut the molding member is arranged. In the housing (30), a through-passage (34) for said mass extends from an introduction opening (32) in the housing (30) to a discharge (36), which discharge opens at the open side (38) of the housing (18).

Abstract: A unitary elastic mold and cutter combination configured to mold and cut moldable material is disclosed herein. The mold and cutter combination comprises an elastic mold cavity having an elastic bottom wall with an embossed inner surface and an elastic sidewall extending from and unitary with a perimeter of the bottom wall. An elastic cutting blade extends from and is unitary with the sidewall of the mold cavity and is configured to cut moldable material and maintain a substantially consistent perimeter upon cutting. The cutting blade comprises a cutting edge disposed between an inner cutting blade surface and an outer cutting blade surface. The mold and cutter combination may have an elasticity sufficient to release molded material therefrom by hand stretching, wherein the cutting edge, inner cutting blade surface, and the inner surface of the sidewall of the mold cavity are stretched by an amount sufficient to release the molded material.

Abstract: Gum manufacturing machinery and method of manufacturing gum is illustrated in which a gum loafing machine generates loaves of finished gum that are then subsequently run through a gum conditioner to more uniformly set the temperature and viscosity of the gum material prior to further processing. Upon achieving the appropriate conditioning level, a further forming extruder may be used to generate a continuous gum ribbon for subsequent rolling and scoring operations. The gum conditioner may include vertically stacked conveyors that have different operational modes including a first mode that provides a serpentine path for a long residence time and a second mode that provides a cascading path that avoids or bypasses much of the length of some of the conveyors to provide a shorter residence time. The gum manufacturing machinery may be used in an adjustable manner so as to accommodate difference gum recipes for different batches of gum product.

Abstract: A heavy duty tire comprises a tread portion provided with tread blocks each provided in the ground contact surface thereof with a single zigzag sipe. A ratio A/B of a block length (A) which is the circumferential length of the block measured along a straight line passing through the centroid of the ground contact surface to a maximum block width (B) which is the axial distance between the axial extreme ends of the ground contact surface is 0.8 to 1.7. The zigzag sipe is disposed within a central region which is defined as extending from the centroid of the ground contact surface towards each side in the tire circumferential direction by 25% of the block length (A).

Abstract: An apparatus for forming pressed food products can utilize up to 98% chicken breast meat in high profit margin products. Breast meat is marinated and then extruded into a slab which is then frozen and shaped into a plank. The plank is sliced into unit portions which are then pressed into shaped portions with a preferred, or other, press. One preferred press linearly reciprocates unit portions into the press. This or another preferred press imparts three dimension exterior shape to the pressed food products.

Abstract: A multi stage auger system having a hopper with a first diameter opening tapering to a second smaller diameter opening, coupled to an auger tube at the second smaller diameter opening. An auger entry spiral with generally helical shape and a sweep arm coupled thereto, the spiral and the sweep arm skimming inside the product hopper to entrain the semi-solid materials from the hopper wall and, through the shape of the spiral, moving materials through the hopper from the first opening towards the second smaller opening. During this entrainment and movement by the spiral and sweep arm a space is left between the spiral and the sweep arm to remove air and voids from the semi-solid material through the movement. The auger has a first coarse pitch providing further removal of air/void spaces and a second finer pitch providing further movement under higher pressures near an exit of the auger.

Abstract: A dough forming station for a device for forming a dough ring comprises a roller with a roller rotational axis and a plurality of dough forming inserts arranged on an outer lateral surface of the roller, a punch beam, which has a punch beam longitudinal axis, with at least one punch, wherein the dough ring is arranged for forming between the at least one punch and a dough forming insert, wherein a lifting drive is provided to displace the punch beam with the at least one punch along a stroke direction oriented perpendicular to the roller rotational axis, wherein the roller rotational axis and the punch beam longitudinal axis are oriented parallel to one another, and wherein a plurality of dough forming inserts arranged about the roller rotational axis along a rotational direction are provided.