Abstract: Apparatus for collating ice cream sandwiches for packaging, includes a substantially flat dead plate; a conveyor which conveys the sandwiches in a first direction onto the dead plate; an optical detector which detects when a predetermined number of the sandwiches have been conveyed to a first position on the dead plate; a rodless air cylinder mounted above the dead plate and including a sliding plate for movement therealong and opposite air ports for controlling movement of the sliding plate by pressurized air supplied thereto; a mounting bracket fixed to the underside of the sliding plate and extending therefrom in a cantilevered manner; a pusher plate pivotally mounted by a pivot rod to the underside of the mounting bracket and retrained from moving past a limit position in a first direction by a stop pin secured to the mounting bracket, such that upon detection of a predetermined number of ice cream sandwiches on the dead plate by the detector, the sliding plate is caused to move from a start position to a

Abstract: Apparatus for collating ice cream sandwiches for packaging, includes a flat dead plate; an endless belt conveyor for conveying the articles in a first direction onto the dead plate; a stop and guide for limiting movement of the ice cream sandwiches on the dead plate to a first position; an optical detector which detects when a predetermined number of the ice cream sandwiches have been conveyed to the first position on the dead plate against the stop; an air cylinder mounted above the dead plate; a sliding plate movable along the air cylinder; a pivot bracket secured to the sliding plate; an L-shaped pusher member pivotally mounted on the bracket for pushing the ice cream sandwiches from the first position to a second position in a second direction substantially transverse to the first direction so as to collate the ice cream sandwiches; a cam track fixed to the frame; a roller mounted on the pivot rod of the pusher member and which rides along the cam track from the first position to the second position so as

Abstract: An ice cream sandwich wrapping apparatus includes an elevator which raises the ice cream sandwich to a wrapping position at which the wrapper extends over the top of and is draped along the sides of the ice cream sandwich, the elevator including a platform having a supporting surface for supporting the ice cream sandwich; a conveyor positioned adjacent the platform and including a conveying surface substantially coplanar with the supporting surface such that the ice cream sandwich can be pushed from the supporting surface to the conveying surface, the conveying surface including at least one recessed section open at an end thereof adjacent the platform; and a shoe movable in a direction toward and into abutment with the ice cream sandwich when the latter is on the supporting surface of the elevator, the shoe including a rear tucker for wrapping a rear buttom tuck panel of the wrapper about the ice cream sandwich as the shoe travels in the direction toward the ice cream sandwich, and a pusher fixedly connected

Abstract: An ice cream sandwich machine includes a nozzle having a discharge end from which ice cream is extruded; a wafer infeed and delivery assembly cooperating with said nozzle and comprising a pair of wafer trays for feeding wafers against opposite sides of the extruded ice cream and paired, vertically reciprocable wafer pusher blade means cooperating therewith to urge corresponding pairs of said wafers downward for applications to the extruded ice cream bar; an index wheel positioned below the nozzle and having a plurality of pockets therein for receiving the wafers and the ice cream in the assembled form of a sandwich; and a wafer agitator assembly including wafer impact arms for periodically impacting the wafers in the wafer trays, and control arms fixedly connected with respect to the wafer impact arms for controlling the periodicity and impact force of the wafer impact arms of the wafers in the wafer trays in response to periodic movement of the pusher blade means.

Abstract: An ice cream sandwich machine includes an index wheel having a plurality of pockets for receiving ice cream sandwiches; and a conveyor assembly cooperating with the index wheel, comprising spaced endless conveyor chains having a plurality of lugs mounted thereon for removing the ice cream sandwiches from the pockets, and a conveyor track means for receiving the removed ice cream sandwiches, the conveyor track means including a fixed conveyor track formed by parallel, spaced, fixed guides connected together by a plurality of cross-bars and the fixed guides including free ends spaced from the index wheel to provide a drop-out zone for the removed ice cream sandwiches, an adjustable conveyor track formed by two parallel, spaced, adjustable guides having slots therein to provide slidable movement of the adjustable guides over the cross-bars and with respect to the fixed guides between a first position adjacent the index wheel for receiving the removed ice cream sandwiches and a second position spaced from the ind