Abstract: Disclosed are devices and processes for producing baked thin-walled shaped articles from baking or pouring mixtures which expand during the baking process. The bottom half (18) of a baking mold (16) for producing thin-walled shaped articles is accommodated in the bottom tongs section (13) of a pair of baking tongs (7) and the top half (17) of the baking mold is accommodated in the top tongs section (15) of the tongs (7). The mold halves (17, 18) and tongs sections (13, 15) are provided with stop surfaces (68c, 64d) and sealing surfaces (17a, 18a, 21a, 22a) and are in mutual contact when the baking mold (16) is closed. At least one clamp device (30, 31) is provided to press the mold halves (17, 18, 21, 22) of the closed baking mold (16) together; said clamp device forces at least the two mold halves (17, 18) of the closed baking mold (16) together with a predetermined clamping force during clamping and eliminates at least the play between them.

Abstract: A wafer block magazine for a shorttime intermediate storage of wafer blocks is characterized by two or more juxtaposed storage towers, which are provided with vertical conveyors, which inside each storage tower define horizontal storage compartments for the wafer blocks, which storage components are adapted to be vertically raised and lowered. The first storage tower includes a feeding station for receiving the wafer blocks. At least the last storage tower includes a taking station for delivering wafer blocks. The magazine is also characterized by a vertically displaceable horizontal conveyor for forwarding the wafer blocks between horizontally aligned storage compartments of the storage towers.

Abstract: An interstage wafer block accumulator for a plant for the production and further processing of wafer blocks. In an interstage wafer block accumulator comprising at least one conveyor and a plurality of accumulator units, each of which accommodates one or more wafer blocks and is disposed between a feed station and a delivery station, it is proposed that said accumulator units for the wafer blocks accommodated in each accumulator unit should be consecutively arranged in the direction of travel of the wafer blocks. Each of said accumulator units comprises a separate horizontal conveyor for accommodating and forwarding wafer block stacks, each of which comprises one wafer block or a plurality of superimposed wafer block stacks. The interstage wafer block accumulator may have a plurality of superimposed storage levels. The accumulator units may be consecutively arranged on said plurality of storage levels in the direction of travel of the wafer blocks.

Abstract: Process and apparatus for the quality control of individual, one-piece receptacles, which are open at one end. The individual, one-piece receptacles are preferably aligned, in several groups, side by side, similarly with respect to their spatial orientation. The receptacles are turned over to a conveyor line where they pass through at least one testing station at which measurement results specific to each type of receptacle are obtained. The analysis of these results indicates the structural integrity and accuracy of shape of the respective receptacle. The receptacles, as a function of the receptacle-specific measurement results, are removed from the conveyor line if defective; and only the structurally integral and shape-accurate acceptable receptacles are stacked and further advanced as a stack.

Abstract: Baking tongs for producing edible wafers from wafer dough in a wafer baking oven or an automatic wafer baking machine consist of a wafer baking mold comprising baking mold parts in respective tong parts which are moved toward each other and away from each other in order to open and close the wafer baking mold. For a rigid interlocking of the two tong parts when the wafer baking mold is closed, the tong parts are provided with cooperating closure sections. The closure section of one tong part is provided with a rigid locking pin, which protrudes from the inside surface of that closure section. The closure section of the other tong part is formed with a through opening, which constitutes a passage for the locking pin, and is provided with a hook which is engageable with the locking pin. The hook is pivoted on the outside of the closure section and has an engaging surface for engaging an engaging surface of the locking pin. The hook is provided with an actuating element for pivotally moving the hook.

Abstract: A baking or roasting oven is provided with a transfer apparatus by which the pieces of edible material which is to be roasted, such as slices of white bread, soft wafers, etc., are fed into the oven and the roasted toasts are removed from the oven. The oven comprises an endless chain of hinged tongs, which can be opened and closed and are adapted to hold the pieces of edible material which are to be roasted. The chain of tongs moves in the oven in two superimposed planes. A transfer station is provided adjacent to the upper plane in which the upper course of the chain of tongs extends. The tongs move in an open position through that transfer station, which contains two sets of drums, which are closely spaced one behind the other in the direction of travel of the upper course of the chain of tongs and are disposed above the bottom plates of the open tongs of said upper course.

Abstract: An apparatus for operating the locks of wafer baking tongs, which revolve in a wafer baking oven and move past the stationary operating apparatus, which is mounted in the wafer baking oven, comprises a movable closing element, which is engageable with the actuating member of the lock to lock the latter. It is proposed to provide an unlocking element, which is engageable with the actuating member to unlock a lock which has not entirely been locked. An actuator is provided for moving the unlocking element into engagement with the actuating member when the closing element has been pushed back a predetermined distance from its operative position by the actuating member when the lock has not entirely been locked.

Abstract: An apparatus is disclosed for placing wafer pieces into molding depressions of casting molds. The casting molds are continuously conveyed by a conveyor in a direction of travel. The wafer pieces are delivered with upwardly facing top faces to a support plate or a separating device which is spaced above the plane of conveyance for the casting molds and are moved on said support plate or through said separating device in a direction which is opposite to the direction of travel of the molds. A transfer device is provided between the conveyor, on the one hand, and the support plate or the separating device, on the other hand, and is provided with retaining elements for retaining the wafer pieces operable to gradually reverse the wafer pieces until they move upside down in the direction of travel of the casting molds in synchronism therewith and in register with respective ones of said molding recesses.

Abstract: In an apparatus for making a rolled wafer cone from a baked flat wafer blank made from a sugar-containing wafer dough, the baked wafer blank is rolled to form a wafer cone in a winding mold while the wafer blank is still in a soft, deformable state after the baking operation. Thereafter the rolled wafer cone is permitted to harden. In order to ensure the production of wafer cones having consistently exactly the same shape, it is proposed that the wafer cone which is unrestrained at least in part is shortened in the winding mold to a predetermined length while the wafer cone is adapted to be plastically deformed. For this purpose the rolled wafer cone disposed in the winding mold is subjected to a plastic deformation only at one end or only at both ends.

Abstract: The spacing between laterally closely juxtaposed, parallel, rectilinear rows of wafers filled with a sticky composition is increased by advancing the rows of wafers on a supporting surface in a first direction to entrance portions of guiding passages extending at a second direction angularly diverging from the first direction at a bend. The entrance portions are staggered in the direction of advancement. A rotary disc is associated with the entrance portion of each guiding passage and has an upper portion protruding through a slot in the supporting surface and constituting a guiding face facing the guiding passage, and a shaft is arranged below the supporting surface and rotatably supports the rotary disc. An oiling and/or cleaning device is associated with each rotary disc below the supporting surface for oiling and/or cleaning the guiding face of the rotary disc.

Abstract: In a process of making a rolled wafer cone from a baked flat wafer blank made from a sugar-containing wafer dough, the baked wafer blank is rolled to form a wafer cone in a winding mold while the wafer blank is still in a soft, deformable state after the baking operation. Thereafter the rolled wafer cone is permitted to harden. In order to ensure the production of wafer cones having consistently exactly the same shape, it is proposed that the wafer cone which is unrestrained at least in part is shortened in the winding mold to a predetermined length while the wafer cone is adapted to be plastically deformed. For this purpose the rolled wafer cone disposed in the winding mold is subjected to a plastic deformation only at one end or only at both ends.

Abstract: A spreading head is provided for a wafer sheet coating machine, which comprises a wafer sheet conveyor, which is optionally adapted to be lowered. The spreading head comprises a rotating spreading roller and a sizing device, which cooperates with said spreading roller to control the thickness of a layer of a spreadable composition as it is transferred by said spreading roller. The spreading roller and the sizing device define a lower boundary of a reservoir, which is adapted to hold said spreadable composition and which is laterally defined by platelike elements.

Abstract: Process and apparatus for continuously making an endless wafer laminate which has a uniform width and consists of individual wafer sheet layers and intervening cream layers. In order to increase the production rate of such wafer laminate while maintaining a high quality, the invention teaches that each edge of the wafer sheets for the lowermost wafer sheet layer is registered and the deposition of the wafer sheets for the remaining wafer sheet layers is controlled by the succession of said wafer sheet edges. The butt joints of the wafer sheets in the individual wafer sheet layers are offset relative to each other in the direction of conveyance or are arranged exactly in register. For registering the wafer sheet edges, the edges of consecutive wafer sheets are displaced or pivotally moved relative to each other or pulled apart to form a gap.

Abstract: The apparatus comprises one or more cutting members arranged along a plane of transport for the wafer blocks. The transporting of the wafer blocks is accomplished by one or more endless revolving members carrying a plurality of pressure components. The endless revolving transport members may be mounted either above or below the plane of transport and extend into the plane of transport during movement of the wafer blocks toward and away from the cutting member or members.

Abstract: In a process in which cover sheets and/or coated wafer sheets are joined to form filled wafer blocks, each coated wafer sheet and, if desired, each cover sheet is moved in a stacking location from a lower position to an overlying upper position, the coated upper surface of each coated wafer sheet is joined to the underside of the cover sheet which is in the upper position and which, if desired, has previously been raised to the upper position, or to the underside of the coated wafer sheet which has previously been raised to the upper position, and each complete wafer block consisting of at least two sheets is moved from said upper position out of said stacking location.

Abstract: Apparatus is provided which is used in combination with a machine for coating wafer sheets and serves to form wafer blocks built up in a downward direction. It is desired for avoiding damage to very large wafer sheets as they are assembled to form wafer blocks by means of helical conveyors, which rotate in mutually opposite senses about parallel axes and which move each wafer sheet into engagement with a stop and raise the wafer sheet from a first level to a second, higher level. This is accomplished in that each helical conveyor is provided with at least two helical wire flights, which extend parallel to each other around the axis of rotation of the conveyor. The helical flights of all helical conveyors define a common imaginary surface and support the wafer sheets on said surface. The novel apparatus as well as the wafer sheet coating machine is used in the industrial production of large wafer blocks, which constitute a starting product for the industrial manufacture of slices of wafer blocks.

Abstract: Apparatus for conditioning wafers, such as wafer sheets, flat wafers, low hollow wafers and the like comprises an insulated conditioning chamber, which is closed except for a feed opening and a discharge opening, a revolving conveyor, which extends in the conditioning chamber adjacent to the feed opening and the discharge opening and is provided with successive compartments for receiving wafers, and air-guiding passages, which extend along the path of the compartments and are connected to an air-conditioning plant, which is preferably disposed outside the conditioning chamber. The clearance between the supporting elements which have been moved or swung toward each other is substantially one to 5 times, preferably 1.1 to two times, the wall thickness of a flat wafer or once to twice the height of a low hollow wafer. At least one of the two supporting elements rises above the received wafer at least with a projecting portion.

Abstract: Process and apparatus for continuously making an endless wafer laminate which has a uniform width and consists of individual wafer sheet layers and intervening cream layers. In order to increase the production rate of such wafer laminate while maintaining a high quality, the invention teaches that each edge of the wafer sheets for the lowermost wafer sheet layer is registered and the deposition of the wafer sheets for the remaining wafer sheet layers is controlled by the succession of said wafer sheet edges. The butt joints of the wafer sheets in the individual wafer sheet layers are offset relative to each other in the direction of conveyance or are arranged exactly in register. For registering the wafer sheet edges, the edges of consecutive wafer sheets are displaced or pivotally moved relative to each other or pulled apart to form a gap.

Abstract: A baking plate is provided, which is adapted to cooperate with a second baking plate to define a cavity for receiving dough to be baked. The baking plate has on one side a generally flat dough-treating surface and on the opposite side a rear surface. The rear surface of the baking plate is formed with at least one channel by which the flexural stiffness of the baking plate is reduced. At least one adjustable stressing device is connected to said rear surface of said baking plate on opposite sides of said channel and operable to subject said baking plate to an adjustable initial bending stress in such a manner that said channel is contracted to an adjustable extent transversely to the longitudinal direction of said channel and that an adjustable convex camber is imparted to said dough-treating surface.

Abstract: Cream-coated wafer sheets are conveyed by a feeder conveyor in a first plane to a stacking device. The coated wafers are raised in the stacking device into a second plane and by such a raising are attached to the lower sides of a wafer sheet already in the second plane to form a wafer block which is in a raised position with respect to the feeder conveyor. An uncoated covering wafer sheet is separately supplied to each wafer block such that the covering sheet is delivered directly into the second plane at the stacking point, and a coated sheet is attached to the lower side of this covering sheet by raising up into a position in which its cream coating contacts the lower side of the covering sheet. This separate, direct supply of the uncoated covering wafer sheet is effected by a covering sheet conveyor disposed above the feeder conveyor. The terminal end region of the covering sheet conveyor ends in the second plane at the upstream side of the stacking device.