Abstract: Baked goods and in particular hard biscuits and crackers which are hollow and which are adapted to contain a filling are inverted subsequent to baking so that the biscuit or cracker can have a filling inserted therein from the side of the biscuit or cracker that had been contacting the bottom of the oven. It is preferred to insert a filling by means of needle injection into hollow biscuits and crackers through the side that had been in contact with the bottom of the oven since the other side in many instances will contain a fanciful design. The baked hollow forms as they emerge from the oven are inverted by being flowed to a wheel containing longitudinal stepped sections which upon rotation deposit the baked hollow forms on a lower conveyor belt in an inverted form. The hollow baked and inverted forms are then moved to an indexing means which holds the hollow baked forms while they are pierced by a needle and filled with a desired filling.

Abstract: Baked goods and in particular hard biscuits and crackers which are hollow and which are adapted to contain a filling are inverted subsequent to baking so that the biscuit or cracker can have a filling inserted therein from the side of the biscuit or cracker that had been contacting the bottom of the oven. It is preferred to insert a filling by means of needle injection into hollow biscuits and crackers through the side that had been in contact with the bottom of the oven since the other side in many instances will contain a fanciful design. The baked hollow forms as they emerge from the oven are inverted by being flowed to a wheel containing longitudinal stepped sections which upon rotation deposit the baked hollow forms on a lower conveyor belt in an inverted form. The hollow baked and inverted forms are then moved to an indexing mechanism which holds the hollow baked forms while they are pierced by a needle and filled with a desired filling.

Abstract: There is set forth a rotating wheel transfer mechanism for transferring items, but in particular bakery items, from one conveyor belt to another conveyor belt. Combined with the conveyor belt mechanism there can be a gate arrangement to assist in aligning the conveyed items. In addition, the wheel transfer mechanism can be heated or cooled in order to respectively heat or cool the items being conveyed. The net result is that the items can be transferred from one conveyor belt to another conveyor belt with less damage to the particular items.