Claims
- 1. An apparatus for removing frozen confections from the mold cups of a mold member in which the frozen confections are formed, said frozen confections each including a stick projecting upwardly therefrom, said apparatus comprising a plurality of gripper units, each gripper unit including means for releasably engaging a stick of a frozen confection within a mold cup; a cross member extending above said mold member at an extraction area, said gripper units being mounted to said cross member in alignment with the sticks of the confections; a separate spring interposed between each gripper unit and the cross member to individually and separately bias the gripper units upwardly relative to the mold member; means, supporting said cross member at said extraction area, for causing said gripper units to releasably engage said sticks; means for forcing said cross member upwardly to a selected height above the mold member after said sticks have been engaged by the respective gripper units to cause the springs to individually bias the gripper units upwardly; said height being insufficient to effect complete removal of the confection from the mold, and means at said extraction area for heating the exterior surfaces of the mold cups to melt the surface layers of the frozen confections within the mold cups, said separate springs acting on said gripper units to raise each confection from the associated mold cup as soon as the surface layer thereof has been sufficiently melted.
- 2. An apparatus for extracting frozen stick confections from an apparatus for freezing the frozen stick confections, said freezing apparatus comprising means for conveying a row of mold cups along a path of travel, means for depositing confection material into the mold cups at one end of said path of travel, means for freezing the confection material within the mold cups as they are conveyed along said path of travel, and means for inserting sticks into the confection material so that the sticks project upwardly from the mold cups; said extracting apparatus comprising means for pre-extracting the frozen confections from the mold cups, said pre-extracting means including a plurality of gripper units for individually and releasably grasping the sticks of the frozen confections in the row of mold cups, means in the vicinity of said gripper units for heating the mold cups to thaw the surface layers of the frozen confections in contact with the mold cups, means for individually and separately upwardly biasing the gripper units to thereby pull the frozen confections from the respective mold cups as soon as each confection has been sufficiently thawed to enable it to be lifted, and means operable on said gripper units for releasing the confections after they have been partially elevated from the mold cups to permit the confections to drop back into the mold cups; and means downstream of said pre-extracting means for grasping the sticks of the frozen confections in the row of mold cups and elevating said confections to completely remove them from the mold cups.
- 3. An apparatus for conditioning the surface of frozen edible material contained in a mold so that its complete withdrawal from the mold is facilitated, said apparatus comprising means for heating the mold sufficiently to release the bond between the mold and the material, means operative on release of the bond for diassociating the block of frozen material from the mold while retaining a portion of the material within the confines of the mold, such disassociation exposing surfaces of the frozen material to the ambient atmosphere to cause the development of frost on the surfaces of the frozen material, and means for returning the frost laden material to the mold, whereby the frost laden material can be easily and completely withdrawn from the mold for further processing being free from of a bond between the material and the surfaces of the mold.
- 4. An improved apparatus for extracting frozen confections from a plurality of mold cups depending from a mold member, each frozen confection including a block of confection material contained within the respective mold cup and a stick projecting upwardly from the block of confection material, said extracting apparatus including a plurality of gripper units for releasably engaging the sticks of said confections, a cross member for supporting the said gripper units at positions for engaging the sticks of the confections in said mold cups, means for initially supporting said cross member at a position so that said gripper units releasably engage said sticks, means for elevating said cross member to cause the gripper units to pull the sticks upwardly, and means for heating the mold cups to enable the frozen confections to be extracted from the mold cups, wherein the improvement comprises a plurality of springs, each spring being operatively interposed between one of said gripper units and said cross member for individually upwardly biasing the associated gripper unit upwardly, whereby as said cross member is elevated each spring will urge the respective gripper unit upwardly with a separate spring force to thereby extract the confection from the associated mold cup as soon as the surface layer thereof is melted to the extent that it may be removed from the surrounding mold cup, said extraction being of an insufficient height to effect complete removal of the confection from the mold.
- 5. The improved apparatus for extracting frozen confections according to claim 4 wherein said extracting apparatus further includes means operatively associated with each gripper unit for releasing the confection from the gripper unit after the confection has been partially removed from the associated mold cup to thereby permit the confection to drop back into the mold cup, and means spaced from said means for heating the mold cups for grasping the sticks of the confections dropped back into the cups and fully lifting the confections from the mold cups.
- 6. An apparatus for facilitating the removal of frozen edible material solidified in molds wherein a stick firmly retained by the frozen material projects from the mouth of the mold, said apparatus comprising means moveable toward and away from the mold for forceably gripping the stick and concurrently imparting a force acting to withdraw the frozen material from the mold, means for heating the exterior surface of the mold to effect diminishment of the bond occasioned by freezing the edible material in the mold, said heating means on effecting diminishment of the bond renders the withdrawing force effective to partially withdraw the edible material from the mold, said material on being partially withdrawn develops a coating of frost by condensing moisture of the ambient atmosphere on its surface, and releasing means, operative when said gripping means is moved away from the mold, for releasing the stick, said releasing means allowing the frost coated molded material to reenter the mold when released.
- 7. The apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said releasing means comprises an abutment surface in the path of a spring biased blade cooperating with a plate for gripping the stick, said abutment causing pivotal movement of the blade and release of the stick on raising said gripping means, whereupon the frozen material reenters the mold.
- 8. The apparatus according to claim 6 wherein movement of said gripping means toward and away from the mold occurs by providing a crosshead overlying the mold, and linear actuators operable to concurrently extend and retract to effect, respectively, lowering and raising of said crosshead.
- 9. The apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said gripping means comprises a pin rotatably mounting a blade and a spring, said spring operative to bias said blade in contact with a stick, and a stationary abutment contactable by an extension of said blade for causing rotation of said blade toward and away from the position occupied by a stick.
- 10. The apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said gripping means is moved toward and away from the mold by an actuator connected to a crosshead carrying said gripping means by a bellcrank.
- 11. The apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said gripping means comprises a spring biased pivotable blade engageable with the stick, a plate confronting the edge of said blade and providing a support surface for a stick closely adjacent thereto, means for moving said gripping means toward the mold, said movement causing pivotal movement of the blade to trap the stick between said support plate and the edge of said blade, and means, rendered operative on movement of said gripping means toward the mold for urging said gripping means away from the mold.
- 12. The apparatus according to claim 11 wherein said urging means comprises a resiliently biased member carrying said gripping means and operative upon weakening of the bond between the material and the mold to partially extract the frozen material from the mold.
Parent Case Info
This application is a division, of application Ser. No. 146,814, filed May 5, 1980, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (2)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
636701 |
Feb 1962 |
CAX |
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
146814 |
May 1980 |
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