Claims
- 1. An apparatus for conveying and packaging a plurality of cones comprising:
- (a) the apparatus including a conveying means for at least one cone in order to move the at least one cone to at least a first desired position;
- (b) the conveying means including a support means for each of the at least one cone;
- (c) the apparatus including an adhesive dispensing means for applying an edible adhesive to a side portion of each cone;
- (d) the apparatus including a wrap dispensing means for applying and adhering a wrap to the cone to form at least one wrapped cone;
- (e) the apparatus including a packaging means for the at least one wrapped cone;
- (f) the at least one cone having a top portion, a bottom portion oppositely disposed from the top portion, and the side portion connecting the top portion and the bottom portion;
- (g) the conveying means supporting the at least one cone in a lying position on the side portion;
- (h) the support means for each of the at least one cone being adapted to contact a top portion of the at least one cone; and
- (i) the support means serving to convey the at least one cone to and past the adhesive dispensing means.
- 2. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:
- (a) the wrap dispensing means applying and adhering a wrap to the at least one cone after the adhesive dispensing;
- (b) the wrap dispensing means including a cutting means for forming the wrap; and
- (c) a stacking device cooperating with the wrap dispensing means to stack a plurality of cones into a stacked assembly and a package, thereby forming the wrap around the side portion and the bottom portion of each of the plurality of cones.
- 3. The apparatus of claim 2 further comprising:
- (a) the support means for each of the at least one cone being a ridge on a conveyor belt adapted to contact the top portion of the cone; and
- (b) the ridge being adapted to support an edible cone selected from the group consisting of a pointed base cone and a flat base cone.
- 4. The apparatus of claim 3 further comprising:
- (a) the conveyor belt having a slight upward angle from the horizontal, thereby permitting a central axis of each cone to substantially coincide with a central axis of the package; and
- (b) an angle adjusting means changing the upward angle of the conveyor belt.
- 5. The apparatus of claim 4 further comprising:
- (a) a cone centering device being adjacent to the wrap dispensing means and the packaging means;
- (b) the cone centering device serving to position each cone for the wrap dispensing means and the packaging means;
- (c) the wrap dispensing means including a paper assembly to feed the cutting means; and
- (d) the paper assembly and the cutting means cooperating to form the wrap.
- 6. An apparatus for conveying and packaging a plurality of cones comprising:
- (a) the apparatus including a conveying means for at least one cone in order to move the at least one cone to at least a first desired position;
- (b) the conveying means including a support means for each of the at least one cone;
- (c) the at least one cone having a top portion, a bottom portion oppositely disposed from the top portion, and a side portion connecting the top portion and the bottom portion;
- (d) the conveying means supporting the at least one cone in a lying position on the side portion;
- (e) the apparatus including a adhesive dispensing means for applying an edible adhesive to the side portion of each cone;
- (f) the apparatus including a wrap dispensing means for applying and adhering a wrap to the cone to form at least one wrapped cone;
- (g) the apparatus including a packaging means for the at least one wrapped cone;
- (h) a cone centering device being adjacent to the wrap dispensing means and the packaging means;
- (i) the cone centering device serving to position each cone for the wrap dispensing means and the packaging means;
- (j) the wrap dispensing means including a paper assembly and a cutting means;
- (k) the paper assembly feeding the cutting means; and
- (l) the paper assembly and the cutting means cooperating to form the wrap.
- 7. The apparatus claim 6 further comprising:
- (a) the cone centering device including a centering arm mounted adjacent to the paper assembly and the conveying means;
- (b) the centering arm supporting a cone arc member adjacent to the wrap dispensing means; and
- (c) the cone arc member serving to guide a cone to a central portion of a wrap formed from the wrap dispensing means.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 7 further comprising:
- (a) the conveying means supporting the at least one cone in the lying position;
- (b) the support means for each of the at least one cone being adapted to contact the top portion of the at least one cone; and
- (c) the support means serving to convey the at least one cone to and past the adhesive dispensing means.
- 9. The apparatus of claim 8 further comprising:
- (a) the wrap dispensing means applying and adhering a wrap to the at least one cone after the adhesive dispensing;
- (b) the wrap dispensing means including the cutting means for forming the wrap; and
- (c) a stacking device cooperating with the wrap dispensing means to stack a plurality of cones into a stacked assembly and a package, thereby forming the wrap around the side portion and the bottom portion of each of the plurality of cones.
- 10. The apparatus of claim 9 further comprising:
- (a) the support means for each of the at least one cone being a ridge on a conveyor belt adapted to contact the top portion of the cone; and
- (b) the ridge being adapted to support an edible cone selected from the group consisting of a pointed base cone and a flat base cone.
- 11. The apparatus claim 10 further comprising:
- (a) the conveyor belt having a slight upward angle from the horizontal, thereby permitting a central axis of each cone to substantially coincide with a central axis of the package; and
- (b) an angle adjusting means changing the upward angle of the conveyor belt.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/939,582 as originally filed on Sep. 29, 1997.
US Referenced Citations (10)
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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939582 |
Sep 1997 |
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