Machine for forming cones

Details Machine for forming cones Machine for forming cones

1999-12-29

2001-05-08

Simone, Timothy F. (Department: 1761)

Foods and beverages: apparatus

Cooking

With other treating or handling of material

C099S353000, C099S383000, C099S442000, C099S450200, C425S317000, C425S322000, C425S334000, C425S347000, C425S397000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06227103

ABSTRACT:

TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention relates to a cone-making machine for producing rolled-up wafer cones from individual, substantially flat, baked wafer cakes made of sugar-containing wafer dough and therefore plastically deformable when hot. The cone-making machine has several roll-up mechanisms arranged next to one another along a closed circumferential path, wherein the wafer cakes are rolled up and the resulting cones are allowed to cool, while the roll-up mechanisms are transported in a stationary machine housing from a loading station to a discharge station for the wafer cones.
STATE OF THE ART
Cone-making machines for the production of rolled-up wafer cones are arranged mostly close to the discharge station of a continuously operating wafer-baking over in which substantially flat wafer cakes, which are plastically deformable when hot, are produced from a sugar-containing wafer dough. The wafer cakes are transferred to the cone-making machine while still in a warm, plastically deformable sate, where they are rolled up and the resulting cones are allowed to cool down.
For the production of wafer cakes longitudinally extending wafer-baking ovens are used. Such ovens have endless baking-tong chains which revolve continuously and have baking tongs each containing a baking mold consisting of two flat baking plates for the production of wafer cakes. These wafer-baking ovens have a longitudinally extending oven housing, which on the outside has a heat-insulating end closure consisting of doors and plates. In the over housing a longitudinally extending parallellepipedic inner space is provided, through which extends the endless baking tong chain through two superimposed transport levels and over two guide mechanisms provided respectively at each end of the inner space. The length, widths and height of this inner space depend on the size of the substantially rectangular baking tongs and the length of the baking tong chains. The size of the baking tongs is selected according to the size of the wafer cakes to be produced. The width of the inner space is primarily determined by the width of the baking tongs. The length of the baking tongs determines the diameter of the guide mechanisms of the baking tong chain, by determining the vertical distance between the two transport levels, and thereby the height of the inner space. The length of the inner space depends on the number of baking tongs on the baking tong chain, respectively on the length of the baking tong chain. The height of the inner space, together with the legs of the oven housing, determines the position of the upper transport level of the baking tong chain or of the wafer-baking oven.
In the upper transport level of the baking oven, a discharge or wafer removal station wherein the baked wafer cakes are removed from the opened baking molds, a dough-pouring station, wherein flowable wafer dough is poured into the empty, opened baking molds, are arranged in succession in the travel direction of the baking tong chain. In the travel direction of the baking tong chain, the dough-pouring station is followed by a long baking space, which ends shortly before the wafer removal station and which contains the baking tong chain segment located in the lower transport level. The baking tong chain revolves at a constant speed and transports the closed baking tongs through the longitudinally extending baking space provided with gas burners. After leaving the baking space, the baking tongs are released for the opening of the baking molds and are again clamped together after passing through the dough-pouring station thereby closing the baking molds.
During one revolution of a baking tong, at the dough-pouring station a precisely measured amount of a flowable wafer dough with a high sugar content is poured onto the lower baking plate of an open baking mold. After the dough-pouring station, the baking mold is closed by clamping together the baking tongs. While the closed baking tongs travel through the baking space, from the dough portion a wafer cake is formed inside, which is plastically deformable while warm. Before reaching the discharge station, the baking mold is opened by releasing the baking tongs. At the discharge station the wafer cake is removed from the opened baking mold and transferred to the cone-making machine in a plastically deformable state, while the baking tong is transported further to the dough-pouring machine for the production of the next wafer cake. The travel time of the baking tongs form the dough-pouring station through the baking space to the discharge station corresponds to the predetermined baking time of the wafer cake.
The production capacity of the baking oven depends mainly on the number of baking plates which are transported by the baking tongs chain at a constant speed during the predetermined baking time from the dough-pouring station through the baking space to the discharge station. The running speed of the baking tongs chain is selected so that each baking tong will complete its travel from the dough-pouring station through the baking space to the discharge station within the predetermined baking time. The wafer cakes baked in the baking tongs are removed from the opened baking molds at the discharge station at a predetermined work pace.
In order to increase the production capacity of the baking oven it is enough to lengthen the baking tongs chain by a few baking tongs and to increase the running speed of the baking tongs chain, so that each baking tongs will complete the lengthened travel path in the predetermined baking time of the wafer cakes. The lengthening of the baking tongs chain requires merely a lengthening of the oven housing in the area of the baking space. Only the long inner space comprising the baking tong chain is lengthened. Its width and height remain the same. Likewise the width and the height of the oven housing, as well as the position of the upper transport level of the baking oven. Lengthening the baking tongs chain and the oven housing offers almost limitless possibilities and is actually limited only by the rotational speed of the baking tongs chain.
These longitudinally extending baking ovens are combined with cone-making machines, wherein a rigid rotary frame revolving around a stationary rotation axis comprises roll-up mechanisms assigned to the baking molds of the baking oven, which are transported by the rotary frame in a closed circuit from a loading station through a work path to a discharge station, while the plastically deformable wafer cakes pulled in by them at the loading station are rolled up into cones, and the cones are allowed to cool in order to increase the stability of their shape. The rotational speed of the rotary frame depends on the one hand on the distance between the roll-up mechanisms on the rotary frame, as well as on the distance between the baking plates in the baking tongs chain and its rotational speed, on the other hand. The diameter of the rotary frame on which the roll-up mechanisms are mounted depends on the cone production time, which starts with the moment when the wafer cake is received in the roll-up mechanism and ends when the sufficiently cooled wafer cone is stripped off the punch, and that additional time which is required for returning the punch into the die. In the roll-up mechanism the wafer cones are produced during a predetermined cone production time, which is required for rolling up a wafer cake and the subsequent cooling of the resulting cone, and which depends mainly on the size of the wafer cake and the size of the cone. This cone production time, together with the rotational speed of the baking tong chain, determines the length of the work path of the cone-making machine, and thereby the diameter of the circular path of the roll-up mechanisms, respectively of the rotary frame, wherein loading station and discharge station are mostly diametrically opposed to each other.
The production capacity of the cone-making machine is determined by the number of the roll-up mechanisms arranged next to each other on the rotary frame along th

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