Conveyor for a food portion-producing machine
First Claim
1. An output conveyor for a food product-producing apparatus, comprising:
- an outer conveyor frame;
an inner conveyor frame;
a front roller;
a rear roller;
said front and rear rollers rotatably supported on said inner conveyor frame;
an endless belt wrapped around said front and rear rollers, said endless belt providing a top conveying surface;
wherein said inner conveyor frame is supported on said outer conveyor frame by adjustable connections wherein an elevation of said endless belt at least at one end thereof can be changed.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A conveyor for a patty-forming apparatus is supported in cantilever fashion on support rods from the patty-forming apparatus. The conveyor includes an easily operated toggle mechanism to elevate the conveyor at a downstream end to facilitate sliding displacement of at least a portion of the conveyor on the support rods to gain access to portions of the apparatus. Particularly, the invention provides a lever action mechanism that tips the conveyor to raise a discharge end of conveyor. This mechanism facilitates sliding the conveyor out for access to knockout plungers of the apparatus. Elevation adjustment assemblies are arranged between the conveyor and the support rods. The set of the elevation assemblies is not affected by operation of the toggle mechanism.
49 Citations
15 Claims
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1. An output conveyor for a food product-producing apparatus, comprising:
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an outer conveyor frame;
an inner conveyor frame;
a front roller;
a rear roller;
said front and rear rollers rotatably supported on said inner conveyor frame;
an endless belt wrapped around said front and rear rollers, said endless belt providing a top conveying surface;
wherein said inner conveyor frame is supported on said outer conveyor frame by adjustable connections wherein an elevation of said endless belt at least at one end thereof can be changed. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A patty forming and conveying assembly comprising:
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a reciprocating mold plate patty-forming apparatus comprising a frame, a mold plate driven to reciprocate on said frame, said mold plate having a plurality of patty-forming cavities therethrough, a pressurized food product delivery system for delivering pressurized food product into said cavities to form patties when said mold plate is in a fill position, and a plurality of knockout plungers arranged to reciprocate vertically to displace patties from said cavities, when said mold plate is in a discharge position;
a conveyor assembly comprising two spaced-apart horizontally disposed rods fixed at base ends to said frame, and a conveyor frame slidable along said rods, an endless belt conveyor carried by said frame, said endless belt conveyor slidable from a position wherein an input region of said conveyor is beneath said knockout plungers, to a position wherein said input region of said conveyor is at a horizontal distance from said knockout plungers. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification