Apparatus for removing a hand held food product from a baking mold

• US 5,352,111 A
• Filed: 06/28/1993
• Issued: 10/04/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/1990
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Donald P. Walker
• Original Assignee: Selbak's Cookie Cones, Inc.
• Inventors: Selbak, Will L.
• Primary Examiner(s): MACKEY, JAMES P
• Application Number:
  US08/083,351
• Time in Patent Office: 463 Days
• Field of Search: 425/350, 425/351, 425/403.1, 425/404, 425/407, 425/422, 425/436 R, 425/437, 425/444, 99/383
• US Class Current: 425/351
• CPC Class Codes: A21B 3/132 Assemblies of several baking-tins or forms A21B3/134 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A21B 3/18 Discharging baked goods from tins
• CPC Class Codes: A21B 5/026 for baking waffle cups or cones
• CPC Class Codes: A21C 15/025 Apparatus for shaping or moulding baked wafers, e.g. to obtain cones for ice cream
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 2201/0205 Biscuits

Abstract

An apparatus for producing an edible, hand held food product which may be used as a container for ice cream and other frozen confections in which the apparatus includes, in combination, a baking mold for baking the food product and a vacuum removal plug which is selectively insertable into a female portion of the baked food product for removing the food product by means of vacuum. The removal plug has an exterior surface with a configuration corresponding substantially to the inner surface of the container and includes a plurality of vacuum ports opening to the exterior surface. The apparatus also includes a vacuum assembly for creating a vacuum within the vacuum ports.

Claims

1. An apparatus for producing an edible, hand held food product having a configuration that may be used as a container for ice cream and other frozen confections, said container configuration having an outer surface and a spaced inner surface, said apparatus comprising:

a mold for baking said food product, said mold including a female portion and a male portion for insertion into said female portion to define a cavity therebetween conforming to the desired container configuration, said male portion being selectively moveable into and out of said female portion;

a vacuum removal plug selectively insertable into said female portion for removing said baked food product, said removal plug having an exterior surface with an exterior surface portion having a configuration corresponding substantially to a portion of the inner surface of said container configuration and including a plurality of vacuum ports opening to said exterior surface;

vacuum means for selectively creating a vacuum within said vacuum ports to facilitate removal of said baked food product from said female portion; and

a cooling conveyor having at least one cooling basket for receiving said baked food product, said cooling basket having an interior configuration corresponding substantially to at least a portion of the outer surface of said container and having a plurality of cooling openings.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said at least one cooling basket has an interior configuration corresponding substantially to the outer surface of said container configuration.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 including means for selectively moving said vacuum removal plug from a first position inserted within said female portion to a second position inserted within said cooling basket.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 including vacuum control means for selectively creating a vacuum within and removing a vacuum from said vacuum ports.

5. The apparatus of claim 3 including a plurality of adjacent removal plugs moveable in unison between a first position inserted within a corresponding female portion and a second position inserted within a corresponding cooling basket.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 including means for moving said female and male portions along a first linear path.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said conveyor is moveable along a second linear path opposite to said first linear path.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 including means for selectively moving said vacuum removal plug from a first position inserted within said female portion to a second position inserted within said cooling basket.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said means for moving said vacuum removal plug includes a swing arm selectively pivotable about an axis orthogonal relative to said first and second linear paths.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 including vacuum control means for selectively creating a vacuum within and removing a vacuum from said vacuum ports.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 including a plurality of molds, each having a female portion and a male portion, a plurality of vacuum removal plugs and a plurality of cooling baskets.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said vacuum removal plug is selectively moveable between a removal position in which said plug is inserted into said female portion and a release position in which said plug is at least partially inserted into said cooling basket.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 including means for moving said vacuum removal plug from said removal position to said release position and from said release position to said removal position.