Apparatus for cutting, shaping and transferring flexible preforms

{
  "publication_number": "US3911805A",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "A",
  "title": "Apparatus for cutting, shaping and transferring flexible preforms",
  "abstract": "An apparatus for cutting flexible preforms having a predetermined initial shape from a flexible web such as a ribbon of dough, and for pneumatically transferring the preforms to moving cooking molds having a final shape substantially different from the initial shape of the preforms. The apparatus includes means for distributing cutting wear induced on a rotating anvil roll by a rotating cutter roll, and means for uniformly shaping the preforms to at least one predetermined intermediate shape prior to pneumatically transferring the preforms on-the-fly to moving cooking molds. Factors such as windage which affect the shapes of flexible preforms during high velocity pneumatic transfers are substantially reduced by incrementally changing the shapes of the preforms as opposed to effecting a relatively large shape change in one step.",
  "claims": [
    "1. An improved cut-and-transfer apparatus including rotary cutting means and a flight of molds for cutting preforms having an as-cut shape from a flexible web and for transferring each of the preforms to a said mold having a final shape substantially different from said as-cut shape, said improvement comprising means intermediate said cutting means and said flight of molds for incrementally reshaping the preforms from said as-cut shape to said final shape, said means for incrementally reshaping comprising at least one shaping-transfer cylinder having an array of intermediate-shape members on its periphery, each of said members having a radially outwardly oriented face of a shape intermediate said as-cut shape and said final shape, said apparatus further comprising means for rotating said cylinder in timed relation with said cutter means and said flight of molds, means for transferring said performs to said faces adjacent said cutter means, and means for transfering said performs from said faces to said molds.",
    "2. The improved cut-and-transfer apparatus of claim 1 wherein said members are so shaped and disposed with respect to said molds that said members non-contactingly nest with said molds when said preforms are transferred to said molds.",
    "3. An apparatus for cutting arcuate-shape preforms from a flexible web, for transferring the preforms to final-shape molds, and for uniformly shaping the preforms to a predetermined intermediate shape prior to transferring the preforms to the molds, said apparatus comprising: a frame; a cutter roll rotatably secured to said frame, said cutter roll having an array of preform cutting edges on its periphery; an anvil roll rotatably secured to said frame so that a cutting nip is formed intermediate said cutter roll and said anvil roll, and so that said cutting edges contact the periphery of said anvil roll adjacent said cutting nip; an intermediate shaping-transfer cylinder rotatably secured to said frame so that a first transfer station is formed intermediate one of said rolls and said cylinder; means for rotating said rolls and said cylinder in timed relation; means for forwarding said web to said cutting nip in timed relation with the rotation of said rolls so that said cutting edges cut arcuate-shape preforms from the web; means for securing said preforms to said one roll to forward said preforms to said first transfer station; means for transferring said preforms to said shaping-transfer cylinder at said first transfer station, said shaping-transfer cylinder having a plurality of intermediate-shape members disposed about its periphery so that each preform is transferred onto a radially outwardly oriented face of an intermediate-shape member, each said face having a shape intermediate said arcuate shape and said final shape; means for securing said preforms to said faces of said intermediate-shape members to forward said preforms to an other transfer station where the preforms can be transferred to said molds; and, means for transferring said preforms from said intermediate-shapE members to said molds at said other transfer station.",
    "4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein: said cutter roll is said one roll; said securing means comprises vacuum holding means; and said transfer means comprises pneumatic blow-off means.",
    "5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein: said anvil roll has a peripheral surface which is sufficiently soft with respect to the hardness of said cutting edges to substantially confine cutting induced wear to said anvil roll; and, said means for rotating said rolls comprises means for said anvil roll to creep rotationally with respect to said cutter roll to circumferentially distribute any said wear induced on the periphery of said anvil roll by said cutting edges.",
    "6. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said intermediate-shape members are configured and disposed to non-contactingly nest with respect to said molds at said other transfer station.",
    "7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein: said cutter roll is said one roll; said securing means comprises vacuum holding means; and, said transfer means comprises pneumatic blow-off means.",
    "8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein: said anvil roll has a peripheral surface which is sufficiently soft with respect to the hardness of said cutting edges substantially confine cutting induced wear to said anvil roll; and, said means for rotating said rolls comprises means for said anvil roll to creep rotationally with respect to said cutter roll to circumferentially distribute any said wear induced on the periphery of said anvil roll by said cutting edges.",
    "9. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein: said cutter roll is said one roll; said anvil roll has a resilient imperforate periphery; said means for securing said preforms to said one roll and said means for transferring said preforms from said one roll comprises a plurality of radially extending passageways encircled by each cutting edge and means for alternately connecting sufficiently pressurized sources of vacuum and pressurized gas to said passageways in timed relation with the rotation of said one roll to achieve said securing and said transferring respectively; and said means for securing said preforms to said intermediate-shape members and said means for transferring said preforms from said intermediate-shape members comprises a plurality of radially extending passageways through each of said intermediate-shape members and means for alternately coupling sufficiently pressurized sources of vacuum and pressurized gas to said passageways in timed relation with the rotation of said intermediate shaping-transfer cylinder to achieve said securing and said transferring respectively.",
    "10. In an improved machine for making and cooking non-planar, uniformly shaped articles which machine includes a frame, means for receiving a web of dough, means for cutting preforms from said web, a plurality of cooking molds, means for moving said molds into and through a cooking zone, and means for placing said preforms on said cooking molds while said molds are moving, the improvement comprising: a cutter roll rotatably secured to said frame, said cutter roll having an array of preform cutting edges on its periphery; an anvil roll rotatably secured to said frame so that a cutting nip is formed intermediate said cutter roll and said anvil roll, and so that the cutting edges of said cutters contact the periphery of said anvil roll adjacent said cutting nip; an intermediate shaping-transfer cylinder rotatably secured to said frame so that a first transfer station is formed intermediate one of said rolls and said cylinder; means for rotating said rolls and said cylinder in timed relation; means for forwarding a web of dough to said cutting nip in timed relation with the rotation of said rolls so that the cutting edges cut arcuate-shape preforms from the web; means for securing said preforms to said one roll to forward said preforms to said first transfer station; meanS for transferring said preforms to said shaping-transfer cylinder at said first transfer station, said shaping-transfer cylinder having a plurality of intermediate-shape members disposed about its periphery so that each preform is transferred onto a radially outwardly oriented face of an intermediate-shape member, each said face having a shape intermediate said arcuate shape and the shape of a said cooking mold; means for securing said preforms to said faces of said intermediate-shape members to forward said preforms to an other transfer station where the preforms can be transferred to said cooking molds; and, means for transferring said preforms from said intermediate-shape members to said cooking molds at said other transfer station.",
    "11. The improved machine of claim 10 wherein said intermediate-shape members are configured and disposed to non-contactingly nest with respect to said cooking molds at said other transfer station."
  ],
  "cpc": [
    "A47J 37/1214",
    "A21C 11/10",
    "Y10T 83/2066",
    "Y10T 83/2185",
    "Y10T 83/8745"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "A21C 11/10",
    "A47J 37/12"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "Procter and Gamble Co"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "James Clark Baird"
  ],
  "filing_date": "1974-12-24",
  "publication_date": "1975-10-14",
  "grant_date": "1975-10-14",
  "priority_date": "1974-12-24",
  "application_number": "US-53614874-A",
  "family_id": "24137355",
  "cited_by_count": 57,
  "citations": [
    "US3767740A",
    "US3495491A",
    "US3520248A",
    "US3570393A"
  ]
}