Pattern forming apparatus and methods for grouping food products, such as loaves of bread, into any one of a plurality of different patterns wherein an approach conveyor, for successively conveying products in a longitudinal path, communicates with a reorienting member for receiving a first group of products from the approach conveyor and disposing them in end-for-end reversed position relative to incoming products on the approach conveyor. Pusher mechanism is provided for selectively, transversely pushing one or more additional products on the approach conveyor into abutting relation with the reoriented products to join with them in a common plane product.
An apparatus for feeding articles to an accumulation area (4) is provided to have a conveyor path with a curved section (7) interconnecting a first conveyor path section (8) in the feeding direction upstream of the curved section (7) and a second conveyor path section (9) downstream thereof and extending substantially in parallel with each other. The apparatus further provides for transferring (10) the articles from the first section transversely to the feeding direction and over to the second section, by-passing the curved section, and a control arrangement (28) for controlling transfer to optionally transfer articles from the first to the second conveyor path section by-passing the curved section, or allowing the articles to pass through the curved section.
The invention relates to an overhead conveyor for poultry, for example chickens, having a conveyor line, and along the conveyor line movable hooks suspended therefrom with holders for the ends of the poultry's legs. The hooks are rotatable about a substantially vertical axis for the selective adjustment of a direction of movement of the poultry. Each hook is provided at the top with an adjusting plate with cams. Guide members are arranged along the conveyor line and are designed to intermate with the cams, wherein the adjusting plate is provided with at least a first type of cam having a predetermined first length and one or several cams of a second type having a predetermined second length. The first length is smaller than the second length, and the guide members are arranged such that the first type of cam is able to pass a guide member without intermating and the second type of cam is able to pass the guide member only by intermating. The hook can pivot in relation to the adjusting plate about a substantially horizontal axis. Between the adjusting plate and the holders for the ends of the poultry's legs, a catch member is provided for moving said hook out of a vertically suspended position.
An improved breadmaking machine for adjusting at least one operating parameter of the machine in response to the atmospheric pressure and atmospheric temperature existing outside the machine. Signals representative of the atmospheric pressure and atmospheric temperature are inputted to the breadmaker by a sensor, potentiometer, switch block assembly, or by manual entering means. The signals are read by a controller which initiates a program to determine at least one correction value for adjusting the operating parameters of the machine in response to the pressure and temperature inputs. The controller is connected to the parameters, such as a heater element, kneading motor and blower motor and adjusts the operation of the parameters according to the calculated values of the program.
