A pin-less socket apparatus and manufacturing
system for assembling a frozen confection using such socket apparatus including a socket for accepting a conical food product therein, the socket having a hook with one or more teeth located at an outer periphery of the socket, a hinge located on an outside of the socket, the hook movably attached to the socket via the hinge, a force mechanism for holding the hook in place against the socket. The force mechanism takes the form of either an annular spring or 0-ring located around the socket and hook or a linear spring attached to the hook in a lever-type manner. The manufacturing
system includes a
coating area for
coating a
wafer cone with a
moisture-resistant layer, a filling area having a filler for inserting a semi-frozen confection into the
wafer cone, a cooling area for accepting the
wafer cone with the semi-frozen confection and including a hardening tunnel for freezing the wafer cone and the semi-frozen confection, and a dipping area including more than one pin-less socket apparatus for accepting the wafer cone and moving the wafer cone through a dipping bin. Within the
system, the
coating, filling, cooling, and dipping areas may be on the same or separate
assembly loops including the socket apparatus within one or more of such
assembly loops.