Apparatus and method for the slicing of food products

• US 20100307304A1
• Filed: 06/01/2010
• Published: 12/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Weber Maschinenbau GmbH Breidenbach (Weber Food Technology GmbH)
• Original Assignee: Weber Maschinenbau GmbH Breidenbach (Weber Food Technology GmbH)
• Inventors: Weber, Guenther
• Application Number:
  US12/791,195
• Publication Number:
  US 20100307304A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 83/13
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 7/0625 by endless conveyors, e.g. belts
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 7/225 for food slicers
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 23/14 Endless driving elements extending parallel to belt or chain B65G23/18 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 23/30 Variable-speed gearing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 83/04 Processes
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 83/6475 With means to regulate work-feed speed

Abstract

An apparatus for the slicing of food products has a product feeder which includes a plurality of belt conveyors arranged parallel next to one another. The belt conveyors each include an endless belt serving as a product support for a product to be sliced and they are drivable together in order simultaneously to feed a plurality of products which each lie on one of the belts to a cutting plane in which a cutting blade moves. The belt conveyors have a common drive with a drive shaft. For the setting of an individual single conveying speed for each belt conveyor, a respective setting apparatus is associated with them which is made to individually change the running diameter of the drive shaft in the region of the belt.

Claims

1. An apparatus for the slicing of food products, in particular a high-performance slicer, comprising

a product feeder (11, 11′

) which includes a plurality of belt conveyors (13) which are arranged parallel to one another, which each include an endless belt (15) serving as a product support for a product (17) to be sliced and which can be driven together in order simultaneously to feed a plurality of products (17) which each lie on one of the belts (15) to a cutting plane (S) in which at least one cutting blade (23) moves, in particular in a rotating and/or circulating manner,

wherein the belt conveyors (13) have a common drive which includes a drive shaft (19) by which the products (17) lying on the belts (15) can be fed to the cutting plane (S) at a common base conveying speed; and

wherein each belt (15) has a setting apparatus (25) associated with it which is made to individually change the running diameter of the drive shaft (19) in the region of the belt (15) and thus the individual conveying speed of the belt (15).

2. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the running diameter of the drive shaft (19) is changeable for each belt (15) during the slicing operation with a circulating belt (15).

3. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that, for each belt (15), its individual setting speed is changeable by means of the setting apparatus (25) in a range whose limits are determined in that the base conveying speed can be decreased and increased by a specific maximum degree, with the base conveying speed preferably being able to be decreased by up to 20% and increased by up to 20%.

4. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the running diameter of the drive shaft (19) for each belt (15) can be changed in a stepless manner.

5. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that each belt (15) is changeable in length and/or is provided with a clamping apparatus for the adaptation to a change of the running diameter by elastic stretching.

6. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that each setting apparatus (25) includes two conical plates (30, 32) which are rotationally fixedly connected to the drive shaft (19) and are axially displaceable relative to one another.

7. An apparatus in accordance with claim 6, characterized in that the conical plates (30, 32) cooperate with a V-belt (38) whose peripheral surface (42) is made as a running surface for the belt (15).

8. An apparatus in accordance with claim 6, characterized in that each V-belt (38) contacts the conical plates (30, 32) over the full area.

9. An apparatus in accordance with claim 6, characterized in that each V-belt (38) has a length which is larger than the outer diameter of the conical plates (30, 32), with the V-belt (38) being pressed toward the conical plates (30, 32) by the belt (15) and only contacting the conical plates (30, 32) within the active arc.

10. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that each belt (15) is pretensioned.

11. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that each belt (15) has an upper belt (5) associated with it which is made to act on the upper side of the product (17).

12. An apparatus in accordance with claim 11, characterized in that each upper belt (51) is drivable and can be synchronized with a belt (15) serving as a product support.

13. A method for the slicing of food products, wherein

a plurality of products (17) which each lie on a respective belt (15), are simultaneously fed by means of a product feeder (11, 11′

) to a cutting plane (S) in which at least one cutting blade (23) moves, in particular in a rotating and/or circulating manner;

wherein the product feeder includes a plurality of belt conveyors (13) which are arranged parallel to one another and which in each case include an endless belt (15) serving as a product support for a product (15) to be sliced;

the belts (15) are driven by means of a common drive, in particular a drive including a common drive shaft (19) for the belts (15); and

the running diameter of the drive shaft (19) for each belt (15) is changed individually as required in the region of the belt (15) to set the thickness of product slices to be cut individually for each product (17).

14. A method in accordance with claim 13, characterized in that the running diameter of the drive shaft (19) for each belt (15) is changed in dependence on the contour of the product (17), with the contour of the product (17) preferably being determined using a detection device integrated into the apparatus.