CUTTING MACHINE AS WELL AS METHOD FOR CUTTING ELASTIC STRINGS, IN PARTICULAR MEAT STRINGS

• US 20190191727A1
• Filed: 04/27/2017
• Published: 06/27/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TVI Entwicklung & Produktion GmbH
• Original Assignee: TVI Entwicklung & Produktion GmbH
• Inventors: Volkl, Thomas, Mayr, Martin
• Granted Patent: US 10,492,504 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: A22C 17/002 Producing portions of meat with predetermined characteristics, e.g. weight or particular dimensions
• CPC Class Codes: A22C 17/0033 Cutting slices out of a piece of meat slicing machines B26D1/143
• CPC Class Codes: A22C 17/02 Apparatus for holding meat or bones while cutting holding fish A22C25/06; holding meat for carving A47J43/18
• CPC Class Codes: A22C 25/08 Holding, guiding, or conveying fish before, during or after its preparation A22C25/06 takes precedence; Devices for sizing fish; Automatically adapting conveyors or processing machines to the measured size transport in general B65G
• CPC Class Codes: A22C 25/10 Devices for threading fish on strings or the like
• CPC Class Codes: A22C 25/18 Cutting fish into portions
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 2007/013 the work being tubes, rods or logs
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 2210/02 for cutting food products, e.g. food slicers
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 2210/04 controlling the volume by pressing the food product, e.g. meat to a predetermined shape before cutting
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 3/16 Cutting rods or tubes transversely cutting tubes longitudinally B26D3/001
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 5/02 Means for moving the cutting member into its operative position for cutting
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 5/06 by electrical means
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 5/08 Means for actuating the cutting member to effect the cut
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 5/086 Electric, magnetic, piezoelectric, electro-magnetic means
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 5/30 having the cutting member controlled by scanning a record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 7/01 Means for holding or positioning work
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 7/0608 by pushers B26D7/0616, B26D7/0625 and B26D7/0641 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 7/0625 by endless conveyors, e.g. belts
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 7/0641 using chutes, hoppers, magazines
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 7/0683 specially adapted for elongated articles
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 7/30 : for weighing cut product

Abstract

A cutting machine for cutting up meat strands whose cross section varies over a longitudinal extension into weight precise slices as fast as possible, and a method for slicing such meat strands. Two or more strands may be received adjacent to each other in a respective form tube and pushed against a separately adjustable stop plate, which is assigned to each form tube, independently from each other by a controlled longitudinal press plunger. The strands may be compressed in the longitudinal direction and a cross section of the form tubes may be reduced in a first transversal direction jointly and in a second transversal direction independently from each other. Thus, the respective meat strand may be transversally compressed to a constant cross section for slicing.

Claims

1. A cutting machine for producing slices and in particular portions assembled from plural slices, in particular in a weight precise manner from meat strands of an elastic material e.g. meat strands,

wherein the cutting machine comprises:

a plurality of form tubes that are open at both a front side and at a back side and extend in a longitudinal pressing direction, the longitudinal pressing direction parallel to an axial direction for a respective one meat strand,

a longitudinal press plunger is provided for each of the plurality of form tubes wherein the press plunger is insertable into the respective form tube from a rear loading end of the respective form tube in the longitudinal pressing direction of the form tube,

a blade for cutting off a plurality of slices from the meat strands is arranged at a forward cutting end of the respective form tubes in a manner movable in a first blade transversal direction, wherein,

each of the plurality of form tubes are made from a plurality of form tube elements in a circumferential direction which are movable relative to each other in at least one of the two transversal directions relative to the longitudinal pressing direction and the form tubes have a cross section that is adjustable in both transversal directions relative to the longitudinal pressing direction,

wherein one or more stop plates proximate the forward cutting end of the plurality of form tubes, wherein the one or more stop plates extend in a direction parallel to the blade plane and are movable in a transversal direction to the blade plane.

2. The cutting machine according to claim 1, wherein

the blade is disposed for movement by a cutting unit in the first blade transversal direction and the longitudinal pressing direction relative to the plurality of form tubes, and

the stop plate is fixedly connected with the blade in the blade transversal direction, and is a component of the cutting unit.

3. The cutting machine according to claim 1, wherein,

viewed in the longitudinal pressing direction, the blade and the stop plate do not overlap with each other, and define a gap therebetween in the transversal plane.

4. The cutting machine according to claim 1, wherein

the longitudinal press plungers for the individual of the plurality of form tubes are controllable independently from each other with respect to their axial feed and include a sensor for detecting an axial position of the longitudinal press plunger.

5. The cutting machine according to claim 1, wherein

each of the plurality of form tubes are slanted in the longitudinal pressing direction downward at an angle towards the forward cutting end.

6. The cutting machine according to claim 1, wherein

each of the plurality of the form tubes is divided in the longitudinal pressing direction into a front form tube and a rear form tube, the rear form tube being directly adjacent to the front form tube, and wherein the front form tube and the rear form tube are movable relative to each other transversely to a compression direction between a first position in which the front form tube and the rear form tube are aligned with each other and a second position in which the front form tube and the rear form tube are not aligned with each other.

7. The cutting machine according to claim 6, wherein

an intermediary plate is provided between the front form tube and the rear form tube, wherein the intermediary plate is movable in a controlled manner in the transversal direction relative to the longitudinal pressing direction between a closed position where it closes a free inner cross section of the form tube and an open position where it leaves the free inner cross section of the form tube open.

8. The cutting machine according to claim 6, wherein

each rear form tube comprises at least two rear form elements that are movable relative to each other in at least a second transversal direction relative to the longitudinal direction, and

the at least two rear form elements are completely disengage able from each other and separable from each other in the second transversal direction of the longitudinal direction.

9. The cutting machine according to claim 7, wherein

at least one of the rear form elements is lower-able into a in particular horizontal loading position.

12. The cutting machine according to claim 6, wherein

the rear form element is configured as a U-shaped component comprising an angle element extending in the feed direction and a transversal pressing wall extending parallel to a center arm of the angle element, and contacting tight on an inside of one of the other arms of the angle element, and wherein

the transversal pressing wall is movable against a stop in the transversal direction so that a width of an inner free space of the U-shaped component corresponds to a width of the transversal press plunger to be inserted therein.

22. The cutting machine according to claim 1, wherein

the cutting machine comprises one or more of

a control for controlling at least all movable part of the cutting machine;

a froster upstream of the cutting unit;

a sorter downstream of the cutting unit; and

(27) and/or

a compensation station downstream of the cutting unit for replacing one or more slices within a portion in order to obtain a nominal weight of the portion.

35. The cutting machine according to claim 1 wherein the blade extends in a width over the plurality of form tubes so that the blade is configured to cut slices in one cut from all adjacent form tubes in one process step, and the blade oscillates in an extension direction of its blade edge and is one of a bar shaped, a strip shaped, or as a circular disc shaped blade.

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23. A method for producing slices from a meat strand made from an elastic material to produce portions that are assembled from plural slices, in particular in a weight precise manner, the method comprising the steps:

arranging a meat strand in a form tube,

compressing the meat strand in the form tube in at least a transversal direction and in a longitudinal pressing direction of the form tube,

arranging and processing multiple strands next to each other on multiple processing tracks in parallel in a first transversal direction,

moving the strand forward in the longitudinal pressing direction beyond a forward cutting end of the form tube,

cutting a slice from each meat strand using at least one blade in front of the front cutting end of the form tube, further comprising

moving the at least one blade in a transversal direction to the longitudinal compression direction for cutting off the slice from each strand,

moving the strand in the longitudinal compression direction beyond the front cutting end of the form tube to contact one or more stop plates that are movable at least in one transversal direction, wherein

the movement of the one or more stop plates, can be controlled independently of each other and in particular are controlled.

24. The method according to claim 23, further comprising the steps of:

controlling a velocity of the transversal movement of the blade-(3) is controlled relative to the diameter and the speed of the blade,

compressing the strand in the transversal direction prior to longitudinal compression in the first transversal direction in the respective form tube, and

before compressing in the longitudinal pressing direction.

25. The method according to claim 23, further comprising the step of

cutting off a respective slice from the at least two adjacent meat strands in one process step with the blade by moving the blade in the second transversal direction.

26. The method according to claim 23, further comprising the step of

moving the blade axially in the longitudinal pressing direction after each step in the axial direction and concurrently moving the meat strand forward beyond the front end of the form tube, and

moving the blade forward in the feed direction directly after the cutting off the at least one slice by a thickness of a slice before or simultaneously with the step of returning the blade in the transversal direction into a starting position.

27. The method according to claim 26, further comprising the steps of

adjusting the stop plate and the blade in the longitudinal direction at a distance from each other corresponding to a desired thickness of the slice, and moving the stop plate and the blade as a cutting unit in at least the cutting direction.

28. The method according to claim 23, further comprising

controlling the compressing of the strand in a front form tube and a rear form tube independently from each other.

29. The method according to claim 23 further comprising the step of

moving a meat strand in the rear form tube by moving at least one wall of the rear form tube in the—

longitudinal direction together with the meat strand in the feed direction.

31. The method according to claim 28, further comprising the step of:

advancing an inserted meat strand using the longitudinal press plunger as soon as a rear end of an inserted strand is only arranged in the axial portion of the respective front form tube,

slicing the inserted meat strand completely,

concurrently loading a second strand in the the rear form tube during the advancing the inserted meat strand in the front form tube step, and

pulling back the press plunger as soon as the inserted strand is fully sliced.

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