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

• US 20190223459A1
• Filed: 04/27/2017
• Published: 07/25/2019
• 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 10,843,364 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 pre-compressed meat strands into slices and a method for slicing pre-compressed meat strands, wherein the blade is moved forward in the feed direction to a limited extent after the blade has completely cut off a slice, and is either subsequently or simultaneously moved backward in the transversal direction. In this way, the forward movement of the meat strand to cut off the next slice can be started earlier.

Claims

1. A cutting machine for producing slices and in particular portions assembled from a plurality of weight precise slices from meat strands,

wherein the cutting machine comprises:

comprises a least one form tube that is open at a front side and at a back side of said at least one form tube and extends in a longitudinal pressing direction, that corresponds to an axial direction for a respective meat strand,

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

a cutting unit disposed at the front cutting end of each of the at least one form tube and having a blade for cutting off slices from the strand, wherein

the blade can be moved in a controlled manner in a first transversal direction relative to the at least one form tube using the cutting unit, wherein

the blade being disposed for movement in a controlled manner in the longitudinal pressing direction, relative to the at least one form tube as controlled by a control using the cutting unit.

2. The cutting machine according to claim 1, wherein

a stop plate that is a component of the cutting unit, wherein the stop plate can be moved in the first transversal direction and is fixedly connected to the blade in the first transversal direction,

the stop plate, remains at an adjusted axial position, unless a change of the slice thickness is performed by adjusting the axial distance between the stop plate and the front end of the form tube,

in particular, as viewed in the longitudinal pressing direction, the blade and the stop plate do not overlap with each other, and define a narrow gap of less than 20 mm in between the blade and the stop plate.

3. The cutting machine according to claim 1, wherein

multiple form tubes are disposed next to and parallel with each other, and the blade has a width that extends across the multiple form tubes so that slices of the multiple form tubes can be cut off with one cut in the course of one processing step,

and the blade is one of a rotating, circular disc-shaped, blade or a bar-shaped or strip-shaped blade that oscillates in the extension direction of its blade edge.

4. The cutting machine according to claim 1, wherein

in a circumferential direction, the at least one form tube consists of multiple form elements that are movable relative to each other in at least one of the first transversal direction or a second transversal direction in the at least one form tube'"'"'s circumferential direction providing a cross section that is adjustable to the longitudinal direction in at least one of the first or the second transversal direction,

wherein each form tube is divided in the longitudinal compressing direction into a front form tube and rear form tube that are movable relative to each other obliquely to the compressing direction between a first position in which they are aligned with each other and a second position in which they are not aligned with each other.

5. The cutting machine according to claim 1, wherein

an inner free cross section of the at least one form tube has respectively two opposite sides extending in parallel to each other, and is rectangular or parallelogram-shaped, and

the longitudinal press plungers for the individual form tubes can be controlled independently of each other as for their axial feed, and in particular have a sensor for detecting the axial position of the longitudinal press plunger.

6. The cutting machine according to claim 1, wherein

in a circumferentially closed state, the at least one form tube is tilted obliquely downwards in the longitudinal pressing direction towards its front cutting end at an angle of between 20°

and 70°

with respect to the horizontal line, and

a stop plate extending in parallel to the blade plane and perpendicular to the longitudinal press direction is arranged on a side of the blade that is located opposite the form tube, wherein a position of the stop plate is adjustable in its axial distance relative to the blade in the longitudinal pressing direction.

7. The cutting machine according to claim 4, wherein

an intermediate plate is provided between the front form tube and the rear form tube, wherein the intermediate plate is movable in a controlled manner in a transversal direction relative to the longitudinal pressing direction between a closed position where it closes the 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, wherein the intermediate plate is in particular separately movable.

9. The cutting machine according to claim 4, wherein

at least a rear form element of the rear form tube is lowerable into a substantially horizontal loading position, and aligned with an infeed conveyor for strands.

10. The cutting machine according to claim 4, wherein

the rear form tube comprises two rear form elements and, when viewed in the longitudinal pressing direction, a first rear form element of each rear form tube is a U-shaped component and a second rear form element is a transversal press plunger movable relative to the U-shaped component, wherein the transversal press plunger fits sealingly tight in a second transversal direction into an open circumferential side of the U-shaped component and is insertable into the U-shaped component.

15. The cutting machine according to claim 10, wherein

the U-shaped element includes a form tube band and a transversal pressing wall that are jointly movable in the second transversal direction in a scissor arrangement.

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

a wall of the form tube that is arranged opposite to a form tube band is formed by a transversal press plunger that is insertable into the U-shaped component, and

the transversal press plunger is movably arranged in a second transversal direction and two form tube elements including a transversal pressing wall on one side and the form tube band together with a side wall attached thereto are also movable in the second transversal direction.

19. The cutting machine according to claim 4, wherein

the at least one front form tube is made from two front form elements wherein one form tube element is configured as a U-shaped component viewed in the longitudinal direction and the other of the two front form elements is configured to fit as a movable transversal press plunger into a free inner cross section of the U-shaped component and is insertable in a second transversal direction, and

in the longitudinal direction, the at least one front form tube has a length of at least 5 cm, and

the front form tube has a length of between 2% and 50% of the entire length of the form tube.

20. The cutting machine according to claim 1, wherein

the longitudinal press plunger is replaceably arranged at a piston rod driving the longitudinal press plunger, and

the cutting machine includes a control which controls all movable components of the cutting machine in a desired and time-based and local correlation relative to each other in their motions.

8. (canceled)

11. (canceled)

12. (canceled)

13. (canceled)

14. (canceled)

16. (canceled)

17. (canceled)

21. (canceled)

22. (canceled)

23. A method for producing slices from a meat strand made from an elastic material, e.g. a meat strand to produce portions that are assembled from a plurality of slices in a weight precise manner, the method including the steps of:

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,

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

cutting a slice off from each strand in front of the front cutting end of the form tube using a blade by moving the blade through the strand from a starting position into a transversal direction to the longitudinal compressing direction,

axially moving the blade in the longitudinal pressing direction following each cut over a duration of movement, and during the duration of movement, moving the strand to beyond the front end of the form tube, and

moving the blade backward to the starting position in the transversal direction as well as counter to the longitudinal compressing direction before cutting off the next slice.

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

moving the strand forward after the slice has been cut off, and before the blade has moved out of the cross-sectional area of the form tube in the transversal direction as viewed in the longitudinal compressing direction,

moving the blade forward in the longitudinal compressing direction immediately after the slice has been cut off by at least the thickness of one slice subsequently or simultaneously to the backwards movement of the blade in the transversal direction into the starting position.

26. The method according to claim 23, wherein

in the longitudinal direction, each form tube is configured in two pieces with a front form tube and a rear form tube, and further comprising the steps of:

moving the strand further forward in the feed direction in the front form tube during the cutting the slice off step using a longitudinal press plunger until the strand is completely cut up,

beginning to load the rear form tube with a new strand to be cut as soon as the rear end of the strand is located only in the axial area of the front form tube in the corresponding form tube.

29. The method according to claim 23, wherein

in the longitudinal direction, each form tube is configured in two pieces with a front form tube and a rear form tube, and further comprising the steps of:

compressing of the strand meat strand in the front form tube in at least a transversal direction;

compressing the meat strand in the rear form tube in at least the transversal direction;

controlling the transversal compression of the strand in the front form tube independently of the transversal compression in the rear form tube, and

setting the inner free cross section of the front form tube and the rear form tube in the compressed state to be aligned with each other.

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

simultaneously processing at least two strands are arranged next to each other on multiple processing tracks,

cutting off one slice from the at least two strands arranged next to each other in the same processing step by the same blade.

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

compressing the meat strand in the rear form tube longitudinally against an intermediate plate using the longitudinal press plunger, wherein the intermediate plate is disposed between the front form tube and the rear form tube that is aligned therewith, and perpendicular to the longitudinal compressing direction,

moving the intermediate plate in the transversal direction between a closed position in which the inner free space of the form tube is closed and an open position in which the inner free space remains open, and

moving the meat strand forward in the longitudinal pressing direction into the front form tube and compressing the meat strand against a stop plate when the intermediate plate is in the open position.

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

moving the meat strand forward in the rear form tube, by moving at least one opposing wall of the rear form tube in the longitudinal direction together with the meat strand.

25. (canceled)

27. (canceled)

28. (canceled)

31. (canceled)

33. (canceled)

34. (canceled)

35. (canceled)

37. (canceled)