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On-weight slicing system

  • US 5,117,717 A
  • Filed: 12/18/1990
  • Issued: 06/02/1992
  • Est. Priority Date: 12/18/1990
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for on-weight slicing of a flow of sliceable items into slices which combine to provide a draft having a target total weight by accurately measuring each individual sliceable item and determining the number and thickness of draft slices of such individual sliceable item that provide the target total weight, comprising:

  • infeed means for receiving and feeding a flow of a plurality of sliceable food items such as bacon bellies;

    a dimensioner assembly for receiving each of said sliceable items and for determining width and thickness data for each of said items, said dimensioner assembly including a plurality of pivotally mounted fingers, each said finger having a free end for engagement of the sliceable item and another end having a cam surface that engages means for transforming movement of said cam surface into a control signal;

    said cam surface of each said finger has a generally sinusoidal shape so as to provide linear relationship between the free end of the finger and the means for transforming movement of said cam surface into a control signal, whereby movement of the free end is linearly translated into movement of a receptor member of said means for transforming movement of said cam surface into a control signal;

    means for slicing each of said items into a draft having a plurality of slices when each sliceable item is fed thereto;

    drive means for feeding each sliceable item into said slicing means and for precisely providing and maintaining a feed rate for each individual sliceable item into said slicing means;

    control means for determining said rate at which said drive means feeds each said individual sliceable item into the slicing means, said feed rate being that feed rate needed to produce the draft to have a target total weight;

    said control means further determining, from data including that from said dimensioner assembly, the number of slices and the slice thickness of each said slices which will combine to provide the draft of the target total weight, said means combining to provide a plurality of slices of equal thickness having a weight totalling said draft target weight, whereby the number of slices and the equal thickness of those slices vary from draft to draft in accordance with said control means data; and

    means for receiving the slices from said slicing means to thereby provide a flow of drafts composed of a plurality of said slices, each said draft having said target total weight.

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