Continuous feed for food loaf slicing machine

• US 5,974,925 A
• Filed: 09/13/1995
• Issued: 11/02/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 10/11/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Formax Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Formax Incorporated
• Inventors: Lindee, Scott A., Hansen, David M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Rada, Rinaldi I.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Goodman, Charles
• Application Number:
  US08/527,071
• Time in Patent Office: 1,511 Days
• Field of Search: 83/355, 83/444, 83/403.1, 83/409.1, 83/409.2, 83/412, 83/416, 83/422, 83/437.1, 83/932, 83/859, 83/591
• US Class Current: 83/412
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 1/0006 Cutting members therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 1/16 mounted on a movable arm or the like
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 2001/0046 rotating continuously about an axis perpendicular to the edge
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 2001/006 the cutting blade having a special shape, e.g. a special outline, serrations
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 2007/011 by clamping claws, e.g. in high speed slicers for food products
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 2210/08 Idle cutting
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 3/161 for obtaining more than one product at a time
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 5/00 Arrangements for operating and controlling machines or devices for cutting, cutting-out, stamping-out, punching, perforating, or severing by means other than cutting
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 7/01 Means for holding or positioning work
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 7/06 Arrangements for feeding or delivering work of other than sheet, web, or filamentary form feeding or discharging sheets, webs, or filaments B65H
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 7/0625 by endless conveyors, e.g. belts
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 7/0683 specially adapted for elongated articles
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 7/12 by sharpening the cutting member
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 7/22 Safety devices specially adapted for cutting machines safety devices in general F16P
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 7/225 for food slicers
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 7/30 for weighing cut product
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 7/32 for conveying or stacking cut product means for removing cut-out material or waste B26D7/18
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 83/932 Edible
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 83/6475 With means to regulate work-feed speed
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 83/6542 Plural means to constrain plural work pieces
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 83/6563 : With means to orient or position work carrier relative to tool station
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 83/95 : Machine frame

Abstract

A high speed slicing machine feeds two or more food loaves continuously along parallel loaf paths through an orifice member into a slicing station for slicing by one cyclically driven knife blade; the slices are stacked or shingled in groups on a receiving conveyor below the slicing station. There are two independent loaf feed drives; slices from one loaf may be thicker than slices from the others. Each loaf feed drive advances at least one loaf into the slicing station, partly by gravity and partly by a positive loaf feed drive. Each positive loaf feed drive comprises a pair of angularly converging "short" conveyors; adjustments and bias are provided for each set of "short" conveyors. In the slicing station, an arcuate blade is rotated along a closed cutting path that intersects the ends of food loaves fed into the slicing station. A conveyor system discharges groups of food loaf slices after they are weighed.

Claims

1. An improvement for a continuous loaf feed mechanism for a high speed food loaf slicing machine, the slicing machine including:

a slicing station comprising a knife blade and a knife blade drive driving the blade along an arcuate cutting path;

an inclined loaf support supporting at least one food loaf for movement by gravity along a loaf path intersecting the cutting path;

two short loaf feed conveyors, the short conveyors being spaced from each other and engaging opposite sides of at least one food loaf immediately ahead of the cutting path;

and variable speed conveyor drive means for driving the two short conveyors at variable speeds to vary thickness of slices cut from the loaf by the knife blade;

the improvement comprising;

a conveyor housing, enclosing the short conveyors, the conveyor housing being located at a position immediately ahead of the cutting path; and

retraction means to retract the short conveyors, the conveyor housing, and any food loaf having a portion of the loaf engaged between those short conveyors, during each non-cutting operation, to minimize cutting of irregular food loaf slices.

2. An improvement for a continuous loaf feed mechanism for a high speed food loaf slicing machine, according to claim 1, further comprising a control means having a memory means and the retraction means includes a means for recording, for the memory means, the position of the conveyor housing relative to the cutting path prior to retraction so that the conveyor housing and the short conveyors can be returned with precision when cutting is resumed.

3. An improvement for a continuous loaf feed mechanism for a high speed food loaf slicing machine, according to claim 1, in which the retraction means includes a reversible servo motor, a position encoder in the servo motor to record the position of the conveyor housing, relative to the cutting path, prior to retraction, and connection means mechanically connecting the servo motor to the conveyor housing.

4. An improvement for a high speed food loaf slicing machine comprising a slicing station including a knife blade and a knife blade drive cyclically driving the knife blade along a predetermined cutting path, and inclined loaf support means for supporting a first food loaf and a second food loaf for movement by gravity along adjacent first and second loaf paths, respectively, into the slicing station for repetitive slicing of both loaves by the knife blade in each knife blade cycle;

the improvement comprising;

a first loaf feed mechanism for advancing the first food loaf along the first loaf path at a first preselected loaf feed rate;

a second loaf feed mechanism for advancing the second food loaf along the second loaf path at a second preselected loaf feed rate;

each loaf feed mechanism including two short loaf feed conveyors and a conveyor housing for the short conveyors, the short conveyors engaging opposite sides of the associated food loaf immediately ahead of the cutting path;

means for varying the loaf feed rate of each food loaf independently of the other so that slices cut from one loaf can differ in thickness from slices cut from the other; and

a retraction mechanism for retracting the short conveyors, the conveyor housing, and any food loaf having a portion of the loaf engaged between the short conveyors of the first and second loaf feed mechanisms, respectively, in a direction away from the slicing station, through a distance of no more than about one-eighth inch (0.3 cm), during each non-cutting machine operation, to minimize cutting of irregular food loaf slices.

5. An improvement for a high speed food loaf slicing machine, according to claim 4, further comprising a control means having a memory means and the retraction mechanism includes a means for recording, for the memory means, the position of the loaf feed mechanism relative to the cutting path prior to retraction so that the conveyor housing and the short conveyors can be returned with precision when cutting is resumed.

6. An improvement for a high speed food loaf slicing machine, according to claim 4, in which the retraction mechanism includes a reversible servo motor and a position encoder on the servo motor to record the position of the conveyor housing relative to the cutting path prior to retraction.

7. An improvement for a high speed food loaf slicing machine, according to claim 4, in which the distance of retraction is proportional to the thickness of the slices cut from the food loaves.

8. An improvement for a high speed food loaf slicing machine, according to claim 4, in which the retraction mechanism includes a detector for detecting and end of at least one of said food loaves.

9. An improvement for a high speed food loaf slicing machine, according to claim 8, in which the detector is a proximity switch.

10. An improvement for a high speed food loaf slicing machine according to claim 4 in which food loaves are advanced serially along both the first and second food loaf paths, and further comprising means to align two food loaves end to end on the same loaf path so that both loaves enter the slicing station simultaneously.