Method and apparatus for slicing products
First Claim
1. A method of slicing products, comprising steps of:
- supplying a plurality of products next to one another along a product support in a respective product track to a cutting plane in which a cutting blade moves, wherein the products are brought into engagement with respective product conveyors which can be traveled independently of one another in and against the product supply direction relative to the supply unit;
offsetting the products in a stepped manner relative to one another via the product conveyors in the product supply direction in that, starting from a first product, the further products arranged next to the first product at at least one side are each set back up to the respective outermost product by a respective amount against the product supply direction, and further than the respective preceding product;
wherein a respective light barrier having a monitored zone and a lateral sensor is associated with each product track, said light barrier being arranged at a defined spacing from the cutting plane and the monitored zone extending transversely to the product supply direction;
travelling the products toward the light barriers at a defined speed;
detecting positions of the product starts with respect to the cutting plane via the light barriers;
determining the differences in the positions of the product starts relative to one another; and
travelling the product conveyors relative to one another for aligning the product starts with the cutting plane such that the determined relative positional differences of the product starts are cancelled.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
In a method of slicing products, in particular food products, a plurality of products are supplied next to one another along a product support to a cutting plane in which a cutting blade moves, in particular in a rotating and/or revolving manner. The products are initially offset relative to one another in a stepped manner in the product supply direction via the product conveyors in that, starting from a first product, the further products up to the respective outermost product, which are arranged next to one another at at least one side, are set back by a respective amount against the product supply direction, and indeed further than the respective preceding product. The products offset in a stepped manner with respect to one another are traveled to light barriers at a defined speed. The positions of the product starts are detected with respect to the cutting plane via the light barriers.
10 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of slicing products, comprising steps of:
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supplying a plurality of products next to one another along a product support in a respective product track to a cutting plane in which a cutting blade moves, wherein the products are brought into engagement with respective product conveyors which can be traveled independently of one another in and against the product supply direction relative to the supply unit; offsetting the products in a stepped manner relative to one another via the product conveyors in the product supply direction in that, starting from a first product, the further products arranged next to the first product at at least one side are each set back up to the respective outermost product by a respective amount against the product supply direction, and further than the respective preceding product; wherein a respective light barrier having a monitored zone and a lateral sensor is associated with each product track, said light barrier being arranged at a defined spacing from the cutting plane and the monitored zone extending transversely to the product supply direction; travelling the products toward the light barriers at a defined speed; detecting positions of the product starts with respect to the cutting plane via the light barriers; determining the differences in the positions of the product starts relative to one another; and travelling the product conveyors relative to one another for aligning the product starts with the cutting plane such that the determined relative positional differences of the product starts are cancelled. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An apparatus for slicing products, comprising:
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a product support along which a plurality of products can be supplied next to one another in a respective product track to a cutting plane in which a cutting blade moves, wherein the products can be brought into engagement with respective product conveyors which can be traveled independently of one another in and against the product supply direction relative to the supply unit; a control apparatus which is configured to offset the products in a stepped manner relative to one another via the product conveyors in the product supply direction such that, starting from a first product, the further products arranged next to the first product at at least one side are each set back up to the respective outermost product by a respective amount against the product supply direction , and further than the respective preceding product; a respective light barrier having a monitored zone and a lateral sensor is associated with each product track, said light barrier being arranged at a defined spacing from the cutting plane and the monitored zone extending transversely to the product supply direction;
whereinthe control device is further configured to travel the products via a common supply unit toward the light barriers at a defined speed to detect positions of the product starts with respect to the cutting plane via the light barriers, to determine the differences in the positions of the product starts relative to one another and to travel the product conveyors relative to one another for aligning the product starts with the cutting plane such that the determined relative positional differences of the product starts are cancelled. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An apparatus for slicing a plurality of products, comprising:
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a product support, configured to receive the plurality of products supplied next to one another along a plurality of product tracks of the product support, further configured to supply the plurality of products to a cutting plane; a cutting blade configured to move in the cutting plane; a plurality of product conveyors, configured to move independently of one another along a product supply direction and transverse to the product supply direction; a control apparatus, configured to offset the products in a stepped manner relative to one another via the product conveyors in the product supply direction such that each product is offset from a preceding one of the products in a direction transverse to the product supply direction; and
;a plurality of light barriers, each associated with a respective one of the product tracks, each at a spacing from the cutting plane, each light barrier comprising a monitored zone which extends transversely to the product supply direction; wherein the control apparatus is further configured; to travel the products toward the light barriers at a defined speed; to detect positions of product starts with respect to the cutting plane via the light barriers; to determine differences in the positions of the product starts relative to one another; and to travel the product conveyors relative to one another to thereby align the product starts with the cutting plane and remove the differences in the positions of the product starts.
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Specification