High performance slicing apparatus with at least one removable conveyor belt unit

• US 9,457,487 B2
• Filed: 12/02/2013
• Issued: 10/04/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/03/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TEXTOR MASCHINENBAU GMBH
• Original Assignee: TEXTOR MASCHINENBAU GMBH
• Inventors: Mayer, Josef
• Primary Examiner(s): HARP, WILLIAM RAY
• Application Number:
  US14/094,136
• Publication Number:
  US 20140174891A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,037 Days
• Field of Search: 198/817
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 2210/02 for cutting food products, e.g. food slicers
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 7/0625 by endless conveyors, e.g. belts
• 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: B65G 15/00 Conveyors having endless load-conveying surfaces, i.e. belts and like continuous members, to which tractive effort is transmitted by means other than endless driving elements of similar configuration having load-conveying surfaces formed by interconnected longitudinal links B65G17/06

Abstract

The invention relates to a slicing apparatus for food products, in particular to a high-performance slicer, having at least one belt conveyor which is configured as a removable conveyor belt unit.

Claims

1. A slicing apparatus for food products, the slicing apparatus comprising:

a removable conveyor belt unit (13) having at least one track and a base (25);

a substructure (41) having a mount (11) coupled to the base (25); and

a drive (15) coupled to the conveyor belt unit (13) by a drive belt (27), the conveyor belt unit (13) is configured to be cancelled by relaxing the drive belt (27) and is configured to be established by tautening the drive belt (27), with the relaxing and tautening of the drive belt (27) each being provided by a relative movement between the drive (15) and the conveyor belt unit (13).

2. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein the conveyor belt unit (13) is arranged in front of a cutting plane of the slicing apparatus, viewed in the conveying direction.

3. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein the conveyor belt unit (13) is arranged behind a cutting plane of the slicing apparatus, viewed in the conveying direction.

4. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein the conveyor belt unit (13) has, viewed in the conveying direction, a belt length or conveyor length which amounts to less than 500 mm.

5. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein at least one direct drive (15) for the conveyor belt unit (13) is provided.

6. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1, further comprising:

wherein at least one drive motor (15) for the conveyor belt unit (13) is provided, with the drive motor (15) being directly coupled with the conveyor belt unit (13), and/or unit; and

wherein the drive motor (15) is arranged beneath the conveyor belt unit (13).

7. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1, further comprising:

wherein a drive motor (15) for the conveyor belt unit (13) has a drive shaft (51) and the conveyor belt unit (13) has a drive wheel (44), with the drive shaft (51) and the drive wheel (44) being directly coupled to one another; and

wherein the drive motor (15) is arranged beneath the conveyor belt unit (13).

8. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1, further comprising:

wherein the conveyor belt unit (13) has a supported belt roller (53), with a drive wheel (44) of the conveyor belt unit (13) being supported via the support of the belt roller; and

wherein the drive wheel (44) is arranged coaxially to the belt roller (53).

9. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1, further comprising:

wherein a respective relative movement is provided between the drive motor (15) and the conveyor belt unit (13) for cancelling and establishing a coupling between a drive motor (15) for the conveyor belt unit (13) and the conveyor belt unit; and

wherein the spacing between a drive axle of the drive motor (15) and a drive axle of the conveyor belt unit (13) is configured to be varied by the relative movement.

10. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein a mount (11) is provided for the conveyor belt unit (13) which remains at the apparatus with a removed conveyor belt unit (13) and at which the conveyor belt unit (13) is configured to be latched, with the latched connection configured to be cancelled for removing the conveyor belt unit (13) and configured to be established for installing the conveyor belt unit (13).

11. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein a coupling between a drive (15) for the conveyor belt unit (13) and the conveyor belt unit (13) is configured to be cancelled or established simultaneously with a latching of the conveyor belt unit (13) for removing or installing the conveyor belt unit (13).

12. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein the coupling between a drive (15) for the conveyor belt unit (13) and the conveyor belt unit (13) is configured to be carried out simultaneously with a removal movement or installation movement of the conveyor belt unit (13) after the cancelling or before the establishing of a latched connection of the conveyor belt unit (13) for removing or for installing the conveyor belt unit (13).

13. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1, further comprising:

wherein the conveyor belt unit (13) comprises a plurality of individual conveyors (71, 73) which are arranged, viewed in the conveying direction, behind one another and with which a separate drive (15) is associated; and

wherein viewed in the conveying direction, at least one drive (15) is coupled to the conveyor belt unit (13) at the left side and at least one further drive (15) at the right side.

14. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein the conveyor belt unit (13) has a conveying width in the range from approximately 300 mm to 700 mm.

15. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein at least one continuous belt or continuous band (55) or a plurality of parallel continuous straps (57) is/are provided as conveying means of the conveyor belt unit (13).

16. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein the conveyor belt unit (13) is configured to be removed and/or installed without tools.

17. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1, further comprising:

wherein a plurality of conveyor belt units (13) are arranged behind one another viewed in the conveying direction; and

wherein the plurality of conveyor belt units are arranged beside one another, viewed in the conveying direction.

18. A conveying device for food products to be sliced or for sliced food products, the conveying device comprising at least one removable conveyor belt unit (13), having at least one track and a base (25);

a substructure (41) having a mount (11) provided with coupling elements (37) that engage corresponding cut-outs (59) of the base (25); and

a drive (15) arranged at the substructure (41), the drive (15) connected to a drive shaft (51) that drives a drive wheel (44) of the conveyor belt unit (13) by a drive belt (27).

19. A slicing apparatus for food products, the slicing apparatus comprising at least one removable conveyor belt unit (13) having at least one track and a base (25);

a substructure (41) having a mount (11) coupled to the base (25);

a drive (15) coupled to the conveyor belt unit (13) by an actuation device, the actuation device having a lever (19), a shaft (29) extending from the lever (19), a latching member (21) extending from the shaft (29) that cooperates with a slit (23) formed in the base (25) to latch the conveyor belt unit (13) to the mount (11), and a linkage (35) carrying the drive (15) for the conveyor belt unit (13) being pivotable about a pivot axis (33) by rotating the shaft (29) to move the latching member (21) between a latched position and a release position; and

a drive belt (27) that runs around a driveshaft (51) of the drive (15) and a drive wheel (44) of the conveyor belt unit (13), the conveyor belt unit (13) is configured to be cancelled by relaxing the drive belt (27) and is configured to be established by tautening the drive belt (27), with the relaxing and tautening of the drive belt (27) each being provided by a relative movement between the drive (15) and the conveyor belt unit (13).

20. A slicing apparatus for food products, the slicing apparatus comprising at least one removable conveyor belt unit (13) having at least one track and a base (25);

a substructure (41) having a mount (11) coupled to the base (25); and

an actuation device that is provided as a coupling that is configured to be cancelled and established between a drive (15) for the conveyor belt unit (13) and the conveyor belt unit (13), and is configured as a latching of the conveyor belt unit (13) to the mount (11), the actuation device comprises

a lever (19) having a shaft (29);

a linkage (35) carrying a drive (15) for the conveyor belt unit (13) being pivotable about a pivot axis (33) by rotating the shaft; and

a latching member (21) for the conveyor belt unit (13) being movable between a latched position (21) and a release position.

21. A slicing apparatus for food products, the slicing apparatus comprising:

at least one removable conveyor belt unit (13) having at least one track and a base (25); and

a substructure (41) having a mount (11) coupled to the base (25), the conveyor belt unit (13) is movable relative to the drive (15) for cancelling and establishing a coupling between a drive (15) of the conveyor belt unit (13) and the conveyor belt unit (13), and the conveyor belt unit (13) is movable by at least one of folding over and pivoting.

22. A slicing apparatus for food products, the slicing apparatus comprising:

at least one removable conveyor belt unit (13) having at least one track and a base (25);

a substructure (41) having a mount (11) coupled to the base (25); and

a first drive (15) is coupled to the conveyor belt unit (13) at the left side and at a second drive (15) at the right side, when viewed in the conveying direction, the coupling between the drives (15) and the conveyor belt unit (13) is configured to be simultaneously cancelled and established for at least one of the first drive (15) and the second drive (15).

23. A slicing apparatus for food products, the slicing apparatus comprising:

at least one removable conveyor belt unit (13) having at least one track and a base (25); and

a substructure (41) having a mount (11) coupled to the base (25), the conveyor belt unit (13) is configured to first be movable with a component in or against the conveying direction relative to the mount (11) and is configured to subsequently be raised from the mount (11) for at least one of removing and installing the conveyor belt unit (13) with a cancelled latched connection between the conveyor belt unit (13) and a mount (11) remaining at the apparatus.

24. A slicing apparatus for food products, the slicing apparatus comprising:

at least one removable conveyor belt unit (13) having at least one track and a base (25); and

a substructure (41) having a mount (11) coupled to the base (25), the conveyor belt unit (13) is configured to first be pivoted about one of two supports (65, 67) of the mount (11), and is configured to subsequently be raised from the supports (65, 67) for at least one of removing and installing the conveyor belt unit (13) with a cancelled latched connection between the conveyor belt unit (13) and a mount (11) remaining at the apparatus.