MINCING DRUM FOR A CUTTING AND SEPARATING DEVICE

Abstract

A mincing drum for a cutting and separating device, at the first end section of which there is an inlet opening and at the second end section of which there is an outlet opening, a plurality of cutting openings being arranged in a pressure housing section of the mincing drum and passing continuously through the pressure housing section from an inner wall to an outer wall, each cutting opening having, on the inner wall, a cutting opening edge facing the outlet opening and a drawing-in opening edge facing the inlet opening. The cutting performance of the cutting and separating device and the quality of the desired food component is significantly improved as a feed channel which is recessed relative to the inner wall is situated between the cutting opening edge and the drawing-in opening edge.

Claims

1. A mincing drum for a cutting and separating device, at a first end section of which there is an inlet opening and at a second end section of which there is an outlet opening, a plurality of cutting openings being arranged in a pressure housing section of the mincing drum and passing continuously through the pressure housing section from an inner wall to an outer wall, each cutting opening having, on the inner wall, a cutting opening edge facing the outlet opening and a drawing-in opening edge facing the inlet opening, wherein a feed channel which is recessed relative to the inner wall is situated between the cutting opening edge and the drawing-in opening edge.

2. The mincing drum according to claim 1, wherein the feed channel is aligned axially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the pressure housing section.

3. The mincing drum according to claim 1, wherein the feed channel has an axial length (x.sub.z) that corresponds to 5% to 20% of a diameter (Ø.sub.o) of the cutting openings formed on the inner wall.

4. The mincing drum according to claim 1, wherein the feed channel has a depth (t.sub.z) of between 0.5 mm and 4.0 mm in relation to the inner wall.

5. The mincing drum according to claim 1, wherein the feed channel has a maximum width (y.sub.z) in the circumferential direction which corresponds to a diameter (Ø.sub.o) of the cutting openings.

6. The mincing drum according to claim 1, wherein the feed channel is widened conically from the cutting opening edge in the direction of the drawing-in opening edge.

7. The mincing drum according to claim 1, wherein the feed channel descends obliquely by an inlet incline, starting from a level of the inner wall in the direction of an axis of the associated cutting opening.

8. The mincing drum according to claim 1, wherein the cutting openings are aligned with axes inclined at an angle (α.sub.o) relative to the inner wall.

9. The mincing drum according to claim 8, wherein the angle (α.sub.o) is between 60° and 88°, particularly preferably 65° to 85°, very particularly preferably 70° to 80°.

10. The mincing drum according to claim 8, wherein the angle (α.sub.o) is arranged on the side of the cutting opening facing away from the inlet opening between its axis and the inner wall.

11. The mincing drum according to claim 8, wherein the cutting opening axis intersects in the radial direction the longitudinal drum axis running through the pressure housing section.

12. The mincing drum according to claim 8, wherein the cutting opening axes are aligned in such a way that the cutting opening edge is formed with the angle (α.sub.o).

13. The mincing drum according to claim 1, that wherein opening edges of adjacent cutting openings are aligned to overlap one another in the axial direction and/or in the circumferential direction.

14. A cutting and separating device with the mincing drum according to claim 1, wherein a conveying screw is rotatably mounted in the mincing drum, comprising a screw shaft with at least a screw flight spirally formed thereon, which in the installed position has a front flank for the pushing transport of a foodstuff, a rear flank arranged on the opposite side and at its distal end between the front flank and the rear flank a cylindrical portion which is formed with a sharpened cutting edge in the transition area to the front flank of the screw flight.

15. The cutting and separating device according to claim 14, wherein the sharpened cutting edge is formed on a sweeping section of the conveying screw which sweeps over the cutting openings.

16. The cutting and separating device according to claim 14, wherein the cylindrical portion of the screw flight has a width (b.sub.s) which is at least the diameter (Ø.sub.o) of the cutting openings on the inner wall.

17. The cutting and separating device according to claim 14, wherein the sharpened cutting edge is formed with a positive rake angle (γ) located between the front flank (140) and a processing plane perpendicular to the screw shaft.

18. The cutting and separating device according to claim 14, wherein a groove is formed at a distal end of the front flank, wherein an outer contour of the groove intersects the cylindrical portion.

19. The cutting and separating device according to claim 14, wherein a radius or a bevel is arranged between the cylindrical portion and the rear flank.

20. The mincing drum according to claim 2, wherein the feed channel has an axial length (x.sub.z) that corresponds to 5% to 20% of a diameter (Ø.sub.o) of the cutting openings formed on the inner wall, wherein the feed channel has a depth (t.sub.z) of between 0.5 mm and 4.0 mm in relation to the inner wall, wherein the feed channel has a maximum width (y.sub.z) in the circumferential direction which corresponds to a diameter (Ø.sub.o) of the cutting openings, wherein the feed channel is widened conically from the cutting opening edge in the direction of the drawing-in opening edge, wherein the feed channel descends obliquely by an inlet incline, starting from a level of the inner wall in the direction of an axis of the associated cutting opening, wherein the cutting openings are aligned with axes inclined at an angle (α.sub.o) relative to the inner wall, wherein the angle (α.sub.o) is between 60° and 88°, particularly preferably 65θ to 85°, very particularly preferably 70° to 80°, wherein the angle (α.sub.o) is arranged on the side of the cutting opening facing away from the inlet opening between its axis and the inner wall, wherein the cutting opening axis intersects in the radial direction the longitudinal drum axis running through the pressure housing section, wherein the cutting opening axes are aligned in such a way that the cutting opening edge is formed with the angle (α.sub.o), and wherein opening edges of adjacent cutting openings are aligned to overlap one another in the axial direction and/or in the circumferential direction.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] For better understanding, the invention is explained in more detail below with reference to three Figures showing in

[0033] FIG. 1 a longitudinal section through the mincing drum according to the invention;

[0034] FIG. 2: an enlarged longitudinal section through a detail of FIG. 1 and

[0035] FIG. 3: a longitudinal section through a conveying screw that can be inserted concentrically into the mincing drum.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0036] FIG. 1 shows a longitudinal section through a mincing drum 110 having a cylindrical cross section, with an inlet opening 113 being formed on its first end section 112, through which the foodstuff to be comminuted is fed to the mincing drum 110. At the opposite end of the mincing drum 119 there is a second end section 114 on which an outlet opening 115 is formed, through which stringy material and unusable solids are conveyed out of the mincing drum 110. The inlet opening 113 and the outlet opening 115 each form opposite axial openings of the mincing drum 119.

[0037] The mincing drum 110 has a pressure housing section 116 with a multiplicity of cutting openings 120 which run continuously from an inner wall 117 of the pressure housing section 116 to an outer wall 118. The food component desired for further processing escapes through the cutting openings 120 and takes the cutting discharge path S indicated as an example by means of arrows.

[0038] FIG. 2 shows an enlargement of the detail marked in FIG. 1 relating to the cutting openings 120. The cutting openings 120 do not run in the radial direction through the pressure housing section 116, but are arranged with their hole axis 121 inclined. The inclination of the hole axis 121 is selected in such a way that it faces the inlet opening 113 on the inner wall 117.

[0039] However, only the diameter Ø.sub.o of the cutting openings 120 arranged in the area of the inner wall 117 is involved in the comminution work of the food to be processed. The hole axis 121 is inclined at an angle α.sub.o. The angle α.sub.o is located on the side of the outlet opening 115 between the hole axis 121 and the inner wall 117 or a longitudinal axis 111 of the mincing drum 110.

[0040] Each cutting opening 120 has a circumferential opening edge 122 in the transition area to the inner wall 117 of the pressure housing section 116, of which a part facing the outlet opening 115 serves as a cutting opening edge 122a and a part facing the inlet opening 113 as a drawing-in opening edge 122b for the food to be chopped. The inclination of the hole axis 121 at the angle α.sub.o results in a particularly sharp cutting opening edge 122a at the same acute angle α.sub.o.

[0041] A feed channel 100 extends from the cutting opening 120 in the direction of the inlet opening 113 and promotes the entry of the foodstuff to be comminuted into the respective cutting opening 120.

[0042] The feed channel 100 has a maximum depth t.sub.z, which is formed at least in the transition area to the respective cutting opening 120. Starting from the cutting opening 120, the entire feed channel 100 or, in accordance with the exemplary embodiment in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, at least a section of the feed channel 100 facing the drawing-in opening edge 122b, is formed with an inlet incline 101, which supports the entry of the food to be chopped into the feed channel 100.

[0043] A width yZ of the feed channel 100 corresponds to the diameter Ø.sub.o of the associated cutting opening 120, even if the illustration in FIG. 2 gives a different impression in longitudinal section. The feed channel 100 extends with its axial length x.sub.z from the cutting opening 120 to the drawing-in opening edge 122b, which defines the transition area from the feed channel 100 to the inner wall 117 on the side towards the inlet opening 113.

[0044] FIG. 3 shows a conveying screw 130 in a longitudinal section, which is inserted coaxially into the mincing drum 110 when ready for operation. The conveying screw 130 comprises a rotatably driven screw shaft 131 which has a longitudinal axis 136 being aligned with the longitudinal axis 111 of the mincing drum 110. At least one screw flight 132 is formed on the screw shaft 131 and surrounds the screw shaft 131 in a spiral shape in the axial direction. When the screw shaft 131 rotates, due to its pitch, the food in the mincing drum 110 is pushed forward from the inlet opening 113 in the direction of the outlet opening 115.

[0045] During this process, a pressure builds up within the food to be processed, which pushes the food to be processed into the feed channel 100 and the cutting openings 120, so that a food stud is formed within each cutting opening 120. Due to the continuous feed movement of the food to be processed applied by the conveying screw 130, the food stud tears off the food remaining in the pressure housing section 116 and penetrates through the cutting opening 120 out of the mincing drum 110 to the outside.

[0046] The screw flight 132 has a front flank 140 and a rear flank 141. A cylindrical portion 143 can be seen between the front flank 140 and the rear flank 141 at each distal end 142 of the screw flight 132, which is shaped complementary to the inner wall 117 of the pressure housing section 116.

[0047] However, the screw flight 132 is only formed at its outer end with a sharpened cutting edge 133 in the area of the pressure housing section 116, ie in a sweeping section 134 of the conveying screw 130 sweeping over the cutting openings 120.

[0048] The sharpened cutting edge 133 comprises a groove 145 placed in the front flank 140, wherein the outer contour 146 of which adjoins on the cylindrical portion 143 and merges into it. The groove 145 is formed equidistant to the cylindrical portion 143 over the axial course of the conveying screw 130 and extends over the entire section 134 sweeping over the cutting openings 120.

[0049] With the help of the sharpened cutting edge 133, in particular, adhesions of the food to be processed on the inner wall 117 of the pressure housing section 116 can be peeled off, so that they do not permanently lie over the cutting openings 120 and thereby prevent the food to be processed from entering the cutting openings 120. Such adhesions usually consist of collagenous material, which has up to twenty times the strength of lean meat and hardly penetrates into the cutting openings 120 due to its high strength. Buildup peeled off by the sharpened cutting edge 133 is transported in the direction of the outlet opening 115 and removed there from the shredding drum 110.

[0050] The sharpened cutting edge 133 is formed from the outer contour 146 of the groove 145 and the cylindrical portion 143. The sharpened cutting edge 133 has a rake angle γ that is spanned between a processing plane 144 that is perpendicular to the axial extension of the conveying screw 130 and the outer contour 146 of the groove 145. A wedge angle δ is arranged between the outer contour 146 of the groove 145 and the cylindrical portion 143 of the screw flight 132. Since the clearance angle is always 0° due to the cylindrical portion 143 of the screw flight 132, the sum of the rake angle γ and the wedge angle δ is always 90°.

[0051] The sharpened cutting edge 133 is only present in the sweeping section 134 traversing the cutting openings 120. In a feeding section 135 of the conveying screw 130, which protrudes beyond the mincing drum 110 between the pressure housing section 116 with the cutting openings 120 and the inlet opening 113, the conveying screw 130 only has a conventional screw flight 132, which has a cutting edge being designed for example with a rake angle γ of 90°. Since there are no cutting openings 120 in the mincing drum 110 in this area, they are also not clogged by adhesions of the food to be processed and consequently do not have to be removed from the sharpened cutting edge 133 of the conveying screw 130.

[0052] For a high cutting performance of the cutting and separating device 100, the screw flight 132 in the area of the section 134 sweeping over the cutting openings 120 has a width b.sub.s that corresponds at least to the diameter Ø.sub.o of the cutting openings 120 on the inner wall 117 of the pressure housing section 116. The width b.sub.s forms the perpendicularly distance between the front flank 140 and the rear flank 141 of the screw flight 132.

[0053] A bevel 147 is formed in the transition area between the cylindrical portion 143 of the screw flight 132 and the associated rear flank 141, which also contributes to reducing the heating of the food to be processed. Instead of a bevel, a radius or another geometric shape can also be provided in the transition area between the cylindrical portion 143 and the rear flank 141; it is always essential that there is a reduction in the material of the screw flight 132 in this area. The bevel 147 runs in accordance with the groove 145 exclusively in the sweeping section 134 of the conveying screw 130 that sweeps over the cutting openings 120.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

[0054] 100 feed channel [0055] 101 inlet incline feed channel [0056] 110 mincing drum [0057] 111 longitudinal axis of drum [0058] 112 first end section mincing drum [0059] 113 inlet opening [0060] 114 second end section mincing drum [0061] 115 outlet opening [0062] 116 pressure housing section [0063] 117 inner wall pressure housing section [0064] 118 outer wall pressure housing section [0065] 120 cutting openings [0066] 121 axis cutting openings [0067] 122 opening edge [0068] 122a cutting opening edge [0069] 122b drawing-in opening edge [0070] 130 conveying screw [0071] 131 screw shaft [0072] 132 screw flight [0073] 133 sharpened cutting edge [0074] 134 cutting openings sweeping section [0075] 135 feeding section [0076] 136 longitudinal axis of conveying screw [0077] 140 front flank [0078] 141 rear flank [0079] 142 distal end [0080] 143 cylindrical portion [0081] 144 processing plane [0082] 145 groove [0083] 146 outer contour groove [0084] 147 bevel [0085] b.sub.s width of screw flight [0086] S cutting discharge path [0087] t.sub.z depth of feed channel [0088] x.sub.z axial length of feed channel [0089] y.sub.z width of feed channel [0090] α.sub.o angle axis cutting openings [0091] Ø.sub.o diameter cutting openings [0092] γ rake angle cutting edge [0093] δ wedge angle cutting edge