SLICING MACHINE WITH SUCTION UNIT
20230321860 · 2023-10-12
Assignee
Inventors
Cpc classification
B26D2210/02
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B26D7/32
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
International classification
Abstract
In order to keep anticaking agent—related dead times of a slicing machine as low as possible, excess anticaking agent suspended in the air is sucked off by a suction unit so that as little as possible is deposited on parts of the machine which subsequently have to be cleaned frequently, and/or instead of a single reservoir, several different reservoirs are used, which are switchable in their connection to a spray opening to be supplied, whereby it is easy to switch from an empty to a full reservoir, while the change or refilling of the emptied reservoir can be carried out without dead time during a cutting operation.
Claims
1. A slicing machine for slicing calibers into slices and forming portions therefrom, the slicing machine comprising: a cutting unit with a rotatable blade, a feed unit for feeding a caliber in a feeding direction to the cutting unit, and a discharge conveyor unit for conveying in a transport direction and comprising at least one discharge conveyor, a spray unit with at least one spray opening for applying a liquid or powdery anticaking agent to a main surface of a slice produced from the caliber, or a slice to be produced from the caliber, and a control for controlling moving parts of the slicing machine, wherein the slicing machine comprises a suction unit with at least one suction opening for sucking off anticaking agent suspended in the air, and/or the slicing machine comprises a supply of anticaking agent for supplying the at least one spray opening, and the supply of anticaking agent comprises a plurality of switchable and independently replaceable reservoirs for anticaking agent.
2. The slicing machine according to claim 1, wherein a rotation axis of the blade is arranged above the feed unit and the blade is movable below the rotation axis primarily in a tangential direction pointing from one side to the other side of the slicing machine, and wherein the at least one suction opening is arranged on the other side of the slicing machine.
3. The slicing machine according to claim 1, wherein in a longitudinal direction through the slicing machine, the at least one suction opening is arranged primarily in a longitudinal region of a cutting plane of the blade, or in the longitudinal direction adjacent thereto.
4. The slicing machine according to claim 1, further comprising a cutting frame through with the caliber is movable by the feeding unit, wherein the at least one suction opening extends with respect to a height position at least over an entire height of the cutting frame.
5. The slicing machine according to claim 1, wherein an opening plane of the at least one suction opening extends parallel to a longitudinal center plane of the slicing machine spanned by a longitudinal direction and a vertical direction.
6. The slicing machine according to claim 1, wherein the at least one spray opening on the spray unit on the one hand and the at least one suction opening on the suction unit on the other hand are arranged in such a way that the openings of the units face one another.
7. The slicing machine according to claim 1, wherein with respect to a longitudinal center plane of the entire slicing machine or a longitudinal center plane of individual tracks of the slicing machine, the at least one spray opening, on the one hand, and the at least one suction opening, on the other hand, are arranged on mutually opposite sides.
8. The slicing machine according to claim 1, wherein, with respect to a movement path of the caliber virtually extended beyond a cutting plane of the blade of the cutting unit, the at least one spray opening on the one hand and the at least one suction opening on the other handy are arranged on opposite sides with respect to an underside of the movement path.
9. The slicing machine according to claim 1, wherein, with respect to a cutting plane of the blade of the cutting unit, the at least one spray opening and the at least one suction opening are arranged on a same side.
10. The slicing machine according to claim 1, wherein a spray direction of the at least one spray opening is directed downwards towards the discharge conveyor unit, and wherein the at least one spray opening and the at least one suction opening are arranged above a deposit level of the discharge conveyor unit.
11. The slicing machine according to claim 1, wherein the at least one spray opening and/or the at least one suction opening are/is arranged in a function bar extending transversely over the discharge conveyor unit.
12. The slicing machine according to claim 1, wherein the supply of anticaking agent comprises at least one pair of two reservoirs each having the same contents, and/or the supply of anticaking agent comprises at least two reservoirs with different contents.
13. A method of operating a slicing machine, including a spray unit with at least one spray opening for applying anticaking agent to a main surface of a future or already produced slice, wherein the method comprises: during a slicing operation automatically sucking off anticaking agent suspended in the air, and/or— switching over between a plurality of reservoirs with a same anticaking agent in an automatically controlled manner as required.
14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the sucking off is performed continuously during the slicing operation.
15. The method according to claim 13, wherein the reservoirs are kept under a positive pressure or are kept in connection with a transport medium under positive pressure, and when switching from one reservoir to another reservoir supplying a same spray opening or group of spray openings with anticaking agent, supply of the anticaking agent is automatically switched from an outlet opening of the one reservoir to an outlet opening of the other reservoir and the positive pressure or the transport medium is switched from the one reservoir to the other reservoir.
16. The slicing machine according to claim 1, wherein the blade is rotatable about a rotation axis, and the blade is movable below the rotation axis away from a first side of the slicing machine and toward a second side of the slicing machine, wherein the at least one discharge conveyor of the discharge conveyor unit comprises multiple discharge conveyors that are spaced apart from one another in a direction transverse to the transport direction, and wherein the at least one suction opening comprises multiple suction openings that are each arranged on a side of a respective conveyor that is closest to the second side of the slicing machine.
17. The slicing machine according to claim 3, wherein the at least one suction opening extends in the longitudinal direction over the cutting plane.
18. The slicing machine according to claim 4, wherein the at least one suction opening also extends downwards over a height of a support surface of the discharge conveyor unit.
19. The slicing machine according to claim 6, wherein the at least one suction opening is arranged at a distance from the at least one spray opening with respect to a spray direction of the at least one spray opening, and/or the spray direction is directed counter to the transport direction toward a cutting plane of the blade.
20. The method according to claim 13, wherein the slicing machine includes a discharge conveyor unit having at least one discharge conveyor for conveying slices in a transport direction, and wherein the anticaking agent suspended in the air is sucked off in a lower tangential direction transverse to the transport direction next to a respective discharge conveyor of the at least one discharge conveyor, or next to the slicing machine.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0082] Embodiments according to the invention are described in more detail below by way of example, and with reference to the drawings which show:
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0090]
[0091]
[0092] It can be seen that the basic structure of a slicer 1 according to the state of the art is that a cutting unit 7 with blades 3 rotating about a blade axis 3′, in this case a sickle blade 3, is provided with several, in this case four, product calibers K lying side by side transversely to the feeding direction 10 on a feed conveyor 4 with spacers 15 of the feed conveyor 4 between them which are fed by this feed unit 20, from the front ends of which the rotating blade 3 cuts off a slice S with its cutting edge 3a in each case in a single operation, i.e., almost simultaneously.
[0093] Since the sickle blade 3—viewed from the front, i.e., in
[0094] For the cutting of the product calibers K, the feed conveyor 4 is in the cutting position shown in
[0095] The rear end of each caliber K lying in the feed unit 20 is—see
[0096] Both the feed of the gripper slide 13 and of the feed conveyor 4 can be driven in a controlled manner, but the actual feed speed of the calibers K is effected by a so-called upper and lower product guide 8, 9, which are also driven in a controlled manner and engage on the upper side and lower side of the calibers K to be cut open in their front end sections near the cutting unit 7.
[0097] The front ends of the calibers K are guided in each case through a so-called product opening 6a-d of a plate-shaped cutting frame 5, wherein the cutting plane 3″, in which the blade 3 rotates with its cutting edge 3a and thus cuts off the projection of the calibers K from the cutting frame 5 as a slice S, runs imme-diately in front of the front end face of the cutting frame 5 pointing obliquely downwards, as can be seen better in the enlarged principle representation of
[0098] The inner circumference of the product openings 6a-d serves as a counter cutting edge of the cutting edge 3a of the blade 3.
[0099] Since both product guides 8, 9 can be driven in a controlled manner, in particular independently of one another and/or possibly separately for each track SP1 to SP4, they determine the—continuous or clocked—feed speed of the calibers K through the cutting frame 5.
[0100] The upper product guide 8 is displaceable in the 2. transverse direction 12—which is perpendicular to the surface of the upper run of the infeed conveyor 4—for adaptation to the height H of the caliber K in this direction. Furthermore, at least one of the product guides 8, 9 can be embodied to be pivotable about one of its deflecting rollers in order to be able to change the direction of the strand of its guide belt lying against the caliber K to a limited extent.
[0101] Below the feed conveyor unit 20 there is usually an approximately horizontally running residue conveyor 21, which starts with its front end below the cutting frame 5 and directly below or behind the discharge conveyor unit 17 and with its upper run thereon—by means of the drive of one of the discharge conveyors 17 against the passage direction 10—transports away falling residues to the rear.
[0102] The slices S standing at an angle in space during separation fall onto a discharge unit 17 starting below the cutting frame 5 and running in passage direction 10*, which in this case consists of several discharge conveyors 17a, b, c arranged one behind the other with their upper runs approximately in alignment in passage direction 10*, of which the first discharge conveyor 17a in passage direction 10* can be embodied as a portioning belt 17a and/or one can also be embodied as a weighing unit.
[0103] The slices S can hit the discharge conveyor 17 individually and spaced apart from each other in the passage direction 10* or form shingled or stacked portions P by appropriate control of the portioning belt 17a of the discharge unit 17—the movement of which, like almost all moving parts, is controlled by the control 1*—by stepwise forward movement of the portioning belt 17a.
[0104] In the enlarged side view of
[0105] In
[0106] In order to prevent deposits of release agent T on parts of the machine,
[0107] Since, according to
[0108] Suction is facilitated by a large-area suction opening 33.1, which is why, as shown in
[0109] This lower extension is also useful in the case of other, non-triangular shapes of the suction opening 33.1 there, for example, if it were to extend merely in the form of a slit in the passage direction 10*, approximately just above the level of the upper run of the portioning belt 17a.
[0110] An extension of the suction opening 33.1 in height to above the upper edges of the product openings, e.g., 6a in the cutting frame 5, is particularly useful if the anticaking agent is not applied—as in
[0111] Just then, anticaking agent will also be in the air above and below this front face of the caliber K, will be transported away to the anti-operator side AB and can then be sucked off most completely with a suction opening 33.1, which extends in height from below to above the product opening 6a.
[0112] If the discharge unit 17, in particular the portioning belt 17a, consists of several separate portioning belts 17a1, 17a2 spaced apart next to each other in the transverse direction 11, it can be useful to arrange a suction opening 33.5 as shown in
[0113] Such a suction opening 33.5 can be open at the top and be located approximately at the height of the upper run of the portioning belt 17a—set in the horizontal position—and is not shown in
[0114] However, such a suction opening can also be arranged in a suction element arranged between the individual portioning belts 17a1, 17a2 and projecting upwards—open towards the operator side B, preferably with a size and shape as described with reference to the suction opening 33.1.
[0115]
[0116] The arrangement can be made in the cutting frame 5 or above or below it in a separate component.
[0117] Furthermore, it should be made clear that a suction line, which can be pressurized with negative pressure, will be connected to each suction opening in order to transport the anticaking agent—loaded air to a collection unit—not shown—for suctioned—off anticaking agent, in particular with a filter unit, because in very few cases there will additionally be sufficient installation space in the component in which the suction opening is arranged to provide such a collection container with filter unit and also negative pressure generation.
[0118] In the side view of
[0119] The function bar 23 of the suction spray unit 22+33 running in transverse direction 11 has several spray openings 24 distributed in transverse direction 11, usually assigned to one of the tracks SP1 to SP4 each, i.e., at least one or also several suction openings 33.1, preferably then again assigned to one track SP1 to SP4 each, arranged in one of the outer surfaces of the function bar 23 running in transverse direction 11.
[0120] As best illustrated by
[0121] It should be noted, however, that this function bar 23 may also have only one or more suction openings 33.1 and no spray openings, and then be only a suction unit 33, while the spray openings are arranged elsewhere.
[0122] In
[0123] As can be seen more clearly from the perspective view of
[0124] The part of the narrow side in which the slot—shaped suction opening 33.1, which is continuous over all tracks, is set at an angle to its upper part, in which the nozzles 24.1-24.4 are located, and thus points more downward, which favors the suction of anticaking agent suspended in the air directly below the function bar 23.
[0125] According to
[0126] The holding device 30 is thus fastened to the base frame 2 with its rear end section 30A in the passage direction 10* and carries on its other end section 30B, which is located further forward and further up in the assembled state, the function bar 23, which is cantilevered on one side, namely with its end section 23A, fastened to the end section 30B of the holding device 30 and extends from there with its longitudinal direction 23′ in the transverse direction 11, preferably over all tracks SP1 to SP4 of the slicing machine 1.
[0127] In one of the two wider, here the upwardly directed, peripheral walls 23b of the rectangular periphery, there is a large-area opening extending substantially almost over the entire length, which opening can be tightly closed, as can be seen in
[0128] In the adjacent, narrower peripheral wall 23a, which in the assembled state is directed against the direction of flow 10*, the spray nozzles 24.1 to 24.4 of the nozzle units 25.1-25.4 are mounted in corresponding passages, which are connected via lines in the interior of the function bar 23 to one of the storage contain-ers 26, 27, 28 for the supplied anticaking agent 25, which are placed on the cover 34 with their outlet opening facing downward.
[0129] On the one hand, it is possible to switch over—in particular automatically by means of the control—for the supply of anticaking agent to the spray nozzles 24.1 to 24.4 from a reservoir 26 which has run empty, for example, to a full reservoir 27 if the latter contains the same anticaking agent.
[0130] If, for example, three different work orders are typically carried out alternately on the machine, each requiring a different anticaking agent, one of these anticaking agents can be kept in each of the three reservoirs 26, 27, 28, and the supply of anticaking agent can be switched to the corresponding reservoir at the start of a new work order.
[0131] Preferably, the reservoirs are not refilled—at least not in the assembled state—but merely changed at the Spray unit 22. In order to facilitate this, the cover 34 can, for example, be embodied so that it can be pivoted about its front longitudinal edge, preferably in the passage direction 10*, so that after pivoting through about 180° from the closed position, the reservoirs 26, 27, 28 can be detached from the cover 34, for example by unscrewing them, with their opening pointing upwards, without any appreciable quantities of anticaking agent escaping into the environment.
[0132] As
[0133] For this purpose, the tensioning nuts 41, which in this case have corresponding hand grips, are screwed onto the free end of threaded bolts protruding from this rear end face, which pass through the press plate 39.
[0134] So that the function bar 23 held at the other, front end section 30B can be positioned very variably in terms of position and rotational position about the transverse direction 11, the holding device 30 consists of a main arm 30.1, the rear end of which can be fixed to the base frame by means of the clamping device 40, and a tilting arm 30.2, which is fastened thereto so as to be pivotable about a pivot axis running in the transverse direction 11 and to which the function bar 23 can be fixed approximately by one of its end faces, likewise pivotable about a pivot axis running in the transverse direction 11.
[0135] The ports 29.1 to 29.3 for the media required by the combined suction/spray unit 22+33, in particular electric current, electric control signals, compressed air, possibly also suction air, are located on the function bar 23 preferably easily acces-sible near the operator side B of the machine, in particular in the end face with which the function bar 23 is fastened to the holding unit 30.
[0136] The required suction air can be generated there, in particular in the function bar, for example by means of an ejector nozzle from the compressed air which is available there anyway and which is required for the pressurized discharge of anticaking agent from the spray openings 24.1-24.4.
[0137] In order to be able to reproduce the latter tilted position, an arc—shaped scale 35.3 is attached to the end face of the function bar 23 and a pointer 36.3 is attached to the tilting arm 30.2, which points to one of the markings on the scale 35.3.
[0138] The corresponding pivoting position between tilting arm 30.2 and function bar 23 is fixed by tightening a handwheel 37.3, with which the function bar 23 can be clamped in the set pivoting position relative to the tilting arm 30.2.
[0139] Irrespective of the presence of the tilting arm 30.2, the support device 30, in particular its main arm 30.1, can consist in the longitudinal direction 30′—the greatest direction of extension—of the beam—shaped holding device 30 of two parts which can be displaced relative to one another and thus telescoped, in this case a base part 30.1a, on which the clamping device 40 for fixing to the base frame 2 is located, and a support part 30.1b, on which either the tilting arm 30.2 or directly the function bar 23 is fixed.
[0140] The dimension of the extension is again indicated by means of a scale 35.1 and a pointer 36.1 referring to it, one of which is fixed to the base part 30.1a and the other to the support part 30.1b. The set printing position is again fixed by means of a handwheel 37.1, by means of which a clamping screw is actuated which is non-rotatably connected thereto and which clamps the two parts against each other.
[0141] In the released state of this clamping device, the relative longitudinal movement from base part 30.1a to support part 30.1b can be effected by means of a threaded spindle whose drive journal 38.1 in the form of an external hexagon in this case projects from the upper end face of the main part 30.1a.
[0142] In addition, an adjustment of the holding device 30, in this case of the main arm 30.1, in particular of its base part 30.1a relative to the clamping device 40 can be made in the transverse direction to the longitudinal direction 30′ of the holding device 30 or of its main part 30.1, the adjustment direction of which is also transverse to the transverse direction 11, the longitudinal direction 23′, of the function bar 23.
[0143] Also there, for indicating the transverse adjustment, a scale 35.2 as well as a pointer 36.2 directed thereon are provided, one of which is fixed to the clamping device 40 and the other to the holding device 30, in particular its main part 30.1.
REFERENCE LIST
[0144] 1 slicing machine, slicer [0145] 1* control [0146] 2 Base frame [0147] 3 Blade [0148] 3 rotation axis [0149] 3″ blade plane, cutting plane [0150] 3a Cutting edge [0151] 4 Feed conveyor, feed belt [0152] 5 cutting frame [0153] 6a— d product opening [0154] 7 cutting unit [0155] 8 upper product guide, upper guide belt [0156] 8.1 contact run, lower run [0157] 8a cutting side deflecting roller [0158] 8b deflecting roller facing away from the cutting side [0159] 9 bottom product guide, lower guide belt [0160] 8.1 Contact run, upper run [0161] 9a cutting side deflecting roller [0162] 9b deflecting roller facing away from the cutting side [0163] 10 Transport direction, longitudinal direction, axial direction [0164] 10* Passage direction through machine [0165] 11 1. transverse direction (width slicer) [0166] 11+ lower tangential direction [0167] 12 2nd transverse direction (height-direction caliber) [0168] 13 gripper unit, gripper slide [0169] 14,14 a-d gripper [0170] 15 spacer [0171] 16 gripper claw [0172] 17 discharge conveyor unit [0173] 17a, b, c portioning belt, discharge conveyor [0174] 18 Gripper guide [0175] 19 Height sensor [0176] 20 Feed unit [0177] 21 End piece conveyor [0178] 22 Spray unit [0179] 23 Function bar [0180] 23A, B End section [0181] 23a, b, c Peripheral wall, wall [0182] 23′ longitudinal direction [0183] 24.1, 24.2 Spray nozzle [0184] 24′ Spray direction [0185] 25.1, 25.2 nozzle unit [0186] 26 Reservoir [0187] 27 Reservoir [0188] 28 Reservoir [0189] 29.1-29.3 port [0190] 30 Holding device [0191] 30A, B End section [0192] 30′ Longitudinal direction [0193] 30.1 Main arm [0194] 30.1a Base part [0195] 30.1b Support part [0196] 30.2 Tilting arm [0197] 31′ Transverse axis [0198] 32 Clamping screw [0199] 33 Suction unit [0200] 33.1—0.5 Suction opening [0201] 34 Bar cover [0202] 35.1-35.3 Scale [0203] 36.1-36.3 Pointer [0204] 37.1, 37.3 Handwheel, clamping screw [0205] 38.1 Drive journal [0206] 39 Press plate [0207] 40 Clamping device [0208] 41 Tensioning nut [0209] K Product, product caliber [0210] KR End piece [0211] S Slice [0212] S1, S2 Main surface [0213] T Anticaking agent [0214] P Portion