DELAY UNIT, UNROLLING DEVICE, CUTTING MACHINE AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING SEPARATING MATERIAL

Abstract

A cutting machine that includes a knife and an unrolling device. The knife severs foodstuff slices from a foodstuff bar. A leaf from a separating material is provided between at least two foodstuff slices. The unrolling device providing the separating material for disposal of the leaf between the two foodstuff slices and injecting the leaf into the cutting region. The unrolling device has a tape roll and a delay unit. The delay unit along a transporting movement of the separating material is disposed downstream of the tape roll. The delay unit is configured for delaying the transporting movement of the separating material, which is unrolled from the unrolling device and is provided in a cutting region of a cutting machine. The delay unit has a pressure-generating means for exerting pressure on the separating material, and a suctioning means for suctioning the separating material by means of negative pressure.

Claims

1. (canceled)

2. (canceled)

3. (canceled)

4. (canceled)

5. (canceled)

6. (canceled)

7. (canceled)

8. A cutting machine comprising: a knife, which severs foodstuff slices from at least one foodstuff bar, the foodstuff slices are disposed so as to at least partially overlap so as to form a portion of a plurality of foodstuff slices, wherein a leaf from a separating material is provided between two of the foodstuff slices, wherein the cutting machine has an unrolling device, the unrolling device providing the separating material for disposal of the leaf between the two foodstuff slices and in particular injecting said leaf into a cutting region, wherein, the unrolling device has a tape roll for providing the separating material wherein the unrolling device has a delay unit the delay unit along a transporting movement of the separating material is disposed downstream of the tape roll, wherein a delay unit is configured for delaying the transporting movement of the separating material which is unrolled from the unrolling device and is provided in the cutting region of the cutting machine, wherein the delay unit has a pressure generating means for exerting pressure on the separating material, wherein the pressure-generation means comprises a suctioning means for suctioning the separating material by means of negative pressure.

9. The cutting machine as claimed in claim 8, wherein the suctioning means comprises a suction plate having at least one suction opening, wherein the suctioning opening by way of a fluid line is fluidically connected to a suction unit.

10. A method for providing separating material, the method comprising: unrolling the separating material from the tape roll and providing the separating material in the cutting region of the cutting machine according to claim 8, delaying the transporting movement of the separating material from the tape roll to the cutting region by the delay unit, generating the pressure on the separating material by means of the pressure-generating means for delaying the transporting movement and suctioning the separating material by means of the negative pressure by the suctioning means.

11. (canceled)

12. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein, the separating material is suctioned in a planar manner onto a suction plate during the delaying step, wherein the negative pressure is generated by a negative-pressure-generating unit in the form of a fan, the negative-pressure-generating unit by way of a fluid line being fluidically connected to at least one suction opening in the suction plate.

13. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein a rotating speed of the fan is controlled by a control unit as a function of an unrolling and/or transporting speed of the separating material and/or of a rotating speed of a rotating cutting knife of the cutting machine and/or of a conveying speed of the foodstuff bar in the direction of the knife.

14. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the separating material by means of compressed air is pressed against a bearing face by a contact pressure means.

15. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the foodstuff slices are severed from the foodstuff bar by means of the knife, and wherein the foodstuff slices are disposed so as to at least partially overlap so as to form the portion of the plurality of foodstuff slices, wherein the leaf that is severed from the separating material is disposed between at least two foodstuff slices.

16. The cutting machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cutting machine comprises a suction unit, the suction unit comprises a negative-pressure-generating unit.

17. The cutting machine as claimed in claim 16, wherein the negative-pressure-generating unit is a fan, a Venturi nozzle, or a vacuum pump.

18. The cutting machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the delay unit has a control unit for controlling a rotating speed of a fan, wherein the rotating speed of the fan is controlled as a function of an unrolling and/or transporting speed of the separating material.

19. The cutting machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein a fluid line by way of a quick-release coupling is operatively connected in a releasable manner to the suctioning means, wherein the coupling unit is configured to be coupled to a plurality of different and mutually replaceable suction plates.

20. The cutting machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pressure-generating means comprises a contact pressure means for pressing the separating material onto a bearing face by means of compressed air, wherein the pressure-generating means has a compressor or fan for generating compressed air, and/or a nozzle for generating an air stream that is directed in a direction of the separating material.

21. The cutting machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the knife comprises a rotating cutting knife, and the suctioning means comprises a suction plate having at least one suction opening, which by way of a fluid line is fluidically connected to a suction unit in the form of a fan, wherein the delay unit has a control unit for controlling the rotating speed of the fan, the fan configured in such a manner that a rotating speed thereof is controlled as a function of an unrolling and/or transporting speed of the separating material and/or of the rotating speed of the knife and/or of a conveying speed of the at least one foodstuff bar in a direction of the knife.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of an unrolling device having a delay unit according to one exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] FIG. 2 shows a schematic lateral view of a cutting machine having an unrolling device and a delay unit according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] In both figures, identical parts are at all times provided with the same reference signs and are in each case therefore typically also identified or mentioned, respectively, only once.

[0028] An unrolling device 10 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is schematically illustrated in FIG. 1. The unrolling device 10 comprises a tape roll 11 on which at least one rolled-up tape from separating material 2 is provided. The tape comprises in particular an interleaver strip from which individual separating-material leaves 5, so-called interleavers, are successively severed in a cutting machine 20 (see FIG. 2), so as to dispose said separating-material leaves 5 between foodstuff slices 22 that are partially layered on top of one another and to prevent the foodstuff slices from adhering to one another.

[0029] The tape in the context of a transporting movement 3 is first guided from the tape roll 11 which is freewheeling or driven by a further drive (not illustrated) by way of (in the present example) two deflection rollers 4 to a delay unit 1. A person skilled in the art will appreciate that none, only one or more than two deflection rollers 4 could also be disposed between the tape roll 11 and the delay unit 1. Behind the delay unit 1 the tape is fed to the cutting machine 20 (not illustrated in FIG. 1). The individual separating-material leaves 5 in the cutting machine 20 are severed from the tape by means of a separate severing installation and injected between the foodstuff slices 22 that are severed by a knife 21 of the cutting machine 20. A drive (not illustrated) which in an intermittent manner conveys the separating material 2 in the direction of the cutting machine 20 and herein unrolls said separating material 2 from the tape roll 11 is between the severing installation and the delay unit. The drive comprises in particular a motor-driven roller by way of which the tape of separating material 2 is guided. It is conceivable for an air stream to be incorporated in the cutting region, by way of which air stream the respective leaf that is severed and is injected in an intermittent manner by means of the Venturi effect clings to the front side of the foodstuff slice just severed, and subsequently when portioning the foodstuff slice just severed thereafter lies under the latter on the stack of deposited foodstuff slices.

[0030] The delay unit 1 serves for delaying the transporting movement 3 of the tape along the transporting direction, said transporting movement 3 being caused by the drive, so as to increase the transporting resistance of the tape. It is ensured in this way that the tape when unrolling from the tape roll 11 is at all times tensioned and the tape does not jump from the tape roll 11 or from the deflection rollers 4, or kinks, tears, or backs up. It is achieved in particular that only that much separating material 2 is unrolled from the tape roll 11 as is required by the cutting machine 20 for disposal between the foodstuff slices 22.

[0031] The delay unit 1 according to the invention comprises a suctioning means in the form of a planar suction plate 6 which is penetrated by a multiplicity of suction openings 7. A fluid line 8 which is fluidically connected to the suction openings 7 is disposed on the rear side of the suction plate 6. The fluid line 8 leads to a negative-pressure-generating unit in the form of a fan 9. The fan 9 has a housing in which a fan wheel that is driven by an electric motor is disposed. The fan wheel has a rim of vanes that are set at an attitude (not illustrated).

[0032] The attitude angle and the rotating direction of the fan wheel are provided in such a manner that the fan 9 during the operation thereof suctions air from the fluid line 8 and conveys said air to the outside. On account thereof, a negative pressure (also referred to as a vacuum) in relation to the ambient pressure of the delay unit is created in the fluid line 8 and in the region of the suction openings 7, on account of which air is suctioned through the suction openings 7 in the direction of the fan 9 in the region of the suction plate 6. As a result of the tape running in the region of the suction plate 6, the tape is suctioned onto the suction plate 6 and clings in a planar manner to the suction plate 6. The mechanical contact between the tape and the surface of the suction plate 6 leads to a frictional contact which increases the transporting resistance of the tape. The transporting resistance depends directly on how intensely the tape is suctioned to the suction plate 6 and thus on the pressure differential between the negative pressure in the interior of the fluid line 7 and the ambient pressure. The pressure differential depends on the conveyed volume of the fan 9.

[0033] In the present case, the rotating speed of the fan wheel by means of a control unit is controllable optionally in a stepless manner such that the pressure differential and thus ultimately the transporting resistance are also controllable in a stepless manner. It is conceivable for the fan to be controlled in a closed-loop manner by means of a closed-loop control circuit. For example, the rotating speed of the fan wheel is controlled in a closed-loop manner or at least in an open-loop manner as a function of the unrolling and/or transporting speed of the tape.

[0034] The suction plate 6 is coupled in a releasable manner, for example by way of a quick-release coupling, to the fluid line such that the suction plate 6 can be readily retrieved for maintenance and/or cleaning purposes, and the delay unit 1 can furthermore be equipped with different suction plates 6. It is conceivable for a plurality of suction plates 6 to be provided, said suction plates 6 varying in terms of the dimensions thereof, such that a suction plate 6 which matches in particular in terms of the width, can be assembled for each type of separating material 2. It is also conceivable for the number, size, and/or the distribution of the suction openings 7 in the suction plate 6 to be adapted to the respective separating material 2 in the case of the different suction plates 6.

[0035] A schematic lateral view of the cutting machine 20 is illustrated in FIG. 2.

[0036] The cutting machine 20 in the present example, apart from the unrolling device 10 explained above by means of FIG. 1, also has a rotating knife 21 and a product infeed 24 and a portioning installation 25. The product infeed 24 serves for feeding one or a plurality of foodstuff bars 23, for example a bar of cheese, sausage, or ham, to the knife 21, on account of which individual foodstuff slices 22 are severed from the foodstuff bar 23. The foodstuff slices 22 thereafter drop onto a transport belt of the portioning installation 25, said transport belt being controlled in such a manner that stacks 26 of at least partially mutually overlapping foodstuff slices 22 are formed on the transport belt.

[0037] Individual separating-material leaves 5 with the aid of the unrolling device 10 are injected into the cutting region of the knife 21 in such a manner that one separating-material leaf 5 is in each case disposed between the foodstuff slices 22 that are stacked partially on top of one another, on account of which the stacked foodstuff slices 22 are separated from one another and do not adhere to one another. The separating-material leaves 5 herein are severed from the tape by means of the separate severing installation (not illustrated). The separating-material leaf 5 is in particular incorporated in the cutting region by way of a gap between the knife 21 and the portioning installation 25.

[0038] It is conceivable for the rotating speed of the fan wheel to be controlled in an open-loop manner or closed-loop manner as a function of the rotating speed of the knife 21 and/or as a function of the conveying speed of the product infeed by way of which the foodstuff bar 23 is fed to the knife 21.

[0039] It is furthermore conceivable for the present cutting machine 20 to be configured as a multi-track cutting machine 20 so that a plurality of foodstuff bars 23 are simultaneously cut and portioned in parallel. In this case, the cutting machine 20 comprises at least a plurality of product infeeds 24 that are disposed in parallel, in particular conveyor belts which are disposed in parallel and are driven in a mutually independent manner, and optionally also a plurality of portioning installations 25 that are disposed in parallel. The plurality of foodstuff bars 23 is however preferably cut by way of the only one knife 21. Accordingly, the unrolling device 10 comprises a multi-track unrolling device so that individual leaves from separating material 2 can be disposed between foodstuff slices 22, stacked on top of one another, of each of the stacks prepared in parallel. The multi-track unrolling device 10 has in particular a plurality of tape rolls 11 that are disposed in parallel in order to provide a plurality of tapes of separating material 2, a corresponding plurality of drives that are disposed in parallel, a corresponding plurality of severing installations that are disposed in parallel, and/or a corresponding plurality of delay units 1 that are disposed in parallel.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0040] 1 Delay unit

[0041] 2 Separating material

[0042] 3 Transporting movement

[0043] 4 Deflection roller

[0044] 5 Separating-material leaf

[0045] 6 Suction plate

[0046] 7 Suction opening

[0047] 8 Fluid line

[0048] 9 Fan

[0049] 10 Unrolling device

[0050] 11 Tape roll

[0051] 20 Cutting machine

[0052] 21 Knife

[0053] 22 Foodstuff slice

[0054] 23 Foodstuff bar

[0055] 24 Product infeed

[0056] 25 Portioning installation