Device and method for cutting up food products

Abstract

A device for cutting up food products, particularly a high-performance slicer, having a product feed which comprises at least one conveying device. At least one product may be fed to a cutting plane in which at least one cutting tool is moving, particularly in a rotating or circulating manner. The cutting device further comprises at least one multifunctional working unit for at least intermittently handling the product. The working unit can be displaced into a contact position, in which the working unit presses the product which is movable in the conveying direction against a lower product bearing surface and/or a side product bearing surface, and into a locking position. In the locking position, the working unit prevents any movement of the product in the conveying direction.

Claims

1. An apparatus for slicing food products comprising a product feed having at least one conveying device for feeding at least one product to a cutting plane defined by movement of at least one cutting blade; a product support comprising at least one of a lower product support and a lateral product support; at least one multifunctional work unit for handling of the product, wherein the work unit is adjustable into a contact position, in the contact position the work unit pressing the product against the product support while the product is movable in a conveying direction, the work unit adjustable into a blocking position, the work unit preventing movement of the product in the conveying direction in the blocking position, the work unit positioned as an abutment for a front end of the product in the blocking position; and a drive operatively coupled to the work unit for adjusting the work unit between the blocking position and the contact position.

2. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein the work unit located in the blocking position is active as a deflector for a product end piece to be discarded.

3. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1, in which the work unit is adjustable from the blocking position directly into the contact position and vice versa.

4. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein the work unit is adjustable away from the blocking position without a component of movement directed against the conveying direction.

5. The apparatus in accordance with claim 4, wherein the work unit is adjustable, starting from the blocking position, with a component of movement in the conveying direction into a position which clears the path for the product.

6. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein an adjustment movement of the work unit comprises a pivot movement.

7. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1, in which the work unit comprises at least one adjustable holding section which exerts a contact function in the contact position and a blocking function for the product in the blocking position.

8. The apparatus in accordance with claim 7, wherein the holding section has a holding surface, the holding surface being planar and facing the product.

9. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1, in which the position of the work unit can be varied.

10. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1, in which an adjustment movement of the work unit and a movement for varying the position of the work unit are independent of one another.

11. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1, in which the work unit comprises a base and at the base a holding section for the product, wherein the position of the base is variable and the holding section is adjustable.

12. The apparatus in accordance with claim 11, in which the holding section is movable relative to the base.

13. The apparatus in accordance with claim 11, in which a movement of the base to vary the position and an adjustment movement of the holding section can be effected independently of one another.

14. The apparatus in accordance with claim 11, in which a movement for varying the position of the base and an adjustment movement of the holding section can be derived from a single movement of the work unit.

15. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1, in which the work unit is configured as temporary effective drive for the product.

16. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1, in which the product feed is of multi-track design to slice a plurality of products simultaneously, wherein the work unit is operable individually per track.

17. The apparatus in accordance with claim 16, in which the work unit comprises an adjustable holding section for each track each adjustable holding section exerting a contact function in the contact position and a blocking function for the product in the blocking position, wherein the holding sections are operable independently of one another.

18. The apparatus in accordance with claim 17, in which the holding sections are attached to a common base of the work unit and are adjustable relative to the base independently of one another.

19. The apparatus in accordance with claim 18, in which a position of the base is variable.

20. An apparatus for slicing food products comprising a product feed having at least one conveying device for feeding at least one product to a cutting plane defined by movement of at least one cutting blade; and at least one work unit for handling of the product, the work unit acting as an abutment for a front end of the product in a blocking position, a product holder engageable with a rear region of the product to hold the product at least during feeding to the cutting plane, wherein the work unit located in the blocking position is moveable in response to a force applied to the work unit in the conveying direction with the front end of the product when the product holder engages the rear region of the product, the work unit preventing movement of the product to the cutting plane up to a threshold force applied to the work unit in a conveying direction with the front end of the product, the product feed being a multi-track design to slice a plurality of products simultaneously, the work unit comprising a plurality of adjustable holding sections, each track of the multi-track design having an adjustable holding section independently adjustable of the other adjustable holding sections, each adjustable holding section exerting a blocking function for the product in the blocking position to abut the front end of the product and prevent movement of the product to the cutting plane up to the threshold force.

21. The apparatus in accordance with claim 20, in which the work unit is multifunctional, wherein the work unit is adjustable into a contact position, in which the work unit presses the product against a lower product support and/or against a lateral product support while the product is movable in the conveying direction, the work unit adjustable into the blocking position.

Description

(1) The invention will be described in the following by way of example with reference to the drawings. There are shown:

(2) FIG. 1 a side view of an embodiment of a slicing apparatus in accordance with the invention with a work unit in the contact position;

(3) FIG. 2 a slicing apparatus in accordance with FIG. 1 with the work unit in a blocking position;

(4) FIG. 3 a perspective view of the slicing apparatus in accordance with FIG. 1 with newly loaded products;

(5) FIG. 4 a slicing apparatus in accordance with FIG. 3 on the transition of the work unit from the blocking position into the contact position;

(6) FIG. 5 a side view of the slicing apparatus in accordance with FIG. 4; and

(7) FIG. 6 the slicing apparatus in accordance with FIG. 5 with products moved further forward.

(8) FIG. 1 shows an apparatus for slicing food products in the form of a multi-track high-performance slicer having a continuous conveyer 10 which is slanted during the cutting operation, which serves as a conveying device and with which a plurality of food products 12 are fed to a cutting plane S and are sliced along a conveying direction F. The multi-track configuration of the slicer, which is not shown in the side views, in particular not of FIGS. 1 and 2, can above all be recognized in the perspective views of FIGS. 3 and 4.

(9) The food products 12 can in particular be sausage, ham, cheese or similar products. They can be of rod shape or of bar shape and can differ in length as a result of manufacture.

(10) A downwardly angled front part 10 which can be pivotable relative to the conveyor 10 or which can be arranged at a fixed angle to the conveyor 10 is provided at the front end of the conveyor 10. The front part 10 can likewise be configured as an active conveyor, with this, however, not being compulsory.

(11) A stationary front conveyor 11 in the form of a continuous conveyor belt which extends up to just in front of the cutting plane S adjoins the conveyor 10 in the conveying direction F.

(12) A cutting blade formed as a scythe-like blade 14 is arranged in the cutting plane S. In addition, the slicer comprises a work unit 16 having a base 18 and a plurality of holding elements 20 which form holding sections of the work unit 16, with one holding element 20 being provided for each track of the slicer. The holding elements 20 are orientated in parallel with the conveying direction F in the functional position of FIG. 1 and press the products 12 onto the product support formed by the stationary front conveyer 11. The holding elements 20 thus form downholders for the products 12.

(13) In this embodiment, the holding elements 20 moreover each comprise a belt band 22 with which the products 12 can be actively moved in the conveying direction F. The conveying of the products 12 in the direction of the cutting plane S therefore takes place with the aid of the continuous conveyor belt 10 and of the front conveyor 11, of the belt bands 22 and of a plurality of product holders which are configured as grippers 28 and which each engage into a rear product end 30 of the food products 12. Alternatively, the product holders 28 can be passive in the respect that they are not themselves active as a drive for conveying the products 12 in the conveying direction F, but are only active for stabilizing the products 12 and later (cf. FIG. 2) for withdrawing the product end pieces 30 and are pulled along e.g. by the products 12 during the movement in the conveying direction F.

(14) In the front region, the products 12 are consequently transported to the cutting plane by the active holding elements 20 and by the stationary front conveyors 11. The work unit 16 comprises a pneumatic vertical adjustment drive 24 with which the spacing of the base 18 from the front conveyor 11 can be adjusted along a vertical adjustment direction H. In addition, the work unit 16 comprises pneumatic pivot drives 26 with which the holding elements 20 can be pivoted relative to the base 18 from the contact position shown in FIG. 1 into a blocking position. A separate pivot drive 26 which comprises a piston-in-cylinder arrangement which is pivotally connected to the base 18 at one end and to the respective holding element 20 at the other end is associated with each holding element 20, with the holding elements 2 each being pivotally connected to the base 18, and indeed at a pivot axis spaced apart from the axis of engagement of the piston-in-cylinder arrangement, so that a longitudinal change of the piston-in-cylinder arrangement generates a pivot movement of the respective holding element 20.

(15) A blocking position of the holding elements 20 is shown in FIG. 2. The holding elements 20 are in this respect orientated perpendicular to the front conveyor 11 and form a block for the product end pieces 30.

(16) If in accordance with FIG. 1 products 12 are thus sliced, the holding elements 20 serve as downholders for the products 12. The products 12 are held by the gripper 28 during the slicing process and are conveyed with the aid of the continuous conveyor belt 10, of the front conveyor 11 and of the belt bands 22 to the scythe-like blade 14 until the products 12 are almost completely sliced. If only the product end pieces 30 remain (see FIG. 2), they are withdrawn against the conveying direction F by means of the grippers 28. At the same time, the vertical adjustment drive 24 moves the base 18 upwardly along the vertical adjustment direction H while the pivot drive 26 pivots the holding elements 20 from the contact position into the blocking position.

(17) In FIG. 2, the holding elements 20 thus form a block for the product end pieces 30. These end pieces 30 can therefore not fall into the cutting plane S despite the oblique position of the product support when the grippers 28 are brought out of engagement with the end pieces 30 to release the end pieces 30. If the grippers 28 are no longer in engagement with the end pieces 30, the holding elements 20 consequently serves as deflectors for the end pieces 30, whereby it is ensured that the end pieces 30 do not move to the front, but rather fall downwardly through an opening, temporarily released for this purpose, in the support plane, for example into a shaft, not shown. To remove the product end pieces 30 particularly fast and in a controlled manner, the belt bands 22 of the holding elements 20 active during the cutting operation can, for example, remain activated or be activated again.

(18) Subsequently, the grippers 28 are moved back into their starting positions so that new food products 12 already shown in FIG. 2 can be loaded into the slicing apparatus. As FIG. 2 shows, the product feed remains slanted with this slicer, with a loading device comprising the conveyor 10 being pivoted from a substantially horizontal loading position in accordance with FIG. 2, in which the products 12 to be sliced or conducted in, into the inclined cutting position in accordance with FIG. 1 for the loading of the product feed. This embodiment is, however, not compulsory and can be modified within the framework of the invention.

(19) In FIG. 3, a perspective view of the slicing apparatus in accordance with FIG. 1 is shown with four freshly loaded products 12 which are fed to the cutting blade 14 by the common continuous conveyor belt 10 and the front conveyer 11. The grippers 28 attached to a common carrier 23 can also not be moved individually per track, but rather only together along or against the conveying direction F by the driven carrier 32.

(20) A separate holding element 20 which each comprises a separate pivot drive 26 is associated with each track. The common vertical adjustment drive 24 which can move the base 18 together with the holding elements 20 along the vertical adjustment direction H is provided for the vertical adjustment.

(21) In accordance with the invention, the holding elements 20 are configured as yielding independently of one another so that they can yield to the products 12 from a specific force effect onward, i.e. the path in the conveying direction F is released a little for a product 12 pressed toward the holding element 20 associated with it by means of the product holder 28 as soon as the force exceeds a predefined degree.

(22) The products 12 can be individually relieved of pressure by this embodiment of the work unit 16 in accordance with the invention if this is necessary due to a different length of the products 12, as will be explained in more detail in the following.

(23) If food products 12 to be sliced which have different lengths are inserted into the slicing apparatus, the front ends of the products 12 abut the respective holding element 20. The grippers 28 are moved in common along the conveying direction F until they can each engage into the rear product end 30. With conventional slicers in this respect, a product which is longer than the other products is compressed more than the other products. Since the holding elements 20 have a specific yield, they therefore yield from a specific force effect onto the holding elements 20 onward so that a comparatively short product 12 can also be reliably gripped without a longer product 12 being excessively compressed.

(24) This situation is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The holding elements 20 which are associated with longer products 12 are deflected in the conveying direction F and are thus already pivoted a little out of the original blocking position in the direction of the contact position, but without completely releasing the path for the products 12 so that a holding force is still active by which the deflected holding elements 20 also continue to oppose the respective products 12 with a resistance to ensure an engagement of the product holders 28 in accordance with their intended purpose.

(25) The individual yield of the holding elements 20 is realized by the pneumatic devices of the pivot drives 26 which are active in the manner of a spring and which are independent of one another. The yield behavior of the holding elements 20 can be set at the pneumatic pivot drives 26 or in another manner. The setting takes place in a manner such that, one the one hand, a sufficiently large force is set against the products 12 that the grippers 28 can engage into the rear product ends 30, whereas, on the other hand, the holding elements 20 yield before the products 12 are compressed too much.

(26) As soon as the grippers 28 are in engagement with the rear product ends 30, the holding elements 20 are pivoted further out of the blocking position into the contact position by means of the pivot drives 26 (FIG. 6). The holding elements 20 are in this respect in constant contact with the products 12. In addition, the base 18 is moved downwardly with the aid of the vertical adjustment drive 24. During the adjustment movement, the products 12 are conveyed in the conveying direction F to the cutting plane S with the aid of the continuous conveyor belt 10, of the front conveyor 11 and of the grippers 28.

(27) Whereas the holding elements 20 can yield or be deflected individually independently of one another and thus in dependence on the respective product 12 or on the force applied via the product 12, the subsequent adjustment into the contact position takes place to initiate the cutting operation (and later also the restoration from the contact position into the blocking position) for all holding elements 20 together. Consequently only a single common active drive is required for the individual pivot drives 26 of the holding elements 20. In accordance with the invention, it is, however, not precluded that each pivot drive 26 can be controlled separately and can be operated independently of the respective other pivot drives 26 so that the holding elements 20 cannot only yield individually, but can additionally also be adjusted as desired individually.

(28) The food products 12 are already located closer to the cutting plane S in FIG. 6. The holding elements 20 are in this respect already almost pivoted into the contact position.

(29) The adjustment movement of the holding elements 20 on the engagement of the grippers 28 in accordance with FIGS. 4 and 5 thus already forms a part of the adjustment movement of the holding elements 20 from the blocking position into the contact position.

(30) On the transition from the cutting preparation to the cutting operation, blocking elements so-to-say become downholders, and indeed in each case by a simple pivot movement.

(31) If the holding elements 20 are located in the contact position, the products 12 are conveyed further along the conveying direction F until they move into the cutting plane and the slicing operation starts (cf. FIG. 1).

(32) The work unit 16 is thus multifunctional and serves as a product abutment in the preparation of the slicing operation, as a product downholder during the slicing and as an end piece deflector at the end of the slicing process, with moreover in the case of an active embodiment, the work unit 16 also satisfying a conveying function simultaneously with the downholder function to transport the or each product 12 to the cutting plane S, and indeed together with the active front conveyer 11 which can alternatively also be passive and can only serve as a product support.

REFERENCE NUMERAL LIST

(33) 10 continuous conveyor belt, conveying device 10 front part of the continuous conveyor belt 11 stationary front conveyor 12 food product 14 cutting blade 16 work unit 18 base 20 holding element, holding section 22 belt band 24 vertical adjustment drive 26 pivot drive 28 product holder, gripper 30 product end piece 32 carrier F conveying direction S cutting plane H vertical adjustment direction