FOOD PRODUCT PROCESSING PLANT AND METHOD

Abstract

The present invention relates to a food product processing plant including a loading unit (10), one or more processing units (20), and a food product unloading unit (30) that are connected via a rail (41) supporting a plurality of carriages (61) with a hook (62) which are clustered together forming multiple independent trains of carriages (60) which are independently actuated by means of multiple actuating units (51).

Claims

1. A food product processing plant comprising: a food product loading unit, one or more food product processing units, and a food product unloading unit successively disposed and connected via a food product conveying device; the conveying device comprising: a rail defining a conveyance path through said one or more food processing units; a plurality of carriages movably supported on said rail, each one of said plurality of carriages comprising a hook configured for hanging food items for the conveyance thereof; and an actuating device configured for driving each one of said plurality of carriages along said conveyance path; said actuating device comprising a plurality of independently actuated actuating units each one configured for driving different ones of said plurality of carriages located at different positions of the conveyance path and to allowing independent and distinct actuation thereof; and said rail comprising at least one passive rail segment devoid of actuating units; a plurality of independent and successive trains of carriages disposed along said rail, each one of said plurality of independent and successive train of carriages being formed by a cluster of a portion of said plurality of carriages and disposed in succession and attached to one another by articulated attachments, each one of said plurality of independent and successive train of carriages configured to support a batch of food product.

2. The processing plant according to claim 1, wherein each one of said plurality of actuating units are distributed along said conveyance path and are associated with one of a group of active rail segments interacting with one or more of said plurality of independent and successive trains of carriages located in a corresponding one of said group of active rail segments causing a movement of each one of said plurality of independent and successive said train of carriages, with said at least one passive rail segment being located between two active rail segments and a length of said at least one passive rail segment being less than a length of said plurality of independent and successive trains of carriages.

3. The processing plant according to claim 2, wherein at least one of said group of active rail segments comprises an actuating unit consisting of two symmetrical closed-loop belts on opposite sides of said at least one of said group of active rail segments, with each one of said two symmetrical closed—loop belts being tensed between pulleys with at least one portion parallel to the corresponding one of said group of active rail segments, with each one of said two symmetrical closed-loop belts being configured for producing, by contact, a coordinated pulling of each one of said plurality of carriages defining said plurality of independent and successive a train of carriages located in said-at least one of said group of active rail segment.

4. The processing plant according to claim 3, wherein a each one of a plurality of said group of active rail segments comprise a U-shape and are adjacently disposed to and connected in succession to one another AM defining a zigzagging rail area within said one or more food product processing units.

5. The processing plant according to claim 2, wherein said actuating unit of at least a curved one of said group of active rail segments consists of a pulley disposed in parallel to a corresponding curved one of said group of active rail segments, with said pulley being configured for producing, by contact, a pulling of the each one of said plurality of carriages defining said plurality of independent and successive train of carriages located in said one of said group of active rail segments.

6. The processing plant according to claim 2, wherein said conveying device comprises one or more accumulation areas each one comprising one of said group of active rail segments provided with one of said plurality of actuating units incorporating: an engaging mechanism configured to disengage when another one of said plurality of independent and successive train of carriages located in the said rail impedes or delays a forward movement of at least one of said plurality of independent and successive a train of carriages located in said accumulation area, allowing the accumulation of individual ones of said plurality of independent and successive train of carriages without stopping the said actuating unit; and said engaging mechanism configured to drive said plurality of independent and successive train of carriages when there is no obstacle in said rail, or a friction connection operatively enabled with each one of said plurality of independent and successive trains of carriages and configured for slipping when another one of said plurality of independent and successive train of carriages located in said rail impedes or delays said forward movement of said plurality of independent and successive train of carriages (60) located in said accumulation area (44), allowing the accumulation of said plurality of independent and successive train of carriages without stopping said actuating unit, and for driving said plurality of independent and successive train of carriages when there is no obstacle in said rail.

7. The processing plant according to claim 1, wherein each one of said plurality of independent and successive train of carriages comprises an actuating unit configured to drive and move together with each one of said plurality of independent and successive train of carriages along said rail; said passive rail segment occupying all or most of a length of said rail.

8. The processing plant according to claim 7, wherein each actuating unit is configured to receive a power supply through said rail; or each actuating unit comprises an electric battery configured to power said actuating unit, said rail comprising one or more recharging segments configured for charging said electric batteries of said actuating units of said plurality of independent and successive trains of carriages located in the recharging segments; or each actuating unit comprising an electric battery configured to power said actuating unit, said rail comprising one or more battery replacement segments configured for substituting said electric batteries of said actuating units of said plurality of independent and successive trains of carriages which are located in said battery replacement segments with another charged electric battery.

9. The processing plant according to claim 1, wherein said rail of said loading unit comprises a curved segment with a loading point associated with a food product supply device, with said actuating units configured to move said plurality of independent and successive trains of carriages located in said loading point and said food product supply device for hanging, in an automatic manner, a batch of food products from said hooks of corresponding ones of said plurality of carriages passing through said loading point and being coordinated with one another.

10. The processing plant according to claim 9, wherein said hooks of the said plurality of carriages are oriented in a direction opposite to the conveyance direction; said curved rail segment comprising said loading point; said loading point configured to define a curvature around a horizontal axis such that said hooks of individual ones of said plurality of independent and successive trains of carriages circulating through said curved segment extend in a radial direction with respect to said horizontal axis, said curved segment configured to guide each one of said plurality of carriages from an upper inverted position, in which said hooks are disposed upside down; said upper inverted position configured to prevent the food product from hanging on a lower conveyance position in which said hooks are disposed upside right I said upper inverted position configured to allow retaining the food product hung from same.

11. The processing plant according to claim 1, wherein said hooks of each one of said plurality of carriages are oriented in a direction opposite to the conveyance direction, and said rail included in said unloading unit comprises a curved segment with an unloading point, said curved segment defining a curvature around a horizontal axis such that said hooks of said plurality of independent and successive train of carriages circulating through said curved segment extend in a radial direction with respect to said horizontal axis, said curved segment guiding each one of said plurality of carriages from a lower conveyance position to an upper inverted position causing the release and falling of any food product hung from said hooks.

12. The processing plant according to claim 1, wherein said rail consists of two parallel partial rails, each one of said plurality of carriages being supported on both of said two parallel partial rails with a corresponding one of said hooks hanging between both partial rails.

13. The processing plant according to claim 1, wherein each one of said plurality of carriages of each one of said plurality of independent and successive train of carriages comprises: a first yoke with two first wings surrounding a crosspiece formed by a vertical shaft and by a horizontal shaft, said horizontal shaft being articulated with respect to said two first wings; a second yoke with two second wings surrounding said crosspiece of an adjacent one of said plurality of carriages, said vertical shaft of said crosspiece of said adjacent one of said plurality of carriages being articulated with respect to said two second wings; and said second yoke comprising a smaller size than said first yoke, both of said first yoke and said second yoke configured so that said second yoke of one of said plurality of carriages is housed between said crosspiece and said first yoke of an adjacent one of said plurality of carriages.

14. A method for processing a food product in a processing plant according to claim 1, the method comprising the following stops: loading a plurality of batches of the food product on the hooks of the carriages in the loading unit; conveying the batches of the food product through one or more food product processing units by the movement of the carriages driven by an actuating device, applying processing to the batches of food product; unloading the batches of food product from the hooks of the carriages in the unloading unit, after processing thereof; conveying the carriages back to the loading unit by the actuating device; the loading of each batch of food product being performed in single one of a plurality of independent and successive train of carriages formed by at least some of the plurality of carriages attached to one another by articulated attachments; the actuation of each one of the plurality of independent and successive train of carriages being performed independently from the rest of the plurality of independent and successive train of carriages by transmitting distinct control commands to each one of a plurality of actuating units defining the actuating device, the actuating units configured for driving different ones of said plurality of independent and successive train of carriages located at different positions of the rail.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0104] The foregoing and other advantages and features will be more fully understood based on the following detailed description of an embodiment in reference to the attached drawings which must be interpreted in an illustrative and non-limiting manner, in which:

[0105] FIG. 1 shows a schematic side elevational view of a plant like the one proposed, provided with a loading unit, two processing units, an unloading unit, an accumulation area, and a closed-loop rail communicating them, according to a first embodiment in which multiple actuating units are distributed along the rail and associated with active rail segments for producing the movement of the different independent trains of carriages distributed along the rail;

[0106] FIG. 2 shows an enlarged view of a part of the rail shown in FIG. 1, including the part of the rail going through the loading unit, showing how the rail includes an inverted segment in which the carriages circulate upside down with the corresponding hooks protruding upwards in the inverted position, a curved segment comprising the loading point at which the carriages are inverted and loaded with the food product, and a non-inverted segment in which the trains of carriages circulate upside right with the hooks hanging below same;

[0107] FIG. 3a shows a schematic plan view of an embodiment similar to the one shown in FIG. 1 but in which the rail has a zigzag layout both inside the processing units and in the accumulation area, according to a first embodiment in which each active rail segment is associated with a single actuating unit;

[0108] FIG. 3b shows the same as FIG. 3a, but according to a second embodiment in which the actuating unit of some of the active rail segments has two symmetrical continuous-loop belts, such that a train of carriages located in said active rail segment located between the two belts which simultaneously actuate it will be pulled in a precise manner;

[0109] FIG. 3c shows the same as FIG. 3b, but according to a third embodiment in which in some active rail segments located between two continuous-loop belts the rail is made up of only said symmetrical belts, the trains of carriages being held and supported directly by said belts;

[0110] FIG. 4 shows a schematic side elevational view of a plant like the one proposed, provided with a loading unit, two processing units, an unloading unit, an accumulation area, and a closed-loop rail communicating them, according to a second embodiment in which multiple actuating units are each attached to a train of carriages for producing the movement of the different independent trains of carriages distributed along the rail, each one moving together with its corresponding actuating unit;

[0111] FIG. 5 shows a detailed perspective view of a carriage according to a preferred embodiment, showing with a discontinuous line two adjacent carriages of the train of carriages attached to said carriage;

[0112] FIG. 6 shows a cross-section view of a train of carriages like the one shown in FIG. 5, supported on a rail formed by two partial rails, the cross-section being established by a vertical plane which sections the first and the second yokes attached to a crosspiece, but without sectioning the mentioned crosspiece.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT

[0113] The attached drawings show illustrative and non-limiting embodiments of the present invention.

[0114] According to a preferred embodiment, the proposed processing plant consists of a conveying device in charge of conveying batches of food product in the form of sausages along the plant, collecting said food product in a loading unit 10, conveying it through one or more processing units 20, and delivering it in an unloading unit 30.

[0115] The processing units 20 can be, for example, an oven or a smoker, provided with a shell with an inlet opening and an outlet opening which the conveying device 10 goes through, inside which processing is applied to the food product, for example, processing by using heat or by smoking.

[0116] The mentioned conveying device consists of a closed-loop rail 41 through which there circulate multiple trains of carriages 60, independent of each other, in succession. The closed-loop rail 41 allows the trains of carriages 60 to move forward from the loading unit 10 to the unloading unit 30 along a conveyance path which occupies part of the closed loop, and to continue moving forward from the unloading unit 30 to the loading unit 10, along a return path which occupies the rest of the closed loop. The rail will include, along said return path, a cleaning unit for cleaning the trains of carriages.

[0117] Each train of carriages 60 consists of individual carriages 61 connected to one another by means of articulated attachments 63 which allow transmitting tensile and compression stresses between connected carriages 61.

[0118] Each carriage 61 includes projections 67 with a low coefficient of friction with a small surface of contact with the rail 61, or wheels 67 which support the carriage 61 on the rail 41, allowing its sliding movement along said rail 41, and it also includes a hook 62 attached to said carriage 61 from which a food product in the form of sausage can be hung. Preferably, said projection with a low coefficient of friction will be made of metal or rigid plastic with a high hardness and will have a circular shape, defining a single point of contact with the rail 61.

[0119] The preferred embodiment of the trains of carriages 60 is formed by carriages 41 attached to one another by means of articulated attachments 63 formed by crosspieces 66 from which the hooks 62 hang, each hook 62 being integral with one of the crosspieces 66.

[0120] The carriages 61 will be shaped like links of a chain, each carriage being attached in an articulated manner to one crosspiece 66 at one end and to another crosspiece 66 at the other opposite end.

[0121] The proposed crosspiece 66 is formed by a vertical shaft 66V, which extends until being connected with the hook 62, and by a horizontal shaft 66H. Each carriage 41 will have a first yoke 64 at one end that will surround the crosspiece 66 with two first wings 64a and 64b which in turn will be attached in an articulated manner to the horizontal shaft 66H, and a second yoke 65 at an opposite end that will surround another crosspiece 66 with two second wings 65a and 65b which in turn will be attached in an articulated manner to the vertical shaft 66V of said other crosspiece 66.

[0122] The second yoke 65 will have a smaller size than the first yoke 64, such that a second yoke 65 of a carriage 61 may be loosely housed between the crosspiece 66 and the first yoke 64 of another carriage 61, allowing the articulation of one carriage 61 with respect to the other one around the two vertical and horizontal shafts 66V and 66H similarly to a universal joint.

[0123] Evidently, the invention also contemplates the inverse construction, which is considered equivalent, in which the first yoke 64 is smaller than the second yoke 65, the first yoke 64 being housed between the crosspiece 66 and the second yoke 65.

[0124] According to the preferred embodiment, the rail 41 consists of two parallel partial rails 41a and 41b , with each carriage 61 being supported simultaneously on both partial rails 41a and 41b , the hook 62 being located between both partial rails 41a and 41b . This allows proper distribution of the weight of the food product on the rail 41.

[0125] It is also contemplated that the ends of the horizontal shaft 66H emerge from the carriage 61 on both sides, defining the projections with a low coefficient of friction which are in contact with the two parallel partial rails 61a and 61b for supporting and guiding the carriages 61 along the rail 41.

[0126] For producing the movement of the trains of carriages 60 along the rail 41, the plant incorporates an actuating device 50 which is proposed to consist of multiple independent actuating units 51 which allow driving in a distinct manner the different trains of carriages 60 distributed along the rail 41.

[0127] Therefore, the actuating device 50 does not extend along the entire length of the rail 41, but rather the actuating units 51 act on the different trains of carriages 60 on rail 60 including passive rails segments 42 devoid of actuating units 51.

[0128] The independent actuation of the different trains of carriages 60 allows modifying their speeds in different segments of the rail 41, thereby achieving that they stay for a longer or shorter time in a given processing unit 20, or even allowing different batches of food product to receive processing for a different duration in the same plant without needing to adapt the mentioned plant, but rather by simply regulating in a different manner the different actuating units 51.

[0129] According to the first proposed embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the actuating units 51 are associated with active rail segments 43 of the rail 41, distributed along the length thereof, for driving the trains of carriages 60 which are located in said active rail segments 43.

[0130] Each actuating unit 51 may consist, for example, of a continuous-loop belt 53 tensed between pulleys 52 defining one or more segments parallel and adjacent to an active rail segment 43, said segment being configured for contacting with parts of the carriages 41 circulating through the active rail segment 43 producing the pulling thereof.

[0131] A motor will actuate one of the pulleys 52 producing the movement of the belt and also the movement of any train of carriages 60 in contact with same, driving it in the conveyance direction.

[0132] Since the carriages 61 of each train of carriages 60 are connected to one another by means of an articulated attachment 63, even if just one of the carriages 61 contacts with the actuating unit 51 movement of the entire train of carriages 60 is produced.

[0133] It is advisable for the length of the passive rail segments 42 located between two active rail segments 43 to have a smaller length than the length of the trains of carriages 60, such that it is assured that a train of carriages 60 will always be at least partially in contact with an active rail segment 43, thereby preventing being jammed in a passive rail segment 42. This feature may be omitted, for example, when the passive rail segment 42 is on a slope, which allows assuring that a train of carriages 60 will move through it without requiring actuating units 51.

[0134] The mentioned belt 53 can be a rough belt or include protrusions at predefined intervals, complementary with a relief included on the trains of carriages 60, thereby allowing engagement between the belt 53 and the pulled trains of carriages 60, thus assuring precise movement. A similar result can be achieved with a smooth belt 53 made of material with a high coefficient of friction, such as gum, rubber, or the like.

[0135] According to a preferred embodiment shown in FIGS. 3a and 3b, the rail 41 will have, inside the processing units 20, a zigzag path for the purpose of prolonging its length inside the processing units 20, therefore prolonging the time during which the food product remains inside the processing unit 20.

[0136] The mentioned zigzag layout of the rail 41 consists of parallel straight segments attached by semicircular segments. In the case shown in FIG. 3a, it is proposed that the active rail segments 43 are formed by two of said consecutive straight segments and the semicircular segment connecting them, the corresponding actuating unit 51 being formed by a closed-loop belt 53 tensed between two pulleys 52, two straight segments of the belt 53 being parallel and adjacent to the two straight segments of the active rail segment 43 and one of the pulleys 52 being concentric with the semicircular segment of the active rail segment 43, such that the belt 53 is also parallel and adjacent to the mentioned semicircular segment of the rail 41.

[0137] By repeating this construction multiple times, connecting each of said active rail segments 43 with semicircular passive rail segments 42, the mentioned zigzagging circuit is obtained.

[0138] It is alternatively contemplated that, as shown in FIG. 3b, each active rail segment 43 is associated with two symmetrical actuating units 51 located on either side of the active rail segment 43. Each of the actuating units will have a construction identical to that previously described, formed by pulleys 52 and a continuous-loop belt 53 tensed between said pulleys 52, such that the straight segments of the belts 53 of the two symmetrical actuating units 51 will be simultaneously in contact with a train of carriages 60 located in the active rail segment 43, producing the pulling thereof in a precise and controlled manner.

[0139] According to another further alternative embodiment shown in FIG. 3c, it is contemplated that in those active rail segments comprised between two symmetrical belts constituting the actuating unit thereof, the rail will be constituted only by said symmetrical belts, with the trains of carriages being supported only on said belts when they are in said active rail segment.

[0140] In this embodiment, in those segments in which two symmetrical belts do not exist, for example, as it is a passive rail segment or an active rail segment provided only with a single belt or another type of non-symmetrical actuating unit, it will be necessary to provide a rail that is not made up of said actuating unit, for example a stationary rail on which there move trains of carriages which will have to be transferred from one type of rail to the other while they are moving.

[0141] It is also contemplated that the belt 53 may be smooth and made of a material with a low or calibrated coefficient of friction so as to allow pulling a train of carriages 60 in contact therewith only when there is no obstacle on the rail 60, i.e., when there is no other train of carriages 60 after it. For example, said belt can be made of a flexible plastic material with a smooth finish. The geometry of the belt may also affect the surface of contact between said belt and the train of carriages 60, for example a wide belt will have a larger surface of contact and therefore higher grip than a narrow belt or even one with a cylindrical section, which is the shape that most reduces the surface of contact and therefore the grip between the belt and the train of carriages 60.

[0142] This feature allows the trains of carriages 60 to accumulate in the active rail segment 43 provided with the mentioned smooth belt 53 when there is a retention on the rail 41, thus constituting an accumulation area 44 of trains of carriages 60, without needing to apply a precise control of the actuating unit 51 of said smooth belt 53 which allows stopping it when said accumulation exists, simply limited to the belt 53 slipping on the accumulated trains of carriages 60 without producing the movement thereof.

[0143] A similar effect may be achieved by including an engaging mechanism between the motor and the pulley 52 actuated by said motor, with the engaging mechanism being tared to obtain the result described above, despite using a rough belt 52 or with a high coefficient of friction.

[0144] The accumulation areas 44 before the loading unit 10 are of particular interest, as it allows having a supply of stored trains of carriages 60 for loading batches of food product at any time needed, adapting to possible brief interruptions in the supply of food product.

[0145] It is also of interest to use accumulation areas 44 before the unloading unit 30, which allows adapting the unloading rate to different needs other than those of the proposed processing plant, such as for example the different needs of a packaging machine located after the unloading unit.

[0146] It is also proposed that one of the actuating units 51 may consist of only one pulley 52, part of which is adjacent and parallel to a curved active rail segment 43, such that said pulley 52 contacts with the carriages 61 of a train of carriages 60 located in said curved active rail segment 43, dispensing with the mentioned belt 53. The features of the coefficient of friction of the mentioned pulley 52 and its roughness may be equivalent to those described in relation to the belt 53, achieving an equivalent result.

[0147] According to an alternative embodiment, the actuating units 51 are not associated with the rail 41, but rather they are associated with the trains of carriages 60. In other words, each train of carriages 60 integrates an actuating unit 51 which drives and moves together with the train of carriages 60 along the rail 60. In such case, the entire rail 41 must be considered a passive rail segment 42, since the rail 41 does not push the trains of carriages 60 at all.

[0148] It is considered for example that each actuating unit 51 is provided with an electric motor connected to drive wheels supported on the rail 41, said actuating unit being attached to the rest of the train of carriages 60 by means of an articulated attachment 63, such that the actuating unit 51 may slide over the rail 41, actuating the motor and producing the pulling or pushing of the rest of the train of carriages 60.

[0149] Each actuating unit 51 may receive specific control commands, be programmed with a given routine, or receive control commands depending on the position of the corresponding train of carriages 60 inside the rail 41.

[0150] It is also contemplated that the actuating units 51 may be configured for stopping or slowing down the speed of the trains of carriages 60 in a given area of the rail 41, turning said area into a storage area 44 for trains of carriages 60.

[0151] The actuating unit 51 may receive power supply and/or control instructions through the rail 41, which in such case would include conductive tracks along its length to which the actuation unit 51 would be connected by means of sliding electric contacts such as brushes, for example.

[0152] Different segments of the rail may have conductive tracks independent of one another which allow regulating the speed of the actuating units 51 in a distinct manner in each of said independent segments by means of the distinct regulation of the energy transmitted through said conductive tracks in each of the mentioned independent segments.

[0153] It is alternatively contemplated that each actuating unit 51 may incorporate an electric battery which supplies energy during the movement thereof. In such case, for the purpose of recharging the electric batteries, the rail 41 must include one or more recharging segments 45 configured for recharging the electric batteries of the trains of carriages 60 located in said recharging segments 45. A recharging segment may include for example conductive tracks to which the actuating unit 51 will be connected by means of electric contacts, preferably sliding electric contacts such as brushes, while the train of carriages 60 remains in said recharging segment 45. The recharging segments 45 may coincide with the accumulation areas 44.

[0154] In the event of using electric batteries, it is contemplated that the rail 41 may include one or more battery replacement segments 46 in which the fully or partially discharged batteries of the actuating units 51 are substituted with fully charged batteries. Said replacement of the batteries can be done by hand, by an operator, or automatically by means of a battery replacement device in charge of taking out the depleted battery, introducing it in a battery charger, taking out another previously charged battery from the battery charger, and inserting said charged battery in the actuating unit 51, for example by means of a robotic arm.

[0155] According to a preferred embodiment of the loading unit 10, said unit includes a food product supply device 12, proposed to be a head that expels the food product in the form of sausage, casting it into the air while at the same time the head rotates around a horizontal axis, such that the food product is expelled forming loops. The rail 41 going through said loading unit 10 defines a loading point 11 at which a hook 62 of a train of carriages 60 is located for, in coordination with the supply device 12, coinciding with the apex of each loop of the food product expelled in the moment in which said zenith is falling, such that said zenith falls inside the hook 62 with that loop of food product being hung from that hook 62. The train of carriages 60 will move through the loading unit 10 such that each of its hooks 62 passes through the loading point 11 in the precise moment for collecting one of the loops of the food product expelled by the supply device 12.

[0156] The loading point 11 will preferably be located in a semicircular segment of the rail 41, concentric to a horizontal axis. The trains of carriages 60 will arrive at said semicircular segment from an inverted rail segment in which the trains of carriages 60 circulate upside down, the hooks 62 being in the inverted position, and come out of same through a non-inverted rail segment in which the trains of carriages 60 circulate in the normal position, with the hooks 63 hanging downwards, and the trains of carriages 60 will circulate with the hooks 62 oriented in the direction opposite the direction of forward movement of the train of carriages 60.

[0157] Therefore, when the trains of carriages 60 circulate through the semicircular segment, the hooks extend radially with respect to said horizontal axis, being separated from one another and facilitating the food product engaging the hook 62 located at the loading point 11, and the hooks 62 located at the loading point 11 being oriented upwards for receiving the falling food product.

[0158] Preferably, the semicircular segment including the loading point 11 will be an active rail segment 43 in which the corresponding actuating unit 51 engages with the train of carriages 60 for producing precise movement of said train of carriages 60.

[0159] The unloading unit 30 also includes a curved segment around a horizontal axis and comprising an unloading point 31. The curved segment receives trains of carriages 60 loaded with food product circulating in the non-inverted position the hooks 62 of which, when they go through the curved segment, transition from hanging vertically to extending radially around the horizontal axis, being separated from one another and tilting until reaching the horizontal when they go through the unloading point 31, which brings about the food product falling from the corresponding hook 62. After going through the curved segment, the trains of carriages 60 are in the inverted position.

[0160] It will be understood that the different parts constituting the invention described in an embodiment can be freely combined with parts described in other different embodiments even though said combination has not been explicitly described, provided that such combination is not detrimental.