Bread slicing machine having an advancing device

Abstract

An apparatus for cutting bread into slices includes at least one circular blade which rotates in a cutting plane and is guided between a feed section feeding the bread to be sliced to the blade and a removal section receiving the cut slices of bread. At least one advancing device advances the bread from the feed section towards the knife. The advancing device is designed such that, between two cutting instances, it advances the uncut bread and then withdraws it such that the actually exposed front end of the uncut bread is advanced across the cutting plane by an advance path greater than the predetermined slice thickness and is then withdrawn counter to the direction of advance of the bread.

Claims

1. An apparatus for cutting bread into slices, comprising; a feed section disposed for receipt of an uncut bread; a removal section disposed downstream of the feed section in a conveyance direction (P) of the uncut bread for removal of cut bread after slicing; a circular blade that rotates in a cutting plane in a gap between the feed section and the removal section; an advancing device disposed to advance the uncut bread along the conveyance direction from the feed section to the blade, wherein the advancing device includes a claw for clamping the uncut bread and a motor for linearly driving the bread along the conveyance direction (P); an electronic controller for controlling the circular blade and the advancing device; and wherein, the electronic controller is configured so that between slicing sequences of the uncut bread, the advancing device is controlled by the electronic controller to move in the conveyance direction (P) to a first position to advance the uncut bread across the cutting plane of the blade by an advance patch (v) that is greater than a predetermined slice thickness (d), and to subsequently move in a second direction counter to the conveyance direction (P) to a second position to withdraw the uncut bread so that a slice is subsequently cut from the uncut bread having the predetermined slice thickness (d).

2. The apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the controller is configured so that the advancing device is controlled to push a last cut slice of the bread in the conveyance direction (P) as the advancing device moves to the first position.

3. The apparatus as in claim 2, wherein the controller is configured to move the advancing device to the first position and then to the second position in sequential steps.

4. The apparatus as in claim 2, wherein the controller is configured to move the advancing device to the sequential first and second positions between non-consecutive slicing sequences of the uncut bread.

5. The apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the advance path (v) is measured from the cutting plane and greater than the predetermined slice thickness (d) by at least 6 mm.

6. The apparatus as in claim 1, further comprising an end stop in the removal section against which a first slice from the uncut bread is pressed by advancement of subsequent slices by the advancing device.

7. An apparatus for cutting bread into slices, comprising; a feed section disposed for receipt of an uncut bread; a removal section disposed downstream of the feed section in a conveyance direction (P) of the uncut bread for removal of cut bread after slicing; a circular blade that rotates in a cutting plane in a gap between the feed section and the removal section; an advancing device disposed to advance the uncut bread along the conveyance direction from the feed section to the blade, wherein the advancing device includes a claw for clamping the uncut bread and a motor for linearly driving the bread along the conveyance direction (P); an electronic controller for controlling the circular blade and the advancing device; and wherein the electronic controller is configured so that between each slicing sequence of the uncut bread, the advancing device is controlled by the electronic controller to move in the conveyance direction (P) to a first position to advance the uncut bread across the cutting plane of the blade by an advance patch (v) that is greater than a predetermined slice thickness (d) and then immediately retract the uncut bread in a second direction counter to the conveyance direction (P) to position the bread to undergo a slicing sequence resulting in a slice of bread having the predetermined slice thickness (d) cut from the uncut bread.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The invention is described in more detail in the figures below. The following are shown:

(2) FIG. 1 a top view of a first embodiment of a schematically represented cutting apparatus in accordance with the invention;

(3) FIG. 2 a schematic front side view of the embodiment according to FIG. 1 in cutting operation;

(4) FIG. 3 a schematic front view of a detail of the cutting device, showing the cutting off of a slice;

(5) FIG. 4 a schematic front view of that shown in FIG. 3, showing the deposit of the cut slice;

(6) FIG. 5 a schematic front view of that shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, showing the advance of all cut slices, and

(7) FIG. 6 a schematic front view of that shown in FIGS. 3-5, showing the return of the bread.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(8) Reference will now be made to embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are shown in the drawings. Each embodiment is provided by way of explanation of the invention, and not as a limitation of the invention. For example features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be combined with another embodiment to yield still another embodiment. It is intended that the present invention include these and other modifications and variations to the embodiments described herein.

(9) A first embodiment of a cutting apparatus 1 in accordance with the invention is presented in FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 schematically shows a top view of the apparatus 1 with a housing 2, in which, in particular, a feed section 3 and a removal section 4 are provided, and which is able to be closed by a hood 17. The feed section 3 comprises a bottom 8, which is preferably made of stainless steel, with a level receiving surface, on which the bread B to be cut is laid.

(10) Furthermore, in the feed section 3, a claw 22 that is able to swivel up and down is coupled within this casethree prongs on an advancing arm 23, which runs perpendicular to the direction of advance (see arrow P) (see also the further details in FIGS. 3-6). Through manual or automatic swiveling downwards, the claw 22 is pressed into the end of the loaf B turned towards it. The advancing arm 23 and the attached claw 22 are able to be driven through motor operation (motor not shown) along a linear track 24 running in a direction of advance (arrow P), in order to push the bread B in the direction of a circular blade 14. Before inserting a new loaf, the advancing arm 23 is driven back into its initial position (the two movements are indicated by the double arrow in FIG. 1). In FIG. 1, there are three different positions of the advancing arm 23: in solid lines, the starting position is shown, while a middle and the end position after the termination of the cutting instance are portrayed in dashed lines.

(11) The claw 22, the advancing arm 23, the track 24 and the feed motor (not shown) are components of an advancing device 21 for transporting the bread B from the feed section 3 to the blade 14. Additional details of the advancing device 21 are more accurately represented in FIGS. 3-6. The claw 22 rests in a cube-shaped claw housing 25 (omitted in FIG. 1 for the sake of clarity) which, at its side turned towards the bread B, features openings (not visible in the side view) for each prong of the claw 22. The prongs step through these openings if the bread is clutched prior to the beginning of the cutting (see double arrow in FIG. 3). The claw 22 is also connected to a shaft 26 (also not shown in FIG. 1), which runs parallel to the advancing arm 23 and may also swivel the claw 22 by means of the motor that is not shown. The end of the bread covered by of the claw 22 lies partly, penetrating a lower recess of the claw housing 25, in the claw housing 25, whereby it is fixed even better. Moreover, the upper edge of the recess holds tight the end of the bread that is fixed in such a manner, if, after the termination of the cutting process, the claw 22 is pulled upwards from the top end of the bread.

(12) The circular blade 14 moves in a vertical cutting plane 13 and, when rotating from a gap 16, which separates the feed section 3 from the removal section 4, drives out and back into it. In this case, the cutting plane 13 is used as a reference point for the advance lines of the claw 22 and/or the bread B to be depicted, since the circular blade 14 naturally features finite dimensions, including a mostly non-linear cutting phase, and therefore does not represent an exact reference.

(13) As can be seen in the schematic presentation in accordance with FIG. 2, in which many parts are not shown for the purpose of better clarity, the circular blade 14 is eccentrically mounted at a shaft 15, and is powered by a motor 19 controlled with a controller 20. In FIG. 2, as an example, three different positions of the circular blade 14 are shown, two of which with dashed lines. In particular, how the circular blade 14 is able to cut the bread B into slices is to be recognized. The exact eccentric mechanism is not shown; however, the corresponding structures are familiar to an expert. In this case, they are not essential to the invention.

(14) With the embodiment that is shown, the removal section 4 comprises a bottom 5, which preferably consists of stainless steel and, just like the bottom 8, is inclined with respect to a horizontal plane at the front machine side 1a (see FIG. 2; not shown in FIG. 1). On the operator side or the front machine side 1a outward, a side support 9 for the slices S rises in the area of the front edge of the bottom 5. In this case, the side support 9 is inclined with respect to a vertical plane at the front side 1a (see FIG. 2). Thereby, the support surface 5 and the side support 9 are essentially perpendicular to each other. Likewise, the feed section 3 features a corresponding side support 10, which runs in the same plane as the side support 9 (see FIGS. 1 and 2).

(15) In FIGS. 1-2, a pneumatic cylinder 18 is also shown; with this, the hood 17 can be opened and closed. In this case, the pneumatic cylinder 18 is attached to the controller 20 (details not shown), in order to, for example, open the hood 17, if the cutting instance is complete. On the contrary, if the blade 14 is running, the hood 17 cannot be open.

(16) Also shown is an end stop 28 for the first cut slice, which upon the beginning of the cutting instance is positioned very close to the blade 14 and, with the assistance of an arm 37 driven by a motor (not shown) running vertically to the direction P, is shifted along a track 38 running in the direction P, together with the claw 22 in the common mode by the nearly equal or a slightly bigger path and in the same direction. The first cut slice S falls against the end stop 28, thus ensuring the holding together of the slice packet. In FIG. 1, the end stop 28 at the end of the cutting instance is shown. The double arrow in the removal section 3 indicates that the end stop is driven near the blade 14 prior to the first cut.

(17) According to the embodiment shown in the figures, the bottom 5 is elbowed upward to the blade 14, such that a wall 6 is formed, which runs parallel to the circular blade 14 andupon cutting into slicesfeatures a horizontal spacing from it of not more than a few millimeters (see FIGS. 3 and 4). In this case, the height of the wall 6 amounts to approximately 5-20 mm. The wall thicknessif it is in one piece, with the bottom 5preferably amounts to approximately 2-3 mm, depending on the choice of stainless steel sheet metal of the bottom 5. The upper edge 7 of the wall 6 lies either at the height of the bread contact face of the bottom 8 or below it. In the latter case, a horizontal gap between the upper edge of the wall 7 and the underside of the bottom 8 can be formed, which are arranged in a manner offset on the side against each other, i.e. in a horizontal direction.

(18) The rigid wall 6, firmly connected to the bottom 5, prevents the last cut slice S from being pushed in the direction of the gap 16. This is not necessarily the case, but if it does occur, it can significantly disrupt the operation of the cutting device. In this case, the slice S is pressed against the wall 6, and this can be supported on the side. Thus, this slice S cannot arrive either in the direction of the loaf B or in the cutting gap 16. Thus, a secure and rapid cutting sequence is ensured. The length of the wall in the cutting direction is advisably viewed at least as large as the greatest bread width, which is to be cut with the apparatus in accordance with the invention. However, this is not mandatory; shorter lengths can also serve the same purpose.

(19) In accordance with the invention, the advancing device 21 is designed in such a manner that, on the one hand, it can advance and withdraw the loaf B between twonot necessarily consecutivecutting instances (first aspect of the invention) and, on the other hand, can push together the cut slices S in the removal section 4 after the cutting of the complete bread B (second aspect of the invention).

(20) In FIGS. 3-6, four different snapshots during a cutting cycle are shown. How the circular blade 14controlled by the controller 20cuts a slice S from the loaf B is shown in FIG. 3. Thereby, the blade 14 emerges from the gap 16 and penetrates the loaf B on the top from the side. The slice S is slightly inclined to the removal section 4, and then falls into the gap of the length z, which is formed by the previously cut slice S and the wall 6. There, the last cut slice S, through which the cutting and the discharge may be slightly inclined, stands up on the bottom 5 (FIG. 4).

(21) In accordance with the invention, at that point, the advancing device 21 pushes the loaf B by a line v in the direction of the removal section 4 (see arrow V in FIG. 5). In the meantime, the blade 14 is once again submerged in the gap 16. The advance line v is larger than the predetermined slice thickness d (see FIG. 5) by the line x. Thereby, the already cut slices S are likewise advanced in the direction V, in an ideal system likewise by the line x, which in the normal case amounts to several millimeters (for example, 8-12 mm). Since the slice packet naturally features a greater length than in its uncut state, only the advance line v of the bread can be precisely defined. However, it is essential that, between the last cut slice S and the uncut bread B, a gap arises that is sufficiently larger than the slice thickness d predetermined for the machine, which was entered by the user or set in the machine.

(22) The large advance by the line v serves the purpose of ensuring a secure, unimpeded discharge of the following slice S, without other means of removal (inclined plane in the direction of advance, additional vibrators in the removal area, other active devices for slice transport, etc.) being necessarybut these may be present. In particular, the bottom 5 may run horizontally in the direction of advance V, as shown in FIGS. 3-6.

(23) In the embodiment that is shown, it must be added that the wall 6 must likewise still be bridged by the slice that was just cut, so that it can fall into the gap of the length z (see FIG. 3). In this case, the additional advance path x is thus advisably larger than the thickness of the wall 6 plus the spacing of this wall 6 from the blade 14, which can amount to a total 3-4 mm. In this manner, it can be ensured that the slices S are securely and rapidly removed; this includes the avoiding of the jamming of the last cut slices in the gap 16.

(24) In order to cut the next slice S from the loaf B, the loaf B is withdrawn with the assistance of the advancing device 21 by the line x (see arrow R in FIG. 6), such that the bread B still projects only by the slice thickness d across the cutting plane 13. At that point, a slice S of such thickness d can be cut, as is shown in FIG. 3. A cutting cycle is thereby completed.

(25) By contrast, the known cutting apparatus further cuts the bread B solely by the predetermined slice thickness d, in order to then cut the next slice S. In doing so, appropriate tools are often necessary to create the sufficient space for the next upcoming slice.

(26) The second aspect of the invention can be seen in FIG. 1. FIG. 1 shows the left half of the complete slice packet in dashed lines. The advancing device 21 designed in accordance with the invention pushes the last slice still held by the claw 22 across the cutting plane 13 counter to the remaining slices S, until the slice packet is compacted between the end stop 28 and the last clawed slice; thus, there are no significant gaps between the individual slices S. The advance line t, which travels from the arm 23 and the claw 22 (also shown in dashed lines), may amount to several centimeters, but may be even smaller. The advance line t may be automatically calculated in advance, by measuring, in particular, the bread length to be cut in the apparatus automatically by means of corresponding sensors and calculating the advance line t on the basis of the measurement results.

(27) Not only the advancing device 21, but also the end stop 28, can be moved within the framework of the pushing together of the slices S, namely in the opposite direction of the movement of the claw 22 or, on the other hand, in the same direction as the claw 22. In the latter case, of course, the claw must travel a larger path. It is essential that, at the end of the advancing process, the slices S are pushed together in a compacted form, and thenafter the preferably automatically controlled opening of the hood 17are removable from the removal section 4 easily as a whole, i.e. without the slices themselves having to be pushed together. Alternatively, a lifting table is provided that lifts the slice packet out of the removal section 4, so that the operator need not bend over the removal section 4. In this case, the prescribed compacting also serves the purpose of positioning the slice packet, so that no slices of a loose slice packet fall back from the lifting table into the removal section.

(28) Moreover, in the compacted state of the slice packet, the claw 22 can be pulled from the last slice S without dragging along the slice, since, because of friction, it remains in the slice packet. This mechanism also functions in the event that a claw that can be swiveled is not used, but, for example, a horizontally movable claw or fork is used. In addition, the recess in the claw housing 25 prevents the end of the bread from being picked up by the claw 22 when it is pulled out.

(29) The processes described above, both for the oscillating pushadvance by the line v, withdrawal by the line x (or withdrawal by the line x+s and then advance once again by the line s)and the advance at the end of the entire cutting instance, are preferentially undertaken by the controller 20. Other control concepts, particularly those with decentralized controllers, are readily possible.

(30) The invention is not limited to the embodiment that is shown. Variations are possible at any time within the framework of the patent claims. Thus, for example, it is not absolutely necessary to carry into effect the additional advance by the advance path x after each step. For example, the advancing device 21 may bring about the additional advance x only after each second or third step. Further variations of additional advances in regard to the times of advance and the lengths of advance, in relation to the times of cutting the length of advance, are readily within the scope of this invention. For example, it is possible for the advancing device 21 to carry into effect a non-constant additional advance x, which varies the advance path v, for example as a function of the remaining amount of bread to be cut. For example, the path x may be larger with a decreasing remaining bread length. Moreover, for the advancing device 21 designed in accordance with the invention, additional transport devices for the bread and/or the slices are possible within the framework of the invention, whereas both passive and active means of transport come into question (the inclined plane shown in FIG. 2 is a passive means of transport).