CUTTING APPARATUS

Abstract

A cutting apparatus for slicing and/or dividing meat products, in particular bacon and/or fresh meat products, comprises a product feed that is configured to guide at least one first product and at least one second product simultaneously into a cutting region in which slices and/or pieces are cut off from the products by means of a first rotating blade and by means of a second rotating blade. In this respect, the product feed has a first conveying means for guiding the at least one first product into the cutting region and a second conveying means for guiding the at least one second product into the cutting region, wherein the first blade is associated with the first conveying means and is provided for cutting off slices and/or pieces from the at least one first product, and wherein the second blade is associated with the second conveying means and is provided for cutting off slices and/or pieces from the at least one second product.

Claims

1.-24. (canceled)

25. A cutting apparatus for slicing and/or dividing meat products, in particular bacon and/or fresh meat products, having a product feed that is configured to guide at least one first product and at least one second product simultaneously along a feed direction (Z) into a cutting region in which slices and/or pieces are cut off from the products by means of a first rotating blade and by means of a second rotating blade, wherein the product feed has a first conveying means for guiding the at least one first product into the cutting region and a second conveying means for guiding the at least one second product into the cutting region, wherein the first blade is associated with the first conveying means and is provided for cutting off slices and/or pieces from the at least one first product, and wherein the second blade is associated with the second conveying means and is provided for cutting off slices and/or pieces from the at least one second product.

26. A cutting apparatus in accordance with claim 25, wherein the first conveying means and the second conveying means extend next to one another offset in parallel along the feeding direction (Z).

27. A cutting apparatus in accordance with claim 25, wherein the product feed comprises a common support structure for the conveying means, in particular with the support structure being fixedly connected to a frame supported on the ground.

28. A cutting apparatus in accordance with claim 27, wherein the support structure has a center support that extends in the feed direction (Z) and that is arranged between the first conveying means and the second conveying means, with the first conveying means and the second conveying means being held at the center support.

29. A cutting apparatus in accordance with claim 28, wherein the first conveying means and the second conveying means comprise respective base parts that are selectively connectable to or releasable from the center support.

30. A cutting apparatus in accordance with claim 28, wherein the center support has at least one first mandrel which extends perpendicular to the feed direction (Z) and onto which the first conveying means can be plugged, and wherein the center support has at least one second mandrel which extends perpendicular to the feed direction (Z) and opposite to the first mandrel and onto which the second conveying means can be plugged.

31. A cutting apparatus in accordance with claim 25, wherein the product feed comprises a first drive for the first conveying means and a second drive for the second conveying means, by means of which drives the first conveying means and the second conveying means are drivable independently of one another.

32. A cutting apparatus in accordance with claim 25, wherein the first conveying means and the second conveying means comprise at least one respective conveyor belt.

33. A cutting apparatus in accordance with claim 25, wherein the product feed for the first conveying means and/or for the second conveying means comprises at least one respective product holder that is configured to hold the first product and/or the second product in a rear product section during the guidance into the cutting region.

34. A cutting apparatus in accordance with claim 25, wherein the feed direction (Z) extends at least substantially horizontally, and wherein the blades define a respective vertically oriented cutting plane (S).

35. A cutting apparatus in accordance claim 25, wherein the first blade is held in a first blade mount, and wherein the second blade is held in a second blade mount, with the first blade mount and the second blade mount being able to be set into rotations in opposite senses with respect to one another.

36. A cutting apparatus in accordance with claim 25, wherein the first blade and the second blade are formed as one-armed scythe-like blades having narrow curved knife blades.

37. A cutting apparatus in accordance with claim 25, wherein the first blade and the second blade have a respective blade edge that is at least sectionally of spiral shape, in particular with the blade edge extending at least sectionally in the shape of an Archimedean spiral and/or extending at least sectionally in the shape of a logarithmic spiral.

38. A cutting apparatus in accordance with claim 25, wherein the first blade and the second blade have a respective at least sectionally toothed blade edge.

39. A cutting apparatus in accordance with claim 25, wherein a control device is provided for controlling the rotational speeds of the rotating blades, with the control device being configured to accelerate and/or decelerate the rotations of the blades during a revolution for cutting off a slice and/or a piece.

40. A cutting apparatus in accordance with claim 25, wherein a blade guide is arranged in the cutting region and has a respective peripheral gap for the blades that is defined by a front boundary with respect to the feed direction (Z) and by a rear boundary with respect to the feed direction (Z).

41. A cutting apparatus in accordance with claim 40, wherein the front boundary and the rear boundary have mutually aligned passages for the first product and/or for the second product.

42. A cutting apparatus in accordance with claim 41, wherein the first blade and/or the second blade covers/cover the maximum clearance of the passages during a rotation.

43. A cutting apparatus in accordance with claim 25, wherein the cutting apparatus has a portioning region in which portions that comprise at least one slice and/or at least one piece are formed from the cut-off slices and/or pieces.

44. A method of slicing and/or dividing meat products, in particular bacon and/or fresh meat products, wherein at least two products are fed along a feed direction (Z) into a cutting region of a cutting apparatus, in particular of a cutting apparatus in accordance with any one of the preceding claims, in which slices and/or pieces are cut off from each of the at least two products by means of at least one respective rotating blade.

45. A method in accordance with claim 44, wherein the at least two products are guided into the cutting region by means of respective conveying means arranged offset in parallel with one another.

46. A method in accordance with claim 44, wherein the products are guided along a horizontal direction (Z) into the cutting region, with the blades rotating in a respective vertically oriented cutting plane (S).

47. A method in accordance with claim 44, wherein the blades are accelerated and/or decelerated during a rotation for cutting off a slice and/or a piece.

48. A method in accordance with claim 44, wherein portions that comprise at least one slice and/or one piece are formed from the cut-off slices and/or from the cut-off pieces, in particular with the formed portions being conveyed onward by means of a conveying device arranged downstream.

Description

[0077] The invention will be described in the following purely by way of example with reference to an embodiment and to the drawings. There are shown:

[0078] FIGS. 1A and 1B a side view or a plan view of a processing line for processing meat products using a cutting apparatus;

[0079] FIGS. 2A and 2B a perspective rear view or a perspective front view of the cutting apparatus;

[0080] FIGS. 3A and 3B a plan view or a side view of a product feed of the cutting apparatus;

[0081] FIG. 4 a perspective rear view of the cutting apparatus with the conveying means of the product feed removed and the frame removed; and

[0082] FIGS. 5A and 5B front views of a cutting region for illustrating the arrangement of a first blade and a second blade and their design.

[0083] FIGS. 1A and 1B show views of a processing line 87 for processing meat products and in particular fresh meat products or bacon. In this respect, products 13 and 15 shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, but not in FIG. 3A, are fed along a feed direction Z to different stations at which processing steps take place.

[0084] The products 13 and 15 can be loaded onto a feed 83 that has a conveyor belt 73 running around in the feed direction Z. By pulling forward this conveyor belt 73 of the feed 83, the products 13 and 15 move into an introduction section 89 which is formed by a further conveyor belt 73 and in which an introduction device 91 is arranged. Said introduction device is configured to introduce the products 13 and 15 into a press 77 by a movement perpendicular to the feed direction Z. The products 13 and 15 that as natural products initially usually have an irregular shape can be compressed by means of the press 77 and can thereby be brought into a predefined shape or a shape required for further processing steps.

[0085] The pressed products 13 and 15 are fed from the press 77 to a distribution and sorting device 79 that has a conveyor belt 73 running around in a feed direction Z. In this respect, the distribution and sorting device 79 is configured to move this conveyor belt 73 perpendicular to the feed direction Z to transfer the products 13 and 15 to a first conveying means 25 or to a second conveying means 27 of a product feed 23.

[0086] This product feed 23 forms a part of a cutting apparatus 11 for slicing and/or dividing the products 13 and 15 into slices and/or pieces that will be described in more detail in the following.

[0087] The product feed 23 is configured to feed the products 13 and 15 to a cutting region 17 in which slices and/or pieces are cut off from the products 13 and 15 by means of blades 19 and 21 rotating in a cutting plane S (cf. FIGS. 2B, 5A and 5B). In this respect, at least one first product 13 can be guided into the cutting region 17 by means of the first conveying means 25, while, simultaneously therewith, at least one second product 15 can be guided into the cutting region by means of the second conveying means 27. Furthermore, the first blade 19 is associated with the first conveying means 25 and is provided to cut off slices or pieces from the first product 13, whereas the second blade 21 is associated with the second conveying means 27 and is provided to cut off slices or pieces from the second product 15.

[0088] To guide the products 13 and 15 into the cutting region 17, both the first conveying means 25 and the second conveying means 27 comprise two respective conveyor belts 43 that run around in the feed direction Z (cf. in particular FIGS. 2A and 3A). The conveying means 25 and 27 in this respect substantially extend in the feed direction Z and are arranged offset in parallel from one another so that a narrow design of the product feed 23 can be achieved.

[0089] The conveyor belts 43 of the conveying means 25 and 27 are held on respective base parts 33 that comprise respective drives 39 and 41 of the conveying means 25 and 27. An independent guidance of the first products 13, which are guided into the cutting region 17 by means of the first conveying means 25, and the second products 15, which are guided into the cutting region 17 by means of the second conveying means 27, can be achieved by these drives 39 and 41. For example, first products 13 and second products 15 of different types can in particular be simultaneously fed into the cutting region 17 and pieces of different sizes or slices of different thicknesses can be cut off from the products 13 and 15 as required. For this purpose, the conveying means 25 and 27 can, for example, be operated at respective adapted speeds to guide the products 13 and 15 sufficiently far and independently of one another into the cutting region 17 before a cutting off of a slice or of a piece, taking into account the respective desired slice thickness.

[0090] Since respective blades 19 and 21 are associated with the conveying means 25 and 27, a completely independent cutting process can be achieved for the products 13 and 15. This can make it possible to simultaneously process at least two products 13 and 15 by means of the cutting apparatus 11 and to achieve a correspondingly high product throughput, wherein the cutting process can be take place ideally adapted to the respective product 13 or 15 despite this simultaneous processing.

[0091] To support or to monitor the guidance of the products 13 and 15 into the cutting region 17, the product feed 23 further comprises product holders 75 for the conveying means 25 and 27, wherein only the product holder 75 associated with the second conveying means 27 is shown in the Figures. These product holders 75 are configured to hold the products 15 or 13 in a rear region (cf. FIG. 3A) and can in particular serve to briefly withdraw or stop the products 15 or 13 to interrupt the feed into the cutting region 17 and to enable a transporting away of already formed slices and/or pieces. To enable a permanent engagement of the product holders 75 into the provided end regions of the products 13 and 15 during their guidance into the cutting region 17, respective guides 95 are provided in which the product holders 75 can, for example, be moved in and against the feed direction Z by means of spindle drives arranged within the guides 95. These guides 95 are in this respect arranged above the conveyor belts 43 so that these guides 95 also do not increase, or at most slightly increase, the extent of the product feed 23 perpendicular to the feed direction Z (cf. also FIG. 3B) so that the width of the cutting apparatus is hereby not unnecessarily increased. Embodiments without product holders 75 are generally also possible, however. Provision can in particular be made for the processing of bacon to merely guide the products 13 via the conveyor belts 43 into the cutting region 17.

[0092] In the embodiment shown, the feed direction Z extends horizontally, wherein the cutting plane S defined by the blades 19 and 21 is vertically aligned. Due to this horizontal guidance of the products 13 and 15 into the cutting region 17, a further feed of the products 13 and 15 through the cutting plane S can be made possible to be able to cut off relatively thick slices or large pieces, which can in particular be desired for the processing fresh meat products, from the products 13 and 15.

[0093] Alternatively to this, an inclined feed direction Z can, however, also be provided, for example, in that a rear deflection of the conveying means 25 and 27 or of the conveyor belts 43 can be arranged higher than a deflection facing the cutting region 17. A controlled placement of the slices can in particular be achieved on a cutting off of relatively thin slices.

[0094] As in particular FIG. 2B shows, a portioning region 67 is arranged downstream of the cutting plane S, in which portioning region 67 the cut-off slices or pieces of the products 13 and 15 are collected and portions are formed that comprise at least one slice or one piece. Said portioning region has a conveyor belt 73, comprising a plurality of straps and running around in the feed direction Z, for each of the products 13 and 15, wherein only the conveyor belt 73 that is associated with the second conveying means 27 is shown in FIG. 2B. The conveyor belt 73 of the portioning region 67 that is associated with the first conveying means 25 can, in contrast, be seen in FIGS. 2A and 4. In addition to the collection and transporting away of cut-off slices or pieces, the conveyor belts 73 of the portioning region 67 also serve to support the products 13 and 15, which are fed horizontally far through the cutting plane S, during a slicing so that a bending of the products 13 and 15 can be avoided, for example.

[0095] Due to a pulling forward of the conveyor belts 73 of the portioning region 67, formed portions comprising at least one slice of at least one piece can be transferred in the feed direction Z to a conveying device 71 arranged downstream that can feed the portions to further processing steps and, for example, to a packaging machine for packaging the portions (cf. also FIGS. 1A and 1B).

[0096] Furthermore, the arrangement of a plurality of slices or pieces combined to form a portion can be influenced by a pulling forward of the conveyor belts 73 so that, for example, the slices of a portion can be arranged overlapping one another in the feed direction Z.

[0097] As the perspective rear view of FIG. 2A shows, the product feed 23 has a common support structure 28 for the conveying means 25 and 27. This support structure 28 comprises a center support 31 that substantially extends in the feed direction Z and that is arranged between and holds the conveying means 25 and 27. This center support 31 thus so-to-say forms a central structure of the product feed 23 and defines a vertical separation plane with respect to which the conveying means 25 and 27 and the blades 19 and 21 are arranged symmetrically or mirror-symmetrically (cf. in particular also FIG. 3A). Furthermore, the center support 31 is fixedly connected to a frame 29 of the cutting apparatus 11 supported on the ground so that neither the center support 31 nor the conveying means 25 and 27 held thereat are movable relative to the frame 29, apart from the revolving movement of the conveyor belts 43 in the feed direction Z, and the conveying means 25 and 27 always remain in the provided orientation for guiding the products 13 and 15 into the cutting region 17.

[0098] Since the center support 31 arranged between the conveying means 25 and 27 holds the conveying means 25 and 27, they are arranged offset in parallel from one another with respect to the feed direction Z. This enables a narrow and symmetrical design of the cutting apparatus 11 with respect to a direction perpendicular to the feed direction Z so that a simultaneous slicing of the products 13 and 15 can be achieved by means of a single, compact mechanical design.

[0099] Furthermore, this symmetrical design of the product feed 23 having conveying means 25 and 27 held at oppositely disposed sides at the center support 31 enables access at both sides to the product feed 23 so that products 13 and 15 can, for example, be loaded onto the conveying means 25 and 27 from both sides (cf. FIGS. 3A and 3B). Such a loading, for example a manual loading, of the products 13 and 15 can in particular be provided if the cutting apparatus 11 is not provided as a part of the processing line 87, but the cutting operation is rather independent of further processing steps.

[0100] A switch cabinet 81 is arranged beneath the conveyor belts 43 of the conveying means 25 and 27 and comprises the electronic components of the cutting apparatus 11 and in particular a control device 53. The switch cabinet 81 is thereby arranged in a region in which the product feed 23 anyway has to have a certain extent for the attachment of the conveying means 25 and 27 so that this extent is at least substantially not increased by the switch cabinet 81 and a compact and narrow design of the product feed 23 can be achieved. Furthermore, the switch cabinet 81 also serves to support the center support 31 and to fixedly connect it to the frame 29 (cf. FIG. 4).

[0101] The control device 53 arranged in the switch cabinet 81 can in particular be configured to control the drives 39 and 41 independently of one another so that the products 13 and 15 can also be independently guided into the cutting region 17 and, for example, at different speeds. Furthermore, the control device 53 can be configured to control the rotations of the blades 19 and 21 and in particular to vary their rotational speeds during one revolution, as is described below. For this purpose, the control device 53 can comprise a microprocessor and/or a CPU, for example.

[0102] As FIG. 4 shows, the center support 31 has four first mandrels 35 which extend perpendicular to the feed direction Z and onto which the first conveying means 25 or its base part 33 can be plugged. Four second mandrels 37 are likewise provided perpendicular to the feed direction Z and opposite to the first mandrels 35 for the plugging on of the second conveying means 27. This makes it possible to selectively connect the conveying means 25 and 27 to the center support 31 or to release them therefrom in a simple manner so that the conveying means 25 and 27 can, for example, be removed from the product feed 23 in a fast and uncomplicated manner for cleaning purposes. Furthermore, due to such a modular design of the product feed 23, a use of the same and exchangeable components can be achieved and the attachment or assembly of the conveying means 25 and 27 can also be facilitated. To reliably hold the conveying means 25 and 27 in a predefined position, in particular during a cutting operation, fixing elements can furthermore be provided that can be plugged onto or screwed onto the mandrels 35 and 37 to prevent the conveying means 25 and 27 from slipping off from the mandrels 35 and 37.

[0103] As can in particular be seen from FIG. 5A, the first blade 19 is held in a first blade mount 45 and the second blade 21 is held in a second blade mount 47. Furthermore, the blades 19 and 21 are oriented in mirror symmetry with one another with respect to the already mentioned vertical separation plane that is defined by the center support 31 and that extends in parallel with the feed direction Z and centrally between the conveying means 25 and 27.

[0104] Provision can be made that the blades 19 and 21 or the associated blade mounts 45 and 47 can be set into rotations in opposite senses by the control device 53. It can thereby, for example, be achieved that products 13 or 15 removed from different halves of an animal are processed simultaneously by means of the cutting apparatus 11 and that the cutting processes can take place ideally adapted to the respective products. For example, the products 13 and 15 of different halves of an animal can be sorted onto the conveying means 25 and 27 such that a bone is, for example, always guided into the cutting region 17 in a manner inwardly disposed or outwardly disposed on both the first conveying means 25 and the second conveying means 27 with respect to said separation plane. Due to the rotation in opposite senses of the blades 19 and 21 arranged in mirror symmetry with one another, an approximately uniform cut can in this respect be performed for both products 13 and 15, with in particular the bone being able to be cut through first or last. Such a sorting can in particular take place automatically by means of the distribution and sorting device 79 shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B.

[0105] The blades 19 and 21 are configured as one-armed scythe-like blades having narrow knife blades 49. This makes it possible to design the blades 19 and 21 with a relatively low weight so that the blades 19 and 21 can be accelerated and decelerated during a rotation for cutting off a slice and/or a piece. Such a deceleration of the blades 19 and 21, for example caused by the control device 53, during a rotation can increase the time available for a feeding into the cutting region 17 during which the blades 19 and 21 do not engage into the products 13 and 15. Accordingly, the products 13 and 15 can be fed sufficiently far into the cutting region 17 to be able to cut off relatively thick slices or large pieces. Due to an acceleration of the blades 19 and 21 that follows a deceleration, the cutting forces can be generated that are necessary for cutting off a slice or a piece and that are in particular high for processing fresh meat products. However, provision can in particular also be made in dependence on the respective product 13 to be processed and/or on the slice thickness or piece thickness to drive the blades 19 and 21 at a rotational speed that is constant during a blade rotation.

[0106] The respective blade edges 51 of the blades 19 and 21 first extend in the shape of an Archimedean spiral, starting from the respective blade mount 45 or 47, and extend in the shape of a logarithmic spiral toward the blade tips 93. This design of the blade edges 51 of the blades 19 and 21 can make it possible to always perform a pulling cut during a rotation of the blades 19 and 21 for cutting off a slice or a piece from the products 13 and 15 to be able to perform said cut precisely and without the occurrence of large force peaks. Furthermore, the blade edges 51 can be at least partly toothed in particular in order to enable a cutting through of bones which fresh meat products to be processed may have, for example.

[0107] Alternatively to this, the blades 19 and 21 can, for example, also be configured as scythe-like blades having wide knife blades or as circular blades. In addition, the blades 19 and 21 can be formed with smooth blade edges. An ideally adapted blade 19 or 21 can in particular be selectively inserted into the respective blade mount 45 or 47 and in dependence on a product 13 to be processed.

[0108] As in particular FIGS. 2B and 5B show, a blade guide 55 is arranged in the cutting region 17 and has a rear boundary 61 and respective front boundaries 59 for the blades 19 and 21, wherein only the front boundary 59 for the second blade 21 is shown. In this respect, the rear boundary 61 and the front boundary 59 form a respective peripheral gap 57 in which the blades 19 and 21 revolve and in which the cutting plane S extends. Due to the arrangement of the blades 19 and 21 in such a peripheral gap 57, the blades 19 and 21 can be reliably and stably guided with respect to the feed direction Z and a possible deflection, bending or tilting of the blades 19 and 21 due to force peaks or blows occurring during a cut can be counteracted. A boundary attachment 85 shown in FIG. 5A is provided to also closely guide the blade 21 in the direction of the rear boundary 61 during a cut and to compensate the offset of the blade 21 from the rear boundary 61 caused by the connection of the blade mount 47 to the rear boundary 61. A similar boundary attachment 85 can also be provided for the blade 19.

[0109] Furthermore, the rear boundary 61 has a respective rear passage 65 for the products 13 and 15 through which the products 13 and 15 enter the cutting region 17. The front boundary 59 has a front passage 63 in alignment therewith so that the rear boundary 61 and the front boundary 59 form a frame-like passage for the products 13 and 15 into the cutting region 17 in addition to the peripheral gap 57 for the blades 19 and 21. A defined guidance of the products 13 and 15 into the cutting region 17 as well as a positioning and a support during the cutting off of a slice or of a piece can thereby be achieved, wherein in particular the rear passage 65 can act as a blade edge and can so-to-say form the end of the product feed 23.

[0110] As, for example, FIGS. 5A and 5B show, the blades 19 and 21 cover the maximum clearance of the passages 63 and 65 so that the blades 19 and 21 are at all times during a cut supported and guided at both sides by the rear boundary 61 and the front boundary 59 both at the ends held by the blade mounts 45 and 47 and at the blade tips 93. The blade tips 93 are thus never free in the passages 63 or 65 so that forces acting on the blades 19 and 21 in the feed direction Z can always be led off at both sides to the boundaries 59 and 61.

[0111] Whereas the blades 19 and 21 in FIG. 5A are arranged offset from one another in the radial direction with respect to their axes of rotation such that the paths described by the blades 19 and 21 during a rotation do not overlap, provision can also be made that the blades 19 and 21 revolve in cutting planes S offset in parallel from one another and can at least partly overlap, in particular with their blade tips 93, during a rotation. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the blades 19 and 21 can be arranged with a smaller spacing from one another in the radial direction to be able to achieve a design of the cutting apparatus 11 that is as narrow as possible.

REFERENCE NUMERAL LIST

[0112] 11 cutting apparatus [0113] 13 first product [0114] 15 second product [0115] 17 cutting region [0116] 19 first blade [0117] 21 second blade [0118] 23 product feed [0119] 25 first conveying means [0120] 27 second conveying means [0121] 28 support structure [0122] 29 frame [0123] 31 center support [0124] 33 base part [0125] 35 first mandrel [0126] 37 second mandrel [0127] 39 first drive [0128] 41 second drive [0129] 43 conveyor belt [0130] 45 first blade mount [0131] 47 second blade mount [0132] 49 knife blade [0133] 51 blade edge [0134] 53 control device [0135] 55 blade guide [0136] 57 peripheral gap [0137] 59 front boundary [0138] 61 rear boundary [0139] 63 front passage [0140] 65 rear passage [0141] 67 portioning region [0142] 71 conveying device arranged downstream [0143] 73 conveyor belt [0144] 75 product holder [0145] 77 press [0146] 79 distribution and/or sorting device [0147] 81 switch cabinet [0148] 83 feed [0149] 85 boundary attachment [0150] 87 processing line [0151] 89 introduction section [0152] 91 introduction device [0153] 93 blade tip [0154] 95 guide of the product holder [0155] S cutting plane [0156] Z feed direction