Cutting head for a centrifugal cutting apparatus and centrifugal cutting apparatus equipped with same

Abstract

A cutting head for a centrifugal cutting apparatus includes a rim structure; and a plurality of cutting stations which are mounted onto the rim structure, each of said cutting stations comprising a cutting element for cutting food products at a leading end of the cutting station and a product sliding surface between the leading end and a trailing end of the cutting station. The cutting stations are assembled adjacent one another onto the rim structure in such a way that a gap is present between each pair of adjacent cutting stations through which a product slice exits the cutting head upon being cut by one of the cutting elements. The product sliding surface has a first wall curvature on a front part and deviates from the first wall curvature on a rear part.

Claims

1. A cutting head for a centrifugal cutting apparatus, said cutting head comprising a rim structure; and a plurality of cutting stations which are mounted onto the rim structure, each of said cutting stations comprising a cutting element for cutting food products at a leading end of the cutting station and a product sliding surface between the leading end and a trailing end of the cutting station, said cutting stations being assembled adjacent one another onto the rim structure in such a way that a gap is present between each pair of adjacent cutting stations through which a product slice exits the cutting head upon being cut by one of the cutting elements; wherein the leading end of each cutting station comprises a knife holder and the trailing end of each cutting station comprises a rear part, wherein the product sliding surface is formed from inner surfaces of the knife holder and the rear part; and wherein the product sliding surface has a first wall curvature on the knife holder and deviates from the first wall curvature on the rear part.

2. The cutting head of claim 1, wherein the first wall curvature corresponds to the inner diameter of the cutting head.

3. The cutting head of claim 1, wherein each cutting station comprises one or more bolts.

4. The cutting head of claim 1, wherein each cutting element is a knife blade.

5. The cutting head of claim 4, wherein each cutting station further comprises a clamp for clamping the knife blade onto the leading end of the cutting station.

6. The cutting head of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of cutting stations are identical and evenly spaced around the rim.

7. The cutting head of claim 1, wherein the sliding surface of each cutting station has a corrugated shape.

8. The cutting head of claim 1, wherein the sliding surface of each cutting station is smooth.

9. The cutting head of claim 1, wherein a gap setting mechanism causes the rear part of the product sliding surface to deviate from the first curvature.

10. A method of gap setting between adjacent cutting stations in a centrifugal cutting head, the method comprising: mounting a plurality of cutting stations on a rim structure adjacent one another such that a gap is present between each pair of adjacent cutting stations through which a product slice exits the cutting head upon being cut, each cutting station comprising a cutting element at a leading end and an inner product sliding surface with a front portion and a back portion, wherein the leading end of each cutting station comprises a knife holder and the trailing end of each cutting station comprises a rear part and wherein the product sliding surface is formed from inner surfaces of the knife holder and the rear part, wherein the front portion which is on the knife holder has a first wall curvature and wherein the back portion is on the rear part; and adjusting only the back portion of the product sliding surface on at least one of the plurality of cutting stations, so as to deviate from the first wall curvature.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of adjusting only the back portion of the product sliding surface comprises deviating the back portion of the product sliding surface without affecting the front portion.

12. The cutting head of claim 1, wherein the product sliding surface is a continuous surface from the knife holder to the rear part.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the wherein the product sliding surface is a continuous surface from the knife holder to the rear part.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The present invention will be discussed in more detail below, with reference to the attached drawings.

(2) FIG. 1 shows a side view of a cutting head according to the invention.

(3) FIG. 2 shows a cross-section of the cutting head along line A-A of FIG. 1.

(4) FIG. 3 shows a detail of a cutting head of the prior art.

(5) FIG. 4 shows a detail of a cutting head according to the invention.

(6) FIG. 5 shows a detail of another cutting head according to the invention.

(7) FIG. 6 shows a cross-section of yet another cutting apparatus according to the invention.

(8) FIG. 7 shows a detail of FIG. 6

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

(9) The present invention will be described with respect to particular embodiments and with reference to certain drawings but the invention is not limited thereto but only by the claims. The drawings described are only schematic and are non-limiting. In the drawings, the size of some of the elements may be exaggerated and not drawn on scale for illustrative purposes. The dimensions and the relative dimensions do not necessarily correspond to actual reductions to practice of the invention.

(10) Furthermore, the terms first, second, third and the like in the description and in the claims, are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a sequential or chronological order. The terms are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and the embodiments of the invention can operate in other sequences than described or illustrated herein.

(11) Moreover, the terms top, bottom, over, under and the like in the description and the claims are used for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for describing relative positions. The terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and the embodiments of the invention described herein can operate in other orientations than described or illustrated herein.

(12) Furthermore, the various embodiments, although referred to as “preferred” are to be construed as exemplary manners in which the invention may be implemented rather than as limiting the scope of the invention.

(13) The term “comprising”, used in the claims, should not be interpreted as being restricted to the elements or steps listed thereafter; it does not exclude other elements or steps. It needs to be interpreted as specifying the presence of the stated features, integers, steps or components as referred to, but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps or components, or groups thereof. Thus, the scope of the expression “a device comprising A and B” should not be limited to devices consisting only of components A and B, rather with respect to the present invention, the only enumerated components of the device are A and B, and further the claim should be interpreted as including equivalents of those components.

(14) FIG. 1 shows a cutting head 100 for a centrifugal cutting apparatus, according to the an embodiment of the invention, comprising a plurality of cutting stations 101, 201, 301, each provided with a cutting element 105, 205, 305 for cutting food products at a leading end 104, 204, 304 of the cutting station, and having an inner wall 110, 210, 310 which forms a product sliding surface and extends from the leading end up to the trailing end 107, 207, 307 of the cutting station. The cutting stations 101, 201, 301 are assembled adjacent one another in such a way that a gap 109 (see FIGS. 3-5) is present between each pair of adjacent cutting stations.

(15) The size of the gap 109 sets the slice thickness. The size of the gap is commonly known to refer to the offset in radial direction between the rear part 108′, 108″ of the product sliding surface 110, at the trailing end 107 of the one cutting station 101, and the front edge of the cutting element 205 at the leading end 204 of the other cutting station 201. The size of the gap can be adjusted by means of gap setting elements, embodiments of which will be described below.

(16) The so-called “rake-off angle” θ.sub.R is defined as the angle that a product slice deviates upon being cut by the cutting element 205 and being pushed through the gap 109 (by an impeller paddle, not shown). This angle is measured relative to a tangent line to the rear part of the product sliding surface of the preceding cutting station. According to the invention, for each cutting station 101, 201, 301 the rear part 108′, 108″ (see FIGS. 4 and 5) of the product sliding surface is adapted to reduce the rake-off angle θ.sub.R below 17°, preferably below 16°, more preferably between 12° and 15°.

(17) As shown in FIGS. 3-5, the cutting elements 105, 205 of each cutting station 101, 201 are clamped onto the leading end 104, 204 of the cutting station by means of a clamp 106, 206. The cutting station, cutting element and clamp together form a knife assembly, embodiments of which have been described at length in WO2015075179 and WO2015075180, the descriptions of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

(18) In alternative embodiments, the cutting elements 105, 205 may also be formed by single-piece knives or cutting elements which are fixed to the cutting station without a clamp. In such embodiments, the rake-off angle θ.sub.R may be further reduced and even be 0° if the rear part 108′, 108″ extends parallel to the outer surface of the knife (the top surface of the knife on the outside of the cutting head).

(19) Each cutting station 101, 201, 301 has a concave inner wall 110, 210, 310 with a wall curvature R1.sup.−1 corresponding to an inner diameter of the cutting head 100. The adapted rear part 108′, 108″ of the product sliding surface may for example be embodied as a rear part 108′ with a reduced curvature R2.sup.−1 with respect to said wall curvature R1.sup.−1 (as shown in FIG. 4), or as a substantially straight surface 108″ which is then preferably tangent to the concave part of the inner wall 110 (as shown in FIG. 5), or otherwise. The rear part 108′, 108″ may for example have a length of 3 to 30 mm, preferably 5 to 20 mm.

(20) In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, 5, the cutting stations are separately or individually mounted onto a rim structure 102, 103 by means of bolts 112 and the gap setting elements are spacers 111 mounted in between the leading and/or trailing ends of the cutting stations and the rim structure. This principle has been described at length in EP2918384, the description of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

(21) In an alternative embodiment (not shown), the cutting stations are assembled to each other at overlapping parts at the leading and trailing ends, said gap setting elements being spacers which are mounted between the overlapping parts. This principle has been described at length in WO2013045684, the description of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

(22) The cutting head 100 may be configured for cutting flat slices and may therefore be equipped with flat or straight knife assemblies as described at length in WO2015075179, the description of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

(23) The cutting head 100 shown in the figures is configured for cutting corrugated slices and is therefore equipped with corrugated knife assemblies as described at length in WO2015075180, the description of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Each cutting station 101, 201, 301 may have an inner wall 110, 210, 310 with a corrugated shape corresponding to that of the corrugated slices, so as to better ensure that the cuts are aligned.

(24) More in detail, the invention is described with reference to FIGS. 3-5.

(25) FIG. 3 shows a detail of a prior art cutting head of the applicant. The inner wall 110 of the cutting stations 101, 201, 301 is entirely corresponding to the inner diameter of the cutting head and has a curvature R1.sup.−1. The rake-off angle θ.sub.R1 is measured between the tangent line T1 to the product sliding surface 110 at the trailing end 107 and the line TC which is drawn on the slanted surface of the clamp 206 and which is the direction along which a product slice exits the cutting head. In FIG. 3, the rake-off angle θ.sub.R1 is 20.5°.

(26) FIG. 4 shows a detail of a first embodiment according to the invention. The inner wall 110 has a main concave part 108 which corresponds to the inner diameter of the cutting head and has the curvature R1.sup.−1, and a rear part 108′ which has a reduced curvature R2.sup.−1 and which, as a result, deviates radially outward. As a result of this outward deviation, the rake-off angle θ.sub.R2 which is here measured between the tangent line T2 to the rear part 108′ and the line TC, is reduced with respect to FIG. 3. In FIG. 4, the rake-off angle θ.sub.R2 is about 15°.

(27) FIG. 5 shows a detail of a second embodiment according to the invention. The inner wall 110, 210 has a main concave part 108, 208 which corresponds to the inner diameter of the cutting head and has the curvature R1.sup.−1, and a rear part 108″ which is straight (the curvature is 0) and tangent to the end of the main concave part 108, and which, as a result, deviates radially outward. As a result of this outward deviation, the rake-off angle θ.sub.R3 which is here measured between the tangent line T3 to the rear part 108″ (T3 is also the direction of the straight part 108″) and the line TC, is further reduced with respect to FIG. 4. In FIG. 5, the rake-off angle θ.sub.R3 is 13.5°. For example, the rear part 108″ may extend substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the knife blade 205.

(28) The adapted rear parts 108′, 108″ of the embodiments of FIGS. 4 and 5 can for example be obtained by milling off a part of the inner wall of the cutting station near the trailing end 107. Other manufacturing methods are also possible.

(29) The cutting apparatus 400 shown in FIG. 6 is of the type comprising a cylindrical drum 401 with a single cutting element 405. A section 402 of the drum leading up to the cutting element 405 is movably mounted, in particular pivotally mounted, such that the position of the product sliding surface 410 with respect to the cutting element 405 and hence the slice thickness can be adjusted. An impeller (not shown) circulates the product to be cut inside the drum, so that the product is pushed against the inner wall of the drum by centrifugal force. Applicant manufactures and sells cutting apparatuses of this type under the brand “ILC”.

(30) In FIG. 6, such an apparatus 400 is shown but adapted according to the invention. The product sliding surface of the movable section 402 has a main concave part 408 and a rear part 408′, which is modified in the same way as described for the rear part of the cutting stations of the other embodiments described herein so as to reduce the “rake-off angle”. In particular, the rear part 408′ deviates outward and has a reduced curvature with respect to that of the inner wall of the drum 401 and the main part 408 of the movable section 402. In preferred embodiments, the rear part 408′ may be straight. The cutting element 405 may be formed by a single-piece knife which is fixed to the drum without a clamp. In this embodiment, the rake-off angle θ.sub.R may be 0° if the rear part 408′, extends parallel to the outer surface of the knife (the top surface of the knife on the outside of the drum). In alternative embodiments, a knife assembly such as has been described herein for the embodiments of FIGS. 1-5 may also be used in this type of apparatus 400.

(31) While the invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

REFERENCE LIST

(32) 100 cutting head 101, 201, 301 cutting station 102, 103 rim structure 104, 204, 304 leading end of cutting station 105, 205, 305 cutting element 106, 206 clamp 107, 207, 307 trailing end of cutting station 108, 208 main concave part 108′, 108″ rear part 109 gap 110, 210, 310 inner wall/product sliding surface 111 spacer 112 bolt R1.sup.−1 inner wall curvature T1, T2, T3, TC tangent line R2.sup.−1 reduced curvature θ.sub.R1, θ.sub.R2, θ.sub.R3 rake-off angle 400 cutting apparatus 401 drum 402 movable section 405 cutting element 408 main concave part 408′ rear part 410 inner wall/product sliding surface