Blade, slicing machine equipped therewith and method of operating the slicing machine

Abstract

A rotatable blade with a front side and a back side, for use in a slicing machine, includes a curved peripheral edge formed as a cutting edge defining a blade plane. On the back side of the blade, the cutting edge is adjoined by a first surface which is inclined obliquely to the blade plane, extends radially inwards and is at an acute cutting angle to the blade plane. A second surface of the blade follows the first surface radially inwards on the back side of the blade, and the blade has a same thickness over an entire radial extension of the second surface.

Claims

1. A rotatable blade with a front side and a back side, for use in a slicing machine, the blade comprising: a curved peripheral edge formed as a cutting edge defining a blade plane, wherein on the back side of the blade, the cutting edge is adjoined by a first surface which is inclined obliquely to the blade plane, extends radially inwards relative to a blade axis of the blade and is at an acute cutting angle to the blade plane, wherein a second surface of the blade follows the first surface radially inwards on the back side of the blade, and the blade generally has a same thickness in an axial direction over an entire radial extension of the second surface, wherein, on the back side of the blade, radially further inwards from the second surface, there are multiple connecting surfaces which are each axially further away from the blade plane than the second surface, and at least an axial distance between a first connecting surface of the multiple connecting surfaces and the second surface is bridged by a deflector shoulder on the back side, which is inclined obliquely to the blade plane, wherein the second surface is arranged radially between the first surface and the deflector shoulder, each connecting surface of the multiple connecting surfaces runs parallel to the blade plane, and each transition from one to another connecting surface of the multiple connecting surfaces is configured as an additional deflector shoulder.

2. The blade according to claim 1, wherein the first connecting surface is positioned adjacent the deflector shoulder and extends radially inward of the deflector shoulder, and the deflector shoulder projects further beyond the blade plane transversely to the blade plane than the first connecting surface.

3. The blade according to claim 1, wherein the deflector shoulder has a larger deflection angle in a radial direction to the blade plane than the first surface.

4. The blade according to claim 1, wherein thicknesses of the blade over the entire radial extension of the second surface differ by less than 0.5 mm.

5. The blade according to claim 4, wherein the thicknesses of the blade over the entire radial extension of the second surface differ by less than 0.3 mm.

6. The blade according to claim 4, wherein the thicknesses of the blade over the entire radial extension of the second surface differ by less than 0.1 mm.

7. The blade according to claim 1, wherein the cutting edge is a finite cutting edge in a shape of a circular-segment disc or sickle.

8. The blade according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the blade over the radial extension of the second surface is a maximum of 2 mm, and the radial extension of the second surface is a maximum of 20 mm.

9. The blade according to claim 8, wherein the thickness of the blade over the radial extension of the second surface is a maximum of 1.1 mm, and the radial extension of the second surface is a maximum of 11 mm.

10. The blade according to claim 8, wherein the thickness of the blade over the radial extension of the second surface is a maximum of 1.5 mm, and the radial extension of the second surface is a maximum of 15 mm.

11. A slicing machine comprising: a cutting unit with the rotatable blade according to claim 1, and a product support for receiving a product.

12. The slicing machine according to claim 11, wherein when the blade has a finite, curved cutting edge and the blade axis is stationary during operation, a shape of the cutting edge is configured in such a way that, when the blade dips into a product to be cut, the cutting edge contacts the product with a tension factor of at least 1:15.

13. A method for operating the slicing machine according to claim 11, wherein an oscillating movement of the blade axis relative to the product support is controlled in such a way that, for the purpose of dipping the blade into the product to be cut, contact of the cutting edge with the product to be cut takes place shortly after reversal of movement of the blade axis at its point furthest away from the product support.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the oscillating movement of the blade axis relative to the product support is controlled so that the cutting edge contacts the product to be cut with a tension factor of at least 1:15.

15. The blade according to claim 1, wherein the second surface adjoins at least one of the first surface or the deflector shoulder.

16. The blade according to claim 1, wherein the second surface adjoins the first surface and the deflector shoulder.

17. The blade according to claim 1, wherein the first connecting surface is spaced axially away from the blade plane by a first distance, and the multiple connecting surfaces include a second connecting surface that is spaced axially away from the blade plane by a second distance that is different than the first distance.

18. A rotatable blade with a front side and a back side, for use in a slicing machine, the blade comprising: a curved peripheral edge formed as a cutting edge defining a blade plane; a first surface on the back side of the blade that adjoins the cutting edge, wherein the first surface is inclined obliquely to the blade plane, extends radially inward relative to a blade axis of the blade and is at an acute cutting angle to the blade plane; a second surface on the back side of the blade positioned radially inward of the first surface, wherein the second surface runs parallel to the blade plane; multiple connecting surfaces on the back side of the blade, wherein a first connecting surface of the multiple connecting surfaces is positioned radially further inward from the second surface, and the first connecting surface is axially further away from the blade plane than the second surface; and a deflector shoulder that bridges an axial distance between the first connecting surface and the second surface, wherein the deflector shoulder is inclined obliquely to the blade plane; wherein the second surface is arranged radially between the first surface and the deflector shoulder, the first connecting surface runs parallel to the blade plane, and the first connecting surface is arranged directly adjacent the deflector shoulder.

19. The blade according to claim 18, wherein thicknesses of the blade over an entire radial extension of the second surface differs by less than 0.5 mm.

20. The blade according to claim 18, wherein the multiple connecting surfaces comprise a second connecting surface that runs parallel to the blade plane, and the blade further comprises an additional deflector shoulder positioned between the first connecting surface and the second connecting surface.

21. A slicing machine comprising: a cutting unit with the blade according to claim 18, and a product support for receiving a product.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Types of exemplary embodiments according to the invention are described in more detail below as examples, with reference to the following drawings which show:

(2) FIG. 1a: a slicing machine cut in longitudinal pressing direction with a sickle blade,

(3) FIG. 1b: A slicing machine with a circular disk-shaped blade or a circular segment-shaped blade in the same viewing direction,

(4) FIG. 2a: the slicing machine as shown in FIG. 1a, viewed in the longitudinal pressing direction from the cutting end of the forming tube,

(5) FIG. 2b: the slicing machine according to FIG. 1b, viewed in longitudinal pressing direction from the slicing end of the forming tube,

(6) FIG. 3: a radial cut through the sickle blade of FIGS. 1a and 2a,

(7) FIG. 3a: a detail enlargement of this,

(8) FIGS. 3b, c: Detail enlargements from FIG. 3a with different transition between the regrinding area and the rest of the blade cross-section.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(9) FIGS. 1a and 2a show state-of-the-art slicing machines, whereby the front views in accordance with FIGS. 2a and 2b already show the design of the blade 3 according to the invention, the cross-section of which will be explained in more detail in FIGS. 3-3c.

(10) The slicing machines according to FIGS. 1a, 1b, 2a and 2b have on the one hand—in addition to the base frame 13 of the machine—a cutting unit 2, which also includes the rotating blade 3, and on the other hand a product support 12′ directed diagonally downwards towards the blade 3, on which the product P to be sliced, in particular a grown piece of meat, rests and is pushed forward in steps for slicing into slices S.

(11) In this case, the product support 12′ is not a simple support surface, but a circumferentially closed form tube 12, which is open on both ends and in which the product P is not only pushed forwards for cutting by a longitudinal press stamp 14, but can also be pressed in the longitudinal direction by this longitudinal press stamp 14 beforehand, so that the product P has a uniform cross-section over the length by resting against the inner circumference of the form tube cavity 15.

(12) The stop plate 16 can be used as a stop in the longitudinal pressing direction 10 for the pressing process. This stop plate 16 can be adjusted to a certain thickness setting d in the form of a distance in the longitudinal pressing direction 10 from the front end, the cutting end 12a of the form tube 12, for cutting off the slices S. However, the stop plate 16 can also be used as a longitudinal stop when pressing the product P by direct contact to the front end face of the form tube 12, since the stop plate 16 has a size that can completely cover the cross-section of the form tube cavity 15 at the cutting end 12a.

(13) The stop plate 16 can either be attached to the base frame 13 and be adjustable in its axial position as shown in FIG. 1a or be attached to the blade carrier 2a as shown in FIG. 1b.

(14) This depends on whether the blade 3 is a sickle blade 3 according to FIGS. 1a and 2a, or a circular disk-shaped blade or a circular segment-shaped blade according to FIGS. 1b and 2b:

(15) In the sickle-shaped blade 3, the outer circumferential edge, designed as cutting edge 3a, has an increasing distance from the rotary object 3′ in the direction of travel. At the end of the cutting edge 3a, this largest distance between the cutting edge 3a and the rotation axis 3′ is much larger than the smallest distance between the rotation axis 3′ and the part of the circumference that is not manufactured as cutting edge 3a, as the radial extension of the form tube cavity 15 or the product P.

(16) In contrast to FIGS. 1a and 2a, in which the circular disk-shaped blade 3 only comes out of the overlap with the form tube cavity 15 by moving the entire blade 3 including the blade axis 3′ oscillating in the direction of penetration 9 in the direction of form tube 12 so that the form tube cavity 15 is completely within the flight circle and the real blade 3.

(17) The latter is particularly important if, instead of a circular disk-shaped blade, it is a segmented circular blade in which the cutting edge 3a, which is concentric with the blade axis 3′, extends over only part of the circumference.

(18) FIGS. 1a, 1b, 2a and 2b show a slicing machine 1 with two parallel adjacent form tube cavities 15, here formed in a single form tube 12, whereby the blade 3 cuts a slice S from each of the two products P located in the two form tube cavities 15 during a separation process, in which it has a correspondingly large diameter or circle of flight.

(19) Accordingly, in FIG. 1a, the solution with a sickle-shaped blade 3 is attached with its blade axis 3′, which in this case also runs in the longitudinal pressing direction 10, to a blade carrier 2a of the cutting unit 2, which is fixed to the base frame 13.

(20) In contrast, in the case of FIG. 1b with circular disk-shaped blade 3 or circular segment-shaped blade 3, the blade carrier 2a, in which the blade axis 3′ of the blade 3 is mounted, can be moved in a first cross direction 11.1 to the longitudinal pressing direction 10 in relation to the base frame 13 of the slicing machine 1 in an oscillating manner and driven accordingly.

(21) The stop plate 16 is also attached to the blade carrier 2a, since it should move together with the blade 3 oscillating in the first cross direction 11.1, the penetration direction 9, which in this case is perpendicular to the cutting edge tangent 8. The inventive design of the blade 3 is better seen in FIGS. 3-3c, which show a section through the blade 3 in a radial plane to the blade axis 3′:

(22) FIG. 3 shows a sickle-shaped blade 3 in a radial cut that runs through the blade axis 3′. However, the area near the cutting edge 3a relevant for the present invention is in this sectional view the same for a sickle-shaped blade and for acircular disk-shaped or circular segment shaped blade as shown enlarged in FIG. 3a, of which FIG. 3b again shows an enlargement near the cutting edge 3a during the cutting off of a slice S.

(23) However, the simplest version according to the invention is visible in the sectional view of FIG. 3c:

(24) The plate-shaped blade 3 has a cutting edge 3a in the form of a sharply ground outer circumferential edge, whereby grinding is only performed from one side:

(25) Therefore, the cutting edge 3a is formed by the blade front side 3.1, which is flat in the radially outermost area and thus also lies in the blade plane 3″, on the one hand, and a first surface or grinded surface 4, which is inclined thereto, on the other hand, which runs along the circumference and preferably everywhere along the circumference has the same cutting angle α in relation to the blade plane 3″ and, when viewed from above, i.e. in the direction of the blade axis 3′, also has the same width, as can best be seen in FIGS. 2a and 2b.

(26) The radially inner end of the grinded surface 4, which is higher than the blade plane 3″, is followed by a second surface or connecting surface 5 which extends radially further inwards over a so-called regrinding area 4*.

(27) However, the most important thing is that this first connecting surface is parallel to the front side 3.1 of the blade, i.e. blade 3 in radial direction along the regrinding area 4* has the same thickness D everywhere, both in radial direction and circumferential direction within this regrinding area 4*.

(28) This has the advantage that when regrinding the blade 3—whereby the abrasive is always applied to the grinded surface 4 over its entire radial extension, and by material removal this grinded surface 4 is moved further radially inwards towards the blade axis 3′ with a constant cutting angle α—the blade 3 retains the regrinding area 4* in its outermost area the same thickness D over the entire duration of its use, because the maximum regrinding is carried out to the radially inner end of the regrinding area 4*.

(29) Due to the small thickness D in the regrinding area described above, it is obvious that the radial extension of the regrinding area 4* must not be too large in relation to this in order not to impair the stability of the blade in its radially outer area.

(30) A further connection surface 5.1 is arranged radially from the connecting surface 5—which is an annular or partially annular surface—which in this case again runs parallel to the blade plane 3″, i.e. usually also the front side 3.1 of the blade, but is axially spaced from it at a greater distance than the connecting surface 5, which is located in the regrinding area 4*.

(31) The axial height difference between them is overcome by a 6″ deflector shoulder, which is positioned at a deflection angle β to the blade plane 3″, progressively in radial direction.

(32) This deflector shoulder 6″ serves to ensure that the slice S cut off from the cutting edge 3a is not only deflected from the blade plane 3″ by the grinded surface 4 alone and deflected slightly in the axial direction 10—as can be seen more clearly in FIG. 3b—but is also supported by the deflector shoulder 6″ which, at least with its upper edge, also rests on the slice S already cut off and deflects it further in the axial direction 10, in the direction of the blade axis 3′.

(33) This is because the more defined the guidance of the partially separated disk S away from the separation point, the more correctly, i.e. in the correct position and without any creases, the disk S is dropped onto the intended impact point, which is usually located on a conveyor or in a collecting tray.

(34) For this purpose, the deflector shoulder 6″ can also be designed axially longer than the axial difference between the two adjoining connecting surfaces 5 and 5.1 would allow with an unchanged deflection angle β, in that the deflector surface 6″ extends in the axial direction even beyond the radially outer edge of the radially inner adjoining next connecting surface 5.1 and forms a deflector bead 6, which generally runs parallel and concentrically to the cutting edge 3a along its entire extension.

(35) As shown in FIG. 3a, the outermost connecting surface 5, which defines the regrinding area 4*, can be joined radially inwards by other connecting surfaces 5.1, 5.2, 5.3.

(36) The other connecting surfaces from 5.1 can run parallel to the blade plane 3″ or be inclined to it, i.e. radially inwards towards the blade axis 3′ with increasing distance to the blade plane 3″.

(37) Furthermore, the deflector shoulder 6″ between the individual connecting surfaces does not have to be designed as a deflector bead.

(38) As especially FIGS. 3b and 3c show, the deflection angle β is usually larger than the cutting angle α.

(39) Furthermore, FIG. 3a shows that the blade 3 can also have a concave indentation 7 on its front side 3.1 and can therefore be a bowl-shaped or dish-shaped blade, whereby, viewed radially from the outside inwards, the indentation 7 preferably starts further inwards from the radially inner end of the regrinding area 4*, in this case at the connection surface 5.2, in order to ensure that the thickness of the blade 3 does not fall below a specified blade thickness in any radial area.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

(40) 1 slicing machine 2 cutting unit 2a blade carrier 3 blades 3′ blade axis, rotation axis 3″ blade plane 3.1 front side 3.2 rear side 3a cutting edge 4 grinded surface 4* regrinding area 5.1, 5.2 connecting surface 6 deflector bead 6″ deflector shoulder 7 indentation 8 cutting edge tangent 9 penetration direction 10 longitudinal pressing direction, axial direction 11.1, 11.2 cross direction 12 form tube 12a cutting end 12′ product support 13 base frame 14 longitudinal press stamp 15 form tube cavity 16 stop plate α cutting angle β deflection angle d thickness, thickness adjustment (slice) D thickness (regrinding area) P product, material to be cut S slice