EP0030061B1 - Bread cutting machine - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a machine for cutting bread, consisting of a frame on which are mounted knives or saw blades driven in a vertical reciprocating movement, in a cutting table, in a pusher disposed above the table for acting on the bread, secured to a movable carriage, and at least one spring connected directly or indirectly by one end to the carriage to move the carriage and the pusher in the cutting direction by pushing the bread towards the saw blades.

The bread cutting machines known to date can in principle be divided into two categories, namely the bread cutting machines with manual control and the bread cutting machines with automatic operation.

Bread cutting machines of the first category are essentially characterized in that there is a control lever which, for each bread which it is desired to cut, must be pulled down in the opposite direction to the action of suitable springs, in order to move the pusher back and thus provide between said saw blades and the pusher a space for the bread to be cut, after which said control lever is calmly released until said pusher pushes the bread and that the latter comes into contact with said saw blades. A machine of this type is disclosed by GB-A-670,144.

On this category of machines, it is at this time the tensile force of said springs, which are connected to said pushers, which leads the bread through the curtain of said saw blades to divide it into slices.

A disadvantage of these manually controlled machines consists in the relatively large effort which, once the bread is cut, is necessary to bring said pusher back by means of said control lever, which, especially when one has to cut successively a relatively large number large of loaves, is very tiring, which is certainly the case when the bread cutting machine is operated by a store lady and more particularly when this store lady is small.

A great advantage of this category of bread cutting machines is that, during cutting, you can influence the cutting operation, either by pushing the control lever up, which has the effect of increasing the action said springs, if we are dealing with hard bread, or by retaining the lever to reduce the action of said springs, if we are dealing with very fresh bread.

The automatic machines of said second category are constituted in principle in the same way as the machines of the first category, but in this case, between said pusher and a fixed part of the machine, a device is provided, for example a motor, a push cylinder or the like, which controls the movement of said pusher so as, on the one hand, to make room for the bread to be cut and, on the other hand, to push said pusher, at constant or adjustable speed, towards and along said saw blades for cutting bread. Such a machine was revealed by DE-C-223120.

A serious drawback of this latter category of machines is that the hardness, respectively the freshness, of the bread to be cut cannot be taken into account, so that the speed at which said pusher is moved towards the saw blades must be determined so as to be suitable for cutting fresh bread, with the disadvantage that cutting harder bread on such machines is relatively slow.

An advantage of these machines, however, is that no effort is required to introduce the bread, while for start-up, simply push a button which, appropriately, starts an engine, a thrust cylinder or the like, which controls said pusher.

The present invention relates to a bread cutting machine which completely excludes the drawbacks of the two aforementioned categories of bread cutting machines and which, on the other hand, combines in a single machine the advantages of the two aforementioned categories of machines.

For this purpose, according to the present invention, the bread cutting machine is executed in such a way that the backward movement of said pusher, after a bread has been cut, is obtained automatically by means of a motor, a thrust cylinder or the like, while the forward movement of said plunger, i.e. towards the saw blades, is only influenced by said springs, as provided in a cutting machine bread with manual control, and this so that the free travel or distance between the pusher and the flank closest to the bread is traversed instantaneously, while, if desired, one can influence the cutting of the bread by means of a control lever which is provided on the machine, possibly retaining said handle in the opposite direction to the action of said springs.

The bread cutting machine according to the invention is provided with an actuating means consisting of a first part assembled to the frame of the machine and a second movable part; a coupling between the second part and the carriage in order to move the latter backwards in the opposite direction to the action of the spring; switches being provided corresponding to the two extreme positions of the carriage and being electrically connected to said actuating means.

• la figure 1 représente une vue latérale en élévation d'une machine à découper le pain selon l'invention, le poussoir se trouvant en position arrière ;
• la figure 2 représente une vue pareille à celle de la figure 1, mais le poussoir entrant tout juste en contact avec le pain qui, lui-même, est entré en contact avec les lames de scie ;
• la figure 3 représente une vue pareille à celle des figures précédentes, mais le pain venant d'être coupé.

In order to better highlight the characteristics of the invention, a preferred embodiment of the invention is described below, by way of example without any restrictive nature, reference being made to the appended drawings, in which:

• Figure 1 shows a side elevational view of a bread cutting machine according to the invention, the pusher being in the rear position;
• 2 shows a view similar to that of Figure 1, but the pusher just coming into contact with the bread which, itself, came into contact with the saw blades;
• FIG. 3 represents a view similar to that of the preceding figures, but the bread having just been cut.

As shown in the aforementioned figures, the bread cutting machine is essentially constituted by a frame 1 which defines at the top a table 2 on which the bread to be cut can be moved, above this cutting table 2, in a raised part from the frame 1, being suspended two frames, respectively 3 and 4, which each carry a row of knives, more particularly saw blades 5, which are arranged alternately, the frames 3 and 4 being assembled at their upper part so as to be able to freely rotate, by means of pivots, respectively 6, 7, to tilting levers, respectively 8, 9, which are themselves pivotally fixed to pivots, respectively 10 and 11. At the bottom , these frames 3 and 4 are hinged to an oscillating lever 14, which is fixed so that it can rotate around an axis 15 and which, by means of a pivot 16, is assembled so that it can freely rotate at a connecting rod 17, including the crank 18, in the form pulley, is connected by a suitable belt 19 to a pulley 20 driven from an electric motor 21.

Above said cutting table 2 is provided the pusher 22, the front part of which can penetrate between said saw blades, in order to push the bread entirely through the rows of saw blades 5, this pusher 22 being assembled to a carriage 23, which is suitably guided in the frame 1, so as to be able to animate the pusher 22 with a horizontal reciprocating movement above said table 2. To this carriage 23 is assembled, so as to be able to rotate freely, by the intervention of a pivot 24, a lever 25 which, at its second end, is assembled, by the intervention of a pivot 26, with an S-shaped lever 27, the latter being able to rotate around a pivot 28 which is suitably fixed to the frame 1. On this lever 27, is fixed so that it can freely rotate, by means of a pivot 29, a lever 30, the second end of which, by means of a pivot 31 is assembled with a lever 32, which can rotate around a pivot 33 fixed to the frame 1.

The construction described above will in principle be carried out in duplicate, that is to say that the entire lever construction described above is provided on each side of the machine, the two levers 32 being made integral by an appropriate rod. 34 around which the free end 35 of a spring 36 is fixed, which, at its other end 37, is appropriately fixed to the frame 1 of the machine.

In order to increase the tensile force exerted on said levers 32, there will generally be a plurality of springs 36.

At least on one side of the machine, said pivot 33 is extended outside the machine and is assembled with a control lever 38, which can thus directly control the levers 32 and the levers associated therewith to obtain the displacement of the pusher 22.

According to the present invention, the machine described here is completed by associating with it means which allow, on the one hand, after the bread has been cut, to automatically return said pusher 22 to the position of FIG. 1 and which allow, d on the other hand, to cut a loaf, the pusher 22 acts on this loaf under the effect of said springs 36.

In the embodiment shown, this device mainly consists of a motor of the so-called mandrel type 39 which, at the intervention of a pivot 40, is assembled with a hinge to the frame of the machine and whose outgoing mandrel 41 , in the present embodiment, is provided at its free end with a U-shaped element or fork 42, which freely adapts to said rod 34, and whose length is such that the cooperation of this rod 34 with the fork 42 remains constantly maintained.

To be complete, it is noted here that the machine is provided with a switch 43, that it is provided with a switch 44 which can cooperate with a stop 45 located on said lever 27 and that in the chuck motor 39 are mounted limit switches not shown.

It is clear that the rod 41 could also act on the rod 34 if one provided the end with a pin end fitting in a transverse passage of the rod 34, if one provided a plate thrust on rod 41, etc.

According to yet another embodiment, the mandrel motor 39 can be replaced by a thrust cylinder.

The use and operation of the bread cutting machine as shown in the accompanying drawings is very simple and can be described as follows.

In the rest state, the machine is in the state as shown in FIG. 1, where it will be noted that the pusher 22 is completely backwards, that is to say that between this pusher and the saw blades 5, there is a maximum free space to allow placing on the cutting table 2, a loaf 46.

The mandrel motor 39 is in the extended position and the spring or the springs 36 exert a traction on the axis or the rod 34.

If, at this time, the machine is started by pressing the button 43, it is obtained that the mandrel motor 39 and the motor 21 are in circuit, which has the effect that the mandrel 41 suddenly retracts, which has as a result that the rod 34, under the action of the spring or springs 36, follows this mandrel, and this up to the position as shown in Figure 2, that is to say the position in which the pusher 22 has moved the bread against the already moving saw blades 5. It is therefore clear that the distance traveled by the pusher 22 between the position of Figure 1 and the position of Figure 2 is traversed very quickly.

At this moment, the spring 36 exerts a traction on the axis 34 and this in turn will rotate the lever 32, with the consequence that by means of the transmission by levers described above, an appropriate pressure is exerted, at the intervention of the pusher 22, on the bread 46, to push it through the curtain of saw blades 5.

Once the bread is completely cut, that is to say once the machine has arrived at the position as shown in FIG. 3, the stop 45 which is provided on the lever 27 will come into contact with the switch 44 , which automatically performs two functions, namely, on the one hand, stopping the motor 21, respectively the saw blades 5, and, on the other hand, switching on the motor with mandrel 39, which has the effect that the fork 42 is pushed outward and the machine is automatically and quickly returned to the position as shown in Figure 1, so that the machine is ready to receive another loaf, after which the cycle can be repeated.

During either movement of the chuck motor 39, the incorporated limit switches have the effect of cutting the current in the motor 39 when the fork 42 has arrived either in one or in the other of its extreme positions.

A great advantage of the machine according to the present invention therefore consists in that the free stroke of the pusher or the distance between the pusher and the bread is traversed very quickly, after which a constant pressure is exerted on the bread, and a second great advantage consists in that the pressure of the pusher can always be influenced by the user of the machine, by slightly retaining the control lever 34, for example when dealing with very fresh bread.

Finally, another advantage of the machine according to the invention is that if, for any reason, the automation of the machine starts to malfunction, the machine could be controlled manually in a simple manner.

It goes without saying that the present invention is in no way limited to the embodiment described as an example and shown in the accompanying drawings.

Claims (6)

1. A machine for cutting bread, consisting of a stand (1), to which are assembled knives or saw blades (5) driven with an alternating vertical motion, a cutting table (2), a push block (22) mounted above the table to push the bread, integral with a moving carriage (23), and at least one spring (36) connected directly or indirectly at one end (35) to the carriage (23) to move the carriage (23) and push block (22) in the direction of the cut by pushing the bread toward the saw blades (5), with the characteristic that this machine is provided with a drive mechanism (3) consisting of a first portion assembled to the stand (1) of the machine and a second, mobile portion (41), a coupling (34, 32, 30, 27, 25) between the second portion (41) and the carriage (23) to move the latter backwards in the opposite direction to the action of the spring (36) ; switches are provided that correspond to the two limit positions of the carriage (23), and are electrically connected to the said drive mechanism.

2. A machine for cutting bread, as described in claim 1, wherein said drive mechanism consists of a chuck motor (39).

3. A machine for cutting bread, as described in claim 1, wherein said drive mechanism consists of a ram cylinder.

4. A machine for cutting bread, as described in one of the above claims, wherein the coupling between the drive mechanism and the carriage (23) is constituted by the second portion of the drive mechanism being comprised of a forkshaped part (42) operating in tandem with a rod (34), connected, directly or indirectly, to the carriage (23).

5. A machine for cutting bread, as described in one of the above claims, wherein the drive mechanism (39) is provided with limit switches that stop said mechanism at the positions that correspond to the two limit positions of the carriage (23).

6. A machine for cutting bread, as described in one of the above claims, wherein the switch (44) affected in the forward position of the carriage (23), when it is affected, cuts out the drive of the saw blades (5) and, in addition, starts up the drive mechanism (39) to draw back said carriage (23) and the push block (22).

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