EP1747860A1 - Foodslicer especially for bread - Google Patents

Abstract

A compact slicing machine, especially for loaves, has a circular rotating blade (5) straddled by a drive system which grips each loaf and indexes it by the selected slice thickness after each cut. The drive system extends to the outer walls of the machine with the motor mounted on one side of the cutter and the grip support on the other side. The machine has a maximum width comprising the size and travel of the drive system and the collecting tray for the cut loaf.

Description

The invention relates to a cutting machine for food, in particular for bread, comprising a feed device with which the strand-shaped food from a loading area to a cutting device is vorschiebbar from which the rope-shaped food is successively sliced into slices, which pass into a removal area after the cutting process and be removed therefrom, wherein the cutting device comprises a rotatably mounted, drivable cutting member which is mounted on a Gerierseinrichtung which is driven by a drive motor of the cutting device, wherein the feed device comprises a guide device for guiding a mounted in the feed direction feed element, with a Feed force on the rope-shaped food is transferable.

State of the art

Such a cutting machine is well known and is manufactured and sold for example by the company Treif Maschinenbau GmbH under the name "DISKUS" as a bread slicer.

In the known machine, the feed element is designed as a hook hook, which is pivotally mounted about an axis to be placed after inserting a loaf of bread in the insertion area with its end facing away from the cutter form-fitting manner, wherein prongs of the gripper hook penetrate into the bread end.

A disadvantage occurs in the per se very well-known cutting machine in appearance that the machine width, measured in the feed direction, is quite large. In today steadily increasing use of such cutting machines in bakery shops or bakery sales shops often available in a store line space is particularly limited in width due to high space, especially rental costs in preferred, busy business situations, a large width of such a cutting machine is undesirable and often a criterion that the Use thwarted. The comparatively large width requirement of the known cutting machine is due, inter alia, to the fact that the hook hook in its first dead center position, in which it has its maximum distance from the cutting device, has a relatively large distance from the associated side wall of the cutting machine. This distance causes the arranged on one side of the cutting member feed device or the feed or insertion area as a whole has a significantly greater width than the effective feed path, which is defined as a path between the aforementioned first dead center position and a second dead center position, in which Gripper hook is immediately adjacent to the cutting member, but without getting in contact with this.

From the DE 694 10 502 T2 ( EP 0 612 593 B1 ) discloses a device in the form of a table cutting machine for bread. In this machine, the rotating circular knife is attached to a rocker, which performs an oscillating movement. When the knife is immersed in the cross section of the loaf of bread, a slice is separated; After the subsequent backward movement of the knife out of the bread cross section, a feed movement takes place, whereupon a renewed dipping movement of the knife, ie a renewed cutting off process takes place. A circumferential movement of the circular blade bearing rocker is not possible because in a table machine due to the limited height is not enough space for the circulation of the rocker with the circular blade available. Although the previously known machine may be compact in terms of its height and is also characterized by a small width because a belt drive for guiding or to drive a feed device extends on both sides of the circular blade level. A disadvantage of the known machine, however, is the low performance, since the number of maximum possible sections per unit time is quite limited due to the oscillating movement of the circular blade. Furthermore, there is a risk that due to the oscillating movement of the circular blade, the resulting free mass forces introduce unwanted vibrations in the loading counter, which can lead to damage to the supporting structure of the counter.

task

The invention has for its object to provide a cutting machine for food, especially for bread, in which the width compared to machines according to the aforementioned prior art is significantly reduced to a use of the cutting machine in very common narrow niches in store lines in smaller To enable bakery branches or sales outlets. However, the efficiency of the cutting machine should be high in order to achieve short times for slicing a loaf of bread.

solution

Based on a cutting machine of the type described above, this object is achieved in that the guide means of the feed device extends on both sides of a plane in which the cutting member is rotatable and the drive motor of the cutting device is located in a region below the cutting member and the gearbox coupled thereto ,

Typically, the feed devices for such cutting machines are constructed so that their guide means has a greater width than corresponds to the effectively usable feed path as the difference between the above-mentioned first and second dead center position. If the guide device, as in cutting machines according to the prior art, extends only on one side of the cutting member rotation plane, this leads to the installation space of the machine on the side of the cutting member on which the feed device is located being significantly larger than the usable one feed path.

Comparable is the situation with an elevator, which always has a greater height to bridge a height difference of four floors, for example, than the five floors that are operable by him. A so-called "crossing" of the elevator is typically located above the top of the elevator accessible floor, where the deflection of the tether and typically also the drive means are located. The usable head - in the aforementioned case, the five floors - is thus less than the total height of the elevator, which would have to extend in the example mentioned above six floors, with only technical functional devices are arranged in the sixth floor.

Due to the fact that, according to the solution according to the invention, the guide device is now arranged in each case with subsections on both sides of the plane defined by the rotating cutting member, the advancing element can be arranged such that it is located immediately adjacent to a side wall of the machine in a dead center position and in the second Totpunkposition immediately adjacent to the cutting element rotation plane. This means that the length of the loading area and the overall width of the machine on the feed side must exceed the effective usable feed path only by the width of the feed element - typically a gripper hook only a few cm wide.

The technical reasons for the realization of the guiding function of the guide device required sections thereof are inventively on the side facing away from the feed area, if one imagines the cutting machine divided by the cutting element rotation plane. There are thus used according to the invention areas for the accommodation of the guide device, which are also present in machines of the prior art, but unused for this purpose. On the opposite side of the feed area of the knife is the removal area, which must have at least the width of the food strand in order to resume this in a sliced shape can. This extending in the width direction of the cutting machine space is thus used according to the invention for certain components of the guide device, so that their extension can limit on the feed side substantially to the effective feed path. As a result, the machine according to the invention builds much narrower than previously known cutting machines of the genus in modern art, which can also allow for use in space critical applications. Figuratively speaking - when looking at the analogy with the elevator - the "crossing" laid on the feed device opposite side of the cutting member, so that on the other side, the width can be limited to the effectively usable conveying path.

The cutting member of the machine may be, for example, a sickle blade rotating about a fixed axis or a circular knife having a radius exceeding the cross-sectional dimensions of the food strand, which is rotationally moved and in turn supported on a swinging arm rotatable about a further axis is. With such an orbital knife drive, part of the swinging arm and with it the rotary axis of the circular blade typically penetrate into the food strand, so that food strands with a comparatively large cross section can be cut even with small diameter knives. It is preferred that the rocker of Orbitalmesseranordnung exerts a rotating rotational movement, because compared to a oscillating oscillating back and forth motion, the performance is correspondingly higher, since no reversal of the direction of movement is necessary.

While the drive motor and the transmission device are axially aligned with each other in the previously known discus type machine, this elongated arrangement according to the invention abandoned in favor of an arrangement in which the transmission input shaft and the transmission output shaft each having such axial offset from each other that the housing the two aforementioned aggregates side by side, in particular with each other, can be arranged. In this case, the coupling of drive motor and transmission device follows, for example. with the help of a belt drive, a chain drive or a gear drive or another way of power transmission.

Another contribution to reducing the width of the cutting machine is made to arrange the drive motor of the cutting device in an area below the cutting member and possibly coupled therewith gear device.

While in the above-mentioned prior art cutting machine, the cutting element, coupled therewith a gear and in turn coupled drive motor are in axial succession arrangement, this arrangement with comparatively large width requirement according to the invention abandoned in favor of a superimposed / stacked arrangement, whereby axial length is saved. The height offset of the aforementioned components is made possible by the fact that according to the invention the Kraftfibertagung from the drive motor to the cutting member or the transmission device takes place for example via a belt drive. In a machine with optimum utilization of space, the belt drive is, for example, immediately adjacent to the associated side wall of the machine housing.

According to a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention it is provided that the guide device extends parallel to the feed device and has a distance from the axis of rotation of the cutting member, which is greater than the circle radius.

In the arrangement of the guide device of the feed device on both sides of the plane of rotation of the cutting member is to be avoided that components of the guide device penetrate into the action region of the cutting member, otherwise collisions would occur. For example, in the case of an orbitally rotary movement of the cutting member, the guide device must therefore have at least one clearance in the region of the plane of rotation of the cutting member which is greater than the radius of the blade flight circle. As a result, distances of the guide means from a bottom of the loading area may be larger than those in the prior art machines. However, this can be compensated by appropriately extended retaining arms for the feed element.

In order to minimize the width requirement of the cutting machine on the feed side, it is further proposed that the feed element with its side facing away from the cutting member is moved to the end of the insertion region facing away from the cutting member. Preferably, the aforementioned end of the insertion area is formed by a side wall of the machine housing, so that facing away from the cutting member End of the food strand is trenched only by the thickness of the side wall and the width of the feed member of the respective side plane of the cutting machine.

In terms of an optimal design of the feed device is proposed that the drive motor and the feed element are each located on opposite sides of the plane in which the cutting member is rotatable. As not directly required for the realization of the usable feed path component of the drive motor can be arranged as a comparatively large-volume element readily on the removal side of the cutting machine and yet effect via suitable power transmission means a movement of the feed member on the opposite insertion side of the cutting machine.

The invention further ausgestaltend is provided to form the guide means of a linear guide and a transfer device of the feed device of a belt drive coupled to the feed element, which is driven by means of a stepping motor.

embodiment

Fig. 1

eine perspektivische Vorderansicht einer Schneidemaschine mit einer Vielzahl entfernter Bauteile;

Fig. 2

wie Figur 1, jedoch eine perspektivische Rückansicht;

Fig. 3

wie Figuren 1 und 2, jedoch eine perspektivische Draufsicht;

Fig. 4

eine Rückansicht der Schneidemaschine, jedoch mit gegenüber Fig. 1 seitenverkehrter Bauteilanordnung;

Fig. 5

eine Vorderansicht der Schneidemaschine gemäß Fig. 4 und

Fig. 6

einen Schnitt durch die Maschine entlang der Linie VI-VI in Figur 4.

The cutting machine according to the invention will be explained in more detail with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawing. It shows

Fig. 1

a front perspective view of a cutting machine with a plurality of removed components;

Fig. 2

like Figure 1, but a rear perspective view;

Fig. 3

like Figures 1 and 2, but a perspective top view;

Fig. 4

a rear view of the cutting machine, but with respect to Figure 1 reversed component assembly.

Fig. 5

a front view of the cutting machine of FIG. 4 and

Fig. 6

a section through the machine along the line VI-VI in Figure 4.

A food slicing machine shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, namely loaves of bread, comprises a feeding device 2 with which the uncut loaf can be advanced from a loading area 3 onto a cutting device 4. The loading area 3 is limited in the operating state of the cutting machine 1 by a in the figures, for clarity, bottom panel down and two side panels forward and backward, so that the einzulegende loaf can not escape in impermissible directions. A cover plate 30, which partially covers the feed device in FIGS. 1 and 2, protects the cutting machine 1 from contamination.

In the case shown, the cutting device 4 consists of a cutting member 5 in the form of a circular knife, which has a diameter 6 (see Figure 6) which is at least twice as large as the maximum cross-sectional dimension of the loaf to be cut. The cutting member 5 is coupled to a known transmission device 7, which causes the cutting member 5 to move about its axis of rotation 8 and on the other hand, that this rotation axis on a swing arm or rotary arm rotates circumferentially, with each revolution, the cross section of the insertion area. 3 is substantially swept by the cutting member 5 and thus cut from a loaf therein a slice.

On the side facing away from the cutting member 5 end of the insertion area 3 of the cutting machine 1 is a side wall 9 of the machine surrounding einhausenden, However, not fully shown machine housing 10. In the vicinity of the side wall 9 and extending parallel to this is a belt drive 11, which is for torque transmission from a first shown in FIG. 2 drive motor 12 which is disposed directly on a bottom 13 of the machine housing 10 to the transmission device 7 provides. The arrangement of the drive motor 12 below the transmission device 7 and the axis of rotation 8 of the cutting member 5 causes the axial length of the three components cutting member 5, transmission device 7 and drive motor 12 does not add up, which is why the entire width B of the cutting machine 1 are kept small can.

The feed device 2, which is completely shown in FIG. 3, consists of an elongate guide device 14 and a stepping motor 15 flanged thereto, which has a transmission device 16 in the form of a belt drive shown in dashed lines in FIG. 2, which is a drive pinion 17 of the stepping motor 15 and pulleys 18 is guided. The belt drive is coupled in a manner not shown fixed with a feed element 19, which thus follows the movement of the associated strand of the belt drive without slippage.

The translationally movable feed element 19 is in turn composed of a carriage 20 which is guided along a linear guide 21 formed on the guide device 14 by means of four rollers 22. On the carriage 20 is also an angled support arm 23 which carries at its end facing away from the carriage 20 a pivotally mounted hook hook 24 which penetrates with a plurality of tines 25 located thereon in the bread. The retaining arm 23 penetrates in a recognizable in Figure 3 groove 26 indicated in Figure 6 rear side wall 27 of the insertion area 3. The hook hook 24 is of its engagement position shown in the figures by 90 ° counterclockwise (see arrow 28 in Figures 6 and 2 ) Can be converted into an angled position by about 90 °, in which a loaf to be cut in the loading area 3 is inserted and the tines 25 are disengaged.

As can be clearly seen from the drawing figures, the guide device 14 of the feed device 2 extends on both sides of a plane defined by the cutting member 5 level.

A part of the linear guide 21 extends to the side of the cutting member 5, which is associated with the removal region 29 indicated in FIG. In the dead center position of the advancing element 19 shown in FIG. 1, the gripper hook 24 is in close proximity to the side wall 9. The end of the inserted loaf of bread facing away from the cutting element 5 can extend directly up to the side wall 9.

If the advancing element 2 and with it the gripper hook 24 are located in the second dead center position, not shown, in the immediate vicinity of the cutting member 5, the carriage 20 already occupies a position which is on the other side of the cutting organ 5, that is the removal region 29 assigned. The portion of the guide device 14 and also the feed device 2, which is required to achieve a feed path V, but lärigenmäßig exceeds this feed path V is thus located on the insertion region 3 side facing away from the cutting member 5. The width B of the cutting machine 1 can thereby reduced be since the removal area 29 anyway must have at least the width of the feed path V and thus an extension of the guide means 14 of the feed device 2 in this area has no magnifying effect on the width B of the cutting machine 1.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1

cutting machine

2

feeder

3

loading area

4

Schaeideinnchtung

5

cutting member

6

diameter

7

transmission device

8th

axis of rotation

9

Side wall

10

machine housing

11

belt drive

12

drive motor

13

ground

14

guide means

15

stepper motor

16

transmission equipment

17

pinion

18

idler pulley

19

feed element

20

carriage

21

linear guide

22

roll

23

holding arm

24

looper

25

prong

26

groove

27

Side wall

28

arrow

29

removal area

30

cover sheet

B

width

V

feed path

Claims (11)

Slicing machine (1) for foodstuffs, in particular for bread, comprising a feed device (2) with which the rope-shaped foodstuff can be advanced from a loading area (3) to a cutting device (4) from which the rope-shaped foodstuff can be successively cut into slices, the cutting device (4) having a rotatably mounted, drivable cutting member (5) which is mounted on a Getriebeeiruichtung (7) by a drive motor (12) of the cutting device (4) is drivable and wherein the feed device (2) has a guide device (14) for guiding a feed element movably mounted in the feed direction (19), with which a feed force on the strand-shaped food is transferable, characterized in that the guide device (14) extends on both sides of a plane in which the cutting member (5) is rotatable t, and the drive motor (12) of the cutting device (4) in an area below the cutting member (5) and the coupled therewith the transmission device (7). Cutting machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the guide means (14) parallel to the feed direction (2) and a distance from the axis of rotation (8) of the cutting member (5) has, which is greater than its circle radius. Cutting machine according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the feed element (19) with its the cutting member (5) facing away from until the cutting member (5) facing away from the end of the loading area (3) is movable. Cutting machine according to claim 3, characterized in that the cutting member (5) facing away from the end of the loading area (3) of a side wall (9) of the machine housing (10) is formed. Cutting machine according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that a drive motor of the feed device (2) and the feed element (19) are located on opposite sides of the plane in which the cutting member (5) is rotatable. Cutting machine according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the guide device (14) by a linear guide (21) and a transmission device (16) of the feed device (2) by a feed with the element (19) coupled belt drive is formed by means of a stepping motor (15) is drivable. Cutting machine according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the axis of rotation of a transmission input shaft and the axis of rotation of the drive motor (12) parallel to each other. Cutting machine according to claim 7, characterized in that the power transmission from the drive motor (12) to the cutting member (5) or the transmission device (7) via a belt drive (11). Cutting machine according to claim 8, characterized in that the belt drive (11) is arranged directly next to the associated side wall (9) of the machine housing (10). Cutting machine according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that a machine housing (10) is provided on its underside with means (R) for installation on a floor. Cutting machine according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized by a single drive motor (12) both for the rotational movement of the circular cutting member (5) about its own axis and for the rotational movement of said axis about an axis of rotation of a swing arm.

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