EP2138286A2 - Food cutting machine - Google Patents

Abstract

The machine (1) i.e. slicer (2), has a supply chamber (6) for supplying food to be cut to a cutting device. A discharging chamber (7) discharges the cut food, and a housing (9) surrounds a cutting unit in all sides, where the housing has an opening (16) closed by a movable closing unit (17) in closed positions (20, 25) of the opening. A sealing device i.e. elastomer profile, closes a gap present between the closing unit and the housing in the closed positions of the opening. The sealing device is elastically deformable in a direction perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the gap.

Description

introduction

The invention relates to a machine for cutting food, comprising a cutting device having a cutting member, a feed region from which the food to be cut can be guided to the cutting device, and a discharge region, from which the cut food can be discharged, and a housing , which surrounds at least the cutting member on all sides, wherein the housing has at least one opening which is closable by means of a movable closure member in its closed position.

State of the art

A machine of the aforementioned type is for example in the DE 10 2005 032 714 A1 disclosed as a machine, which is intended in particular for cutting bread.

Machines for cutting food often work quite noise-intensive, which is particularly bothersome in sales rooms, for example in bakeries, by customers and sales staff.

From the utility model DE 93 15 186 U1 is a bread slicer known, the cutting unit is surrounded by a housing. To avoid additional noise caused by the transmission of vibrations of a drive unit of the cutting unit to the housing, it is proposed according to the utility model to attach the drive unit to a surface which is connected to at least one of the walls of the housing. As a result, the vibrations are to be greatly attenuated, which should lead to a reduction of noise.

Another example of a cutting machine with means for noise damping is a cutter for cutting and mixing food according to the EP 0 289 841 A2 , which is preferably used for sausage production. The cutter has a machine stand which, for the purpose of vibration and noise attenuation, consists of two separately manufactured components, namely a stator main body and a stator pedestal, wherein these two parts made of reactive resin concrete are flanged together.

Although proposals for the noise insulation of cutting machines are disclosed according to the above two documents, but these can not be conveniently transferred to the cutting machine described above.

Other bread slicing machines are for example from the documents US 4,759,168 A . DE 100 49 156 A1 . DE 196 090 A and EP 1 897 664 A1 known, wherein none of the machines described therein provide noise insulation.

task

Object of the present invention is to develop a machine for cutting food of the type described above so that it is characterized by a quieter operation.

solution

This object is achieved in that at least one remaining in the closed position of the closure member between this and the housing gap is closed by at least one sealing device.

The known means for reducing the noise of cutting machines are based on the principle of reducing the structure-borne noise, which is generated by the vibrations of the components. However, it has been shown that in machines for cutting food also a significant proportion of airborne sound is produced, which is caused by the noise of the current cutting member itself - especially during this with the cutting material is engaged. The resulting airborne sound emerges from the cracks and crevices of the housing, with measures for vibration damping in such a configuration remain unsuccessful.

The inventive arrangement of a sealing device in at least one or preferably in several or all remaining gaps between the closure member and the housing, the airborne sound produced during operation of the cutting member can no longer penetrate out of the housing, whereby the noise of the machine according to the invention is significantly reduced. It must be ensured that the housing is otherwise sealed, so that the airborne sound produced in the interior can not otherwise penetrate to the outside and thus "trapped" in the machine.

An advantageous embodiment of the machine according to the invention provides that at least one sealing device in a direction perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the associated gap is elastically deformable and rests in a sealing position under bias on a surface of the closure member and / or the housing. On the one hand, a relative displacement between the closure member to be moved and the housing is thus possible without much resistance and, on the other hand, the gap is thereby sealed particularly tightly and the quality of the airborne sound insulation is increased considerably.

A particularly good elastic deformability of the sealing device according to the invention can be achieved if it consists of an elastomeric profile, which is preferably equipped with a longitudinally extending cavity or a free end portion in the form of a sealing lip. Furthermore, the elastomer profile can compensate for any manufacturing-related fluctuations in the gap width, so that the presence of any imperfections in the gap seal is minimized.

The invention further ausgestaltend, the elastomeric profile has a contact area, which is in contact with the surface of the closure member and / or the housing and has a greater Shore hardness and / or a lower coefficient of friction than the rest of the elastomer profile. Preferably, the contact region is designed as a self-contained layer on a base body of the elastomer profile and produced by way of coextrusion. By a greater hardness in the contact area of the Ealstomerprofils a better abrasion resistance is achieved, so that the sealing device also has a good durability as a result of repeated actuation of the closure member, whereby the contact area is subjected to friction. In addition, the contact area is less sensitive to cleaning agents that are used to clean the closure member. By a low coefficient of friction in the contact region of the elastomer profile can be an opening and closing movement of the closure member perform with less force than would be the case if the elastomeric profile had a high coefficient of friction in its contact area, by the movement of the closure member would be opposed to a large resistance ,

Advantageously, at least one sealing device may be formed as a brush strip, which has a holding side, are summarized on the bristles, and a contact side, with which the brush strip rests against the surface of the closure member and / or the housing has. A brush strip has the advantage that its contact side allows a smooth movement along a fixed surface and provides a good gap compensation.

A sealing device may be fastened with a holding side close to the housing and the closure member may be movable relative to the sealing device.

Alternatively, a sealing device can also be fastened with a holding side close to the closure member and be movable with this relative to the housing. For this purpose, the holding side of the sealing device may for example be inserted into a groove provided for this purpose in the closure member, so that its contact region rests against the housing on the opposite side.

In both aforementioned cases, it is advantageous if the closure member is displaceable and / or pivotable relative to the housing linearly or along a trajectory.

In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the machine according to the invention is a bread cutting machine with a provided with a toothed and / or wavy cutting edge circular blade, which is rotatable on a revolving arm rotation. On the one hand, the cutting element of a bread machine, which is typically designed as a circular knife, has a toothing, as a result of which the knife, during its rapid rotation, causes high air vibrations, which are perceived as airborne sound. Furthermore, the material to be cut, in particular the crust of the bread, much harder than, for example, strands of meat or cheese, so that the cutting process again runs noisier, the cutting noise remotely resembling a circular saw. Consequently, the arrangement of sealing means for closing remaining gaps between closure member and housing in bread slicing machines is particularly effective.

A further embodiment of the invention provides that the closure member is a closure lid which is displaceable perpendicular to a feed direction of the food to be cut, the opening covered by the closure lid in its closed position having access to an insertion shaft forming the feed region and to a discharge region forming removal shaft allowed. In this case, the closure lid may be transparent, so that the operator for inspection purposes always a look at the aforementioned shafts is possible.

In this case, the closure lid is advantageously provided with four together approximately rectangularly arranged sealing means, which are further preferably arranged on the circumference of the closure lid, so that no more open gap between the closure lid and the housing of the machine and an optimal soundproofing exists.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, the closure member is a crumb tray, the front side of which in the closed position is substantially flush with a front side of the housing and which is linearly displaceable in a direction perpendicular to its front side.

It is also advantageous if the crumb tray is flush with a side face directed perpendicular to the front side substantially flush with a side surface of the housing. Thus, a corner of the crumb tray coincides with a corner of the housing.

Finally, according to an embodiment of the machine according to the invention, it is provided that a bottom plate of the cuboid crumb tray rests flat on a bottom surface of the housing and a first and a fourth sealing device extends from the bottom surface of the housing parallel to a vertical edge of the crumb tray up to a top side of the crumb tray , second and third sealing means at the top of the crumb tray parallel to the bottom surface of the casing extend to the vertical edge of the crumb tray, all four sealing means being close to each other in their longitudinal direction. In this way, all the gaps between crumb tray and housing are closed sound-absorbing, which has a particularly advantageous effect on the emission reduction of the machine according to the invention.

embodiment

The invention will be explained in more detail with reference to an embodiment of a machine according to the invention for cutting food, which is shown in the drawings.

Figur 1:

eine dreidimensionale Ansicht der Maschine mit entfernter Seitenwand,

Figur 2:

eine vergrößerte Darstellung des oberen Bereichs der Maschine aus Figur 1,

Figur 3:

eine dreidimensionale Ansicht des hinteren Bereichs des Verschlussdeckels aus Figur 2 mit zwei Bürstenleisten,

Figur 4:

eine dreidimensionale Ansicht des vorderen Bereichs des Verschlussdeckels aus Figur 2 mit zwei Bürstenleisten,

Figur 5:

eine dreidimensionale Unteransicht des vorderen Bereichs des Verschlussdeckels aus Figur 4,

Figur 6:

einen Schnitt durch den oberen Bereich der Maschine gemäß Figur 1,

Figur 7:

eine Detailansicht der oberen Führungsstange des Verschlussdeckels aus Figur 6 im Schnitt,

Figur 8:

eine Detailansicht der unteren Führungsstange des Verschlussdeckels aus Figur 6 im Schnitt,

Figur 9:

einen Vertikalschnitt durch die Maschine gemäß Figur 6,

Figur 10:

eine Detailansicht der linken Dichtungseinrichtung aus Figur 9,

Figur 11:

eine Detailansicht der rechten Dichtungseinrichtung aus Figur 9,

Figur 12:

eine vergrößerte Darstellung der Krümelschublade aus Figur 1,

Figur 13:

eine dreidimensionale Ansicht des oberen Bereichs der Krümelschublade aus Figur 12 mit drei Bürstenleisten,

Figur 14:

eine dreidimensionale Ansicht des hinteren Bereichs der Krümelschublade aus Figur 12 mit zwei Bürstenleisten,

Figur 15:

eine Seitenansicht auf die Krümelschublade aus Figur 12,

Figur 16:

eine Detailansicht einer Dichtungseinrichtung aus Figur 15,

Figur 17:

einen Vertikalschnitt durch die Maschine aus Figur 12,

Figur 18:

eine Draufsicht auf die Krümelschublade aus Figur 15,

Figur 19:

eine Detailansicht einer Dichtungseinrichtung gemäß Figur 18 und

Figur 20:

eine Detailansicht einer weiteren Dichtungseinrichtung gemäß Figur 18.

It shows:

FIG. 1:

a three-dimensional view of the machine with the side wall removed,

FIG. 2:

an enlarged view of the upper portion of the machine FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3:

a three-dimensional view of the rear portion of the closure lid FIG. 2 with two brush strips,

FIG. 4:

a three-dimensional view of the front portion of the closure lid FIG. 2 with two brush strips,

FIG. 5:

a three-dimensional bottom view of the front portion of the closure lid FIG. 4 .

FIG. 6:

a section through the top of the machine according to FIG. 1 .

FIG. 7:

a detailed view of the upper guide rod of the closure lid FIG. 6 on average,

FIG. 8:

a detailed view of the lower guide rod of the closure lid FIG. 6 on average,

FIG. 9:

a vertical section through the machine according to FIG. 6 .

FIG. 10:

a detailed view of the left sealing device FIG. 9 .

FIG. 11:

a detailed view of the right sealing device FIG. 9 .

FIG. 12:

an enlarged view of the crumb tray FIG. 1 .

FIG. 13:

a three-dimensional view of the upper portion of the crumb tray from FIG. 12 with three brush strips,

FIG. 14:

a three-dimensional view of the rear portion of the crumb tray FIG. 12 with two brush strips,

FIG. 15:

a side view of the crumb tray FIG. 12 .

FIG. 16:

a detailed view of a sealing device FIG. 15 .

FIG. 17:

a vertical section through the machine FIG. 12 .

FIG. 18:

a plan view of the crumb tray FIG. 15 .

FIG. 19:

a detailed view of a sealing device according to FIG. 18 and

FIG. 20:

a detailed view of a further sealing device according to FIG. 18 ,

When in the FIG. 1 1 for cutting food is a bread cutting machine 2, which is already known in the prior art and, for example, in the DE 10 2005 032 714 A1 is described. It comprises a cutting member 3 of a cutting device 4, but only in the FIG. 2 is recognizable. Furthermore, the machine 1 comprises an insertion shaft 5 with a feed region 6 and a discharge region 7, in which a so-called cutting support 8 for supporting the sliced bread slices (not shown in the figure) is located. The bread slicer 2 is equipped with a housing 9 made of stainless steel plates, which in turn consists of two identically formed side walls 10, a front wall 11, a rear wall 12, a bottom 13 and a cover plate 14. For a better illustration of the machine 1, one of the side walls 10 is not in the FIG. 1 shown. Both the shown and not shown side wall 10 project beyond the arched cover plate 14 of the housing 9 and have in this area two arcuate guide slots 15.

The domed formed cover plate 14 has an opening 16 having a width corresponding approximately to the width of the housing 9, which is provided with a movably mounted closure member 17. By and large, the closure member 17 is a closure lid 18 which is formed by a transparent plastic disc and this held at its two longitudinal edges guide rods 19, wherein the guide rods 19 each with its two ends in the aforementioned guide slots 15th engage the side walls 10. In the FIG. 1 the closure cap 18 is shown in its closed position 20 in which it closes the opening 16 of the housing 9. To open the closure lid 18, the latter is provided with a handle 21 by means of which the guide rods 19 and thus also the plastic disc covering the opening 16 can be moved along the guide slots 15 until the guide rods 15 reach an opposite end of the guide slots 15. Accordingly, the closure cap 18 is displaceable perpendicular to a feed direction 22 of the food to be cut and, in its open position, releases the feed region 6 and the discharge region 7 of the insertion tube 5.

Below the section support 8, the housing 9 is provided with a further closing member 17 forming crumb tray 23, the front side 24 in the closed position 25 of the crumb tray 23 is substantially flush with a defined by the front wall 11 front of the housing 9. The crumb tray 23 is horizontally displaceable in the longitudinal direction in the housing 9.

In the FIG. 2 , which is an enlarged view of the upper portion of the machine 1 FIG. 1 In particular, three sealing devices 26 according to the invention can be seen, one of which runs along the short side of the closure cap 18 and the other two sealing devices 26 each along the longitudinal sides of the closure cap 18. On the other short side of the closure cap 18, a sealing device is also arranged in the FIG. 2 is not visible.

In the FIGS. 3 to 5 the sealing devices 26 according to the invention are shown in more detail, wherein the FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate opposite corner regions of the closure lid 18. Both figures, FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 , The seal means 26 extending along the short side of the closure cap 18 show FIG. 3 along the rear longitudinal side of the closure lid 18 extending sealing means 26 and in the FIG. 4 shown on the front longitudinal side of the closure cover 18 extending sealing device 26. The sealing devices 26 are brush strips 27, which are fastened with their holding side 28, on which the bristles are gathered, to the closure lid 18 and are embedded in grooves 29 located on the closure lid 18. On its opposite side, the so-called linear contact area 30, the brush strips 27 are located on the respective components of the housing 9 of the machine 1, which in the FIGS. 3 to 5 not visible, flat.

From the FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the in the FIG. 4 shown sealing means 26, in which the groove 29 for fixing the arranged on the longitudinal side of the closure cover 18 sealing means 26 can be seen well, wherein the groove is in the guide rod 19. Furthermore, the sealing device 26 arranged on the short side of the closure cap 18 can be seen, which protrudes beyond the dimensions of the closure cap 18 analogously to the sealing devices 26 located on the longitudinal side.

In FIG. 6 is a section through the machine 1 according to the invention FIG. 1 shown, in which in particular the closure 16 in the housing 9 closing closure cap 18 can be seen in its closed position 20. The guide rods 19, which limit the closure lid 18 at its longitudinal sides, lie in the closed position 20 at the in the FIG. 6 shown right ends of the guide slots 15 at.

The FIG. 7 shows an enlargement of the upper (in the FIG. 6 located on the left side) guide rod 19 with the groove 29 for receiving the holding side 28 of the brush strip 27. This lies with its contact portion 30 close to the cover plate 14 of the housing 9 at.

In the FIG. 8 an enlargement of the lower guide rod 19 is shown, which also has a groove 29 for receiving a brush strip 27. The contact area 30 in the FIG. 8 shown in cross-section brush strip 27 is not formed by the end face thereof but by a side surface with which it rests against the cover plate 14 of the housing 9.

The FIG. 9 shows a vertical section through the machine 1 according to FIG. 6 , wherein the edge formation of the closure cap 18 in its two short sides in the FIGS. 10 and 11 each are shown in detail. The plastic disc of the closure cap 18 is held at its periphery by a rectangular profile 31, this being provided in each case on its side facing away from the machine 1 with a groove 32 for receiving a brush strip 27. The in the FIG. 10 shown brush strip 27 rests with its end face on the side wall 10 of the housing 9 of the machine 1 and with a side surface on a further sheet 33 of the machine 1. In the FIG. 11 the side wall 10 is not shown, so that the brush bar 27 shown here only with a side surface with the plate 33 of the machine 1 in contact.

From the FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of the crumb tray 23 from FIG. 1 out, which has a cuboid structure. The crumb tray 23 is equipped with a bottom plate 34 which is supported on a second, parallel to the bottom plate 13 arranged bottom surface 35 of the housing 9. In this case, the crumb tray 23 with a first, in the FIG. 12 unrecognizable sealing device 36 is provided which extends on a housing 9 facing the vertical edge 37 on the front side 24 of the crumb tray 23. At a horizontally extending edge 38 on the front side 24 of the crumb tray 23, a second sealing means 36 'is arranged. Furthermore, the crumb tray 23 is at its side wall 10 of the housing 9, not shown, horizontally extending edge 39 with a third sealing means 36 "and at the likewise not shown on its side wall 10 facing vertical edge 40 with a fourth sealing means 36 ''' The sealing devices 36, 36 ', 36 ", 36''' are formed by brush strips.

By the above-described four sealing means 36, 36 ', 36 ", 36' '', which also abut each other at their ends at the corners of the crumb tray 23 directly to each other, the crumb tray 23 is air-sound completely sealed against the housing 9.

In the FIG. 13 3 shows a three-dimensional view of a front section of the crumb tray 23, showing the first, second and third sealing means 36, 36 ', 36 ", in particular with respect to the first sealing means 36, that they are in one in the wall of the Crumb tray 23. The sealing means 36, 36 ', 36 "designed as brush strips are in each case arranged on the crumb tray 23 attached that with their contact area towards the adjacent, not in the FIG. 13 shown, show parts of the housing 9 and tight against these.

In the FIG. 14 showing a three-dimensional view of a rear portion of the crumb tray 23, the third and fourth sealing means 36 ", 36 '''recognizable.

The FIG. 15 shows a side view of the crumb tray 23 in its closed state in which its front side 25 is flush with the front wall 11 of the housing 9.

From the FIG. 16 goes a detail from the FIG. 15 showing the area in which the attached to the front side 24 of the crumb tray 23 second sealing means 36 'is mounted, enlarged. Above the crumb tray 23, a guide rail 42 can be seen, in which the crumb tray 23 is guided during displacement. The trained as a brush strip second sealing means 36 'is attached to the crumb tray 23, that the bristles are directed vertically upwards and abut an angled edge strip 43 of the front wall 11 of the housing 9.

In the FIG. 17 is a section through the machine 1 along the line XVII-XVII of FIG. 15 can be seen, with the second sealing means 36 'and the fourth sealing means 36 "' can be seen.

According to FIG. 18 3, a top view of the crumb tray 23 is shown, with the vertically extending first and fourth sealing means 36, 36 '''being shown in detail in FIGS FIGS. 20 and 19 are shown enlarged. The in the FIG. 19 shown fourth sealing means 36 '''has a holding profile 44 with a parallel to the bristle longitudinal direction extending angled holding leg 45, with which the fourth sealing means 36''' is attached to the crumb tray. The guide rail 42 for guiding the crumb tray at its displacement or opening is also in the FIGS. 18 and 19 shown.

The FIG. 20 shows the fold portion 41 of the crumb tray 23, on the already in the FIG. 13 was received. The first sealing device 36 shown here likewise has a holding region 44 with holding leg 45 'for fastening the sealing device 36 in the folding region 42, wherein the holding leg 45' is aligned perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the bristle.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1

machine

2

Slicer

3

cutting member

4

cutter

5

loading bay

6

feeding

7

discharge area

8th

cut support

9

casing

10

Side wall

11

front wall

12

rear wall

13

ground

14

cover plate

15

guide slots

16

opening

17

closure member

18

cap

19

guide rod

20

closed position

21

Handle

22

feed direction

23

crumb tray

24

front

25

closed position

26

seal means

27

brush strip

28

holding side

29

groove

30

contact area

31

rectangular profile

32

groove

33

sheet

34

floor panel

35

floor area

36

First sealing device

36 '

Second sealing device

36 "

third sealing device

36 '' '

fourth sealing device

37

Vertical edge

38

Horizontal edge

39

Horizontal edge

40

Vertical edge

41

folding area

42

guide rail

43

edge strips

44

retaining profile

45

holding leg

45 '

holding leg

Claims (15)

Machine (1) for cutting food, comprising a cutting device (4) having a cutting element (3), a feed region (6) from which the food to be cut can be guided to the cutting device (4), and a discharge region (7) ), from which the sliced food can be discharged, and a housing (9) which surrounds at least the cutting member (3) on all sides, wherein the housing (9) has at least one opening (16), which by means of a movable closure member (17) in the closed position (20, 25) is closable, characterized in that at least one in the closed position (20, 25) of the closure member (17) between this and the housing (9) remaining gap by means of at least one sealing means (26, 36, 36 ', 36 ", 36''') is closed. Machine (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one sealing device (26, 36, 36 ', 36 ", 36''') in a direction perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the associated gap is elastically deformable and in a sealing position under bias on a surface of the closure member (17) and / or the housing (9). Machine according to claim 2, characterized in that at least one sealing device is an elastomeric profile, preferably with a longitudinally extending cavity or a free end portion in the form of a sealing lip. Machine according to claim 3, characterized in that a contact region of the elastomer profile, which is in contact with the surface of the closure member and / or the housing, has a greater Shore hardness and / or a lower coefficient of friction than the remaining elastomer profile. Machine (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that at least one sealing device (26, 36, 36 ', 36 ", 36''') is a brush strip (27) having a holding side (28), are summarized on the bristles , and a contact region (30), with which the brush strip (27) rests against the surface of the closure member (17) and / or the housing (9) possesses. Machine according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that at least one sealing device is fastened with a holding side close to the housing and the closure member is movable relative to the sealing means. Machine (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that at least one sealing device (26, 36, 36 ', 36 ", 36''') with a holding side (28) tightly attached to the closure member (17) and with this relative to the housing (9) is movable. Machine (1) according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the closure member (17) is displaceable relative to the housing (7) linearly or along a trajectory and / or pivoting. Machine (1) according to any one of Claims 1 to 8, characterized in that it is a bread slicer (2) with a circular blade provided with a serrated and / or corrugated cutting edge which is rotatable on a revolving arm. Machine (1) according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the closure member (17) is a closure lid (18) which is displaceable perpendicular to a feed direction (22) of the food to be cut, wherein the of the closure cover (18 ) in its closed position (20) covered opening (16) allows access to the feed area (6) forming insertion shaft (5) and to a discharge area (7) forming the withdrawal shaft. Machine (1) according to claim 10, characterized in that the closure lid (18) is provided with four together approximately rectangularly arranged sealing means (26). Machine (1) according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the closure member (17) is a crumb tray (23), the front side (24) in the closed position (25) is flush with a front side of the housing (9) and which is linearly displaceable in a direction perpendicular to its front side (24). Machine (1) according to claim 12, characterized in that the crumb tray (23) with a perpendicular to the front side (24) aligned side surface substantially flush with a side surface of the housing (9). Machine (1) according to claim 13, characterized in that a bottom plate (34) of the cuboid crumb tray (23) rests flat on a bottom surface (35) of the housing (9) and a first and a fourth sealing means (36, 36 ''' ) starting from the bottom surface (35) of the housing (9) parallel to a vertical edge (37, 40) of the crumb tray (23) extends to a top of the crumb tray (23), second and third sealing means (36 ', 36 ") at the top of the crumb tray (23) parallel to the bottom surface (35) of the crumb tray (23) Housing (9) to the vertical edge (37, 40) of the crumb tray (23) extends, all four sealing means (36, 36 ', 36 ", 36''') viewed in the longitudinal direction close together. Machine according to one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that the cutting member (3) performs its cutting movement completely within the housing (9).

Images