EP2607031B1 - Device for cutting a food product - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a device for slicing food products, in particular sausage, meat or cheese according to the preamble of claim 1.

Devices for slicing food products, also referred to as slicers or slicers, are basically known. Such devices have a product support for at least one product to be sliced and a downstream of the product support cutting blade to which the product can be fed along a conveying direction. Furthermore, known devices of this type are provided with a product holder which is movable along the conveying direction and interacts with the product at least temporarily during the slicing process.

The EP 1 704 973 A1 discloses a device according to the preamble of claim 1. Further prior art is known from DE 10 2005 056 848 A1 . DE 10 2008 020 246 A1 and DE 42 30 574 A1 ,

Although satisfactory results are achieved with the known product holders, the options currently being used, in particular with regard to product throughput, product yield and cutting quality, have not yet been exhausted. This is where the invention starts.

The present invention is therefore based on the object to provide a device of the aforementioned type, which has an improved product holder or an improved concept for using a product holder, in particular to increase the product throughput, the product yield and / or the cutting quality.

The object is achieved by a device having the features of claim 1. Preferred developments and embodiments of the invention are specified in the dependent claims.

A device not according to the invention for slicing food products, in particular sausage, meat or cheese, comprises a product support for at least one product, a cutting blade downstream of the product support to which the product can be fed along a conveying direction, and at least one movable along the conveying direction and during the Slicing operation with the product at least temporarily cooperating product holder, wherein the product support has a loading between an initial position and an end position of the product holder loading area in which the product support is loaded with the product and wherein the product holder from the end position, bypassing the loading area movable back to the initial position is.

The product holder can be moved in the conveying direction starting from its initial position or only during the slicing process and brought into contact with the product. The product can then be conveyed from the product holder and fed to the cutting blade. The product holder can also, without conveying the product, be moved only with the product and hold the product at its rear end, wherein the product in other ways, for example by means of a conveyor belt, which forms the actual product support, can be promoted.

In any case, after the end of the slicing process, the product holder reaches its end position behind the loading area in the conveying direction, from which the product holder is moved back to its initial position, bypassing the loading area. This allows the product support to be loaded with a new product while the product holder is moving back to the initial position. It is therefore not necessary to wait until the product holder has passed through the loading area in order to reload the product support. Thereby, the time that elapses between the cut on two products, so that the product throughput is increased in the device.

The term "product holder" is to be understood in the context of the present invention. This is to be understood in particular as a device which can be brought into contact with the product and / or by means of which the product can be handled anyway. The product holder can also be a vacuum gripper. For example, the product holder may be a product pusher that merely conveys the product. For example, the product may be moved in different directions with the product holder, or forces may be applied to the product with the product holder. Preferably, the product holder has a product gripper, which can penetrate into the product, in particular in its rear end portion. This will hold the product. The functions "convey" and "hold" of the product holder can be implemented individually or combined depending on the application. The product can also be moved counter to the conveying direction by the product gripper. This may be desirable during the slicing process, for example or required to perform, for example, idle cuts. In addition, at the end of the slicing process, a rear, not cut product section can be moved away from the cutting blade by means of the product gripper counter to the conveying direction and then dropped into a residual container.

The product holder can preferably be moved away from the end position to the side and / or upwards and / or downwards. In this way, it is particularly easy to constructively bypass the loading area. In this case, the product holder can be moved perpendicular to the conveying direction until it is outside the loading area. From the position reached in this way, the product holder can then be moved against the conveying direction and past the loading area back to the end position.

The product holder can be pivoted away from the end position or can be folded away. This can also be realized structurally in a simple manner. The weggeschwenkt or folded away product holder can then be moved back past the loading area in the initial position.

The product holder can also be foldable or telescopic.

A device not according to the invention for slicing food products, in particular sausage, meat or cheese, comprises a product support for at least one product, a cutting blade downstream of the product support, to which the product can be fed along a conveying direction, and at least one movable along the conveying direction and during the Slicing process with the product at least temporarily cooperating product holder, wherein the product holder is drivable by means of a lever arrangement.

By means of such a lever drive, higher maximum speeds for the movement of the product holder along the conveying direction can be achieved compared to a known spindle nut drive. In particular, it is possible to drive the product holder after the slicing process with a higher maximum speed back to its original position, as it is possible with a spindle-nut drive, without affecting the quality of movement of the product holder in the conveying direction during the slicing process disadvantages Purchase would have to be taken. The product holder thus achieves its initial position in a shorter time than conventional slicing devices. Thus, waiting times between successively sliced products can be reduced, thereby increasing product throughput.

The lever arrangement may be designed as a one-sided lever or as a two-sided lever, in particular as a lever, in which the force arm is substantially shorter than the load arm. In a one-sided lever, the power arm and the load arm are on the same side with respect to the axis of rotation of the lever, whereas with a two-sided lever, the axis of rotation is between the power arm and the load arm. The load arm corresponds to that side of the lever arrangement on which the load to be moved, ie the product holder, is located. The length of the load arm corresponds to the distance of the point of application of the load to the axis of rotation. The power arm corresponds to the side of the lever arrangement, which acts on the moving force. The length of the power arm corresponds to the distance between the axis of rotation and the point of application of the moving force. If the power arm is much smaller than the load arm, the lever assembly at a relatively low speed, with which the power arm is moved, cause a relatively high speed on the load arm. The lever arrangement can thus implement a low rotational speed of the power arm, which can be achieved structurally simply by means of an electric drive unit, for example, into a relatively high speed for the product holder coupled to the load arm. In particular, the drive device can act on the axis of rotation of the lever arrangement.

The lever arrangement may have a length compensation in order to compensate for a dependent on the position of the product holder along the conveying direction distance between the axis of rotation of the lever assembly and the product holder.

Particularly easy length compensation can be realized in that the lever assembly has at least two hingedly interconnected levers, as they change their relative orientation to each other via their articulated connection and thus can compensate for a changing distance between the product holder and the axis of rotation.

A drive unit for the lever arrangement can be provided, which is arranged below the product support. Thereby, the drive unit can be relatively easily achieved, for example, to perform service work. In addition, this does not affect the intended area for handling the products above the product overlay.

A drive unit of the lever arrangement, for example an electric motor, can act on the axis of rotation of the lever arrangement. hereby on the one hand a relatively simple rotary drive and on the other hand at the same time - unlike a spindle-nut arrangement - if necessary, a relatively high speed of the product holder can be realized.

A device according to the invention for slicing food products, in particular sausage, meat or cheese, comprises a product support for at least one product, a cutting blade downstream of the product support to which the product can be fed along a conveying direction, at least one movable along the conveying direction and during the slicing process the product at least temporarily cooperating product holder, and a control unit, wherein the control unit connected to a detection device for detecting the product contour and is formed depending on the detected product contour to control the product holder such that the distance between the product holder and the product support during the slicing process is adjustable so that the product holder keeps the product in contact with the product support during the slicing process.

In particular, by the possibility of adjusting the distance between the product holder and the product support, a rear end portion of the product, which tapers towards the rear end, can be permanently held in contact with the product support, with the rear end portion being cut open, and by the product holder, as well always - is held. As a result, the rear end of the product is also supported by the product support, which increases the quality of the slices separated by this end section, which makes it possible, at least in certain applications, to cut open the rear end of the product, thereby increasing the product yield.

In known devices, the tapered, held by the product holder end portion depends in a sense "in the air", so that a support by the product support is not given and the End section either not at all or cut only at the expense of a lower cutting quality.

The control of the product holder with respect to its distance from the product support is dependent on the determined concrete contour of the respective cut product. The control unit for the product holder is for this purpose connected to the detection device for the product contour.

For slicing the tapered rear end portion of the product, the product holder is preferably lowerable such that the product holder keeps the underside of the rear end portion in contact with the product support during the slicing operation.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the product holder for adjusting the distance between the product holder and the product support is pivotable. By pivoting the product holder downwards, a variable product diameter can thus be compensated during the slicing of the end section, and the underside of the end section can be permanently held in contact with the product support.

A device not according to the invention for slicing food products, in particular sausage, meat or cheese, comprises a product support for at least one product, a cutting blade downstream of the product support to which the product can be fed along a conveying direction, and at least one movable along the conveying direction and during the Slicing operation with the product at least temporarily co-operating product holder, wherein in the range the cutting blade facing the end of the product support is provided a guide means which is adapted to guide a rear end portion of the product, independently of the product holder.

This makes it possible that towards the end of the slicing process, the guide device "takes over" the product from the product holder and the product holder "retreats" insofar as the cutting of a rear product end can take place without being affected by the product holder.

The product holder preferably has a product gripper with at least one gripping claw or claw that can penetrate the rear end portion of the product, allowing the product holder to grasp and hold the product. To avoid a collision with the cutting blade, so far the rear end of the product can not be cut open because the product holder engages in this. By the device not according to the invention it is possible to cut open the rear end portion as well, because the product holder is disengaged from the end portion and the end portion can be fed to the cutting blade independently of the product holder by the guide means.

Particularly well, the end portion can be guided by a guide means having a product shell which at least partially enclosing the product.

For conveying the product independently of the product holder, the guide device can have at least one conveying device. In this case, the conveyor preferably has at least one conveyor belt, which is preferably configured as an upper conveyor belt arranged above the product support.

A mold shell and a conveyor may be integrated components of an assembly of the guide device. In this way, a mold shell with integrated conveying function or a conveyor with integrated guide function can be created, which allows a safe and controlled cutting of a product back product independent of the product holder.

The embodiments of the invention explained below can be realized in connection with each of the above aspects.

The product support may comprise at least one lower conveyor belt for the product forming a support surface for the product.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the product holder is arranged on a carrier, which is guided along or parallel to the conveying direction.

The cutting blade can be fed in several parallel, adjacent tracks several products simultaneously, with a product holder is provided for each product. It can thus be provided a multi-lane slicing of food products, in which in particular the individual product holders are independently operable.

Particularly preferably, a common carrier is provided for the product holder, which is guided along the device.

Further, the following methods are disclosed.

According to a method of slicing products, a product holder is moved from an end position bypassing a product loading area back to a home position to bring the next product to be sliced into the loading area during the return movement of the product holder.

According to another method of slicing products, a lever-driven product holder is moved back to a home position at a speed substantially higher than a product holder speed during the slicing operation.

According to another method for slicing products, the distance of a product holder from a product support during the slicing operation is varied according to a predetermined profile and / or depending on determined product dimensions.

According to a further method for slicing products, a guide device provided in the region of the cutting plane takes over a rear product end from a product holder which is effective up to this takeover.

Fig. 1

eine seitliche Ansicht einer nicht erfindungsgemäßen Vorrichtung zum Aufschneiden von Lebensmittelprodukten,

Fig. 2

eine seitliche Ansicht einer anderen nicht erfindungsgemäßen Vorrichtung zum Aufschneiden von Lebensmittelprodukten,

Fig. 2A bis 2C

stärker schematisierte seitliche Ansichten der Vorrichtung von Fig. 2,

Fig. 3

eine vordere Ansicht der Vorrichtung von Fig. 2,

Fig. 4

eine seitliche Ansicht einer erfindungsgemäßen Vorrichtung zum Aufschneiden von Lebensmittelprodukten,

Fig. 5

eine seitliche Ansicht der Vorrichtung von Fig. 4,

Fig. 6

eine weitere seitliche Ansicht der Vorrichtung von Fig. 4,

Fig. 7

eine seitliche Ansicht einer weiteren erfindungsgemäßen Vorrichtung zum Aufschneiden von Lebensmittelprodukten,

Fig. 8

eine seitliche Ansicht einer weiteren nicht erfindungsgemäßen Vorrichtung zum Aufschneiden von Lebensmittelprodukten, und

Fig. 9

eine vordere Ansicht der Vorrichtung von Fig. 8.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings. They show, in each case in a schematic representation,

Fig. 1

a side view of a device not according to the invention for slicing food products,

Fig. 2

a side view of another non-inventive device for slicing food products,

Fig. 2A to 2C

more schematic side views of the device of Fig. 2 .

Fig. 3

a front view of the device of Fig. 2 .

Fig. 4

a side view of a device according to the invention for slicing food products,

Fig. 5

a side view of the device of Fig. 4 .

Fig. 6

another side view of the device of Fig. 4 .

Fig. 7

a side view of another device according to the invention for slicing food products,

Fig. 8

a side view of another device not according to the invention for slicing food products, and

Fig. 9

a front view of the device of Fig. 8 ,

In the Fig. 1 The apparatus shown is intended for slicing a food product 1 and comprises a product support 3, on which the product 1 can be placed and conveyed along a conveying direction I. The device has a cutting blade arranged in a cutting plane 5, which is arranged downstream of the product support 3 in the conveying direction I. The cutting blade can rotate in the cutting plane 5 about a knife axis and / or rotate planetary about a central axis to separate food slices of the product 1, which fall on a product tray, not shown, from which the slices, in particular in portions, further transported.

The device further comprises a product holder 7, which is arranged on a support 9. The carrier 9 is movably mounted on two spaced, laterally above the product support 3 and along the conveying direction I extending guides 11, so that the product holder 7 along the conveying direction I is movable. However, the carrier 9 can also be movably mounted only on one or more spaced-apart guides 11 (not shown).

The product 1 is placed in a loading area 13 on the product support 3. The product 1 can for example be placed manually on the product support 3 or pushed transversely to the conveying direction I onto the product support 3 by means of a support (not shown) arranged laterally next to the loading region 13.

In the device of Fig. 1 the product holder 7 is moved from an initial position (compare item A in FIG Fig. 1 ), in which the product holder 7 is located behind the loading area 13, moved in the conveying direction I and with the rear, remote from the cutting blade end portion of the product 1 is brought into engagement. For this purpose, the product holder 7 has a product gripper 17 arranged on a product holder arm 15, on which at least one gripping claw is arranged, which can penetrate into the rear end portion of the product 1 and thus grasp and hold the product 1.

By means of the product holder 7, the product 1 can be conveyed in the conveying direction I and fed to the cutting blade. In this case, the product holder 7 is moved through the loading area 13. The product holder 7 - after it has been disengaged from the product 1 or after the slicing process for the product 1 has been completed - reaches an end position (see item B in FIG Fig. 1 ), which, viewed in the conveying direction I, lies behind the loading area 13.

It is provided that the product holder 7 can be moved from the end position B, bypassing the loading area 13, back to the initial position A. Since the product holder 7 is thus not moved through the loading area 13 back into the initial position A, it is possible - even while the product holder 7 is moved back to the initial position A - to load the product support 3 in the loading area 13 with a new product 1. This can be achieved, for example, that the new product 1 is already on the product support 3, while the product holder 7 moves back to the initial position A. The product holder 7 thus does not have to wait in the initial position A until the new product 1 is ready, but can be moved again immediately from the initial position A in the conveying direction I to the new product 1. The period of time within which two products can be successively cut can thus be shortened by the invention.

As in Fig. 1 is shown, in the apparatus shown here by way of example the loading area 13 is bypassed in that the product holder arm 15 is pivoted in befindlichem in the end position B product holder 7 in the pivoting direction II upwards in the dashed line position. The product holder 7 is thus folded upwards and then moved above the loading area 13 back to the initial position A.

The pivotal movement of the product holder 7 in the direction of pivoting II upwards is given only as an example. Alternatively or additionally, the product holder 7 can be moved away to the side, for example, and moved laterally past the loading area 13 into the initial position A.

The "swinging away" or "folding away" the product holder 7 is only one of several ways to the product holder 7 on the loading area 13 over to go back to the initial position A. According to other variants, not shown, the product holder 7, in particular the product holder arm 15, can be folded or telescoped, so that the product holder 7 or its arm 15 can be moved back into the initial position A past the loading area 13 in the folded or retracted state.

In the devices shown here, the product 1 is not only held by the product holder 7, but also promoted. Alternatively or additionally, the product support 3 may comprise a conveyor belt, not shown, which forms the actual support surface for the product 1 and by means of which the product 1 can be conveyed along the conveying direction I. The product holder 7 can then promote the product 1 in addition to the conveyor belt or be moved with the product 1, without the product 1 being conveyed through the product holder 7. In the latter case, the product holder 7 can be used to stabilize the product 1 by adhering to the rear end of the product and / or if necessary to move against the conveying direction I, ie away from the cutting plane 5, for example, to carry out blank cuts or around the rear end portion of the product, if it is not cut open, to be sent to a container of waste.

In the event that the actual product feed to the cutting blade by the mentioned, not shown conveyor belt of the product support 3, it is also not necessary that the product holder 7 engages from the beginning in the rear end portion of the product 1. Rather, it may already have been started with the slicing of the product 1, before the product holder 7 is brought into engagement with the rear end portion.

It is essential in the device of Fig. 1 in that the product holder 7 can pass back into the initial position A, bypassing the loading region 13, so that the product support 3 can still be loaded with another product 1 to be sliced while the product holder 7 is being driven back.

In the in the Fig. 2 . 2A to 2C and 3 the apparatus shown, the product holder 7 by means of a lever assembly 21 can be driven. The lever arrangement 21 comprises a first lever 23 and a second lever 25. A first end 23a of the first lever 23 is articulated on a support 9, which is displaceable along a guide 11. The second end 23b of the first lever 23 is pivotally connected to a first end 25a of the second lever 25. The second end 25b of the second lever 25 is coupled to an output shaft 27 of a drive unit 29 below the product support 3 is arranged and which is in particular an electric motor.

The second lever 25 can be rotated about an axis of rotation 31 extending through the drive shaft 27. As in the Figs. 2A, 2B and 2C can be seen, the arrangement of the lever 23, 25 and their lengths are chosen such that upon rotation of the second lever 25 in the direction of rotation III of the first lever 23 acts on the carrier 9, that this together with the product holder 7 in the conveying direction I. along the guide 11 is moved. By a rotation of the second lever 25 against the direction of rotation III, the carrier 9 and the product holder 7 are moved by the first lever 23 counter to the conveying direction I.

Due to the articulated connection between the two levers 23, 25, the two levers 23, 25 change their relative orientation to each other. The lever assembly 21 thus has a length compensation in order to compensate for a dependent of the position of the product holder 7 along the conveying direction I distance between the rotation axis 31 and the product holder 7.

As mentioned, the second lever 25 can be rotated about the axis of rotation 31 extending through the drive shaft 27. In this case, the drive unit 29 engages on the axis of rotation 31, so that the power arm of the lever assembly 21 is very short or a triggering torque is present. On the other hand, in the lever assembly 21, the load arm extending from the rotation shaft 31 to the moving load and thus to the first end 23a of the first lever 23 is relatively long. As a result, the product holder 7 reaches a relatively high speed in the conveying direction I even at a low rotational speed of the drive shaft 27.

In the device, therefore, the product holder 7 can be moved along the conveying direction I at a comparatively high speed if required. This is used in particular after the slicing of the product 1 for returning the product holder 7 to its starting position. The product holder 7 thus reaches its starting position again in a relatively short time and can then be used again for slicing a new product 1 placed on the product support 3. Thus, the time that elapses between the cutting of successive products 1 can be shortened and consequently the product throughput of the device can be increased.

With reference to the 4 to 6 a slicing apparatus according to the invention is described in which - while the product 1 is cut open - the distance between the product holder 7 and the product support 3 is adjustable. This is particularly advantageous during the cutting of a tapered rear end portion of the product 1, which will be explained in more detail below.

In Fig. 4 For example, a situation is shown in which the tapered rear end portion of the product 1 is not yet cut open. The bottom of the product 1 rests on the product support 3, so that the separation of product slices can be done by means of the cutting knife with high cutting quality, since the product 1 not only held at its rear end by the product holder 7, but also in the cutting plane 5 of the product support 3 is supported.

If the distance of the product holder 7 to the product support 3 can not be adjusted, then during the slicing of the rear end portion of the product 1, the in Fig. 5 illustrated problem occur. Since the product gripper 17 engages in the rear end portion of the product 1, this is held and depends in a sense "in the air" as soon as the tapered end portion enters the cutting plane 5, the product 1 thus still due to its tapered from the product holder 7 in the previous Distance from the product support 3 held end no longer rests on the product support 3. This lack of support by the product edition 3 can lead to a deterioration of the cutting results.

In the device according to the invention it is now provided that during the slicing process the distance between the product holder 7 and the product support 3 is adjusted by lowering the product holder 7 such that the product 1 is permanently held in contact with the product support 3 (cf. Fig. 6 ). As a result, the product 1 including the tapered end portion can be cut continuously with consistent quality. The rejects can thus be reduced and the product yield increased.

As in Fig. 6 is exemplified, the product holder 7 can be lowered by the product holder arm 15 has a downwardly extendable portion 15a. In contrast, in Fig. 7 an alternative embodiment shown, in which the distance between the product holder 7 and the product support 3 during the slicing process is adjustable in that the relatively long product holder arm 15 is pivotable about a pivot axis 33 down. By pivoting the product holder arm 15 and the product gripper 17 arranged thereon downwards, the end section of the product 1 can likewise be permanently held in contact with the product support 3 during the slicing process.

As already explained above, the product holder 7 may have a product gripper 17 with at least one gripping claw which can engage in the rear end portion of the product 1. The gripping claw may e.g. Have hooks or needles. If the gripping claw engages the rear end portion of the product 1, it can not be completely cut open because the cutting blade would collide with the gripping claw.

When referring to the 8 and 9 described non-inventive embodiment is now provided that the product gripper 17 is brought towards the end of the slicing process out of engagement with the rear end portion of the product 1, to subsequently cut the rear end can without fearing a collision between the cutting blade and the gripping claw ,

In order to supply the end portion of the product 1 independently of the product holder 7 controlled the cutting blade, is in the slicing the 8 and 9 in the region of the cutting plane 5 facing the end of the product support 3, a guide means 35 is provided, with which the rear end portion of the product 1 - after the product gripper 17 has been pulled out of the product 1 - the cutting blade can be supplied. In this case, the guide device 35 comprises a shaped shell 37 adapted to the cross-sectional shape of the respective product 1, from which the product 1 is at least partially enclosed and guided in the circumferential direction. The shell 37 can thus be considered as a backdrop in which the product 1 is guided.

The lower portion of the mold shell 37 forms the front end of the product support 3 and thus during the slicing with the Cutting knife cooperating cutting edge, which is also referred to as counter knife.

In addition, the guide device 35 comprises an upper conveyor belt 39 whose distance from the product support 3 can be adjusted and thus adapted to the diameter of the product 1. By the upper conveyor belt 39, the product 1 regardless of the product holder 7 and / or by a conveyor belt, not shown, the product support 3, which forms the actual support surface for the product 1, and fed to the cutting blade.

When referring to the 8 and 9 described embodiment, it is therefore possible to cut open the end portion of the product 1 completely. As a result, the product yield can be increased accordingly.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1

Food product

3

product support

5

cutting plane

7

product holder

9

carrier

11

guide

13

loading area

15

Produkthalterarm

15a

Section of the product holder arm

17

product gripper

21

lever assembly

23

first lever

23a

first end

23b

second end

25

second lever

25a

first end

25b

second end

27

drive shaft

29

drive unit

31

axis of rotation

33

swivel axis

35

guide means

37

shell mold

39

conveyor belt

I

Conveying direction.

II

pan direction

III

direction of rotation

Claims (4)

1. An apparatus for slicing food products (1), in particular sausage, meat or cheese, comprising
   a product support (3) for at least one product (1);
   a cutting blade which is arranged downstream of the product support (3) and to which the product (1) can be supplied along a conveying direction (I);
   at least one product holder (7) movable along the conveying direction (I) and cooperating with the product (1) at least at times during the slicing procedure; and
   a control unit,
   characterized in that
   the control unit is connected to a detection device for detecting the product contour and is configured, in dependence on the detected product contour, to control the product holder (7) such that the spacing between the product holder (7) and the product support (3) is adjustable during the slicing procedure such that the product holder (7) holds the product (1) in contact with the product support (3) during the slicing procedure.
2. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1,
   characterized in that
   the product holder (7) is configured for firmly holding the product (1) at its rear end section, with the product holder (7) preferably being designed in hook shape or as a vacuum gripper.
3. An apparatus in accordance with any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that
   the product holder (7) can be lowered for slicing a tapering rear end section of the product (1) such that the product holder (7) holds a lower side of the rear end section of the product (1) in contact with the product support (3) during the slicing procedure.
4. An apparatus in accordance with any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that
   the product holder (7) is pivotable for adjusting the distance between the product holder (7) and the product support (3).

Images