EP3120981B1 - Method and device for generating a multiple-track portion flow as output of a slicing device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method and a device for producing a multi-lane portion stream, in which a plurality of food products are fed simultaneously to a slicing unit and cut into portions, product and / or track-specific data being determined before slicing and / or slicing.

The food products may in particular be sausage, ham, meat, cheese, baked goods or the like. These are cut into portions, which in particular each have at least one disc.

The slicing unit may comprise a rotary knife and / or planetary rotating cutting blade, in particular sickle or circular blade.

Such methods or devices are known in principle. On the basis of the determined data, it is determined, for example, how many and with which thickness slices of a product have to be separated in each case in order to obtain portions with a predetermined target weight.

For slicing devices, in particular high-performance slicers, the aim is always to achieve as continuous a portion flow as possible in the direction of a downstream packaging device. This is advantageous for the downstream devices for format formation, for buffering as well as for insertion into the packaging or transfer to the packaging device. In particular, in the case of a continuous portion stream, a transfer device, for example a robot gripper, which is also referred to as a "picker" or "pick and place robot", also work continuously and hand over the portions without interruptions.

Breaks in the product stream arise i.a. by loading the slicer with new products in the feed area. The proportion of these loading breaks increases the more the shorter the products to be sliced. This requires buffer sections in the area of the conveying and sorting lines after the slicing unit. The entire system is extended in this way, which is disadvantageous because of the limited space in the user.

There are slicing devices with at least two tracks known which control the product supply for all tracks together with a single control. The product grippers, which are also referred to as end gripper or product holder, ensure a uniform product feed for all tracks, see eg EP-A-2 420 364 , Individual product feeding is not possible with these slicing devices.

Furthermore, slicing devices with at least two tracks are known in which so-called vario feeders are used. Here, a track-specific product feed can be ensured. For example, the product grippers can be controlled on a track-by-track basis. Alternatively or additionally, also feed belts, which form the product support surface, can be controlled individually. In the case of a Vario feed, at least the product grippers can thus be adjusted in the axial direction over a limited length range, in order to cut different lengths and heavy products side by side into uniform portions. With a Vario feeder, however, there is the problem at the end of each product loaf that no more portions are created in the relevant track. In an adjacent track, in which, for example, a longer and / or heavier product is cut, portions are still created. So results in a non-continuous portion stream due to different lengths and / or different heavy products.

Also in so-called endless feeders where relatively long products, e.g. Product strands are cut to the exact weight in portions by track-individual product support belts and / or tractor belts provide from the top for a product feed and, for example, product gripper only the rear end piece lead on the last stretch, this problem occurs.

In at least one track, for example, no more portions are formed, while in at least one other track the usable remainder of a product is cut open. It comes then in the portion stream in the track with the first used up product to a succession of incomplete portions in a row.

These may be difficult or impossible to process by subsequent systems. In any case, these systems must be designed accordingly, which in particular requires the use of buffer lines and / or multiple transverse distributors in the field of conveying and sorting lines after slicing.

This means in particular in slicing with many tracks a corresponding effort in terms of complexity of the system and the associated costs. This can also increase the length of the entire system. In any case, even if this is technically feasible, the variability and / or flexibility of a slicing apparatus thereby diminishes. The slicing device must always be specially adapted to the respective product in order to achieve efficient operation.

It is therefore an object of the invention to improve a method and an apparatus for producing a multi-lane portion stream in such a way that the most continuous portion stream is produced.

The object is achieved by a method and a device each having the features of the independent claims 1 and 9. According to the invention, the expected positions of defects in the portion stream are calculated on the basis of the data. The slicing operation is adjusted so that at least some of the actual locations of defects are distributed between the expected positions and the sequence of portions generated from the particular product. A slicing process is not exclusive to slicing a product. The cutting process also includes the performance of so-called idle cuts, ie cutting movements of the knife, in which no slices separated from the product and in particular between successive portions are carried out to allow the removal of complete portions. In addition, the slicing process also includes feeding the products and loading the device with the products.

Consequently, the particular performance of the slicing process in many ways directly affect the portion formation, because portions only arise when separating slices. If, on the other hand, blank cuts are made, no portions are produced.

A defect corresponds to a missing portion in the portion stream. This is also referred to below as empty portion - based on the term established in the art "blanks". An empty portion can be generated by several immediately consecutive empty cuts in a track. Blank cuts can be generated, for example, by disengaging the cutting blade or stopping or retracting the product.

The slicing process can therefore also be influenced by the feed. If e.g. If no product is supplied or the supply is temporarily stopped, at least one empty cut takes place. If the feeder is stopped for a number of blank slices corresponding to one serving, an empty portion is created.

Thus, the slicing process can be adjusted by the cutting blade itself, e.g. by an axial adjustment of the cutting blade. Alternatively or additionally, a control of the feed, in particular the product gripper and / or a conveyor belt, a control of a loading rocker and / or an adjustment of the order of the inserted products, e.g. according to the product size, possible.

As far as the data determination is concerned, in particular sensors, stops, scanners, in particular contour and / or X-ray scanners, and / or scales, e.g. so-called optical scales, are used. In particular, in this case, the data of all products of the different tracks can be determined.

On the basis of the data, expected positions and / or the number of defects in the portion stream are calculated according to the invention. If no further influence on the slicing process were taken, defects in these expected positions would arise during normal further operation. In particular, the products would typically be cut open in such a way that successive portions are formed with the respectively specified target weight. The defects inevitably arise in a track as soon as a product is completely cut there and before a new product is inserted and cut becomes. With products of different lengths in different tracks, this results in portions being produced in one lane, while in another lane one or more empty portions are formed, since the shorter product is already completely cut there.

In order to generate a portion stream which is as continuous as possible, the length of a sequence of defects can be kept as low as possible according to the invention. According to the invention, the slicing operation is generally adapted so that at least some actual positions of defects differ from the expected positions.

Thus, according to the invention, defects are selectively generated, i. Create empty portions at a time when the product in question is not yet completely cut open.

The defects become, e.g. with the help of an algorithm, so to speak re-distributed, so that in particular not all defects occur following a completely cut product. During adaptation, several products of the same and / or different tracks can also be taken into account.

According to the invention, the number of immediately consecutive defects can thus be reduced, in particular in the case of slicing devices having at least two tracks. For the downstream devices for formatting and buffering as well as for insertion into the packaging or the transfer to the packaging device, the invention saves design effort, reduces downtime, e.g. by manual corrections of the portion stream or formats, and allows great flexibility of the system.

The resorting of the positions of the defects is also advantageous for variable format formation. A large number of successive defects required namely, many other transverse distributions that can be automated with little or no effort.

Therefore, the invention relieves those systems downstream of the slicer which process the portion stream, in particular formatting means such as e.g. Querverteiler.

In particular, in a two-lane cutting a transverse distribution with minimal design complexity and high throughput can be made such that the portions are handed over four lanes to a packaging device.

It is ensured with the invention, a largely continuous flow of product and format, which can be processed well and efficiently in downstream facilities. Furthermore, the invention makes it possible to process products of different sizes well and efficiently.

Also, the inventive concept for the retrofitting of existing systems is well suited. It may be enough to just adapt the control accordingly.

Further developments of the invention can be found in the dependent claims, the description and the accompanying drawings.

According to one embodiment, the slicing process is track-individual. In particular, the feed takes place individually, for example by means of a so-called vario feeder. In this case, the product holders and / or conveyor belts can be activated, for example, on a track-specific basis, so that the products can be fed to the slicing unit independently of one another, for example at different speeds. Also, products in individual lanes can be stopped consciously or in the opposite direction to the conveying direction to produce empty cuts or empty portions.

If, on the other hand, the products are not supplied independently but together to the slicing unit, the positions of the defects can be varied, for example, by changing the order of the products. In particular, smaller products can be evenly distributed over the tracks, so that the resulting defects are distributed as evenly as possible and a continuous portion flow is created.

According to a further embodiment, the slicing process is adapted such that a plurality of immediately consecutive defects in a track are avoided. In particular, no more than two or three defects are generated in succession. This results in a relatively uniform and especially for downstream devices for formatting particularly easy to handle portion stream.

According to a further embodiment, the slicing operation is adapted such that defects are produced in at least one track during the slicing of a product in this track.

Targeted defects are generated as it were "in the middle of the product", i. it deliberately creates empty portions even though the product in question has not yet been completely cut open. The defects can be distributed over the product length, which ensures that downstream devices always receive a continuous flow of product and can process the defects well, for example, in the format formation.

According to a further embodiment, the defects are generated in a predetermined or predeterminable pattern. The pattern can be especially from Product, depending on current operating condition and / or expected portion flow in downstream equipment.

For example, the pattern in a track may include a sequence of two portions and one defect. Also several portions, e.g. three, four, five, six or more consecutively, followed by e.g. one, two or three defects is possible according to the invention.

In particular, the pattern may cover an entire slicing job, e.g. a batch of a product variety, at least substantially retained.

According to a further embodiment, the defects or the patterns are generated as a function of at least one downstream device. The downstream device may be designed for product handling. In particular, the downstream device may be a buffer, a depositor, a picker, a transverse distributor, a format image and / or a line-type renderer.

According to a further embodiment, the defects are distributed uniformly in the portion flow in at least one track. In particular, in each case the slicing operation of at least one further track can be taken into account.

According to a further embodiment, the product and / or track-specific data relate to the weight, the density, the volume, the structure, the contour, the length, and / or the sequence of the products in a track.

The structure may in particular comprise the density distribution, holes in the product, the distribution of fat and / or any additives, eg pistachios, mushrooms or nuts. The variety of the product can also be recorded in the data record. All determined Data together can serve as the basis for calculating the expected locations of missing portions in the portion stream.

Also during cutting, measurement results can be obtained, e.g. with the aid of a so-called optical balance, by means of which the cut surface on the product is evaluated in each case so that data calculated from it can be used to correct the product feed.

Furthermore, the system can learn from predecessor products. Thus, e.g. the distribution of the empty portions from at least one predecessor product for a subsequent product, for example, as a default value and / or as a correction value are taken into account. Preferably, the same or at least similar products or batches are preferably compared and / or evaluated.

The invention also relates to a device for producing a multi-lane portion stream, comprising a feed device which feeds a plurality of food products simultaneously to a slicing unit, a measuring device which is designed to determine product and / or track-specific data before slicing and / or during slicing an evaluation device configured to calculate expected positions of defective portions in the portion stream based on the data, and a controller configured to adjust the slicing operation such that at least some actual positions of defects differ from the expected positions.

All embodiments of the device described here are in particular designed to be operated according to the method described here. Furthermore, all embodiments of the device described here and all embodiments of the method described here can each be combined with each other.

Fig. 1

schematisch eine Draufsicht auf eine Vorrichtung zum Erzeugen eines mehrspurigen Portionsstroms gemäß dem Stand der Technik, und

Fig. 2

schematisch eine Draufsicht auf eine erfindungsgemäße Vorrichtung zum Erzeugen eines mehrspurigen Portionsstroms.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the drawings. Show it:

Fig. 1

schematically a plan view of an apparatus for generating a multi-lane portion stream according to the prior art, and

Fig. 2

schematically a plan view of an inventive device for generating a multi-lane portion stream.

First, it should be noted that the illustrated embodiments are merely exemplary in nature. In particular, the number and positions of the defects shown may vary. Also, more than two lanes can be provided.

Fig. 1 shows a two-lane slicing device according to the prior art. Products 10 are fed by individual product grippers 12 to a common slicing unit 14.

The slicing unit 14 cuts the products 10 into portions 16. In the right lane, the product 10 is already completely cut open, so that only one product residue 18 is left. Portions 16 can no longer be created from product residue 18. The portion stream after the slicing unit 14 thus produces empty portions 20 in the right-hand track, ie defects. Only insofar as it is necessary for the generation of weight-accurate portions 16 are product-specific data with the aid of an in Fig. 1 Not shown measuring device determined and used for the slicing process, in particular the product supply.

In the embodiment according to the invention, which in Fig. 2 is shown again, product-specific data using a measuring device 22, eg a scanner, determined. These data, such as contour data, are forwarded together with the also determined total weight of the product to an evaluation device 24 and evaluated there. Thus, based on the data not only (as in the prior art Fig. 1 ) those locations where slices of product are to be separated to produce weight-accurate portions, but also calculates the expected locations of voids 20 in the portion stream. The so-called cutting plan according to the invention thus preferably also includes a planning of the empty portions 20 to form a product 10.

The expected positions of flaws 20 thus correspond to what would arise if the products 10 were cut open without the invention, ie a situation would arise as in Fig. 1 result. There, the product 10 is completely cut open in the right-hand lane, so that a plurality of directly consecutive empty portions 20 are formed in the portion stream.

In the invention, according to Fig. 2 However, the locations of flaws 20 are distributed over the sequence of portions 16 produced by the particular product. Namely, based on the data obtained by the evaluation device 24, the control device 26 controls the slicing process in such a way that at least some actual positions of flaws 20 are obtained from the expected positions of flaws (cf. Fig. 1 ).

For example, the control device 26 can control the product grippers 12 and / or the slicing unit 14 in such a way that empty portions 20 are already generated in a targeted manner during the slicing of the product 10 in the right-hand track.

The flaws 20 are evenly distributed in this way. Such a portion stream is more favorable for downstream devices, especially for those for format formation.

LIST OF REFERENCES

10

product

12

product gripper

14

Aufschneideeinheit

16

portion

18

product rest

20

Empty portion, missing part

22

measuring device

24

evaluation

26

control device

Claims (9)

1. A method of generating a multi-track portion flow in which a plurality of food products (10) are simultaneously supplied to a slicing unit (14) and cut into portions (16),
   wherein product-specific data and/or track-specific data are determined before the slicing and/or during the slicing,
   characterized in that
   expected positions of empty locations (20) in the portion flow are calculated by means of the data; and
   the slicing process is adapted such that at least some actual positions of empty locations (20) differ from the expected positions and are distributed over the sequence of portions (16) generated from the respective product (10).
2. A method in accordance with claim 1,
   characterized in that
   the slicing process takes place individually per track.
3. A method in accordance with claim 1 or claim 2,
   characterized in that
   the slicing process is adapted such that a plurality of directly consecutive empty locations (20) in a track are avoided.
4. A method in accordance with any one of the preceding claims,
   characterized in that
   the slicing process is adapted such that empty locations (20) are generated in at least one track during the slicing of a product (10) in this track.
5. A method in accordance with any one of the preceding claims,
   characterized in that
   the empty locations (20) are generated in a predefined or predefinable pattern.
6. A method in accordance with any one of the preceding claims,
   characterized in that
   the empty locations (20) are generated in dependence on at least one device connected downstream.
7. A method in accordance with any one of the preceding claims,
   characterized in that
   the empty locations (20) are uniformly distributed in the portion flow in at least one track.
8. A method in accordance with any one of the preceding claims,
   characterized in that
   the product-specific data and/or track-specific data relate to the weight, to the density, to the volume, to the structure, to the contour, to the length and/or to the sequence of the products (10) in a track.
9. An apparatus for generating a multi-track portion flow, comprising
   a feed apparatus which supplies a plurality of food products (10) simultaneously to a slicing unit (14); and
   a measurement apparatus (22) which is configured to determine product-specific data and/or track-specific data before the slicing and/or during the slicing,
   characterized in that the apparatus has an evaluation apparatus (24) which is configured to calculate expected positions of empty locations (20) in the portion flow by means of the data, and
   a control apparatus (26) which is configured to adapt the slicing process such that at least some actual positions of empty locations (20) differ from the expected positions and are distributed over the sequence of portions (16) generated from the respective product (10).

Images