EP3378616B1 - Processing of food products - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a method for generating a plurality of streams of portions each comprising one or more slices which have been obtained by slicing food products by means of a slicing device, in particular a high-speed slicer. The invention also relates to a device which, among other things, comprises a control device which is designed to control the device according to a method according to the invention.

Such methods and devices are known in principle. For example, shows EP 2 468 466 A1 a method in which food products are fed in several lanes to a slicing device and are cut into slices by the latter. Also EP 3 120 981 A2 and EP 2 439 029 A1 show methods of slicing food products. When slicing food products, ie when operating systems also known as production lines, which include one or more slicing devices, in particular high-performance slicers, the slicing device has so far formed the "heart" of the system insofar as the operation of the slicing device determines the processes of all other system components . In practice, this leads to problems which are either accepted or which are met with a high level of design and control effort.

For example, a fundamentally desired continuous flow of portions in the direction of a unit downstream of the slicing device (also simply: slicer), in particular a packaging machine, cannot be implemented if pauses or interruptions occur in the portion flow. Such interruptions inevitably occur, for example, when the slicer is loaded with new products. This is countered in particular with so-called buffer devices between the slicer and the packaging machine, which has the disadvantage, among other things, that such devices enlarge the entire system.

Maintaining an at least somewhat continuous stream of portions in a multi-lane system, the slicer of which simultaneously slices adjacent products in several lanes, turns out to be particularly complex. Differences on the supply side in the individual lanes can be seen in the individual portion streams behind the slicer, in particular in the form of gaps in the individual portion streams. In particular, incomplete portion lines can arise which can only be processed further with difficulty or not at all by the devices following the slicer. Countermeasures are currently comparatively long buffer sections and / or a plurality of so-called transverse distributors in the area of the conveying and sorting sections. The more lane a system is, the greater the effort, especially with regard to the complexity and the costs of the system. Even that which is technically feasible fails in practice either because of the high costs or because the portion throughput is too low, since above all closing gaps in the portion flow takes a lot of time, especially for the so-called transverse distribution and the associated stopping of portions.

The improvement of the slicer made in the past, in particular with regard to cutting speed and weight accuracy, can consequently also lead to disadvantages if the operation of a system is geared towards optimizing the slicer operation.

The object of the invention is to provide a remedy here and to provide possibilities, in particular when using multi-lane slicing devices without unacceptable losses in cutting speed and weight accuracy to ensure that the portions produced by means of the slicing device are handled as simply and continuously as possible on the way to a downstream unit, in particular a packaging machine. In particular, it should be ensured that gaps in a portion flow or incomplete portion lines and incomplete format sets do not arise in the first place or that their number is at least minimized.

The general inventive idea with which this object is achieved consists in an intelligent operation of the slicing device or a system containing one or more slicing devices, in which circumstances such as in particular special operating situations or special operating states are taken into account that were previously at least for the operation of the slicing device played no or only a subordinate role.

According to the invention, which is defined in claims 1 and 6, in the method for generating several streams, in which products lying next to one another in several tracks are fed to a cutting knife of the slicing device moving in a cutting plane, slices are separated from the products by means of the cutting knife , portions are formed from the severed slices, and the portions are transported in multiple streams to a downstream unit, in particular a packaging machine, according to the invention it is provided that the allocations of the streams are recorded and the slicing is carried out as a function of the recorded allocations.

The "occupancy" of a portion stream is to be understood as the number of portions that are in a stream, based on a unit of length of the transport route along which the portions flow and / or based on a unit of time within which portions are in the Electricity. The occupancy of a stream can consequently also be viewed as the degree of filling of the respective Facility or the facilities under consideration are referred to following the slicing device.

This concept of the invention represents a possibility of controlling the slicing - that is, the operation of the slicing device - as a function of a situation at one or more devices of the overall system that is or are downstream of the slicing device. In slogan terms, in this aspect of the invention the slicer is controlled by the downstream transport path or a part thereof. For example, a so-called insert, which forms part of the transport path, can control the product feed which forms part of the slicer. An insert is designed to transfer format sets comprising a plurality of portions one after the other to a downstream unit, in particular to a packaging machine.

For example, depending on the recorded occupancy of the individual streams on the feeder, a regulation can take place in such a way that the slicer increases the portion output in a lane of the product supply that corresponds to a relatively undercrowded stream or in a lane of the product supply that is relatively corresponds to overcrowded electricity, the portion output is reduced. With such a slicer control, the allocation of the currents or a variable stored therefrom consequently represent the controlled variable.

With this general concept of the invention of performing the slicing as a function of the recorded occupancies, continuous portion flows can be implemented in the direction of the downstream unit, at least in terms of time average. In particular, those devices of the transport path between the slicer and the packaging machine that serve to buffer portions and to form format sets from the portions can be operated optimally with continuous portion flows, particularly with regard to throughput and accuracy, with minimal space requirements at the same time. The same goes for the Process of inserting the portions or format sets in packaging or for the transfer of the portions or format sets to a packaging machine by a so-called inserter.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the cutting is carried out on a track-by-track basis as a function of differences in the assignments of the individual streams. Differences in the occupancy of the currents can consequently be taken into account when operating the slicing device.

It is preferably provided that the cutting is carried out in such a way that differences in the occupancy of the individual streams are minimized. In particular, a control can therefore take place in such a way that the individual recorded occupancies or a variable derived therefrom forms the actual value and consequently serves as a control variable, the intended minimization of differences in the occupancies representing the setpoint and consequently serving as the control variable for the control.

The invention is not limited to any particular way of detecting the occupancy of the currents. For example, the occupancy of the streams can be recorded by recognizing gaps between the portions of a respective stream. As an alternative or in addition, the occupancy of the streams can each be recorded by determining the portion throughput in a respective stream.

One advantage of the invention is that it can be integrated into the control of existing systems purely in terms of software. Any data determined during the conventional operation of a system can be used to determine a measure for the allocation of portions to the flows. The detection of gaps and the determination of portions entering a stream per unit of time is known per se, but has so far been used for other purposes used. Detection devices are basically known which are arranged at one or more points on the transport route between the slicer and packaging machine and are able to differentiate between the presence of a portion and the absence of a portion on the respective device of the transport route. As a result, it is not only possible to determine the presence of gaps per se, but also how many gaps per unit of time are detected at a specific point or in a specific stream.

The portion throughput can be determined, for example, by counting portions that pass one or more measuring points per unit of time. The method according to the invention can use these data, which are already present, in order to carry out the slicing or the operation of the slicing device in the manner according to the invention.

According to one embodiment, the occupancy in a respective stream is changed by changing the portion output in an assigned track of the slicing device. The portion output is the number of portions produced per unit of time. As a result, increasing the portion output increases the occupancy of the relevant stream, and vice versa.

Alternatively or additionally, the occupancy in a respective stream can be changed by changing at least one property of at least one portion in an assigned track of the slicing device.

According to a further exemplary embodiment of the invention, the occupancy in a respective stream is changed by changing the portion yield per product in an assigned lane of the slicing device.

The portion yield is the number of portions produced per product, which are therefore produced without a loading interruption that would reduce occupancy. An increase in the portion yield increases the occupancy of the relevant stream, and vice versa.

Furthermore, it can be provided that the occupancy in a respective stream is changed by changing the number of loading interruptions in an assigned track of the slicing device.

When a product has been completely sliced, a certain period of time passes, which is also referred to as the "loading pause" and during which the slicing operation and consequently the production of portions is interrupted until the beginning of the slicing of the next product. A reduction in the number of loading interruptions consequently increases the occupancy in the relevant stream, and vice versa.

According to a further exemplary embodiment of the invention, the occupancy in a respective stream is changed by changing a setpoint value for the portion weight in an assigned track of the slicing device. At least one predetermined tolerance can be used here, in particular a tolerance for the portion weight and / or a tolerance for the total weight of a batch comprising a large number of portions.

In this case, overweight or underweight portions are consequently generated in a targeted manner within a framework permitted by the one or more tolerances, which can be specified in particular by a regulation - for example an FPV (explained in more detail elsewhere). In the case of overweight cutting, the next interruption in loading occurs earlier and the occupancy in the relevant stream is consequently reduced, while in the case of underweight cutting it takes longer until the next interruption in loading and thus the occupancy is increased in the relevant stream. In the case of overweight cutting, fewer portions can be produced - based on a certain product length - than in the case of underweight cutting, so that the next loading interruption takes place earlier or later accordingly.

Furthermore, it can be provided according to the invention that the occupancy in a respective stream is changed by changing a product sequence in an assigned track of the slicing device, taking into account one or more product criteria. A product criterion can be, for example, the product weight, the product density, the product contour, the product structure and / or the product length.

The products to be sliced are consequently brought into a specific sequence on the loading and / or supply side, which, on the basis of the recorded occupancies, either leads to more frequent or less frequent loading interruptions. This can be done, for example, by combining, sorting and rearranging the products. If, for example, relatively heavy and / or relatively long products are cut open one after the other, this reduces the number of interruptions in loading, which increases the occupancy in the relevant stream, and vice versa.

According to a further exemplary embodiment of the invention, the occupancy in a respective stream is changed by changing the product length in an assigned lane of the slicing device, in particular by combining, sorting, rearranging, dividing and / or combining products. The product length can also take place by means of a cutting interruption followed by renewed cutting, but the product residue still present at the cutting interruption remains on the product holder.

In this way, the product length - and consequently the number of products sliced per unit of time - is "artificially" changed, so to speak. If a product is divided, this requires an additional interruption in loading, which would not have occurred without the product being divided. Alternatively, it is possible, for example, to combine two previously separate products in such a way that they can be sliced like a single product without interrupting the loading process. Two separate products can be combined, for example, in that they are connected to one another in a non-positive, positive or material fit by suitable means.

A device according to the invention for generating multiple streams of portions, each comprising one or more slices, comprises, according to claim 6, a slicing device, in particular a high-speed slicer, for generating the slices by slicing food products, at least one transport device for transporting the portions in multiple streams a downstream unit, in particular a packaging machine, a detection device for detecting the occupancy of the flows, and a control device which is designed to control the device according to a method as explained above.

An essential advantage of the invention is that incomplete format sets and gaps in the portion flow, especially at the insert or buffer, can be avoided or at least minimized with regard to the frequency of their occurrence, which is particularly advantageous in the case of multi-lane slicing devices with individual lane product feed.
The creation of format sets and the closing of gaps can be done quickly and easily by the invention with minimal expenditure on equipment, even if two or more lanes are cut and a two or more lane transport path for the portions produced is in the Connection to the slicing device is present, ie when the portions are fed in two or more streams to the downstream unit, which is in particular a packaging machine.

In particular for the units for format formation and buffering downstream of a slicer as well as for inserting the portions into packaging or transferring the portions to a packaging machine, the invention saves technical effort. Furthermore, downtimes can be reduced, which would otherwise result from manual corrections of the portion streams or the format sets, for example. In addition, a high degree of flexibility of the overall system can generally be achieved.

In particular, the invention can make a large number of transverse distributions of portions superfluous. Without the invention, at least with relatively large differences in occupancy between the individual streams in a buffer device, i.e. either due to undercrowding or overcrowding (in at least one of the streams), there would possibly be gaps in one of the streams, which could even lead to empty packs. Without the invention, a corresponding automation could possibly avoid such negative phenomena. However, this would either be associated with a very high level of technical effort or would have a negative impact on the speed with which format sets can be created.

The advantages according to the invention therefore come into play particularly when multi-lane, in particular three- or four-lane, cut open or when a particularly variable format set formation is desired.

The invention can relieve the devices downstream of a slicing device for processing portion streams and also ensure a manageable technical effort for these downstream devices. In general, multi-lane cutting and multi-lane format set formation can be designed particularly efficiently by the invention.

However, depending on the particular design and control of a system and the particular operating conditions, the occasional occurrence of a gap in the portion flow cannot be ruled out. Investigations by the applicant have shown, however, that in practice this only occurs in extreme exceptional cases, for example when several effects come together. A problem can arise, for example, when no product pre-sorting takes place when a slicer is loaded and one lane of light and short products and the other lane of heavy and long products happen to be received.

However, it has also been shown that the probability of gaps occurring in the portion flow can be reduced so drastically by the invention that, from an economic point of view, manual correction is significantly more favorable than manual or apparatus-related expenditure for elimination or avoidance without the invention of negative phenomena such as gaps in a portion flow in particular.

Further exemplary embodiments of the invention are specified in the claims, the description and the drawing.

The invention is described below by way of example with reference to the single FIGURE, which schematically shows an installation for processing food products.

The system includes a two-lane slicer 15 in this example, which includes a loading device 39 and a product feed 37.

The loading device 39 is used to introduce food products to be sliced, such as sausage bars, cheese bars, ham or pieces of meat into the slicer 15.

From the product feed 37, a product holder 38, also referred to as a product gripper, is shown schematically for each of the two lanes, which is designed to engage with a rear product end in order to feed the product 13 in the direction of a cutting plane 19 in which a cutting knife is located of the slicer 15 moves. The structure and mode of operation of a high-speed slicer will not be discussed in detail at this point. This is known in principle to the person skilled in the art.

The slicer 15 and the devices downstream of the slicer 15, which will be discussed in more detail below, are each designed with multiple lanes, here two lanes. This is indicated in the figure by the dash-dotted line.

The system can additionally comprise devices connected upstream of the slicer 15, which are not shown in the figure. Such an upstream device can in particular be a so-called product scanner, with which the outer product contour and / or the inner product structure can be determined. These product data can be used by a central control device 35 to control the product feed 37 in such a way that the portions 11 produced by the separation of slices from the products 13 have a certain portion weight, possibly within a predetermined tolerance. Since the products 13 fed to the two tracks can be different, the product holders 38 can be moved independently of one another in the feed direction, at least within certain limits. In this context, the person skilled in the art speaks of a track-specific product feed 37.

The portions 11 are created from the severed product slices on a portioning device 27 directly adjoining the cutting plane 19 predetermined cutting cycle moving cutting knife the product supply 37 is stopped in the relevant track. Such blank cuts are therefore regular blank cuts in the context of portioned slicing.

The other components of the system shown in the figure are a grouping device 29, two buffer devices 31 and an insert 33. These components do not need to be discussed in detail at this point, since the structure, purpose and mode of operation of such devices are known to those skilled in the art are.

The purpose of the overall system is ultimately to generate format sets from several portions 11, which have a predetermined arrangement and alignment of the portions 11 with one another (a 2 × 3 matrix in the figure) and which are fed to a packaging machine 21 by means of the insert 33. This can be done, for example, by inserting individual format sets one after the other into packs, which are in the form of plastic trays (so-called "trays") and in practice are mostly produced on site in the packaging machine 21, for example from a film in a deep-drawing process .

The points between the portioning device 27 and the grouping device 29 and between the two buffer devices 31 each indicate that further system components can be provided here. Thus, for example, the portioning device 27 can be followed by a portion scales which each generate the actual portion weight for the control device 35 Portion 11 communicates. One or more further buffer devices 31 can be located between the two buffer devices 31 shown.

In the case of the product feed 37, the figure indicates purely schematically a state possible in practice in which a product 13 is cut open in one - here the right - lane, while a product 13 is cut open in the left lane and with the cutting of the next product 13 has not yet started.

Such an operating state is one of many potential causes that in practice there is no continuous portion flow following the slicer 15, ie in at least one track, i.e. one of the two portion flows in the figure, gaps 23 arise as shown in the figure are shown purely by way of example once on the portioning device 27 and once on the grouping device 29.

In this respect, the figure shows a situation that was previously unavoidable in the prior art. In contrast, the invention makes it possible to avoid the creation of such gaps 23.

As explained in the introductory part, one aspect of the invention is to record the occupancy of the individual portion streams and to cut the products 13 by means of the slicer 15 as a function of the recorded occupations. The details of the invention set out in the introductory part will not be discussed again at this point. In this regard, reference is made to the explanations in the introductory part.

The figure and the related explanations above illustrate the potentially occurring differences in the assignments of the individual streams actually avoided by the invention. For shown in the figure fictitious point in time, fewer portions 11 have come into the left lane than into the right lane since the foremost portions 11 in the insert 33 were produced. In other words, the degree of filling of the left stream is less than the degree of filling of the right stream.

With a detection device 25 shown schematically in the figure, the occupancy of the individual streams or the differences in the occupancy of the individual streams can be detected. The detection device 25 can either be designed to determine the number of portions 11 passing the relevant measuring point per unit of time or the presence of a portion 11 on the grouping device 29 shown here as an example for detection of a lack of a portion 11 - that is, of a gap 23 - to distinguish.

The detection device 25, like the other system components downstream of the slicer 15 and the packaging machine 21, is connected to the aforementioned central control device 35 of the system.

Conventional systems for processing food products 13 are often already equipped with the hardware required to carry out the method according to the invention, i.e. the invention can be integrated into existing systems without additional expenditure on equipment. For such a retrofitting or retrofitting, the system control must be programmed to implement the method according to the invention in order to use the data already determined during the operation of the system for the invention.

As already mentioned in the introductory part, a targeted underweight or overweight cutting for a portion flow can take place using one or more predetermined weight tolerances. The actual portion weight can be determined, for example, by a so-called, in the FPV scale (FPV = prepackaging ordinance) not shown in the figure, which serves as a check scale at the end of the entire slicing and packaging line. Within the scope for overweight or underweight portions or packs in a batch defined as permissible by the prepackaging ordinance, the slicer 15 can then be used to cut the portions 11 either slightly heavier or slightly lighter for completion in the individual streams. In particular, use can be made of the fact that within a batch a proportion of - depending on the relevant provisions - for example 2% of portions 11 deviating from a predetermined portion weight is permissible.

For the operation of the slicer 15, this means that portions 11 for comparatively empty streams, which therefore have a "shortage" of portions 11, tend to be cut more easily, ie more portions 11 are obtained from one product 13 and a respective underweight the relevant portions 11 is accepted.

If, on the other hand, a stream of portions has a relatively high degree of filling, the portions 11 tend to be more difficult to cut. As a result, a product 13 results in a smaller number of portions 11. The "excess weight" of the portions 11 deliberately created during this overweight cutting corresponds to the previously recorded situation in the relevant stream.

Such overweight or underweight cutting is preferably carried out in combination with already known setting options and parameters for forming portions 11 on the slicer 15. This includes, for example, what is known as portion completion, in which slices missing from the last portion of a product are separated from the subsequent product Slices are replaced, or the slice thickness control, in particular if a specified target number and target thickness of the panes for certain reasons cannot be complied with and so one or more slices are added to the portion or the portion is formed with one or more fewer slices. This can occur, for example, when slicing cheese, if, due to a relatively high number of holes in the cheese product, a specified number of slices or slice thickness cannot be adhered to.

The invention consequently makes it possible to “balance” the individual flows over time, especially in the area of the buffer devices 31, and nevertheless to adhere to the general conditions of the prepackaging ordinance (FPV) during the production of a batch of portions.

As already explained in the introductory part, differences in the allocation of the individual streams can be compensated for by intelligent pre-sorting of the products to be sliced before loading and cutting and / or intelligent pre-division of the products or division of the products in one in the Control running cutting program takes place before cutting.

If a "shortfall" is found in a stream, in particular at a buffer device, and consequently a higher portion output is required in the corresponding lane on the supply side, ie "more product mass" is requested, the next attempt is made to select the heaviest available product from the loading device or the Assign the product feed to the relevant lane. If, on the other hand, there is "overfilling" in a stream, ie an "excess of product mass", the portion output is reduced in the relevant lane in the product feed 37 by assigning the lightest available product to the relevant lane as the next product to be sliced becomes.

With this concept, various additional devices can be used as aids, for example a loading buffer, a loading magazine or a Display to support an operator, for example in the form of a traffic light system, which gives the operator a recommendation for manual loading, removal, addition or re-sorting, especially following a product scanner. A product scale can be provided as a further aid.

In principle, it is also possible to design the product supply or areas upstream of the product supply, which are generally referred to as supply, at least in some areas in such a way that the products can change lanes.

In principle, a fully automatic product selection for the individual tracks depending on the respective operating situation is also conceivable, so that the system itself can determine the slicing sequence in the tracks from an existing "pool" of products with properties known for this purpose.

If products are specifically divided up before slicing in order to change the occupancy in the respective stream following the slicer, then it is preferably provided that a product measurement is carried out beforehand so that the products can be intelligently divided depending on the relevant product data. In particular, known X-ray scanners can be used to detect holes, in particular for the cutting of cheese.

At the same time, this product data obtained through the measurement can be used for the regular, track-specific product feed in the slicer. An additional product scanner is then not required.

In general, all relevant properties of the respective products can serve as the basis for this use of the product data, in particular the product weight, the product density, the product contour (external shape), the product length and the internal product structure. The product structure is generally determined by the distribution of the individual product components. Holes contained in a cheese product can also be referred to as a product component in this sense, since the number, size and distribution of the holes determine how the product can be cut into slices and portions, the specified conditions such as slice thickness, slice weight, number of slices per Portion and portion weight must meet. Other relevant product components are fat and other additives, the proportion and distribution of which in the product are determined and can be incorporated into the control of the product supply.

In a preferred embodiment, it is the inlay 33 that controls the slicer and the device for dividing the products. This means that the division of the products in the feed area can already take into account the requirements in the individual tracks or streams with regard to the tendency towards thicker or thinner slices.

The cutting up of products before slicing is in itself part of the state of the art. So far, however, the devices used for dividing are not flexible, ie the devices work with a fixed setting. Accordingly, up to now the measurement of the products by means of a product scanner has only taken place after the products have been divided, ie the process of dividing the products could not be influenced with data obtained through the product measurement.

With this consideration of the operating state, a differentiation can be made according to the individual streams of the downstream facilities under consideration, it can be differentiated according to differences between individual streams, or it can be differentiated according to the individual downstream facilities. Alternatively, the total allocation with portions can be taken into account downstream of the slicing device without differentiating between individual streams, differences between individual streams or individual downstream devices.

According to a further exemplary embodiment, the portion output and / or the format set output and / or the occupancy of an insert can be taken into account as an operating state taken into account.

Furthermore, it can be provided that the results of a product measurement are taken into account, which is carried out in the feed path of the products before the slicing device or at least before the cutting plane.

According to a further exemplary embodiment, it can be provided that operating conditions are changed when the portion formation is interrupted.

In order not to interfere with the uninterrupted slicing of whole products, a change in the operating conditions can consequently be waited until after a whole product has been completely sliced. In particular, foreseeable or already planned changes to the operating conditions, i.e. those changes that are not required due to random events, can be targeted in the event of an inevitable (between two whole products) or an already planned (between two sub-areas of a product) interruption of the portion formation be made.

It can also be provided that when two immediately successive partial areas of a product are cut open at least one compensating disc not belonging to a portion is separated from the product before the portion is formed from the second partial area. This ultimately results in a cutting, as is conventionally carried out at the beginning of the cutting at a front end of the product.

As an alternative or in addition, such a shim can also be cut off after an unforeseen interruption. Due to the above-mentioned effects of compressing and relaxing the product, there is a high probability that the first slice will not have the desired quality after an interruption, so that a consistent cutting quality can be achieved with such compensating disks, which are subsequently removed from the process .

According to a further embodiment it is provided that the slicing device is operated as a function of the allocation of the portion streams. The method according to the invention for generating a plurality of streams of portions can be used in particular in accordance with the initially explained method.

This initially explained method for generating multiple streams of portions, in which the allocations of the streams are recorded and the slicing is carried out as a function of the recorded allocations, can consequently be used as a further development or supplement, in particular in the sense of a "refinement" of the general idea here presented invention concept are considered to make an - apart from regular blank cuts - interruption-free cutting generally dependent on an operating state. In this operating state, there can either be differences in occupancy between the individual portion streams or a total occupancy of the downstream system parts independent of occupancy differences.

A general advantage of this inventive concept is that the time between production and processing, especially packaging, of the portions is minimized, since a whole product or a whole predetermined product part is cut open continuously and thus it is ultimately guaranteed that the sequence produced in this way is immediately after one another formed portions can be processed further directly by the downstream system components. In other words, this means that the portions produced are no longer open for as long as can be the case in the prior art.

In the case of comparatively long products, the uninterrupted production of portions, depending on the design and the control of the respective system, can reach its limits. In such cases, the products can be divided into several areas in terms of control technology. With regard to the course of the cutting process, these product parts are then treated as if these product parts were each separate, whole products. Potentially uneven disks can optionally be sorted out as compensating disks, as has been described above.

The invention also relates to a system for processing food products, which has a device for slicing the products, in particular a high-speed slicer, one or more devices downstream of the slicing device for handling portions, each comprising one or more slices obtained by the slicing, and a control device which is designed to operate the system in accordance with one of the above-explained methods according to the invention for operating a system for processing food products.

A major advantage of the invention is that incomplete format sets and gaps in the portion flow, especially at the insert or buffer, can be avoided or at least minimized with regard to the frequency of their occurrence, which is particularly advantageous in the case of multi-lane slicing devices with individual lane product feed.

The creation of format sets and the closing of gaps can be done quickly and easily by the invention with minimal equipment expense, even if two or more lanes are cut and a two or more lane transport path for the portions produced is connected to the slicing device is present, ie when the portions are fed in two or more streams to the downstream unit, which is in particular a packaging machine.

In particular for the units for format formation and buffering downstream of a slicer as well as for inserting the portions into packaging or transferring the portions to a packaging machine, the invention saves technical effort. Furthermore, downtimes can be reduced, which would otherwise result from manual corrections of the portion streams or the format sets, for example. In addition, a high degree of flexibility of the overall system can generally be achieved.

In particular, the invention can make a large number of transverse distributions of portions superfluous. Without the invention, at least with relatively large differences in occupancy between the individual streams in a buffer device, i.e. either due to undercrowding or overcrowding (in at least one of the streams), there would possibly be gaps in one of the streams, which could even lead to empty packs. Without the invention, a corresponding automation could possibly avoid such negative phenomena. However, this would either involve a very high technical effort or would have a negative impact on the speed with which format sets can be formed.

The advantages according to the invention therefore come into play particularly when multi-lane, in particular three- or four-lane, cut open or when a particularly variable format set formation is desired.

The invention can relieve the devices downstream of a slicing device for processing portion streams and also ensure a manageable technical effort for these downstream devices. In general, multi-lane cutting and multi-lane format set formation can be designed particularly efficiently by the invention.

However, depending on the particular design and control of a system and the particular operating conditions, the occasional occurrence of a gap in the portion flow cannot be ruled out. Investigations by the applicant have shown, however, that in practice this only occurs in extreme exceptional cases, for example when several effects come together. A problem can arise, for example, when no product pre-sorting takes place when a slicer is loaded and one lane of light and short products and the other lane of heavy and long products happen to be received.

However, it has also been shown that the probability of gaps occurring in the portion flow can be reduced so drastically by the invention that, from an economic point of view, manual correction is significantly more favorable than manual or apparatus-related expenditure for elimination or avoidance without the invention of negative phenomena such as gaps in a portion flow in particular.

Further exemplary embodiments of the invention are specified in the claims, the description and the drawing.

The invention is described below by way of example with reference to the single figure, which schematically shows a system according to the invention for processing food products which can be operated according to a method according to the invention.

The system according to the invention comprises a two-lane slicer 15 in this example, which comprises a loading device 39 and a product feed 37.

The loading device 39 is used to introduce food products to be sliced, such as sausage bars, cheese bars, ham or pieces of meat into the slicer 15.

From the product feed 37, a product holder 38, also referred to as a product gripper, is shown schematically for each of the two lanes, which is designed to engage with a rear product end in order to feed the product 13 in the direction of a cutting plane 19 in which a cutting knife is located of the slicer 15 moves. The structure and mode of operation of a high-speed slicer will not be discussed in detail at this point. This is known in principle to the person skilled in the art.

The slicer 15 and the devices downstream of the slicer 15, which will be discussed in more detail below, are each designed with multiple lanes, here two lanes. This is indicated in the figure by the dash-dotted line.

The system according to the invention can additionally comprise devices upstream of the slicer 15, which are not shown in the figure. Such an upstream device can in particular be a so-called product scanner, with which the outer product contour and / or the inner product structure can be determined. This product data can be used by a central control device 35 to control the product feed 37 in such a way that the portions 11 generated by the cutting of slices from the products 13 have a certain portion weight, possibly within a predetermined tolerance. Since the products 13 fed to the two tracks can be different, the product holders 38 can be moved independently of one another in the feed direction, at least within certain limits. In this context, the person skilled in the art speaks of a track-specific product feed 37.

The portions 11 are created from the severed product slices on a portioning device 27 directly adjoining the cutting plane 19. In order to be able to properly transport a portion 11 that has been produced, one or more blank cuts are made after the last severed slice of a portion by continuing in each case predetermined cutting cycle moving cutting knife the product supply 37 is stopped in the relevant track. Such blank cuts are therefore regular blank cuts in the context of portioned slicing.

The other components of the system shown in the figure are a grouping device 29, two buffer devices 31 and an insert 33. These components do not need to be discussed in detail at this point, since the structure, purpose and mode of operation of such devices are known to those skilled in the art are.

The purpose of the overall system is ultimately to generate format sets from several portions 11, which have a predetermined arrangement and alignment of the portions 11 with one another (a 2 × 3 matrix in the figure) and which are fed to a packaging machine 21 by means of the insert 33. This can be done, for example, in that the insert 33 has individual format sets inserted one after the other into packagings, which are present, for example, in the form of plastic trays (so-called "trays") and in practice are mostly produced on site in the packaging machine 21, for example from a film in a deep-drawing process.

The points between the portioning device 27 and the grouping device 29 and between the two buffer devices 31 each indicate that further system components can be provided here. Thus, for example, the portioning device 27 can be connected to a portion scale which informs the control device 35 of the actual portion weight of each portion 11 produced. One or more further buffer devices 31 can be located between the two buffer devices 31 shown.

In the case of the product feed 37, the figure indicates purely schematically a state possible in practice in which a product 13 is cut open in one - here the right - lane, while a product 13 is cut open in the left lane and with the cutting of the next product 13 has not yet started.

Such an operating state is one of many potential causes that in practice there is no continuous portion flow following the slicer 15, ie in at least one track, i.e. one of the two portion flows in the figure, gaps 23 arise as shown in the figure are shown purely by way of example once on the portioning device 27 and once on the grouping device 29.

In this respect, the figure shows a situation that was previously unavoidable in the prior art. In contrast, the invention makes it possible to avoid the creation of such gaps 23.

As explained in the introductory part, one aspect of the invention is to record the occupancy of the individual portion streams and to cut the products 13 by means of the slicer 15 as a function of the recorded occupations. The details of the invention set out in the introductory part will not be discussed again at this point. With regard to this and also with regard to the other aspects of the invention, reference is hereby made to the statements in the introductory part.

The figure and the related explanations above illustrate the potentially occurring differences in the assignments of the individual streams actually avoided by the invention. At the fictitious point in time shown in the figure, fewer portions 11 have entered the left lane than have entered the right lane since the foremost portions 11 in the insert 33 were produced. In other words, the degree of filling of the left stream is less than the degree of filling of the right stream.

With a detection device 25 shown schematically in the figure, the occupancy of the individual streams or the differences in the occupancy of the individual streams can be detected. The detection device 25 can either be designed to determine the number of portions 11 passing the relevant measuring point per unit of time or the presence of a portion 11 on the grouping device 29 shown here as an example for detection of a lack of a portion 11 - that is, of a gap 23 - to distinguish.

The detection device 25, like the other system components downstream of the slicer 15 and the packaging machine 21, is connected to the aforementioned central control device 35 of the system. Conventional systems for processing food products 13 are often already equipped with the hardware required to carry out the method according to the invention, ie the invention can be integrated into existing systems without additional expenditure on equipment. For such a retrofitting or retrofitting, the system control must be programmed to implement the method according to the invention in order to use the data already determined during the operation of the system for the invention.

As already mentioned in the introductory part, a targeted underweight or overweight cutting for a portion flow can take place using one or more predetermined weight tolerances. The actual portion weight can be determined, for example, by a so-called FPV scale (not shown in the figure), which serves as a check scale at the end of the entire slicing and packaging line. Within the scope for overweight or underweight portions or packs in a batch defined as permissible by the prepackaging ordinance, the slicer 15 can then be used to cut the portions 11 either slightly heavier or slightly lighter for completion in the individual streams. In particular, use can be made of the fact that within a batch a proportion of - depending on the relevant provisions - for example 2% of portions 11 which deviate from a predetermined portion weight is permissible.

For the operation of the slicer 15, this means that portions 11 for comparatively empty streams, which therefore have a "shortage" of portions 11, tend to be cut more easily, ie more portions 11 are obtained from one product 13 and a respective underweight the relevant portions 11 is accepted.

If, on the other hand, a stream of portions has a relatively high degree of filling, the portions 11 tend to be more difficult to cut. As a result, a product 13 results in a smaller number of portions 11. The "excess weight" of the portions 11 deliberately created during this overweight cutting corresponds to the previously recorded situation in the relevant stream.

Such overweight or underweight cutting is preferably carried out in combination with already known setting options and parameters for forming portions 11 on the slicer 15. This includes, for example, what is known as portion completion, in which slices missing from the last portion of a product are separated from the subsequent product Slices are replaced, or the slice thickness control, in particular when a specified target number and target thickness of the slices cannot be adhered to for certain reasons and one or more slices are added to the portion or the portion is formed with one or more fewer slices becomes. This can occur, for example, when slicing cheese, if, due to a relatively high number of holes in the cheese product, a specified number of slices or slice thickness cannot be adhered to.

The invention consequently makes it possible to “balance” the individual flows over time, especially in the area of the buffer devices 31, and nevertheless to adhere to the general conditions of the prepackaging ordinance (FPV) during the production of a batch of portions.

As already explained in the introductory part, differences in the allocation of the individual streams can be compensated for by intelligent pre-sorting of the products to be sliced before loading and cutting and / or intelligent pre-division of the products or division of the products in one in the Control running cutting program takes place before cutting.

If a "shortfall" is found in a stream, in particular at a buffer device, and consequently a higher portion output is required in the corresponding lane on the supply side, ie "more product mass" is requested, the next attempt is made to select the heaviest available product from the loading device or the Assign the product feed to the relevant lane. If, on the other hand, there is "overfilling" in a stream, ie an "excess of product mass", the portion output is reduced in the relevant lane in the product feed 37 by assigning the lightest available product to the relevant lane as the next product to be sliced becomes.

With this concept, various additional devices can be used as aids, for example a loading buffer, a loading magazine or a display to support an operator, for example in the form of a traffic light system that recommends manual loading, removal, addition or re-sorting to the operator especially after a product scanner. A product scale can be provided as a further aid.

In principle, it is also possible to design the product supply or areas upstream of the product supply, which are generally referred to as supply, at least in some areas in such a way that the products can change lanes.

In principle, a fully automatic product selection for the individual tracks depending on the respective operating situation is also conceivable, so that the system itself can determine the slicing sequence in the tracks from an existing "pool" of products with properties known for this purpose.

If products are specifically divided up before slicing in order to change the occupancy in the respective stream following the slicer, then it is preferably provided that a product measurement is carried out beforehand so that the products can be intelligently divided depending on the relevant product data. In particular, known X-ray scanners can be used to detect holes, in particular for the cutting of cheese.

At the same time, this product data obtained through the measurement can be used for the regular, track-specific product feed in the slicer. An additional product scanner is then not required.

In general, all relevant properties of the respective products can serve as the basis for this use of the product data, in particular the product weight, the product density, the product contour (outer shape), the product length and the internal product structure. The product structure is generally determined by the distribution of the individual product components. Holes contained in a cheese product can also be referred to as a product component in this sense, since the number, size and distribution of the holes determine how the product can be cut into slices and portions, the specified conditions such as slice thickness, slice weight, number of slices per Portion and portion weight must meet. Other relevant product components are fat and other additives, the proportion and distribution of which in the product are determined and can be incorporated into the control of the product supply.

In a preferred embodiment, it is the inlay 33 that controls the slicer and the device for dividing the products. This means that the division of the products in the feed area can already take into account the requirements in the individual tracks or streams with regard to the tendency towards thicker or thinner slices.

The cutting up of products before slicing is in itself part of the state of the art. So far, however, the devices used for dividing are not flexible, i.e. the devices work with a fixed setting. Accordingly, the measurement of the products by means of a product scanner has so far only taken place after the products have been divided, i.e. the process of dividing the products could not be influenced with data obtained through the product measurement.

This procedure known from the prior art is consequently precisely reversed by this further development of the invention.

Reference list

11

portion

13th

product

15th

Slicing device, slicer

19th

Cutting plane

21

Downstream unit, packaging machine

23

gap

25th

Detection device

27

Portioning device

29

Grouping device

31

Buffer device

33

Depositors

35

Control device

37

Product feed

38

Product holder

39

Loading device

41

Format set

Claims (6)

1. A method of producing a plurality of streams of portions (11) which each comprise one or more slices which have been obtained by slicing food products (13) by means of a slicing apparatus (15), in particular by means of a high-speed slicer, in which

   - products (13) disposed next to one another in a plurality of tracks are fed to a cutting blade of the slicing apparatus (15) moving in a cutting plane (19);

   - slices are cut off from the products (13) by means of the cutting blade;

   - portions (11) are formed from the cut-off slices; and

   - the portions (11) are transported in a plurality of streams to a unit (21) arranged downstream, in particular to a packaging machine,

   characterized in that
   the occupations of the streams are detected and the slicing is carried out in dependence on the detected occupations.
2. A method in accordance with claim 1,
   characterized in that
   the slicing is carried out individually per track in dependence on differences in the occupations of the individual streams; and/or
   in that the slicing is carried out such that differences in the occupations of the individual streams are minimized.
3. A method in accordance with claim 1 or claim 2,
   characterized in that
   the occupations of the streams are each detected by recognizing gaps (23) between the portions (11) of a respective stream and/or by determining the portion throughput in a respective stream; and/or
   in that the occupation in a respective stream is changed by changing the portion output and/or at least one property of at least one portion (11) in an associated track of the slicing apparatus (15); and/or
   in that the occupation in a respective stream is changed by changing the portion yield per product (13) in an associated track of the slicing apparatus (15); and/or
   in that the occupation in a respective stream is changed by changing the number of loading interruptions in an associated track of the slicing apparatus (15).
4. A method in accordance with any one of the preceding claims,
   characterized in that
   the occupation in a respective stream is changed by changing a desired value for the portion weight in an associated track of the slicing apparatus (15), preferably using at least one predefined tolerance, in particular a tolerance for the portion weight and/or a tolerance for the total weight of a batch comprising a plurality of portions (11).
5. A method in accordance with any one of the preceding claims,
   characterized in that
   the occupation in a respective stream is changed by changing a product sequence before the cutting plane in an associated track of the slicing apparatus (15), taking into account product criteria, in particular product weight, product density, product contour, product structure and/or product length; and/or
   in that the occupation in a respective stream is changed by changing the product length in an associated track of the slicing apparatus (15), in particular by combining, sorting, rearranging, dividing and/or joining products (13).
6. An apparatus for producing a plurality of streams of portions (11) which each comprise one or more slices, said apparatus comprising

   - a slicing apparatus (15), in particular a high-speed slicer, for producing the slices by slicing food products (13);

   - at least one transport device (27, 29, 31, 33) for transporting the portions (11) in a plurality of streams to a unit (21) arranged downstream, in particular to a packaging machine, characterized in that said apparatus has the following, additional devices:

   - a detection device (25) for detecting the occupations of the streams; and

   - a control device (35) which is configured to control the apparatus in accordance with a method in accordance with any one of the claims 1 to 5.

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