FR2494092A1 - Appts. for pinning and slicing foodstuffs - with drive systems for multiple knives and skewers - Google Patents

Abstract

Appts. for chopping meat or dicing vegetables has an enclosure with slotted sides through which a set of power driven reciprocating knives are guided to cut vertically through enclosed food. The food is also secured by skewers aligned by holes in the top and base of the enclosure. The knives together with their drive motor and a parallelogram linkage are mounted on a chassis moving on vertical rails: pref. the raising of the cutter system is spring loaded and safety catches restrain the knife unit when raised. Pairs of power driven rollers are mounted above the enclosure to force the skewers through the food. Pref. the base of the enclosure is supported on springs. The level of the overhead platform with the skewer drive rollers may be adjustable. Avoids time and effort of manual cutting, quicker than systems requiring repeated passes of a single knife.

Description

Machine for calibrated cutting of meat and / or vegetables, and automatic preparation of skewers.

The present invention relates to a machine for the calibrated cutting of meat and / or vegetables, and the automatic preparation of skewers.

It is connected to a machine of the kind comprising a cutting and skewering tank whose side walls are provided with vertical slots for the passage of a sharp blade and comprising a bottom plate and a cover provided with rows of vertical holes allowing the sliding and guiding of the pins constituted by wooden sticks or metal rods.

After stacking slices of meat and / or vegetables in the tray, and sinking the pins, it is thus possible to cut, using the cutting blade introduced and guided successively in the vertical slots of the perpendicular walls of said tray. of meat and / or vegetables superimposed, so as to obtain calibrated pieces, square or rectangular, skewered on said sticks or rods.

Such known devices (US Patent No. 4,056,026) make it possible to significantly reduce the time for preparing skewers of meat and / or vegetables.

However, they have notable shortcomings related to the fact that the preparation of skewers always requires exclusively a succession of manual interventions. On the other hand, in fact, the introduction of the cutting blade into each vertical slot requires a certain dexterity, while the cutting of the layers of superimposed meats requires a fairly long time and causes a certain muscular fatigue.

On the other hand, the unitary insertion of the pins also requires a repetitive effort which is fairly painful in the long run and a relatively long skewering time.

An object of the present invention is, in particular, to remedy the shortcomings of known devices.

For this purpose, the machine according to the invention is, according to a first characteristic, provided with an automatic skewering device comprising a carriage capable of being moved on the top of the cutting tank and comprising one or more pairs of horizontal rollers frictionally coupled and whose rotationally entrainment allows the pins to be pressed in the direction of said tank.

According to another characteristic, the machine is equipped with an automatic cutting device mounted with a vertical displacement ability and comprising a plurality of cutting blades fixed horizontally, preferably removably, on a common support coupled to a motor.

Thanks to these provisions, the cutting of the stacked slices of meat and the insertion of the spits do not require any manual intervention.

They make it possible to significantly reduce the duration of preparation of the skewers, which are executed in a more regular manner, without painful effort for the operator.

These aims, characteristics and advantages, and others still, will emerge more clearly from the description which follows and from the accompanying drawings in which
Figure 1 is a side view, partially broken away, of the machine for manufacturing skewers according to the invention.

Figure 2 is a half plan view of the cutting tank of said machine, with partial section in line with the vertical grooves of the upper guide and compression plate.

Figure 3 is a half plan view and in section of the lower part of said cutting tank equipped with a reducing wall.

Figure 4 is a plan view of the base of the machine.

Figure 5 is a half front view in section of the cutting tank provided with the abovementioned reducing wall.

FIG. 6 is a half side view of FIG. 5.

Figure 7 is a side view with sections and partial cutaway of the skewer device installed on the top of the cutting tank.

Figure 8 is a plan view of Figure 7.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view along line 9 - 9 in FIG. 7.

Figure 10 is a sectional view along line 10-10 of Figure 1.

Figure 11 is a front view of an auxiliary comb allowing a pre-perforation of the stacked slices of meat and Figure 12 is a bottom view of this comb.

Figure 13 is a view of an auxiliary handle for the extraction of the upper plate of the cutting tray.

Reference is made to said drawings to describe an advantageous, although in no way limiting, embodiment of the machine which is the subject of the present invention.

This machine comprises a base 1 provided, laterally, with two longitudinal guides 2 braced, at the rear, by a stop plate 3.

The guides 2 comprise, symmetrically, near their flared front end, a transverse slot 2a allowing the engagement of one of the ends of a removable locking bar 4.

The area of the base delimited by the guides 2 and the stop plate 3 is open at the front and intended for the positioning of the cutting tank which is held in place, during cutting, by the locking bar 4.

The cutting and skewering tank consists of a bottom mainly consisting of the elements 5, 6, 7 described below, four side walls 8a, 8b, and an upper compression and guide plate 9 .

The bottom of the cutting and skewering tank comprises a mounting frame 5 constituted by a plate of which two opposite ribs are inversely folded to present, each, a vertical lateral groove 5a opening upwards and of which the other two ribs 5b are folded down. In the vicinity of each of its angles, the frame 5 has a circular hole 5c in which is engaged a tenon are the base form foot and whose upper part emerging on the upper face of said frame constitutes a pin for centering and maintaining a compression spring 11.

On the top of the four springs 11 thus positioned vertically, a support plate 6 rests supporting a lower guide plate 7.

The upper face of the latter is provided with a plurality of regularly spaced parallel grooves 7a and a plurality of grooves 7a 'of shallower depth regularly spaced and arranged perpendicular to the previous ones. These grooves form a grid delimiting rows of small bearing surfaces in the center of each of which is formed a hole 7b crossing the plate 7.

The side walls 8a, 8b are provided with a plurality of vertical slots 8c disposed in line with the grooves 7a of the lower guide compression plate 7, said slots extending over almost the entire height of said Darois.

The opposite walls 8a of the container are engaged, by their base, in the lateral grooves 5a of the mounting frame 5. On the other hand, the lower edge of the other two walls 8b of said container is folded internally, so as to delimit a groove 8d opening upwards and in which is engaged the corresponding worm edge 5b of said chassis.

The opposite walls 8b of the tank comprise, laterally, in their lower part, vertical fins 8g folded at right angles and intended to cover the vertical edges neighboring the two other walls 8a, while the latter are provided, laterally, in their upper upper part , vertical fins 8h folded at right angles and intended to cover the contiguous vertical edges of said walls 8b, so as to ensure the junction of the vertical edges of the cutting tank.

It is also understood that the latter can be quickly assembled and disassembled> without any tools.

The upper edge of the opposite walls 8b is successively folded outwards and in the direction of the bottom, so as to constitute a guide rail 8e comprising a horizontal surface and a vertical lateral surface.

The upper guide plate 9 comprises a plurality of perpendicular grooves 9a regularly spaced opening in its lower face and a plurality of guide channels 9b passing through it in its thickness, said Vor, ges 9a and said channels 9b being disposed opposite the grooves 7a / et'des holes 7b which is provided with the lower guide plate 7. The guide grooves 9a have a height greater than the width of the knives which will be described below. Although such an arrangement has not been illustrated in the drawings, it is specified that the grooves 7a and 7a 'of the lower plate can also have a depth greater than the width of the knives of the cutting assembly.

The lower 7 and upper 9 trays can be executed in all plastics meeting food standards, such as Poly (vinyl chloride).

Means allow adjustment of the height position of the upper guide plate 9, as a function of the thickness of the stack of slices of meat and / or vegetables contained in the tray. These means are advantageously constituted by locking lugs 12 carried by leaf springs 13 fixed, exterieurementS to the upper part of the side walls 8b, said locking lugs passing through an opening in said walls and being capable of engaging in superimposed notches 9c with which the upper guide plate 9 is laterally provided.

The machine according to the invention comprises an automatic skewering device able to be installed, in a removable manner, on the top of the cutting and skewering tank thus arranged. According to the advantageous embodiment illustrated and described in the rest of this description, this device can be moved, by sliding, between two opposite sides of said tank.

Said device comprises a carriage constituted by a sole 14 resting on the horizontal face of the rails 8e and comprising two vertical wings 14b oriented downwards and sliding on the external vertical face of said rails. The upper face of the sole 14 carries two flanges 15 serving as bearings for the axes 16 of one or more pairs of horizontal rollers U coupled to friction. The axis 16a of one of these rollers has a greater length and its projecting portion is coupled to a manual or motorized drive means.

Thus, according to the example illustrated, a drive crank 18 is wedged on the end of the projecting portion of the axis 16a.

The rollers 17 are surmounted by a cover 19, for example fixed on the upper edge folded at right angles to the flanges 15.

The rollers 17 are made of a material endowed with a certain elastic deformation capacity and have a diameter corresponding substantially to the distance between the axes of the holes 7b and the guide channels 9b of the lower plates 7 and upper 9, respectively. They are provided, symmetrically, with annular grooves 17b which are regularly spaced and whose spacing is equal to the interval separating the axes of said holes and channels.

Holes 19a and 14a are provided in the cover 19 and the sole 14, respectively, vertically at the meeting points of the grooves of each pair of rollers.

The carriage 14-15 carrying the rollers 17 can slide on the rails 8e and means allow its successive immobilization in positions according to which the meeting points of the grooves of each pair of rollers and the holes 19a and 14a are aligned with the channels of guide 9k and the holes 7b of the upper 9 and lower 7 plates, respectively.

These means are, interestingly, constituted by a retractable finger 20 carried by each vertical wing 14b of the carriage 14-15 and cooperating with holes 8f housings at the appropriate locations in the lateral surface of the rails 8e forming the upper edge of the walls 8b. Each retractable finger 20 is secured to a knurled button 21 for maneuvering, mounted with sliding ability on a small cylindrical cage 22 rigidly secured to the vertical wing 14b of the carriage.

A compression spring 23 is arranged around the retractable finger 20.

This spring is wedged, by its opposite ends, on the one hand, against the bottom of the cage 22 and, on the other hand, against a circular shoulder 20a that has the finger 20 near its free end.

To move the carriage 14-15, it suffices to pull the opposite buttons 21 in order to remove the fingers 20 from the housings 8f in which they are engaged, then to slide it on the rails 8e before immobilizing it in the next skewing position, by releasing said buttons which penetrate into the following holes 8f.

The device illustrated comprises two pairs of skewers and allows the simultaneous driving in of two rows of eleven spindles.

For this, the pins 24 are introduced vertically into the holes 19a of the cover 19 so as to rest, by their pointed end, at the meeting points of the grooves 17b of the pairs of rollers. It then suffices to impart a rotational movement in the proper direction to the driving roller, using the crank 18 or by means of a motorized system, to ensure the simultaneous automatic driving in of all the pins driven downwards by the pairs of rollers between which they are clamped. The pins 24 are first guided by the guide channels 9b of the upper plate 9 then pass through the layers of meat and / or vegetables placed in the cutting tank and are finally guided, at the end of the skewering stroke, by the holes -7b of the lower plate 7.

The skewer device is then moved to the top of the cutting tank, for driving in a new series of pins.

The machine according to the invention also comprises an automatic cutting device for slices of meat and / or vegetables, skewered or not, housed inside the cutting tank.

This device comprises a knife support 25 arranged to receive a plurality of knives 26, the number of which corresponds to that of the vertical slots 8c with which the side walls 8a, 8b of the cutting tray are provided.

The knives 26 are constituted by cutting blades and are fixed horizontally and symmetrically, by means of their heel 26a, in the knife holder 25 which has vertical slots 25a for housing said heels.

Said knives are secured, removably, to the support 25, by means of a stud 27 passing through a transverse bore made in said support in line with the slots 25a and a hole that has the heel 26a of each cutting blade. They are immobilized in a horizontal position by a stop plate 28 fixed on the underside of the knife support 25.

The support 25 is suspended from a frame 29 by means of a deformable parallelogram system comprising two pairs of parallel connecting rods.

Each pair of suspension rods 30 is arranged laterally and the latter are articulated, by their opposite ends, by means of axes 31 and 32 respectively, on the one hand on the frame 29 and, on the other hand, on the support of knives 25. In addition, on the opposite ends of one of the axes 32 are articulated two articulated drive rods 33, by their opposite end on crank plates 34 rotated by an electric motor 35 coupled to a reducer.

It is understood that the rotation of the crank plates 34 generates an alternating horizontal movement of the cutting blades 26.

The frame 29 carrying the cutting assembly is mounted with the ability to move vertically. For this purpose, the frame 29 is rigidly secured to a carriage 36 fitted, laterally, with rollers 37 rolling in rails 38a of U-shaped section constituting the uprights of a gantry 38 rigidly fixed to the base 1 by the base of said uprights.

The cutting assembly is thus guided vertically along the uprights 38a of this gantry.

In order to authorize the raising and lowering of the cutting assembly, a handle 39 is fixed on the upper face of the frame 29.

On the other hand, means make it possible to immobilize said cutting assembly in the high position, these means being, for example, constituted by a tilting latch 40 articulated in a yoke secured to the upper crosspiece 36a of the carriage 36, said latch being intended to hang on the upper crosspiece 38b of the gantry 38.

In order to facilitate the lifting of the cutting assembly, the upper cross member 38b of the gantry and the frame 29 can be connected by a spring 41 acting in traction.

The machine also includes a protective cover 42 executed in transparent material and hinges on the upper part of the gantry 38, this cover being intended to cover the cutting tank and the cutting blades.

It is understood that when the skewering operation is finished, the cutting tank is pushed towards the cutting assembly which has just been described, immobilized in the high position by means of the latch 40.

During this horizontal displacement, the tray is perfectly guided between the parallel longitudinal guides 2 and the knives successively pass through the rear vertical wall of the latter, the guide grooves 9a of the upper plate 9 and the anterior vertical wall of said tray which, at the end of the movement, abuts against the stop plate 3 and is immobilized by means of the locking bar 4. The stationary position of the cutting tank can be improved by the installation of a tenon belt element shown) around from its upper part, said belt element being, for example, articulated on the uprights 38a of the gantry 38 so as to be able to be folded down around the lateral walls of said cutting tank. After immobilization of the latter, the latch 40 is released and the cutting assembly is started which descends under the effect of its own weight by cutting the superimposed layers of skewered meat and / or vegetables contained in the tank, up to 'a ee that the blades penetrate into the grooves 7a, 7a' of the lower plate 7.

The same operation is then repeated after having pivoted the tray in order to cut out in a direction perpendicular to the previous one to obtain a plurality of skewers having substantially the same height and the same weight. To remove the prepared kebabs, it suffices to remove the skewering device, to remove the upper guide plate and to dismantle one of the vertical walls 8a of the container, which requires only a few seconds.

An extraction handle 45 can be used to remove the upper plate 9 in order to avoid dismantling the side walls of the cutting tank. This handle illustrated in FIG. 13 comprises, laterally, two articulated hooks 45a whose beaks 45b can slide in two opposite vertical notches 9d formed in the extension of one of the grooves 9a, and hang on the opposite ends of the bottom of said groove
If it is desired to use only part of the capacity of the cutting tank, in order to obtain a smaller number of skewers, a reducing plate 43 is used which is placed vertically inside said tank, parallel to å two walls of the latter.This reducing plate has vertical slots 43a whose spacing corresponds to that of the vertical slots 8c of the side walls 8a, 8b to the tray, so that when said reducing plate is positioned inside the tray , its slots are arranged opposite the slots of the two walls between which it is placed.

When in use, the upper edge of the reducing plate 43 is housed in one of the grooves 9a of the plate 9, while its lower portion is engaged in the groove 7a underlying the lower plate 7. The solid portion going from bottom of the vertical slots 43a at the lower edge of the reduction plate, at a lower height than that of the difference in depth of the perpendicular grooves, so that the bottom of the said slots is located at a level lower than that of the bottom of the lower grooves depth 7a 'when said reducing plate is installed in one of the grooves 7a of the cutting tank.

It is therefore understandable that at the end of the downward travel of the knives 26, the cutting edge of the latter cannot come into contact with the bottom of the slots 43a of the metal reducing plate.

When the reducing wall 43 is installed, it is necessary to remove two cutting blades 26 in order to be able to cut in the direction parallel to said wall. This removal can be carried out quickly thanks to the mounting of the cutting blades by means of the stud 27 which is simply held in place by a spring-loaded push screw 44 which is screwed into the body of the knife holder 25 and is supported in a peripheral groove-27a presented by said stud.

Finally, to facilitate the insertion of the pins into the slices of meat stacked inside the cutting tank, it is possible to pre-perforate the latter, by means of an auxiliary comb 46 comprising a plurality of pointed rods 46a (for example 6 rods arranged in two rows), the spacing of which corresponds to that of the guide channels 9b and the holes 7b of the upper 9 and lower 7 plates, respectively.

Claims (16)

RESELL I CAT IONS 1. - Machine for the calibrated cutting of meat and / or vegetables, and the automatic preparation of skewers, comprising a cutting and skewering tank comprising four side walls (8a, 8b) provided with vertical slots (8c), a lower plate (7) and an upper plate (9) the opposite faces of which are symmetrically provided with perpendicular grooves (7a, 7a 'or 9a) delimiting rows of small support surfaces in the center of each of which is provided a hole (7b) or a guide channel (9b), characteristic that it also includes an automatic cutting device mounted with a vertical displacement ability and comprising a plurality of cutting blades (26) aligned and fixed horizontally, preferably so removable on a knife support (25) coupled to a motor (35). 2. - Machine according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises an automatic skewering device comprising one or more pairs of horizontal rollers (17) frictionally coupled and provided with annular grooves (17b) regularly spaces, the meeting points of the annular grooves of said pairs of rollers being arranged in alignment or being capable of being placed in alignment with the holes (7a) and the guide channels (9a) of the lower (7) and upper (9) plates ), respectively, of the cutting tank; the rotary drive of said pairs of rollers allowing the spindles (24) used to make the skewers to be driven in towards said cutting tank. 3. - Machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the frame (29) of the cutting assembly is integral with a carriage (36) equipped with rollers (37) rolling in vertical rails (38a) rigidly fixed to the machine base (1). 4. - Machine according to one of claims 1 or 3, characterized in that the base (1) comprises parallel longitudinal guides (2) intended for perfect guiding of the cutting tank in the direction of the cutting assembly. 5. - Machine according to any one of resellers cations 1, 3 and 4, characterized in that the knife support (25) is suspended from the frame (29) of the cutting assembly by means of a system of parallelograms deformable comprising two pairs of parallel suspension rods (30) arranged symmetrically on each side of said knife support whose reciprocating horizontal movement is, for example, obtained by means of articulated drive rods (33), by their opposite ends , on the one hand on the latter, and, on the other hand, on crank plates (34) rotated by the motor (35) of said assembly. 6. - Machine according to any one of claims 1, 3 and 4, characterized in that it comprises means making it possible to immobilize the cutting assembly in the high position, these means being, for example, constituted by a latch (40) carried by the frame (29) of said assembly and capable of being blocked on the upper crosspiece (38b) of a gantry (38), the uprights of which are preferably formed by the vertical rails (38a) integral with the base (1) of said machine. 7. - Machine according to any one of claims 1, 3, 4 and 6, characterized in that a spring (41) acting in traction connects the movable frame (29) of the cutting assembly to the upper crosspiece ( 38b) of a gantry (38) integral with the base (1) of said machine> in order to assist the lifting of said assembly. 8. - Machine according to claim 2, characterized in that the pairs of horizontal skewer rollers (17) are available between a lower sole (14) and an upper cover (19), said sole and said cover being provided holes (14a, 19a) aligned vertically with the meeting points of the annular grooves (17b) with which said rollers are provided. 9. - Machine according to one of claims 2 or 8, characterized in that the skewer rollers (17) are carried by a carriage (14-15) capable of sliding on the upper edge forming a rail (8e) of two opposite walls (8b) of the cutting tank, means making it possible to immobilize said carriage in positions according to which the meeting points of the annular grooves (17b) of each pair of skewer rollers are aligned with the guide channels (9b ) and the holes (7b) of the upper (9) and lower (7) plates, respectively, of said cutting tank; said immobilization means being, for example, constituted by retractable fingers (20) carried laterally, by said carriage (14-15) and cooperating with holes (8f) formed in the lateral surface of said rails (8e) and arranged in horizontal succession. 10. - Machine according to any one of claims 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6, characterized in that the guide grooves (9a) of the upper plate (9) and / or the guide grooves (7a, 7al) of the lower plate (7), have depths of dimension greater than the width of the cutting blades (26) of the cutting assembly. 11. - Machine according to any one of claims 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 10, comprising a removable reducing plate (43) provided with vertical slots (43a), characterized in that the perpendicular grooves (7a, 7a ') of the lower plate (7) have unequal depths, the reducing plate being intended to' engage, by its lower portion, in one of the grooves (7a) of greater depth; the solid portion going from the bottom of the vertical slots (43a) to the bottom edge of said reducing plate having a height more reduced than that of the difference in depth of said perpendicular grooves so that the bottom of said slots is located at a level below that from the bottom of the shallower grooves (7a) when the reducing plate is installed in the cutting tank. 12. - Machine according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the lower compression and guide plate <7) rests on elastic members such as, for example, compression springs (11). 13. - Machine according to claim 4, characterized in that a stop (3) limits the movement of the cutting tray in the direction of the cutting assembly, and in that locking means (4) hold said tray in position near said assembly during cutting. 14. - Machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the cutting blades (26) are fixed on the knife support (25) by means of a stud (27) passing through a transverse bore in the said support in line with slots (25a) serving as housing for the heels (26c) of said cutting blades, which have a hole for the passage of said stud, the latter being, for example, held in place by means of a spring-loaded push screw (44) screwing into the knife support and taking support in a peripheral groove (27a) that said -gudgeon. 15. - Machine according to claim 1, the upper guide and skewering plate (9) is adjustable in height, characterized in that the means allowing this adjustment consist, on the one hand, of retractable locking lugs ( 12) doors by at least two opposite walls of the cutting tank, and on the other hand, by superposed notches (9c) which is laterally endowed with said plate and in which said lugs can engage. 16. - Machine according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that it is supplemented by auxiliary equipment comprising, on the one hand, a comb (46) provided with a plurality of pointed rods whose ecar - Entirely corresponds to that of the holes (7b) and the guide channels (9b) of the lower (7) and upper (9) trays, said comb allowing a pre-perforation of the layers of meat contained in the cutting tank and, d on the other hand, a handle (45) for extracting the upper guide and skewering plate (9), comprising laterally two articulated hooks (45a) whose beaks (45b) can slide in two opposite vertical notches (9d) formed in the extension of one of the grooves (9a) of said plate, and hang on the ends of the bottom of said groove.