GB1370380A - Apparatus and method for handling a process cheese spread and cutting it into slices - Google Patents

Abstract

1370380 Cutting cheese &c. KRAFTCO CORP 30 Nov 1971 [10 Dec 1970] 55448/71 Heading A4C Apparatus 10 for handling and dividing a processed cheese spread, comprises a rotatable chilled roll 16 to receive the food product thereon until the product has set into Sheet form, a doctor blade 22 and guide roll 24 for separating the sheet from the chilled roll, a conveyer 26 for removing the sheet towards slitting discs 56 for dividing the sheet into a plurality of longitudinal strips 52, and cutting blades 66 for dividing the strips into slices 14. The conveyer 26 comprises a belt 28 trained around a driven roller 30 and a nose bar 32 but the belt may alternatively be trained around the guide roll 24. A tensioning roller 34 may be provided to keep the belt 28 taut but this may be eliminated if it tends to collect fats and solids. At the lower end of the conveyer 26 there is a cutter conveyer 36 on which the sheet is cut by the discs 56 of a slitting assembly 50 employed in co-operation with a belt 42. A cutter assembly 60, also mounted above the cutter conveyer, divides the strips perpendicularly to their length and comprises a plurality of cylindrical sections 62 rotatable on a shaft 64. Each section 62 carries a plurality of circumferentially-spaced, transverse blades 66, the spacing between the blades corresponding to the length of the individual slices. After the slices have been cut they are transported to a conveyer (not shown) to form a single output line of slices which are subsequently packed. Alternatively, slices may be directly stacked and wrapped in packages by an automated operation for each strip of food product. A second embodiment further includes a forming assembly (70) Fig. 2 (not shown) for producing modified slice shapes, such as round cornered slices (72) or triangular shapes. A plurality of protuberance (78) carried around each section (76) are synchronized for rotation with the blades 66 of the assembly 60. A scrap discharge screw (80) is provided within the forming assembly to remove the material resulting from the formation of notches (79) along the edges of the strips.