GB2285914A

GB2285914A - Device for inserting slips of paper or plastics foil between slices of material.

Info

Publication number: GB2285914A
Application number: GB9500842A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Max Klein; Roger Morgan; Stefan Stadtmueller
Original assignee: Dixie Union Verpackungen GmbH
Current assignee: Dixie Union Verpackungen GmbH
Priority date: 1994-02-01
Filing date: 1995-01-17
Publication date: 1995-08-02
Anticipated expiration: 2015-01-17
Also published as: ATA10395A; ITBZ950003A1; GB2285914B; DE4402923A1; ITBZ950003A0; GB9500842D0; AT408967B; IT1282293B1

Description

1 2285914 Title: Device for inserting slips of paper between slices of

material This invention relates to a device for inserting slips of paper between slices of material, in particular portions of sliced sausage or cheese.

In such devices, the product to be sliced typically lies on a supporting surface provided with a drive which conveys the product to be sliced to a cutting knife, and a belt conveyor provided after the knife which transports the cut slices, a feeding mechanism pushing an insert slip provided from a supply of such slips into the space between the cutting plane defined by the knife and the belt conveyor after each cutting operation.

It is known to insert sheets or slips of paper or plastics foil between the individual slices of a cut product, in particular sliced foodstuffs. The object of these inserted sheets or slips is to allow the relatively thinly cut sliced products to be separated from one another more easily.

An inserting device of this kind is described in US-A 3 019 578. A slip of paper, e.g. grease-proof paper, or a plastic film is unwound from a roll and is guided, via a paper track provided above the surface supporting the product, into the region of the cutting knife. The product to be sliced is arranged essentially horizontally. The slip of paper is advanced from above and is then cut by the knife, in this case a sickle- shaped knife, at the same time as the sausage or cheese slice. This document provides for air nozzles intended to ensure that the slip of paper bears against the product to be sliced.

DE-C 32 49 925 also describes a device for cutting slabs of product to be cut, e.g. a slab of sausage or cheese, in which the product to be sliced lies on an inclined supporting path and a slip of paper is advanced to the cutting knife below the supporting surface. In this case once again, the slip of paper 1 2 is cut by the knife cutting the product to be sliced.

Both known devices have air nozzles intended to ensure that the insert slip bears against the slice to be cut. This is desirable for several reasons. First, the slice, particularly if it is cut very thinly, is supported by the adjacent insert sheet, the slice thus being more likely to f all f lat on to the belt conveyor arranged behind it and not to fold up during the cutting operation. This leads to attractive, salespromoting sliced portions with a low reject rate. As the paper insert slip bears completely against the slice, the exact position of the slip in the package is also fixed.

If the insert slip bears against the slice before it is cut, it sticks to the slice and does not become detached from the slice. There is no crumpling of the insert slip under the slice or of the slice on the flat insert slip. Crumpling of this kind can occur if the insert slip does not bear with its entire surface against the slice to be cut and the slice falls on to the belt conveyor once it has been cut from the slab of product. Using air nozzles to allow the insert slip to bear against the slice is not satisfactory as the blown air must first be cleaned so that it is sterile and any impurities, e.g. oil vapour from the compressor, must also be filtered out. Even if the air used is cleaned, the ambient air may still be swirled around by the blown air, thereby conveying germs to the product to be cut.

As a result of the high cutting performance of the cutting machines (up to 600 slices per minute or more), only fractions of a second are available for the insert slip to be pressed onto the product to be sliced via an air jet. This leads to relatively high air flow rates. The resulting negative pressure on the blown side of the insert slip then prevents the insert slip from being fed to the cut surface. It is also possible for the air jet to make the insert slip flap so that it cannot bear against the cut surface at all or only with folds.

3 The aim of the invention is to develop a device of the general type described above such that the insert slip is introduced with high precision between the slices of cut food products, such that the product to be sliced can be sliced at very high speeds and such that it is also possible to produce very thin slices with a low reject rate.

According to the invention, there is provided a device f or inserting slips of paper or plastics foil between slices of material, in particular sausage and cheese portions, in which the product to be sliced lies on a supporting surface provided with a drive which conveys the product to be sliced to a cutting knife, and in which a belt conveyor provided after the knife in the conveying direction transports the cut slices, and a feeding mechanism pushes an insert slip provided from a supply of such slips into the space between the cutting plane defined by the knife and the belt conveyor after each cutting operation, wherein a mechanical feeding device presses the insert slip onto the slice to be cut prior to the cutting operation.

The use of a mechanical feeding device avoids the known disadvantages of air flow. The feeding device is made, for example, of the same material as the remainder of the cutting machine (e.g. stainless steel) and there is therefore no concern from the food hygiene point of view. The insert slip, which consists, for example, of paper or plastic, is pressed on to the slice to be cut by mechanical means. This avoids the problem of negative pressure with high-speed air flows leading to flapping of the insert slip. The feeding device is provided, for example, in the space between the subsequent belt conveyor and the cutting knife.

The f eeding device advantageously rotates with the cutting knif e. In a design of this kind, it may be provided that the cutting knife and the feeding device are mounted on one common shaft. The knife can in this case be in the form of a sickle-shaped knife. A design of this kind according to the invention ensures 4 a fixed phase relation between the knife and the feeding device. This means that at the time the slab of product is cut,, the feeding device does not press the insert slip and vice versa. By a synchronous design of this kind effected by simple means, it is possible to produce a cutting machine with a high cutting performance of more than 600 slices per minute.

The cutting knife shaft is advantageously mounted on a rotor and the f eeding device rotates with the rotor. In known cutting machines, a cutting knife rotates on a rotor. The cutting knife orbits about the axis of the rotor and thereby executes a lifting and lowering movement, the product to be sliced being periodically released. If the feeding device rotates with the rotor, a fixed phase relation between the cutting knife and the f eeding device is again achieved, and the synchronisation of these two elements poses no problem. It is thus possible f or the insert slip to be pressed reliably onto product to be cut at high cutting speeds.

In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the feeding device is sickle-shaped. The sickle can have, for example, a curved inner face, i.e. a sickle arc. However, it is also possible for the sickle to be straightedged, the intention being that the sickle will allow, for example, for a spiral movement on the rotor for a pressing movement of the insert slip.

The sickle is advantageously open in the running direction of the rotor. This has the advantage that the sickle firmly grips the insert slip projecting into the intermediate space and presses it against the slice to be cut.

It is further proposed that the sickle serves at least partially as a counterbalance weight for the cutting knife. The cutting knife mounted eccentrically on the rotor requires a counterbalance weight. If the sickle or the feeding device is then used in such a manner that it serves simultaneously as a counterbalance weight, a surprising additional effect is Q obtained, with the result that the counterbalance weight can be at least partially dispensed with.

In a f urther embodiment of the invention, it is proposed that the insert slip is supplied f rom below and the sickle presses the insert slip upwards onto the slice to be cut, towards the rotor axis. In one example, the roll with the slip of paper is provided below the supporting surface and the path for delivering the insert slip extends below the supporting surface and penetrates below the latter into the intermediate space. The sickle in this case has, for example, a sickle arc directed towards the rotor axis. This ensures that the insert slip is gripped in the region in which the insert slip penetrates into the intermediate space and that the insert slip is then fed on until it bears against the slice to be cut.

It is, however, also advantageous f or the insert slip to be supplied from above and for the sickle to press the insert slip downwards onto the slice to be cut, away from the rotor axis. In this case, the insert slip may be supplied from above, i.e. from a roll above the supporting surface. The sickle is consequently designed in such a manner that there is a downward feeding movement, i.e. in the direction of the supporting surface.

Very good results have been obtained when the cutting knife cuts the insert slip from the roll. It may be provided in this case that the insert slip penetrates into the intermediate space below the product supporting surface and is pressed upwards onto the slice to be cut. The cutting knife is above the slab of product during the pressing movement and cuts both the insert slip and the product in one cutting operation.

It is provided in a further embodiment of the invention that a separate cutting device is provided to cut the insert slip. The cutting device is in this case provided in the path of the insert slip.

6 The invention also encompasses devices in which the insert slip is not introduced into the intermediate space as the loose end of a roll, but is taken up from a store of insert slips by the feeding device and is then pressed on to the slice to be cut.

The inner f ace of the sickle directed towards the insert slip furthermore advantageously forms an acute angle with the cutting plane in such a manner that a wedge-shaped air space pressing the insert slip onto the slice to be cut is f ormed upon the rotation of the sickle. The sickle rotates, for example, at a speed of 6 0 0 rpm with a rotation path diameter of, f or example, 1 m. This results in very high speeds of rotation for the sickle and it is possible that the slip or the end of the roll no longer bears directly against the inner face of the sickle, but rather that an air wedge presses on the slip.

By virtue of a design of this kind, it is also possible, f or example, for there to be a gap between the edge of the sickle which is directed towards the slice to be cut and the slice itself, as a result of which it is possible to use insert slips of different thicknesses without adjustment.

The invention will now be described in greater detail, by way of illustration only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front view of a device according to the invention, and Figure 2 is a side view of a device according to the invention.

A slicing machine 1 consists essentially of a support path 10, inclined in this case and provided on a frame 13, on which the product 11 to be sliced lies. The angle between the horizontal and the inclined supporting path 10 is 40. The ref erence numeral 14 designates feeding means for the product 11 to be cut, e.g. rollers. The device according to the invention can also be 7 used with a horizontal support path.

The product 11 to be sliced is cut into slices 22 by a knife 2. Figure 2 shows the moment at which a slice 22 is cut off by the knife 2, together with a slip of paper 23 situated below it, and falls onto a stack 4.

The knife 2 is mounted via the knife shaft 20 on a rotor 5, the axis of rotation of which is designated 50. The axis of rotation of the knife 2 is designated 20 and the knife follows a trajectory 21, the knife 2 periodically cutting into the product 11 to be sliced and then releasing it. The dimension of the trajectory 21 is of course such that the knife 2 extends to a cutting edge 15. The cutting edge 15 is the f ront end of the product supporting surface 10.

In this embodiment. the separating paper or insert slip 23 is delivered from a paper roll 3. A pair of paper feeding rollers 31 on either side of the paper path 33 are provided f or paper feeding. The paper roll 3 is below the supporting surface 10, in the frame 13 of the slicing machine 1. The paper 33 is advanced from below to the cutting edge 15, the paper 33 guiding the still uncut slip until the moment it is cut. After a cutting operation. t he paper 33 is conveyed to the intermediate space 7 defined by the stack 4 and the cutting plane 24 defined by the knife 2.

The slices are sorted into a stack 4 on a belt conveyor 40, which may be in the f orm of a portioning belt conveyor and may be situated in the production line after the cutting knife 2. The sliced product is supplied to the belt conveyor 40 for further processing steps, e.g. packaging.

The device according to the invention conveys the paper 33 into the intermediate space 7 at an acute angle to the cutting plane 24. A sickleshaped device 6 is provided in order to press the fed paper onto the product 11 to be sliced. This sickle 6 is 8 provided on the rotor 5 and rotates in the opposite direction to the cutting knife 2. The direction of rotation of the sickle 6 is designated 60. The paper 33 is introduced into the intermediate space 7 at an acute angle from the rear and thus does not at first bear against the product 11 to be sliced. The front end 61 of the sickle then grips the fed paper 33 in the region of the cutting edge 15, i.e. in the region where the paper 33 reaches the intermediate space 7. The paper 33 is then situated between the cutting edge 15 and the sickle 6. If the sickle 6 then rotates further, the sickle arc 62 extending towards the interior draws the end 34 of the paper upwards and presses it on to the surface 16 of the product 11 to be cut. The next slip of paper pressed on is designated 30.

The sickle 6 in this case rotates in a plane arranged parallel to the cutting plane 24, this plane being set back into the intermediate space 7 relative to the cutting plane 24. The distance between these two planes can be greater than the slice thickness in order thereby to ensure that the sickle does not run into the side of the product to be sliced. Exact pressing of the insert slip is then effected, with the aid of an air wedge which forms and bears against the slip over its entire surface. Manufacturing tolerances can thus advantageously be kept large. Even if the fed slip then deviates, e.g. in this case upwards, from its direction predetermined by the feed direction,, the insert slip adheres precisely to the product by virtue of the adhesive action on the surface of the product to be cut.

The slip of paper 30 can then be cut from the paper 33 by various means It is proposed, f or example, that the knif e 2 may cut both the slice 12 from the product 11 to be cut and the slip of paper 30.

It is provided in another embodiment that a paper cutting device 32 is provided and cuts the paper 33 independently of the knife 2 when it is pressed on to the product.

9 It is also possible f or the end 34 of the paper not to be pressed on to the surface 16 of the product to be cut by direct mechanical contact by the sickle 6, but for a wedge-shaped air space running in f ront of the sickle as a result of the high speeds of rotation of the rotor (up to 600 rpm or more) to press the end 34 of the paper on to the product. To this end, the inner face of the sickle forms an acute angle with the cutting knife plane 24, resulting in an air wedge by means of which the sickle presses the insert slip in a contactless manner onto the product to be cut.

It is provided that the sickle arc 6 may also have a non-curved sickle are 62. The sickle 6 is designed in such a manner that it grips the paper 33 hanging, for example, below it (when the latter is advanced, e.g. from below) via its front end 61 and presses it on to the surf ace 16 of the product to be cut in a spiral feeding movement. It is sufficient for the sickle 6 to be straight.

The claims filed at present with the application and subsequently are attempts at formulation without prejudice to wider protection.

The references made in the dependent claims relate to the further development of the subject matter of claim 1 by the features of the respective subclaim. However, these should not be regarded as a re nunciation of the right to obtain independent substantive protection for the features of the related subclaims.

Features so f ar only disclosed in the description may be claimed to be essential to the invention in the course of the proceedings, e.g. for delimitation over the prior art.

Claims

1. Device for inserting slips of paper or plastics foil between slices of material, in particular sausage and cheese portions, in which the product to be sliced lies on a supporting surface provided with a drive which conveys the product to be sliced to a cutting knife, and in which a belt conveyor provided after the knife in the conveying direction transports the cut slices, and a feeding mechanism pushes an insert slip provided from a supply of such slips into the space between the cutting plane defined by the knif e and the belt conveyor after each cutting operation, wherein a mechanical feeding device presses the insert slip onto the slice to be cut prior to the cutting operation.

2. Device according to claim 1, wherein the f eeding device rotates with the cutting knife.

3. Device according to one or both of the preceding claims, wherein the knif e has a shaf t which is mounted on a rotor and the feeding device rotates with the rotor.

4. Device according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the feeding device is in the form of a sickle.

5. Device according to Claim 4 as dependent upon Claim 3, wherein the sickle is open in the running direction of the rotor.

6. Device according to Claim 4 or Claim 5, wherein the sickle serves at least partially as a counterbalance weight f or the knife.

7. Device according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the insert slip is supplied from below and the feeding device presses the insert slip upwards onto the slice to be cut. towards the rotor axis.

8. Device according to one or more of Claims 1 to 7, wherein 11 the insert slip is supplied f rom above and the f eeding device presses the insert slip downwards on to the slice to be cut. away from the rotor axis.

9. Device according to any preceding claim, wherein the supply of insert slips is a roll of slip material such as paper or plastics foil.

10. Device according to Claim 9, wherein the knif e cuts the insert slip from the roll.

11. Device according to Claim 9, wherein a separate cutting device is provided to cut the insert slip.

12. Device according to Claim 5, wherein the inner face of the sickle, which is directed towards the insert slip, f orms an acute angle with the cutting plane in such a manner that a wedge-shaped air space pressing the insert slip on to the slice to be cut forms upon the rotation of the sickle.

13. Device for inserting slips of paper or plastics foil between slices of material, substantially as hereinbefore described and as illustrated in the accompanying Figures.