GB355696A - Improvement in slicing machines - Google Patents

Abstract

355,696. Bread-slicing machines. TEWES, A. B., 3516, North Florissant Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A. April 22, 1930, No. 12462. [Class 5 (i).] In a machine for slicing loaves of bread, a feeding- conveyer mechanism comprises a plurality of belts, some supporting the bottom surfaces of the loaves and others acting frictionally on the end faces of and gripping the loaves, means being provided to support the latter belts obliquely to the direction of travel of the loaves and including mechanism for yieldingly pressing downwards on the loaves. The conveyer system comprises supporting-belts 14, 22 and gripping-belts 35, the belt 14 being driven by means of the step-up sprocket and chain arrangement 18 at a greater speed than the synchronously driven belts 22, 35, loaves thus being moved from the belt 14 over a dead-plate 15 on to the conveyer 22 in abutting relation, the dead-plate serving to bring the loaves into a square position. The conveyer 14, supported on frame-members 7, passes over head-and-tail-pulleys 10, 11 and is tensioned by the latter which is mounted in take-up bearings 12. The conveyer 22 passes over head- and tail pulleys 20, 16 being tensioned by a pulley 37 mounted on an arm 38 which may be adjusted by a screw which bears on the main frame. The dead-plate 15 is shaped accurately to fit the pulleys 10, 16. Adjusting shafts 23, having right- and left-handed screws thereon and interconnected by chain and sprocket mechanism and adjusted by means of a hand-wheel 27, carry sleeve nuts 24 depending from channel-like conveyer carriages 25 by brackets 28 having supporting engagement by bearings 29 with the head-shaft 20 and with a shaft 30 respectively. The gripping-belts 35 are carried by pulleys 32 mounted on shafts 31 on the carriages 25, the shafts 31 being inclined with respect to the feeder-belt 22 and carrying bevel gears 33 meshing with bevel gears 34 splined to the shafts 20, 30, attachments 34<1> serving to retain the bevel gears in mesh. The belts 35 are tensioned by rollers 45 bearing on the outer runs of the belts and carried on pins 44 mounted on brackets 43 and capable of adjustment by screws 46. Backing bars 47 on the inner runs of the belts 35 are sprung from brackets 51 attached to the carriages 25. The loaves are pressed downwards on to the conveyer 22 by presser bars 52 sprung from an arch bar 53 above the dead-plate 15, by means of the spring arrangement 57 and from the knife-frame 59 by the sprung rod 60. Side walls 65 mounted above the conveyer belt 14 are pivoted at 67 and carried at the rear ends by brackets attached to the carriages 25. Loaves are delivered from the feed conveyer 22 on to a feedplate 68 comprising grid-like apertures which receive the slicing knives. The slicing mechanism, as described in Specification 355,695, is reciprocated by means of a double piston arrangement driven from a motor 91 which by means of the gear train 92 and sprocket chain 93 drives the head pulley 20 and so the whole conveyer mechanism. A stripping means to prevent displacement of the slices comprises a comb-like member 73 having a plurality of resilient fingers and is supported from the knifeframe by sprung rods 75. Adjustable retaining walls 80 mounted on a delivery table 82 and having resilient wings 83 projecting up to the slicing mechanism, serve to retain the loaves in their presliced shape.