ITMI951678A1 - Procedure and device for cutting and transportating soft cheese or other types of humid or adhesive food masses, lacking stability in their dimension. - Google Patents

Abstract

For the division and transport of incoherent alimentary product masses, like soft cheese, through devices that will consider the characteristics of the product, and in order to eliminate the need of manual work for the tasks of cutting and packaging of foodstuffs that are soft and inconsistent, especially soft cheese, we provide a procedure, and consequently a device for the transportation of sticks of soft cheese, the cutting in single pieces and its disposition on sheets of packaging paper that are being cut at the very moment the pieces of cheese are being cut. The handling and cutting happens in a way that allows the shape of the soft and incoherent product to be preserved.

Description

DESCRIPTION of the industrial invention

The invention relates to a process and a device for dividing and transporting soft cheese or other masses of moist and adhesive food products, which are not dimensionally stable.

Soft cheese (crescenza cheese) is manufactured in large quantities and due to the short maturation time, as well as the high fat and water content, it has such a soft consistency that the uncovered cheese has no shape stability and immediately begins to disintegrate.

Such a cheese is typically made in blocks with a weight of about 2 kg and dimensions of 190 x 190 x 57 mm. Other dimensions and weights that are subject to the same criteria are also usual.

Currently, the cheeses from the manufacturing forms are temporarily stored on stacking tables, from which they are picked up by hand and placed in a sorting machine. This one-step dividing machine divides the cheese into single pieces of 1000, 500, 200 or even 100g.

These individual pieces must be picked up by hand from the dividing machine, stacked on an intermediate table, and transferred to a person assigned to the packaging machine.

This person picks up the individual pieces by hand from the table and places them in the packaging machine, where they are placed on a blank of packaging material previously prepared and packaged by machine.

These processing steps must all be done by hand, because the naked cheese cannot be handled with tools. This has hitherto been prevented by contamination, deformation and sticking of the cheese to the contact surfaces.

Known handling of soft cheese is therefore complicated and requires a lot of labor.

The purpose of the invention is to create a machine process for the division and transport of soft cheese or other masses of humid and adhesive food products, dimensionally unstable, which takes particular account of the consistency of the masses to be processed, as well as of a device for carrying out the same.

This object is achieved according to the invention by means of a method according to claim 1 and by means of a device according to claim 2.

Advantageous developments of the invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

In the following, the invention will be described with reference to an exemplary embodiment in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Hereinafter, the term 'soft cheese' is also used to represent other moist and adhesive food products, although the use of the soft cheese process and the use of the soft cheese device are particularly preferred.

In the drawings they show:

Figure 1, schematically, the processing of soft cheese starting from a block of soft cheese up to pieces of cheese placed on a strip of packaging material and removed on blanks of packaging material;

Figure 2, a plan view of a device for processing a block of soft cheese;

figure 3, a view of the device of figure 2 looking along the arrow A of figure 2;

Figure 3a, the region of the knife edge of the first conveyor belt, in section;

Figures 4 to 7, sections along the line I-I of Figure 1 for different cutting steps, and

Figures 8 to 14, schematic sections along the line II-II of Figure 1 for different cutting and transport phases.

The figures show a preferred embodiment of a device for cutting and transporting soft cheese.

A block of soft cheese 1 is placed at right angles, resting on one side against a side guide belt 3, on the belt 5 of a belt conveyor 2. A second lateral guide belt 4 mounted offset in the transport direction supports the block soft cheese on the other side as well, as soon as it has been transported into the region of the second side guide belt. The two lateral guide belts 3 and 4 are arranged vertically, well against the belt conveyor 2, guide the block of soft cheese 1 and prevent it from escaping laterally during transport.

Behind the side guide belts 3 and 4, the soft cheese block 1 passes through a length measuring photoelectric relay 8, which is thus mounted upstream of a cutting mechanism (cutting bracket 10) that before cutting the soft cheese 1 that has passed through it has been fully detected along its entire length and there is still sufficient computation time left to exactly position the soft cheese block 1 and the first cut on the web end guided around a knife edge 6. The signals necessary for counting the stroke are provided for this purpose by a pulse generator 9, which is coupled to the belt conveyor 2.

The program for controlling the cutting length assumes that the block of soft cheese 1 taken from molds always has a certain desired length (the length of the mold). This, and the resulting length of the individual pieces based on the number of pieces to be cut, is rigidly predetermined by the command. Since the cheese has such a soft consistency that after being removed from the mold it immediately begins to flow, it can therefore only be longer than the pre-established desired length. This deviation from the desired value is attributed to half of the first and last piece respectively, while the pieces in the center of the block maintain the desired programmed length.

After the soft cheese block 1 has passed the length measurement photoelectric relay 8 with its rear edge, the control determines the actual length 1 of the soft cheese block and the length of the first and last piece. Taking into account the memorized distance of the length measuring photoelectric relay 1 from the center of a cutting wire 11 forming part of the cutting mechanism, the first cutting position is also determined, which is reached precisely, and the belt conveyor 2 is arrested.

The stop of the belt starts the movement of the cutting mechanism, which with a cutting bracket 10 stretches the cutting wire 11, and an auxiliary cutting wire 12 superimposed, perpendicular to the direction of transport of the block of soft cheese 1 (figure 3 ). The cutting bracket 10 translates with the cutting edge 11 and the auxiliary cutting edge 12 downwards, while a first cheese stick 15 is cut from the soft cheese block 1. The auxiliary cutting edge 12 has a distance from the cutting edge. of cut 11 approximately equal to 30 - 40% of the height of the cheese and prevents the immediate rejoining of the two closely adjacent cutting surfaces.

Already during the cutting process, the knife edge 6 of the belt conveyor 2 tilts slightly downwards in order to wedge the cutting surfaces apart from each other. The inclination axis of the knife edge 6 lies in the cutting plane, approximately at the height of the transport plane. A tensioning roller 7 ensures that the belt 5 of the web, even during inclination, is pulled so as to keep it taut around the tip of the knife edge 6.

At the lower dead center, the cutting edge 11 together with the belt 5 of the belt conveyor 2 slightly penetrates a transverse groove 13 arranged in the cutting plane, under the plane of the belt conveyor, so that the cheese is cut safely.

At the same time, the knife edge 6 tilts completely downwards and causes the cut cheese stick 15 to overturn on a transverse belt conveyor 14, which at the moment of overturning is stationary and is inclined around an axis parallel to the direction of transport. of the cross belt conveyor, against the cheese stick that is overturning. As a result of the above indicated position of the inclination axis of the knife edge 6, the least possible overturning and falling movement of the cut cheese stick 15 on the transverse belt conveyor 14 which is inclined against it is obtained. The knife edge 6 of the first belt conveyor 2 and the tilting motion of the cross belt conveyor 14 are synchronized with each other, so that the tip of the knife edge passes in front of the transverse belt conveyor 14 during tilting, that is inclined against him, in his immediate proximity. The inclination with approach of the transverse belt conveyor 14 occurs at an angle such that a cheese stick transferred from the knife edge 6 lands flat, i.e. with a cut surface, on the transverse belt conveyor 14, without performing there, starting from support only on the edge, a rolling or overturning motion on a surface, harmful to the maintenance of the shape. The sliced cheese stick then lies on the cross belt conveyor 14 with a surface forming a 90 ° angle with the resting surface on the first belt conveyor 2.

After penetration of the cutting wire into the transverse groove 13, the cutting bracket withdraws upwards and executes a movement towards one side, guided by a commanded glyph 33 (figure 8), which raises the cutting wire 11 'and the auxiliary cutting wire 12 from the cutting surface of the cheese block and guides it freely upwards. In this way it is ensured that the block of cheese residual on the belt is not dragged upwards by the cutting edges which rise, and that no material is removed from the cutting surface.

The transverse belt conveyor 14 with the superimposed cheese stick 15 returns to its horizontal position, advances and leads the cheese stick 15 to a chopping belt 16 contiguous to the transverse belt conveyor. When the cheese stick 5 has been completely transferred, the transverse belt conveyor tilts again against the next cheese stick 15 and awaits the transfer of the next cheese stick 15, the cutting process of which has been started at the same time.

At the beginning of the chopping belt 16 there are two straightening rollers 20 which push the cheese stick 15 laterally into a precise position, so that the individual pieces cut at the end of the chopping belt 16 fall into a precise position on a paper tape 30 (Figure 8 and following).

Behind the two straightening rollers 20 there is a photoelectric relay 21 for measuring the length of the cheese sticks 15, which measures their length. In principle, the same cutting program is carried out here via a pulse generator 22 and an electronic calculation unit as for cutting the soft cheese block 1. The excess length is also divided in half and attributed to the lengths. of the first and last single piece.

With the same expedients used in the first cutting station, the cutting of individual pieces 26 from the stick 15 takes place, i.e. by means of a cutting mechanism 220, which has an auxiliary cutting edge 25 and a cutting edge 24, which penetrates into the lower dead point in the belt 25 of the cutting belt 16 against the inclination axis of a lowerable knife edge 19, around which the belt 27 of the cutting belt 16 is guided at the end, while the knife edge 19 is lowered and the cutting bracket carrying the cutting wires of the cutting mechanism 220 in the return stroke performs a lateral movement away from the cutting surface of the stick. The belt 27 of the cutting belt, after the knife edge 19, extends over a tensioning roller 18 and a guiding roller 16.

However, the single piece 26 is deposited here, on overturning from the knife edge 19, on a deposition ramp 23 slightly inclined against the knife edge, over which a web of packaging material (paper web) 30 runs. piece 26 is then directly deposited on the packaging material and from this point it lies in the correct position on the wrapping paper and is transported away therefrom.

Feeding grippers 21, in correspondence with a lower paper knife 34, which is located at the end of the deposition ramp 23, grasp the front edge of the web of packaging material 30 and pull it by stretching it exactly by a blank length. The single piece 26 is therefore pulled through an open paper cutting mechanism 33 and arrives, resting on the web of packaging material 30 unwound by a roll of material 29, on a removal belt 37.

An upper knife 35 of the paper cutting mechanism then lowers and cuts a length of packaging material 36, on which the single piece 26 is located. At the same time, the feed pliers 31 open and free the cut length 36. While the open feed grippers 31 retract to their starting position, the removal belt 37 transports the single piece 26 together with the piece of packaging material 36 to further processing.

In order that the web of packaging material 23, from which the section 36 was cut, cannot go back, it is secured after cutting by non-return devices 28.

The necessary positioning accuracy during cutting is achieved by the fact that the stock removal guide switches to a slow feed rate shortly before the end of the cutting length and stops when the exact web position is reached.

The masses of moist and adhesive food products with little dimensional stability other than soft cheese can include in particular pasta, kneadable masses, filled sheets, jellies and the like.

Claims (15)

CLAIMS 1. Process for the division and transport of soft cheese or other masses of moist and adhesive food products, dimensionally unstable, with the following procedure steps: Arrangement of a block of soft cheese (1) on a first belt conveyor (2) with a belt (5) of the belt conveyor, which is guided around a first knife edge (6), which is tiltable towards the low around an axis arranged perpendicular to the direction of transport and parallel to the plane of the belt conveyor, in which a cutting device is provided above the belt conveyor with a cutting plane passing approximately along the axis of inclination of the edge a knife (6), and in which overlapping the knife edge (6) of the first belt conveyor (2), below this there is a transversal belt conveyor (14) carrying transversely to the first belt conveyor, the which is tiltable about an axis parallel to its conveying direction towards the knife edge (6) of the first belt conveyor (2) so that when the knife edge (6) is inclined downward and the n transverse rod (14) is inclined, the tip of the knife edge (6) is close to the cross belt conveyor (14), conveying the soft cheese block (1) to such an extent that the front end of the cheese block springs (1) reach the region of the tip of the knife edge, cutting the block of soft cheese (1) with the cutting device, where the knife edge (6) is slightly inclined downwards during the cutting process, inclination of the cross belt conveyor (14) towards the knife edge (6) of the first belt conveyor (2), complete downward inclination of the knife edge (6), after a cheese stick (15) has been completely cut, until the cut cheese stick is transferred from the knife edge to the cross belt conveyor (14) tilted against it, retracting the cross belt conveyor to the horizontal position and removal of the cheese stick lying on the cross belt conveyor (14) by the cross belt conveyor (14). 2. Process according to claim 1, characterized in that when the cheese stick (15} is cut from the soft cheese block (1), the cut is carried down to below the inclination axis of the knife edge (6) of the first belt conveyor (2). Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that after cutting the soft cheese stick (15) a movement of the cutting tool away from the residual soft cheese block is carried out. Process according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the separated cheese stick is conveyed to a cutting belt (16 which is the continuation of the cross belt conveyor (14), with a second knife edge (19). ) tiltable downwards, is cut in the region of the inclination axis of the second knife edge (19) into pieces (26) of soft cheese, and that the cut pieces of soft cheese (26) are turned over with the second edge a downwardly tiltable knife (19), directly on a web of packaging material (30) and with the web of packaging material (30) are pulled away for further processing. 5. Device for the division and transport of soft cheese or other masses of moist and adhesive food products, not dimensionally stable, with a first belt conveyor (2) for the transport of a block of soft cheese which is placed on it, in wherein the belt (5) of the first belt conveyor (2) at the end of the belt conveyor is guided around a knife edge (6) with a cutting device, which cuts with a cutting plane perpendicular to the plane of the belt and perpendicular to the transport direction of the belt conveyor (2), with a cross belt conveyor (14), which transports under the knife edge (6) of the belt conveyor (2) transversely to the transport direction of the conveyor a belt (2) and receives for further transport parts coming from the belt conveyor (2), characterized in that the knife edge (6) can be tilted downwards around an axis arranged in the p plane of the belt conveyor perpendicular to the transport direction towards the cross belt conveyor (14), that the cross belt conveyor (14) is tiltable towards the knife edge (6) of the belt conveyor (2), where the tip the downward sloping knife edge (6) skims the cross belt conveyor (14) inclined towards the knife edge and the downward sloping knife edge forms with the cross belt conveyor (14) inclined towards the it is a V-shaped channel, and that the cutting plane substantially passes through the axis of inclination of the knife edge (56). 6. Device according to claim 5, characterized in that the cutting device has a cutting wire (11) stretched over a cutting bracket (10) and that the cutting wire (11) is guided up to the under the plane of the belt conveyor until it presses into a cavity provided in correspondence with the inclination axis of the knife edge (6). 7. Device according to claim 6, characterized in that an auxiliary cutting line (12) is stretched over the cutting edge (11) on the cutting bracket (10). 8. Device according to claim 7, characterized in that the cutting bracket (10) during lifting after cutting performs a lateral movement away from the residual block. Device according to one of claims 5 to 8, characterized in that a cutting belt (16) is adjacent to the cross belt conveyor (14) which is guided at the end around another knife edge (19) similarly inclinable downwards and that in contiguity with the other knife edge (19) there is another belt conveyor formed by a belt of packaging material (30), which receives a piece of soft cheese cut in correspondence with the other knife edge (19). Device according to claim 9, characterized in that the web of packaging material (30) is guided over a deposition ramp (23) inclined towards the other knife edge (19). 11. Device according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that feed grippers (31) are provided, which at the rate of cutting the pieces of cheese extract the strip of packaging material (30) from a roll of packaging material (29). 12. Device according to claim 11, characterized in that in the vicinity of the deposition ramp (23) there is a cutting device for cutting packaging material - 13. Device according to claim 12, characterized in that an anti-return block (28) is provided for the web of wrapped packaging material after cutting. 14. Device according to one of claims 9 to 13, characterized in that at the other knife edge (19) another cutting device is provided corresponding to the cutting device provided at the knife edge (6) of the belt conveyor (2). Device according to one of claims 5 to 14, characterized in that the belts of the first belt conveyor (2), the cross belt conveyor (14) and the cutting belt (16) are designed as fine belts of sieve fabric.