JPH1132698A - Apparatus for feeding either one or both of sliced food and prescribed amount of semiliquid product onto edible crust of bread or pressed product or tray - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus for automatically preparing a sandwich starting from massive bread. SOLUTION: This apparatus for feeding either one or both of a slice of a food from a lump and a prescribed amount of an injectable, a pourable or a semiliquid product having the bulkiness onto bread, an edible crust or a tray. The apparatus is equipped with a horizontal mobile frame 3 capable of longitudinally reciprocating on a bed late and plural product loaders 2. Plural cutting means for slicing a product 13 present in the product loaders 2 comprise each cutting blade 10. Plural substrates 17 fixed to the mobile frame 3 are capable of limiting the downward movement of the corresponding product. A belt conveyor 15 arranged under the mobile frame 3 is capable of receiving each slice 14 of the product.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for supplying a sliced food and / or a predetermined amount of a semi-liquid product to a loaf of bread, a pressurized product edible base or a tray. About. With this device, various sandwiches, "San Jacobos",
"San Marinos", blue ribbon (cordo)
n blue), meat pieces fried with bread crumbs are automatically made. The device is also intended to be included in these frozen food production lines. Referring to one of its multiple uses, in the special case of making "San Jacobos", they are completely made and from the apparatus into the dough in independent units or blocks. Dipping, breading,
Comes out to the conveyor belt to continue with the freezing and packing process.

[0002] With this device, sandwiches can be made starting from a loaf of bread. Those sandwiches are
Contains bread that forms top and bottom and is cut into slices.

[0003] Another object is the possibility to supply sliced food, other bulky, specific quantities of products to be poured or poured onto the products formed in the device.

[0004] The proposed device allows a person to completely position the desired number of slices in an overlying or stacked configuration. Also, the slices can be placed in a stepped or partially overlaid manner on a bread crust or frozen press product, as required for the production of "San Marinos".

[0005]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The preparation of these cited food products is currently done by the hands of several workers placing slices on a conveyor belt. These slices are pre-cut by the operator and placed in a stack or block. This manual distribution makes the product quite expensive, apart from the fact that the slices do not stay correctly positioned as desired.

[0006] Current cutting machines cannot include a continuous supply system for products to be cut and supplied separately. This is because processing must be interrupted in order to execute reloading. The production of products to be supplied is
Finished by human processing.

Automatic machines for making or supplying some of these cited products are also known, but they have significant problems in reducing the quality of the final product. Apart from the fact that automatic processing without interruption is not achieved,
Because they use less accurate functional devices.

[0008] These traditional devices we mention include two or three loading heads for the products to be supplied. The loading head can be tilted for access and then proceed to a manual saw that occupies a fixed position. In order to reload the product to be cut, it is necessary to interrupt the process.

Another problem inherent in these devices is represented by the inaccuracies of partially overlapping sliced products, which are very difficult to stack and therefore require different layers of products. There must be two or three workers to put back. This problem is accentuated when the product to be cut is a high-fat material. For example, this is the case for lunch meat having a fat content of 60% or more, which is often used instead of boiled ham. The saw's own stickiness and head movement make it impossible to achieve accurate lamination.

Another problem with this type of traditional device is that the operating system of the different moving parts of the device is hydraulic and, should the hose rupture, or in the event of any other leakage problem, The product is damaged and the entire facility must be cleaned.

Not only is there no uniformity in slice thickness, but also at the beginning of the working day and after several hours of operation when the temperature of the fluid oil has risen substantially, the amount of overlap for the same is foreseeable. Can not. The higher the temperature, the more fluid the oil becomes and the need to readjust the cutting head.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The apparatus of the present invention generally comprises a method for dispensing slices of food and / or a predetermined volume of bulk, infusible, pourable or semi-liquid product. Device for feeding on an edible crust or tray, comprising a base plate on which a vertically moving frame is slidably supported in an alternating movement. A number of cutting heads, which are placed horizontally and defined by a disk or circular blade driven and rotated by an electric motor, are mounted on this bed. These cutting stations, which are vertically spaced at a distance from each other, simultaneously attack the bulk products placed in the respective loaders. The loaders occupy fixed positions on the platform of the device and are mounted in an adjustable manner on each bridge of the fixed structure of the device, as will be shown later.

[0013] On a substrate lying laterally on the movable frame and remaining slightly below the plane of the cutting blade, the mass product rests by gravity. The loader is preferably a tubular portion having a square or rectangular outer shape, although it may have other polygonal, circular or elliptical shapes. Inside it, the product mass is centered in such a way that it easily falls off by gravity. In a preferred embodiment, these tubular portions are formed by several elements that expand or contract to change the cross-section to conform to the shape of the bulk product.

The blade is located in a plane slightly lower than the plane of the mouth from which the product emerges from the loader. It is possible to adjust this height to optimize the cut, as shown below.

Each one of the blades is fully mounted on a bearing and is brought into rotary motion by a respective electric motor integral with the movable frame.

As the movable frame advances towards the product to be cut, the circular blade moves the distance present between the plane of the blade and the plane of the substrate of the frame, on which the product mass rests. , The slice is started to be cut at a preset thickness. The thickness of the slices can be varied when adjusting the height of the substrate, preferably with micrometric screws placed on each side of the device for greater stability.

Since different disk-shaped blades are mounted on the same frame (the same number of blades as the number of cutting stations), slices cut simultaneously at different cutting stations are included in the structure of the base plate. Supported and received on a precisely guided conveyor belt. The pulling movement of the conveyor belt is synchronized with the alternating movement of the cutting frame. Product slices cut at the first cutting station remain linearly equidistant on the conveyor belt. Since these movements are synchronized, the slice formed at the second cutting station is placed on the previous slice. The same is true for different cutting stations.

In order to obtain a partial overlap of the slices or an overall accuracy in the stacking of the slices, the conveyor belt is subject to movement from the same motor which drives the cutting frame and gives the cutting frame an alternating or reciprocating weight. it can. This transmission is preferably provided by a toothed pinion.

Apart from the bulk product loading stations and the respective cutting stations which define the circular blades of the movable frame, a certain amount of bulky, poured or poured product is placed on the product traveling along the conveyor belt. The presence of another station supplying the was provided.
These dosing stations are conveniently located with respect to the bulk product loader, depending on the characteristics of the product provided by the bulk product loader. The pouring or pouring of bulky products is controlled by cells or position detectors located in the movable frame, otherwise by an integral element of the frame, at special points in the forward stroke of the frame, or Directly cause the release of large quantities of product.

[0020] It has been provided that preferably three or more loaders are provided in a lateral arrangement, so that the same circular cutting blade can cut one or more blocks of products placed in the corresponding loader. If it is not necessary to use a large blade diameter, the central loader occupies a delayed position with respect to both loaders (if there are three loading stations at the same loading and cutting station). Thus, apart from allowing access to the supporting bearing of the disc-shaped blade as well as its driven pulley from the respective electric motor, without interfering with the central loading station, the bending of the cutting edge More suitable. Thus, the knitting of sandwiches, "San Jacobos", "San Marinos" and other food items provided by the present device is in this case laid and obtained on a triple line on a conveyor belt.

The cutting unit may be a saw that moves alternately, instead of a rotating disk. The saw is of the blade type and has straight edges or toothed edges, depending on the product to be cut. Each of these blades is normally driven by a motor variator, the alternating or reciprocating movement being performed by a connecting rod-lever mechanism guided laterally on a movable frame. This structure can be applied to particularly large products, pizza, hamburger and other lines. There, the apparatus may have ten or more loaders transverse to the conveyor belt. Using a disk would not make any sense at all because the disk has an excessively large diameter.

Since the feed of the tubular portion defining the loader is performed by the top or the inlet opening of the loader,
It is possible to realize a continuous and automatic feed system without interruption of the process of performing reloading, which is customary in cutting machines to date.
Processing would not be interrupted, even if the loader was manually supplied with a lump of product. This is a relevant property of the device of the present invention.

The feed speed of the blades to cause cutting of the product is much higher than the feed speed of the conveyor belt. Although they can occur in the same direction, they are preferably performed in the opposite direction. Thanks to the accessibility in anticipation of the conveyor belt, the slices rest progressively on the belt, on another slice or on other slices cut at the preceding station before they are completely cut. A perfect alignment of the rows of slices is conditioned on that any guide strip fixed to the substrate on which the lump of product rests will fix the slice formed laterally. The guide strip prevents the slice from moving and staying out of position on the conveyor belt receiving the slice. These same guide strips extend obliquely to the front of the circular blade, receive the cutting edge and serve as a scraping element for removing stickies from the product on the blade.

In order to proceed with the periodic cleaning of the seamless belt of the conveyor belt, said belt is removed from the apparatus, while it is mounted on a vertical guide and kept fastened by a suitable closing means.

Further, the vertical loader mounted on each of the cross bridges of the base plate and through which the movable cutting frame passes below,
It can be tilted about 30 ° with respect to the frame to supply elongated slices for certain applications of the device supplying some good market products.

The cutting blade has a chamfered edge on the inner surface and a groove on the top of the inverted frustoconical surface to optimize cutting in reducing stickiness. For the same purpose, the blade may have a non-slip surface coating, such as a solid surface treatment layer or a lubricant layer. The solid surface treatment layer may include Teflon or a similar material, and the blade may be lubricated with edible oil to avoid stickiness of some products. For the same purpose, the disk-shaped surface of the blade may be occupied by grooves or holes to facilitate the movement of the product to be cut.

The seamless belt of the conveyor belt is
Instead of being smooth when making sandwiches, "San Jacobos", etc., it is necessary that the belt have the previous position of the tray station, with or without the base of bread. is there. Pressurized fish products, or the like, which may or may not be frozen, especially those on which slices of ham, cheese or the like are to be mounted. It is "San Marinos", the blue ribbon (cordon blu
e) as in the case of other bulky products to be injected into the corresponding stations of the apparatus, such as in the case of making breaded and fried pieces of meat. In this case, the seamless belt should have a predetermined position and a vertical equidistant projection so that a full loading of sliced and bulky products such as tomatoes, ketchup and mustard is achieved. It can have low vertical partitions as well as prominent honeycomb pits, buckets or stations. Trays or other products coming out of a similar processing line may be placed in these buckets. These buckets are adapted to the shape that the end product should have.

[0028]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention.

This device has a base plate 1. On the base plate 1, different product loading stations are supported. Each one of the product loading stations is generally designated by the numeral 2 and is vertically spaced apart.

A vertically alternating frame 3 is also movably supported on the frame 1 by a connecting rod 4 connected to an eccentric point of a plate 5 acting as a lever.

The movable frame 3 moves completely guided on vertical bars 6 arranged on both sides of the device. The guide bar 6 is stationary on the base plate 1 by the fixed support portion 7. Reference numeral 8 denotes a bearing support fixed to the frame 3.

FIG. 2 shows a system for driving the connecting rod 4 for moving the frame 3 by the transmission device 9 from the motor below the base plate 1.

The disk-shaped blades (see FIG. 3) are driven by independent motors 11, respectively. Further, a belt transmission device 12 is mounted on the movable frame 3.

FIG. 4 shows how the horizontal disc blade 1
Numeral 0 schematically indicates whether or not to cut into the bulk products 13 placed in the vertical loader 2 and cut the products contained therein into slices 14 in the forward movement of the frame 3. This cutting is done simultaneously.

The slices 14 fall on a conveyor belt 15 located below and very close to the frame 3.

In this embodiment shown, there are three tubular sections at each loading station 2 that contain a mass of product 13. This is shown schematically in FIG. Product 1
Three slices of three masses are cut by the same circular blade 10, the diameter of which corresponds to the size of the loading station. This FIG. 5 shows the same loading station 2 for the reasons explained above.
The phase differences provided between different loaders are schematically illustrated.

The substrate 17 is located at a position lateral to the frame 3, and the mass of the product 13 stops on the substrate 17. As can be clearly seen in FIG. 4, when the frame 3 moves toward the cutting position (to the left in FIG. 4), the blade 1
0 and the substrate 17 move at the same time and the cutting operation ends,
Gently place slice 14 on conveyor belt 15.

FIGS. 5 and 6 schematically show the slice guide strip 18 during the slice cutting operation. They can be adjusted both vertically and horizontally. Reference numeral 19 indicates a cantilever-shaped branch of the guide strip 18. This branch 19 is obliquely placed to receive the cutting edge of the blade 10 and to act as a scraper to remove stickies from the cut product.

The tubular sections 16 forming different loaders of the same or different loading stations 2 are attached to the cross-bridge 20 while maintaining the fixed position, while the base plate 1
It is installed in.

As noted at the outset, each one of these loaders has at least one vertical groove or slot for controlling the presence of the product as well as allowing the removal of some residues of the product. 21. FIG. 7 shows the loader formed by the corner elements 23 with the numeral 22. These corner elements increase or decrease the cross section,
It can be separated by a guide 24 for adjusting the dimensions of the bulk product.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show the geometry of the cutting blade 10 in the illustrated embodiment. The upper surface of the disk has a frusto-conical concentric groove 25. This groove 25 reduces friction on the product to be cut. The cutting edge is obtained by performing a bevel cut. The inclination of the cantilevered branch 19 of the guide plate 18 of the slice being cut corresponds to this angle, so that a continuous seat of the cutting edge is created. Symbol 26 is
An opening or hole is shown that minimizes friction of the blade 10 and favors sliding of the product.

FIG. 10 shows the automatic feeder system of the loader with the product mass to be cut into chunks. It can be used for bread, boiled ham, cheese, etc.
Reference numeral 27 denotes a seamless belt 2 of the material feeding system.
8 shows a product presence detector for controlling the driving of the product 8. This keeps the loader 16 full at all times.

Referring now to FIG. 4, the apparatus proposed by the present invention is injected onto a bulk product loading station, designated by the numeral 2, and onto a tray or any other product traveling on the bottom belt 15. Or a supply station for a predetermined quantity of bulk product to be poured. This product dosing station is generally referred to by the numeral 29, and one or more of these stations may be present vertically. In this embodiment shown, there will be three stations side-by-side, just out of phase, just like the remaining loading stations 2.

As already seen, the conveyor belt 15
Instead of making the belt totally smooth, the slices approaching it before cutting should be completely in line. Some products require that slices or bulk infused products that remain on the edible crust be placed on a conveyor belt before entering the device. In this case, the seamless belt must be provided with a honeycomb stoma or bucket, and in one of the preferred embodiments, when there are three lateral loading stations, the structure has the shape as shown in FIG. be able to. This belt is generally designated by the numeral 30, which has longitudinally continuous ribs 31 and equidistant plugs 32 cooperating to fix the position for the edible crust 33. I have. This is exactly the case for the production of "San Marinos", in which one or more slices of the product are mounted on an edible crust 33, as can be seen from the enlarged detail in FIG.

FIG. 12 schematically shows the arrangement of slices 34 partially overlaid on an edible crust 35.
The overlap distance between slices can be adjusted by numerical control. The control of the speeds of the different movable elements of the device is made from a control box, not shown.

In order to achieve loading or stacking of slices, as well as to obtain partially superimposed slices, the transverse section 20 (see FIG. 1) mounts the horizontal bridge 20 to the base plate 1. There is an adjustment system determined by Therefore, if the distance or pitch between the crossbridges 20 is different, the crossbridge 20 is advanced or delayed. In addition, the partial overlap of the slices is caused by the
This is achieved by increasing the distance between In that case, a partial overlap of slices shown in FIG. 12 is obtained.
If the pitch from left to right in FIG. 1 is reduced in the feed direction of the conveyor belt 15, the partial overlap of the slices will be reversed.

The mounting of the slice can be achieved by adjusting the relative rotation speed between the cutting frame 3 and the conveyor belt 15 by the numerical controller. Due to the device synchronization, the loading of a new slice necessarily occurs at the correct time, independent of the rotational speed of the motor variable, which causes the alternating or reciprocating movement of the cutting frame 3. In effect, by observing FIG. 2, it can be seen that a plate for moving the connecting rod 4 which drives the frame 3 in an alternating movement has, at the inner end of its shaft, a pinion meshing with the drive pinion 38 of the drive roller of the conveyor belt 15. One can see how it has 37. When the conveyor belt 15 occupies the advanced position, the above-described engagement occurs.

The conveyor belt 15 has, on the side opposite to the pinion 38, another pinion 39 which is held apart from the outlet pinion 40 of the reduction motor 41. The deceleration motor 41 is controlled by the numerical controller of the present apparatus, and is stopped in this state. When the conveyor belt 15 is placed at the most delayed position and the pinion 39 meshes with the pinion 40 to close the position of the conveyor belt, the pinion 38 of the conveyor belt is moved from the pinion 37 rotating with the plate 5. It is far away. Thus, the movement of the conveyor belt 15 is obtained by the operation of the deceleration motor 41.

As can be seen from FIG. 4, if the distance between the different stacks obtained on the conveyor belt 15 is too large when coming out of this device, the time elapsed in the reciprocating movement of the cutting frame 3 is too short. Thus, it may happen that another slice is cut and that slice remains at an intermediate position opposite the one supplied. For this reason, it is necessary to reduce the return speed of the cutting frame 3 when sending a corresponding signal to the variable device of the drive motor of the cutting frame after the last slice of the stack has been cut.

FIG. 13 shows an edible crust 42 having a series of overlying slices. In FIG. 14, another food crust 35 having elongated, partially overlapping slices is shown. These elongate slices, referenced by the numeral 43, are obtained by placing the loader in the tilted position, as mentioned earlier.

FIG. 15 shows a modified embodiment of the cutting unit in the form of a reciprocating blade structure. This cutting unit has a connecting rod 4 ′, a plate 5 ′, a lever 44 and a guide 45. The guide 45 is mounted laterally on the movable frame 3. The connecting rod 4 'is connected to an eccentric point of the plate 5' serving as a lever 44. The connecting rod 4 'is pivotally mounted or movably supported on the cutting blade 10' and the lever 44.

Thus, a general purpose cutting, positioning, laminating and dosing apparatus having the described structure and functionality is obtained. This device is for cutting, laminating, gradual transfer and feeding of fresh, refrigerated or frozen foods (meat, poultry, fruits, vegetables, pasta, fish, pastry, bakery products and dairy products) With a simple stationary head or multiple heads (preferably from 1 to 5 product loading stations) with adjustable operation.

The conveyor belt 15 has a closing means for locking itself at a required proper position. The conveyor belt, once these blockages are released,
It can be removed for regular cleaning there. Base plate 1
It is easily made because there is a vertical guide inside.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an apparatus for supplying sliced food and / or a predetermined amount of semi-liquid product to a loaf of bread, a pressurized product edible crust, or a tray according to the present invention. FIG.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the rear part of the device for viewing the operation system of the seamless belt and the movable frame.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the front of the same device. An enlarged detail is provided to see the operation of one of the cutting blades of the movable frame.

FIG. 4 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of the apparatus, in which different loading and cutting stations are schematically shown; Each position follows two positions a and b representing the position of the movable frame before cutting is performed. When this cut occurs, the slice falls on the conveyor belt.

FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view partially showing a movable frame and one of the circular cutting blades. A slice guidance system is included and the slice is being cut.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AB in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view of one of the block product loaders.

FIG. 8 is a side view of one of the circular cutting blades in a quarter cut state.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of one of these circular cutting blades with different openings and holes to minimize friction during the cutting operation.

FIG. 10 is a schematic longitudinal side view of an automatic raw material feed system for each one of the loading stations of the above apparatus.

FIG. 11: A portion of a conveyor belt that can be additionally used when a slice or other bulky product needs to be mounted on a crust that must have access to the correct location to properly receive food. FIG.

FIG. 12 is a plan side view of a product provided by the apparatus with a partially overlaid slice placed on a base product. They are respectively shown in FIG.
And b.

FIG. 13 is a schematic side view of the product provided by the device, superimposed on a crust.

FIG. 14 is similar to that shown in FIG. 12a,
FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of a product including an elongated slice.

FIG. 15 is a schematic view of a modified embodiment of the cutting unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 Base plate 2 Product loader 3 Movable frame 10, 10 'Cutting blade 15, 30 Transport belt 17 Substrate 20 Yokohashi

Claims (21)

[Claims] Claims 1. A slice of food from a loaf and / or a predetermined quantity of bulk, infusible, pourable or semi-liquid product, in a loaf of bread, edible crust, or one or both. An apparatus for feeding onto a tray containing products used for the production of the above-mentioned various sandwiches, comprising a plurality of base plates (1), which are vertically separated from each other, and which are fixedly attached to the above-mentioned base plates. It has a horizontal bridge (20), a horizontally movable frame (3) mounted on the base plate and capable of vertically reciprocating thereon, and a plurality of product loaders (2, 16), each of which has a bottom opening. Wherein each of the loaders is fixedly attached to one of the bridges, and each bridge can support one or more product loaders in a lateral relationship, each loader comprising:
Receiving at least one product or at least one product mass by gravity feed, distributing the product through respective bottom openings, comprising a plurality of cutting means for slicing the product present in the product loader; Each cutting means comprises a cutting blade (10, 1) adapted to slice the product present in the motor and the corresponding one or more product loaders.
0 ') wherein said cutting means is mounted in said movable frame in a vertical spaced relationship, each cutting blade being positioned lower than the bottom opening of said corresponding one or more product loaders; A plurality of substrates fixedly attached to the movable frame, each substrate having an upper surface located lower than a cutting blade of a corresponding cutting means, each of the substrates being of a corresponding product; Comprising a conveyor belt (15, 30) disposed below the movable frame, the conveyor belt being capable of receiving a slice of the product; That can be sliced at the same time, and that the product slices can be delivered overlying or partially overlapping on the conveyor belt. 2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cutting blade further comprises a horizontally rotating circular blade (10). 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said cutting means further comprises means for reciprocating said cutting blade (10 '), said means being mounted laterally on a movable frame 3; Cutting blade (1
Guide 45 adapted to slide and receive 0 ')
A connecting rod (4 ') having an end pivotally attached to the cutting blade; and a lever (44) pivotally attached to the opposite end of the connecting rod. The apparatus wherein the movement causes the cutting blade to move back and forth along the guide. 4. Apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the cutting blade (10 ') further has a straight edge or a toothed edge. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a drive motor fixedly attached to the base plate; and a vertically attached drive motor, one end of which can pivot on the connecting rod. And a connecting rod (4) pivotally mounted at the other end to the movable frame, wherein the rotational movement causes the connecting rod and the movable frame to reciprocate back and forth. Characteristic device. 6. The drive pinion (3) according to claim 5, wherein the drive pinion (3) can be rotated by the drive motor.
7), a conveyor drive roller, and a first conveyor pinion (38) fixedly attached to the conveyor drive roller and capable of engaging with the drive pinion, wherein the conveyor belt can be driven by the drive motor. An apparatus characterized in that: 7. The apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a reduction motor (41) coupled to the conveyor belt for transmitting motion to the conveyor belt, and means for controlling the reduction motor. An apparatus characterized in that: 8. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the plurality of product loaders are capable of receiving and distributing bulk, injectable, pourable or semi-liquid products. An apparatus having a dosing station (29) and further comprising a device for controlling the release of products from said dosing station. 9. Apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a fixed detector mounted on said base plate for detecting the presence of a product in said product loader.
An apparatus comprising: (7). 10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one position of the product loader is adjustable in three orthogonal directions with respect to a corresponding crossbridge. 11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the vertical position of the product loader is adjustable for each of the cutting blades. 12. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein a lateral position of the product loader is adjustable with respect to the horizontal bridge. 13. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein a vertical position of the product loader is adjustable with respect to the crossbridge. 14. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein at least one of the product loaders further comprises a tubular cross-section, a pleated wall, and a display of the product and facilitate collection of the product. At least one vertical slot (21)
An apparatus comprising: 15. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for continuously supplying products to said product loader. 16. The apparatus according to claim 15, comprising at least one supply conveyor (28) for supplying products to the product loader, and means for controlling the supply of products to the product loader. Apparatus, characterized in that said means comprises a product presence detector. 17. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each crossbridge supports at least three product loaders in a lateral relationship, wherein the cutting blade further comprises a horizontally rotating circular blade and is centrally located. The at least one product loader is further positioned vertically further from the cutting blade than one or more side-by-side product loaders located on the same crossbridge. 18. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the product loaders is tiltable up to about 30 degrees with respect to the movable frame, thereby allowing for the formation and distribution of elongated slices. An apparatus characterized by the above. 19. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said cutting blade is vertically adjustable with respect to said substrate. 20. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the substrates further comprises a guide strip (18) mounted on a top surface of the substrate, the guide strip protruding obliquely downward. Beam (19)
Wherein the guide strip is adapted to reduce lateral movement of the product mass disposed on the substrate, and wherein the cantilever beam is adapted to receive the cutting blade, whereby the strip Apparatus characterized in that a lifting part can scrape a product loader from said cutting blade, so that said guide strip can position a product slice on said conveyor belt. 21. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said conveyor belt further comprises a plurality of spaced product positioning means.