US1889541A - Slicing machine - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 29, 1932.

w. J. CAMPBELL sLIcIiw MACHINE Filed Feb. 12.1950

3 Sheets-Sheet 1 1 NOV- 29, 1932 w. J. CAMPBELL-1 SLICING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 12, 195o www mmwnxl.

NOV. 29, 1932. w 1 CAMPBELL 1,889,541

siLIcING MACHINE Filed Feb. 12. 1930 :s sums-sheet s E /A gn,

Jiffy/226% Patented Nov. 29, 1932 UNITI-:n STATES` PATENT OFFICE WILLIAM J. CAMPBELL, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN SLICIN G MACHINE COMPANY, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION NEW YORK snrcme MACHINE Application led February 12, 1930. Serial No. 427,691..

My invention relates to a slicing machine and has for one purpose the provision of a slicing machine having a reciprocating or generally rectilinear edged knife. Another object is the rovision of such a machine in which such a nife is associated with a guard and .gauge plate lying in generally parallel planes, in association with a readily movable, for example, a manually movable carriage. Other objects will appear from -time to time in the course of the specification and claims.

I illustrate my invention more or less diagrammatically in the'accompanying drawin s, wherein igure 1 is a section;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a knife;

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3 3 of Figure 1; l

Figure 4 is a section on theline 4 4 of Fi ure 1;

igure 5 is a section on the line 5 5 of Figure l;

Figure 6 is a section on the line 6 6 of Figure 1;

Figure 7 is a horizontal section illustratlng one formation of the rear edge of the knife in relation to the adjacent guard plate;

Figure 8 is a similar section illustrating a different formation of the rear edge of the knife; and

Figure 9 is a detail section of a variant form of knife bearing.

side elevation with parts in Like parts are indicated by like symbols throughout the specification and drawings.

Referring to the drawings, A generally indicates any suitable base which may be supported for exampleupon the yeldin supporting members A1. Mounted upon t e base A is any suitable motor means, diagrammaticall illustrated as the motor igure 3. A3 generally indicates an upstanding housing or frame portion mounted upon the base A, and including a rear wall A1, an end wall As and a more or less inclined or arcuate side wall A. The pulley shaft A1 may extend through any suitable aperture in the wall A* and may terminate for exam le in a drive pulley A8. A9 indicates any suitable adjustment. A1*

A2, as shown in guard plate, which might be formed integrally with the housing A3, but is preferably movable therefrom, as herein shown. An suitable means for adjusting the guard p ate in relation to the knife, below described, may be employed. I have illustrated one form of adjustment, which has been found satisfactory. The guard plate A may be formed with a plurality of depressions A10 adapted to receive the heads of the screws A11 the screw stems of which pass through apertures A12 of larger diameter to allow for lateral minute are adjustable plugs screwthreaded into bosses formed integral with the housing A. The plugs A11 are internally threaded as at A15 to receive the screws A11 by means of which the depressed portions A10A of the guard plate A9 are held securely against the heads of the plugs A11 as shown in Figure 3.

B generally indicates a cylindrical track mounted upon forward projections B1 from the base A. Illustrated as vertically aligned with the track B is the guide track B2 similarly mounted upon the base A. Slidable along the two tracks is the work supporting carriage generally indicated as B3 which may include the work engaging portion proper B4 pivoted as at' B5 and adapted either to be left in horizontal position, as shown in Figure 1 or to be tilted to various positions. As tilting and supporting means I illustrate the pivoted links B slotted as at B7, and in op.- erative engagement with the locking knob B8. B9 is an upstanding work engaging Vflange or abutment along the edge of the member B which is remote from the cutting edge of the knife when the carriage is in the initial position in which it is shown in Figure 1.

I may employ a pusher plate C slidable for example along the pin or uide C1 and also, if desired, rotatable therea out, a connecting sleeve C2 being employed which is adaptable also for use as a manual handle for the combined operation of moving the carriage alon the tracks and of urging the pusher. plate toward the cutting plane. C3 is a connection between the pusher plate C and the sleeve C2, which is also available for use as a manual handle, in case the operator wishes to thrust the pusher plate directly toward the cutting plane, as when the other hand is used to move the carriage. In practice it is more common to employ the sleeve C2 as a single'handle for effecting both purposes. Cl5 indicates a guard associated with the carriage Bf1 and preferably formed as a unit with or secured to the meat supportin member B1. At its right hand edge, as s iown in Figure 1, it may be secured to the upstanding portion C" which is in effect an upward pro]ection of the flange B9, upwardly extended adjacent the cutting plane of the knife.

D generally indicates a gauge plate which may be mounted upon any suitable supporting means D1 upstanding from the movable housing D2. The details of gauge plate actuating means do not of themselves form part of the present invention. I illustrate, however, a manual knob D3, in response to rotation of which the gauge plate may be moved forwardly into or rearwardly out of the cutting plane. Preferably its path of movement, Whether arcuate or rectilinear, may effect simultaneously a rearward movement of the gauge plate rearwardly away from the cutting plane, and a lateral movement of the gauge plate laterallyA away from the cutting edge of the knife. The result is to open the throat between the opposed edges of knife and gauge plate, as the gauge plate is rearwardly moved. D4 is any suitable guard member preferably associated with the gauge plate, and overhanging the rear face of the I knife and protecting its edge from the rear at all normal positions of the gauge plate.

E generally indicates the knife body which includes the blade portion proper E1 and the terminal guide blocks E2, herein shown as generally rectangular in cross-section, but which may be formed to suit any desired shape of guide.

Referring to Figure 1 it will be seen that the knife is in generally upright position.

' Preferably its edge defines a generally vertical cutting plane which plane is preferably parallel with the faces of gauge and guard plates, and generally parallel with the path of movement of the carriage B3 across said gauge and guard plates. I may provide any suitable means for supporting the upper and lower ends of the knife but I illustrate a lower bearing block E3 which may form part of or be associated with the base A and anV upper bearincr block E4 which may be mounted for example upon an upward and lateral extension E5 of the housing wall A. These bearing blocks contain the aligned apertures E6 which correspond in dimensions and shape to the members E2 at the ends of the knife E.

I may provide any suitable means for reciprocating the knife within its bearing guides but I find that the structure herein shown is satisfactory. Referring to Figure 6 the lower guide block E2 is illustrated as secured, as by the screws E7 to a portion of vthe base A. Upstanding from the rear face of the knife is a bearing pin E11 which may be screwthreaded into the knife as at E. Rotatable thereabout is the sleeve portion E10 at the end of the link E11 eccentrically pivoted to the pulle E12 adapted to rotate in response to the belt E1a which in turn passes about the drive pulley A2. Any suitable means for supporting the pulley E12 may be employed but I illustrate the pulley shaft E1* mounted in the roller bearings E15. E111 indicates a spacer or spacing sleeve interposed between the rear face of the knife and the member E10. E17- indicates any suitable and preferably removable cover plate for the top of the block E1 which serves to close the top of the aperture E".

It will be realized that rotation of the pulley E12 will impart to the knife E a rapid reciprocation. It may be desirable, as indicated in Figure 9, to employ yielding means tending to urge the knife upwardly after the downward thrust, in order to increase the readiness of return of the knife and in order to prevent rattling. I therefore illustrate the spring G which may be coiled about the guide portion G1 surrounding the end E2 of the knife and compressed against the plate G2 which may be secured as by the screw Gr3 to the upper end of the knife.

Referring for example to Figure 3 I illustrate a close approach between the edge of the guard plate A9 and the rear edge of the knife. I illustrate variant forms of the opposed edges of knife and guard plate for example in Figures 7 and 8. In Figure 7 the rear edge of the knife E is shown as convex and the opposed edge of the guard plate A as concave, reversing the formation of the parts shown in Figure 3. In Figure 8 the rear edge of the knife is provided with a lateral extension E2o which penetrates an opposed aperture E21. It will be understood that in all forms there will be sufficient tolerances allowed 'to prevent any substantial wearing contact between knife and gauge plate, although it may be preferable to provide quite a close contact in order to limit the penetration of material therebetween and to provide a iush surface over which the work may pass after the slice has been severed by the cutting edge.

It will be realized that whereas I have described and shown a practical and operative device, nevertheless many changes might be made in the size, shape, number and disposition of dparts. I therefore wish my description an drawings to be taken as in a broad sense illustrative and diagrammatic rather than as limiting me to my specific showing.

The use and operation of my invention are as follows:

I have illustrated the application of a reciprocat-ing knife to a light type of manually operable machine. That is to say, all operations are manually performed except the actual movement of the knife. The knife is given a rather short, rapid reciprocation, it being held of course in a single cutting plane. The work to be sliced is positioned upon the carriage, resting upon the work support B* and the carriage is moved past the cutting edge of the knife. The gauge plate D is vset to determine the thickness of the slice. As the gauge plate D is at all times in general parallelism with the path of movement of the carriage, the thickness of the slice is uniform from edge to edge and there is no cramping between the face of the work and the guard plate A", as the work crosses the guard plate lafter the slice is removed. Guard and gauge plates are at all times in generally parallel planes. 'I find it preferable to make the front edge of the knife E conform generally to the plane of the guard plate A9. Similarly, the knife being bevelled, as shown in Figures 3, 7 and 8,1 prefer to form the Wall Ae of the housing either in general continuation of the bevel of the knife, or inclined back sufliciently to prevent any interference with the severed slice as it is delivered from the knife 'for receipt upon the slice receiving element or tray H. Referring to Figure 1 it will be seen that the knife, although lying in vertical plane, is inclined in that plane, so that the cutting edge overhangs the body of the work as it is moved toward the knife. Therefore the work is to some extent wedged between the overhanging knife edge and the Work support B* and the slice support E25. The result of this Wedging action is to hold the work firmly against the cutting edge and to insure a clean, quick slice, with a minimum of dragging or larding or frictional resistance. The actual speed of movement of the knife edge in relation to the work is slight as compared, for example, to the electrically driven rotary knives of machines now on the market. Therefore, the result is a great reduction in the tendency of the work to heat and a .reduction in the formation of lard and grease in slicing such materials as ham or bacon. The present device has many advantages over the rotary knife machine now on the market. A reciprocating knife blade is much less eX- pensive than the ordinary disc knife. No sharpening device is ,required on the machine, as the reciprocating knife is so arranged as to be readily removable Afrom the machine. Referring forexample to Figure l all that is necessary is to unscrew the pin E8, thus releasing the lower ed e of the knife. The knife can then be eitherropped downwardly through the bearing block E3 or drawn upwardly through the bearing block E4, the cover plate E7 being removed in the latter case. The cutting angle on the reciprocating knife is constant for the entire height of the cutting space, whereas in the circular knife the cutting angle is constantly changing. The reciprocating knife is free from any tendency to draw particles of grease or meat back into the inside of the machine. A directly reciprocating movement provides no opportunity for drawing meat particles or grease back into a close housing. In fact, as shown in Figure 3 both edges of the blade are exposed sufficiently for adequate cleaning, the only non-enclosed part being the very slight area of opposition to the guard plate A, and the slight length of the guide blocks E3 E4. The slower ed e speed of the -knife, however, practica y eliminates the larding difficulty, so often met with in high speed rotary knife machines, and thee will be little or no grease or lard to deal wit The employment of the reciprocating knife enables the use of a light, simple, small housing for the knife transmission and eliminates the necessity for the bulky bearing and bearing sleeve now employed in rotary knives. The provision of proper means for deflecting the slice and for receiving it upon the receiving tray H is rendered easy, since there is little or no tendency on the part of a reclprocating knife to grip the slices or to distort them or to throw them centrifugally in response to the rotation of the rotary knife.

It being possible to make the edge of the knife perfectly straight, fitting the edges of the gauge and guard plates to the adjacent edges of the knife is rendered easy. The task of guarding the edge of the knife is rendered easy since only that portion of the edge which is actually used for slicing is exposed.

I claim:

, 1. In a slicing machine a base, a generally plane guard plate mounted upon said base, a gauge plate mounted on said base and lying in a' plane generally parallel to the plane of the guard plate, means for moving said guage plate toward and away from the plane of said guard plate while maintaining it constantly in generalparallelism with the guard plate, a work support and means for guiding it across the faces of the gauge and the guard plate along a path generally parallel with said faces and a reciprocating knife posi tioned between the opposed ledges of gauge and guard plate, and guiding means on the upper and lower ends of said knife, said guiding means being positioned respectively above and below the normal cutting edge or zone opposed to the work.

2. The structure of claim l characterized by the employment of the knife having guiding or bearing blocks at each end thereof, the intermediate portion of the knife being unsupported.

3. The structure of claim 1 characterize by the employment of aligned bearing sleev s for the upper and lower ends of the knife, the knife having guidin or bearing blocks at each end thereof a apted to engage said sleeves. v

4. In a reciprocating knife for use with slicing machines, a knife blade and guide or bearing blocks at each end thereof, said blocks being integral With the knife blade, said blocks being formed with longitudinally aligned bearing surfaces, the knife blade portion lying within the peripheries of said blocks.

5. The structure of claim 4 characterized in that the knife blade, which connects the blocks, is unsupported intermediate its ends and is of suiiicient cross-sectional area to maintain itself in accurate longitudinal alignment with said blocks.

6. In a slicing machine, a work support and means for guiding it, a reciproca-ting knife positioned adjacent the path of movement of said work support for reciprocation in a generally vertical plane, a posltive drive adapted to reciprocate said knife, said drive. being adapted to cooperate with the lower end of the knife, and yielding means opposed to said drive, said yielding means being normally under compression between an upper portion of the knife and the guiding means.

7 In a slicing machine, a guard plate, a gauge plate, means for maintaining the gau e plate in parallelism with the guard plate, te opposed edges of said guard and gauge plates being rectilinear and parallel, a rectilinear knife positioned in the space between said opposed parallel edges and means for guiding it for movement along a rectilinear path,

means for reciprocating said knife, and a Work support and means for uiding it across the faces of gauge and guar plate and knife along a path generally parallel with said faces, the cutting plane defined by the cutting edge of the knife being generally parallel with the planes of gauge and guard plates,

said knife bein inclined from the vertical, the edge of sai knife overhanging the work mounted on the carriage as the carriage is thrust against the knife, the angle defined by the cutting edge of the knife and the path of movement of the carriage being at all points along the cutting edge of the knife substantially less than a right angle.

8. In a slicing machine, a work support and means for guiding it, a. reciprocating knife and means for reciprocating it, a guard plate and a gauge plate positioned in planes normally parallel, the cutting plane of the knife being in parallelism with vthe guard and gauge plate, motor means and a driving connection between the motor means and knife, and a closed transmission housin to the rear of the guard plate, said guard p ate being adapted to serve as a closure for said and tate of Indiana, this 18th day of Jan- 70 uary, 1930.

- WILLIAM J. CAMPBELL.

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