US1993849A

US1993849A - Slicing machine with hand-operated material feeder

Info

Publication number: US1993849A
Application number: US503899A
Authority: US
Inventors: Patrick J Lucey
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1930-12-22
Filing date: 1930-12-22
Publication date: 1935-03-12
Anticipated expiration: 1952-03-12

Description

March l12, 1935.

P. J. LUCEY SLICING MACHINE WITH HAND OPERATED MATERIAL FEEDER Filed Deo. 22, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l P. J. LUCEY March l2, 19.35.

SLICING MACHINE WITH HAND OPERATED MATERIAL FEEDER Filed Dec. 22, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 uff/afa@ uN-:ITED v*sfrisur-ils* PATENT forel-clef VThis invention relatesto a slicing machine with ING .LWITH HAND-.emanada MATERIAL `FEEDER.

Y o l Patrick ALucey, Chicago, Ill. Application. December 22, 1930, SerialfNo.5503;899

v5 oia'iins.

"hand-operated Ymaterial feeder. l

`Oneof the main objects of this invention is to provide an inexpensive slicing machine wherein 5 the material is fed by hand and the hand isjprotected from injury while feeding the material lto the slicing knife;

Another object of this .invention is 'to provide an inexpensive slicing machine including means wherewith to engage the 'material'and feed it manually tothe slicing knife, 'in such a manner that eveni'the small end-piece will 'be firmly held during slicing andthe entire mass of material will 'be properly sliced.

Sti'll another object is to provide, in a Vslicing machine' of the 'hand-'fed type, means whereby to holdthe'material iirmly and feed it manually,

so that 'the entire'mass of'material' canbe' completely andproperly sliced, without endangering the'hand thereby.

A' further object of this invention is to provide meanswhereby to jieed'the material manually to the 'knife and Which'means willI function, during the 'inoperative period o'f the machine, las guard means for the cutting vportion of the knife, which 'is `exposed'during the slicing operation and has heretoiorebeen left exposed also during theperiod A of rest, in this Vhand-fed.v type of machine.

A stillfurther object is 'to provide a machine of this type with a' pusher or member for feeding the material'manually to the"kni:"e; and which is -arrangedso that the pusher will adjust itself automatically for limiting its movement to the-knife vedge, .in harmony with the-adjustment 4.of the gage .-platefforethe particular thickness .of slice desired.

These and otherobjects and advantages are attained with this invention, as will become a-p- ,parent from the following descrip-tion, taken .in connectionwith theaccompanying drawings., in

Fig. l is .an .end elevational vi ew of a slicing A,ma-

chine embodying my present invention in its ,pre-

iered form .of construction.

Eig. 2 .is atop .plan view, partly in sectiomtaken Online v2--2 .of.Fig..3, looking in .a downwardly .slanting direction.

Fig. vEl y.isa side View, partly insection, @taken on line 3-3 billig. 1 looking .in an upwardly-slanting direction.

at about mid-elevation, and additionally showing I the adjustable stop elements `near the top of the knife, as shown in Fig. 2. l

5' is a side elevational vie W; of my novel 'material feeding memberjor'materialpushen which protects'theheufidl in 'feeding the material to the -sl-icingknife. v

` In lthe'drawings myinvention is illustrated in its Apreferred 'former construction, which comprises a'supportingbase '10 wherefromabracket l'lslan'ts upwardly 'and' ycarries ja cap or housing portion 12 at its upper end-containing the means 'for'rotatably mountingthejcircuiar slicin'g'knife '13. A motor 14 ismounted` on bracket means 15"provid'ed'on thebase, for driving-said `knife with suitable 'driving connections, as by the use of suitable pulley and belt means 16; as indi'catedin the drawings. A material rest `or t'able "1"7', Vsubstantiallyin the form of aplate, is mounted on the base, to extend at an' inclination tothe horizontal, preferably at 'forty-five' degrees.` its main upper part 17 provides thesupp'orting face or portion whereon the material rests and is 'moved'during the slicing operation; andzits llower-'partv 1'7" vprovides an apron which' extends jfrom saidupperl supporting partat ja' slant vdownwardly'and rearwardly, at one sideof the VAknifeandfrom about mideelevation thereof, 'sa-id'apron having its 'lower end secured to 'the base, with screws Yor the :like: The upper part of the materia'lrest `or table is mounted on leg means 18' arising from the'base.

A gage plate l20is vmountedon 4the `material 'rest `ortablev 17, preferably to Aextend substantially at right; angles theretdthe upperipari;V or face 17 of'said table, in lconjunction vvvithtlie 'adj acent face of V'thegage plate; providing `the `i'ee'dway or slide- Way 'on which'them'aterial is slid or' movedY during the 'slicing operationi Saidieedwayis formed troughelike; being `prei'e'rably V-'sh'aped in crosssection, substantially as shown in the drawings. Vlvfeansis 'provided for 'ad'justably mounting the gage plate on'the'material rest, comprising 'a casing or'foot `porti'onz 1' extending ,rearwardly 'from "thelower end of said plate and being adjustably held on the" apronl 1'7" ofv said rest, preferably by the use of screws'22 whichv are movable in slots 23 providedin''apron 1'7" and are threaded into 'lugs 24 providedinrs'aid' casing.' A cup r25 surrounds 4the outer part'of each screw, and bears frictionally against the-outer orlower side of said apronywhile a rcoil springy '26 is placed in each cup,being connedbetwelen the'head of the screw andthe'bott'om of 'the cup; vsfo'that thelugs 24 are rmlyfdra'wn and 4frictionally .held against the inner side, andthe. cupsagainst the outer side of said apron.. The gage ,plate is thereby held iirmly in fitsa'djustediposition and so as. to permit adjustmen't thereof relative to the material rest andtheknife.

Setting means is provided for adjusting or setting the gage plate on the material rest, relative to the knife, for providing'the particular thickness of slice desired, and this means preferably comprises a setting knob or index knob 27 having numbers or indicia 28 thereon, to co-operate with a nger 29 on the machine, for indicating the particular adjustment of the gage plate according to the particular thickness of slice desired. The knob is attached to suitable actuating means, being preferably secured to the outer end of a shaft 30 which is journaled in casing 21 and carries on its inner end a pinion 31 in mesh with a rackbar 32 which is secured on the upper side of said apron.

In adjusting or setting the gage plate, by turning the knob the pinion 31 travels over the rackbar 32, thereby sliding the casing overtheapron of the material rest and adjusting it thereon, relative to the knife edge, to the desired position. The springs 26 permit sufficient separation of the lugs 24 and the cups 25, to enable said cups and lugs to slide along the apron, when the knob is turned; and the springs are under sufcient compression or strain to normally hold the cups and lugs firmly set on the apron, and retain the gage plate properly in the set position.

This slicing machine I provide with means whereby to engage the material and feed it by hand along the feedway to the slicing knife. Said means preferably comprises a feeding member or pusher 35, as best shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings, which is provided with a handle 36 at the outward and rearward part thereof, to be grasped by the hand, and which is so arranged that the hand is protected from injury by the knife while feeding the material thereto. Said feeding member has its front portion or face portion 37 arranged to engage and hold a mass of material securely while sliding it along the feedway to the knife edge, and it preferably has said face portion curved in harmony with the knife edge and has the upper part 37 of said portion projecting forwardly so that thev material is urged downwardly on the feedway. The face portion is also arranged to urge the material, and particularly the final portion or an end-piece, inwardly toward the knife and thev gage plate, so as to securely hold and properly feed the entire mass of material; and for that reason said front face portion is provided with a beveled side portion 38 at its inward side, adjacent the gage plate, which has its inward front edge cut-away to provide a beveled edge or face 38', so that even a small endpiece will be urged and pressed toward the gage plate and securely held thereby while being fed to the knife. Said beveled portion 38 thus bears back of the end-piece or the final portion of material for pushing the latter against the knife edge, and is movable with said end-piece in the plane extended through said edge.

The feeding member or pusher is mounted to be moved manually along the feedway for feeding the material thereon to the knife; and the means for mounting it preferably comprise guide means connected with the gage plate 20. Said guide means includes, in this illustrated form, a pair of guide rods 40 which are secured on lugs 4l extending from the rear of the gage plate near the knife, and on lugs 42 extending from the rear of arms 43 which project from the end of the gage plate away from the knife. A web or plate-like member 44 hasl a pair of parallel sleeves 45 provided at its opposite ends, which are slidably mounted on said guide rods 40, as by the use of bearing means 46. A curved arm or yoke 47, which extends over the top edge of the gage plate, connects the feeding member positioned at the front of said gage plate with the web member 44 and its sleeves 45 positioned at the rear of said plate, so that said feeding member or pusher is slidably mounted for slidable movement along the feedway.

Stop means is provided for limiting the travel of the feeding member, and stopping it just before its beveled edge 38 engages the edge of the knife. This means includes a finger or stop element 48 provided at the side of yoke 47 and having a beveled front edge or face 48', said edge 48 and the beveled edge or face 38 being so beveled that a pair of horizontal lines extending through said two edges will be parallel to each other, as is best apparent from Fig. 4. A companion stop element or finger 49 is mounted on the machine, being preferably mounted on an arm 50 extending horizontally from a bracket 51 which arises from cap 12 of the machine. Said element 49 has a beveled edge or face 49 which is beveled in harmony with its companion beleved edge 48 on finger 48.

With this construction the

stop elements

48 and 49 and the side portion 38 are so arranged, and they have their faces 48', 49', and 38' so beveled, that when the gage plate is adjusted relative to the knife, by turning knob 27 and actuating the adjusting means according to the thickness of slice desired, these companion beveled

faces

48 and 49 will operate to automatically adjust the feeding member 35 so that its beveled face 38 will be stopped immediately adjacent the edge of the knife; whether said feeding member is located at the outer side of its adjustment, substantially as shown in Fig. 2, or is located near the inner side, substantially as shown in Fig. v4. With this arrangement the feeding member or pusher is thus automatically adjusted in its movement to the knife edge, along with the various adjustments of the gage plate and in exact accord therewith.

I also make these stop elements adjustable, to c' provide for different diameters of knives, and for the varying diameter of a knife, as for instance, when the diameter of the knife is decreased due to the continuous sharpening of the knife edge; whereby the feeding member or pusher can be readjusted or reset, so that its beveled edge 38 will again stop immediately adjacent the knife edge. For readily making this adjustment I provide slots 53 in the stationary stop element 49, and screws 54 which extend therethrough and are threaded into arm 50 for clamping said element onto said arm; so that said normally stationary, but adjustable element 49 can be readily and accurately adjusted on the xed arm 50 on the machine.

Guard means 56 is provided for guarding the main or major part of the knifel edge, as is customary in these slicing machines, that part outside of the portion which is active and necessarily uncovered in cutting the material as it is being fed thereto, this cutting portion being indicated by numeral 57 in Figs. 3 and 4. Saidguard'means is secured and supported on the machine with any suitable means, which may include a screw 58 for guarding said cutting portion 57 of the knifev edge while the machine is inactive or at rest, and which portion is normally left unguarded. For this reason feeding member 35 has its face portion 37 curved in conformity with the knife edge and made of an exact size to extend from the upper part of said guard means 56 down to the lower part 56' thereof; so as to extend along and to guard the entire normally exposed cutting portion 7 of the knife edge.

It is consequently apparent, that, by the adjusting or setting of the gage plate on the material rest, in accordance to the thickness of slice desired, the side portion 38 of the feeding member 35 has its part near the gage plate positioned substantially in the plane of the knife edge, and back of the slice of material which is about to be sliced; thus providing a firm support therefor to assure proper slicing of the entire mass of material, and complete slicing of even a small endpiece; and furthermore, it becomes evident that this feeding member 35 will function as a guard for the cutting portion 57 of the knife edge, by merely pushing it to the limit of its travel toward said edge, whereupon this member along with said guard means 56 will provide a complete guard for the knife.

I claim as my invention:

1. A slicing machine comprising a rotary knife, a material rest and a gage plate adjustably mounted thereon and which therewith provides a feedway for the material, guide rod means on the outer side of said gage plate and positioned rearwardly of the plane through the knife edge, and a vmaterial feeding member slidably mounted on said guide rod means to be moved manually for sliding the material along said feedway.

2. A slicing machine comprising a horizontal base having a rotary knife mounted inclined thereon, a trough-shaped feedway including a material rest and a gage plate which is adjustable relative to said rest and wherealong the material is fed to the knife, a hand-engaged material feeding member and coengaging means on said member and on the gage plate rearwardly of the plane through the knife edge, whereby said member is movably mounted on the gage plate for feeding the material to the knife.

3. In a slicing machine provided with a rotary knife and a feedway on which the material is fed against the knife edge, a feeding member and cooperating means thereon and on the machine whereby said member is slidably mounted to be moved manually along said feedway, a beveled part on said member to bear back of an end-piece and to be moved therewith in the plane of the knife edge, and stopping elements on said member and on the machine for stopping the member when the beveled part is close to the knife edge, said elements having their coengaging portions beveled in conformity with the beveled part on said member, whereby said beveledpart is properly stopped directly adjacent the knife edge.

4. In a slicing machine, a rotary knife, a material rest and a gage plate which is adjustable relative to the rest and which therewith provides a trough-shaped feedway for the material, a manually operated pusher member, for feeding the material along the feedway, guide means on the rear face of the gage plate rearwardly of the plane through the knife edge, means extending from said member and engaging said guide means to guide said member, and coengaging stop elements on said member and on the machine for stopping said member when closely adjacent the knife edge, said elements having their coengaging parts beveled so that the member automatically adjusts itself to stop short of the `knife edge in harmony with thev adjustment of the gage plater on the material rest.

5. In a. slicing machine, a rotary knife, a material rest and a gage plate which is adjustable relative to the rest and which therewith provides a feedway for the material, a manually operated member for pushing the material along the feedway to the knife edge, guide means on the outer side of the gage plate, means on said member to slidably engage said guide means, said member having a part thereon which is beveled to hold and to push an end piece of material toward the gage plate and against the knife edge, said` beveled part being movable into the plane of the knife edge and including means to provide a guard for the cutting portion of the knife edge, coengaging beveled stop elements on said member and on the machine for stopping the member when the beveled part is close to the knife edge, and means for adjusting one of said stop elements whereby to accommodate any variation in the size of the knife due to continued sharpening.

I PATRICK J. LUCEY.