US20230126530A1

US20230126530A1 - Food product gripping assembly for a food product slicing apparatus

Info

Publication number: US20230126530A1
Application number: US17/936,354
Authority: US
Inventors: Ryan Michael Torrenga
Original assignee: Provisur Technologies Inc
Current assignee: Provisur Technologies Inc
Priority date: 2021-10-25
Filing date: 2022-09-28
Publication date: 2023-04-27
Also published as: WO2023076189A2; US20230126324A1; US20230128556A1; US20230127251A1; US20230131258A1; US20230125230A1; US20230126080A1; WO2023076189A3; US20230129471A1

Abstract

A food product slicing apparatus is provided for slicing food products into slices. A frame mounts a drive assembly, a lower feed roller, a shear bar and a slicing blade. The drive assembly moves the food products onto the lower feed roller. The food product passes over the lower feed roller and through the shear bar for slicing by the slicing blade. At least one upper feed roller is mounted on the shear bar and is adjustable in position relative to the lower feed roller.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE To RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the priority of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 63/271,459, filed on Oct. 25, 2021, the contents of which are incorporated herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure generally relates to a gripping assembly for gripping a food product as the food product is being sliced by a slicing blade of a food product slicing apparatus.

BACKGROUND

Food product slicing apparatuses include a slicing assembly which slices food product into individual slices. A high speed, rotating blade works in conjunction with a shear bar to form the slices. The shear bar has an opening through which the food product passes and serves to hold the food product in place during the slicing. Because the shear bar has a set opening size, food product that does not fully fill the opening can be misaligned during the slicing which impacts the dimensions of the resulting slice. Operators would appreciate improvements to the registration of the food product as it passes through the shear bar.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The organization and manner of the structure and operation of the disclosed embodiments, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, wherein like reference numerals identify like elements in which:

FIG. 1 depicts a rear perspective view of a food product slicing apparatus;

FIG. 2 depicts a cross-sectional view of the food product slicing apparatus with a loading tray assembly of a feed assembly of the food product slicing apparatus in a lowered position;

FIG. 3 depicts a cross-sectional view of the food product slicing apparatus with the loading tray assembly in a raised position;

FIG. 4 depicts a front perspective view of a drive assembly and a feed roller of the food product slicing apparatus;

FIG. 5 depicts a top plan view of the drive assembly and feed roller;

FIG. 6 depicts a rear perspective view of the drive assembly, the feed roller and a shear bar and food product gripping assembly of the food product slicing apparatus;

FIG. 7 depicts a rear perspective view of the shear bar and food product gripping assembly;

FIG. 8 depicts a rear elevation view of the shear bar and food product gripping assembly;

FIG. 9 depicts a front elevation view of the shear bar and food product gripping assembly;

FIG. 10 depicts a partial cross-sectional view of the drive assembly, the feed roller, the shear bar and the food product gripping assembly; and

FIG. 11 depicts a front perspective view of food product slicing apparatus with a portion of the frame removed to show internal components.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

While the disclosure may be susceptible to embodiment in different forms, there is shown in the drawings, and herein will be described in detail, a specific embodiment with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the principles of the disclosure, and is not intended to limit the disclosure to that as illustrated and described herein. Therefore, unless otherwise noted, features disclosed herein may be combined together to form additional combinations that were not otherwise shown for purposes of brevity. It will be further appreciated that in some embodiments, one or more elements illustrated by way of example in a drawing(s) may be eliminated and/or substituted with alternative elements within the scope of the disclosure.
Food product slicing apparatuses and methods associated with the same are included in the present disclosure. With reference to the figures, one example of a food product slicing apparatus 20 is shown. The food product slicing apparatus 20 is used to slice food products into slices. The food products may be comprised of a wide variety of edible materials including, but not limited to meat, such as pork bellies, beef, chicken, fish, etc., and cheese.
As generally shown in FIGS. 1-4 , the food product slicing apparatus 20 includes a main frame 22, a load assembly 24 mounted on the main frame 22, a feed assembly 26 mounted on the main frame 22 downstream of the load assembly 24, a slicing assembly 28 mounted on the main frame 22 downstream of the feed assembly 26, and an output assembly 30 mounted on the main frame 22 downstream of the slicing assembly 28. The food product slicing apparatus 20 further includes a control system 32 configured to control operation of the components of the food product slicing apparatus 20. The main frame 22 supports the load assembly 24, the feed assembly 26, the slicing assembly 28, and the output assembly 30 on a ground surface and includes various mechanisms and power systems for powering the food product slicing apparatus 20. The load assembly 24 and the feed assembly 26 are configured to support and handle the food products and to move the food products to the slicing assembly 28. The slicing assembly 28 is configured to slice the food products into individual slices. The sliced food product is supported on the output assembly 30, which may be a conveyor, in stacks or in shingles and moved away from the slicing assembly 28. The control system 32 includes all the necessary hardware and software to perform all of the operations and functions of the food product slicing apparatus 20. The control system 32 may be mounted on the main frame 22 or may be remote from the main frame 22.
In an embodiment, and as shown, the load assembly 24 includes a loading frame 40 on which a conveyor 44 is provided. Other load assemblies 24 may be provided.
The feed assembly 26 includes a loading tray assembly 104 mounted on the main frame 22 downstream of the load assembly 24, and a drive assembly 106 mounted on the main frame 22 downstream of the loading tray assembly 104. The loading tray assembly 104 moves food products from the load assembly 24 to the drive assembly 106, and the drive assembly 106 moves food products to the slicing assembly 28.
As shown in FIGS. 2-4 , the loading tray assembly 104 includes a longitudinally extending support frame 112 having a front end pivotally attached to the main frame 22 at a pivot 114, a conveyor 116 mounted on an upper side of the support frame 112, and an actuator 118 for lifting or lowering the support frame 112 and the conveyor 116. The actuator 118 may be pneumatic cylinder.
The conveyor 116 includes an endless belt wrapped around a plurality of wheels, with at least one of the wheels being a drive wheel or being driven by a separate drive wheel. The endless belt defines a planar upper surface 122 upon which food products will translate.
The loading tray assembly 104 is pivotable between a first, lowered position, see FIG. 2 , in which the conveyor 116 is aligned with the conveyor 44 of the load assembly 2 and a second raised position, see FIG. 3 , in which the conveyor 116 is aligned with the drive assembly 106.
The drive assembly 106 includes a drive frame plate 126 fixedly coupled to, and cantilevered from, the main frame 22, an upper drive assembly 130 cantilevered from the drive frame plate 126, a lower drive assembly 132 cantilevered from the drive frame plate 126, and a motor assembly 134 coupled to the drive frame plate 126 and to the upper and lower drive assemblies 130, 132. The drive frame plate 126 extends parallel to the longitudinal axis of the food product slicing apparatus 20. The upper drive assembly 130 includes at least conveyor and the lower drive assembly 132 includes at least conveyor. The conveyors may include endless belts wrapped around a plurality of shaft mounted wheels. The endless belts defines a planar surfaces upon which food products will translate. As shown in in an embodiment, the upper drive assembly 130 includes an upstream conveyor 140 mounted on an upstream shaft 138, and a downstream conveyor 144 mounted on a downstream shaft 142. The downstream end of the upstream conveyor 140 is proximate to, but spaced from, the upstream end of the downstream conveyor 144 such that a gap is formed therebetween. The lower drive assembly 132 includes an upstream conveyor 156 mounted on an upstream shaft 154, and a downstream conveyor 160 mounted on a downstream shaft 158. The downstream end of the upstream conveyor 156 is proximate to, but spaced from, the upstream end of the downstream conveyor 160 such that a gap is formed therebetween. The upstream conveyor 140 is partially positioned over the upstream conveyor 156 and the downstream ends of the conveyors 140, 156 generally align. The upstream end of the upstream conveyor 140 is upstream of the upstream end of the lower conveyor 156. The downstream conveyor 144 is positioned over the downstream conveyor 160 and the upstream ends and the downstream ends of the conveyors 144, 160 generally align. The gaps are generally vertically aligned.
When the loading tray assembly 104 is moved to the raised position, the downstream end 116 b of the conveyor 116 is underneath the upstream conveyor 140 and proximate to the upstream end of the upstream conveyor 156.
The motor assembly 134 includes a motor 246 which is coupled to the shafts 138, 142, 154, 158 to drive the conveyors 140, 144, 156, 160. A single motor 246 may be provided to drive all of the conveyors 140, 144, 156, 160 at the same speed. If only a single motor 246 is used, the cost and complexity of the food product slicing apparatus 20 is reduced.
The slicing assembly 28 includes a feed roller assembly 166, a shear bar 340, a food product gripping assembly 342 on the shear bar 340 that works in conjunction with the feed roller 172 on the feed assembly 26, and a rotatable slicing blade 344 coupled to the main frame 22 for cutting the food products into slices.
The feed roller assembly 166, as best shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 , includes a feed roller 172 rotatably mounted between support plates 174 extending from the downstream conveyor 160. The feed roller 172 is proximate to the downstream end of the downstream conveyor 160. The feed roller 172 is wider than endless belt of the downstream conveyor 160. The feed roller 172 is coupled for rotation with the motor assembly 134 by a belt 176. The feed roller 172 has a plurality of spaced apart rings 178 of spiked projections extending outwardly therefrom around the circumference of the feed roller 172. The axis of rotation of the feed roller 172 is transverse to the longitudinal axis of the downstream conveyor 160. The upper ends of the rings 178 of spiked projections are generally aligned with the upper planar surface of the downstream conveyor 160.
The shear bar 340 and the food product gripping assembly 342 are downstream of the drive assembly 106 and the feed roller assembly 166. The slicing blade 344 is downstream of the shear bar 340. The feed roller 172 and the food product gripping assembly 342 grip the food products as the food products are being sliced by the slicing blade 344.
The shear bar 340 is mounted on the main frame 22. As best shown in FIGS. 7-9 , the shear bar 340 includes a plate 348 having a central opening 350 therethrough which extends from an upstream surface of the plate 348 to a downstream surface of the plate 348, and an insert 352 attached to the plate 348 and extending upward to block a lower portion of the opening 350. The opening 350 is generally rectangular and is formed by a planar lower wall surface 354, a planar upper wall surface 356 and planar side wall surfaces 358, 360 connecting the lower and upper wall surfaces 354, 356 together. The insert 352 has a plurality of spaced apart vertical channels 362 formed in an upstream surface thereof and extend from a top surface of the insert 352 toward a bottom of the insert 352. The downstream surface of the insert 352 is planar and is flush with the downstream surface of the plate 348. While the insert 352 is shown as a separate component from the plate 348, the insert 352 may be integrally formed with the plate 348.
The food product gripping assembly 342 includes first and second feed rollers 364, 366 mounted on first and second roller supporting frames 368, 370 coupled to the upstream surface of the plate 348 by first and second motors 372, 374 coupled to the first and second feed rollers 364, 366 by belts 376, 378. Each feed roller 364, 366 has an axis of rotation which is transverse to the longitudinal axis of the food product slicing apparatus 20 and is parallel to the slicing blade 344. The motors 372, 374 independently drive the feed rollers 364, 366 for rotation via the belts 376, 378. The feed roller 364, the motor 372 and the belt 376 are mounted on the roller supporting frame 368, and the feed roller 366, the motor 374 and the belt 378 are mounted on the roller supporting frame 370.
The feed roller 172 is positioned within the vertical channels 362 of the insert 352 and above the lower wall surface 354. The feed roller 172 substantially spans the length of the lower wall surface 354. The feed rollers 364, 366 are supported by the roller supporting frames 368, 370 such that the feed rollers 364, 366 are vertically above the feed roller 172 and the axes of rotation of the feed rollers 172, 364, 366 are in the same plane. Each feed roller 364, 366 has a plurality of spaced apart rings 380 of spiked projections extending outwardly therefrom around the circumference of the respective feed roller 364, 366.
The roller supporting frame 368 and the components supported thereon are movable up and down relative to the lower wall surface 354 under bias from an actuator 382. The roller supporting frame 370 and the components supported thereon are movable up and down relative to the lower wall surface 354 under bias from an actuator 384. The actuators 382, 384 may be pneumatic cylinders. The feed rollers 364, 366 are independently movable up and down relative to the feed roller 172 to limit the height of the opening 350 between the feed roller 364 and the feed roller 172, and to limit the height of the opening 350 between the feed roller 366 and the feed roller 172.
Since the feed roller 172 is positioned within the vertical channels 362 and the first and second feed rollers 364, 366 are aligned with the feed roller 172, the feed rollers 172, 364, 366 are positioned very close to the slicing blade 344 when the slicing blade 344.
The slicing blade 344 has planar upstream and downstream surfaces and a cutting edge 398 on a perimeter thereof. The slicing blade 344 is mounted on the frame 22 by a motor assembly (not shown) such that a lower end of the slicing blade 344 overlaps the portion of the opening 350 that are between the feed roller 172 and feed rollers 364, 366.
In use, the food product is loaded on the loading tray assembly 104 when positioned in the lowered position. The load assembly 24 is activated to move the food product onto the conveyor 116. Thereafter, the loading tray assembly 104 is moved to the raised position and the upper surface of the food product engages with the upstream conveyor 140. The upstream conveyor 140 and the conveyor 116 are activated to move the food product downstream. The food product moves off of the conveyor 116 and onto the upstream conveyor 156, while still being engaged by the upstream conveyor 140. The food product is transported between the conveyors 140, 156, over the gaps, and between the downstream conveyors 144, 160. The downstream conveyor 144 may include two pivoting conveyor belts which firmly grip the food product. As a result, the food product is securely gripped as the food product enters between the feed rollers 172, 364, 366. The rings 178, 380 of spiked projections on the feed rollers 172, 364, 366 bite into the food product. The actuators 382, 384 bias the individual feed rollers 364, 366 into a tight engagement with the food product. The feed rollers 172, 364, 366 provide a fixed distance to the slicing blade 344 such that the position of the food product is controlled right before food product engages with the slicing blade 344. After the food product passes through the portions of the opening 350 that are between the feed roller 172 and feed rollers 364, 366, the slicing blade 344 works in combination with the shear bar 340 to cut the food product into individual slices. The individual slices fall onto the output assembly 30 for packaging.
The downstream conveyor 160 is shown as two conveyor belts and each conveyor belt may be individually pivoted relative to the downstream conveyor 144. The downstream conveyor 160 may be provided by a single conveyor, or more than two conveyors. In addition, the downstream conveyor 160 may not be pivotable. While two feed rollers 364, 366 and two roller supporting frames 368, 370 are shown and described, a single feed roller and roller supporting frame can be provided, or more than two feed rollers and roller supporting frames can be provided.
While a particular embodiment is illustrated in and described with respect to the drawings, it is envisioned that those skilled in the art may devise various modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims. It will therefore be appreciated that the scope of the disclosure and the appended claims is not limited to the specific embodiment illustrated in and discussed with respect to the drawings and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure and appended drawings. Moreover, although the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings describe example embodiments in the context of certain example combinations of elements and/or functions, it should be appreciated that different combinations of elements and/or functions may be provided by alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the disclosure and the appended claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A food product slicing apparatus for slicing food products into slices comprising:

a frame;

a drive assembly coupled to the frame and configured move the food products relative to the frame;

a shear bar coupled to the frame downstream of the drive assembly, the shear bar having an opening therethrough through which the food product is configured to pass, the shear bar including at least one upper feed roller mounted thereon which overlaps the opening;

a lower feed roller rotatably coupled to the frame downstream of the drive assembly and which overlaps the opening, the lower feed roller being positioned proximate to the shear bar and separate from the shear bar, the at least one upper feed roller and the lower feed roller are aligned with each other; and

a slicing blade coupled to the frame downstream of the drive assembly, the slicing blade being configured to slice the food products into slices.

2. The food product slicing apparatus defined in claim 1, wherein each feed roller is motor driven.

3. The food product slicing apparatus defined in claim 2, wherein the lower feed roller is coupled to the drive assembly.

4. The food product slicing apparatus defined in claim 1, wherein the lower feed roller is coupled to the drive assembly.

5. The food product slicing apparatus defined in claim 1, wherein the lower feed roller is driven by a motor which drives the drive assembly.

6. The food product slicing apparatus defined in claim 1, wherein the drive assembly comprises an upper drive assembly coupled to the frame, and a lower drive assembly coupled to the frame, the upper drive assembly being positioned above the lower drive assembly, the upper and lower drive assemblies being configured to receive food product therebetween and to move the food products relative to the frame and onto the lower feed roller.

7. The food product slicing apparatus defined in claim 1, wherein each feed roller has a plurality of spiked projections thereon.

8. The food product slicing apparatus defined in claim 7, wherein the plurality of spiked projections of the lower feed roller seat partially within channels of the shear bar.

9. The food product slicing apparatus defined in claim 1, wherein the at least one upper feed roller is adjustable in position relative to the lower feed roller.

10. The food product slicing apparatus defined in claim 9, wherein two upper feed rollers are provided.

11. The food product slicing apparatus defined in claim 1, wherein the lower feed roller seats partially within channels of the shear bar.

12. The food product slicing apparatus defined in claim 1, wherein two upper feed rollers are provided.

13. The food product slicing apparatus defined in claim 12, wherein each upper feed roller is independently driven for rotation by a motor.

14. The food product slicing apparatus defined in claim 13, wherein the upper feed rollers are adjustable in position relative to the lower feed roller.

15. The food product slicing apparatus defined in claim 13, wherein the upper feed rollers are independently adjustable in position relative to the lower feed roller.

16. The food product slicing apparatus defined in claim 1, wherein an upstream surface of the slicing blade is planar and a downstream surface of the shear bar is planar.