US2917093A

US2917093A - Potato slicing machine

Info

Publication number: US2917093A
Authority: US
Inventors: Nelson B Henry
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1955-09-02
Filing date: 1955-09-02
Publication date: 1959-12-15
Anticipated expiration: 1976-12-15

Description

Dec. 15, 1959 N. B. HENRY POTATO SLICING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 2, 1955 FlG.2

INVENTOR.

NELSON a. may

38g II ATTORNEY Dec. 15, 1959 N. B. HENRY POTATO sucmc MACHINE Filed Sept. 2, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VENTOR. NELSON B. HENRY AT TORNEY Dec.' 15, 1959 r N. B. HENRY POTATO sucmc MACHINE Filed Sept. 2; 1955 I5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVEN TOR. NELSON B. HENRY ATTORNEY United States Patent POTATO SLlClN G MACHINE Nelson B. Henry, Decatur, Ga.

Application September 2, 1955, Serial No. 532,166

11 Claims. (Cl. 146-165) This invention relates to slicing apparatus and is particularly concerned with stationary blade apparatus for successively slicing articles which are caused to travel in a path of movement relative to such stationary blades.

While certain aspects of the present inventive concept may be broadly applicable to the slicing of various types of material, the invention as herein presented is particularly adapted for the slicing of potatoes in preparation for the treatment thereof to form potato chips. In the preparation of slices of potatoes for such subsequent cooking, certain factors are essential in order to provide for the most efiicient and effective preparation of the slices. One important factor in the preparation of the slices is to provide for a uniform thickness of slice since it will be understood that if the slices vary in thickness relative to one another, the cooking time required will vary and hence a non-uniform product will result. It is also important to provide for the smooth surface slicing of the potato since, if the surface of the cut is rough and uneven, more of the starch cells are opened and since the starch forms the major portion of the finished potato chip, the fracturing of the cells produces a loss in weight which may render the operation uneconomical. Also the breaking of a great number of starch cells produces a surface starch which must be removed, preferably by washing the slices preparatory to cooking to prevent the surface starch and the water contained in the potatoes from forming a paste which would cause the slices to stick together when they are immersed in the hot fat used in the cooking process. Another important factor in the manufacture of the potato chips is the fact that the heat consumed in the boiling of the chips in the fat used is a material element of production cost. Therefore should adjustments of equipment requiring shut down be necessary, a severe loss is entailed. Inefficient and uneconomic results have also followed from attempts to successively slice articles of widely different sizes. Where large and small potatoes are indiscriminately mixed in their supply to the cutting operation, the smaller potatoes are not properly held in position for slicing and this condition continues until the larger preceding potatoes are sliced to the extent that its height is diminished such that it is less than the height of the following small potato. The result is a nicking and partial slicing of such smaller potatoes pending the time that they are properly held in slicing position. The fragmentary slices produced from the smaller potatoes during this interim are for the most part a total loss as they are unsuitable for the production of marketable chips.

It is therefore among the primary objects of the present invention to provide an improved slicing machine particularly adapted for the uniform smooth slicing of potatoes in preparation for the cooking of the slices to provide potato chips.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a slicing apparatus of the type defined in which the slices provided are of uniform thickness throughout the entire slice and wherein the thickness of one slice is uniform "ice provide a slicing apparatus in which the sliced surface formed by the operation is smooth and wherein the disruption of starch cells of the potato is maintained at a minimum.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus of the character described in. which adjustments of apparatus particularly as to the thickness of the slice being formed may be readily made without terminating the operation of the machine and one in which when knife changes require. termination of operation, such termination may be limited to a minimum interval of time. t

It is also among the primary objects of the invention to provide in an apparatus of the character described means for segregating the potato as to size as each batch of potatoes is fed into the slicer.

With these and numerous other objects, features and advantages of the present invention in view, reference may be had to the following specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation partly broken away showing one preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of that form of the invention shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a central sectional view through the supply hopper of that form of the invention shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 4 is a transverse section through the hopper and upper supply chamber of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the rotary shell of the invention.

Fig. 6 is a reduced perspective view of the rotary shell of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a reduced detail sectional view showing the presentation of the articles to the fixed cutter blades.

Fig. 8 is a top plan view of the cutting structure of the present invention.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged detail view taken on lines 9--9 of Fig. 7.

t Fig. 10 is an enlarged detail sectional view taken on lines 1010 of Fig. 7.

P Fig. 11 is a sectional view taken on lines 1111 of That form of the invention herein presented by way of illustration may be generally characterized as providing a feed hopper including means preferably in the form of parallel conical rollers by which an indiscriminate sized group of potatoes may be fed from the hopper in the order of their size. From the feed hopper, the potatoes are delivered to a supply chamber and thence to a rotary shell that distributes potatoes into arcuate downwardly inclined tunnels which receive the potatoes and pass each potato successively over the cutting edge of a plurality of fixed cutting blades so as: to form successive slicing cuts on each potato delivered from the supply chamber. One of the features of the present invention is the provision of an adjustability of the conveying surface for the potatoes with respect to the fixed cutting blades so as to insure rapid accurate adjustment of the thickness of the slice. Another feature of the invention is the provision of cutting edges of arcuate form which provide for the angular slicing of the article as a means to insure a smooth cut surface thereof and a further feature is the provision of readily removable and replaceable blades insuring a minimum of down time when change thereof is necessary.

Referring to the drawings illustrating one preferre structural embodiment of the present inventive concept, the reference numeral 10 generally indicates: a potato. feed hopper to which potatoes may be mechanically. delivered or automatically conveyed, e.g. by bucket-type conveyors. It is important to note that in operation of the device batch feeding is contemplated in that each batch of potatoes is sliced to such as extent that the last potato 'of the batch is so reduced in height that it will not interfere with the small potatoes first entering from the succeeding batch. Within the hopper ltifthere is provided a pair of spaced parallel sorting rolls 11 of generally frusto-conical configuration, the wider ends being positioned at the point of delivery of the potatoes. Within the walls of the'hoppe'r, guard plates 12 are provided extending over the 'outer edges of the sorting rolls 11 so as to definea central diverging downwardly sloped path between the rollers through which the potatoes may be delivered. The rolls 11 are preferably driven, both in the same direction, by means of chain 13 trained over sprockets 14 on the ends of the rollers. A drive for the sprockets is provided by reduction gearing indicated at 15 which in turn is driven by belt 16 trained over pulley 17 on the shaft 18, which shaft in turn isdriven by belts '19 of a primary drive motor shaft 20. As indicated at 21 the discharge to the hopper 10 is directly under the narrower portions of the delivery space formed between the rollers 11 and thus as the potatoes are delivered to' the hopper 10, smaller potatoes will immediately travel downwardly between the closest surfaces of the rollers 11. Larger'potatoes will be delayed in their passage between rollers due to the necessity of their moving longitudinally thereof to register with a space of sufiicient breadth for their passage. Hence, while potatoes of indiscriminate 'size maybe loaded into the hopper 10, he arrangement is .such that the potatoes will be delivered from the hopper in reverse order of'their size, the smaller potato being first delivered while the larger potatoes are delayed in their passage. 7

From the discharge mouth 21 of the hopper '10, the potatoes are loaded through a downwardly inclined chute 24 to a supply chamber 25 defined between the upper frusto-conical Wall 26 of a stationary shield and superstructure 27. The annular wall 26 forms an integral part of the casting 27 which includes upwardly inclined ribs 28 which support a horizontal spider 30 across which there are disposed transverse supporting bars 31 upon which the hopper 10 is mounted and which support a vertically extending supporting channel on which the primary drive motor 34 is mounted from which the power shaft 20 extends. Also mounted on the horizontal spider 30 is a reduction speed gear housing 38 driven by the shaft 18 which in turn drives a vertical shaft for. im-

parting rotation to the rotary shell hereinafter to be described.

Directly below the chamber'25 formed by thewall 26, there is provided the rotary shell 25A mounted for rotation with and supported by the shaft 35. The rotary shell 25A comprises an inverted 'shell having generally downwardly inclined spaced segments 40 radially bounded by the internal walls 41 extending from the mouths 42-of peripherally arranged tunnels 43. The rotation of the shell is as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 6 and each mouth of the tunnel is preceded by an inwardly curved vertical guide plate wall 44 by which potatoes descending downwardly over the segments 40 will be guided for entry into the mouths 42 of the tunnels. In that form of the invention here shown there are five such annular tunnels, the mouths of which are generally rectangular in shape and the upper top walls 45 descend from one tunnel to the next. The inner walls 46 of the tunnels are arcuate and outwardly tapering toward the outer tunnel walls 41 and the bottom of the tunnel is open to present the potatoes entering the tunnels to the slicing mechanism. From this arrangement, it will be seen that potatoes delivered in order as to size move downwardly from the chamber 25 to which they are delivered by the chute 24 'of the hopper 10 over the segments 40 to be engaged by the guides 44 and delivered to the months 42 of the five tunnels. Since the shell is rotated in the direction indicated, the potatoes will be scooped into the mouths of the tunnels and upper inclined wall 45 thereof will urge the potatoes downwardly and at the same time the rotation of the shell will move the potatoes in an annular path as they are being sliced until the slicing consumes the entire article.

Fixedly mounted below the rotary shell including the tunnel members, there is mounted a supporting and cutting structure comprising a central base portion 50 having radiating arms 51 to which in a parallel plane there are secured plates 61 disposed between the radiating arms 51 to complete a circular configuration. Cutters 52 are rigidly attached to a portion of upper surface of plate 61. At the leading edge of cutter 52, vertically adjustable platens 55 are mounted on the remaining upper surface of plate 61 in a plane parallel thereto and constitute the supporting surfaces for the potatoes. The cutters 52 are characterized by an arcuate cutting edge 54 arranged in opposed relation with respect to the rotation of the'shell. The platens 55 are held down with respect to plate 61 through the action of spring 57 on stud 56. With this arrangement it will be seen that the platen is capable of vertical motion relative to the plate 61. To separate the platen 55 in a given spaced relation to plate 61 there is provided a plurality of adjusting screws 58, having attached thereto an adjusting arm 59, said arms 59 being interconnected by adjusting link 60. This arrangement is such that as the adjusting link 60 is moved, the arms are rotated to turn the bolts 58 which threadedly adjust themselves through the base plate 61 so as to raise or lower the entire associated platen by a single movement'of the plate 60. It will be noted that since the cutter structure is stationary, such adjustment may be made during the operation of the machine and as the shell is causing potatoes to travel annularly thereunder within the tunnels. As indicated more clearly in Fig. 7, as the shell is rotated, the potatoes are forced rearwardly principally by the frictional drag of the potato across the supporting members and the cutting blades'and aided by centrifugal force. As the potatoes move to the rear of the tunnel, they are forced downwardly by the inclined upper wall 45 of the tunnels so that the potatoes are caused to move against the arcuate blades 52 which provide for the smooth slicing of each potato as it passes each cutter. 'It will be seen that the platens are normally adjusted to a position slightly below the plane'of the cutting edges of the blades and thus the annular potato movement is intercepted by the blade and the uniform slice is'removed from each potato as it passes each blade. After the potato passes over the cutting blade it is on a horizontal level which is higher than the platen by the distance of the thickness of the slice removedthence, before another slicecan be taken the potato must be lowered to the level of the succeeding platen. This is done by the potato guide 47 best shown in Fig.7, which is here shown with the slope exaggerated as it would actually be the distance of the thickness of the slice. Since the space below the blades'is open, the potato slices may freely pass downwardly as indicated in Fig. 7 and be received for disposition within any suitable equipment.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the present invention provides a novel, simple and improved device by which potatoes are discharged into the feed hoppers, segregated as to size, and are delivered therefrom by sizes, the smaller potatoes being first delivered. Upon delivery of the potatoes from the hopper, they are caused to drop upon the rotating shell and be scooped therefrom into the tunnels. Since the very small potatoes are first delivered, they are first received within the tunnels and are therefore forced downwardly against the blade and rotated around the stationary portions of the apparatus so as to be sliced to the extent that they have moved toward the end of the tunnel, thus preventing the potatoes from riding up on the preceding potato and causing a wedge shaped slice. It will be noted that the accurate relationship of the blade to the movement of the potatoes is such as to provide for slanting angular cut of the potatoes and thus to insure a smooth cut surface with a minimum of mutilated starch cells. It will further be noted that as the potatoes are sliced, the slices are dropped by gravity for suitable collection and that the potatoes are caused to continuously traverse the blade structure to be subjected to successive blades until the slices have fully consumed the article.

An important feature of the present invention is the fact that there are provided five tunnel structures within the rotating hood as opposed to four cutting blade assemblies and their associated platens. Thus, the efiiciency of the apparatus is greatly improved and smooth vibrationless operation is enhanced. It will further be noted that since the platents directly preceding the cutting blades are vertically adjustable and since these platens are stationary, adjustment can be made during the operation of the device without requiring a shut-down of the apparatus for such adjustment. It will be further noted that the mounting of the blades is such that they may be readily inserted and removed in a small increment of time so that when such blades are to be exchanged or sharpened the required shut-down time of the machine is at a minimum. In considering the foregoing, it will be understood that the structural features and the design characteristics are presented merely by way of illustration.

Therefore it is apparent that in carrying out the invention numerous changes, modifications, and the full use of equivalents may be resorted to without departure from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

- I claim:

1. A rotary slicing apparatus including a fixed cutting blade, and rotary means for delivering articles to said blade, said means including a rotary shell surmounting said blade having a plurality of circularly arranged arcuately extending elongate article engaging tunnels.

2. A rotary slicing apparatus including a fixed cutting blade, and rotary means for delivering articles to said blade, said means including a rotary shell surmounting said blade having a plurality of circularly arrnged arcuately extending elongate article engaging tunnels, said tunnels having openings on the upper surface of the shell for receiving articles to be sliced.

3. A rotary slicing apparatus including a fixed cutting blade, and rotary means for delivering articles to said blade, said means including a rotary shell surmounting said blade having a plurality of circularly arranged arcuately extending elongate article engaging tunnels, said tunnels having openings on the upper surface of the shell for receiving articles to be sliced and downwardly sloping top Walls for urging said articles downwardly into the plane of said blade.

4. A rotary slicing apparatus including a fixed cutting blade, and rotary means for delivering articles to said blade, said means including a rotary shell surmounting said blade having a plurality of circularly arranged arcuately extending elongate article engaging tunnels, said tunnels having openings on the upper surface of the shell for receiving articles to be sliced and downwardly sloping top Walls for urging said articles downwardly into the plane of said blade, and a vertically adjustable relatively stationary platen positioned in front of the blade.

5. A potato slicer including a fixed base member fixedly mounting a circular series of slicing knives, stationary platens interposed between said knives, and rotary means for successively feeding potatoes to said knives, said platens being vertically adjustable to determine the thickness of the slice cut from each potato in traversing the knives.

6. A potato slicer including a fixed base member fixedly mounting a circular series of slicing knives, stationary platens interposed between said knives and rotary means for successively feeding potatoes to said knives, said platens being vertically adjustable to determine the thickness of the slice cut from each potato in traversing the knives during rotation of said rotary means.

7. A potato slicer including a fixed base member fixedly mounting a circular series of slicing knives, stationary platens interposed between said knives, and rotary means for successively feeding potatoes to said knives, said rotary means having a plurality of tunnels to receive potatoes from above and rotate them toward said blades therebelow.

8. The apparatus defined by claim 7 in which there are four cutting blades and five tunnels.

9. A slicer for forming thin slices of potatoes in preparation for the manufacture of potato chips comprising a potato feed hopper, means in said hopper for delivering the smaller potatoes of any batch received before delivery of the larger ones of such batch, a chamber for the reception of potatoes from said hopper, a rotary potato delivery and conveying means for receiving po tatoes from said chamber, a stationary structure below said rotary means, stationary knives carried by said structure, said knives being in the path of travel of potatoes conveyed by said means.

10. A slicer for forming thin slices of potatoes in preparation for the manufacture of potato chips comprising a potato feed hopper, means in said hopper for delivering the smaller potatoes of any batch received before delivery of the larger ones of such batch, a chamber for the reception of potatoes from said hopper, a rotary potato delivery and conveying means for receiving potatoes from said chamber, said means comprising an inverted shell having a plurality of upwardly open tunnels to receive potatoes and deliver them therebelow, a stationary structure below said rotary means, a plurality of stationary knives carried by said structure, said knives being in the path of travel of potatoes conveyed by said means.

11. A slicer for forming thin slices of potatoes in preparation for the manufacture of potato chips comprising a potato feed hopper, means in said hopper for delivering the smaller potatoes of any batch received before delivery of the larger one of such batch, a chamber for the reception of potatoes from said hopper, a rotary potato delivery and conveying means for receiving potatoes from said chamber, said means comprising an inverted shell having five upwardly open tunnels to receive potatoes and deliver them therebelow, a stationary structure below said rotary means, four stationary knives carried by said structure, said knives being in the path of travel of potatoes conveyed by said means, and vertically adjustable platens mounted between said knives.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 376,904 Phillips Jan. 24, 1886 593,189 Bell Nov. 9, 1897 1,074,637 Massey Oct. 7, 1913 1,148,165 Hardie July 27, 1915 1,282,250 Low et al Oct. 22, 1918 1,811,991 Bates June 30, 1931 1,882,130 Fielder Oct. 11, 1932 1,965,500 Knott July 3, 1934 2,611,408 Farmer Sept. 23, 1952 2,688,994 Simon et al. Sept. 14, 1954 2,755,835 Puccinelli July 24, 1956 2,767,752 Stahmer Oct. 23, 1956