United States Patent c19J
`Hartmann
`
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`US005191820A
`5,191,820
`[11) Patent Number:
`[45) Date of Patent: Mar. 9, 1993
`
`[75)
`
`[54) FEED DRIVE FOR A CUTIING MACHINE
`FOR CUTIING FOODS
`Inventor: Franz Hartmann, Simmerberg, Fed.
`Rep. of Germany
`[73) Assignee: Natec, Reich, Summer GmbH & Co.
`KG, Fed. Rep. of Germany
`[21) Appl. No.: 717,984
`Jun.20, 1991
`[22) Filed:
`Foreign Application Priority Data
`[30)
`Apr. 16, 1991 [DE] Fed. Rep. of Germany ... 9104588[U]
`Int. Cl.5
`••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• B26D 7/06
`[51)
`[52) U.S. Cl •........................................ 83/409; 83/277;
`83/418; 83/422; 83/423; 83/436; 83/437
`[58) Field of Search ................. 83/409, 436, 422, 423,
`83/703,418,453, 206,277,437,676
`References Cited
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`1,445,521 2/1923 Luschka et al ................... 83/676 X
`1,837,014 12/1931 Campbell .......................... 83/418 X
`1,995,048 3/1935 Walter ................................... 83/422
`3,200,865 8/1965 Garapolo .............................. 83/423
`4,329,900 5/1982 Dennis et al ...................... 83/422 X
`
`[56)
`
`4,583,435 4/1986 Fessler .................................... 83/90
`.
`Primary Examiner-Douglas D. Watts
`Assistant Examiner-Raymond D. Woods
`Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Brown, Martin, Haller &
`McClain
`ABSTRACT
`[57)
`A feed drive for a cutting machine for cutting foods
`consists of a claw which penetrates into the product at
`the rear face of the product to be sliced whereby the
`claw is driven intermittently or continuously in the
`direction of feed, and guides the product on a roller
`conveyor against a cutting device so that slices are cut
`from the product. For an improved guidance of the
`product and in order to avoid inconsistent slices in par(cid:173)
`ticular in products which are long and whose consis(cid:173)
`tency is soft, there is another force-locking and form(cid:173)
`locking drive for the product at the front end of the
`product in the vicinity of the circular knife of the cut(cid:173)
`ting device coupled with the drive of the claw. This
`additional drive consists at least of a feed roller which
`engages the bottom of the product in a force-locking
`and form-locking fashion and which is driven as a func(cid:173)
`tion of the feed path of the claw.
`
`9 Claims, 2 Drawing Sheets
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`U.S. Patent
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`Mar. 9, 1993
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`Sheet 2 of 2
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`5,191,820
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`1
`FEED DRIVE FOR A CUTTING MACHINE FOR
`CUTTING FOODS
`
`5,191,820
`2
`at its outer perimeter and which engage the bottom of
`the product.
`The teeth are chosen in such a manner that the re(cid:173)
`spective tooth marks correspond with the subsequently
`5 cut slices so that such tooth marks are no longer visible
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`in the sliced product.
`In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the drive
`The present invention concerns a feed device in ac-
`of the feed roller is coupled to the claw drive so that the
`cordance with the introductory part of patent claim 1.
`torsion-tested feed roller is connected to a drive gear
`Such a feed device has become known (DE 32 49 925
`C2) in that for the purpose of cutting foods, in particular 10 over which runs a ratchet belt which is led over a guide
`roller as a closed strap. This ratchet belt is now coupled
`sausage and cheese, such a product is placed on a roller
`directly to the claw via a clamp so that a corresponding
`conveyor whereby the roller conveyor is slanted down-
`drive of the claw engages the ratchet belt, which drives
`ward in the direction of a circular knife which interacts
`the feed roller via the drive gear in the direction of feed.
`with a fixed counterknife.
`The advantage of this invention is that the feed roller
`At the rear end, the product is caught by a so-called 15
`no longer requires its own drive motor and that it pro-
`claw consisting of an intermittently driven housing
`duces an absolutely synchronous drive between the
`whose front end features mechanical claws which catch
`claw and the feed roller.
`the rear face of the product and hold it. When viewed in
`In another embodiment of the present invention how(cid:173)
`the longitudinal direction of the product, the claw is
`driven intermittently or continuously by a drive so that 20 ever, the feed roller features its own drive which is
`synchronized with the drive of the claw.
`with each advance of the claw the product is moved
`The state of the art described above offers the signifi-
`along over a certain distance on the roller conveyor
`cant advantage that the product is now driven at practi-
`against the circular knife so that a slice of a specific
`cally two ends, i.e. at its rear end and at its end next to
`thickness is cut from the product.
`Such cutting machines process products with a 25 the circular knife. As a result, the product is stabilized
`between these two absolutely synchronous drives and
`length of up to 1.20 m. When handling such long prod-
`therefore no longer tends to swing even when products
`ucts, in particular when these products feature a rela-
`are used whose consistency is relatively soft. This
`tively soft consistency, there is the disadvantage that
`makes it possible for the first time to achieve an abso-
`when the product is driven intermittently on the roller
`conveyor towards the circular knife the product has a 30 l?te~y uniform cut even when product lengths are_ very
`s1gmficant and products are very soft so that a uruform
`tendency to swing thus resulting in inconsistent slice
`slice value is achieved when cutting with the circular
`thickness.
`knife, eve!1 with P~<>?ucts ~hich ~e difficult to handle.
`In other words there are undesirable product swings
`~e obJect ?f1?i_s mvent1on den~es not only from the
`due to the intermittent feed drive ofthis product against
`the circular knife resulting in the inconsistent slices 35 obJec! of_the md1vt~W1:1 patent clauns b?t also from the
`combmat1on of the mdiv1dual patent claims among each
`described above
`other. All data and characteristics described in the doc-
`·
`umentation, including the summary, in particular the
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`design as illustrated in the drawings, are claimed as
`The purpose of the present invention therefore is to
`essential to the invention to the extent that jointly or
`design the feed drive of a cutting machine of the type
`separately they are new in terms of the state of the art.
`described earlier so that slices of equal thickness can be
`,- BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`cut from products even if they are long and relatively
`soft.
`The following is a more detailed description of the
`In order to accomplish this task, and coupled with the 45
`invention through drawings which illustrate only one
`drive of the claw, the invention features another force(cid:173)
`variant. These drawings and their description illustrate
`locking and form-locking drive for the product at the
`further characteristics and advantages of the present
`front end of the product in the vicinity of the circular
`invention.
`knife and which consists at least of one feed roller
`FIG. 1 shows a lateral view ofa feed device in accor(cid:173)
`which engages the bottom of the product in a force- 50
`dance with the invention.
`locking and form-locking manner and which is driven in
`FIG. 2 shows a top view of the feed device in accor(cid:173)
`a rotating fashion as a function of the feed path of the
`dance with FIG. 1.
`claw.
`DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED
`In other words, an essential feature of the present
`EMBODIMENT(S)
`invention is the fact that coupled with the drive of the 55
`The older patent DE 32 49 925 C2 of the same appli-
`claw which engages only at the rear end of the product,
`cant is made reference herein in terms of the operation
`there is another drive for the product in the direction of
`of the feed drive, the appearance of the claw and further
`feed at the front end of the product next to the circular
`details. The contents of said publication is to be an inte-
`knife whereby this drive is coupled in a form-locking
`fashion to the drive of the claw. The feed roller may be 60 gral part in full of the present invention.
`The product to be sliced is placed on a roller con-
`situated at the end of the roller conveyor just before the
`veyor 2, which is slanted downward at an angle of 45°
`circular knife; but it may also be located in the roller
`to the horizontal whereby the roller conveyor consists
`conveyor and catch through the rollers of the roller
`of individual rollers 18 which arc parallel and can be
`conveyor.
`Preferably, the force-locking and form-locking drive 65 rotated at reciprocal distance. The product 1 is brought
`with its front face against a circular knife 4 connected
`in the vicinity of the circular knife which engages the
`via a drive shaft 8 to cam 7 which gives the circular
`bottom of the product is designed in a preferred cm-
`knife 4 an eccentric cutting motion.
`bodimcnt as feed roller which preferably features teeth
`
`40
`
`

`

`5,191,820
`
`4
`3
`The claw track 21 is clamped with and coupled to the
`To the circular knife 4 is assigned in a housing-locked
`upper or lower strand of the ratchet belt 25 through a
`manner a counterknife 5 situated on a knife girder 6,
`clamp 26. As a result, the corresponding drive of the
`which is also housing-locked.
`bearing housing 22 in the direction of feed 3 via the
`At its upper side the product may be pressed against
`the counterknife 5 with a clamp 10 whereby the re- 5 coupling of the claw track 21 with the ratchet belt 25
`quired pressure is produced by a pneumatic cylinder 9.
`also drives the drive gear 29 which in tum is coupled
`The feed drive of the product 1 is effected by a so-
`with the feed roller 33. Instead of being driven by the
`called "claw 11'' designed in essence as a drive housing
`same drive as the claw, the roller 33 may have its own
`whose iriside features claws 12 on shafts 13 which are
`drive 40 as illustrated in dotted outline in FIG. 2. The
`parallel to each other and superimposed on each other. 10 feed roller drive 40 is linked via pulley 42 to ratchet belt
`In accordance ~th FIG. 1 ea~h shaft 1_3 carries a series
`25 to be driven in synchronism with the claw. In an-
`of claws 12 which are at a reciprocal d1Stance from and
`other alternative, the linkage between the claw drive
`p~allel to each o~er wher~by both shafts are ~ngaged
`and the feed roller may be eliminated by taking out belt
`25 altogether, the feed roller then having no drive and
`wit~ each _other ~ r~pect1ve gears and are dnven for
`their part ID the_ d1r'7t1on of arrow 14 by a ~ear 17.
`15 acting only as a guide roller.
`The gear 17 1S dnven through a connect1Dg rod 16
`It is to be noted that the axis 32 is arranged on lateral
`load~ by. a pneumatic cylind_er 15..
`base plates 30 whereby the base plates are secured to the
`Act1vat10n of the pneumatic cylinder 15 moves the
`housing with the possible interposition of a spacer block
`connecting rod ~6 thus turning the gear 17. When the
`31.
`gear 17 mates with _at least one g~ '!fa shaft 13, the 20
`In addition, provisions may be made for the product
`to be directed also via side guides 38 resting sideways
`shafts 14 are turned ID one of the directions of the arrow
`14 so that the claws 12 engage the rear face of the prod-
`on the product 1.
`uct 1 and ther~by hold the prod~ct.
`Due to the force-locking coupling between the feed
`The feed ~nve of the 1:Iaw 11 is the result of the fact
`of the claw 11 and the rotation of the feed roller 33 no
`that the entire claw 11 1s placed on a claw track 21 25
`·
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`between the feed roller 33 and the claw 11 because this
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`bearing hous1Dg 22 features linear bearings 23 so that
`.
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`the bearing housing 22 can be moved over these linear
`':1'ea IS driven synchronously B?d ex~ctly ID the dtrec-
`bearings 23 on a V-track 24 in the direction of feed
`t1on of f~d. As a resul: t~e sli~ thickness of the cut
`(direction of arrow 3) or in the opposite direction.
`30 product is absolutel! uniform. This~ ensures th~t the
`In order to facilitate the exchange of the claw 11 on
`advance (feed motio~) of the claw ts not only tntro-
`the claw track 21 the bottom of claw 11 features a recess
`duced at the r~ port10n of the product but also affects
`37 in accordance with FIG 1 into which is introduced
`the front portion of the product.
`Within the context of this invention is also the ar-
`the claw track 21 and secu~ed in a manner not shown
`here. This feature enables the claw 11 to be readily 35 rangement whereby only the rear end of the product is
`removed from the claw track 21.
`driven in a force-locking and form-locking fashion.
`This offers the advantage that the claw 11 is readily
`Such a guiding method consists, for example, of the fact
`exchanged and cleaned.
`that the active drive o~ th~ feed roller is removed and
`FIG. 1 only indicates and the drawing in FIG. 2
`that. the feed roller with 1ts ratchets J>:Clletrates only
`altogether misses the fact that the feed of the bearing 22 40 passively the bottom ?f th: product. This arrangement
`to which is attached the claw track 21 occurs through a
`also. ~r~uces a certain guidance. of the _product and a
`s~bil~t1_on of the product !11-~s ID relation to the f~d
`ball spindle 19 whereby the ball spindle penetrates a
`spindle nut in the bearing housing 22 not shown here in
`cdnve limited to the rear. Within the front area, outside
`greater detail and is driven intermittently by a rotary
`the roller ~nveyor, where .n~~ly _only a <:h0;te ~f
`drive in the direction of the arrow 20.
`45 sheet metal ts present, the emting S1gmficant fnct1on 1s
`In other words, through this drive, the claw 11 is
`reduced because in accordance with the invention the
`feed roller constitutes a corresponding pivot arrange-
`driven intermittently in the direction of feed 3 so that an
`exactly defined feed occurs in the direction of the circu-
`ment for the product.
`1ar knife 4 and so that the circular knife cuts an exactly
`Although preferred embodiments of the invention
`so have been described above by way of example only, it
`defined slice from product 1.
`In accordance with the invention the front end of the
`will be understood by those skilled in the field that
`modifications may be made to the 'disclosed embodi-
`product 1 is also driven by an additional feed device in
`the direction of the circular knife 4. In accordance with
`ments without departing from the scope of the inven-
`tJte preferred embodiment, the feed device consists of a
`tion, which is defined by the appended claims.
`feed roller 33 which features teeth 35 at its outer perim- ss
`I claim:
`1. Feed drive assembly for a cutting machine for
`eter. These teeth 35 engage at least in part the bottom of
`the product 1. As illustrated in solid outline in FIG. 1,
`cutting foods, the cutting machine having a roller con-
`the feed roller 33 may be located in an intermediate area
`veyor on which a product to be sliced lies and is held at
`between an end of the roller conveyor and the circular
`a rear end by a claw and a claw drive for driving the
`knife. Alternatively, as illustrated in dotted outline in <,0 claw in a direction of feed and leading a front area of the
`FIG. 1, the feed roller 33 may be arranged in the area of
`product into a cutting range of the cutting machine,
`whereby, coupled with the claw drive, the feed drive
`the roller conveyor between adjacent rollers.
`The feed roller 33 can be rotated on an axis 32
`assembly comprises at least one feed roller separate
`whereby the drive gear 29 is coupled with the feed
`from the roller conveyor which engages a bottom of the
`roller 33. The drive gear 29 is embraced by an endless 65 product at the front area of the product in the vicinity of
`ratchet belf 25 which on its other end runs over a rear
`a circular knife in a force-locking and form-locking
`guide roller 27. The guide roller can be rotated and is _ manner and which is driven in a rotating fashion as a
`function of a feed path of the claw; and
`housed in a housing-locked holder 28.
`
`

`

`5
`coupling means for coupling the claw drive to both
`the claw and the feed roller in a form-locking fash(cid:173)
`ion;
`the form-locking coupling means comprising a circu(cid:173)
`lating closed ratchet belt which embraces a drive
`gear connected with the feed roller and is guided
`over a guide roller whereby a claw track con(cid:173)
`nected to the claw and driven in the direction of
`feed is connected with an upper strand of the
`ratchet belt via a clamp.
`2. Feed drive assembly in accordance with claim 1
`whereby the feed roller is arranged in an intermediate
`area between an end of the roller · conveyor and the
`circular knife.
`3. Feed drive assembly in accordance with claim 1
`whereby the feed roller is arranged in the area of the
`roller conveyor and engages between the rollers of the
`roller conveyor.
`4. Feed drive assembly in accordance with claim 1 20
`whereby the outer perimeter of the feed roller features
`teeth consisting of uniformly distributed serrations at a
`reciprocal distance from one another and whose longi(cid:173)
`tudinal axis extends perpendicularly to the direction of
`feed.
`5. A cutting machine for cutting elongated products
`into slices, comprising:
`undriven roller conveyor means for supporting a
`product to be sliced, the conveyor means having a
`forward end and a rear end;
`cutter means adjacent the forward end of the con(cid:173)
`veyor means for cutting slices from a front end of
`the product;
`first feed means for driving the product forwardly in 35
`a feed direction along the conveyor means into the
`cutting range of the cutter means, the first feed
`means comprising claw means for gripping a rear
`end of the product, and drive means for driving the
`claw means in the feed direction; and
`second feed means for guiding a forward portion of
`the product towards said cutter means in synchro(cid:173)
`nism with the driving of the claw means, said sec(cid:173)
`ond feed means being located adjacent said cutter
`means and comprising at least one feed roller sepa- 45
`rate from said roller conveyor means for engaging
`a bottom surface of the product in the vicinity of
`
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`6
`said cutter means in a force-locking and form-lock(cid:173)
`ing manner.
`6. The machine as claimed in claim 5, wherein the
`cutter means comprises a circular knife directed trans-
`5 verse to the feed direction at the front end of the prod(cid:173)
`uct and a counter knife located against the bottom sur(cid:173)
`.
`face of the product adjacent its front end.
`7. The machine as claimed in claim 6, further includ(cid:173)
`ing hold down means adjacent said cutter means for
`10 pressing down on an upper surface of the product to
`press the product down against the counter knife.
`8. The machine as claimed in claim 5, wherein said
`drive means comprises a single drive means for driving
`both said claw means and said feed roller in synchro(cid:173)
`nism.
`9. A cutting machine for cutting elongated products
`into slices, comprising:
`undriven roller conveyor means for supporting a
`product to be sliced, the conveyor means having a
`forward end and a rear end;
`cutter means adjacent the forward end of the con(cid:173)
`veyor means for cutting slices from a front end of
`the product;
`first feed means for driving the product forwardly in
`a feed direction along the conveyor means into the
`cutting range of the cutter means, the first feed
`means comprising claw means for gripping a rear
`end of the product;
`second feed means for guiding a forward portion of
`the product towards said cutter means in synchro(cid:173)
`nism with the driving of the claw means, said sec(cid:173)
`ond feed means being located adjacent said cutter
`means and comprising at least one feed roller sepa(cid:173)
`rate from said roller conveyor means for engaging
`a bottom surface of the product in the vicinity of
`said cutter means in a force-locking and form-lock-
`ing manner; and
`a single drive assembly for driving said claw means
`and said feed roller in synchronism, said drive as(cid:173)
`sembly comprising an endless belt drive extending
`between the rear end of said roller conveyor means
`and said feed roller and linked to said claw means
`and said feed roller, and drive means for driving
`said belt drive to drive said claw means in the feed
`direction and to simultaneously rotate said feed
`roller.
`• • • • •
`
`5,191,820
`
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`
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