Patent ID: 11890768
Assignee: THURNE-MIDDLEBY LTD
Field: Machine tools (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B | IPC B

Claim 14:
15. A food processing machine comprising:
a cutter disposed in conjunction with a feeder, the cutter configured to interact with a food product disposed upon the feeder and to selectively cut through a leading end of the food product;
an end gripper movably mounted with respect to the feeder, the end gripper movable between a stowed position and a raised position for gripping a trailing end of a food product disposed upon the feeder; and
a gripper drive assembly operatively connected with the end gripper, wherein movement of the gripper drive assembly causes end gripper motion between the stowed and raised positions,
wherein the gripper drive assembly is arranged to move the end gripper from the stowed position, which is below the food product flow path, to the raised position, which is in the food product flow path, and wherein the gripper drive assembly urges the end gripper to the raised position after the food product has passed over the end gripper such that the end gripper when reaching the raised position engages a trailing end portion of the food product.