Patent ID: 6666006
Filing Date: 2003-12-23
Classification: B26D,B65B,Y10T

Abstract:
A slicing machine comprising:a main housing having a horizontal surface; means in the main housing for cutting slices from a foodstuff and depositing them on the surface; a supply housing immediately upstream of the main housing; supply means on the supply housing holding a supply roll of flexible strip for feeding the flexible strip downstream toward the main housing; cutting means on the supply housing for severing a sheet from a leading end of the flexible strip; a pair of gripper jaws above the surface jointly displaceable parallel to the surface between an upstream position generally at the cutting means and a downstream position downstream of the slices on the surface, the gripper jaws being closable to grip the leading end of the flexible strip and openable to release it; and control means connected to the gripper jaws, to the cutting means, and to the supply means for periodically displacing the gripper jaws between it's the upstream and downstream positions so as to pull the strip downstream above the surface, for operating the cutting means to sever a sheet from the downstream strip end generally when the gripper jaws reach the downstream position, and for opening the gripper jaws in the downstream position to drop the sheet severed from the strip down onto the surface.