Patent ID: 6549823
Filing Date: 2003-04-15
Classification: A01J,B26D,Y10T

Abstract:
Apparatus for cutting cheese blocks into portions, the apparatus comprising:conveyors adapted to receive an incoming cheese block and move the cheese block in a conveying direction along a processing path for cutting; a longitudinal cutting system arranged to make one or more longitudinal cuts dividing the width and/or depth of the cheese block on the processing path as it moves in the conveying direction, so as to create sets of side-by-side longitudinal sticks; a transverse cutter arranged to make plural transverse cuts dividing the length of each stick set at controlled spacings to create sets of portions as the stick sets move in the conveying direction, the conveyors including a stick set conveyor operable to convey successive sets from the longitudinal cutting system and present them as stick sets to the transverse cutter; and the transverse cutter being operable to make the transverse cuts for a given stick set successively to create successive sets of portions.