Cold meat slicing machine

The invention relates to a cold meat slicing machine comprising a locking device exhibiting the following features: a slider member articulated at the carriage prevents swivel motion of the carriage at a thickness of cut setting other than zero; a bar is swivable into a first end position in which it permits swivel motion of the carriage; a claw connected to the bar locks the device for adjusting a stop plate at the zero thickness of cut setting; a supporting surface of the slider member locks the adjusting device in the zero position when the carriage is in the swivelled-out position; in the swivelled position of the carriage, rotation of the slider member, and, consequently, alteration of the zero position of the device for adjusting the stop plate are excluded.

The invention relates to a cold meat slicing machine comprising a machine 
housing, a rotating circular cutter blade rotatably mounted on the machine 
housing, a stop plate adjustable relative to the circular cutter blade for 
setting the thickness of cut, a device for adjusting the stop plate, a 
carriage, reciprocatable on the housing and swivable away from the 
housing, for depositing and advancing stock to be sliced, and a locking 
device which, on the one hand, prevents swivel motion of the carriage when 
the stop plate is set at a thickness of cut other than zero, and, on the 
other hand, excludes adjustment of the stop plate set at the zero 
thickness of cut when the carriage is swivelled. 
In a known machine of this kind (German Offenlegungsschrift No. 2 749 652), 
the reciprocatable carriage is only swivable in one single end position. A 
slicing machine of the type in question, wherein the carriage can be 
swivelled out, in every position along its path of displacement, and the 
device for adjusting the stop plate is simultaneously locked in the zero 
position, has been indicated, however, the locking device required was 
composed of numerous parts, some of which subject to spring force and 
mounted for rotation, which renders the appliance elaborate to 
manufacture, complicated and susceptible to failure. 
The object underlying the invention is to equip a cold meat slicing machine 
of the pertinent kind with a locking device for the carriage and the stop 
plate adjusting device, which is of simple design and is unsusceptible to 
failure. 
In order to achieve this object, in accordance with the invention, such a 
locking device exhibits the following features: 
a. a slider member is articulated at the carriage; 
b. at a thickness of cut setting other than zero, a stop face of the slider 
member engages a counter stop member fixedly attached to the carriage and 
prevents swivel motion of the carriage; 
c. a bar extending over the path of displacement of the carriage is 
swivable about an axis, arranged stationarily in the housing and extending 
parallel to this path of displacement, between two end positions, namely a 
first end position in which it is in disengagement with the slider member, 
and a second end position in which it releases the stop face of the slider 
member from the counter stop member and permits swivel motion of the 
carriage; 
d. connected to the adjusting device of the stop plate is a pin which, at 
the zero thickness of cut setting, transfers the bar from its first to its 
second end position; 
e. attached to the bar is a claw which, in the second end position of the 
bar, engages the device for adjusting the stop plate and locks the latter 
at the zero thickness of cut setting; 
f. disposed on the slider member is a supporting surface which, in the 
swivelled-out position of the carriage, supports the bar located in its 
second end position and holds the claw in locking engagement with the 
device for adjusting the stop plate.

The cold meat slicing machine 1 shown in the drawings comprises a machine 
housing 2 with a circular cutter blade 3 rotatably mounted thereon. The 
circular cutter blade 3 is made to rotate by a motor, not illustrated, 
which is enclosed by the housing 2. A stop plate 4 extending parallel to 
the cutting plane of the circular cutter blade 3 is vertically adjustable, 
in a manner known per se, relative to the circular cutter blade 3. The 
distance of the stop plate 4 from the circular cutter blade determines the 
slice thickness or the thickness of cut setting of the machine. The stock 
to be sliced is placed on a carriage 5 which is slidably displaceable 
parallel to the cutting plane of the circular cutter blade 3 
(perpendicularly to the drawing plane of FIG. 1). The stock to be sliced 
(not illustrated) is held against the stop plate 4 and advaced, 
horizontally on the carriage 5, towards the rotating circular cutter blade 
3. 
Extending rigidly in the machine housing 2, parallel to the direction of 
displacement of the carriage 5, is a guide axis 6 (FIGS. 2 and 3), with 
the carriage 5 slidably guided thereon by means of a carriage base 7. The 
carriage 5 is, furthermore, swivable at a carriage foot member 8 on an 
axis 9, secured in the carriage base 7, parallel to the guide axis 6, so 
that it can be swivelled away from the housing 2 in the direction of arrow 
L for cleaning purposes. 
A slider member 12 is articulated at the swivable carriage foot member 8 at 
an axis 11 extending parallel to the axis 9. The slider member 12 
comprises a slotted-link-type recess 13, best visible in FIG. 3, which is 
engaged by a square peg 14 fixedly attached to the carriage base 7 and 
acting as counter stop member. In the operating position shown in FIG. 3, 
the peg 14 engages a stop face 15 of the recess 13, thereby preventing 
motion of the slider member 12 in the direction of arrow R (FIG. 3) and, 
consequently, swivel motion of the carriage in the direction of arrow L. 
In this operating position, the carriage is, therefore, locked in regard 
to swivel motion away from the housing. 
An adjustment device actuated via a turning handle 16 (FIGS. 1 and 2) is 
provided for setting the stop plate 4 at a desired thickness of cut. When 
the handle 16 is turned, a disc 17 mounted for rotation within the housing 
2 and provided with a helical groove 18 (FIG. 3) is rotated. The stop 
plate 4 is rigidly connected to an axis 19 which is slidably displaceable 
in the X direction within the machine housing 2. Protruding from an arm 21 
rigidly connected to the axis 19 is a peg 22 which positively engages the 
helical groove 18. Turning of the disc 17 via the turning handle 16 causes 
the peg 22, and, consequently, the axis 19 and the stop plate 4 attached 
to it to be displaced in the direction of arrow X, whereby the distance 
between stop plate 4 and circular cutter blade 3, i.e., the thickness of 
cut, is adjustable. 
In FIG. 3, a thickness of cut S, differing from zero, is set. In FIGS. 4 
and 5, the thickness of cut is set at zero. At this thickness of cut 
setting, the stop plate 4 closely abuts the circular cutter blade 3 and 
covers it, thereby eliminating the occurrence of injury. 
Inside the machine housing 2, a bar 23 is mounted at both end faces, by 
means of swivel pins 24, for swivel motion in the housing 2. The swivel 
pins 24 define an axis of rotation stationarily disposed within the 
housing and extending parallel to the guide axis 6 of the carriage, and, 
consequently, parallel to its path of displacement. As is apparent from 
FIG. 2, the bar 23 extends practically over the entire path of 
displacement of the carriage foot member 8. As shown in FIG. 3, the bar 23 
is bent downwardly on its free longitudinal side and engages, in the 
operating position shown in FIG. 3, a stop pin 25 which holds it in a 
first end position. 
On its free side opposite the articulated axis 11, the slider member 12 is 
provided with a projection 26 protruding over the bar 23. Beneath the 
projection 26, the slider member 12 comprises a supporting surface 27. A 
recess of slotted configuration is disposed between projection 26 and 
supporting surface 27. The aforementioned slotted-link-type recess 13 in 
the slider member 12 is comprised of two rectangles and is so dimensioned 
as to enable, on the one hand, abutment of the square peg 14 with the stop 
face 15, but, on the other hand, slidable motion thereof in the lower area 
of the recess 13. 
A pin 28 protrudes so far from the disc 17 that upon certain swivel motion 
of the disc 17 (in the anti-clockwise direction in FIG. 3), it engages the 
underside of the bar 23 and swivels it about the swivel pins 24 into its 
second end position shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. 
Rigidly connected to the bar 23 is a downwardly extending claw 29. In the 
second end position of the bar 23, shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the 
aforementioned claw automatically engages a recess 20 in the disc 17 and 
prevents it from rotating. Since the position of the disc 17 as shown in 
FIGS. 4 and 5 corresponds to the zero thickness of cut setting, the disc 
17 is, therefore, automatically locked at this setting. Simultaneously, 
the bent edge of the bar 23 engages--see FIG. 4--the projection 26 on the 
slider member 12 and swivels it about the axis 11 until the stop face 15 
of the slider member 12 is released from the square peg 14 acting as 
counter stop member. In this operating position, the carriage can, 
therefore, be swivelled away from the housing 2 in the direction of arrow 
L (FIG. 5), and the slider member 12 is displaced on the peg 14 by means 
of the recess 13. 
When the slider member 12 is made to move in the direction of arrow R by 
the swivelling of the carriage 5 in the direction of arrow L, the free, 
bent edge of the bar 23 is displaced between projection 26 and supporting 
surface 27 (to the left in FIGS. 3 to 5), with the aforementioned edge 
bearing slidingly on the surface 27. This bearing of the bar 23 on the 
supporting surface 27 of the slider member 12 prevents the bar 23 from 
swivelling out of the position shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 back into the 
position illustrated in FIG. 3. Consequently, the claw 29 which is rigidly 
connected to the bar 23 cannot be moved out of the recess 20 in the disc 
17 constituting part of the device for adjusting the stop plate 4, so that 
this adjusting device is locked when the carriage 5 is in the 
swivelled-out position. The zero thickness of cut setting is, therefore, 
unadjustable. The cover plate 4 covers the blade of the circular cutter 3 
and prevents the occurrence of injury at this setting. 
When the carriage is swivelled back (in the opposite direction of arrow L), 
the free edge of the bar 23 is released from the supporting surface 27, as 
shown in FIG. 3, and the adjusting device (disc 17) is now free again to 
be set at a desired thickness of cut. 
In the second end position of the bar 23, shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the bar, 
as previously stated, bears on the supporting surface 27. This supporting 
surface provided on the slider member 12 is stationary in this operating 
phase because the slider member 12, as shown in FIG. 5, is prevented from 
downward rotational displacement by the square peg 14 engaging an upper 
edge 31 of the recess 13, and is only capable of displacement in the 
direction of arrow R. The claw 29, therefore, remains in the recess 20 of 
the disc 17, and the disc 17 is prevented from rotation in the direction 
of the arrow N. Consequently, the stop plate 4 remains in its position 
covering the circular cutter blade 3. 
Since the bar 23 extends over the entire path of displacement of the 
carriage 5, it bears, in each displacement position of the carriage, on 
the supporting surface 27. The device (disc 17) for adjusting the stop 
plate 4 is, therefore, always locked, even when the swivelled-out carriage 
5 is displaced on the guide axis 6. 
The arrangement described hereinabove may find employment in both cold meat 
slicing machines with vertically positioned and such with obliquely 
disposed circular cutter blades.