Abstract:
Machines and methods capable of producing diced products from a variety of materials. A stripper plate for such machines and methods has one or more slots sized to accommodate one or more circular knives of a circular cutter. The stripper plate has a base and an oppositely-disposed second surface. The slots are defined in the second surface and extend from the second surface to the base so as to define individual openings in the base. The slots are defined by multi-tiered walls so that the slots are wider at the openings thereof than in another portion of the slots.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention generally relates to methods and machines for cutting solid and semisolid materials, including food products. 
         [0002]    The Affinity® dicer is a machine manufactured by Urschel Laboratories, Inc., and is particularly well suited for dicing various materials, notable but nonlimiting examples of which include cheeses and meats. The Affinity® dicer is well known as capable of high capacity output and precision cuts. In addition, the Affinity® dicer has a sanitary design to deter bacterial growth. 
         [0003]    A nonlimiting representation of an Affinity® dicer is shown in  FIG. 1 . Product is delivered to the dicer, for example, through a feed hopper (not shown), and enters a rotating impeller  10 , where centrifugal forces hold the product against an inner wall of a stationary case  12  equipped with a slicing knife  14 . The slicing knife  14  is disposed in an opening in the case  12  and typically oriented approximately parallel to the generally horizontal rotational axis of the impeller  10 . Paddles of the impeller  10  carry the product to the slicing knife  14 , producing slices that enter a dicing unit of the machine. As used herein, the dicing unit comprises a part of the machine downstream of the knife  14  and generally includes a feed drum  16 , feed roll  18 , circular cutter  20 , and cross-cutter  22 , each of which individually rotates about its respective axis of rotation.  FIG. 2  represents an exploded view of the dicing unit of  FIG. 1 , and  FIG. 3  represents a side view of the feed drum  16 , feed roll  18 , circular cutter  20 , and cross-cutter  22 , essentially in a direction parallel to their axes of rotation. Within the dicing unit, slices pass between the rotating feed drum  16  and feed roll  18 , then enter the rotating circular cutter  20  whose axis of rotation is approximately parallel to the rotational axes of the impeller  10 , rotating feed drum  16 , and feed roll  18 . The circular cutter  20  is equipped with disk-shaped knives ( 30  in  FIGS. 2 and 3 ), each oriented approximately perpendicular to the rotational axis of the circular cutter  20  and, therefore, such that the knives  30  cut each slice into multiple parallel strips. The strips pass directly into the rotating cross-cutter  22  whose axis of rotation is also approximately parallel to the rotational axis of the circular cutter  20 . The cross-cutter  22  is equipped with rectilinear knives ( 31  in  FIG. 2 ), each oriented approximately parallel to the rotational axes of the cross-cutter  22 , and therefore transverse and preferably perpendicular to the knives  30  of the circular cutter  20 , to produce final cross-cuts that yield a diced product. The rotational speed of the cross-cutter  22  is preferably independently controllable relative to the feed drum  16 , feed roll  18 , and circular cutter  20  so that the size of the diced product can be selected and controlled. As evident from  FIG. 1 , the rotational axes of the impeller  10 , feed drum  16 , feed roll  18 , circular cutter  20 , and cross-cutter  22  are all approximately horizontal and parallel to each other. 
         [0004]    As represented in  FIG. 2 , each of the feed drum  16 , feed roll  18 , circular cutter  20 , and cross-cutter  22  is configured to be individually coaxially mounted on a separate shaft or spindle. In the nonlimiting representation of  FIG. 2 , the feed drum  16  and cross-cutter  22  are shown as being individually mounted on separate spindle shafts  38  and secured thereto with a retaining washer  40  and nut  42 , and the feed roll  18  and circular cutter  20  are shown as being individually mounted on separate spindle shafts  44  and secured thereto with bolts  45 . The feed drum  16 , feed roll  18 , circular cutter  20 , and cross-cutter  22  are all shown as being cantilevered from a support structure  50  of the machine, for example, an enclosure, frame and/or other structures interconnected with the stationary case  12  and including drive systems operable to rotate the impeller  10 , feed drum  16 , feed roll  18 , circular cutter  20 , and cross-cutter  22  at the desired rotational speeds thereof. 
         [0005]      FIGS. 2 and 3  further represent a shear or stripper plate  32  supported and secured with bolts  36  to a support bar  34 , which is represented in  FIG. 2  as being cantilevered from the support structure  50 , similar to the feed drum  16 , feed roll  18 , circular cutter  20 , and cross-cutter  22 .  FIGS. 4 and 5  represent isolated perspective and cross-sectional views, respectively, of the stripper plate  32 . The stripper plate  32  has an upper shear edge  47  adapted to strip products (strips) from the circular cutter  20  prior to being diced with the cross-cutter  22 . Slots  46  ( FIGS. 2, 4 and 5 ) are defined in the stripper plate  32  facing the circular cutter  20 , and the knives  30  of the circular cutter  20  are partially received in the slots  46 , as represented in  FIG. 3 . As evident from  FIGS. 3, 4, and 5 , the slots  46  extend to the shear edge  47 , such that individual edges of the shear edge  47  between adjacent slots  46  protrude between adjacent knives  30  of the circular cutter  20  to remove strips from therebetween. A lower shear edge  48  of the stripper plate  32  is in close proximity to the knives  31  of the cross-cutter  22  to ensure complete dicing of the strips delivered from the circular cutter  20  to the cross-cutter  22 . The slots  46  also extend through the thickness of the plate  32  to the base of the plate  32 , such that an opening  52  is defined at the lower extent of each slot  46 , as depicted in  FIGS. 4 and 5 . The width of the slots  46  is sufficient to accommodate the axial thickness of the knife  30  received therein and provide a clearance therebetween. The slots  46  also define parallel walls  54  (of which one is visible in  FIG. 5 ) that separate adjacent knives  30  from each other in the vicinity of the opening  52  at the base of the plate  32 . Each wall  54  defines one of the individual edges of the shear edge  47 . 
         [0006]    While completely well suited for many food processing applications, including cheeses for which the Affinity® is widely used, there is an ongoing desire for greater productivity in machines of this type. 
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    The present invention provides machines and methods capable of producing diced products from a variety of materials. 
         [0008]    According to one aspect of the invention, a stripper plate is provided that has one or more slots sized to accommodate one or more circular knives of a circular cutter. The stripper plate has a base and an oppositely-disposed second surface. The slots are defined in the second surface and extend from the second surface to the base so as to define individual openings in the base. The slots are defined by multi-tiered walls so that the slots are wider at the openings thereof than in another portion of the slots. 
         [0009]    According to another aspect of the invention, a dicing machine is provided that includes a knife adapted to slice food product to produce slices, a circular cutter comprising knives that are adapted and arranged to receive the slices from the knife and cut the slices into strips, a cross-cutter comprising knives that are adapted and arranged to receive the strips from the circular cutter and produce a cross-cut in the strips, and a stripper plate that is at least partially between the circular cutter and the cross-cutter. The stripper plate defines a first shear edge in proximity to the knives of the cross-cutter and adapted to ensure dicing of the strips received by the cross-cutter from the circular cutter. The stripper plate further defines a second shear edge in proximity to the knives of the circular cutter and adapted to remove slices from between the knives of the circular cutter. The stripper plate also has a base at which the first shear edge is defined, an oppositely-disposed second surface at which the second shear edge is defined, and slots that receive the knives of the circular cutter. The slots extend from the second surface to the base so as to define individual openings in the base, and the slots are defined by multi-tiered walls so that the slots are wider at the openings thereof than at least one region within the slots. 
         [0010]    Other aspects of the invention include methods of using machines and stripper plates of the types described above. As an example, a method of using a machine as described above may entail rotating the circular cutter to cut a food product into slices, and rotating the cross-cutter to dice the slices. Fragments of the food product are more likely to fall out of the slots through the openings in the base of the stripper plate, and therefore are less likely to accumulate within the slots or within the openings. 
         [0011]    A technical effect of the invention is the ability to reduce buildup of product fragments and fines between the circular cutter, cross-cutter, and stripper plate of a dicing unit, thereby increasing the intervals at which the machine would otherwise need to be shut down to permit cleaning of the dicing unit. 
         [0012]    Other aspects and advantages of this invention will be better appreciated from the following detailed description. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0013]      FIG. 1  schematically represents an example of an Affinity® dicer machine. 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  represents a fragmentary exploded view of a dicing unit of the Affinity® dicer machine of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  is an end view of a dicing unit of the type represented in  FIGS. 1  and  2 . 
           [0016]      FIGS. 4 and 5  represent perspective and cross-sectional views, respectively, of a stripper plate represented in  FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 . 
           [0017]      FIGS. 6 and 7  represent perspective and cross-sectional views, respectively, of a stripper plate suitable for use in dicing units of the type represented in  FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 , in accordance with a nonlimiting embodiment of the invention. 
           [0018]      FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional view taken along section line  8 - 8  in  FIG. 7 . 
           [0019]      FIG. 9  schematically represents a cross-sectional view showing a disk-shaped cutting knife superimposed on the stripper plate of  FIGS. 6 and 7 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0020]      FIGS. 6 through 9  depict various views of a stripper plate  132  configured as a component of a dicing unit adapted to be installed on a dicing machine, as a nonlimiting example, the Affinity® dicer and dicing unit represented in  FIGS. 1 through 3 . The dicing unit is adapted to cut a sliced product in a direction transverse to the cut that produced the sliced product (a “cross-cut”) to achieve a dicing effect and produce a diced product. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the dicing unit and its benefits are not limited to such uses, nor limited to the Affinity® dicer. 
         [0021]    Similar to the stripper plate  32  of  FIGS. 2 through 5 , the stripper plate  132  represented in  FIGS. 6 through 9  is configured for mounting to a support bar (such as the support bar  34  of  FIGS. 2 and 3 ), and to interact with a circular cutter (such as the cutter  20  of  FIGS. 2 and 3 ). The term “stripper plate” will be used in reference to the stripper plate  132  represented in  FIGS. 6 through 9 , though it should be understood that this term encompasses other means capable of the function of the stripper plate  132 , for example, means capable of stripping products (strips) from a cutting device. Furthermore, in the nonlimiting embodiment represented in  FIGS. 6 through 9 , the stripper plate  132  is configured to permit its use as part of a retrofit unit for the Affinity® dicer of  FIGS. 1 through 3 , in that the stripper plate  132  can be substituted for the stripper plate  32  shown in  FIGS. 2 through 5 . However, it should be appreciated that the stripper plate  132  can also be provided as original equipment on a dicing machine. Because of the similarities between the stripper plate  132  of  FIGS. 6 through 9  and the stripper plate  32  of  FIGS. 2 through 5 , the following discussion of  FIGS. 6 through 9  will focus primarily on aspects of the stripper plate  132  of  FIGS. 6 through 9  that differ from the stripper plate  32  of  FIGS. 2 through 5  in some notable or significant manner. Other aspects of the stripper plate  132  of  FIGS. 6 through 9  not discussed in any detail can be, in terms of structure, function, materials, etc., essentially as was described for the stripper plate  32  of  FIGS. 2 through 5 . 
         [0022]      FIGS. 6 and 7  represent isolated perspective and cross-sectional views, respectively, of the stripper plate  132 , and  FIG. 9  schematically represents a cross-sectional view similar to  FIG. 7  but showing a disk-shaped cutting knife  130  of a circular cutter (e.g.,  20  in  FIGS. 2 and 3 ) superimposed on the stripper plate  132 . The stripper plate  132  has an upper shear edge  147  adapted to strip products (strips) from the circular cutter prior to being diced with a cross-cutter (e.g.,  22  in  FIGS. 2 and 3 ). Slots  146  are defined in an upper surface  133  of the stripper plate  132  facing the circular cutter, and  FIG. 9  schematically represents the knife  130  of the circular cutter as partially received in one of the slots  146 . As evident from  FIGS. 6, 7 and 9 , the slots  146  extend to the shear edge  147 , such that individual edges of the shear edge  147  between adjacent slots  146  protrude between adjacent knives  130  of the circular cutter to remove strips from therebetween. A lower shear edge  148  of the stripper plate  132  is adapted to be located in close proximity to the knives of the cross-cutter to ensure complete dicing of strips delivered from the circular cutter to the cross-cutter. The slots  146  are continuous through the thickness of the plate  132 , such that an opening  152  is defined at the lower extent of each slot  146 , as depicted in  FIGS. 6, 7 and 9 , and the lower edge of each knife  130  of the circular cutter is in proximity to one of these openings  152  at the base  135  of the stripper plate  132  as evident from  FIG. 9 . 
         [0023]    Each slot  146  is defined by a pair of walls  154  that face each other. One such wall  154  is visible in  FIGS. 7 and 9 , whereas  FIG. 8  shows a pair of walls  154  separated by a slot  146 . As used herein, the width of a slot  146  refers to the distance between the walls  154  that form the slot  146 . When assembled with a circular cutter (for example, as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 ), each knife  130  is received in one of the slots  146  and each adjacent pair of knives  130  is separated by a wall  154 . Each wall  154  also defines one of the individual edges of the shear edge  147 . 
         [0024]    The walls  154  seen in  FIGS. 6 through 9  are not entirely planar, in contrast to the walls  54  of the stripper plate  32  represented in  FIGS. 4 and 5 . Instead, the walls  154  are represented as having multi-tiered surfaces, represented in the nonlimiting embodiment of  FIGS. 6 through 9  as two-tiered surfaces. A first of the tiers  156  is planar and lies within a portion of each wall  154  between the shear edges  147  and  148 . The remainder of the surface of each wall  154  is shown defined by a second tier  158 , which is also planar and lies within a portion of the wall  154  that includes an edge that the wall  154  defines with the upper surface  133  of the stripper plate  132 . In addition, the second tier  158  borders the entirety of the opening  152  at the base  135  of the plate  132 . As shown in  FIG. 8 , the second tiers  158  are recessed into their respective walls  154  relative to the first tiers  156 . In this manner, the width of a slot  146  defined by a pair of facing walls  154  is greater within the region of the slot  146  defined by the second tiers  158 , as evident from  FIG. 8 . The width of the slot  146  at the edge between the shear edges  147  and  148  is sufficient to accommodate the axial thickness of the knife  130  and provide an acceptable clearance therebetween. Because the second tiers  158  of the walls  154  extend to the opening  152  of their corresponding slot  146 , the slots  146  are wider at their openings  152  than between the shear edges  147  and  148 . Though  FIG. 8  shows both walls  154  as being tiered, it is within the scope of the invention that only one wall  154  of each slot  146  is tiered while still yielding a slot  146  that is wider at its opening  152  than at its shear edge  147 . Though not required, the slot  146  shown in  FIG. 8  has uniform and constant widths in its regions defined by the tiers  156  and  158 . In  FIGS. 7 and 9 , such a condition would result in a slot  146  having a uniform and constant width in the shaded region between the upper surface  133  and base  135  of the plate  132 , and a uniform and constant but narrower width in the unshaded region of  FIGS. 7 and 9  between the shear edges  147  and  148 . It is also foreseeable that the walls  154  (including either or both tiers  156  and  158  of each wall  154 ) could be tapered in either or both regions depicted in  FIGS. 7 and 9  so that the width of the slot  146  becomes gradually wider or narrower in the direction toward the base  135  of the plate  132 . 
         [0025]    An advantage of the configuration of the stripper plate  132  represented in  FIGS. 6 through 9  arises when slicing and dicing solid or semisolid products, and whose fines or fragments tend to adhere or otherwise collect within the individual openings  52  at the base of the stripper plate  32  of  FIGS. 2 through 5 . As a nonlimiting example, when dicing cheese, the walls that define the slots  46  of the stripper plate  32  tend to collect cheese fines. Rubbing contact between the collected cheese fines and the knives  30  of the circular cutter  20  as the cutter  20  rotates can cause the cheese fines to burn, which eventually necessitates stoppage and cleaning of the dicing machine. By fabricating the stripper plate  132  to have slots  146  defined by multi-tiered walls  154 , the openings  152  are capable of being significantly wider than the openings  52  of the stripper plate  32  of  FIGS. 2 through 5 , promoting the ability of the cheese fines to fall through the openings  152  instead of collecting within the slots  146  and their openings  152 . 
         [0026]    While the invention has been described in terms of a specific embodiment, it is apparent that other forms could be adopted by one skilled in the art. For example, the physical configurations of the dicing machine, dicing unit, stripper plate  132 , etc., could differ from those shown, and various materials and processes could be used in their manufacture. Therefore, the scope of the invention is to be limited only by the following claims.