Abstract:
Methods and machines for cutting solid and semisolid materials, including food products. The machine has a dicing unit that includes a feed drum, circular cutter, and cross-cutter each individually rotatably mounted to a support structure by cantilevered shafts. The machine further includes a knife for producing slices of a solid or semisolid material, circular knives on the circular cutter to cut the slices into strips, and cross-cut knives on the cross-cutter to dice the strips. The machine also includes a stripper plate for removing the strips from the circular cutter, and an outboard support assembly for supporting and radially centering outboard ends of the shafts of the feed drum, circular cutter, and cross-cutter and for supporting and securing the stripper plate relative thereto.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/826,585, filed May 23, 2013, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention generally relates to methods and machines for cutting solid and semisolid materials, including food products. 
         [0003]    The Affinity® dicer is a machine manufactured by Urschel Laboratories 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. 
         [0004]    A nonlimiting representation of an Affinity® dicer is shown in  FIG. 1 . Product is delivered to 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 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. Specifically, slices pass between a rotating feed drum  16  and feed roll  18 , then enter a rotating circular cutter  20  whose axis of rotation is approximately parallel to the rotational axes of the rotating feed drum  16  and feed roll  18 . The circular cutter  20  is equipped with circular knives oriented approximately perpendicular to the rotational axis of the circular cutter  20  and, therefore, such that the circular knives cut each slice into strips. The strips pass directly into a rotating cross-cutter  22  whose axis of rotation is approximately parallel to the rotational axis of the circular cutter  20 . The cross-cutter  22  is equipped with crosscut knives that are oriented approximately parallel to the rotational axes of the cross-cutter  22 , and therefore perpendicular to the circular knives 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. 
         [0005]      FIG. 2  schematically represents a longitudinal cross-section of the cross-cutter  22  (not to scale) showing a hollow spindle  24  adapted to be coaxially mounted on a second spindle or shaft ( 38  in  FIG. 3 ). The hollow spindle  24  defines a circumferential wall  26  in which slots  28  are formed for receiving cross-cut knives  30  of the cross-cutter  22 . 
         [0006]      FIG. 3  is an exploded view showing individual components of the dicing unit of  FIG. 1 , including the feed drum  16 , feed roll  18 , circular cutter  20 , and cross-cutter  22  and components associated therewith. As represented in  FIG. 3 , 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. 3 , 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 .  FIG. 3  further represents a stripper or shear plate  32  supported and secured with bolts  36  to a support bar  34 . The shear 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  are defined in a surface of the shear plate  32  to accommodate the circular knives of the circular cutter  20 . The slots  46  extend to the shear edge  47 , such that individual edges of the shear edge  47  between adjacent slots  46  are able to remove strips from between adjacent circular knives. A lower shear edge  48  of the shear plate  32  is in close proximity to the knives  30  of the cross-cutter  22  to ensure complete dicing of the strips delivered from the circular cutter  20  to the cross-cutter  22 . The feed drum  16 , feed roll  18 , circular cutter  20 , cross-cutter  22 , shear plate  32 , and support bar  34  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. 
         [0007]    From the above, it should be apparent that the feed drum  16 , feed roll  18 , circular cutter  20 , cross-cutter  22 , stripper plate  32 , and support bar  34  must be securely and precisely positioned relative to each other, for example, to ensure that the circular cutter  20 , cross-cutter  22  and stripper plate  32  do not move relative to each other to the extent that the circular knives of the circular cutter  20 , the cross-cut knives  30  of the cross-cutter  22 , and the stripper plate  32  would interfere with each other. As discussed in reference to  FIG. 3 , the feed drum  16 , feed roll  18 , circular cutter  20 , cross-cutter  22 , stripper plate  32 , and support bar  34  are all cantilevered from a side of a support structure  50 . The cantilevered design shown in  FIGS. 1 and 3  promotes sanitation by making the components of the dicing unit readily accessible for cleaning. While completely adequate for many food processing applications, including cheeses for which the Affinity® is widely used, greater rigidity may be desirable when processing significantly harder food products, for example, frozen products. 
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    The present invention provides dicing machines and methods that promote the capability of producing diced solid and semisolid materials, particularly in the event that a relatively hard food product is being diced. 
         [0009]    According to one aspect of the invention, a machine for cutting food products includes a stationary case surrounding a rotating impeller, a support structure interconnected with the stationary case, and a feed drum, a circular cutter, and a cross-cutter that are each individually rotatably mounted to the support structure by cantilevered shafts. The shafts of the feed drum, the circular cutter, and the cross-cutter each have an outboard end. The machine further includes a knife for producing slices by slicing a solid or semisolid material exiting through the stationary case under the influence of the impeller, circular knives on the circular cutter that are adapted and arranged to cut into strips the slices produced by the knife, and cross-cut knives on the cross-cutter that are adapted and arranged to dice the strips produced by the circular knives. The machine also includes a stripper plate having a first edge between the circular cutter and the cross-cutter for removing the strips from the circular cutter, and outboard support means for supporting and radially centering the outboard ends of the shafts of at least the feed drum, the circular cutter, and the cross-cutter and for supporting and securing the stripper plate relative thereto. 
         [0010]    According to another aspect of the invention, a machine for cutting food products includes a stationary case surrounding a rotating impeller, a support structure interconnected with the stationary case, and a feed drum, a circular cutter, and a cross-cutter that are each individually rotatably mounted to the support structure by cantilevered shafts. The shafts of the feed drum, the circular cutter, and the cross-cutter each have an outboard end. The machine further includes a knife for producing slices by slicing a solid or semisolid material exiting through the stationary case under the influence of the impeller, circular knives on the circular cutter that are adapted and arranged to cut into strips the slices produced by the knife, and cross-cut knives on the cross-cutter that are adapted and arranged to dice the strips produced by the circular knives. The machine also includes a stripper plate having a first edge between the circular cutter and the cross-cutter for removing the strips from the circular cutter, and slots that extend to the first edge of the stripper plate wherein individual edges of the first edge between adjacent pairs of the slots remove the strips from between adjacent pairs of the circular knives. The stripper plate also has a second edge adapted to ensure complete dicing of the strips by the cross-cut knives of the cross-cutter, and means is provided for adjusting the placement and proximity of the second edge relative to the cross-cut knives. The machine also includes outboard support means for supporting and radially centering the outboard ends of the shafts of at least the feed drum, the circular cutter, and the cross-cutter and for supporting and securing the stripper plate relative thereto. 
         [0011]    Other aspects of the invention include methods of using a machine comprising elements such as those described above. A particular but nonlimiting example is a method that entails installing the outboard support means on, and then subsequently removing the outboard support means from, a dicing machine as a complete unit and independently of the feed drum, the circular cutter, and the cross-cutter. 
         [0012]    A technical effect of the invention is the ability to increase the rigidity of the circular cutter, cross-cutter and stripper plate to permit greater precision with respect to the placement and proximity of the second edge of the stripper plate relative to the cross-cut knives of the cross-cutter, which is desirable when processing relatively hard solid materials, for example, frozen food products. 
         [0013]    Other aspects and advantages of this invention will be better appreciated from the following detailed description. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]      FIG. 1  schematically represents an example of an Affinity® dicer machine. 
           [0015]      FIG. 2  represents a fragmentary longitudinal cross-sectional view of a cross-cutter of the Affinity® dicer machine of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0016]      FIG. 3  represents a fragmentary exploded view of a dicing unit of the Affinity® dicer machine of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0017]      FIG. 4  represents a fragmentary perspective view of a dicing unit installed on a dicing machine, for example, the Affinity® dicer machine of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0018]      FIG. 5  is a fragmentary top view of the dicing unit of  FIG. 4 , and shows a feed drum, circular cutter, and adjacent components in longitudinal cross-section. 
           [0019]      FIG. 6  is a more detailed top view of outboard regions of the feed drum and circular cutter in  FIG. 5 . 
           [0020]      FIG. 7  is a further detailed top view of the outboard region of the feed drum of  FIGS. 5 and 6 . 
           [0021]      FIG. 8  contains a fragmentary perspective view of a stripper assembly of the dicing unit of  FIG. 4 , and further contains an inset view of an adjustable feature of the stripper assembly. 
           [0022]      FIG. 9  is an end view of the dicing unit of  FIG. 4 , showing outboard ends of the feed drum, circular cutter, and stripper assembly as well as an outboard end of a cross-cutter of the dicing unit. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0023]      FIG. 4 through 9  depict a dicing unit installed on a dicing machine, for example, the Affinity® dicer represented in  FIG. 1 . The dicing unit is adapted to produce cross-cuts in a sliced product to achieve a dicing effect and produce a diced product, though 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. 
         [0024]    As represented in  FIG. 4 , the dicing unit comprises components similar to that of the Affinity® dicer of  FIGS. 1 through 3 . Furthermore, in the nonlimiting embodiment represented in  FIGS. 4 through 9 , the dicing unit is configured to be adapted for use with the Affinity® dicer of  FIGS. 1 through 3 , possibly as a retrofit for the Affinity® dicer, in that the dicing unit primarily comprises components that can be additional to or substituted for components shown in  FIG. 1 through 3 . However, it should be appreciated that the dicing unit could also be provided as original equipment on a dicing machine. Because of the similarities between the dicing unit of  FIGS. 4 through 9  and the dicing unit of  FIGS. 1 through 3 , the following discussion of  FIGS. 4 through 9  will focus primarily on aspects of the dicing unit of  FIGS. 4 through 9  that differ from the dicing unit of  FIGS. 1 through 3  in some notable or significant manner. Other aspects of the dicing unit of  FIGS. 4 through 9  not discussed in any detail can be, in terms of structure, function, materials, etc., essentially as was described for the dicing unit of  FIGS. 1 through 3 . Furthermore, consistent reference numbers are used throughout the figures to identify the same or functionally equivalent elements. 
         [0025]    The dicing unit is depicted in  FIG. 4  from a perspective view similar to that of  FIG. 1 . In the nonlimiting embodiment of  FIG. 4 , solid and semisolid materials, for example, food products, are delivered to an impeller (not shown, but corresponding to the impeller  10  of  FIG. 1 ) through a hopper  51  mounted to the stationary case  12  surrounding and containing the impeller. According to one aspect of the invention, the dicing unit of  FIGS. 4 through 9  differs from that shown in  FIGS. 1 and 3  by including an outboard support means adapted to support the outboard ends of the otherwise cantilevered feed drum  16 , circular cutter  20 , cross-cutter  22 , stripper plate  32 , and support bar  34  attached to and projecting from one side of the support structure  50 . The nonlimiting embodiment of the outboard support means represented in  FIGS. 4 through 9  comprises an outboard bearing assembly  52  that includes a plate  54  secured at one end to the stationary case  12 , and at an opposite end to the support bar  34 , with the feed drum  16 , circular cutter  20 , cross-cutter  22 , and stripper plate  32  located and rigidly supported therebetween. The plate  54  can be secured to the case  12  and support bar  34  with bolts  55 . While the plate  54  is represented as formed as a single unitary piece, it is foreseeable that the plate  54  could be an assembly of separate pieces. In some instances the case  12  and/or support bar  34  may require a modification to enable the plate  54  to be attached thereto, particularly if the outboard bearing assembly  52  is installed as a retrofit on an existing machine. Other locations and various means for securing the plate  54  to the machine are also within the scope of the invention. The outboard bearing assembly  52  is preferably configured as a removable unit to allow the machine and its dicing unit to be operated with or without the assembly  52 . In this manner, the machine can be operated without the assembly  52  when used to process products that do not require the additional rigidity provided by the assembly  52 , for example, semisolid food products such as cheese and certain solid food products such as meat. In addition, the assembly  52  represented in  FIGS. 4 through 9  can preferably be removed as a complete unit so that the dicing unit and its components are readily accessible for cleaning. 
         [0026]    The outboard bearing assembly  52  comprises means in the form of support subassemblies or units  56 ,  58  and  60  for centering and rotatably supporting the outboard ends of at least the feed drum  16 , circular cutter  20 , and cross-cutter  22 . Particular but nonlimiting embodiments for the support units  56  and  58  for the feed drum  16  and circular cutter  20  are shown in more detail in  FIGS. 5 ,  6  and  7 . For use with a dicing unit of the type represented in  FIG. 3 , the support unit  60  for the cross-cutter  22  may be similar to what is represented for the support unit  56 , and therefore is not shown in further detail. In  FIGS. 5 ,  6  and  7 , the support unit  56  for the outboard end of the feed drum  16  comprises a tapered cup  62  having internal (female) sloping walls that are complementary to external (male) sloping walls defined at an outboard end of the spindle shaft  38  of the feed drum  16 . In the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the external sloping walls can be seen as defined by a fitting  64  secured to the end of the spindle shaft  38 , though it is foreseeable that the end of the spindle shaft  38  could be formed to have similar external sloping walls. The complementary tapers of the cup  62  and fitting  64  ensure centering of the spindle shaft  38  and accommodate radial tolerances. The cup  62  is supported by a bearing  66  that is secured to the plate  54 , for example, in a pocket  65  within the plate  54  and defined by and between the cup  62  and a retainer plate  67 , as most readily apparent from  FIG. 7 . The pocket  65  is sized to allow axial movement of the bearing  66 , and a spring  68  within the pocket  65  axially biases the bearing  66  and cup  62  into engagement with the fitting  64  of the feed drum  16  to ensure axial tolerances are also accommodated. 
         [0027]      FIGS. 5 and 6  depict a similar arrangement for the support unit  58  of the circular cutter  20 . The support unit  58  is represented as comprising a tapered cup  70  having internal (female) sloping walls that are complementary to external (male) sloping walls defined at the outboard end  72  of the spindle shaft  44  of the circular cutter  20 . Alternatively, it is foreseeable that a fitting similar to those of the spindle shafts  38  could be secured to the end of the spindle shaft  44  to define the external sloping walls. The complementary tapers of the cup  70  and outboard end  72  ensure centering of the spindle shaft  44  and accommodate radial tolerances. The cup  70  is supported by a bearing  74  that is secured to the plate  54  in a manner similar to the support unit  56  of the feed drum  16 , for example, in a pocket within the plate  54  and defined by and between the cup  70  and a retainer plate  75  to allow axial movement of the bearing  74 . A spring  76  axially biases the bearing  74  and cup  70  into engagement with the outboard end  72  of the spindle shaft  44  to ensure axial tolerances are also accommodated. 
         [0028]    As previously noted, the outboard end of the support bar  34  is secured to the plate  54  of the outboard bearing assembly  52 , with the result that the rigidity of the support bar  34  and the stripper plate  32  are also increased relative to the machine represented in  FIGS. 1 through 3 . This aspect of the invention is important in view of the function of the shear plate  32 , which requires accurate positioning relative to the circular cutter  20  and cross-cutter  22  in order to strip products (strips) from the circular cutter  20  and its circular knives  31  prior to the strips being diced by the cross-cut knives  30  of the cross-cutter  22 . As evident from  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the slots  46  in the shear plate  32  individually accommodate the circular knives  31  of the circular cutter  20 , so that individual edges of the upper shear edge  47  between adjacent slots  46  remove strips from between adjacent circular knives  31 . Furthermore, as evident from  FIG. 9 , the lower shear edge  48  of the shear plate  32  is in close proximity to the knives  30  of the cross-cutter  22  to ensure complete dicing of the strips received from the circular cutter  20 . The increased rigidity of the support bar  34  and stripper plate  32  permits greater precision with respect to the placement and proximity of the shear plate slots  46  and the individual edges of the upper shear edge  47  relative to the circular cutter knives  31  of the circular cutter  20  ( FIGS. 5 and 6 ) and the placement and proximity of the lower shear edge  48  relative to the cross-cut knives  30  of the cross-cutter  22  ( FIG. 9 ). 
         [0029]    To enable adjustment of the distance between the shear edge  48  and cross-cut knives  30 ,  FIG. 8  represents a slot  78  (or other suitable form of recess) defined between the stripper plate  32  and support bar  34 , and a shim  80  received in the slot  78  and having a cross-section complementary to the slot  78 . The shim  80  may be one of any number of shims that are thicker than the depth of the slot  78  to cause the stripper plate  32  to tilt relative to the support bar  34 . As evident from  FIG. 9  (which shows the plate  54  in phantom), increasingly thicker shims  80  result in increased tilting of the stripper plate  32 , causing the shear edge  48  of the stripper plate  32  to move toward the cross-cutter  22 , thus reducing the distance between the shear edge  48  and the knives  30  of the cross-cutter  22 . In the embodiment of  FIG. 9 , shimming the stripper plate  32  about 0.001 inch (about 25 micrometers) can result in a movement of about 0.002 inch (about 50 micrometers) at the shear edge  48  of the stripper plate  32 . Without the additional rigidity of the dicing unit contributed by the plate  54 , the closer proximity of the shear edge  48  to the knives  30  could possibly result in interference therebetween, particularly if hard solid materials (e.g., frozen food products) are being diced. 
         [0030]    From the above, it should be apparent that the feed drum  16 , feed roll  18 , circular cutter  20 , cross-cutter  22 , stripper plate  32 , and support bar  34  are securely and precisely positioned relative to each other with the outboard bearing assembly  52 , which is intended to ensure that the circular cutter  20 , cross-cutter  22  and stripper plate  32  do not move toward or away from each other during a dicing operation. The manner in which the spindle shafts  38  and  44  of the feed drum  16 , circular cutter  20  and cross-cutter  22  are supported by the support units  56 ,  58  and  60  of the assembly  52  preferably does not alter the capability of independently controlling the rotational speed of the cross-cutter  22  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. 
         [0031]    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 configuration of the dicing unit and its components could differ from that shown, and various materials and processes could be used to manufacture the dicing unit and its components. Therefore, the scope of the invention is to be limited only by the following claims.