Abstract:
A loaf feed apparatus for a food article slicing machine. The apparatus has at least a first conveyor driven by a hollow shaft and a second conveyor driven by a second shaft. The second shaft independently operates within said hollow shaft. The hollow shaft and the second shaft are driven by independent drive sources. The apparatus also includes at least one lower conveyor driven by a drive roller having a outer diameter and a recessed diameter where the drive belt is connected around the recessed diameter and the conveyor belt is connected around the outer diameter. The drive belt operates within an area defined by the first conveyor belt. The apparatus also has a loaf gate for separating a slicing station from the loaf feed apparatus.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No. 60/999,961 filed on Oct. 22, 2007 and U.S. Patent Application No. 61/000,202 filed on Oct. 23, 2007. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Many different kinds of food articles or food products, such as food slabs, food bellies, or food loaves are produced in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. There are meat loaves made from various meats, including ham, pork, beef, lamb, turkey, and fish. The meat in the food loaf may be in large pieces or may be thoroughly comminuted. These meat loaves come in different shapes (round, square, rectangular, oval, etc.) and in different lengths up to six feet (183 cm) or even longer. The cross-sectional sizes of the loaves are quite different; the maximum transverse dimension may be as small as 1.5 inches (4 cm) or as large as ten inches (25.4 cm). Loaves of cheese or other foods come in the same great ranges as to composition, shape, length, and transverse size. 
         [0003]    Typically the food loaves are sliced, the slices are grouped in accordance with a particular weight requirement, and the groups of slices are packaged and sold at retail. The number of slices in a group may vary, depending on the size and consistency of the food article and the desire of the producer, the wholesaler, or the retailer. For some products, neatly aligned stacked slice groups are preferred. For others, the slices are shingled or folded so that a purchaser can see a part of every slice through a transparent package. 
         [0004]    Food article scan be sliced on high speed slicing machines such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,628,237 or 5,974,925 or as commercially available as the FX180® slicer available from Formax, Inc. of Mokena, Ill., USA. 
         [0005]    The FX180® machine can be configured as an automatically loaded, continuous feed machine, or an automatically loaded, back-clamp or gripper type machine. 
         [0006]    For an automatically loaded, continuous feed machine, side-by-side upper and lower conveyor pairs drive food articles into the cutting plane. A gate is located in front of the conveyors. The initial food articles are loaded with leading ends abutting the gate. The gate is lowered and the food articles proceed into the conveyors. When the initial food articles are sliced to the extent that the trailing ends of the food articles clear the gate, the gate is raised and new food articles are loaded in the feed paths, held back by the gate. Shortly thereafter the gate is lowered and new food articles slide down to where lead ends of the new food articles abut trailing ends of the initial food articles being sliced. The new food articles are driven into the cutting plane trailing the initial food articles. Food articles are sequentially and continuously loaded in this manner, lead end-to-trailing end, in abutting contact with the preceding food articles. 
         [0007]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,628,237 and European patent EP 0 713 753 describe a back-clamp or gripper type slicing machine. According to this type of slicing machine, two food articles are loaded onto a lift tray and the lift tray is raised to a ready-to-sweep position. Two loaf grippers are retracted after the previous food articles are sliced. During retraction of the loaf grippers, loaf-to-slicing blade gate doors are closed and ends of the previous food articles are dropped through a loaf end door. After the grippers have reached the retracted position or “home position” remote from the slicing blade, a loaf sweep mechanism is activated, moving the food articles laterally together into the slicing position. A spacing mechanism moves down and spaces the food articles apart. The grippers then advance after it has been determined that the loaf sweep mechanism has moved the food articles to the slicing position. The grippers have onboard sensing mechanisms that are triggered by contact with the food articles. After sensing and gripping the food articles, the food articles are retracted slightly, and the loaf-to-slicing blade gate doors are opened and the food articles are advanced to the slicing plane of the slicing blade. The loaf sweep mechanism retracts and the loaf lift tray lowers, ready for the next reload cycle. According to this design, in practice, the reload cycle is accomplished in about eight seconds. In a high volume slicing operation, reload cycle time can be a significant limitation to optimum production efficiency. 
         [0008]    In either configuration the FX180® slicing machine has achieved great commercial success. However, the present inventors have recognized that it would be desirable to slice up to four food articles or more with independent feeding and weighing capabilities, with hygienic and operational enhancements. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    The invention provides a mechanism and method for slicing multiple food articles with independency of feed rate and the ability to weigh each product group from each food article respectively to achieve optimal weight control and yield of each food article. 
         [0010]    The present invention provides a high speed slicing apparatus and a weighing and classifying conveyor combination that provides plural advantages in productivity, food hygiene, and operation. 
         [0011]    The combination provides food hygiene advantages by use of unibody construction with minimal penetrations, double sealed door closures, self draining angled surfaces, the use of hygienic, round, sealed adjustable legs, the use of an automatic debris or scrap removal conveyor, a hygienic configuration of a food article lift and sweep mechanism. Further, the combination provides an automated cleanup position wherein, the elevated food article feed mechanism can be collapsed to a more convenience plane or maintenance position, the weighing and classifying conveyor is oriented at a distance from the slicing apparatus for ease of cleanup and maintenance, and the blade cover is automatically lifted to a cleanup position. The weighing and classifying conveyor includes way conveyor belts that are separable from their respective drive motors for ease of cleaning and maintenance. Additionally, all product contact conveyor belts throughout the combination are easily removable. 
         [0012]    The combination provides for enhanced portion control and yield. A food article feed mechanism ensures accurate feeding by the use of servo driven and controlled feed belts and grippers. The slicing mechanism includes up to four independent drives for slicing four or more food articles simultaneously. An enhanced food article gate swing is withdrawn, not laterally but longitudinally toward the knife blade to ease the food articles toward the slicing plane. 
         [0013]    Operationally, food article grippers are provided which minimize the longitudinal length of remainder ends of sliced food articles. In this regard, food article sensors have been removed from the grippers and a laser food article end detection system is employed which allows for a more compact, smaller-bite gripper. 
         [0014]    A mechanism is provided to retract the slicing blade from the slicing plane during the dwell between sliced groups to prevent scrap generation. Further, a mechanism is provided to both dynamically and mechanically brake the slicing blade to a quick stop. 
         [0015]    Laser intrusion detectors are used to shut down systems when an unwanted intrusion by an operator is detected. 
         [0016]    An onboard information carrier system utilizing a RFID target and a read/write head is provided on the slicing blade and the shear support to simplify equipment set up, operation and maintenance. 
         [0017]    An automated, sequenced food article tray loading method and apparatus is provided wherein food articles can be loaded sequentially into the lift tray into designated and separated lanes which automatically sequentially assume a preload condition, and after the food articles are loaded, food article separation is maintained on the lift tray. A food article transfer mechanism or sweep mechanism is provided which receives the food articles on the lift tray in their separated positions and transfers the food articles into the food article feed mechanism while maintaining the separated positions. 
         [0018]    A stack/draft completion feature is possible with the apparatus of the invention wherein incomplete stacks/drafts can be moved from the jump conveyor to the deceleration conveyor and new food article scrap can be off loaded to the scrap or debris conveyor for disposal. The incomplete stacks/drafts can then be reloaded to the jump conveyor for completion of the stacks/drafts. 
         [0019]    Two involute-shaped blade sizes are compatible with the slicing apparatus wherein a quick changeover between blade types is provided. 
         [0020]    The combination of the invention provides multiple configurations to slice, weigh and classifying 1, 2, 3, 4 or more food articles. 
         [0021]    Numerous other advantages and features of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description of the invention and the embodiments thereof, and from the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0022]      FIG. 1  is a near side elevational view of a slicing machine and a weighing and classifying conveyor combination of the present invention; 
           [0023]      FIG. 2  is an elevational view of the combination of  FIG. 1  with some panels removed or made transparent illustrating some underlying components; 
           [0024]      FIG. 3  is an elevational view of the combination of  FIG. 1  with further panels removed or made transparent and underlying components revealed; 
           [0025]      FIG. 4  is a rear view of the combination shown in  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0026]      FIG. 4A  is an elevational view of the combination of  FIG. 1  in a clean-up, non-operational position; 
           [0027]      FIG. 4B  is a fragmentary, elevational, enlarged view of a portion of the slicing machine shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0028]      FIG. 5  is a far side elevational view of the combination shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0029]      FIG. 6  is a far side perspective view of the combination shown in  FIG. 5 ; 
           [0030]      FIG. 7  is a rear view of the combination shown in  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0031]      FIG. 8  is an enlarged, fragmentary near side elevational view of food article lift tray and food article positioning systems; 
           [0032]      FIG. 8A  is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken generally along line  8 A- 8 A of  FIG. 9 ; 
           [0033]      FIG. 9  is a fragmentary plan view of a food article lift tray; 
           [0034]      FIG. 10  is a rear view of the food article lift tray shown in  FIG. 9 ; 
           [0035]      FIG. 11  is a rear view of the food article lift tray and food article transfer apparatus; 
           [0036]      FIG. 12  is a fragmentary perspective view of the food article lift tray and food article transfer apparatus; 
           [0037]      FIG. 12A  is an enlarged elevational view of the food article transfer apparatus; 
           [0038]      FIG. 13  is a plan view of the food article transfer apparatus; 
           [0039]      FIG. 14  is a plan view of the food article feed apparatus; 
           [0040]      FIG. 15  is an elevational view of the food article feed apparatus shown in  FIG. 14 ; 
           [0041]      FIG. 15A  is a sectional view taken generally along line  15 A- 15 A; 
           [0042]      FIG. 16  is an elevational view of the food article feed apparatus; 
           [0043]      FIG. 17  is a plan view of a gripper taken from the food article feed apparatus of  FIG. 16 ; 
           [0044]      FIG. 17A  is a front view of the gripper taken generally along line  17 A- 17 A of  FIG. 17 ; 
           [0045]      FIG. 18  is a sectional view taken generally along line  18 - 18  of  FIG. 17A ; 
           [0046]      FIG. 19  is a fragmentary perspective view of the food article feed apparatus; 
           [0047]      FIG. 20  is an enlarged sectional view of the attachment of the gripper to the belt; 
           [0048]      FIG. 21  is a sectional view taken generally along line  20 - 20  of  FIG. 16 ; 
           [0049]      FIG. 22  is a sectional view taken generally along line  22 - 22  of  FIG. 21 ; 
           [0050]      FIG. 23  is a sectional view taken generally along line  23 - 23  of  FIG. 21 ; 
           [0051]      FIG. 24  is a plan view taken along line  24 - 24   FIG. 21 ; 
           [0052]      FIG. 25  is an elevational view taken generally along line  25 - 25  of  FIG. 24 ; 
           [0053]      FIG. 26  is a fragmentary elevational view of a food article gate mechanism; 
           [0054]      FIG. 27  is a near side perspective view of the food article gate mechanism and a food article end removal mechanism in a first operative position; 
           [0055]      FIG. 28  is a near side perspective view of the food article gate mechanism and the food article end removal mechanism in a second operative position; 
           [0056]      FIG. 29  is a far side perspective view of the food article end removal mechanism; 
           [0057]      FIG. 30  is a top far side perspective view of the food article end removal mechanism; 
           [0058]      FIG. 31  is a far side elevation view of the food article gate mechanism and the food article end removal mechanism; 
           [0059]      FIG. 32  is a sectional view taken generally along line  32 - 32  of  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0060]      FIG. 33  is a sectional view taken generally along line  33 - 33  of  FIG. 32 ; 
           [0061]      FIG. 33A  is a sectional view taken generally along line  33 A- 33 A of  FIG. 33 ; 
           [0062]      FIG. 34  is a perspective view of a portion of a slicing blade assembly taken from  FIG. 32 ; 
           [0063]      FIG. 35  is a sectional view taken generally along line  35 - 35  of  FIG. 32 ; 
           [0064]      FIG. 36  is a sectional view taken generally along line  36 - 36  of  FIG. 32 ; 
           [0065]      FIG. 37  is an enlarged fragmentary far side elevational view of the combination of  FIG. 1  showing underlying components and features; 
           [0066]      FIG. 38  is an enlarged fragmentary near side elevational view of the combination of  FIG. 1  showing underlying components and features; 
           [0067]      FIG. 39  is a plan view of mechanical components within the base section of the combination shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0068]      FIG. 40  is a bottom perspective view of the lift tray and food article feed apparatus; 
           [0069]      FIG. 41  is a far side perspective view of a front portion of the combination of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0070]      FIG. 42  is a near side perspective view of a food article positioning apparatus and food article feed elevation adjusting apparatus; 
           [0071]      FIG. 43  is a near side perspective view of a food article shear support; 
           [0072]      FIG. 44  is a front elevational view of the shear support shown in  FIG. 43 ; 
           [0073]      FIG. 44A  is a front elevational view of a slicing blade with respect to the shear support; 
           [0074]      FIG. 44B  is a sectional view taken generally along line  44 B- 44 B of  FIG. 44A ; 
           [0075]      FIG. 44C  is a sectional view of a jump conveyor drive assembly taken generally along line  44 C- 44 C of  FIG. 35 ; 
           [0076]      FIG. 45  is a front perspective view of the slicing apparatus with the weighing and classifying conveyor removed; 
           [0077]      FIG. 46  is a near side perspective view of a front portion of the slicing apparatus with a cover removed to view inside components; 
           [0078]      FIG. 46A  is a near side elevational view of the slicing apparatus showing underlying components; 
           [0079]      FIG. 47  is a far side of elevational view of the slicing apparatus showing underlying components; 
           [0080]      FIG. 48  is a front elevational view of the slicing apparatus with the weighing and classifying conveyor removed; 
           [0081]      FIG. 49  is a enlarged near side perspective view of the slicing apparatus; 
           [0082]      FIG. 50  is an enlarged near side perspective view of the slicing apparatus and weighing and classifying conveyor; 
           [0083]      FIG. 51  a is a diagrammatic plan view of a onboard information system according to one aspect of the invention; 
           [0084]      FIG. 52  is a diagrammatic sectional view of the onboard information system taken generally along line  52 - 52  of  FIG. 51 ; 
           [0085]      FIG. 53  is a far side perspective view of a laser guard system according to another aspect of the invention; 
           [0086]      FIG. 54  is a near side perspective view of the laser guard system; 
           [0087]      FIG. 55  is a near side elevation view of the weighing and classifying conveyor of  FIG. 1  showing underlying components; 
           [0088]      FIG. 56  is a perspective view of a portion of a weighing conveyor with the conveyor belt and rollers removed; 
           [0089]      FIG. 57  is a bottom view of a weighing conveyor belt with frame and rollers removed from the weighing conveyor shown in  FIG. 56 ; 
           [0090]      FIG. 58  is an enlarged elevational view of a portion of the weighing and classifying conveyor; 
           [0091]      FIG. 59  is a near side elevation view of the weighing and classifying conveyor shown in a clean-up position; 
           [0092]      FIG. 60  is a far side elevational view of the weighing and classifying conveyor; 
           [0093]      FIG. 60A  is an end view of the weighing and classifying conveyor showing underlying components; 
           [0094]      FIG. 60B  is a plan view of the weighing and classifying conveyor; 
           [0095]      FIG. 61  is a schematic representation of the combination of  FIG. 1  showing a four food article set up; 
           [0096]      FIG. 62  is a schematic representation of the combination of  FIG. 1  showing a three food article set up; 
           [0097]      FIG. 63  is a schematic representation of the combination of  FIG. 1  showing a two food article set up; 
           [0098]      FIG. 64  is a progressive schematic diagram showing the loading of four food articles onto a food article lift tray; 
           [0099]      FIG. 65  is a schematic plan view showing the weighing and classifying conveyor configured for four lanes of sliced product; 
           [0100]      FIG. 66  is a schematic plan view showing the weighing and classifying conveyor configured for two lanes of sliced product; 
           [0101]      FIG. 67  is a schematic plan view showing the weighing and classifying conveyor configured for one lane of sliced product; 
           [0102]      FIG. 68  is a schematic plan view showing the weighing and classifying conveyor configured for three lanes of sliced product; 
           [0103]      FIG. 69  (not used) 
           [0104]      FIG. 70  is a schematic rear end view of the food article lift tray showing the tray configured to hold four square cross section food articles; 
           [0105]      FIG. 71  is a schematic rear end view of the food article lift tray showing the tray configured to hold four circular cross section food articles; 
           [0106]      FIG. 72  is a schematic rear end view of the food article lift tray showing the tray configured to hold four large D-shaped food articles; 
           [0107]      FIG. 73  is a schematic and view of the food article lift tray showing the tray configured to hold for large rectangular cross section food articles; 
           [0108]      FIG. 74  is a schematic and view of the food article lift tray showing the tray configured to hold two large prone rectangular food articles; 
           [0109]      FIG. 75  is a schematic elevational view of a round knife blade to be used with the apparatus of the present invention; 
           [0110]      FIG. 76  is a schematic elevational view of an involute-shaped knife blade for slicing large food articles to be used with the apparatus of the present invention; 
           [0111]      FIG. 77  is a schematic elevational view of an involute-shaped knife blade for slicing small food articles to be used with the apparatus the present invention; 
           [0112]      FIG. 78  is a near side elevational view of a laser guard system of the present invention; 
           [0113]      FIG. 79  is a sectional view taken generally along line  79 - 79  of  FIG. 78 ; 
           [0114]      FIG. 80  is a plan view of a rear portion of the weighing classifying conveyor; 
           [0115]      FIG. 81  is in elevation view taken generally along line  81 - 81  of  FIG. 80 ; 
           [0116]      FIG. 82  is a plan view of the rear portion of the weighing and classifying conveyor of  FIG. 80  with deceleration conveyor belts removed for clarity; and 
           [0117]      FIG. 83  is an exploded view of a portion of the deceleration conveyor taken from  FIG. 82 . 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0118]    While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there are shown in the drawings, and will be described herein in detail, specific embodiments thereof with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments illustrated. 
         [0119]    U.S. Patent Application No. 60/999,961 filed on Oct. 22, 2007 and U.S. Patent Application No. 61/000,202 filed on Oct. 23, 2007 are both herein incorporated by reference. 
         [0120]      FIGS. 1-3  illustrate a high speed slicing apparatus  100  and a weighing and classifying conveyor or output conveyor  102  according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. The slicing apparatus  100  includes a base section  104 , a collapsible frame  105 , an automatic food article loading apparatus  108  that receives food articles  110  to-be-sliced, a food article feed apparatus  120 , a food article feed elevation adjusting apparatus  121 , a food article end removal apparatus  122  ( FIG. 27 ), a laser safety guard system  123 , a slicing head apparatus  124 , and a slice receiving apparatus  130 . The slicing apparatus also includes a computer display touch screen  131  that is pivotally mounted on and supported by a support  132 . 
         [0121]    The apparatus  100  can also include an onboard information carrier system  135  ( FIGS. 51 ,  52 ) that allows installed parts to be tagged with an information read and write data carrier that can communicate control or maintenance or other information to machine control. 
       Base Section 
       [0122]    The base section  104  includes a compartment  136  having side walls  138   a ,  138   b , a bottom wall  140 , and an inclined top wall  142 . The apparatus  100  is supported on four adjustable feet  144 . The compartment  136  has a tapered side profile from back to front wherein the top wall  142  slants down from back to front. The slanted orientation of the top wall  142  ensures water drainage off the top of the compartment  136 . 
         [0123]    The adjustable feet  144  are shown in  FIG. 4B . The feet include a cylinder  144   a  that is bolted to the bottom wall  140 . The cylinder  144   a  includes an internal threaded bore  144   b  that receives a threaded portion  144   f  of a shaft  144   c  that is mounted on a foot base  144   d . The shaft  144   c  includes a smooth portion  144   g  of below the threaded portion  144   f . The smooth portion  144   g  is sealed to the cylinder  144   a  by an o-ring  144   h  carried inside the cylinder  144   a . This design prevents threads from being exposed which can collect particles and spray water from clean up. 
         [0124]    The compartment  136  includes near side doors  152 , 154 , far side doors  156 ,  158  ( FIG. 5 ), and a rear door  162  that permit access into the compartment or to modules normally within the compartment  136 . The compartment  136  typically affords an enclosure for a computer, motor control equipment, a low voltage supply, and a high voltage supply and other mechanisms as described below. The compartment may also include a pneumatic supply or a hydraulic supply, or both (not shown). 
         [0125]    Base section  104  also includes a debris or scrap conveyor  170  that can be operated to slowly circulate at all times to remove food pieces or other debris that would otherwise collect on top of the top wall  142 , and delivers the debris to a collector bucket  173  located below an output end  170   a  of the conveyor  170 . 
         [0126]    The debris conveyor  170  is shown in FIGS.  45  and  47 - 50 . The debris conveyor includes a belt  163  that circulates around a rear idle roller  164   a , a front tensioning roller  164   b  and a drum motor roller  164   c . The belt circulates against a front idle roller  164   d . The rollers  164   b  and  164   c  are supported by side plates  165   a ,  165   b . The side plates  165   a ,  165   b  are fixed to support shafts  166   a ,  166   b  which are attached in cantilever fashion to a far side of the machine by a triangular base plate  167  that is fastened to end nuts  2066   a ,  2066   b  of the tubular shafts  2067   a ,  2067   b  described below. The cantilever mounting allows for the belt to be removed off the rollers at a near side of the machine for cleaning. 
         [0127]    Each of the rollers  164   a ,  164   b ,  164   d  are rotatably carried on a pair of bearings  168  that have a block shaped outer contour  168   a  with a recessed square block shaped region  168   b . The square block shaped region  168   b  of each bearing  168  is configured to tightly fit within a respective support bracket  169   a ,  169   b ,  169   c  to removably support the respective roller. The outer contour  168   a  captures the respective support bracket  169   a ,  169   b ,  169   c  by sandwiching both sides of the respective bracket  169   a ,  169   b ,  169   c . The support brackets  169   a  are J-shaped hangers located on the far side and near side of the machine. The support brackets  169   b ,  169   b  are U-shaped brackets mounted to the side plate  165   a  at the far side of the machine and to the front of the compartment  136  at a near side of the machine. The support brackets  169   c ,  169   c  are formed as part of the side plates  165   a ,  165   b  and are open upward. 
         [0128]    A tensioning shaft  171  extends across the conveyor  170  below the roller  164   b . The shaft  171  is connected to cams  171   a ,  171   b  at positions adjacent to and outside of the side plates  165   a ,  165   b . At a near side of the machine a handle  171   h  is fixed to the shaft  171 . The cams  171   a ,  171   b  ride against bottoms  168   c  of the rectangular block shaped contours  168   a  of the bearings  168 . Each cam  171   a ,  171   b  has a substantially flat portion  171   c  on its cam surface that underlies the bottoms  168   c  to lock the roller  164   b  in an elevated position to tension the belt  173 . 
         [0129]    To tension the belt  163 , the handle  171   h  is turned from the pointing down position shown in  FIG. 46A  to the pointing up position shown in  FIG. 46A , i.e., turned clockwise. 
       Collapsible Frame and Elevated Housings 
       [0130]    The base section  104  supports the collapsible frame  105  as shown in  FIGS. 1-4A . The collapsible frame  105  includes a foldable support mechanism  174  that supports a food article feed mechanism frame  190 . 
         [0131]    The foldable support mechanism  174  includes a servomotor  175  that drives a gear reducer  176  having a drive shaft  178  that extends out of the gear reducer  176  at opposite ends. The drive shaft  178  is fixed to parallel levers  180   a ,  180   b  which swing out with a turning of the drive shaft  178 . The levers  180   a ,  180   b  are pivotally connected to parallel support columns  182   a ,  182   b  via an axle joint  184 . The columns  182   a ,  182   b  are pivotally connected to the frame  190  which pivotally supports the food article feed apparatus  120  on an axle  192 . 
         [0132]    The food article feed mechanism frame  190  also supports a sweep mechanism housing  194 , a feed conveyor drive housing  196 , and a end disposal housing  198 , all on the far side of the apparatus, shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 . The frame also supports the laser safety guard system  123 . 
         [0133]    For cleaning and maintenance purposes, the collapsible frame  105  is collapsed down by actuating the servomotor  175  and gear reducer  176  to rotate the levers  180   a ,  180   b , which draws down the columns  182   a ,  182   b  as the frame  190  rotates on the axle  192 . The frame  190 , and all equipment supported thereby, is lowered for more convenient maintenance and cleaning as illustrated in  FIG. 4A . In some cases this eliminates the need for ladders or platforms when servicing the slicing apparatus  100 . 
       Automatic Food Article Loading Apparatus 
       [0134]    As illustrated in  FIG. 7-9 , the automatic food article loading apparatus  108  includes a lift tray assembly  220 , a lift tray positioning apparatus  228  and a food article lateral transfer apparatus  236 . The lift tray assembly  220  receives food articles to-be-sliced. The tray positioning apparatus  228  pivots the tray assembly  220  to be laterally adjacent to, and parallel with, the food article feed apparatus  120 . The food article lateral transfer apparatus  236  moves the food articles from the lift tray assembly  220  onto the food article feed apparatus  120 . 
       Lift Tray Positioning Apparatus 
       [0135]      FIGS. 7 ,  9  and  10  illustrate the food article lift tray assembly  220  includes a frame  290  that supports four movable food article support plates  302 ,  304 ,  306 ,  308 . 
         [0136]    As illustrated in  FIG. 8 , the frame  290  is connected by a rear connection  330  and a front connection  332  to a lever  336 . The lever  336  is pivotally connected to a height adjustment bar  340  at a pivot connection  342 . A servomotor  350  drives a gear reducer  351  that has an output shaft  352  that is fixed to a crank arm  360 . The crank arm  360  is pivotally connected to a lift arm  362  at a pivot connection  364 . The lift arm  362  is pivotally connected to the lever  336  at a pivot connection  366 . 
         [0137]    When the servomotor  350  turns the crank arm  360  via the gear reducer  351 , the crank arm  360  is turned counterclockwise in  FIG. 8  and the lift arm  362  is elevated to pivot the lever  336  about the pivot connection  342 . This pivots and elevated the rear end of the frame  290  and the food article lift tray assembly  220 . 
       Lift Tray Assembly 
       [0138]    As illustrated in  FIGS. 9 and 10 , the support plates  302 ,  304  are separated by a divider  312 . The support plates  304 ,  306  are separated by a divider  314 . The support plates  306 , 308  are separated by a divider  316 . The dividers  312 ,  314 ,  316  are fixed with respect to the frame  290 . The support plates  302 ,  304 ,  306 ,  308  are movable in a perpendicular direction “P” to a length direction of the frame  290  ( FIG. 8 ). When the frame  290  is horizontally oriented, direction “P” is substantially vertical. 
         [0139]    Each food article support plate  302 ,  304 ,  306 ,  308  is supported by a selective lift mechanism  326  described in  FIGS. 8 ,  9  and  40 .  FIG. 8  discloses the selective lift mechanism  326  for the support plate  302  with the understanding that the selective lift mechanism  326  for each of the food article support plates  302 ,  304 ,  306 ,  308  is identical. 
         [0140]    The support plate  302  is fastened to two parallel lift bars  370 ,  372 . Three swing levers  380 ,  382 ,  384  are pivotally connected to transverse shafts  388 ,  400 ,  402  of the frame  290 , at base ends  380   a ,  382   a ,  384   a  of the swing levers  380 ,  382 ,  384 , respectively. Distal ends  380   b ,  382   b ,  384   b  of the swing levers  380 ,  382 ,  384 , respectively, are pivotally connected to the two parallel lift bars  370 ,  372 . A pneumatic cylinder  416  is pivotally connected at a first end  416   a  to a transverse strut  420  of the frame  290 . The cylinder  416 , particularly the cylinder rod  426 , is pivotally connected at a second end  416   b  to the distal end  382   b  of the swing lever  382 . 
         [0141]    Each support plate is provided with an optical sensor or other proximity sensor  302   s ,  304   s ,  306   s ,  308   s  that is signal-connected to machine control. As illustrated in  FIGS. 8A , the sensors  302   s ,  304   s ,  306   s ,  308   s  beam light and receive reflected light through a hole  302   f  in the respective support plate. The proximity sensors  302   s ,  304   s ,  306   s ,  308   s  are configured to sense when a food article is loaded onto the respective support plate  302 ,  304 ,  306 ,  308 . 
         [0142]    Each support plate is also provided with fore and aft stationary hooks  302   g ,  302   k  that engage pins  302   p  spanning between the lift bars  370 ,  372  and which hooks are open facing forwardly, and a movable latch  302   m  that engages a pin  302   p  between the lift bars  370 ,  372 . The latch  302   m  has a hook that is open rearward and can be disengaged by a finger pushed down through a hole  302   t  in the respective support plate, and the support plate then moved rearwardly, to the rights in  FIGS. 8A and 9 , disengaging the hooks  302   g ,  302   k  to allow the support plate to be withdrawn from the lift tray for cleaning. 
         [0143]    In operation, when the cylinder  416  is actuated pneumatically to elongate, i.e., the rod  426  is moved to the right in  FIG. 8 , the swing levers  380 ,  382 ,  384  will swing clockwise about their base ends  380   a ,  382   a ,  384   a . The swing lever  382  will swing from direct force by the cylinder  416  and the swing levers  380 ,  384  will swing from the force from the parallel lift bars  370 ,  372  on the distal ends  380   b ,  384   b , of the swing levers  380 ,  384 . 
         [0144]    Referring to  FIG. 10 , when the cylinders are elongated, the support plates  302 ,  304 ,  306 ,  308  are elevated from a lowered position indicated as  302   a ,  304   a ,  306   a ,  308   a  to an elevated position indicated as  302   b ,  304   b ,  306   b ,  308   b . The plates initially are all elevated. The innermost plate  308  is lowered first to receive a food article of the. Once the proximity sensor  308   s  senses a food article is present, the next plate  306  is lowered to receive the next food article. Once a food article is loaded onto the plate  306  and its presence is sensed by the sensor  306   s , the next plate  304  is lowered. Once a food article is sensed on the plate  304 , the plate  302  is lowered. This sequence is demonstrated in  FIG. 64 . In the case where less than four food articles are to be loaded onto the food article tray, machine control can change the sequencing and response to signals from the switches  302   s ,  304   s ,  306   s ,  308   s.    
         [0145]    Once the tray is loaded and lifted, the food articles  110  will be moved from the lowered position indicated at  110   a  wherein the food articles are guided in lateral position by the guides  312 ,  314 ,  316 , to a raised position indicated as  110   b , wherein the support plates  302 ,  304 ,  306 ,  308  are elevated to be flush with a top of the guides  312 ,  314 ,  316 . 
       Food Article Lateral Transfer Apparatus 
       [0146]    The food article lateral transfer apparatus  236  is illustrated in  FIGS. 10-13 . The apparatus  236  includes front and rear transfer sweeps  452 ,  454  ( FIG. 12 ). The front and rear transfer sweeps are identically configured so only the front transfer sweep  452  will be described in detail. 
         [0147]    The food article feed apparatus frame  190  includes an upper frame  520  and a lower frame  522 . The upper frame comprises two parallel rails  534 ,  536 , four tubular braces  539 ,  541 ,  542 ,  544  and two L-shaped frame extensions  548 ,  550  that are laterally spaced from the near side rail  534 . The frame extension  548  is fixed to ends of the tubular braces  539 ,  541 , and the frame extension  550  is fixed to ends of the tubular braces  542 ,  544 . The lower frame  522  comprises parallel straight rails  522   a ,  522   b  and two transverse struts  523   a ,  523   b  which connect the two straight rails  522   a ,  522   b . At a front end of the food article feed mechanism frame  190 , the rails  534 ,  536 ,  522   a ,  522   b  are fastened to a thick support plate  551  that is bolted to the axle  192 . 
         [0148]    The front sweep  452  comprises two vertical frames  556 ,  558  that are substantially mirror image identical. Each frame  556 ,  558  comprises front journals  560   a ,  560   b  and rear journals  562   a ,  562   b  that slide laterally on tubular braces  539 ,  541 , respectively. A multi-lane spacer  570  is arranged below the frames  526 ,  558 . The multi-lane spacer  570  comprises side plates  572 ,  574  and intermediate rectangular-shaped tubular spacers  576 ,  578 ,  580 . The side plates  572 ,  574  and tubular spacers  576 ,  578 ,  580  are connected together by front and rear struts  582 ,  584 , respectively that connect raised portions of each of the plates  572 ,  574  and spacers  576 ,  578 ,  580 . The struts  582 ,  584  hold the plates  572 ,  574  and spacers  576 ,  578 ,  580  in a vertical, spaced-apart and parallel orientation. The relative positioning of the plates  572 ,  574  and spacers  576 ,  578 ,  580  define the desired spacing of four food articles to be carried on the food article feed apparatus to be sliced simultaneously by the slicing head apparatus. 
         [0149]    The multi-lane spacer  570  is hung from the frames  556 ,  558  by links  584 ,  586 ,  588 ,  590 . The front links  584 ,  588  are pivotally connected to the respective frames  556 ,  558  and pivotally connected to the side plates  572 ,  574  of the multi-lane spacer  570 . The rear links  586 ,  590  are pivotally connected to the side plates  572 ,  574  and connected to slide bearings  600 ,  602  that each slidably receives a square cross section drive rod  606  in a fashion such that turning of the square cross section drive rod  606  causes a turning of the rear links  586 ,  590 . Turning of the rear links  586 ,  590  forcibly swings the rear links  586 , 590 , which swings the multi-lane spacer  570  rearward and upward. The square cross section drive rod  606  slides through the slide bearings  600 ,  602  during lateral sliding of the sweep  452 . The square cross section drive rod  606  has a round end that is journaled for rotation in a bearing  610  carried by the frame extension  550 . 
         [0150]      FIG. 11  illustrates the sweep  452  in two positions. In a first position marked  452   a , the sweep is above four food articles  110  that are positioned on the support plates  302 ,  304 ,  306 ,  308 , with the support plates in a raised position flush with the dividers  312 ,  314 ,  316 . From this position, the sweep  452  is moved to the right by a sweep transfer device  630  shown in  FIG. 13 . The multi-lane spacer  470  is positioned to be above the conveyor  530 . The top surface of the conveyor  530  is flush with the top surface of the support plates  302 ,  304 ,  306 ,  308  so a smooth sliding transfer is enabled. The sweep  452  moves laterally with the journals  560   a ,  560   b ;  562   a ,  562   b  sliding along the tubular braces  539 ,  541 . 
         [0151]      FIG. 13  illustrates the transfer device  630  comprises a servomotor  636  that turns the operating mechanism of a screw drive  638  via a belt  642 . The screw drive  638  is mounted within a tubular cover  540 . A hollow rod  646  is fixed on an end thereof to the frame  556  and penetrates the cover  540 . The rod  646  has internal threads, such as provided by a threaded nut or screw follower welded to the rod, and the screw drive  638  has an internal rod (not shown) with external threads which engage the internal threads. Thus, turning of the rod of the screw drive  638  in a pre-defined direction moves the nut along the rod and either extends or retracts the rod  646  from or into the cover  540 . 
         [0152]    To reload the conveyor  530  with four new food articles  110 , the multi-lane spacer  470  must be raised so as not to interfere with the food articles being sliced on the conveyor  530 , and then moved outward (to the left in  FIG. 11 ). To raise the multi-lane spacer  470 , the square cross section rod  606  is turned, to swing the links  586 ,  590 . A turning mechanism  720  is shown in  FIG. 13  associated with identical sweep  454 , with the understanding that an identical mechanism  720  would be used for the sweep  452 . The turning mechanism  720  includes a linear actuator servomotor  726  pivotally fastened at a base end  726   a  to the frame  520  and having an extendable rod  730  pivotally connected to a lever  736 . At an opposite end the lever  736  is connected to the square cross section rod  606 . The rod  730  is connected to the lever  736  at a location eccentric to a centerline of the square cross section rod  606 . The servomotor  726  turns an internal threaded rod or like device to extend or retract the rod  730  and thus turn the lever  736  and the square cross section rod  606  in either direction, clockwise or counterclockwise about an axis of the rod  606 . Thus, when the rod  730  is extended, the rod  606  is turned counterclockwise (as viewed in  FIG. 12 ) and the multi-lane spacer  470  is raised. 
         [0153]    The servomotor  636  then turns the screw drive  638  to extend the rod  646  to move the sweep  452  to the left position shown in  FIG. 11  but raised above the lift tray  220 . The linear actuator servomotor  726  then retracts the rod  730  to reverse rotate the square cross section rod  606  to lower the multi-lane spacer  470  to the position indicated as  452   a  in  FIG. 11 . At this position, four new food articles  110  can be raised by the supports  302 ,  3204 ,  306 ,  308  to take the four lane positions between the side plates  570 ,  574  and the spacers  576 ,  578 ,  580 . 
         [0154]    As the food articles  110  are transferred from the support plates  302 ,  304 ,  306 ,  308  a sensor  770  determines a location of the end  110   d  of each food article  110 . According to the preferred embodiment, the sensor  770  comprises a laser distance sensor that uses a beam  770   a  to determine the distance between the sensor  770  and the back end  110   d  of each food article as the food articles pass by during transfer. This distance is recorded in the machine control and associated with each food article  110 , particularly, associated with the food article  110  and the lane to be occupied by each food article during slicing. The machine control has instructions for calculating a length of each food article based on the distance value provided the sensor. 
       Food Article Feed Apparatus 
       [0155]    The lower conveyor  530  of the food article feed apparatus  120  is shown in  FIG. 14 . The conveyor  530  includes four independently driven endless conveyor belts  802 ,  804 ,  806 ,  808 . Each belt  802 ,  804 ,  806 ,  808  is identically driven so only the drive for the belt  802  will be described. A machine control “C” ( FIG. 51 ) has instructions for ending machine slicing of all food articles on the food article feed apparatus when the shortest food article is sliced to a minimum length. The minimum length may be predefined, may be a food article length below which the machine can no longer slice a food article, or may be a food article length below which continued slicing will produce unacceptable scrap slices cause by slicing a food article end. 
         [0156]    The belt  802  is wrapped around a toothed front drive roller or pulley  812  and a back idler roller or pulley  816 . The belt  802  preferably has teeth that engage teeth of the two rollers  812 ,  816 . Each drive roller  812  includes a toothed outer diameter  812   a  and a toothed, recessed diameter  812   b . An endless drive belt  820  having a smaller width than the belt  802  wraps around the recessed diameter  812   b . As shown in  FIG. 15A , the smaller endless drive belt  820  operates within the larger operating path of the larger endless conveyor belt  802 . The drive belt  820  also wraps around a drive roller  824  that is fixed to a drive shaft  828 . The drive shaft  828  extends transversely to the belt  802  and is journaled for rotation within a bearing  830  mounted to a near side frame member  836 . 
         [0157]    The drive shaft  828  penetrates a far side frame member  838  and extends to a bearing  843 , coupled to a gear reducer  842  mounted to a support frame  854 . The gear reducer  842  is coupled to a servomotor  850  that is mounted to the support frame  854 . The drive belt  820  circulates within the perimeter defined by the endless belt  802 . 
         [0158]    The servomotor  850  drives the drive shaft  828  which turns the roller  824  which circulates the belt  820  which rotates the roller  812  which circulates the belt  802 . 
         [0159]    A shown in  FIGS. 14 ,  15 ,  15 A,  19  and  20  the belt  802  is supported along its length by flat rails  860 ,  862  which underlie lateral edges of the belt  802 . The rails  860 ,  862  (as well as rails for the belts  804 ,  806 ,  808 ) are supported by struts  870 ,  872 , 874  and  876  which connect the near frame member  836  to the far frame member  838 . 
         [0160]    Each idler roller  816  is provided with a pneumatic belt tension adjustment mechanism  882  that is braced from a transverse bar  886  that is fastened between the frame members  836 ,  838 . The pneumatic belt tensioning adjustment mechanism  882  has an internal piston which is acted upon by pneumatic air pressure to exert a constant force on tension rods  882   a  which exert a force on frame  883  of each idler roller  816  outwardly away from the transverse bar  886  to maintain tension on the belts. 
         [0161]      FIG. 15-20  illustrate a gripper  894  used in cooperation with the belt  802 . The gripper  894  is mounted to a top run of the belt  802  and is translated along the food article path by the belt  802 . The gripper  894  is clamped to a belt joint block  896  by a screw  897 . The block  896  comprises an upper member  899  and a lower member  900  that include teeth  899   a ,  900   a  on members  899 ,  900  that engage the upper and lower teeth of the belt  802  once the members  899 ,  900  are clamped together to splice the free ends  802   e ,  802   f  of the belt  802 . For clamping, fasteners  902 ,  904  are provided which are inserted from below the member  900  through plain holes in the member  900  and tightly threaded into threaded holes  902   a ,  904   a  in the member  899 . 
         [0162]    The gripper  894  travels from the retracted home position shown in  FIGS. 16 and 19 , to the advanced, forward position, shown in  FIGS. 15 and 20 . The lower member  900  is sized to slide between a lateral clearance  906  located between rails  860 ,  862  ( FIG. 14 ). 
         [0163]    The gripper  894  is pneumatically actuated via pressurized air hoses  912 ,  913  ( FIG. 16 ). The air hoses  912 ,  913  are coupled to include free hanging supply loops  914 ,  915  that includes a dead weight pulley  916  to prevent inadvertent tangling of the hoses with other equipment. Tube guides can also be provided on the back of the frame member  190  to guide the air hoses vertically to prevent tangling of the hoses with other equipment. 
         [0164]    The gripper  894  includes an air cylinder  926  having a piston  930  therein. Air connectors  932 ,  936  communicate air to/from opposite sides of the piston to control movement of the piston in either direction. A shown in  FIG. 18 , movement of a piston rod  938  connected to the piston  930  moves an annular rack  942  that is engaged to four pinion gears  944  of four claws  946 . Movement of the annular rack  942  away from the cylinder  926  opens the claws  946 , and movement of the annular rack  942  toward the cylinder  926  closes claws  946 . 
       Upper Conveyor 
       [0165]    As illustrated in  FIG. 21 , at a front end of the food article feed apparatus  120 , above the lower feed conveyor  530  are four upper feed conveyors  992 ,  994 ,  996 ,  998  having endless belts  1002 ,  1004 ,  1006 ,  1008 , respectively. The endless belts  1002 ,  1004 ,  1006 ,  1008  are independently driven and are directly opposed to the lower conveyor belts  802 ,  804 ,  806 ,  808 , respectively. The respective belt pairs, such as the upper belt  1002  and the lower belt  802  are circulated in opposite directions to drive a food article clamped there between into the slicing plane. 
         [0166]    The near side upper conveyors  992 ,  994  are configured in a mirror image fashion, across a longitudinal vertical center plane of the food article feed apparatus  120 , to the far side two conveyors  996 ,  998  so that only the near side two conveyors  992 ,  994  need be described. 
         [0167]      FIG. 21  shows the conveyor  992  has a drive roller  1010  having a central hub  1012  with a center bore  1014 . The drive roller  1010  has tubular stub axles  1016 ,  1018  extending from opposite ends of the central hub  1012 . The tubular stub axles  1016 ,  1018  are journaled for rotation by bearings  1020 ,  1022  that are fastened to carrier blocks  1023   a.    
         [0168]    The conveyor  994  includes a drive roller  1038  having a central hub  1042  with a bore  1044 . The drive roller  1038  has tubular stub axles  1046  and  1048  extending from opposite ends of the central hub  1042 . The tubular stub axles  1046 ,  1040  are journaled by bearings  1050 ,  1052  respectively that are attached to carrier blocks  1023   b.    
         [0169]    A motor housing  1054 , including a baseplate  1054   b  and a cover  1054   a , is mounted to an end of an upper conveyor support bar  1056 . The base plate  1054   b  of each side of the machine is fastened to a linear actuator, such as a pneumatic cylinder  1055   a  and  1055   b  respectively. The cylinders  1055   a ,  1055   b  are connected together by the support bar  1056 . Each cylinder slides on a fixed vertical rod  1057   a ,  1057   b  respectively. Thus, controlled air to the cylinders  1055   a ,  1055   b  can be used to uniformly raise or lower the near side housing  1054  and the far side housing  1054  uniformly. 
         [0170]    A spindle  1060  extends through the motor housing  1054 , through a sleeve  1064 , through a coupling  1065 , through the tubular stub axle  1016 , through the central bore  1014 , through the tubular stub axle  1018 , through the tubular stub axle  1046 , and partly into the bore  1044 . The spindle  1060  has a hexagonal cross-section base region  1070 , a round cross-section intermediate region  1072 , and a hexagonal cross-section distal region  1074 . The hexagonal cross-section base region  1070  is locked for rotation with a surrounding sleeve  1071  to rotate therewith. 
         [0171]    The intermediate region  1072  is sized to pass through the sleeve  1064 , through the tubular stub axle  1016 , through the central bore  1014 , and through the tubular stub axle  1018  to be freely rotatable therein. The distal region  1074  is configured to closely fit into a hexagonal shaped central channel  1078  of the tubular stub axle  1046  to be rotationally fixed with the tubular stub axle  1046  and the drive roller  1038 . 
         [0172]    The sleeve  1064  includes a hexagonal perimeter end  1064   a  that engages a hexagonal opening  1065   a  of the coupling  1065 . The coupling  1065  includes an opposite hexagonal opening  1065   a  that engages a hexagonal perimeter end  1016   a  of the tubular stub axle  1016 . The coupling  1065  couples the sleeve  1064  and the stub axle  1016  for mutual rotation such that the sleeve  1064  and the drive roller  1010  are locked for rotation together, i.e., turning of the sleeve  1064  turns the drive roller  1010 . 
         [0173]    Within the motor housing  1054  are two servomotors  1090 ,  1092  mounted to the housing by fasteners. The servomotors each have a vertically oriented output shaft  1096  that rotates about a vertical axis connected to a worm gear  1098  that is enmesh with and drives a drive gear  1100  that rotates about a horizontal axis. The drive gear  1100  drives the sleeve  1071  that drives the region  1070  of the spindle to rotate the spindle  1060 . Rotation of the spindle  1060  rotates the drive roller  1038  via the hexagonal cross-section distal end region  1074 . 
         [0174]    Adjacent to the servomotor  1090  is the servomotor  1092 . The servomotor  1092  is configured substantially identically with the servomotor  1090  except the worm gear  1098 , as shown in schematic form in  FIGS. 22 and 23 , of the servomotor  1092  drives a drive gear  1100  that drives the sleeve  1064  to rotate. The sleeve  1064  rotates independently of the round cross-section region  1072  of the spindle  1060 , and drives a stub axle  1016  to rotate, which rotates the drive roller  1010 . 
         [0175]    The sleeves  1071  and  1064  are journaled for rotation by bearings  1106 ,  1108 ; and  1110 ,  1112 , respectively. The drive gears  1100 ,  1100  are fastened to the respective sleeve  1071 ,  1064  using fasteners  1116 . 
         [0176]    The housings  1054 , via servomotors  1090 ,  1092 , on both sides of the conveyors  992 ,  994 ,  996 ,  998  support the conveyors  992 ,  994 ,  996 ,  998 . By using the cylinders  1055   a ,  1055   b  to raise and lower the housings  1054 , the conveyors can be raised or lowered to match a product size. 
         [0177]    Each conveyor belt  1002 ,  1004 ,  1006 ,  1008  is wrapped around the respective drive roller and a front idle rollers  1134 ,  1135 ,  1136 ,  1137  that is supported by respective side frames  1131 ,  1132 . The front rollers  1134 ,  1135 ,  1136 ,  1137  are vertically movable independently by pivoting of the conveyor about an axis of the respective drive roller. 
         [0178]    Also, as shown in  FIGS. 24 and 25 , the underside of the support bar  1056  carries pneumatic cylinders  1130 . Each pneumatic cylinder  1130  extends a piston rod to press down on side frames  1131 ,  1132  of each conveyor to pivots down a front end of each conveyor  992 ,  994 ,  996 ,  998  to lightly press down on a top of the product below. The inclination of each conveyor  992 ,  994 ,  996 ,  998  is set by upward pressure from the product and downward pressure from the pneumatic cylinders  1130 . 
       Food Article Gate 
       [0179]    As illustrated in  FIG. 26 , at a front end of the food article feed apparatus  120  a food article gate  1140  is movably positioned to provide a stop for food articles that are loaded onto the conveyor  530 . In order to commence slicing of the food articles, the food article gate  1140  must be displaced.  FIGS. 26 and 27  show the gate  1140  in a lowered position marked  1140   a .  FIGS. 26 and 28  show the gate  1140  in a raised position marked  1140   b . Guide plates  1146   a ,  1146   b  are provided fixedly attached to the frame  190 , one on each lateral side of the gate  1140 . Each guide plate includes a slot  1148  that has a vertical portion  1148   a  and a lower, inclined portion  1148   b . Two rollers  1150  are connected to a front side of the gate  1140 , one sliding within each slot  1148  of the two guide plates  1146   a ,  1146   b  respectively. An axle  1154  is journaled at opposite ends by a frame portion  1158  and a back wall  1160  of the sweep mechanism housing  194 , using bearings. Two levers  1164   a ,  1164   b  are fixedly connected to the axle  1154  such as to swing when the axle  1154  is rotated about its axis. Each lever  1164   a ,  1164   b  is pivotally connected to a lug  1166   a ,  1166   b , respectively. The lugs  1166   a ,  1166   b  are welded to a backside of the gate  1140 . 
         [0180]    Within the sweep mechanism housing  194  a linear actuator such as a pneumatic cylinder  1170  is pivotally connected at a base end  1170   a  and pivotally connected at a rod end  1170   b  to a turning lever  1172 . The turning lever  1172  is fixedly connected to the axle  1154 . Thus, when the pneumatic cylinder  1170  retracts the rod end  1170   b  toward the cylinder  1170  the turning lever  1172  will be in the position marked  1172   b  and the gate will be in the elevated position marked  1140   b . When the pneumatic cylinder  1170  extends the rod end  1170   b  away from the cylinder  1170 , the turning lever  1172  will be in the position marked  1172   a  and the gate will be in the lowered position marked  1140   a.    
         [0181]    Advantageously, the gate  1140  follows the track  1148  in an outward and upward motion which generally releases the food articles in a forward direction toward the slicing plane for slicing. 
       Food Article End Disposal 
       [0182]      FIGS. 10 ,  11  and  27 - 31  illustrate the food article end removal apparatus  122 . The apparatus  122  comprises a prone U-shaped transport  2000 . The transport  2000  is carried by near side bearings  2004  and far side bearings  2006 . The bearings  2004 ,  2006  slide along parallel rails  2008 ,  2010  that are fixedly supported by the frame  190 . The transport  2000  can be moved from a position directly above the conveyor belts  802 ,  804 ,  806 ,  808  as shown in  FIG. 27  to a position extended outside of the far side of the slicing apparatus  100  as shown in  FIG. 28 . A servomotor  2016  located within the sweep mechanism housing  194  drives a shaft  2020  in rotation. The shaft turns a drive pulley  2024  which turns a belt  2026  which turns a driven pulley  2028  which drives a further pulley  2030  via a common shaft  2032 . A drive belts  2034  is wrapped around the further pulley  2030  and an idler pulley  2036 , the idler pulley  2036  being journaled on an idler shaft  2038 . A fixing block  2040  fixes a bottom run of the drive belt  2034  to the bearing  2006 . Thus, when the servomotor  2016  rotates the shaft  2020 , the belt  2026  is circulated by the pulley  2024  which circulates the drive belt  2034  via the pulley  2030  and the transport  2000  is moved by the fixing block  2040 . 
         [0183]      FIG. 27  shows a movable paddle  2046  which can be inserted into the open cross-sectional space of the transport  2000 . The paddle  2046  is connected by an elongated handle  2048  that is pivotally connected to a front lever  2052  and to a rear lever  2056 . The front and rear levers  2052 ,  2056  are pivotally connected to the far side frame member  838  of the food article feed conveyor  530  at bearings  2052   a ,  2056   a  respectively. The rear lever  2056  extends below the bearing  2056   a  and is pivotally connected to a pneumatic cylinder  2064  at a rod end  2064   a . The pneumatic cylinder  2064  is pivotally connected to the frame  190  at an opposite end  2064   b  within the food article feed drive housing  196 . Thus, extension of the rod end  2064   a  away from the cylinder  2064  will retract the paddle  2046  as shown in  FIG. 28 , and retraction of the rod end  2064   a  toward the cylinder  2064  will cause the paddle  2046  to extend into the transport  2000  as shown in  FIG. 27 . 
         [0184]    In operation, after the food articles have been sliced completely leaving only ends gripped by the grippers, the grippers  894  are retracted toward the home position of the grippers but are halted temporarily a short distance along the food article path providing a clearance for the transport  2000 . The transport  2000  is driven by the servomotor  2016  from an extended-outward position as shown in  FIGS. 10 and 28  to the inward position as shown in  FIG. 27  with the paddle in the position shown in  FIG. 27 . Any end portions that are on the transport  200  will be pushed off the transport  200  by the paddle  2046  during travel of the transport  200  onto the conveyor  530 . The grippers  894  then would release the ends which will fall or slide by gravity onto the transport  2000 . The grippers then continue up the food article feed paths to the gripper home position at the top of the feed mechanism. Before new food articles are loaded onto the feed mechanism  120 , the paddle  2046  is withdrawn to the position shown in  FIG. 28  and then the transport  2000  is moved to the position shown in  FIG. 28  carrying the end portions out of the food article feed mechanism and away from the conveyor  530 . The process is repeated after new food articles are sliced and grippers and ends proceed up the food article feed paths. The grippers are again halted at a position part way up the feed paths, the paddle is moved to the position shown in  FIG. 27  and the transport  2000  is moved back onto the conveyor  530 . The paddle  2046  displaces the end portions off of the transport  2000  and into a bucket or other disposal mechanism, as the transport moves over the conveyor. 
         [0185]    On a far side of the machine  100 , the transport  2000  is covered by a cover and chute arrangement  198  shown in operating position in  FIGS. 6 and 10  and pivoted about hinges  198   a  to be in a raised maintenance position shown in  FIG. 29 . 
       Slicing Head Section 
       [0186]      FIGS. 2 ,  3 ,  5 ,  6  and  32 - 37  illustrate components and features of the slicing head section  124 . The section  124  includes a housing  2060  having a thick top wall  2061  ( FIG. 33 ), thick side walls  2062   a ,  2062   b , an enclosing front skin  2063   a , a top skin  2063   b  and a bottom wall  2064 . The front skin  2063   a  can include a window  2063   c  closed by a cover  2063   d  that provides access to the motor within the housing  2060 . 
         [0187]    The side walls  2062   a ,  2062   b  are substantially similar. Each sidewall includes an upper window  2065   a  and a lower window  2065   b . The upper windows are closed by covers  2065   c . The side walls  2062   a ,  2062   b  extend outside of and down below the top wall  142  of the compartment  136  and are fastened through the compartment  136  by tubular braces  2067   a ,  2067   b ,  2067   c  traversing inside the compartment  136 , welded to the sidewalls  138   a ,  138   b  and nuts  2066   a ,  2066   b ,  2066   c  on each side of the compartment tightened onto threaded rods (not visible) that are inserted through the tubular braces  2067   a ,  2067   b ,  2067   c.    
         [0188]    The thick top wall  2061  and thick side walls  2062   a ,  2062   b  form a rigid frame for the slicing head section  124 . 
         [0189]    A slicing head cover  2070  is provided to cover the moving slicing blade and openings near to the slicing blade during operation. 
         [0190]    The slicing head cover  2070  is pivotally connected to the side walls  2062   a ,  2062   b  by a pair of articulated arms  2071   a ,  2071   b  that are mirror image identical across a longitudinal, vertical center plane of the slicing head section  124 . The slicing head cover  2070  is hinged to the top skin  2063   b  by hinges  2072   a ,  2072   b.    
         [0191]    The slicing head cover  2070  can be pivoted upwardly by the arms  2071   a ,  2071   b  moving from a folded state or closed state as shown in  FIG. 2  to a substantially unfolded state or open state as shown progressively in  FIG. 3 , wherein the slicing head cover moves from position  2070   a  to  2070   b  to  2070   c.    
         [0192]      FIGS. 32 and 33  illustrate a mechanism  2072  used to move the arms  2071   a ,  2071   b  to raise and lower the slicing head cover  2070 . The mechanism comprises a vertically oriented servomotor  2073  having an output shaft  2073   a  connected to a worm gear  2073   b . The worm gear  2073   b  is enmesh with a hollow follower gear  2074   a  fixedly mounted on a transverse shaft  2074   b . The shaft  2074   b  extends across the housing  2060  and exits side walls  2062   a ,  2062   b  through bearings  2075   a ,  2075   b.    
         [0193]    The shaft  2074   b  is fixed to pivot levers  2076   a ,  2076   b  that are respectively pivotally connected to swing levers  2077   a ,  2077   b  of the respective arms  2071   a ,  2071   b . Ends of the swing levers  2077   a ,  2077   b  are pivotally connected to the slicing head cover  2070 . 
         [0194]    When the servomotor is turned in the select direction to open the slicing head cover  2070 , the worm gear  2073   b  turns about its axis which turns the shaft  2074   b  about its axis. Turning of the shaft  2074   b  counterclockwise as viewed in  FIGS. 2 and 3  pivots the lever arms  2076   a ,  2076   b  clockwise which thrusts the swing arms  2077   a ,  2077   b  upward to lift up the slicing head cover  2070 . 
         [0195]    The circle  2080  in  FIG. 32  schematically illustrates the cutting path within a cutting plane  2081  of an involute-shaped blade  2082  (shown in  FIG. 33 ). A rotary hub  2084  has a fixed toothed annular surface  2084   a  that is rotated by a toothed belt  2088  that is circulated by a drive pulley  2094  that is driven by a servomotor  2098 . The rotary hub  2084  is carried by a stationary hub  2130 . The stationary hub  2130  includes a flange  2131  that is fastened to the thick top wall  2061 . 
         [0196]    A linear servo actuator  2102  has a trunion mount  2106  that is fastened to the top wall  2061  of the housing  2060 . The cylinder has an extendable rod  2110  that is connected to a vertical link  2114  that is pivotally connected at its opposite ends to base ends of parallel pivot bars  2116 ,  2118 . For clarity, the lower pivot bar  2118  is not shown in  FIG. 33 . The pivot bars  2116 ,  2118  are both pivotally and slidably attached at distal ends about an axis  2121  to opposite sides of a bearing hub  2120  that is arranged for sliding movement only in the axial direction “X” ( FIG. 33 ), within the stationary hub  2130 . The pivot bars  2116 ,  2118  are also both pivotally attached at an intermediate location about a pivot axis  2128  to a flange  2126  formed on the stationary hub  2130 . The pivot axis  2128  is located between the base ends and distal ends of the pivot bars  2116 ,  2118 . 
         [0197]    As shown in  FIGS. 33A and 34 , since the stationary hub surrounds the bearing hub  2120 , enlarged or oblong holes  2130   c  are provided through the stationary hub  2130  to allow a pair of pins  2130   d , each having a smaller diameter than the respective oblong or enlarged hole  2130   c  to pass through the stationary hub  2130  on opposite sides, to be fixed to the bearing hub  2120 . The oblong or enlarged holes  2130   c  allow for some clearance for the sliding movement of the bearing hub  2120  with respect to the stationary hub  2130 . 
         [0198]    Rectangular sliding lugs  2116   t ,  2118   t  are fit within elongated rectangular holes  2116   v ,  2118   v  in the pivot bars  2116 ,  2118 . The lugs  2116   t ,  2118   t  and holes  2116   v ,  2118   v  allow sliding movement of the lugs  2116   t ,  2118   t  in the direction “T” during pivoting of the pivot bars  116 ,  2118 . The lugs  2116   t ,  2118   t  are rotatably fastened to the pins  2130   d  and cover with caps  2130   f  wherein oil or grease can be filled in under the caps. 
         [0199]    The pivot axis  2128  is provided by a pivot pin  2128   a , with threaded end holes, that locks the pivot bars  1116 ,  2118  together by bolt caps  2128   b.    
         [0200]    A blade drive shaft  2132  is splined to the rotary hub  2084  by a gear  2136  engaged to a plurality of inner teeth  2140  on the inside of the rotary hub  2084 . Thus, the rotary hub  2084  is fixed for rotation with the blade drive shaft  2132 . The rotary drive shaft  2132  is journaled for rotation by base tapered roller bearings or thrust bearings  2144  and distal tapered roller bearings or thrust bearings  2148  in order for the rotary drive shaft  2132  to rotate with respect to the non-rotating bearing hub  2120 . 
         [0201]    The blade drive shaft  2132  includes a lower counterweight mount  2133  that permits a lower counterweight  2135   a  to be fastened directly to the blade drive shaft  2132  using fasteners  2134  threaded into threaded holes provided in the blade drive shaft  2132 . Upper counterweight  2135   b  for balancing the involute-shaped blade  2082  is fastened to the involute-shaped blade  2082  using fasteners  2136 . 
         [0202]    When the rod  2110  is extended with respect to the actuator  2102 , the pivot bars  2116 ,  2118  rotate counterclockwise (as viewed in  FIG. 33 ) about the pivot axis  2128  and thrust the pivot axis  2121  in a direction away from the cutting plane  2081  (down in  FIG. 33 ). The bearing block  2120  slides within the stationary hub  2130 . The cutting blade  2082  becomes offset by a small amount away from the cutting plane  2081 . 
         [0203]    When the actuator  2102  reverses the direction of the rod  2110 , i.e., the rod is retracted, the pivot bars  2116 ,  2118  rotate clockwise (as viewed in  FIG. 33 ) about the pivot axis  2128  and the pivot bars  1116 ,  2118  thrust the axis  2121  in a direction toward the cutting plane  2081 . The bearing block  2120  slides toward the cutting plane  2081  (up in  FIG. 33 ), and the blade  2082  returns to being coplanar with the cutting plane  2081 . 
         [0204]    A disc  2160  is fastened to the rotary hub  2084  with fasteners to rotate therewith. As shown in  FIGS. 33A and 34 , a pair of disc brakes  2162 ,  2164  are provided having calipers  2162   a ,  2164   a , respectively. The calipers  2162   a ,  2164   a  are fixedly mounted to a mounting bar  2166  and fit over opposite sides of the disc  2160 . The mounting bar  2166  is mounted to the stationary hub  2130  by fasteners  2168  and tubular spacers  2170 . Each disc brake  2162 ,  2164  includes movable, opposing friction pads within the calipers  2162   a ,  2164   a  (not seen) that face opposite sides of the disc  2160  and are subject to air pressure within the calipers  2162   a ,  2164   a  to squeeze the rotating disc  2160  and bring the rotating disc  2160  and the rotary hub  2084 , the drive shaft  2132  and the blade  2082  to a rapid and safe stop. 
       Food Article Feed Elevation Adjusting Apparatus 
       [0205]    It is an advantage of the or present invention that the height of the conveyor  530  at the front and back ends thereof can be precisely set depending on the product size to be cut. Accordingly, a food article feed elevation adjusting apparatus  3000  is provided and illustrated in  FIGS. 37-39 . The adjusting apparatus  3000  also includes the foldable support mechanism  174  previously described in the control thereof. The adjusting apparatus  3000  includes a servomotor  3002  that is mounted within the enclosure  136  by a bracket  3006  that is secured to the transverse strut  2067   c . The servomotor  3002  includes an output shaft  3005  that drives an output pulley  3008 . A toothed belt  3010  surrounds the output pulley  3008  and two adjustment pulleys  3016 ,  3018 . A tension pulley  3020  maintains a constant tension on the belt  3010 , and causes the belt to wrap more teeth on each of the adjustment pulleys  3016 ,  3018 . Each adjustment pulley  3016 ,  3018  is connected to an input shaft  3030   a ,  3032   a  of a fine movement screw adjusting cylinder or actuator  3030 ,  3032 , respectively. Thus, when the servomotor  3002  turns, the pulleys  3008 ,  3016 ,  3018 ,  3020  causes fine, precise movement of the output end  3030   b ,  3032   b  of the adjusting cylinders  3030 ,  3032 . The adjusting cylinders  3030 ,  3032  are set at an angle that is substantially perpendicular to the conveying surface of the conveyor  530 , as shown in  FIG. 27 , and is substantially parallel to the cutting plane so that any adjusted change in elevation by the adjusting cylinders  3030 ,  3032 , with a corresponding change in elevation of the foldable support mechanism  174  through a controlled movement of a servomotor  175 , will not change the angle of slice through food articles carried on the conveyor  530 . 
         [0206]      FIG. 40  shows the adjusting cylinders  3030 ,  3032  extending above the top wall  142  of the compartment. The cylinders  3030 ,  3032  are fixed with respect to the top wall  142  but the output ends  3030   b ,  3032   b  can be raised and lowered by the servomotor  3002 . The output ends  3030   b ,  3032   b  are rotatably connected to the axle  192  by rings  3030   c ,  3032   c  that are connected to the output end  3030   b ,  3032   b , and encircle the axle  192  but allow free rotation of the axle  192  within the rings  3030   c ,  3032   c.    
         [0207]      FIG. 41  illustrates the axle  192  journaled by a bearing  3040  that is mounted to a slide block  3041  that is slidably carried by the side wall  2062   b  along a slot  3042  that is elongated along the same angle as the adjustment direction of the cylinders  3030 ,  3032 .  FIG. 42  shows the axle  192  journaled by a bearing  3046  that is mounted to a slide block  3047  that is slidably carried by the side wall  2062   a  along a slot  3048  that is elongated along the same angle as the adjustment direction of the cylinders  3030 ,  3032 . 
         [0208]    Also, for adjusting the elevation of the food article lift tray positioning apparatus, the pivot point  342  ( FIG. 5 ) is also guided by a bearing  3049  slidable within a slot  3050  in the side wall  2062   a  ( FIGS. 42 and 50 ), the slots  3048  and  3050  being parallel in elongation. 
       Shear Support 
       [0209]    A shear support  3060  is shown in  FIGS. 43 and 44 . The shear support guides the food articles being sliced into the slicing plane wherein the rotating slicing blade is arranged to come within a close tolerance of the shear support. The shear support illustrated has four rectangular openings, although any number of openings or size and shape of openings is encompassed by the invention. The present embodiment of the invention could accommodate four or less openings of variable shapes and sizes. The shear support  3060  fits down into a U-shaped frame  3068  that is fastened by upper bracket  3069   a  and lower bracket  3069   b  at each side of the frame  3068  to the front plate  551  of the food article feed frame  190  as shown in  FIGS. 44A and 44B . 
         [0210]    The upright members  3070   a ,  3070   b  of the frame  3068  have a plurality of plain holes  3072  therethrough. Once the shear support  3060  is set down into the frame  3068  a top cross bar  3076  (shown in  FIG. 44 , not installed in  FIG. 43 ) is placed over the shear support between the upright members and bolted to the upright members using a pair of plain holes  3072  aligned across the frame  3068 , depending on the height of the shear support  3060 , that allow the top cross bar  3076  to fit down snugly on the shear support  3060 , and threaded holes  3078  provided into the cross bar, to complete a rectangular frame that surrounds the shear support on all four sides. 
         [0211]    The shear support  3060  is preferably composed of non-metallic material. 
       Slice Receiving Apparatus 
       [0212]    The slice delivery apparatus  130  comprises a slice accumulation conveyor or jump conveyor  3064 . 
         [0213]    The conveyor  3064  is shown in  FIGS. 37 and 55 . The conveyor  3064  is carried on a transverse bar  3100  that is supported at opposite ends by a raising apparatus  3106 . The raising apparatus  3106  is shown in  FIGS. 37 ,  39  and  46 . The raising apparatus  3106  comprises a servomotor  3110  that drives a gearbox  3111  that drives a sprocket  3114  that drives a belt (or multiple belt elements)  3118 . The belt is wrapped around a driven sprocket  3120  that is fixed on a shaft  3124 . The shaft  3124  is journaled by bearings  3126 ,  3128  and penetrates through the side walls  138   a ,  138   b  of the compartment  136  and into vertically arranged rack and pinion assemblies  3130 ,  3132  located outside the side skins across the compartment  136 . The shaft  3124  is fixed to a pinion  3136  within each rack and pinion assembly, wherein the pinion is enmesh with teeth on a vertical rack  3138 . When the pinions  3136  are rotated by the shaft  3124  the racks  3138  are raised or lowered an equal amount. The transverse bar  3100  is supported at its opposite ends by one of the racks  3138 . 
         [0214]    In operation, as the blade cuts slices from the food articles  110 , the slices accumulate on the conveyor  3064  in a straight stack or a shingled drafts or other style presentation as is known. As the stack accumulates the raising mechanism  3106  lowers the conveyor so that each slice falls an equal distance onto the stack. This helps form a neat stack. 
         [0215]    A jump conveyor drive  3141  is shown in  FIGS. 32 ,  33 ,  35 ,  36  and  44 C. A servomotor  3142  drives a gearbox  3144  that has an output shaft  3146  that drives a pulley  3148 . The pulley  3148  drives a belt  3150  that rotates a driven pulley  3152 . The driven pulley  3152  drives an axially aligned gear  3156  that drives a series of counter-rotating, enmeshed gears  3158 ,  3160 ,  3162 . The last gear  3162  drives an axially arranged gear  3166  that is enmeshed with a counter-rotating gear  3168 . The counter-rotating gear  3168  is enmeshing with a final gear  3170  that drives a drive roller  3172  of the conveyor  3064 . This arrangement allows relative axial pivoting between the pulley/gear  3152 ,  3156  and gear pairs  3162 ,  3166  to adjust the length of the drive  3141  by “folding” the drive to adapt to changing elevations of the jump conveyor  3064 . 
         [0216]    Sometime during slicing, food articles are exhausted (completely sliced) when the current accumulated stacks or drafts are only partially completed on the jump conveyor  3064 . According to one advantage of the combination of the present invention, the partially completed stacks or drafts are moved from the jump conveyor onto the weighing and classifying conveyor  102  to be held in a standby position on the weighing and classifying conveyor  102 . New food articles are loaded onto the machine  100  and initial slicing begins. However, initial slicing produces scrap pieces which must be removed from the salable product. The jump conveyor  3064  collects the scrap pieces and conveys the scrap pieces in a reverse direction to dump the scrap pieces off the back end of the jump conveyor down onto the scrap accumulating conveyor  170  where the pieces are removed with any other scrap on the conveyor. Alternatively, the jump conveyor  3064  can be lowered a small amount using the raising mechanism  3106 , and the jump conveyor  3064  conveys the scrap pieces in a forward direction to dump the scrap pieces off the front end of the jump conveyor down onto the scrap accumulating conveyor  170  where the pieces are removed with any other scrap on the conveyor. 
         [0217]    The jump conveyor can also be configured as described in U.S. Ser. No. 11/449,574 filed Jun. 8, 2006 herein incorporated by reference. 
       Onboard Information Carrier System 
       [0218]    As another feature of the invention, the onboard information carrier system  135  can be incorporated into removable parts such as the slicing blade  2082  and the shear support  3060 . 
         [0219]    The onboard information carrier system preferably incorporates radio frequency identification technology (RFID). The system can be incorporated into the exemplary embodiment of the present invention or other slicers as well, such as the FX180® slicer available from Formax, Inc. of Mokena, Ill., USA and slicers described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,628,237 and European patent EP 0 713 753, herein incorporated by reference. 
         [0220]      FIGS. 51 and 52  illustrate the system  135  comprises a data carrier  4001  embedded into the blade  2082  for storing data from which data can be read and to which data can be written, a read/write head  4006  mounted to the top wall  2061  of the housing  2060  that reads/writes data from/to the data carrier  4001 , a controller or interface  4010  located within the housing  2060  or the base compartment  136  (shown schematically) communicating between the read/write head  4006  and machine control C. The data carriers are passive in that they do not have a battery. When the data carrier is within the range of the read/write head, power is transferred inductively and the data transfer initiated. 
         [0221]    The data carrier  4001  can have stored thereon the type and size of blade, the time between re-sharpening, and the maximum speed allowable. This information will be communicated to machine control via the read/write head  4006  and the interface  4010 . The machine control C can write onto the data carrier  4001 , via the data interface  4010  and the read/write head  4006 , how often this blade is used, how long the blade is in use, the number of revolutions, the average speed, etc. 
         [0222]    The system  135  can also comprise a data carrier  4031  embedded into the shear support for storing data from which data can be read and to which data can be written, a read/write head  4036  mounted to the far side upstanding wall of the shear support frame that reads/writes data from/to the data carrier  4031 , a controller or interface  4040  located within the base compartment  136  (shown schematically) and communicating between the read/write head  4036  and machine control C. The data carrier  4031  can have stored thereon the number of food articles to be sliced simultaneously, size of each food article, gripper quantity and size to be used, food article tray height required, and food article lift tray tooling required. This data will be used for informing the operator which gripper and food article tray tooling should be used. The data carrier  4031  can also have stored thereon the amount of degrees the blade will need to slice the product (useful for timing the start/stop feed of the product), and information needed to automatically adjust the food article tray height position. 
         [0223]    This information will be communicated to machine control via the read/write head  4036  and the interface  4040 . 
         [0224]    The machine control C can write onto the data carrier  4031 , via the data interface  4040  and the read/write head  4036 , how often this shear bar is used, how long in use, number of pounds produced, etc. 
         [0225]    Preferably, the data carrier  4001  is a BL IDENT model TW-R30-B128 and the data carrier  4031  is a BL IDENT model TW-R20-B128 from Turck Inc. of Minneapolis, Minn., US. The read write heads  4006 ,  4036  can be a model TB-M18-H1147 from Turck Inc. of Minneapolis, Minn., US. The interface  4010 ,  4040  can also be obtained from Turck Inc. of Minneapolis, Minn., US to be compatible with the read/write head and the particular machine control. 
         [0226]    The system  135  can also be incorporated into the grippers and any other part where operation or maintenance information or instructions could be advantageously located. 
       Laser Safety Guard System 
       [0227]    The laser safety guard system  123  is illustrated in  FIGS. 53 and 54 . The system comprises a near side laser sensor  5002  and a far side laser sensor  5004 . Each sensor containing a laser emitter  5022  and a laser receiver  5026 . Each sensor is protected in a housing  5006  that includes a base  5008  and an openable lid  5010 . As shown in  FIG. 79 , springs  5012  are provided within the housing to urge the lid closed to the base  5008 . Air cylinders  5014  are provided within the housing that, when supplied with pressurized air, opens the lid. Upon loss of electrical power, such as occurs during routine spray washing of the equipment, the lids are closed by force of the springs to seal the sensors within the housing to protect the sensors from spray wash and dirt. 
         [0228]    The housing  5006  for far side sensor  5004  is mounted to the sweep mechanism housing  194  and the housing  5006  for the near side sensor  5002  is mounted to frame extension  548 . As shown in  FIG. 79 , a conduit  5011  extends from the housing base  5008  of the near side sensor  5002  to the sweep mechanism housing  194 . The conduit  5011  carries electrical cables and pressurized air to the sensor  5002 . 
         [0229]    With the lid open, a laser curtain  5020 , as shown in  FIG. 78 , of infrared laser beams is projected down from a laser emitter  5022  about 2 meters in depth and with a sweep of about 270°. A laser receiver  5026  senses any interference in the curtain caused by an intrusion. The laser beam emitter/receiver works on the principle of time of flight measurement. The emitter sends out very short pulses of light. When the light is incident on an object, it is reflected back and received by the receiver. The sensor calculates the time between sending the pulse and receiving the reflection to calculate the distance of the object. 
         [0230]    The interference is communicated from the sensor to machine control C. Upon sensing the intrusion, a corresponding operating mechanism of the apparatus is halted. For example, if the lift tray is being lifted and an operator puts his hand through the laser curtain, the machine control halts movement of the lift tray mechanism. The laser curtains protect personnel on both the far side and near side of the apparatus  100 . 
         [0231]    The sensors  5002 ,  5004  are preferably model S300 SAFETY LASER SCANNER available from Sick AG of Germany. 
       Weighing and Classifying Conveyor 
       [0232]    The weighing and classifying conveyor or output conveyor  102  is illustrated if  FIGS. 55-60B  and  80 - 82 . The conveyor  102  includes four lanes for receiving up to four product groups in a row from the jump conveyor  3064 . Each lane includes an input or deceleration conveyor  6002 , a weighing scale conveyor  6006 , and a classifying conveyor  6008 . 
         [0233]    The deceleration conveyor  6002  is pivotal about an axis  6012  under force from a lever  6014  that is moved by a linear actuator, such as a servomotor screw drive  6016 . The deceleration conveyor  6002  is controllably pivotal to match the changing elevation of the jump conveyor  3064 . Each conveyor  6002  comprises a belt  6020  that circulates around idle rollers  6022 ,  6024  and a drive roller  6028 , and against roller  6029 . The drive roller  6028  is driven by a drive belt  6034  driven by a servomotor  6036 . All four lanes are driven together by a single motor. 
         [0234]    Each weighing conveyor  6006  includes a removable carrying unit  6006   a  and a drive unit  6006   b . The carrying unit  6006   a  includes a belt  6050  that circulates around two rollers  6054 ,  6058 . The roller  6058  includes a driven gear  6060  that is enmesh with a drive gear  6064 . The drive gear  6064  is part of a drive unit  6006   b . The drive gear is mounted on axle  6066  that is mounted for rotation to side frame members  6070 ,  6072  of the drive unit  6006   b . The axle  6066  is driven by a belt  6078  that is circulated by a servomotor  6080 . The side frame members  6070 ,  6072  are connected to a transverse member  6082  that is fastened to a load cell  6086 . 
         [0235]    The load cell can be as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/454,143 filed on Jun. 15, 2006, herein incorporated by reference. The four load cells  6086  are preferably viscous damped load cells for vibration resistance. 
         [0236]    The removable carrying unit  6006   a  is easily separated from the side frame members  6070 ,  6072  of the drive unit  6006   b  for cleaning as demonstrated in  FIGS. 56 and 57 . Each side frame member  6070 ,  6072  includes two slots  6090 ,  6092  that each receive a stub axle  6100  of the conveyor and the side frame members are captured between a cap  6102  of the stub axle and a base  6104  of the stub axle. 
         [0237]    The four scale conveyors, one in each lane, are driven independently by four motors  6080  as described. 
         [0238]    The classifier conveyor  6008  includes four conveyors  6138   a ,  6138   b ,  6138   c ,  6138   d . Each conveyor, such as  6138   a , includes a conveyor belt  6140  that is circulated around idle rollers  6142 ,  6144  and drive roller  6146  and against roller  6148 . The drive roller  6146  is driven in rotation by a belt  6150  driven by a servomotor  6152 . All four conveyor belts  6140  are driven by the common servomotor  6152 . Each conveyor, such as  6138   a , includes pivotal frame member  6156  that is pivotal about an axis  6160 . A linear actuator, such as a pneumatic cylinder  6164  is actuatable to pivot up or down the pivotal frame member  6156 . The pivotal frame member carries the roller  6142  so pivoting of the frame member  6156  pivots the conveyor belt  6140  as well. Each conveyor  6138   a ,  6138   b ,  6138   c ,  6138   d  is individually pivotable by corresponding pneumatic cylinders  6164 . 
         [0239]    The conveyors  6138   a ,  6138   b ,  6138   c ,  6138   c  are pivotal from a down tilted angle position “A” corresponding to delivering off weight product to an off-weight conveyor (not shown), to a horizontal position “B” which is for on weight, acceptable product, and to a cleanup position “C”. The cleanup position “C” is important in order to avoid interference with a downstream conveyor (not shown) when the weighing and classifying conveyor  102  is translated out to the cleanup position of  FIG. 59 . 
         [0240]    The weighing and classifying conveyor  102  is supported on a pair of rails  6180 ,  6182  that are connected to be bottom wall  140  of the base section  104  of the apparatus  100 . The conveyor  102  is fastened to four slide bearings  6186  that slide on the rails  6180 ,  6182 . A linear actuator or pneumatic cylinder  6190  is fastened to the conveyor housing and includes a rod  6192  that extends rearward through the housing and is fastened to a stop  6196  provided on the rails between the conveyor  102  and the apparatus  100 . When the rod  6192  is forced by air pressure delivered into the cylinder to extend, the conveyor  102  slides away from the apparatus  100  to a clean up position as shown in  FIG. 59 . While a pneumatic cylinder is shown, any other means to move the conveyor away from the apparatus, including a motor, a screw drive, or human force, could be used in place of the pneumatic cylinder. 
         [0241]      FIGS. 80-83  illustrates a position adjustment feature of the weighing and classifying conveyor  102 . Each of the belts  6020  of the four deceleration conveyors  6002  comprises a plurality of belts elements  6206  that encircled the rollers  6022 ,  6024 , and drive roller  6028 . The rollers  6022  are each carried on a slidable carriage  6210 . The slidable carriages  6210  are slidable along a support tube  6216 . Each carriage  6210  has a threaded hole  6222  that receives a single threaded adjustment rod  6230  that is fixed to a frame of the conveyor but allowed to rotate. Each carriage  6210  has a dedicated single adjustment rod  6230  for moment all that dedicated carriage  6210 . The rod  6230  allows fine positioning of the ends of the four deceleration conveyors  6002 . This is particularly advantageous to ensure that slices delivered from the deceleration conveyors  6002  are perfectly centered when passing across the weighing conveyors  6006  for accurate weighing. Depending on conditions, the product slice from the food articles may not land precisely on the jump conveyor  3064  so that this adjustment is advantageous. Although a manual adjustment is described, it is readily understood that an automatic adjustment such as with a linear actuator, servomotor or servo screw drive could be used as well. 
         [0242]    The conveyor  6002  comprises a belt  6020  that circulates around idle rollers  6022 ,  6024  and a drive roller  6028 , and against roller  6029 . The drive roller  6028  is driven by a drive belt  6034  driven by a servomotor  6036 . All four lanes are driven together by a single motor. 
       Adjustable Conduit Connections 
       [0243]    Because various compartments within the combination  100 / 102  must be compatible with the moving with respect to other compartments, accommodations must be made for differential movement and rotation with regard to conduits for signal and power cables and pneumatic tubing. A conduit  8000  shown in  FIG. 5  is provided with a telescopic slide joint  8002  and upper rotary joint  8004  and a lower rotary joint  8006  to accommodate the relative pivoting motion between the food article feed drive compartment  196  and the base compartment  136 . A conduit  8010  between the weighing and classifying conveyor  102  and the base compartment  136  requires a sliding joint  8012  wherein some excess conduit length is provided within the weighing and classifying conveyor  102 . 
       Servomotors 
       [0244]    The servomotors used within the combination apparatus  100 / 102  are air cooled except for the servomotor  2098  which is preferably water cooled. All the servomotors and other actuators are precisely controlled for movement and position by the machine control, so that conveyor movements, lift tray movements, sweep movements, elevation adjusting movements, food article end removal apparatus movements, food article feed movements, blade movements, clean up position movements, etc. are all coordinated for optimal machine performance.