Abstract:
The invention provides a slicing and conveying system that includes a slicing blade that cuts slices from a loaf, and an output conveyor located below the slicing blade for receiving the slices in a draft. A control system automatically adjusts a lateral movement of the output conveyor to form a laterally shingled draft of a consistent width in response to a sensed lateral dimension of the loaf being sliced. The control system includes a displacement sensor carried by a laterally adjustable guide assembly adjacent to the slicing blade. The displacement sensor is signal-connected to a control. The control is signal-connected to the output conveyor to control the lateral movement of the output conveyor according to the lateral dimension of the loaf sensed by the displacement sensor. As an additional aspect, the slices can be shingled in the longitudinal direction to form a two dimensional footprint. A length sensor can sense the length of the shingled draft and send a feedback signal to the control to make adjustments to the longitudinal movement of the output conveyor to adjust the degree of longitudinal shingling.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The invention relates to slicing and conveying systems that include a laterally displaceable receiving surface to arrange slices in a laterally shingled arrangement.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    It is known to slice a loaf with a blade wherein slices are dropped to a moving output conveyor located below the blade such that slices can be shingled in the longitudinal direction. Such an arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. 5,649,463. It is also known that an output conveyor below the blade can be shifted laterally to accomplish a laterally shingled draft. Such an arrangement is disclosed in EP 0634325B1.  
           [0003]    The present inventors have recognized that it would be advantageous to provide a system that could be used to slice and shingle a loaf, the loaf having an oblong or rectangular cross section with a predominant dimension, along an axis of the predominant dimension, wherein opposite long sides of the loaf, corresponding to the predominant dimension, are engaged by the conveyors of the loaf feed. The inventors have recognized that this results in a more compact packaging arrangement for a shingled draft while ensuring a more effective gripping and driving of the loaf by the conveyors of the loaf feed during slicing.  
           [0004]    The present inventors have recognized that it would be desirable to provide a control system that allows for a predetermined draft width to be maintained, despite variation in the lateral dimension of the loaf being cut.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    The invention provides a slicing and conveying system that includes a slicing blade that cuts slices from a loaf, and an output conveyor located below the slicing blade for receiving the slices and forming a shingled draft. According to the invention, a control system automatically adjusts a lateral movement of the output conveyor to form a laterally shingled draft of a consistent width in response to a sensed lateral dimension of the loaf being sliced.  
           [0006]    According to one embodiment of the invention, a loaf feed is arranged to deliver a loaf end into a cutting plane. A blade is operable to slice the loaf in the cutting plane. A guide assembly has two relatively movable space-defining parts that define an adjustable lateral space that is adjacent to the cutting plane. The lateral space guides the loaf into the cutting plane. The lateral space is adjustable in size by movement of the space-defining parts in the lateral direction. A displacement sensor is mounted to be moved by at least one of the space-defining parts. An output conveyor is located below the loaf at the cutting plane to receive slices from the loaf. The output conveyor is circulated to transport the slices longitudinally and is also movable laterally to laterally displace a slice relative to another slice within the draft to create a laterally shingled draft. A control includes a control output that is signal-connected to the output conveyor to control the speed of the lateral movement of the output conveyor. The control has a control input that is signal-connected to the displacement sensor. The control is configured to automatically adjust the lateral displacement of the output conveyor to maintain a consistent lateral dimension of the draft given a varying lateral dimension of the loaf.  
           [0007]    According to another aspect of the invention, the output conveyor is circulated by the control in the longitudinal direction to shingle the draft longitudinally.  
           [0008]    According to a further aspect of the invention, a length sensor is provided to determine a length of the draft in the longitudinal direction, and wherein the lateral shingling and the longitudinal shingling are controlled by the control to maintain a controlled two dimensional footprint of the draft.  
           [0009]    According to a further aspect of the invention, the output conveyor comprises a first precisely controllable motor to circulate the conveyor, and a second precisely controllable motor to laterally shift the output conveyor, the first and second precisely controllable motors being signal-connected to the control.  
           [0010]    According to a further aspect of the invention, the length sensor comprises an optical sensor arranged to sense the presence of a draft moving on the output conveyor past the optical sensor, and the control times the duration of the presence of the draft sensed by the optical sensor, the control having as a further input the speed of circulation of the conveyor. The control calculates length by multiplying the duration by the conveyor speed.  
           [0011]    According to a further aspect of the invention, the guide assembly comprises two laterally moving parts and one stationary part, the loaf being arranged between the two laterally moving parts. Each of the laterally moving parts comprises a displacement sensor that is signal-connected to the control, the laterally moving parts moving together or apart to adjust to varying loaf lateral dimension while maintaining a constant loaf vertical center-plane.  
           [0012]    Numerous other advantages and features of the present invention will be become readily apparent from the following detailed description of the invention and the embodiments thereof, from the claims and from the accompanying drawings. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]    [0013]FIG. 1 is a schematical, perspective view of a slicing and conveying system of the invention;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 2 is a schematical sectional view taken generally along line  22  of FIG. 1;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 3 is a plan view of a shingled draft;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 4 is a schematical sectional view of an alternate embodiment;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 5 is a plan view of a draft shingled along the X axis and shuffled along the Y axis; and  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 6 is a plan view of a draft shingled along both the X and Y axes. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0019]    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.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 1 illustrates a slicing and conveying system  10  of the invention. The system is a modification of the system described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,463, herein incorporated by reference. The system  10  includes a loaf feed  18  that includes upper conveyors  20 ,  22  and lower conveyors  24 ,  26 . The conveyor pairs  20 ,  24  and  22 ,  26  can be operated independently when two loaves are cut simultaneously. In the illustrated embodiment, the conveyors  20 ,  22 ,  24 ,  26  are driven at the same speed to feed a single loaf  32  through a loaf guide assembly  36 , sometimes referred to as a “shear edge member,” and into a cutting plane defined by a rotating blade  33 .  
         [0021]    The loaf  32  illustrated is oblong or rectangular in cross section with a predominant dimension D oriented horizontally. It is advantageous to orient the loaf  32  in this way such that more loaf surface area is engaged by the conveyors  20 ,  22 ,  24 ,  26  to increase the gripping of the loaf by the conveyors.  
         [0022]    Slices cut from the loaf  32  are accumulated on an output conveyor  31  in a shingled draft  33 . The output conveyor  31  can comprise a jump conveyor  34 , a transfer conveyor  44 , a check weight conveyor  48  and a split reject conveyor  50 . The jump conveyor  34  is moved by a precisely controllable circulation motor  54  and a precisely controllable lateral movement motor  58 . A control  62 , such as a computer or other microprocessor, is signal-connected to the motors  54 ,  58 . The motors  54 ,  58  can be servomotors driven by servomotor drives which are precisely controlled by the control  62 .  
         [0023]    A conveying surface  34   a  of the jump conveyor  34  can be controllably moved along both the X and Y axes. The jump conveyor can be configured in accordance with the embodiments described in pending U.S. application Ser. No. 10/072,338, filed Feb. 7, 2002, herein incorporated by reference. The jump conveyor can also be moved vertically to ensure a consistent drop distance of the slices as they are accumulated, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,463, herein incorporated by reference.  
         [0024]    For laterally shingling the draft, the jump conveyor is moved laterally along the X direction as the slices are accumulated in a shingled draft. For a one dimensional shingling as shown in FIG. 1, the conveyor is not circulated longitudinally during slice accumulation. Alternating drafts are shingled in opposite directions along the X axis. Under control of the control  62 , the jump conveyor first moves one direction along the X axis to accumulate a shingled draft. The jump conveyor is then circulated longitudinally to move that shingled draft onto the conveyor  44 . The jump conveyor then stops circulating and moves in an opposite direction along the X axis to shingle the next draft, shingled in an opposite direction to the previous draft.  
         [0025]    The loaf guide assembly  36  includes a laterally adjustable space, shown in the form of an open channel  66 , which is automatically moved to closely conform to the lateral dimension of the loaf  32 . A displacement sensor  70  provides a lateral dimension signal to the control  62 . The sensor  70  can be a coil within a magnetic field or any other type of known displacement sensor.  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 2 illustrates the loaf guide assembly  36  having a first member  76  slidingly attached to a stationary second member  78 . A cutting path  79  of the blade  33  is shown. A clamping cylinder  82 , mounted on slicing machine structure  81 , exerts a constant, pneumatically-induced lateral force F on a piston  83  which acts through a pusher assembly  85  to constrict the channel  66  by moving the members  76 ,  78  together. The members  76 ,  78  are moved apart by force from a loaf  32  when its lateral dimension increases. The displacement sensor  70  is fixed to the piston  83  within the cylinder  82 .  
         [0027]    The loaf guide assembly  36  can be a shear edge member as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,463, herein incorporated by reference, but including the laterally adjustable channel  66  which is automatically moved to closely conform to the lateral dimension of the loaf  32 .  
         [0028]    Although the illustrated loaf guide assembly  36  illustrates the laterally adjustable space in the form of an open channel  66 , the invention also encompasses a fully surrounding, adjustable orifice such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,974,925 or 4,428,263, or as described in pending U.S. application Ser. No. 10/162,431, filed Jun. 4, 2002, herein incorporated by reference.  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 3 illustrates a shingled draft of slices having a slice width W and a lateral dimension or footprint M. The difference between the footprint M and the slice width W is the exposure E which is equal to the cumulative individual exposure distances e of the slices.  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 4 illustrates an alternate loaf guide assembly  118  having two moving parts  120 ,  124  that are slidably mounted on a stationary part  128 . The parts  120 ,  124  are slidable together or apart to adjustably define a space, illustrated in the form of an open channel  132 , which closely conforms to the lateral dimension of the loaf  32 . The provision of dual movable parts  120 ,  124  allows for lateral dimension adjustment while maintaining a constant centerline of the loaf.  
         [0031]    The channel assembly  118  can be a shear edge member as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,463, herein incorporated by reference, but including the laterally adjustable channel  132  which is automatically moved to closely conform to the lateral dimension of the loaf  32 .  
         [0032]    Although the illustrated assembly  118  illustrates the laterally adjustable space in the form of an open channel  132 , the invention also encompasses a fully surrounding, adjustable orifice such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,974,925 or 4,428,263, or as described in pending U.S. application Ser. No. 10/162,431, filed Jun. 4, 2002, herein incorporated by reference.  
         [0033]    The parts  120 ,  124  are biased together by cylinders  136 ,  138  acting through pistons  143 , 144  respectively, to exert a constant, pneumatically-induced lateral inward force F on the loaf  32 . The cylinders are mounted on the slicing machine structure  81 . The pistons  143 ,  144  act through pusher assemblies  145 ,  146  to bias the parts  120 ,  124 . Displacement sensors  140 ,  142 , connected to the pistons  143 ,  144 , respectively, within the cylinders, are signal-connected to the control  62 . The sensors  140 ,  142  each can be a coil within a magnetic field or any other type of known displacement sensor.  
         [0034]    The displacement sensors  70  or  140 ,  142 , by communicating their precise position, communicate the lateral dimension of the loaf  32  to the control  62 . The control then sets the lateral speed of the conveyor  34 , along the X axis, by adjusting the speed of the motor  58  during slicing, to shingle the slices at a controlled rate to achieve the pre-selected lateral dimension, or footprint M of the draft. The mathematical relationship between the lateral dimension of the loaf and the lateral speed of the conveyor during slicing is pre-determined and programmed into the control. The target lateral dimension M of the draft is equal to the total exposure E plus the slice width W of the last slice of the draft. If the slice width decreases, a faster conveyor speed initiated by the control  62  creates a greater exposure E to maintain the target draft footprint M. If the slice width increases, a slower conveyor speed initiated by the control  62  creates a lesser exposure E to maintain the target draft footprint M.  
         [0035]    As illustrated in FIG. 5, a draft  163  can be shingled in the lateral direction X as described above and shuffled or shingled in the longitudinal direction Y creating a pre-selected two-dimensional footprint in the plane that includes the X and Y axes. To shuffle the draft in the longitudinal direction, the jump conveyor  34  is alternately circulated in forward and reverse directions during slice accumulation. The extent of longitudinal shuffling can be automatically adjusted to correct the length of the draft to compensate for varying height of the loaf as described below, using a length sensor. The draft  163  is illustrated in a reclosable pouch  164 .  
         [0036]    As illustrated in FIG. 6, a draft  166  can be shingled along the lateral direction X as described above, and shingled along the longitudinal direction Y, creating a pre-selected two-dimensional footprint in the plane that includes the X and Y axes. To shingle the draft in the longitudinal direction, the jump conveyor  34  is circulated in the forward direction during slice accumulation. The rate of longitudinal shingling is automatically adjusted to correct the length of the draft to compensate for varying height of the loaf as described below, using a length sensor. The draft  166  is illustrated in a reclosable pouch  168 .  
         [0037]    For two dimensional footprints, a length sensor, such as an optical sensor  162  (shown in FIG. 1), can be used to measure and adjust the longitudinal length of the draft. Using the optical sensor  162 , the longitudinal length of the draft is determined by sensing the presence of the draft on the conveyor as it passes by the sensor, and timing that presence. Given that the precise speed of the conveyor  48  is an input to the control  62 , the length of the draft is calculated by the control as the conveyor speed multiplied by the length of time the sensor senses the presence of the draft.  
         [0038]    The optical sensor  162  can be a photo eye with integrated sender and reflection-receiver. The photo eye can have its light beam directed between belts of the conveyor such that no light reflection is received until a draft is positioned beneath the light beam. The photo eye can issue an on or off switch signal that changes state when a reflection is received from the draft. These signals are communicated to the control  62  and timed by the control  62 . Given that the control  62  also has the speed of the conveyor  48  as an input, the length of the combined draft can be calculated by the control  62 , by multiplying conveyor speed by the time period between the sensed presence and absence of the elongated draft. For example, if the sensor “sees” product for 0.050 seconds and a known conveyor speed is 108 inches per second, then the draft length would be 5.4 inches.  
         [0039]    Given that the control calculates the length of the draft in the longitudinal direction, the speed and direction of the motor  54  is adjusted by the control  62  to adjust a length of a subsequent shuffled or shingled draft in the longitudinal direction.  
         [0040]    Although a lateral shingling is described above, it is also encompassed by the invention to laterally shuffle the slices by moving the jump conveyor  34  laterally back and forth. It is also encompassed by the invention to use both lateral and longitudinal movements of the jump conveyor surface  34   a  to create two dimensional patterns beyond those described above.  
         [0041]    From the foregoing, it will be observed that numerous variations and modifications may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is to be understood that no limitation with respect to the specific apparatus illustrated herein is intended or should be inferred. It is, of course, intended to cover by the appended claims all such modifications as fall within the scope of the claims.