Patent GB-369091-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to slicing machines
IPC: B26D1/16
Filed: 1931-06-16
Abstract: 369,091. Slicing-machines. BERKEL & PARNALL'S SLICING MACHINE MANUFACTURING CO., Ltd. and THOMAS, H., Aden Road, Ponders End, Middlesex.-(U.S. Slicing Machine Co., [partly] ; La Porte, Indiana, U.S.A.) June 16, 1931, No. 17433. [Class 28 (ii).] In a loaf-slicing machine, the loaves are sliced down to the lower crust, leaving unsevered portions which retain or assist in retaining the loaf in its original form. As shown in Figs. 1, 4, and 6, the machine is of the kind having a disc knife 24 moving bodily in a circular orbit. A motor, mounted on a bracket which is pivotally adjustable for tensioning the belt 11, drives a shaft 9 enclosed in a housing 8. The shaft 9 is connected by a screw 19 to a U- shaped block 18 having an extended limb 22 in which the knife shaft 23 is journalled. A sprocket wheel 26 is carried by a shaft 20 coaxial with the shaft 9 and journalled at 25 in the block 18. The shaft 20 projects through the knife housing 5 and has a hand crank 29 secured thereto, the handle 31 being pivotally mounted to engage between lugs 24<1> on the housing when the sprocket 26 is to be retained stationary. The sprocket 26 is connected to a sprocket on the knife shaft by a chain 27 and tensioning is effected by an adjustable jockey 94. The journal 28 may have an eccentric mounting which is adjustable by releasing the split sleeve by releasing the bolt 93 and inserting a turning tool in the holes 91. This compensates for recession of the knife edge due to wear or grinding. Further compensation means are described below. The loaves are placed on a support 33 having an upstanding portion 34. The feed member 35 is slidable in a bar 39 and is actuated by the feed screw 42 which is driven by a ball-clutch 56 and a connecting-rod 44 adjustably connected, for slice thickness regulation, to a member 46 rocked by a cam on the shaft 9. The loaves, as they pass to the cutting zone, are retained at the top and side by adjustable spring fingers 66, 67 carried by a member 65 having slidable supporting guides 68 clamped by a screw 71. The partially severed slices pass over an inclined support 73 which inclines them to facilitate the passage of the knife. A deflector plate 81 is secured to the arm 22 and has a shoulder 83 which prevents the slices from rising. The bodily rotation of the plate 81 is in the opposite direction to and counteracts the axial rotation of the knife, thereby reducing drag on the slices. The plate 81 serves as a housing for the knife-driving gear. The loaves pass from the support 73 to a trough 74 and, to prevent the slices from falling from the vertical position, a strip 78 is pressed adjustably against them to provide a frictional drag. As shown in Fig. 6, the strip 78 is carried on a sliding guide 75 clamped by a screw 77 and the lower edge 80 is inclined to engage efficiently loaves of rye bread. The additional compensation means for knife edge recession comprises packing-pieces 88, 89 which are inserted under and raise the supports 73, 33. When the knife is to be ground, the shaft 9 is held stationary by the detent 87 and the handle 31 is swung down to release it from the lugs 24<1>. The grinders are not shown. In a modification, Fig. 9, the feed member 110 has prongs 113 actuated by a member 111 for gripping the end of the loaf. Knife wear compensation is effected by hinging the portion 101 of the loaf support at 102, and adjusting its effective height by a cam 103, actuated by a handle 106 having a detent engageable with a series of holes in a quadrant 108. In the upper position, the knife completely severs the slices. In a further modification, a sickle-shaped knife is used, the knife having only a simple rotary movement. The loaves are pushed along a trough to the cutting zone, and the depth of the cut is adjusted by rotating an eccentrically mounted housing tube in which the knife shaft is journalled. Complete or partial separation of the slices may thus be effected.