Patent ID: 6837030

Claim:
An automated system for slicing meat and placing the sliced meat in stack into a package therefor, the system comprising: a slicing station including a chub slicer for slicing a chub of predetermined size from a larger preformed log of meat having axially spaced ends prior to being fed to the slicer, the predetermined chub size having an axial length smaller than that of the log and substantially corresponding to that of a predetermined amount of meat to be placed in a compartment of the package; a chub harping station including spaced harping blades and a chub advancement mechanism, the harping station receiving chubs from the slicing station with the chubs pushed past the blades with a predetermined amount of force via the chub advancement mechanism to form a predetermined number of stacked meat slices from the chub so that the stacked meat slices are formed from the log by two slicing stages in the slicing station and the chub harping station; and a stack insertion station for receiving the stacked meat slices from the harping station and including a stack guide that substantially maintains control over the stack of meat slices for automated transfer thereof into the package compartment.