Patent ID: 7721638

Claim:
A bulk food product slicing machine comprising: a base for supporting said slicing machine; a rotatable blade for slicing a bulk food product; a motor operably connected to said rotatable blade for rotating said blade against a bulk food product to slice the bulk food product into slices; a carriage slidably mounted to said base for providing movement in a table movement direction toward said rotatable blade and away from said rotatable blade; a support arm being pivotally mounted to said carriage; said support arm including a pivot actuator for selectively pivoting the support arm away from the base of the slicing machine to ease access for cleaning; a table releasably mounted to said support arm and having a top surface supporting the bulk food product during slicing, said table having a release for disengaging said table from said support arm to allow separation of said table from said support arm to ease cleaning of said table and said support arm; and an adjustable gauge plate for varying the thickness of the slices; and an interlock system operably connecting said gauge plate and said table release such that said gauge plate must remain fully closed against said rotatable blade while said table is disengaged from said support arm.