Patent ID: 7861629

Claim:
A method of cutting articles into an accumulation of multiple parallel slices, the articles having opposed stem portions and heel portions and a longitudinal axis extending through the stem portion and the heel portion, comprising: placing a plurality of the articles in position on cutting blades in parallel planes with the axes of the articles transverse to the cutting blades, after the articles have been placed on the cutting blades, moving article pushers into engagement with the articles and pushing the plurality of articles with the pushers through the cutting blades, as the articles are pushed through the cutting blades, moving the cutting blades and cutting the articles into parallel slices with each article being sliced into opposed end slices and intermediate slices, separating the opposed end slices of each article from its intermediate slices, depositing the intermediate slices on a transfer tray with the slices oriented in edge standing attitude, guiding the intermediate slices as they are being deposited on the transfer tray to avoid the intermediate slices of each article from separating and from tilting toward horizontal attitudes when deposited on the transfer tray, receiving the lower portions of the intermediate slices on the transfer tray before the upper portions of the slices are no longer guided, moving the transfer tray without opening the transfer tray away from the cutting blades into juxtaposition above a shipping tray to reduce the distance between the gathered intermediate slices and the shipping tray, between when the lower portions of the intermediate slices are received on the transfer tray and when the intermediate slices are deposited in the shipping tray and after the transfer tray has moved away from the cutting blades, gathering the intermediate slices of the plurality of articles on the transfer tray into an accumulation of parallel intermediate slices on the transfer tray with the slices oriented in edge standing attitude, after the transfer tray and the gathered intermediate slices have been moved away from the cutting blades and into juxtaposition above the shipping tray, opening the transfer tray and depositing the gathered slices from the transfer tray to the shipping tray with the slices gathered and oriented in edge standing attitude, and indexing the shipping tray away from the transfer tray.