Patent ID: 7398718

Claim:
A method for automatically controlling a food product slicing operation in which a food product carriage is repeatedly moved back and forth past a slicing knife, the slicing operation being defined by repeated slicing strokes and return strokes of the food product carriage, each slicing stroke defined by movement of the food product carriage from a first position to a second position and each return stroke defined by movement of the food product carriage from the second position back to the first position, the method comprising: utilizing a motor and associated multi-link drive arrangement to effect movement of the food product carriage; providing an encoder arrangement having at least one element connected for pivoting movement with a pivot link of the multi-link drive arrangement to produce output signals indicative of a pivoting movement of the pivot link about a stationary axis; and based at least in part upon the output signals of the encoder arrangement, automatically varying motor speed so as to: automatically move the food product carriage at a first average speed for slicing strokes; automatically move the food product carriage at a second average speed for return strokes, the first average speed being slower than the second average speed; and automatically slow down the motor speed as the food product carriage approaches the second position during each slicing stroke.