US1939741A - Feeding mechanism for slicing machines - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 19, 1933- w. A. VAN BERKEL FEEDING- MECHANISM FOR SLICING MACHINES Filed Nov. 10, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l 4a 2030 kg /7 Dec. 19, 1933.

W. A. VAN BERKEL FEEDING MECHANISM FOR SLICING MACHINES Filed Nov. 10, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec. 19 1933 FEEDING MECHANISM FOR SLICING MACHINES Wilhelmus Adrianus van Berkel, Clarens, Switzerland, assignor to U. S. Slicing Machine Company, La Porte, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Application November 10, 1930, Serial No. 494,682, and in Great Britain November 20,

6 Claims. (Cl. 146-103) This invention relates to slicing machines and particularly to that type of machine used for slicing substances such as bread, cake and the like.

5. In such machines as commonly used the substance to be sliced is clamped on a table which is 'fed with a step by step movement toward the cutting plane of the knife. In such slicing machines, the range of feeding movement is comparatively short and the substance is clamped on a feed plate which is actuated by suitable feeding mechanism. When the feed plate has reached its limit of movement toward the cutting plane of the knife, it is necessary to withdraw the feed plate to its original position and re-clamp the substance thereon so that the remainder of the substance may be sliced. This procedure has to be resorted to very frequently especially when thick slices are being cut, thereby rendering the entire feeding arrangement very unsatisfactory.

The present invention hasfor its object the provision of an improved feeding arrangement which will obviate the difliculties which I have mentioned in the previous paragraph.

using one or more feed members which are adapted to be rotated in direct contact with the substance about an axis or axes disposed in or approximately in the direction of feed, the arrangement being such that when the said feed member or members are rotated, the substance will be advanced with a step by step movement toward the cutting plane of the knife. The feed members are presumably formed with helical threads thereon which threads are adapted to engage the substance and impress themselves therein. v

Another object of this invention is to do away with the feed table thereby simplifying the construction of the slicing machine.

Another object of this invention is to enable one to cut slices from successive substances without interrupting the feeding movement of the machine and without any loss of time.

Another object of this invention is to so arrange the helical members that the same tend to move the substance against fixed abutments.

Other objects of thisinvention will appear hereinafter as the description thereof proceeds, the novel arrangements and combinations being set forth in the accompanying claims.

In the drawings 7 Fig. 1 represents an elevational view of a slic- 155 ing machine embodying my invention, parts of More specifically my invention contemplates.

the framework being broken away for the sake of clearness;

Fig. 2 is a setion taken substantially along the line 2--2 of Fig. 1 with a portion of the vertical abutment plate broken away to show the feedmg mechanism;

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of a modified arrangement of my device shown applied to a reciprocating carriage; and

Fig. 4 is a section taken along the line 44 of Fig. 3.

In Figs. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 represents a frame having the upstanding supporting members 2 connected at their tops by means of the bridge piece 3, the latter being adapted. to support a rotatable shaft 4 and a swinging arm 5 which is rotatable on the shaft 4. The shaft 4 is driven by means of a motor 6 and a gear on the end of the motor shaft which meshes with the internal gear 7. r 78 1 A sprocket 8 is secured to the shaft 4. The outer end of the arm 5 carries a shaft 9 which is'rotatable in the bearing 10 and this shaft in turn has secured thereto a sprocket 11. A chain 12 is trained over the sprockets 8 and 11 so that, when the shaft 4 is rotated by means of the motor 6, the chain will impart movement to the shaft 9 by means of its operative connection with the gears 8 and 11. A handle 13 is used by the operator to swing the arm 5 about the shaft 4, it being understood however, that mechanical means may also be provided for this purpose if desired.

The frame of the machine is provided with an opening 14, and a plate 15 has one end thereof resting on the lower edge of the opening 14 and the other resting on the cross member 16 which is supported by the sides of the frame 1. Any other suitable means may be used for supporting the plate 15. An abutment plate 1'7 is arranged vertically along one side of the opening 14 and the substance to be sliced is held against the plate 1.5, and. the vertical abutment plate, the abutment plate being so arranged that when the knife is cutting through the substance there is a tendency for the knife to force the substance against the abutment plate. 7

Rotatably mounted in bearings formed in the cars 18 and 19 and in the frame 1, are a pair of feed screws 20 and 21 having square screw threads thereon. There are two screw threads on each of the feed screws 20 and 21 although it is within the scope of this invention to use either a single thread or any number of threads which may be desired; also the shape of thellO in Fig. 1.

threads may be varied to suit the requirements 7 of the substance being sliced.

The feed screws 20 and 21 are provided with the sprockets 22 and 23 respectively. Three other sprockets 24, 25 and 26 are mounted on the frame and a chain 28 is trained over the sprockets 24, 22, 25, 23 and 26 in the manner best illustrated This ties up the screws 20 and 21in such a manner that the same rotate in unison whenever one of the screws is actuated. In order to provide means for adjusting the tension in the chain 27, I mount the shaft upon which sprocket 25 is mounted within a slot 23 in the frame, a screw 29 being used to clamp the shaft for the gear 25 in adjusted position within said slot. 7

The abutment plate 17 is provided with an opening 30 and the supporting plate 15 is provided with an opening 31. The screws 20 and 21 V are arranged with their axes substantially parallel with the longitudinal dimensions of the slots 30 and 31 and have portions of their helical surfaces protruding above the surfaces of the plates 17 and 15 respectively. vA ratchet 32 is secured to the shaft 33 to which the screw 20 is secured and an arm 34 is pivoted to the shaft 33 and is oscillatable thereabout. A pawl 35 is pivoted to the arm 34 and engages the ratchet 32, a spring 36 being used to rotate the pawl into engagement with the ratchet 32. With this arrangement, it will be seen that when the arm 34 rotates in one direction, the shaft 33 and consequently the screw 20, will be rotated in the direction shown by the arrow in Fig. 1. In order to oscillate the arm 34 I provide a link 37 pivoted to one arm 38 of a bell-crank pivoted at 39 to the frame, the other arm 40 of the bell-crank being pivotally connected by a link 51 to the arm 5 at 41. Consequently when the arm 5 is oscillated, the arm 34, through its operative connection with the arm 5, will be oscillated about the shaft 33 and cause the screw 20 to be intermittently rotated. As the knife moves toward the substance to be sliced, the pawl rides over the teeth of the ratchet vwheel 32 so that no feeding movement will occur during the slicing operation. However, when the slicing knife is moved toward the full line position shown in Fig. 1, the bell-crank is rocked in a direction to cause a clockwise movement of the arm 34 and a positive feed of the screw 20 by thereof, I provide a lost motion connection between the link 51 and the arm 40. This comprises a slot 42 in the end of the link 51, and a pin 43 on the arm 40 is adapted to travel in the slot 42. A spring 44 normally tends to rotate the bell-crank in a counter-clockwise direction, its movement in this direction being limited by means of a pin 45. After the slicing knife has cut a slice from the substance, the same is moved in a counter-clockwise direction about the shaft 4, and the first movement which is imparted to the link 51 will not actuate the bell-crank due to the pin and slot connection between the link 51 and the arm 40, but a continued movement of the link 51 brings the end of the slot 42 against the screw 20 is actuated, the screw 21 will also be actuated but in the opposite direction.

When the knife reciprocates, the screws 20 and 21 are given a step by step movement, and the screw threads being of opposite types, will tend to impart lateral thrusts in different directions. The screw threads on 21 cause the substance to be thrown against the abutment plate,

and the screw threads on 20 tend to throw the substance toward the supporting plate 15. In addition both screws feed the substance in a direction toward the left as viewed in Fig. 2 or toward the cutting plane of the knife. The substance being sliced is pressed into engagement with the screw threads and the rotation of the screws causes the feeding movement. The necessity of re-clamping the substance is therefore done away with and substances of practically any length may be fed toward the cutting plane of the knife without any re-clamping. Furthermore successive pieces of substances may be sliced merely by feeding the same thereto as rapidly as the slices are cutfrom the substance on the support. I

In order to hold the substance toward the screws 20 and 21, I provide an arm 46 pivoted at 47 to the frame and carrying a roller 48 at its outer end. This roller is provided with grooves or serrations which have a tendency to bite into the substance being clamped. A spring 49 secured tothe frame at50 and to the arm at 51 is adapted to hold the arm 46 downwardly against the substance 52 indicated by dotted lines in Fig.1. As the substance is advanced, the roller 48 rolls over the edge of the substance and atthe same time exerts a yielding pressure on the substance towards the feed screws. It will be obvious that any number of presser arms 46 may be used with my device, the same being spaced longitudinally with respect to the supporting plate 15 so as to engage the substance at difierent places thereon in the direction of the feeding movement.

The spring 49 may be arranged as in Fig. 1 so that when the arm 46 is moved upwardly to an inoperative position, the spring 49 will be thrown to the other side of the pivot 47 and thereby tend to rotate the arm 46 in a counter-clockwise direction instead of a clockwise direction. Movement of the arm 46 in a counter-clockwise direction is limited by means of the stop 53.

The arm 34 may be oscillated in any other manner such as by engaging an abutment on the swinging arm which carries the knife, or by having a projection thereon operating within a In Figs. 3 and 4 I haveillustrated how my invention may be applied to a slicing machine in which the table reciprocates instead of the knife. In this form of the invention the slicing machine is provided with a base 71 and the knife 72 is carried by a shaft '73 journaled within a suitable casing 74 mounted on-the side of the base 71. A shaft 75 extends horizontally through the base '71 and casing '74 and carries a sprocket '76. A second sprocket '77 is secured to the shaft 73 and a chain '78 is trained over the sprockets '76 and 77 so that when the shaft 75 is rotated,

the knife will be rotated.

The base also carries a pair of parallel guide rods 79 and 80 upon which the tabler8l reciproare rotated and reciprocated respectively in unison with each other.

The table 81 is provided with an upright support 87. The table 81 carries a supporting plate 88 and the abutment plate 89 is carried by the upright support 87. Reference numerals in Figs.

3 and 4 which are the same as in Figs. 1 and 2 refer to parts which are similar to the parts shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and which bear the same reference numerals. The operation of the device is substantially the same as that shown in Figs. 1 and 2 except that the screw 21 is rotatably mounted on the shaft 54 and has a ratchet 55 secured thereto at one end thereof (see particularly Fig. 4). An arm 56 is secured to the shaft 54 and has a roller 57 on the outer end thereof. A spring 58 is secured to the arm 56 and to the table 81 and tends to draw the arm 56 against the fixed stop 59 so as to limit the counter-clockwise movement of this arm. A second arm 60 is secured to the shaft 54 beneath the plate 88 as best illustrated in Fig. 4 and this arm carries the pawl 61 adapted to engage the ratchet 55.

A stop 62 having a rack 63 integral therewith is operated by means of a gear on the shaft which carries the operating knob 64. This operating knob is adapted to be rotated to position the stop 62 at various positions relative to the support 65 upon which it is mounted.

As the carriage moves in a direction away from the knife and approaches the end of its movement in that direction, the roller 5'7 on the end of the arm 56 engages the stop 62 thereby causing a clockwise movement to the shaft 54, and consequently the screw 21, by means of the pawl and ratchet connection 6155 between the arm and the screw. The screw 20 'is rotated by means of the chain 27 which is operatively connected to the screw 20 and the screw 21 in the same manner as in Figs. 1 and 2' and as indicated by dotted lines in these figures.

It will therefore be seen that my invention is equally applicableto slicing machines in which the slice is cut bya moving knife or in which the carriage is movable past the knife. The amount of feeding movement imparted to the feed screw may be regulated by adjusting the stop 62. It is also to be understood that the feeding movement of the feed screws in Figs. 1 and 2 may also be regulated by providing the shaft 33 with a cam for raising the pawl during a portion of the rotative movement of the arm 34 thereby varying the amount which the ratchet is rotated by means of the pawl.

It is to be understood, of course, that various modifications in the details of construction may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, operative connection may be provided between the working parts of the machine and the roller 48 so that the latter will be rotated with a step by step movement along with the screws 20 and 21. Such an arrangement will assist materially in insuring a regular feed of the substance toward the cutting plane of the knife.

Furthermore I may employ more than one roller such as the roller 48 as previously explained. It

is unnecessary in some cases to provide two feed screws'and therefore I wish to have it understood that my invention contemplates using one feed screw wherever circumstances will permit or changing the shape of the helical substance engaging parts of the rotatable substance engaging members 20 and 21 such as by varying the sharpness thereof to suit the requirements of difierent substances. 7

Other modifications of my invention will ap pear to those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains, and therefore I do not wish.

to limit my invention except as set forth in the appended claims,

Having now particularly described two embodiments of my invention, what I desire to secure by Leters Patent of the United States is: l

r 1. A slicing machinecomprising a support for engaging the substance along substantially its entire path of movement, an abutment plate rigid therewith and at an angle thereto, a feed screw directly engaging the side of the substance adjacent said support, a second feed screw for engaging the side of the said substance adjacent said abutment, and means for rotating said feed screws so as to feed the substance along said support in a predetermined direction, each of said feed screws being threaded in a direction to impart a thrust to the substance in a direction toward the vertex of the angle formed by said abutment and said support respectively.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which the feed screws have their axes substantially parallel to the direction of movement of the substance and in which the abutment and support are each provided with openings through which a portion of each of the threads on said feed screws protrudes.

3. In a slicing machine, the combination with a stationary support for'engaging the substance along substantially its entire path of movement and having a vertical wall at one side thereof, openings in said support and wall, helical mem bers extending partially through said openings with their axes substantially parallel to said support and wall respectively, a knife adapted to move past said support to cut slices from a substance mounted thereon, a second support for guiding said knife during its movement past said first support, and operative connections between said second support and said helical members for rotating said helical members as said knife moves past said first support, said helical members having their helical portions extending in a direction to advance the substance toward the cutting plane of said knife and being rotatable in a direction to move the substance engaging portions thereof toward the vertex of the angle formed by said support and wall.

4. In a slicing machine, the combination with a rotatable knife, of a substantially horizontal substance support for engaging the substance along substantially its entire path of movement and movable past said knife, an abutment extending upwardly substantially vertically from said support, said support and abutment having openings therein, said screws extending partially through said openings and having their axes at a substantial angle to the cutting plane of said knife, means for rotating said feed screws in a direction to advance the substance in the same direction when one of said feed screws is actuated, and means operatively connected to one of said feed screws for intermittently actuating the same as said carriage moves past said knife, said feed screws having opposite types of screw threads thereon adapted to advance the substance toward the cutting plane of the knife and having their substance engaging portions movable during the advance of the substance toward the cutting plane of said knife in a 'direction'toward' the vertex of the angle formed by said wall and said support. r a 5. In a substance support and feeding means for slicing machines, the combination with an- 7 of the knife, and a presser roll opposed to said helical feed screws for yieldingly pressing the substance to be sliced against said feed screws and plates so that the substance is advanced along said plates when the helical feed screws are rotated while supported by said plates.

6. A device as set forth in claim 5 in which the roller is carried by a pivoted arm and in which there is a spring operatively connected to said arm for urging said arm and roller yieldingly against the substance after being manually moved into close proximity with the substance or to hold said arm and roller in an inoperative position remote from the substance if and when said arm is manually moved'to said remote position by manual pressure applied to said arm.

WILI-IELMUS' ADRIANUS VAN BERKEL.

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