Hydraulic mechanical cutter
By adopting a cutting method combining rotary food carrier and multiple cutters in the food cutting system, the problem of insufficient food cutting efficiency and accuracy in the prior art is solved, and multi-directional cutting and efficient processing of slices of different shapes is achieved. Improve the production efficiency and quality of food processing.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202080050267.5
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Patents(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2019-07-09
- Filing Date
- 2020-07-09
- Publication Date
- 2024-12-13
- Estimated Expiration
- Not applicable · inactive patent
AI Technical Summary
When existing food cutting systems quickly process large amounts of food, it is difficult to achieve efficient and precise cutting, especially under the demand for multi-directional cutting and different shape slices, which makes it difficult to meet market demand for production efficiency and product quality.
A hydraulic mechanical food cutting system including a rotating food carrier and multiple food cutters was designed. The cutting method of a ring knife and a spiral knife combined with a thruster and a push-top plate is used to realize food through the coordinated work of the rotating and thruster. Cut and slice in multiple directions.
It realizes efficient and accurate food cutting, and can cut in multiple directions according to the shape and needs of different vegetables or fruits, improves production efficiency and product quality, and meets the diversified market demand for processed food.
Smart Images
Figure CN114080308B_ABST
Abstract
Description
Background Art
[0001] More and more foods are processed before they reach the consumer's plate. For example, various fruits and vegetables are cut or shaped and then frozen or otherwise preserved for later use. To meet the demand for processed foods and efficiently mass-produce such products, the food industry utilizes a variety of equipment to process large quantities of food quickly. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0002] The detailed description is given with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0003] Figure 1 is an isometric view of a food cutting system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the food cutting system including a rotating food carrier with a plurality of food cutters and a plurality of fixed slicing knives disposed in a generally tangential orientation relative to a direction of travel of the food cutters.
[0004] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A partial top view of a food cutting system is shown with various components removed for clarity.
[0005] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 A partial perspective view of a food cutting system is shown, wherein the food cutting system is shown in an initial loading position for receiving a food product at a first food cutter, and wherein a second food cutter has been moved past the first slicing knife to form a first slice of the food product.
[0006] Figure 4 yes Figure 1 A side view of a food cutting system is shown in FIG.
[0007] Figure 5 is an isometric view of a food cutter including stacked annular knives and ejector plates for a food cutting system, wherein the cam is shown in a fully retracted orientation, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein the food cutting system is, for example, Figure 1 The food cutting system shown in .
[0008] Figure 6 is Figure 5 Another isometric view of the food cutter shown in FIG. 1 , in which the cam is shown extending out of the food cutter.
[0009] Figure 7 is Figure 5 Another isometric view of the food cutter shown in FIG. 1 , wherein the cam is shown in a fully extended position.
[0010] Figure 8 is Figure 5An exploded perspective view of a food cutter is shown in FIG.
[0011] Fig. 9 is an end view of a knife weldment for a food cutter according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, such as a Figure 5 Food cutter shown.
[0012] Fig.10 is Fig. 9 A side view of the knife weldment is shown in FIG.
[0013] Fig.11 is Fig. 9 An isometric view of the knife weldment shown in FIG.
[0014] Fig.12 is an isometric view of another food cutter including a spiral knife and an ejector plate (shown in phantom) for use in a food cutting system, such as Figure 1 The food cutting system is shown.
[0015] Fig.13 is Fig.12 Another isometric view of the food cutter shown in FIG. 1 , with the spiral knife shown in dotted lines.
[0016] Fig.14 is an isometric view showing a food product (potato) after undergoing a first cutting operation in a first direction (along the longitudinal axis of the potato) using a food cutter having stacked annular blades through a food cutting system, such as a Figure 1 The food cutting system shown, the food cutter is for example Figure 5 Food cutter shown.
[0017] Fig.15 is a diagram showing an exemplary embodiment according to the present disclosure Fig.14 An isometric view of the food product in FIG. 1 after a plurality of second cutting operations in a second direction (eg, perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the potato).
[0018] Fig.16 is Fig.15 An end view of the food product shown in FIG.
[0019] Fig.17 is Fig.15 Side view of the food product shown in FIG.
[0020] Fig.18 is an isometric view of a plurality of food items after first and second cutting operations by a food cutting system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein the food cutting system is, for example, Figure 1The food cutting system is shown.
[0021] Fig.19 is an isometric view showing a food product (potato) after a first cutting operation in a first direction (along the longitudinal axis of the potato) by a food cutting system using a food cutter having a spiral knife, wherein the food cutting system is, for example, Figure 1 The food cutting system shown, the food cutter is for example Fig.12 Food cutter shown.
[0022] Fig. 20 is an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig.19 An isometric view of the food product after a plurality of second cutting operations in a second direction (eg, perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the potato).
[0023] Fig.21 is Fig. 20 An end view of the food product shown in FIG.
[0024] Fig. 22 is Fig. 20 Side view of the food product shown in FIG.
[0025] Fig.23 is an isometric view of a piece of food after a first cutting operation and a second cutting operation by a food cutting system, such as a Figure 1 The food cutting system is shown.
[0026] Fig.24 is a diagram showing an exemplary embodiment according to the present disclosure Fig.19 An isometric view of the food product in FIG. 1 after a plurality of second cutting operations in a second direction (eg, perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the potato).
[0027] Fig.25 is Fig.24 An end view of the food product shown in FIG.
[0028] Fig.26 is Fig.24 Side view of the food product shown in FIG.
[0029] Fig. 27 is an isometric view of a piece of food after a first cutting operation and a second cutting operation by a food cutting system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein the food cutting system is, for example, Figure 1 The food cutting system is shown. Specific embodiments
[0030] Aspects of the present disclosure will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of the present disclosure and show exemplary features by way of illustration. However, these features may be implemented in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the combinations set forth herein; on the contrary, these combinations are provided to make the present disclosure comprehensive and complete, and these combinations will fully express the scope. Among them, the features of the present disclosure may be implemented as formulas, foods, processes, processes for making foods, and processes for making formulas. Therefore, the following detailed description should not be taken in a limiting sense.
[0031] Overall reference Figures 1 to 27 , describes a hydraulic mechanical food cutting system 100. The food cutting system 100 may include a food carrier 102 for carrying food 200, wherein the food carrier 102 includes one or more food cutters 104 for cutting the food 200. Exemplary food 200 for cutting may include but is not necessarily limited to vegetables, such as potatoes. However, the disclosure herein should be understood to include all vegetables and should not be limited to potatoes. Some examples of other vegetables include sweet potatoes, yams, beets and carrots. In addition, the term "vegetables" should be understood to include fruits with a pulp density suitable for cutting with a cutter or knife. For example, apples, pears and pineapples are several fruits that can be cut and / or processed by a cutter or knife. In some embodiments, the vegetables may be refrigerated, heated and / or otherwise subjected to one or more pre-treatment steps to provide suitable hardness, softness and / or density for subsequent cutting by a cutter or knife.
[0032] As described, the potato may be cut in a first direction (eg, along the longitudinal axis 202 of the potato) by the food cutter(s) 104. Fig.14 and Fig.19 ) and then in a second direction (eg, perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 202 of the potato, as shown Fig.15 , Fig. 20 and Fig.24 The vegetable may be cut into a plurality of shapes (e.g., a spiral shape, a plurality of rings) along the axial length of the potato, and then the potato may be sliced into individual pieces. In some embodiments, the slices may be flat, or at least substantially flat. In other embodiments, the slices may have different shapes (e.g., C-shaped, V-shaped, W-shaped, etc.).
[0033] The components of the food carrier 102 can be arranged circumferentially around the rotation axis 106. Each food cutter 104 can have one or more cutting elements or knives 108 (e.g., as in Figures 5 to 11 The annular knife 108 shown in Fig.12 and Fig.13106 and a corresponding pusher 110 facing radially outward from the rotational axis 106 of the food carrier 102. The knives 108 of the food cutter 104 are configured to receive and engage with the food 200, and each pusher 110 can be slidably coupled with its respective knife 108 and radially movable relative to the rotational axis 106 of the food carrier 102 for pushing the food 200 out of engagement with the food cutter 104.
[0034] In some embodiments, one or more knives 108 can be supported by a mounting plate 112. The knives 108 can be fastened (e.g., bolted, welded) to ribs 114 of the mounting plate 112. For example, the annular knives 108 can be spot welded to the ribs 114 of the mounting plate 112. In addition, various components of the pusher 110 can be supported by another mounting plate 116. For example, the pusher 110 can include one or more ejector plates 118 connected to the mounting plate 116 by elongated support members / guide rods 120. The guide rods 120 and the ejector plate(s) 118 can be configured to travel between adjacent segments of the knives 108 (e.g., in the case of a spiral knives 108) and / or between multiple separate knives 108 (e.g., in the case of stacked annular knives 108).
[0035] In some embodiments, the mounting plate 112 can be supported by a mounting block 122 that is fixedly connected to the food carrier 102, and the mounting plate 116 can be slidably coupled to the food carrier 102. In some embodiments, (one or more) ejector plates 118 can be fixedly attached (e.g., bolted, welded) to the guide rod 120, and the guide rod 120 can be fixedly connected (e.g., bolted, welded) to the mounting plate 116. The guide rod 120 can also be slidably coupled to the mounting block 122 and supported by the mounting block 122 (e.g., using one or more bearings 124). It should be noted that the guide rod 120 and (one or more) ejector plates 118 are provided only by way of example and are not meant to limit the present disclosure. In other embodiments, different ejectors can be used, including an ejector block mounted to the mounting plate 116 and moving between adjacent segments of the knife 108 and / or between multiple separated knives 108.
[0036] Food 200 (e.g., potatoes) may be moved from food supply 126 (e.g., a tapered tube carrying a water-fed food stream) and radially distributed to engage food cutters 104. In some embodiments, the water-fed product stream may be operated at between about nine hundred (900) gallons per minute (gpm) and about one thousand two hundred (1200) gpm at a pressure between about fifteen (15) pounds per square inch (psi) and about twenty (20) psi. In operation, food carrier 102 moves about rotation axis 106, pausing to allow food 200 to enter at food cutters 104. In some embodiments, food carrier 102 may be paused for about one-half (0.5) second or longer.
[0037] The food carrier 102 then rotates, allowing the next food 200 (e.g., another potato) to enter the next food cutter 104. In some embodiments, the food carrier 102 can rotate at a speed between about thirty (30) revolutions per minute (rpm) and about fifty (50) rpm. As the food carrier 102 rotates, the ejector (e.g., cam) gradually extends and pushes the potato out of engagement with the food cutter 104. For example, the food cutting system 100 can include one or more tracks 128 (e.g., upper cam track, lower cam track) oriented to be generally circular relative to the food carrier 102 and around the rotation axis 106. It should be noted that the operating range of the water-fed product flow, pause time, and rotation speed of the product carrier are provided by way of example only and are not meant to limit the present disclosure. In other embodiments, the food cutting system 100 can be operated at different flow rates, pressures, pause times, revolutions per minute, etc.
[0038] In an embodiment, the track(s) 128 may be spaced at varying radial distances D1, D2, etc. from the axis of rotation 106 of the food carrier 102. Figure 2) are arranged. The track 128 can be coupled to one or more followers 130 (e.g., cam followers), and each follower 130 is connected to a corresponding pusher 110 for advancing the food 200. In an embodiment, each follower 130 can be fixedly attached (e.g., bolted, welded) to the mounting plate 116 and can include a cam follower bearing 132 that engages with the (one or more) cam tracks 128. For example, two followers 130 can be fastened to the mounting plate 116 and engaged with the upper cam track 128 and the lower cam track 128, wherein each of the followers has a cam follower bearing 132. In an exemplary operation, the food carrier 102 receives the food 200 at the food cutter 104. When the corresponding pusher 110 pushes the food 200 out of engagement with the food cutter 104, the food 200 is moved into the knife 108 of the food cutter 104 and in the direction 134 ( Figure 2 ) is carried around an axis of rotation 106.
[0039] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the food cutting system 100 includes one or more fixed slicing knives 136 that are disposed in a generally tangential orientation relative to the direction of travel of the food cutter 104. The slicing knives 136 are configured to slice the food 200 as the food carrier 10 is rotated and the food 200 is gradually or stepwise advanced to disengage from the engagement with the food cutter 104. In this manner, the food 200 can be cut in a second direction (e.g., perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 202 of the potato) to form slices. The slicing knives 136 can have a variety of blade shapes, including but not necessarily limited to a straight blade shape, a curved or C-shaped blade, a V-shaped blade, a W-shaped blade, and the like. For example, in Figure 24 to Figure 27 The potato shape shown is cut by a V-shaped blade. The slicing knife 136 can be mounted on a fixed mounting rod 138. The food cutting system 100 can also include a chute 140, and the cut food 200 can be washed along the chute 140 into a sink (not shown) by process water. The food cutting system 100 can also include a cover (not shown) for enclosing the food carrier 102 and the slicing knife 136 and containing the process water and the food 200.
[0040] It should be noted that although the description provided herein uses examples in which the food carrier 102 of the food cutting system 100 rotates on a fixed track 128 relative to a fixed slicing knife 136, these examples are not meant to limit the present disclosure. The terms "fixed" and "rotating" should be understood to refer to the relative movement of the food carrier 102 and the slicing knife 136 relative to each other, rather than relative movement relative to another reference frame (e.g., the ground). For example, in other embodiments, the food carrier 102 can be fixed in position relative to the ground, and the slicing knife 136 can rotate around the rotation axis relative to the ground. In other embodiments, both the food carrier 102 and the slicing knife 136 can move relative to another reference frame (e.g., the ground).
[0041] Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it should be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.
Claims
1. A food cutting system for cutting vegetable food first along the axis of the food and then perpendicular to the axis of the food, the food cutting system comprising: a food carrier for carrying the food circumferentially about an axis of rotation, the food carrier comprising a plurality of food cutters, each of the food cutters having a knife and a corresponding pusher, the pushers facing radially outward from the axis of rotation, the knives for receiving and engaging the food, the pushers slidably coupled to the knives and radially movable to push the food out of engagement with the food cutters; a track oriented to be generally circular relative to the food carrier and about the rotation axis, the track being arranged at varying radial distances from the rotation axis and coupled to a plurality of followers, each of the plurality of followers being connected to the corresponding pusher to advance the food, wherein the food moved into the knife of the food cutter and carried about the rotation axis is progressively advanced by the corresponding pusher to disengage from engagement with the food cutter; and A slicing knife is disposed in a generally tangential orientation relative to the plurality of food cutters for slicing the food product as the food carrier is rotated and the food product is incrementally advanced out of engagement with the food cutters.
2. The food cutting system of claim 1, further comprising a food supply for radially distributing food for engagement with the plurality of food cutters.
3. The food cutting system of claim 2, wherein: The food supply includes a tapered tube configured to receive food from a water-fed product stream and to deliver the food.
4. The food cutting system of claim 1, wherein: The knife comprises a spiral knife.
5. The food cutting system of claim 1, wherein: The pusher includes an ejection plate.
6. The food cutting system of claim 1, wherein: The follower includes a cam follower engaged with the track.
7. The food cutting system of claim 1, further comprising a chute for receiving cut food from the food carrier and the slicing knife.
8. A food cutting system for cutting a vegetable food first along an axis of the food and then perpendicular to the axis of the food, the food cutting system comprising: a food carrier for carrying the food circumferentially about an axis of rotation, the food carrier including a food cutter having a knife for receiving and engaging the food and a pusher facing radially outward from the axis of rotation, the knife for receiving and engaging the food, the pusher slidably coupled to the knife and radially movable to push the food out of engagement with the food cutter; a track oriented to be generally circular relative to the food carrier and about the rotational axis, the track being arranged at varying radial distances from the rotational axis and coupled to a follower connected to an advancer to advance the food, wherein the food moved into the knife of the food cutter and carried about the rotational axis is advanced by the advancer to disengage from engagement with the food cutter; and A slicing knife is disposed in a generally tangential orientation relative to the food cutter for slicing the food product as the food carrier is rotated and the food product is incrementally advanced out of engagement with the food cutter.
9. The food cutting system of claim 8, further comprising a food supply for radially dispensing food for engagement with the food cutter.
10. The food cutting system of claim 9, wherein: The food supply includes a tapered tube configured to receive food from a water-fed product stream and to deliver the food.
11. The food cutting system of claim 8, wherein: The knife comprises a spiral knife.
12. The food cutting system of claim 8, wherein: The pusher includes an ejection plate.
13. The food cutting system of claim 8, wherein: The follower includes a cam follower engaged with the track.
14. The food cutting system of claim 8, further comprising a chute for receiving cut food from the food carrier and the slicing knife.
15. A method for cutting a vegetable food product along an axis of the food product and then perpendicular to the axis of the food product, the method comprising: carrying a food cutter axially about an axis of rotation by the food carrier, the food cutter having a knife and an impeller facing radially outward from the axis of rotation; receiving the food product by the knife, the food product being radially received to engage the food cutter along an axis of the food product; carrying the food product circumferentially about the axis of rotation by the food cutter; When the food is carried about the rotation axis, the food is gradually advanced out of engagement with the food cutter by the pusher, the pusher being slidably coupled to the knife and being radially movable relative to the rotation axis; and As the food carrier rotates and the food is progressively advanced out of engagement with the food cutter, the food is sliced by a slicing knife in a generally tangential orientation relative to the food cutter and perpendicular to the axis of the food.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein: Gradually advancing the food product by the pusher to disengage from the food cutter includes: The pusher is engaged with a track oriented generally circularly relative to the food carrier and about the axis of rotation, the track being disposed at varying radial distances from the axis of rotation and coupled to a follower connected to the pusher to advance the food product.
17. The method of claim 15, wherein: The knife comprises a spiral knife.
18. The method of claim 15, wherein: The pusher includes an ejection plate.
19. The method of claim 16, wherein: The follower includes a cam follower engaged with the track.
20. The method of claim 15, further comprising: The cut food product is received from the food product carrier and the slicing knife through a chute.