Conveyor system for the transport of food products and associated operating procedures

Abstract

The invention relates to a conveying device (2) for formatting disc-shaped food products into product stacks. The conveying device (2) comprises an inlet (4), a lower product conveyor (8), an upper product conveyor (7, 9), a vertically pivotable distributor conveyor (6) for distributing the incoming food products selectively to the lower product conveyor (8) or to the upper product conveyor (7, 9), an outlet conveyor (10) which receives the food products from the lower product conveyor (8) and the upper product conveyor (7, 9) in a partially stacked state, and an outlet (11) for discharging the stacked food products in product rows.The invention provides that the individual conveying lanes (6G, 6H) of the distributor conveyor (6) are independently pivotable vertically in order to selectively direct the incoming food products for each conveying lane either to the lower product conveyor (8) or to the upper product conveyor (7, 9). The invention further comprises a corresponding operating method.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a conveying device for transporting food products (e.g., slices of sausage, slices of cheese) and for formatting the food products into stacks. The invention further relates to a corresponding operating method.

[0002] A similar conveying device is known from DE 10 2014 002 530 A1, but its purpose is to fill product gaps in the incoming conveyor tracks. Similar machines are also known for stacking food products (e.g., slices of sausage, slices of cheese).

[0003] However, the known machines for stacking food products (e.g., slices of sausage, slices of cheese) are not yet sufficiently flexible with regard to formatting the incoming food products into the desired product format.

[0004] The invention is therefore based on the objective of creating a correspondingly improved conveying device and an associated operating procedure.

[0005] This problem is solved by a conveying device according to the invention or a corresponding operating method according to the independent claims.

[0006] The conveying device according to the invention initially has an inlet in accordance with the prior art in order to receive the food products (e.g. slices of sausage, slices of cheese) in product rows, each of which is oriented transversely to the conveying direction and each contains several food products in parallel conveying tracks.

[0007] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a product cutting device (“slicer”) is arranged upstream of the conveying device, which cuts food products (e.g. large pieces of ham, blocks of cheese) into slices and then feeds these to the conveying device according to the invention for formatting and stacking.

[0008] Furthermore, the conveying device according to the invention, in accordance with the prior art, has a distributor conveyor that receives the food products (e.g., slices of sausage, slices of cheese) from the inlet of the conveying device and, depending on its pivot position, selectively directs them to either an upper or a lower product conveyor. The upper and lower product conveyors are arranged one above the other and are supplied with the incoming food products (e.g., slices of sausage, slices of cheese) by the pivotable distributor conveyor. The pivot position of the distributor conveyor determines which of the two superimposed product conveyors receives the incoming food products.

[0009] As briefly mentioned above, the conveying device according to the invention enables the stacking of incoming food products (e.g., slices of sausage, slices of cheese). For example, each product stack can contain two slices if two product conveyors are arranged one above the other. However, it is also possible for the individual product stacks to contain a larger number of slices at the output, which then requires a correspondingly larger number of product conveyors arranged one above the other. For formatting into product stacks with three slices on top of each other, three product conveyors arranged one above the other are required, which are fed by the pivoting distributor conveyor with the incoming food products (e.g., slices of sausage, slices of cheese).

[0010] Furthermore, the conveying device according to the invention, in accordance with the prior art, comprises an output conveyor that receives the food products from the lower and upper product conveyors in a partially stacked position. The upper product conveyor thus places the food products on top of those conveyed by the lower product conveyor, resulting in a corresponding stacking.

[0011] It should be noted that the term "product stacks" used within the scope of the invention is to be understood generally. For example, the individual discs of the product stacks can be stacked with 100% overlap, i.e., the individual discs lie congruently on top of each other within the product stack. However, within the scope of the invention, it is also possible for the stacked discs to be offset from one another ("staggered stack"), so that the overlap of the stacked discs within the product stacks is only partial. Furthermore, the product stacks can also be shingled, as is known from the prior art.

[0012] The outfeed conveyor delivers the food products formatted in product stacks (e.g., slices of sausage, slices of cheese) to an outlet where the stacked food products are again discharged in product rows, with the product rows being oriented perpendicular to the conveying direction and each containing several food products in parallel tracks as product stacks.

[0013] The conveying device according to the invention is characterized in that the individual conveyor lanes of the distributor conveyor can be pivoted vertically independently of one another in order to selectively direct the incoming food products to either the lower or the upper product conveyor for each conveyor lane. In contrast, in the known conveying device according to DE 10 2014 002 530 A1, the distributor conveyor can only be pivoted as a whole, with all conveyor lanes, either upwards or downwards. The lane-specific pivotability of the individual conveyor lanes of the distributor conveyor advantageously increases the flexibility in the formatting and stacking of the incoming food products (e.g., slices of sausage, slices of cheese).For example, it is possible in this way to format eight incoming conveyor lanes with food products into four outgoing conveyor lanes, each containing a product stack with two discs.

[0014] Preferably, all conveying tracks of the distributor conveyor can be pivoted independently and individually upwards or downwards. Alternatively, however, it is also possible for the conveying tracks of the distributor conveyor to be pivoted upwards or downwards in groups. For example, the distributor conveyor can have two pivoting sections that can be pivoted upwards or downwards independently of each other, each comprising two conveying tracks. Instead of such a symmetrical 2:2 division of the distributor conveyor, asymmetrical divisions are also possible, for example, with a single conveying track in one pivoting section of the distributor conveyor and three conveying tracks in the other pivoting section.Furthermore, it is also possible for the distributor conveyor to have more than two pivoting parts that can be pivoted independently upwards or downwards. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, however, the number of independently pivotable parts of the distributor conveyor is equal to the number of conveying lanes of the distributor conveyor, which allows for maximum flexibility.

[0015] Furthermore, it should be noted that preferably at least one of the stacked product conveyors is a so-called shuttle conveyor, which can travel transversely to the conveying direction. For example, only the upper product conveyor could be such a shuttle conveyor. Alternatively, however, only the lower product conveyor could be such a shuttle conveyor. It is also possible for all product conveyors to be designed as shuttle conveyors, although this leads to greater complexity. The lateral movement of the shuttle conveyor allows the food products entering side-by-side to be aligned laterally for subsequent stacking with the desired overlap.For example, if eight conveyor lanes carrying food products enter the system, while four conveyor lanes carrying product stacks exit, the incoming food products must be paired to form product stacks. This requires that one food product in each pair is laterally displaced by the shuttle conveyor so that the two food products in that pair can be stacked.

[0016] In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the shuttle conveyor allows a maximum lateral offset that corresponds exactly to one conveyor track. However, it is also possible within the scope of the invention for the shuttle conveyor to allow a lateral offset that encompasses several conveyor tracks.

[0017] In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the conveying device enables two operating modes, which are determined depending on the number of conveying lanes entering on the input side and the number of conveying lanes exiting on the output side, wherein the operating mode is selected and specified by a control device which also controls the distributor conveyor, as described in detail below.

[0018] The control unit sets a first operating mode when the number of food products in the incoming product lines is twice the number of food products in the outgoing product lines. This is the case, for example, when the incoming product lines each contain eight slices of food side by side, while the outgoing product lines each comprise four stacks of two slices.

[0019] In this first operating mode, the control unit controls the distributor conveyor so that the individual pivoting sections of the distributor conveyor are pivoted either upwards towards the upper product conveyor or downwards towards the lower product conveyor, depending on the individual conveying lanes. Preferably, the even-numbered pivoting sections of the distributor conveyor are pivoted upwards, while the odd-numbered pivoting sections are pivoted downwards. Conversely, it is also possible for the even-numbered pivoting sections of the distributor conveyor to be pivoted downwards, while the odd-numbered pivoting sections are pivoted upwards. The crucial factor is that the pivoting sections of the distributor conveyor are alternately pivoted upwards and downwards, perpendicular to the conveying direction.

[0020] Furthermore, in this first operating mode, the control unit directs the shuttle conveyor so that the food products on the shuttle conveyor are shifted laterally to achieve the desired lateral overlap with the food products on the other product conveyor, as this is the only way to stack the food products. For example, the shuttle conveyor can shift the food products by exactly one conveyor track if complete overlap of the stacked food products is desired. However, it is also possible, for example, for the shuttle conveyor to shift the food products laterally by only half a conveyor track if only fifty percent overlap of the slices in the product stack is required.

[0021] For example, the odd-numbered food products (i.e., the food products in the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, ... position) in each product row can be moved to the top, while the even-numbered food products (i.e., the food products in the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, ... position) in each product row can be moved to the bottom. The even-numbered food products of each product row are then stacked with the odd-numbered food products of each product row in product stacks of two slices each.

[0022] It should be noted that in the first operating mode, the pivot position of the individual pivoting parts of the distributor conveyor is not dynamically changed, but remains constant for the duration of the first operating mode. Therefore, it is not necessary to dynamically change the pivot position of the distributor conveyor in the first operating mode.

[0023] Furthermore, the conveying device according to the invention enables a second operating mode, which is set by the control unit when the number of food products in the incoming product lines is equal to the number of food products in the outgoing product lines. For example, this is the case when the incoming product lines each contain four food products, while the outgoing product lines each contain four stacks of products, each with two stacked discs.

[0024] In this second operating mode, the control unit controls the distributor conveyor in such a way that all pivoting parts of the distributor conveyor with all conveyor tracks are pivoted together either upwards to the upper product conveyor or downwards to the lower product conveyor.

[0025] In this process, the pivot position of the distributor conveyor is dynamically changed during operation. Preferably, the product batches entering from the inlet side are alternately directed upwards to the upper product conveyor and downwards to the lower product conveyor by the distributor conveyor. The product batches on the upper product conveyor are then stacked onto the product batches on the lower product conveyor.

[0026] Firstly, in the second operating mode, this leads to a halving of the cycle rate from the input side of the conveyor to the output side of the conveyor, i.e., the intake rate of the individual product lines at the input is twice as high as the output rate of the product lines at the output, since two product lines are combined to form a stacked product line.

[0027] On the other hand, this also means that in this second operating mode, no lateral shifting by the shuttle conveyor is required if complete overlap of the individual discs in the finished product stack is desired. However, if a fifty percent overlap of the individual discs in the finished product stack is desired, the shuttle conveyor must be moved laterally by half a conveyor track in this operating mode to achieve the desired overlap.

[0028] Furthermore, it should be mentioned that the conveying device according to the invention can be designed as a stand-alone unit, which allows for subsequent integration into existing processing lines. Alternatively, however, it is also possible to integrate the conveying device according to the invention into another device (e.g., a product cutting machine, a feeder).

[0029] In addition to the conveying device according to the invention described above, the invention also claims protection for a corresponding operating method, wherein the individual steps of the operating method according to the invention already result from the above description of the functioning of the conveying device, so that a separate description of the individual steps of the operating method can be dispensed with.

[0030] Other advantageous embodiments of the invention are characterized in the dependent claims or are explained in more detail below together with the description of the preferred embodiment of the invention with reference to the figures. The figures show: Fig. 1 A side view of a processing line according to the invention for processing meat products with a product cutting machine, a conveying device according to the invention and an inserter, Fig. 2. Supervision of the processing line in accordance with Fig. 1, Fig. 3 a side view of the conveying device according to the invention from the Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, Fig. 4A a supervision of the conveying device according to the invention Fig. 3 in a first operating mode, Fig. 4B a supervision of the conveying device according to the invention Fig. 3 in a second operating mode, Fig. 5 a detailed enlargement from Fig. 4B, Fig. 6A a flowchart to illustrate the first operating mode according to Fig. 4A, as well as Fig. 6B a flowchart to illustrate the second operating mode according to Fig. 4B.

[0031] The Fig. 1 and Fig. Figure 2 shows different views of a processing line for processing food products (e.g., sausage, cheese).

[0032] The processing line initially includes a product cutting machine 1, also referred to as a "slicer," which can be of conventional design. An example of the design and operation of product cutting machine 1 is described in US 6,763,750 B2.

[0033] The product cutting machine 1 delivers product series of food slices (e.g. sausage slices, cheese slices) to a downstream conveying device 2, which formats and stacks the food product slices, as will be described in detail below.

[0034] The conveyor 2 then delivers the product stacks to a downstream inserter 3, which can also be of conventional design, with an example of the design and operation of the inserter 3 being described in EP 2 030 898 B1.

[0035] The invention essentially relates to the design and operation of the conveying device 2, which is located in Fig. 3 is shown in detail and described below.

[0036] First, the conveyor 2 has an inlet 4, which can be formed by an outlet conveyor of the product cutting machine 1. At the inlet 4, the conveyor 2 receives product rows, each oriented transversely to the conveying direction and each containing several food products 5 in parallel conveying tracks. It should be noted that the conveying direction is represented by block arrows in the drawings.

[0037] Furthermore, the conveying system 2 includes a distribution conveyor 6, which receives and distributes the food products 5 arriving at the inlet. It should be noted that the distribution conveyor 6 comprises a total of eight pivoting parts 6A-6H, which can be pivoted upwards or downwards independently of one another and each form a conveying lane for one of the food products 5. In this embodiment, the distribution conveyor 6 thus has a total of eight conveying lanes A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2, D1, D2, so that each product line at the inlet 4 of the conveying system 2 can contain a total of eight of the food products 5.

[0038] In the conveying direction behind the distributor conveyor 6, an upper product conveyor 7 and a lower shuttle conveyor 8 are arranged one above the other. The individual pivoting parts 6A-6H of the distributor conveyor 6 can direct the incoming food products 5 in a lane-specific manner, either upwards to the upper product conveyor 7 or downwards to the lower shuttle conveyor 8, as will be described in detail below.

[0039] In the conveying direction behind the upper product conveyor 7 is an upper transfer conveyor 9, while in the conveying direction behind the lower shuttle conveyor 8 is an output conveyor 10. The upper transfer conveyor 9 can then place the food products 5 onto the food products 5 on the output conveyor 10, thereby creating product stacks 13, each consisting of two discs.

[0040] Furthermore, the conveying device 2 has an outlet 11, which can be formed, for example, by a conveyor of the downstream feeder 3 and is supplied by the output conveyor 10.

[0041] Furthermore, it should be mentioned that the lower shuttle conveyor 8 can be moved laterally relative to the conveying direction in order to align the food products 5 laterally (i.e., transversely to the conveying direction) for subsequent stacking, as will be described in detail below. The lateral movement of the shuttle conveyor 8 is known from the prior art and is controlled by a control unit located in a housing 12 of the conveyor 2.

[0042] The conveyor system 2 enables two different operating modes, which are selected depending on the number of conveyor tracks entering on the input side and depending on the number of conveyor tracks entering on the output side.

[0043] This shows Fig. 4A and Fig. 6A a first operating mode with eight incoming conveyor tracks A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2, D1, D2 and four outgoing conveyor tracks AD.

[0044] The Fig. 4B and Fig. Figure 6B, on the other hand, illustrates a second operating mode with four incoming conveyor tracks AD and four outgoing conveyor tracks AD.

[0045] The following will now refer to the Fig. 4a and Fig. 6A first describes the first operating mode in which the number of incoming conveyor tracks (eight) is twice as large as the number of outgoing conveyor tracks (four).

[0046] In this first operating mode, eight parallel conveyor lanes A1-D2 of the food products 5 are received in one step S1 on the input side.

[0047] The individual pivoting sections 6A-6H of the distributor conveyor 6 are pivoted alternately upwards to the upper product conveyor 7 and downwards to the lower shuttle conveyor 8 in steps S2 and S3, transversely to the conveying direction. This means that the incoming food products 5 are guided alternately upwards and downwards along each product line.

[0048] In step S4, the shuttle conveyor 8 then moves the food products 5 on the lower shuttle conveyor 8 laterally perpendicular to the conveying direction by approximately one conveying lane, in order to subsequently enable the desired covering of the food products 5 in the individual product stacks.

[0049] In step S5, the transfer conveyor 9 then stacks the food products 5 from the odd-numbered conveyor lanes A1-D1 onto the food products 5 from the even-numbered conveyor lanes A2-D2.

[0050] At outlet 11, product stacks 13, each containing two discs, are then dispensed, with each product row at outlet 11 comprising four product stacks 13, each containing two discs.

[0051] The following will now refer to the Fig. 4B and Fig. Section 6B describes the second operating mode of the conveyor system 2. In this second operating mode, in step S1, a first product series with four food products 5 is picked up from four parallel conveyor lanes A1-D1.

[0052] In step S2, the entire distributor conveyor 6 with all its swivel parts 6A-6H then pivots upwards to the upper product conveyor 7, which thus receives the first product row completely.

[0053] In a further step S3, another product line of food products is then added in four parallel conveyor lanes A2-D2.

[0054] The complete distributor conveyor 6, with all its swiveling parts 6A-6H, is then swivelled downwards in one step S4 to the lower shuttle conveyor 8, which thus fully receives the second product line.

[0055] In step S5, the shuttle conveyor 8 can then be moved laterally to align the food products on the lower shuttle conveyor 8 laterally with respect to the food products on the upper product conveyor 7.

[0056] If a 100% overlap of the stacked discs is desired in the product stacks 13, the shuttle conveyor 8 does not need to be moved laterally at all.

[0057] If, on the other hand, a fifty percent overlap of the stacked discs is desired in the product stacks 13, the shuttle conveyor 8 must be moved laterally by half a conveyor track.

[0058] The lateral displacement path of the shuttle conveyor 8 therefore depends on the desired overlap of the discs in the finished product stack.

[0059] In step S6, the food products 5 from the upper product conveyor 7 are stacked onto the food products 5 from the lower shuttle conveyor 8.

[0060] At outlet 11, product series with four product stacks 13 each are then output (step S7). Reference symbol list: 1 product cutting machine 2 Support facility 3 inserts 4. Entrance to the conveyor system 5 food products 6 distributor conveyors 6A-6H Swivel parts of the distributor conveyor 7 Upper product conveyor 8 Lower Shuttle Conveyors 9 Upper transfer conveyor 10 discharge conveyors 11 Outlet 12 Housing of the conveyor system 13 product stacks AD Outbound conveyor tracks A1-D2 Input conveyor tracks

Images