Discharge unit, slicing machine equipped with it, method for adapting the discharge unit

Abstract

Discharge unit (17) for discharging articles, in particular discs (S), with components arranged one behind the other in the transport direction (10). - Portioning belt unit (17a) with a first deflection roller (17a1) rearmost in the transport direction (10) of the portioning belt unit (17a), which can be moved vertically, and a deflection roller (17ax) foremost in the transport direction (10), last, deflection roller (17ax), - Discharge conveyor unit (17b), and - Transfer belt unit (17c), - which are attached to a base frame (22), - wherein at least one adjusting device (23) for adjusting at least one of the units (17a, b, c) in the transport direction (10) relative to the base frame (22) is provided, characterized in that - the transfer conveyor unit (17c) is attached to a transfer support frame (17C), - the portioning belt unit (17a) and the discharge belt unit (17b) are attached to a common portioning support frame (17AB), - the frames (17AB, 17C) are movably attached to the base frame (22) in the transport direction (10), and - the adjusting device (23) is designed such that it can move the portioning frame (17AB) and / or the transfer support frame (17C) relative to the base frame (22) in the longitudinal direction (10), - wherein the adjusting device (23) comprises a pivot lever (25) which is pivotable about an upright pivot axis (25') and is pivotally attached to at least one of the two support frames (17AB, 17C), and / or - the base frame (22) has two longitudinal beams (22A, 22B) spaced apart in the transverse direction (11) and extending in the transport direction (10), wherein the two support frames (17AB, 17C) have support elements (24) which are slidable along the longitudinal beams (22A, 22B) and can be fixed at longitudinal positions.

Description

I. Area of ​​application

[0001] The invention relates to the conveying unit, in particular of slicing machines, especially so-called slicers, which are used in the food industry to slice strands of a product that is only slightly compressible, such as sausage or cheese.

[0002] The conveying unit transports the manufactured discs or portions assembled from them using the conveying unit away from the point of origin of the discs, i.e. the cutting unit. II. Technical Background

[0003] Since these strands can be produced with a cross-section that is well-shaped and dimensionally stable along their length, i.e., essentially constant, they are called product calibers.

[0004] In this process, several parallel product calibers are usually cut simultaneously by cutting off a slice from each caliber in one pass using the same knife, which moves transversely to the longitudinal direction of the product calibers.

[0005] The product calibers are pushed forward by a feeder of a feeding unit towards the knife of the cutting unit, usually on a downward-sloping feeder, and are guided through the product openings of a plate-shaped, so-called cutting frame, at the front end of which the part of the product caliber protruding beyond is cut off as a disc by the knife immediately in front of the cutting frame.

[0006] The discs fall onto the first conveyor of the conveying unit, by means of which they are transported away for further processing.

[0007] The first conveyor of the conveying unit in the transport direction is generally designed as a portioning belt for accumulating several discs in shingled or stacked portions, in that its conveyor belt can be driven stepwise in, preferably both, directions of rotation in a controlled manner.

[0008] The inclination of the upper run of the portioning belt is adjustable by pivoting a swiveling unit of the portioning belt unit, in which its deflection rollers are mounted, about a pivoting axis running in the transverse direction at the downstream end, usually the rotation axis of the downstream deflection roller.

[0009] The problem is that, especially with very flat product calibers, i.e., when placed in the slicing machine and viewed from the side, for example with a height (thickness) of less than 5 cm, and correspondingly very short slices in the transport direction, these, after being cut from the caliber, already hit the upstream deflection roller with their rear end in the wrapping area of ​​the upper run and thus have a very strong inclination, so that a sliding downwards can occur.

[0010] This effect is amplified in shingled portions, where the next slices that hit rest with their front area on the already formed partial portion and are inclined even more.

[0011] To remedy this situation, the entire portioning conveyor unit has previously been adjusted downwards and shifted towards the knife. However, this changes the size of the gap between the downstream last delivery conveyor unit and the portioning conveyor unit, as well as the discharge conveyor unit, which are usually mounted on a common support frame.

[0012] Document DE 10 2021 100 897 A1 discloses a conveying unit according to the preamble of claim 1. Reference is also made to documents DE 10 2016 107 776 A1, WO 2017 / 186 498 A1, DE 10 2013 206 510 A1, US 2006 / 0 107 808 A1 and DE 10 2022 102 512 A1. III. Description of the invention a) Technical problem

[0013] The object of the invention is therefore to provide a conveying unit and a slicing machine equipped therewith, in particular a slicer, which avoids these disadvantages, as well as a corresponding method. b) Solution of the task

[0014] This problem is solved by the features of claims 1, 12 and 13. Advantageous embodiments are described in the dependent claims.

[0015] A generic conveying unit, such as those used for conveying in the transport direction of the conveying unit of - consisting of one or more discs - Portions used usually comprise, one after the other in the direction of transport - a portioning belt unit with a rearmost, first deflection roller in the transport direction (10), which can be moved vertically, and a frontmost, last deflection roller, - a discharge conveyor unit, - a transfer conveyor unit that is attached to a base frame.

[0016] According to the invention, at least one adjustment device, in particular one that can be manually driven, is provided with which at least one of the units can be adjusted in the transport direction relative to the base frame.

[0017] This allows the longitudinal positions of these units to be quickly and easily adjusted to the respective work order.

[0018] The belt units are mounted in support frames that are adjustable relative to the base frame in the direction of transport. If a belt unit is to be tiltable, i.e., pivotable around a transverse axis, this is usually achieved by a corresponding pivoting mechanism in the support frame.

[0019] In this case, although not according to the invention, each belt unit can be accommodated in a separate support frame; however, the solution according to the invention is best applied to a design with two support frames.

[0020] According to the invention, the transfer conveyor unit is attached to its own transfer support frame, and the portioning conveyor unit and the discharge conveyor unit are attached to a common portioning support frame.

[0021] The adjustment device is then designed so that it can move the portioning frame and / or the transfer support frame in the longitudinal direction relative to the base frame, ideally steplessly or in predetermined increments.

[0022] This allows for optimal adaptation to the specific circumstances of each work order.

[0023] Preferably, a first adjustment device is provided which is designed to adjust all, in particular both, support frames together relative to the base frame.

[0024] This allows the distance of the entire conveying unit to the knife and the knife plane to be adjusted without changing and readjusting the intermediate distances between the individual belt units.

[0025] Additionally or instead, a second adjustment device may be provided, which is designed to adjust the, in particular both, support frames relative to each other; in the case of more than two support frames, such a second adjustment device may be provided between each pair of support frames.

[0026] Preferably, this is done while maintaining the position of the transfer support frame relative to the base frame, as this does not adversely affect the exposure of the downstream end of the conveying unit and thus the gap to a subsequent unit.

[0027] A specific solution according to the invention, according to a first aspect, consists in the adjustment device comprising a pivot lever which is pivotable about an upright pivot axis and is pivotally attached to at least one of the two support frames, which is thereby displaced in or against the direction of transport.

[0028] Such a pivot lever can protrude from or beneath the base frame on the operator side and be easily operated by an operator. It may have specific detent positions for fixing the pivot lever in predetermined positions and / or a fixing device, in particular a clamping device, for fixing the pivot lever and thus the associated belt unit in any desired position.

[0029] Advantageously, every adjustment device has such a swivel lever.

[0030] If the first pivot lever of the first adjusting device is pivotally attached to one of the two support frames and pivotally attached to the base frame by means of the upright pivot axis, then by actuating this first pivot lever the support frame attached to it, in particular directly, and also all further support frames connected to this support frame, will be adjusted.

[0031] If the second pivot lever of the second adjusting device is pivotally attached to one of the two support frames by means of the upright pivot axis and is pivotally attached to the other support frame by means of a connecting lever which is pivotally attached to the second pivot lever away from the pivot axis, these two support frames are adjusted relative to each other in the transport direction.

[0032] At the same time, this second pivot lever, together with the connecting lever, forms a connection between these two support frames, which, when the first pivot lever is actuated, causes all interconnected support frames to be adjusted together.

[0033] Depending on the intended adjustments and modifications, the operator can therefore actuate the first or the second or both pivot levers to achieve the desired longitudinal positions of the individual support frames and the belt units held therein.

[0034] In addition to or as an alternative to the solution according to the first aspect, according to a second aspect, the adjustment of the support frames in the longitudinal direction is possible in a simple way by the fact that the base frame has two longitudinal beams spaced apart in the transverse direction and running in the transport direction.

[0035] Then the two support frames can each have support elements, in particular on their undersides, which are guided on these longitudinal beams and which are movable along the longitudinal beams and can be fixed to them, preferably at any longitudinal position.

[0036] In a very simple and cost-effective embodiment, the supporting parts are designed as sliding parts that slide on the longitudinal beams, for example sliding sleeves that consist of two halves which grip the longitudinal beam and can be clamped against each other and thus also against the longitudinal beam by means of a clamping screw.

[0037] Since the portioning belt should generally be positioned as close as possible to and below the cutting unit, the rearmost deflection roller preferably has a smaller effective diameter than the frontmost deflection roller, as a smaller deflection roller can be inserted further into the acute angle between the cutting plane and the units located below it.

[0038] Preferably, the rearmost deflection roller therefore has a smaller effective diameter than all other deflection rollers of the portioning belt unit.

[0039] Preferably, in the portioning belt unit, the upper run of the portioning belt has two sections that are at an angle to each other, in particular a front upper run section in the transport direction, which runs approximately horizontally, especially when installed, and a rear upper run section, which rises from the rear end, i.e. from the cutting unit, to the height of the front upper run section.

[0040] This makes it easier to slide under the cutting unit.

[0041] The angle between the two sections, measured on the underside of the upper run, is between 90° and 180°, preferably between 115° and 145°.

[0042] The upper run is usually supported for stabilization between the rear upper run section and the front upper run section by either another deflecting roller or a band support plate.

[0043] If the portioning belt unit has separate support frames for the individual belt units, the pivot axis for pivoting the portioning frame in the transport direction is arranged between the axes of rotation of the foremost and the rearmost deflection roller, or preferably the pivot axis is the axis of rotation of a drive shaft and / or the rearmost deflection roller, the last one in the transport direction.

[0044] If the portioning belt unit has a common support frame for several belt units - in particular a portioning support frame for the portioning belt unit and the discharge belt unit - the pivot axis for pivoting the portioning frame in the transport direction is arranged between the axes of rotation of the foremost and rearmost deflection roller of the discharge belt unit or preferably the pivot axis is the axis of rotation of the last deflection roller in the transport direction.

[0045] This allows for a large swivel angle with a simple design.

[0046] In a preferred embodiment, the drive shaft, when viewed in its axial direction, is arranged between the upper and lower runs of the portioning belt, and the drive shaft is designed as a driven deflecting roller over which the upper run of the portioning belt rotates.

[0047] This results in a very compact design.

[0048] Preferably, the output end of the drive shaft is operatively connected, for example via a toothed belt, to at least one of the other deflection rollers except the first deflection roller in the transport direction, in particular the last deflection roller.

[0049] This allows for greater design freedom in the arrangement of the drive shaft.

[0050] Regarding the slicing machine, in particular a slicer, which is used to slice product calibers, such as foods like sausage or cheese, and to create portions from the slices, this includes the usual modules such as - a cutting unit with a rotating blade, - a feed unit for supplying at least one caliber to the cutting unit, - a conveying unit for conveying the produced slices or portions, comprising at least one portioning belt unit, - a control system for controlling moving parts of the slicing machine, wherein, according to the invention, the conveying unit is designed as described above.

[0051] Regarding the method for converting a slicing machine, in particular for slicing very flat product calibers or for reverse shingling, especially in the case of a slicing machine as described above, the setup of the discharge unit before the start of the slicing operation is carried out according to the invention by the fact that - the rearmost deflection roller of the portioning belt unit is set to a predetermined height as the starting position for the slicing operation, - the portioning belt unit is adjusted and fixed in the transport direction at a predetermined knife distance to the cutting unit.

[0052] This is usually done anew for each work order.

[0053] If necessary, the transfer belt unit must also be adjusted and fixed at a predetermined intermediate distance to the upstream belt unit in the direction of transport in order to ensure a continuous, trouble-free transfer of the portions during conveying.

[0054] In particular, the rearmost part of the upper section of the portioning belt unit is brought to a predetermined inclination as the starting position for the slicing operation.

[0055] This is preferably done by means of the aforementioned height adjustment of the rearmost deflection roller of the portioning belt unit.

[0056] Preferably, the rearmost part of the upper run should run or be set approximately parallel to the cutting plane, in particular with a deviation from this of a maximum of + / - 10°, better a maximum of + / - 5°. c) Examples of implementation

[0057] Embodiments according to the invention are described in more detail below by way of example. The figures show: Fig. 1a, b: a slicing machine in the form of a slicer according to the prior art in different perspective views, with the feed belt folded up into the slicing position, Fig. 2a: A simplified side view of the slicing machine, stripped of its cladding parts so that the individual conveyor belts are more clearly visible, loaded with a product caliber. Fig. 2b: a side view according to Fig. 2a, but with the feed belt folded down into the loading position and the product caliber cut open to a caliber remnant, Fig. 3a, b: opposite the Fig. 2a, b enlarged, detailed side views of two different designs of the conveying unit in two different operating positions each, Fig. 4a, b: opposite the Fig. 3a, b enlarged side view of two different designs of the conveying unit illustrating the problem underlying the invention, Fig. 5a, b: an adjusting device according to the invention in top and side view in a first functional position, Fig. 6a, b: the adjusting device according to Fig. 5a, b in a second functional position, Fig. 7a, b: the adjusting device according to Fig. 5a, b in a third functional position, Fig. 8: two different designs of a portioning belt unit.

[0058] The Fig. 1a, Fig. Figure 1b shows different perspective views of a multi-lane slicer 1 for simultaneously slicing several product calibers K on separate lanes SP1 to SP4 next to each other and depositing them in shingled portions P consisting of several slices S with a general flow direction 10* through the slicer 1 from right to left.

[0059] Fig. Figure 2a shows a side view of slicer 1 with caliber K inserted, omitting covers and other parts not relevant to the invention, which, like all other units, are attached to the base frame 2, so that the functional parts, especially the conveyor belts, are more clearly visible. The longitudinal direction 10 is the feed direction of the caliber K to the cutting unit 7 and thus also the longitudinal direction of the caliber K lying in slicer 1.

[0060] It can be seen that the basic structure of a slicer 1 according to the prior art consists in the fact that several, in this case four, product calibers K lying next to each other on a feeder 4 with spacers 15 of the feeder 4 between them are fed by this feeder 20 to a cutting unit 7 with a knife 3 rotating about a knife axis 3', e.g. a sickle knife 3, several, in this case four, lying transverse to the feed direction 10 next to each other on a feeder 4, from the front ends of which the rotating knife 3 with its cutting edge 3a cuts off a slice S each in one operation, i.e. almost simultaneously.

[0061] For cutting the product caliber K, the feeder 4 is located in the Fig. 1a - 2a, shown in the side view, is a slanted cutting position with a low-lying, cutting-side, front end and a high-lying, rear end, from which it can be folded down about a pivot axis 20' running in its width direction, the first transverse direction 11, which is located near the cutting unit 7, into an approximately horizontal loading position, as shown in Fig. 2b is shown.

[0062] The rear end of each caliber K lying in the feed unit 20 is according to Fig. 2a each are held in a form-fitting manner by grippers 14a - d using gripper claws 16. These grippers 14a - 14d, which can be activated and deactivated with respect to the position of the gripper claws 16, are attached to a common gripper slide 13, which can be moved along a gripper guide 18 in the feed direction 10.

[0063] In this process, both the feed of the gripper slide 13 and the feeder 4 can be driven in a controlled manner, but the specific feed speed of the calibers K is effected by a similarly controlled driven, so-called upper and lower product guide 8, 9, which engages the top and bottom of the calibers K to be cut in their front end regions near the cutting unit 7:

[0064] The front ends of the calibers K are each guided through a so-called spectacle opening 6a-d of a plate-shaped cutting spectacle 5, with the cutting plane 3" running directly in front of the front, obliquely downward-pointing end face of the cutting spectacle 5, in which the knife 3 rotates with its cutting edge 3a and thus cuts off the protrusion of the calibers K from the cutting spectacle 5 as a disc S. The cutting plane 3" runs perpendicular to the upper run of the feeder 4 and / or is spanned by the two transverse directions 11, 12 to the feed direction 10.

[0065] The inner circumference of the spectacle openings 6a - d serves as a counter-edge for the cutting edge 3a of the knife 3.

[0066] Since both product guides 8, 9 can be driven in a controlled manner, in particular independently of each other and / or possibly separately for each track SP1 to SP4, these determine the - continuous or pulsed - feed rate of the caliber K through the cutting guide 5.

[0067] The upper product guide 8 is displaceable in the second transverse direction 12 – which runs perpendicular to the surface of the upper run of the feeder 4 – to adapt to the height H of the caliber K in this direction. Furthermore, at least one of the product guides 8, 9 can be designed to pivot about one of its deflection rollers in order to be able to change the direction of the run of its guide belt in contact with the caliber K to a limited extent.

[0068] The discs S, which are positioned obliquely in space during separation, fall onto a conveying device 17 which begins below the cutting frame 5 and extends in the direction of travel 10*, and which in this case consists of several conveying units 17a, b, c arranged one behind the other in the direction of travel 10* with the upper runs of their conveyor belts approximately aligned, of which the first conveying unit 17a in the direction of travel 10 can be designed as a portioning belt unit 17a and / or can also be designed as a weighing unit.

[0069] The discs S can hit the portioning belt unit 17a individually and spaced 10* apart from each other in the direction of travel, or, by appropriate control of the portioning belt unit 17a of the conveying device 17 - whose movement, like almost all moving parts, is controlled by the control 1* - shingled or stacked portions P can be formed by stepwise forward or backward movement of the portioning belt unit 17a.

[0070] Below the feed unit 20 there is usually a roughly horizontal residual conveyor 21, which begins with its front end below the cutting frame 5 and directly below or behind the discharge unit 17 and with its upper run transports residuals falling there to the rear by means of the drive of one of the discharge conveyors 17 against the flow direction 10.

[0071] In the side views of the Fig. 3a, b shows Fig. 3a a design in which each of the conveying belts 17a, b, c is arranged in its own support frame 17A, B, C, of ​​which at least the support frame 17A is pivotable about a horizontal pivot axis located in its downstream end region, thereby lowering the upstream end of this portioning belt 17a including its upstream deflection roller 17a1.

[0072] The design of the Fig. 3b differs from this in that the discharge belt 17b and the portioning belt 17a are arranged in a common support frame 17AB, which is also pivotable about a horizontal pivot axis located in its downstream end region, thereby lowering the upstream end of this portioning belt 17a including its upstream deflection roller 17a1.

[0073] This lowering of the upstream deflection roller 17a1 can be carried out for several reasons, for example to increase the distance to the cutting unit when producing stacks of discs as the stack grows and / or to adjust the inclination of the upstream part of the upper run of this portioning belt 17a, in particular to adapt it to the inclination of the cutting plane 3".

[0074] The Fig. Figures 4a and 4b show the resulting problem for both designs, namely that during such lowering, the length of the belt unit(s) in the rear support frame 17A or 17AB, measured in the direction of travel 10*, changes, since its end E remains the same, but its beginning A shifts from A1 to A2 due to the lowering, which may require further adjustments to the conveying unit 17, for example, moving the upstream deflection roller 17a1 towards the cutting unit 7 against the direction of travel 10*.

[0075] As a solution according to the invention, the Fig. 5a to 7b an adjusting device 23 for adjusting at least one of the belt units 17a, b, c in the transport direction 10 relative to the base frame 22 of the conveying unit 17 in different functional positions.

[0076] How best to view the side profiles of the Fig. 5b, Fig. 6b, Fig. Figure 7b shows a design in which the transfer belt unit 17c is housed in its own transfer support frame 17C, while the portioning belt unit 17a and the discharge belt unit 17b, arranged one behind the other in the direction of travel 10*, are housed in a common transfer support frame 17AB.

[0077] In the supervisory bodies of Fig. 5a, Fig. 6a, Fig. For the sake of clarity, the band units 17a, b, c are not shown in Figure 7a, but only their two support frames 17AB and 17C are symbolically represented as dashed rectangles, so that the support elements 24 fixed to these support frames 17AB and 17C are more clearly visible, by means of which the support frames 17AB and 17C can be moved along longitudinal beams 22A, B of the base frame 22 running in the through-direction 10* and spaced apart in the transverse direction 11, and fixed at a desired longitudinal position.

[0078] In the present case, the support elements 24 are designed as sliding elements 24 and encompass the longitudinal beams 22A, B to such an extent that removal perpendicular to their direction of travel 10* is not readily possible.

[0079] For example, fixing one of the support frames 17AB or 17C at a specific longitudinal position can be achieved by clamping at least one support element 24 of each support frame 17AB and 17C, arranged on the operator side B, to the operator-side longitudinal beams 22B with a clamping device, thereby fixing the entire support frame 17AB or 17C, which is fixedly connected to this support element 24, in its longitudinal position.

[0080] Furthermore, the corresponding support element 24 can be designed as a two-part clamping sleeve, the two parts of which can be clamped against each other and thus also against the longitudinal beam by means of a clamping screw 31, while in the loosened position of the clamping screw 31 the clamping sleeve can be moved along the longitudinal beam 22B.

[0081] To avoid over-constraints, each of the two support frames 17AB and 17C is mounted on the longitudinal beam 22A, which runs on the anti-operator side A, with two support parts 24 spaced apart in the through-direction 10*, whereas on the operator-side longitudinal beam 22B only with a single support part 24 each, which, however, is not essential for the realization of the invention.

[0082] The support frame 17C is displaceable by means of a first adjusting device 23.1, which includes a pivot lever 25.1 extending substantially in the transverse direction 11 and – preferably near the anti-operator side A – pivotable on the base frame 22 about an upright pivot axis 25.1' and thus in an approximately horizontal plane. It extends from there to the operator side B, so that its free end there can be easily grasped by an operator.

[0083] On the operator side B, the swivel lever 25.1 is pivotally connected to the support part 24 there - or another part of the support frame 17C - so that when the swivel lever 25.1 is pivoted by the operator about its pivot axis 25.1', ​​this support part 24 and thus the entire support frame 17C can be moved in the direction of travel 10* and fixed at the desired position as described.

[0084] By means of a second adjusting device 25.2, the longitudinal distance between the two support frames 17C and 17AB can be adjusted and set.

[0085] For this purpose, it includes a further pivot lever 25.2, which is also pivotable in a horizontal plane about an upright pivot axis 25.2' on a support part 24, which is guided on the rear longitudinal beam 22A running on the anti-operator side A.

[0086] This pivot lever 25.2 is pivotally attached to the support part 24 on the operator side B, so that its position in the direction of travel 10* relative to this support part 24 is adjustable, but also adjustable.

[0087] This can be achieved in a simple way, for example by a threaded bolt extending vertically through an elongated hole in this pivot lever 25.2, at the free end of which there is a T-nut which is guided in an undercut groove in the support part 24 running in the through-direction 10* and can be clamped in this at any longitudinal position.

[0088] On this pivot lever 25.2 - shown here in an angled top view - a connecting lever 26 is pivotally attached at a distance from its pivot axis 25.2', the other end of which is pivotally attached to one of the support parts 24 of the other support frame 17AB - or to another part of this support frame 17AB.

[0089] By pivoting this pivot lever 25.2, the distance in the through-direction 10* between the two support frames 17C and 17AB can be changed.

[0090] If this distance is fixed by fixing the pivot lever 25.2 relative to the support frame 17C, then by actuating the first adjusting device 23.1, i.e. pivoting the 1st pivot lever 25.1, both support frames 17C and 17AB can be adjusted together in the through-direction 10*.

[0091] In this way, the conveying unit 17 can be adapted very easily and quickly to the conditions of the respective work order.

[0092] Thus, in the Fig. 5a, b the conveying unit 17 is shown in a first functional position, for example a starting position.

[0093] In contrast, the Fig. 6a, b a second functional position, in which, compared to the initial position of the Fig. 5a, b both support frames 17C and 17AB are displaced together in the through-direction 10* due to an actuation of the pivoting mechanism 25.1 with the pivot lever 25.2 fixed.

[0094] Furthermore, the Fig. 7a, b a third functional position, in which, compared to the initial position of the Fig. 5a, b the two support frames 17C and 17AB are pushed further apart due to an actuation of the second pivot lever 25.2 with the support frame 17C fixed in place.

[0095] In order to make it easier to move the portioning belt 27A of the portioning belt unit 17a closer to the knife 3, the design according to the invention is configured as follows: Fig. 8a, b the portioning belt 27A is also guided around a front and a rear deflection roller 17a1, 17a2, but the upper run 22a in between is held convexly curved outwards by an additional guide element, so that only a rear upper run section 27AO1 of the upper run 22a is inclined and a front upper run section 27AO2 of the upper run 22a is approximately horizontal.

[0096] In the design according to Fig. 8a the guide element is a further deflection roller 17a2, arranged in the area between the foremost and rearmost deflection rollers 17a1, 17ax, which is driven as a drive shaft 29A and serves as a drive roller and in particular has a larger diameter than the two other deflection rollers 17a1, 17a2.

[0097] Due to the presence of the rearmost deflection roller 17a1, the wrap angle α with which the portioning belt 27A encloses this driven deflection roller is much smaller than in the prior art, even if - as in Fig. Figure 8a shows that this drive roller 17a2 engages with both the upper run 27AO and the lower run 27AU, and the wrap angle α is the sum of the two wrap angles α1 and α2. However, this is not sufficient to reliably prevent slippage between them.

[0098] Therefore, one of the two foremost or rearmost deflection rollers 17a1, 17ax is also designed as a drive roller, here the deflection roller 17ax foremost in the transport direction 10. The wrap angle is sufficient there, namely at least 50°, better at least 60°, better at least 70°.

[0099] The deflection roller 17a2 is driven by the drive roller 29A via a toothed belt 30 and a pinion, which is arranged non-rotatably on both the deflection roller 17a2 and the deflection roller 17ax, usually on the end face.

[0100] The design of the Fig. 8b differs from that of the Fig. 8a by the fact that the deflection roller 17a2 driven by the drive roller 29A has a significantly smaller diameter than in Fig. 8a and in this case has no contact with the upper trum 27AO.

[0101] The angled shape of the upper run 27AO is achieved by supporting the upper run 27AO with a correspondingly angled strip support plate 28. The deflecting roller 17a2, which in this case only has contact with the lower run 27AU, primarily serves to connect it to the drive shaft 29A, as the position of this deflecting roller 17a2 can be selected within relatively wide limits according to the usually predetermined position of the drive shaft 29A. REFERENCE MARK LIST 1 slicing machine, slicer 1'' Longitudinal midplane 1* Controller 2 Base frame 3 knives 3. Rotation axis 3" knife plane, cutting plane 3a Cutting edge 4 feeders, feed belt 5 Cutting glasses 6a - d Glasses opening 7 cutting unit 8 upper product guide, upper guide belt 8.1 Contact tube, sub-tube 8a Eyeglass-side deflection pulley 8b Pulley facing away from glasses 9 lower product guide, lower guide belt 8.1 Contact tower, upper tower 9a Eyeglass-side deflection pulley 9b Pulley facing away from glasses 10. Transport direction, longitudinal direction, axial direction 10* Direction of flow through machine 11 1. Crosswise direction (slicer width) 12 2. Transverse direction (vertical direction caliber) 13 Gripper unit, gripper carriage 14,14 a - d Gripper 15 spacers 15' support surface 16 Gripper claw 17 Discharge device 17a Portioning belt unit 17a1, 17ax Deflection roller 17b Discharge conveyor unit 17c Transfer conveyor unit 17AB Portioning support frame 17C Transfer support frame 18 Gripper guide 19 Altitude Sensor 20 feed units 21 remnant conveyors 22 Base frame 22A, B longitudinal beam 23 Adjustment device 23.1, 23.2 Adjustment device 24 Supporting part, sliding part 25.1, 25.2 Swivel lever 25' swivel axis 26 connecting levers 27A Portioning belt 27B Discharge conveyor belt 27C Transfer Belt 28 Band support plate 29A Drive shaft 30 timing belts 31 Clamping screw β Intermediate angle An anti-user side B Operator side K product, product caliber KR remnant, caliber remnant S disc P Portion

Claims

Conveyor unit (17) for conveying articles, in particular discs (S), comprising a portioning belt unit (17a) arranged one behind the other in the transport direction (10), with a first deflection roller (17a1) rearmost in the transport direction (10) of the portioning belt unit (17a), which is movable in height, and a last deflection roller (17ax) foremost in the transport direction (10), discharge belt unit (17b), and transfer belt unit (17c), which are attached to a base frame (22), wherein at least one adjusting device (23) is provided for adjusting at least one of the units (17a, b, c) in the transport direction (10) relative to the base frame (22), characterized in that the transfer belt unit (17c) is attached to a transfer support frame (17C), and the portioning belt unit (17a) and the discharge belt unit (17b) are attached to a common portioning support frames (17AB) are attached,- the frames (17AB,17C) are movably attached to the base frame (22) in the transport direction (10), and- the adjusting device (23) is designed such that it can displace the portioning frame (17AB) and / or the transfer support frame (17C) relative to the base frame (22) in the longitudinal direction (10),- wherein the adjusting device (23) comprises a pivot lever (25) which is pivotable about an upright pivot axis (25') and is pivotally attached to at least one of the two support frames (17AB, 17C), and / or- the base frame (22) has two longitudinal beams (22A, 22B) spaced apart in the transverse direction (11) and extending in the transport direction (10), wherein the two support frames (17AB, 17C) have support elements (24) which are displaceable along the longitudinal beams (22A, 22B) and can be fixed at longitudinal positions. Discharge unit (17) according to claim 1, characterized in that the adjusting device (23) is designed in such a way that it can move the portioning frame (17AB) and / or the transfer support frame (17C) steplessly in the longitudinal direction (10) relative to the base frame (22). Discharge unit (17) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that - a first adjusting device (23.1) is provided which is designed to adjust both support frames (17AB, 17C) together relative to the base frame (22) and / or - a second adjusting device (23.2) is provided which is designed to adjust the two support frames (17AB, 17C) relative to each other, - in particular while maintaining the position of the transfer support frame (17C) relative to the base frame (22). Discharge unit (17) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that each adjusting device (23.1, 23.2) comprises such a pivot lever (25.1, 25.2). Discharge unit (17) according to claims 3 and 4, characterized in that a first pivot lever (25.1) of the first adjusting device (23.1) is pivotally attached to one of the two support frames (17AB, 17C) and is pivotally attached to the base frame (22) by means of the upright pivot axis (25'). Discharge unit according to (17) claims 3 and 4 or 5, characterized in that a second pivot lever (25.2) of the second adjusting device (23.2) is pivotally attached to one of the two support frames (17AB, 17C) by means of the upright pivot axis (25') and is pivotally attached to the other support frame (17C, 17AB) by means of a connecting lever (26) which is pivotally attached to the second pivot lever (25.2) away from the pivot axis (25'). Conveyor unit (17) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the two support frames (17AB, 17C) have the support parts (24), in particular sliding parts (24), on their undersides, and / or wherein the support parts (24) can be fixed at any longitudinal position. Conveyor unit (17) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that - the rearmost deflecting roller (17a1) of the portioning belt unit (17a) has a smaller effective diameter than the frontmost deflecting roller (17ax) of the portioning belt unit (17a), - in particular the rearmost deflecting roller (17a1) has a smaller effective diameter than all other deflecting rollers of the portioning belt unit (17a). Conveyor unit (17) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, viewed in the axial direction of the deflecting rollers (17a1, 17a2), the first transverse direction (11), an upper run (27AO) of the portioning belt (27A) runs at an angle with a rear upper run section (27AO1) and a front upper run section (27AO2) and an intermediate angle (β) between them measured on the underside of the upper run (27AO) between 90° and 180°, in particular between 115° and 145°. Portioning belt unit (17) according to claim 9, characterized in that the upper run (27AO) is supported between the rear upper run section (27AO1) and the front upper run section (27AO2) by either a deflecting roller (27a2) or a belt support plate (28). Conveyor unit (17) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the drive shaft (29A) is arranged in its axial direction between the upper run (27AO) and the lower run (27AU) of the portioning belt (27A) and the drive shaft (29A) is designed as a driven deflection roller (17a2, 17ax) over which the upper run (27AO) of the portioning belt (27A) rotates, and in particular the output end of the drive shaft (29A) is operatively connected via a toothed belt (30) to at least one of the other deflection rollers (17a2, 17ax) except the first deflection roller (17a1), in particular the last deflection roller (17a1). Slicing machine (1), in particular slicer, for slicing at least one product caliber (K) into slices (S) comprising: - a cutting unit (7) with a rotating knife (3), - a feed unit (20) with a feed belt (4) for feeding the at least one caliber (K) to the cutting unit (7), - a discharge unit (17) for conveying the cut slices (S), - a control (1*) for controlling moving parts of the slicing machine (1), characterized in that the discharge unit (17) is designed according to one of the preceding claims. Method for setting up the discharge unit (17) of a slicing machine according to claim 12 before the start of the slicing operation, characterized in that: - the rearmost deflection roller (17a1) of the portioning belt unit (17a) is set to a predetermined height as the starting position for the slicing operation; - the portioning belt unit (17a) is set and fixed in the transport direction (10) at a predetermined knife distance to the cutting unit (7); - the transfer belt unit (17c) is set and fixed in the transport direction (10) at a predetermined intermediate distance to the upstream subsequent belt unit. Method according to claim 13, characterized in that - the rearmost part of the upper run of the portioning belt unit (17a) is brought into a predetermined inclination as the starting position for the slicing operation, - in particular by means of height adjustment of the rearmost deflection roller (17a1) of the portioning belt unit (17a), - in particular runs or can be adjusted approximately parallel to the cutting plane (3"), - in particular with a deviation therefrom of a maximum of + / - 10°, preferably a maximum of + / - 5°.

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