Conveying device for food products and associated operating method

Abstract

The invention relates to a conveying device for conveying food products (4) from a cutting device (5) to a packaging machine (6) that requires, on the input side, a particular product format (9) of the food products (4), wherein the product format (9) consists of a plurality of food products (4) which are arranged in rows parallel to the conveying direction and columns transverse to the conveying direction, the conveying device comprising a format-forming conveyor belt (1), a buffer conveyor belt (2), an output conveyor belt (3) and a control unit for controlling the format-forming conveyor belt (1), the buffer conveyor belt (2) and the output conveyor belt (3). According to the invention, the output conveyor belt (3) can be operated bidirectionally and can convey the food products (4) optionally in the conveying direction or counter to the conveying direction, and after a product format (9) has been transferred to the packaging machine (6), the control unit reverses the output conveyor belt (3) in the direction counter to the conveying direction in order to close the product gap created at the start of the output conveyor belt (3) as a result of the product transfer to the packaging machine (6) and in order for the output conveyor belt (3) to receive a next product format (9) from the buffer conveyor belt (2) without a product gap. The invention also relates to a corresponding operating method.

Description

[0001] DESCRIPTION

[0002] Conveying device for food products and associated operating procedure

[0003] Technical field of the invention

[0004] The invention relates to a conveyor device for conveying food products from a cutting device ("slicer") to a packaging machine (e.g. thermoformer), wherein the packaging machine requires a specific product format of the food products on the input side.

[0005] Background of the invention

[0006] Cutting devices, also known as slicers, are known from the prior art. The slices can then be delivered from the cutting device in the form of stacks of slices to a downstream formatting conveyor belt, where the formatting conveyor belt sets the desired product format. For example, the stacks of slices can each be arranged in two rows and two columns, so that each product format comprises a total of four stacks of slices.

[0007] It is also known from the prior art to transfer such product formats to a packaging machine, which may be, for example, a thermoformer, via a buffer conveyor belt and another output conveyor belt. It should be noted that the packaging machine expects a specific product format because, for example, the packaging machine can simultaneously handle a certain number of columns and rows of slice stacks. The product formats are then placed in packages in the packaging machine and sealed by the packaging machine.

[0008] The disadvantage of this known state of the art is the fact that usually four or even more conveyor belts are required to provide the desired functions.

[0009] For the general technical background of the invention, reference should also be made to DE 101 43 506 A1. The invention is therefore based on the object of creating a correspondingly improved conveyor device. Furthermore, the invention is based on the object of specifying a corresponding operating method for such a conveyor device.

[0010] Description of the invention

[0011] The conveyor device according to the invention is suitable for conveying food products from a cutting device to a packaging machine. The food products to be conveyed can, for example, be slice stacks consisting of several slices of cheese, meat, or sausage, as is known per se from the prior art. For example, the slice stacks can also be shingled, so that the superimposed slices do not completely overlap, but only partially. Furthermore, the term "food products" used in the context of the invention also includes other presentation forms of slices of meat, cheese, or sausage.

[0012] The packaging machine is preferably a thermoformer (deep-drawing machine) as is known per se from the prior art and therefore need not be described in detail. However, it should be noted that the packaging machine requires a specific product format on the input side. For example, the packaging machine may expect product formats to be delivered on the input side that comprise a total of four food products (e.g., stacks of slices) arranged in two rows parallel to the conveying direction and two columns transverse to the conveying direction. The conveying device according to the invention then ensures that the product formats required by the packaging machine are delivered to the packaging machine as seamlessly as possible, in order to enable trouble-free operation.

[0013] The conveying device according to the invention therefore initially comprises, in accordance with the prior art, a format-forming conveyor belt, which serves to receive the food products from the cutting device and to form the product formats required by the packaging machine on the format-forming conveyor belt. However, it is also possible for the format-forming conveyor belt not to arrange the product formats required by the packaging machine on the format-forming conveyor belt itself, but rather to receive the food products already in the required product format.

[0014] It should also be noted that the formatting conveyor does not necessarily pick up the food products directly from the cutting device. Rather, the formatting conveyor can also pick up the food products indirectly from the cutting device, for example, via a so-called free-movement system (FMS), which enables the food products to be formatted. Such free-movement systems are known, for example, from DE 10 2021 105 093.6, DE 10 2021 105 098.7, DE 10 2021 105 103.7, DE 10 2021 105 104.5, DE 10 2021 105 101.0 and DE 10 2021 105 105.3, so that the content of these publications is to be added to the present description with regard to the structural design and functioning of the free-movement system.

[0015] Furthermore, the conveying device according to the invention comprises a buffer conveyor belt, which is arranged downstream of the format-forming conveyor belt along the conveying direction and receives the product formats from the format-forming conveyor belt. The buffer conveyor belt fulfills a buffer function and thus enables asynchronous operation of the format-forming conveyor belt on the one hand and the buffer conveyor belt or the format-forming conveyor belt on the other.

[0016] Furthermore, in accordance with the prior art, the conveying device according to the invention also comprises an output conveyor belt, which is arranged downstream of the buffer conveyor belt along the conveying direction and serves to output the product formats to the packaging machine. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the output conveyor belt outputs the product formats directly to the packaging machine. However, it is also possible within the scope of the invention for one or more additional conveyor belts to be arranged between the output conveyor belt on the one hand and the packaging machine on the other.

[0017] Furthermore, the conveyor device according to the invention also has, in accordance with the prior art, a control unit for controlling the format forming conveyor belt, the buffer conveyor belt and the output conveyor belt.

[0018] The conveying device according to the invention is characterized in that the output conveyor belt can be operated bidirectionally and can convey the food products either in the conveying direction or against the conveying direction.

[0019] After a product format has been transferred to the packaging machine, the control unit then moves the output conveyor belt back in the opposite direction to the conveying direction in order to close the product gap created at the beginning of the output conveyor belt by the product transfer to the packaging machine and to then be able to take over the next product format from the buffer conveyor belt without a product gap on the output conveyor belt. To facilitate understanding, it should be mentioned that the buffer conveyor belt is usually stationary during a product transfer from the output conveyor belt to the downstream packaging machine. As a result, a product transfer by the output conveyor belt leads to a product gap being created at the beginning of the output conveyor belt. This product gap is closed within the scope of the invention by moving the output conveyor belt back after a product has been delivered.The output conveyor belt can then again take over food products from the upstream buffer conveyor belt without creating a product gap on the output conveyor belt.

[0020] In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the control unit therefore controls the output conveyor belt after the transfer of a product format to the packaging machine in such a way that the output conveyor belt moves back so far that the beginning of the output conveyor belt is again occupied by a product format, so that when a product format is subsequently taken over from the buffer conveyor belt, no product gap arises on the output conveyor belt.

[0021] As briefly mentioned above, the buffer conveyor belt serves a buffer function. When a product format is received from the format-forming conveyor belt, the buffer conveyor belt initially moves the received product format to the center of the buffer conveyor belt.

[0022] It should also be noted that the control unit preferably controls the output conveyor belt in such a way that a product format is only transferred from the output conveyor belt to the packaging machine when the output conveyor belt is completely filled with the product formats received at the input, without a single product gap. Completing the product loading on the output conveyor belt therefore takes priority over transferring the product formats from the output conveyor belt to the packaging machine.

[0023] However, it should be noted that product transfer to the packaging machine preferably takes top priority over all other considerations. Thus, the packaging machine typically sends a single-cycle signal to the control unit of the conveyor system according to the invention when a new product format is requested. Upon receipt of such a single-cycle signal, the control unit then controls the output conveyor belt so that, in response to the product request, a product format is output to the packaging machine by the packaging machine. Such single-cycle signals are typically generated by the packaging machine with a cycle period of 5-6 seconds, since the packaging machine has a corresponding processing cycle.In the cycle pauses between the in-cycle signals, the conveyor device according to the invention can then complete the product loading on the output conveyor belt, as described above, wherein the output conveyor belt and the buffer conveyor belt can be moved forwards and backwards.

[0024] It was already mentioned above that the buffer conveyor belt can transfer product formats to the downstream output conveyor belt. Furthermore, it was already mentioned above that the product formats on the buffer conveyor belt are kept ready in the middle of the buffer conveyor belt with regard to the conveying direction. Before a product is transferred from the buffer conveyor belt, the buffer conveyor belt first moves the product format on the buffer conveyor belt to the end of the buffer conveyor belt. Meanwhile, the output conveyor belt moves back to close a product gap at the beginning of the output conveyor belt. The output conveyor belt and the buffer conveyor belt can then be moved synchronously in the conveying direction to transfer a product format from the buffer conveyor belt to the output conveyor belt. During the product transfer from the buffer conveyor belt to the output conveyor belt, these two conveyor belts can therefore move synchronously.

[0025] It should also be noted that the formatting conveyor belt can preferably be operated at a higher infeed speed than the outfeed speed of the output conveyor belt. The different infeed speeds of the formatting conveyor belt and the output conveyor belt are made possible by the buffer conveyor belt.

[0026] In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the output conveyor belt has a length along the conveying direction which is preferably large enough to accommodate several product formats one after the other on the output conveyor belt.

[0027] The same preferably also applies to the buffer conveyor belt, i.e. several product formats can preferably be accommodated one after the other on the buffer conveyor belt.

[0028] The formatting conveyor, on the other hand, can be so short that only a single product format can be accommodated on it. Furthermore, it should be noted that the output conveyor is preferably longer than the buffer conveyor and / or the formatting conveyor. The buffer conveyor, on the other hand, is preferably longer than the formatting conveyor.

[0029] In general, it's also worth mentioning that the various conveyor belts can have multiple parallel conveyor tracks, with all tracks being interconnected and performing the same conveying motion. This is to be distinguished from conveyor belts that have multiple conveyor tracks operating at different conveying speeds.

[0030] It's also worth mentioning that the control unit can detect the product load on the various conveyor belts and then control the conveyor belts based on the product load. Product load can be detected, for example, by product sensors. Alternatively, however, it's also possible for the control unit to derive the product load from the previous control.

[0031] Regarding the term product format used in the context of the invention, it should also be mentioned that the product format can include the following format properties:

[0032] • A predetermined number of food products (e.g. stacks of slices) within the product format.

[0033] • A specified number of rows parallel to the conveying direction of the product format.

[0034] • A specified distance between adjacent rows of the product format.

[0035] • A specified number of columns across the conveying direction within the product format.

[0036] • A specified distance between adjacent columns of the product format.

[0037] • A predetermined spatial arrangement of the food products (e.g. stacks of slices) relative to each other within the product format.

[0038] In addition to the conveying device according to the invention described above, the invention also comprises a corresponding operating method. The individual method steps of the operating method according to the invention are already apparent from the above description of the conveying device according to the invention, so that the individual method steps do not need to be described separately.

[0039] Other advantageous developments of the invention emerge from the subclaims or from the following description of the preferred embodiment of the invention.

[0040] Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a conveyor device according to the invention.

[0041] Figures 2A-2O show various successive operating phases of the conveyor device according to the invention.

[0042] Figure 3 shows a schematic representation of the conveying device according to the invention.

[0043] Figure 4 shows a flow chart to illustrate the operating method according to the invention for the conveyor device.

[0044] Detailed information

[0045] The drawings show a conveyor system according to the invention, which essentially consists of a format-forming conveyor belt 1, a buffer conveyor belt 2, and an output conveyor belt 3, which are arranged one behind the other in the conveying direction. In this exemplary embodiment, the format-forming conveyor belt 1, the buffer conveyor belt 2, and the output conveyor belt 3 each have two parallel conveyor tracks that are jointly driven and thus have the same conveying speed.

[0046] The conveyor device according to the invention serves to convey food products 4 from a cutting device 5 ("slicer") to a packaging machine 6, which in this embodiment is a so-called thermoformer, i.e., a deep-drawing machine that unwinds a plastic film from a film roll 7 and forms packaging therefrom. The structural design and operation of such thermoformers are known from the prior art and therefore need not be described separately.

[0047] From Figure 1, it can be seen that the conveyor device according to the invention does not receive the food products 4 directly from the cutting device 5, but rather from a so-called free-movement system 8 (FMS), which is arranged between the cutting device 5 and the conveyor device according to the invention. The structure and functioning of the free-movement system 8 are known, for example, from DE 10 2021 105 093.6, DE 10 2021 105 098.7, DE 10 2021 105 103.7, DE 10 2021 105 104.5, DE 10 2021 105 101.0, and DE 10 2021 105 105.3, so that the content of these documents is fully incorporated into the present description. At this point it should only be mentioned that the free movement system 8 can format the food products 4.

[0048] In this exemplary embodiment, the format-forming conveyor belt 1 receives complete product formats 9 from the free-movement system 8. The product formats 9 each consist of four food products 4 arranged in two columns and two rows. The individual food products 4 can be shingled slice stacks, as is known from meat processing. The product format 9 is selected such that the product format 9 can be processed by the packaging machine 6.

[0049] The format formation conveyor belt 1 then transfers the product formats 9 received on the input side to the buffer conveyor belt 2, which fulfills a buffer function.

[0050] From the buffer conveyor belt 2, the product formats 9 are then output to the output conveyor belt 3, which finally places the product formats 9 into the corresponding packaging in the packaging machine 6.

[0051] Figures 2A-2O show the various operating phases of the conveyor device according to the invention, which are controlled by a control unit 10, wherein the control unit 10 controls the format formation conveyor belt 1, the buffer conveyor belt 2, the output conveyor belt 3 and is also connected to the cutting device 5 and the packaging machine 6 for coordination.

[0052] The various operating phases are now described in accordance with Figures 2A-2O.

[0053] In the operating phase according to Figure 2A, the product format 9 was first transferred from the cutting device 5 to the format forming conveyor belt 1.

[0054] In the operating phase shown in Figure 2B, the format-forming conveyor belt 1 has transferred the previously received product format 9 to the buffer conveyor belt 2, where it is buffered in the middle of the buffer conveyor belt 2. Furthermore, in this operating phase, the format-forming conveyor belt 1 has already transferred a product row, i.e., half a product format. In the operating phase shown in Figure 2C, the buffer conveyor belt 2 has transferred the product format 9 to the output conveyor belt 3, where it is initially held at the beginning of the output conveyor belt 3. Furthermore, in this operating phase, the format-forming conveyor belt 1 has now transferred a complete product format 9.

[0055] In the operating phase shown in Figure 2D, the format-forming conveyor 1 has transferred the previously received product format to the buffer conveyor 2, where it is held in the center of the buffer conveyor 2. Furthermore, the format-forming conveyor 1 has again received a product row during this operating phase.

[0056] In the operating phase shown in Figure 2E, the buffer conveyor 2 has transferred the previously received product format 9 to the output conveyor 3, so that the output conveyor 3 now initially carries two product formats. Furthermore, the format formation conveyor 1 has now taken over a complete product format.

[0057] In the operating phase shown in Figure 2F, the format-forming conveyor 1 has transferred the previously received product format to the buffer conveyor 2, where it is buffered in the center of the buffer conveyor 2. Furthermore, the format-forming conveyor 1 has again received a product row during this operating phase.

[0058] In the operating phase shown in Figure 2G, the buffer conveyor 2 has transferred the previously buffered product formats 9 to the output conveyor 3, so that the output conveyor 3 now carries three complete product formats. Furthermore, the format formation conveyor 1 has now taken over another product row and now carries a complete product format.

[0059] In the operating phase according to Figure 2H, the format formation conveyor belt 1 has transferred the previously held product format to the buffer conveyor belt 2 and at the same time has also taken over a product row from the input.

[0060] In the operating phase according to Figure 21, the buffer conveyor belt 2 has transferred the previously buffered product format to the output conveyor belt 3, so that the output conveyor belt 3 now carries four complete product formats and is thus fully occupied. In addition, the format formation conveyor belt 1 has now taken over another product row and now carries a complete product format. In the operating phase according to Figure 2J, the output conveyor belt 3 has output a first product format to the packaging machine 6, so that a product gap has arisen at the beginning of the output conveyor belt 3. In addition, the buffer conveyor belt 2 has taken over a product format from the format formation conveyor belt 1. Finally, the format formation conveyor belt 1 has taken up another product row.

[0061] In the operating phase according to Figure 2K, the output conveyor belt 3 is moved back in the opposite direction of conveyance to close the product gap that had arisen at the beginning of the output conveyor belt 3. At the same time, the buffer conveyor belt 2 is moved forward in the conveyance direction, so that the product format previously buffered in the middle of the buffer conveyor belt 2 is now located at the end of the buffer conveyor belt 2. During this forward movement, a product format has already been partially transferred from the format-forming conveyor belt 1 to the buffer conveyor belt 2.

[0062] In the operating phase shown in Figure 2L, the buffer conveyor belt 2 and the output conveyor belt 3 moved synchronously along the conveying direction, so that the buffer conveyor belt 2 transferred a complete product format to the output conveyor belt 3. Furthermore, a product format is now buffered in the middle of the buffer conveyor belt 2. The output conveyor belt 3 is now completely occupied again with product formats 9.

[0063] In the operating phase according to Figure 2M, the output conveyor belt 3 has again output a product format to the packaging machine 6, whereby a product gap has arisen at the beginning of the output conveyor belt 3.

[0064] In the operating phase shown in Figure 2N, the output conveyor belt 3 is retracted to close the product gap that occurred at the beginning of the output conveyor belt 3. Furthermore, the buffer conveyor belt 2 is moved forward, so that a product format is located at the end of the buffer conveyor belt 2.

[0065] In the operating phase according to Figure 20, the buffer conveyor belt 2 and the output conveyor belt 3 moved synchronously along the conveying direction to transfer the product format from the buffer conveyor belt 2 to the output conveyor belt 3. The output conveyor belt 3 is now completely occupied again with product formats 9.

[0066] The flowchart shown in Figure 4, which schematically illustrates the essence of the invention, is now described below. In a first step S1, food products are transferred from the cutting device 5 to the format-forming conveyor belt 1.

[0067] In the next step S2, the desired product formats are then formed on the format forming conveyor belt 1 and accepted by the packaging machine 6.

[0068] In the next step, the product formats are then transferred from the format formation conveyor belt 1 to the buffer conveyor belt 2.

[0069] In a further step S4, the product formats are then transferred from the buffer conveyor belt 2 to the output conveyor belt 3.

[0070] In the next step S5, a check is then made to determine whether the output conveyor belt 3 is fully loaded with product formats. If this is not the case, the product loading is completed. However, if the output conveyor belt 3 is already fully loaded with product formats, a product format is transferred from the output conveyor belt 3 to the packaging machine 6 in step S6.

[0071] Subsequently, in a step S7, it is provided that the output conveyor belt 3 is moved back in order to close the product gap that has arisen at the beginning of the output conveyor belt 3 due to the product transfer to the packaging machine 6.

[0072] The invention is not limited to the preferred embodiment described above. Rather, a multitude of variants and modifications are possible, which also utilize the inventive concept and therefore fall within the scope of protection. In particular, the invention also claims protection for the subject matter and features of the subclaims, independently of the respective claims referred to, and in particular even without the features of the main claim. The invention thus encompasses various aspects of the invention, which enjoy independent protection. List of reference symbols:

[0073] 1 format formation conveyor belt

[0074] 2 Buffer conveyor belt 3 Output conveyor belt

[0075] 4 Food products

[0076] 5 Cutting device (slicer)

[0077] 6 Packaging machine (thermoformer)

[0078] 7 Thermoformer film roll 8 Free Movement System (FMS)

[0079] 9 Product format

[0080] 10 Control unit

Claims

REQUIREMENTS 1. Conveyor for conveying food products (4) from a cutting device (5) to a packaging machine (6), which requires a specific product format (9) of the food products (4) at the input, wherein the product format (9) consists of several food products (4) arranged in rows parallel to the conveying direction and columns transverse to the conveying direction, with a) a format-forming conveyor belt (1) for receiving the food products (4) from the cutting device (5) and for forming the product format (9) required by the packaging machine (6) on the format-forming conveyor belt (1) or for receiving the food products (4) in the specified product format (9), b) a buffer conveyor belt (2) that receives the product formats from the format-forming conveyor belt (1) and buffers at least one of the product formats,wherein the buffer conveyor (2) is arranged downstream of the format forming conveyor (1) along the conveying direction, c) an output conveyor (3) for delivering the product formats to the packaging machine (6), wherein the output conveyor (3) is arranged downstream of the buffer conveyor (2) along the conveying direction and the product transfer from the output conveyor (3) to the packaging machine (6) creates a product gap at the beginning of the output conveyor (3), and d) a control unit (10) for controlling the format forming conveyor (1), the buffer conveyor (2) and the output conveyor (3), characterized in that e) the output conveyor (3) is bidirectional and can convey the food products (4) either in the conveying direction or against the conveying direction,and f) that the control unit (10) retracts the output conveyor (3) against the direction of conveyance after the transfer of a product format (9) to the packaging machine (6) in order to close the product gap created at the beginning of the output conveyor (3) by the product transfer to the packaging machine (6) and to be able to take over a next product format (9) without a product gap on the output conveyor (3) from the buffer conveyor (2).

2. Conveyor device according to claim 1, characterized in that the control unit (10) retracts the output conveyor belt (3) after the transfer of a product format (9) to the packaging machine (6) in the opposite direction of the conveying direction so far that the beginning of the output conveyor belt (3) is again occupied with a product format (9), so that no product gap is created on the output conveyor belt (3) when a product format (9) is subsequently transferred from the buffer conveyor belt (2).

3. Conveyor device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control unit (10) controls the buffer conveyor belt (2) when taking over a product format (9) from the format formation conveyor belt (1) in such a way that the taken-over product format (9) is first conveyed to the center of the buffer conveyor belt (2).

4. Conveyor device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control unit (10) controls the output conveyor belt (3) in such a way that the output conveyor belt (3) only outputs a product format (9) to the packaging machine (6) when the output conveyor belt (3) is completely filled with the product formats received on the input side without any product gaps.

5. Conveyor device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control unit (10) controls the buffer conveyor belt (2) for transferring a product format (9) to the output conveyor belt (3) in such a way that the product format (9) located on the buffer conveyor belt (2) is first conveyed to the end of the buffer conveyor belt (2) so that the output conveyor belt (3) can then take over the product format (9) located on the buffer conveyor belt (2) without a product gap on the output conveyor belt (3) from the buffer conveyor belt (2).

6. Conveyor device according to claim 5, characterized in that the control unit (10) controls the output conveyor belt (3) and the buffer conveyor belt (2) for the transfer of a product format (9) from the buffer conveyor belt (2) to the output conveyor belt (3) in such a way that the output conveyor belt (3) and the buffer conveyor belt (2) move synchronously in the conveying direction.

7. Conveyor device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control unit (10) controls the buffer conveyor belt (2) and the output conveyor belt (3) as follows when, after a product transfer from the output conveyor belt (3) to the packaging machine (6), a product gap has formed at the beginning of the output conveyor belt (3): a) The output conveyor (3) is moved backwards in the opposite direction of conveyance until the beginning of the output conveyor is again occupied with a product format (9), b) the buffer conveyor (2) is moved forward in the conveyance direction until the end of the buffer conveyor (2) is occupied with a product format (9), c) subsequently, the buffer conveyor (2) and the output conveyor (3) are moved forward synchronously in the conveyance direction to transfer the product format (9) located at the end of the buffer conveyor (2) from the buffer conveyor (2) to the output conveyor (3), so that the output conveyor (3) is completely filled with the product formats without any gaps.

8. Conveyor device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a) the control unit (10) controls the format forming conveyor belt (1) such that the format forming conveyor belt (1) receives the food products (4) from the cutting device (5) at a single-cycle rate, b) the control unit (10) controls the output conveyor belt (3) such that the output conveyor belt (3) delivers the food products (4) to the packaging machine (6) at a single-cycle rate, and c) the single-cycle rate is different from the single-cycle rate, in particular greater.

9. Conveyor device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a) the control unit (10) receives a single-stroke signal from the packaging machine, wherein the single-stroke signal indicates that the packaging machine (6) requests a product format, b) the output conveyor belt (3) outputs a product format to the packaging machine (6) upon receiving the single-stroke signal from the packaging machine (6), and c) the conveyor device completes the product placement on the output conveyor belt (3) during the cycle breaks between two successive single-stroke signals from the packaging machine (6).

10. Conveyor device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a) the output conveyor belt (3) has a length along the conveying direction that is such that several product formats can be placed one after the other on the output conveyor belt (3), and / or b) that the buffer conveyor belt (2) has a length along the conveying direction that is such that several product formats can be placed one after the other on the buffer conveyor belt (2), and / or c) that the format forming conveyor (1) has a length along the conveying direction such that only a single product format (9) can fit on the format forming conveyor (1), and / or d) that the output conveyor (3) has a greater length along the conveying direction than the buffer conveyor (2), and / or e) that the output conveyor (3) has a greater length along the conveying direction than the format forming conveyor (1), and / or f) that the buffer conveyor (2) has a greater length along the conveying direction than the format forming conveyor (1), and / or g) that the format forming conveyor (1) has several parallel conveying tracks, all of which are interconnected and perform the same conveying motion, and / or h) that the buffer conveyor (2) has several parallel conveying tracks, all of which are interconnected and perform the same conveying motion buffer conveyor belts (2) are connected to each other and perform the same conveying movement,and / or i) that the output conveyor (3) has several parallel conveying tracks, all of which are interconnected and perform the same conveying motion, and / or j) that the formatting conveyor (1), the buffer conveyor (2), and the output conveyor (3) all have the same number of parallel conveying tracks, and / or k) that the formatting conveyor (1) receives the product formats indirectly from the cutting unit (5), in particular via a formatting unit located between the cutting unit (5) and the formatting conveyor (1), and / or l) that the control unit (10) detects the product load on the formatting conveyor (1), the buffer conveyor, and / or the output conveyor (3) and adjusts the formatting conveyor (1), the buffer conveyor (2), and / or the output conveyor (3) accordingly. the output conveyor belt (3)and / or m) that the product format (9) required by the packaging machine (6) includes the following format characteristics: ml) a specified number of food products (4) within the product format (9), m2) a specified number of rows parallel to the conveying direction within the product format (9), m3) a specified distance between the adjacent rows of the product format 0), m4) a predetermined number of columns perpendicular to the conveying direction within the product format (9), and / or m5) a predetermined distance between the adjacent columns of the product format (9), and / or m6) a predetermined spatial arrangement of the food products (4) relative to each other within the product format (9), and / or n) that the individual food products (4) are each stack of slices consisting of several slices of meat, sausage or cheese, and / or o) that the stacks of slices are shingled so that the stacked slices only partially overlap.

11. Operating method for a conveying device for conveying food products (4) from a cutting device (5) to a packaging machine (6), in particular a thermoforming machine, in particular for a conveying device according to one of the preceding claims, comprising the following steps: a) transfer of food products (4) from the cutting device (5) to a format forming belt conveyor and formation of a product format (9) on the format forming belt conveyor, b) transfer of the product formats located on the format forming belt conveyor to a buffer conveyor (2), c) transfer of the product formats located on the buffer conveyor (2) to an output conveyor (3), and d) transfer of the product formats located on the output conveyor (3) to the packaging machine (6), wherein the product transfer from the output conveyor (3) to the packaging machine (6) creates a product gap at the beginning of the output conveyor, characterized in thate) that the output conveyor (3) retracts against the direction of travel after the transfer of a product format (9) to the packaging machine (6) in order to close the product gap created at the beginning of the output conveyor by the product transfer to the packaging machine (6) and to be able to take over a next product format (9) from the buffer conveyor (2) without a product gap on the output conveyor (3).

12. Operating method according to claim 11, characterized in that the output conveyor belt (3) after the transfer of a product format (9) to the packaging machine (6) is directed against the conveying direction is reversed so far that the beginning of the output conveyor belt is again occupied with a product format (9), so that when a product format (9) is subsequently transferred from the buffer conveyor belt (2) no product gap is created on the output conveyor belt (3).

13. Operating method according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that the buffer conveyor belt (2) when taking over a product format (9) from the format formation conveyor belt (1) first conveys the taken-over product format (9) to the center of the buffer conveyor belt (2).

14. Operating method according to one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that the output conveyor belt (3) only outputs a product format (9) to the packaging machine (6) when the output conveyor belt (3) is completely filled with the product formats received on the input side without any product gaps.

15. Operating method according to one of claims 11 to 14, characterized in that the product format (9) located on the buffer conveyor belt (2) is first conveyed to the end of the buffer conveyor belt (2) for the transfer of a product format (9) from the buffer conveyor belt (2) to the output conveyor belt (3), so that the output conveyor belt (3) can then take over the product format (9) located on the buffer conveyor belt (2) from the buffer conveyor belt (2) without a product gap on the output conveyor belt (3).

16. Operating method according to one of claims 11 to 15, characterized in that the buffer conveyor (2) and the output conveyor (3) are moved as follows when a product gap has formed at the beginning of the output conveyor: a) the output conveyor (3) is retracted against the conveying direction until the beginning of the output conveyor is again occupied with a product format (9), b) the buffer conveyor (2) is advanced in the conveying direction until the end of the buffer conveyor (2) is occupied with a product format (9), c) subsequently the buffer conveyor (2) and the output conveyor (3) are advanced synchronously in the conveying direction to transfer the product format (9) located at the end of the buffer conveyor (2) from the buffer conveyor (2) to the output conveyor (3), so that the output conveyor (3) operates without a product gap. is fully covered with the product formats.

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