A slicer apparatus, a cutting land for the slicer apparatus, and a method of slicing food objects

Abstract

A slicer apparatus (200) for food objects, comprising a conveyer (201) and a cutting blade (103) and a cutting land (204) arranged in and along a gap in the conveyor.

Description

[0001] A SLICER APPARATUS, A CUTTING LAND FOR THE SLICER APPARATUS, AND A METHOD OF SLICING FOOD OBJECTS

[0002] INTRODUCTION

[0003] The present invention relates to a slicer apparatus, a cutting land for a slicer apparatus, and to a method of slicing food objects.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] Herein the term food object encompasses meat from poultry, pork, cattle, fish, and in general any kind of meat.

[0006] Even though the present invention relates to slicing of meat in general, the invention is particularly suitable for slicing fish, e.g. for slicing thin slices of fish.

[0007] EP2393639 discloses a slicer apparatus of the type used for slicing e.g. fish fillets, where the apparatus comprises a cutting means arranged in a conveying path defined by a conveyor belt. The cutting means comprises a set of moveable reciprocating knives and a cutting land where the knives are moveable relative to the cutting land and the surface of the conveyor belt.

[0008] Moreover, the knives and the cutting land are arranged on a common member which member may be rotated through a predetermined arch about a horizontal axis, perpendicular to the conveyor belt's transport direction.

[0009] The principle of this slicer apparatus is illustrated graphically in Fig. 1 showing where the slicer apparatus is cutting a fish fillet 101 such as a salmon fillet with a reciprocating knife 103 that is moveable in a back-and-forth direction along a slicing path as indicated by the double-arrow.

[0010] Angular adjustment is utilized to cut the fish fillet into slices of preferably similar size by amending the angle relative to the height of the fillet. The result of such a slicing may e.g. be very thin fish slices.However, in several situations this can have drawbacks and particularly it can be problematic to obtain the desired cut without direct contact between the cutting land and the cutting blade which is sometimes undesirable. Alternatively, it can be problematic to obtain a cut extending completely through the food object with the result that all slices are connected by a portion which is not reached and thus not cut by the knife which is also undesirable. The problems may particularly arise with a high speed of the knife.

[0011] SUMMARY

[0012] On the above background it is an object of embodiments of the present invention to provide an improved slicing apparatus, to allow a high slicing speed, and generally to enable complete slicing in a good quality.

[0013] Accordingly, the present invention provides a slicing apparatus, a cutting land for the slicing apparatus and a method of slicing according to the independent claims.

[0014] When slicing food objects, the knife must penetrate the food completely. This ability may depend on the shape and texture of the food object and on the applied slicing parameters, inter alia the speed and the slicing angle. The cutting land according to this disclosure enables a high speed and allows slicing in soft and fragile food objects such as fillets of fish.

[0015] A fish fillet, taken as an example, typically has a height which increases from a head end of the fish fillet towards a centre of the fish fillet and decreases from the centre of the fish fillet towards a tail end of the fish fillet, or alternatively decreases from the head end towards the tail end. In such a case, the shape, texture, and slicing parameters correspondingly change. However, with the cutting land disclosed herein, such types of food object can be efficiently sliced at a high speed.

[0016] The cutting land may be made of plastic or a plastic like material, or a material that is softer than the material of the at least one cutting blade, such that the cutting blade is not damaged if it meets the cutting land.

[0017] The term "food object" when used herein denotes any kind of food object, inter alia meat from any species of animal, e.g. from fish, poultry, cattle, and pork etc. Particularly, the term may cover fish, particularly in the form of fish fillets. Examples could include slicing of raw, smoked, graved, salted or in any other way processed fish, e.g. white fish or fish from the Salmonidae family including salmon.The term "slicing" when used herein denotes cutting slices of a food object. This may include portioning in relatively large pieces or cutting very thin slices of the food object. If the food object is fish, it may be a fish fillet, but possibly also a whole fish, a fish with or without tail and / or intestines, and / or other parts of a fish.

[0018] Particularly, the term slicing may be limited to the process of cutting thin slices of a fish fillet. This process is particularly useful in connection with raw, salted, smoked, or graved fish fillets such as fillets of trout, salmon and generally fish from the Salmonidae family. Slices in this respect may particularly be thin slices with a thickness below 10 mm, or even below 5 mm.

[0019] The conveyor may particularly be a belt conveyor comprising one or more belts having an upwards surface carrying the food objects. Particularly, the conveyor may comprise individual sections of separate belts, one before the gap and one after the gap.

[0020] The system may use the conveyor simultaneously with the slicing tool such that the food objects are conveyed stepwise or continuously forward while slicing. In this way, the slicing tool provides the sliding by movement of the food object based the cutting position and movement of the knife exclusively in a single slicing plane transverse to the conveying direction.

[0021] The movement of the knife in the slicing plane includes movement towards and away from the conveyor surface along a path referred to herein as the slicing path.

[0022] Additionally, the movement of the knife may include movement in the slicing plane and transverse to the slicing path. This transverse movement is referred to as reciprocation.

[0023] The knife structure may comprise one or two knives, with or without reciprocation. In one embodiment, the knife structure comprises two knives where at least one of the two knives reciprocate in the slicing plane such that the knives move relative to each other. At least one of the knives may particularly be a serrated knife.

[0024] Typically, the angle of the slicing plane will be adjustable relative to the conveying direction from 90 degrees down to near 0 degrees, e.g. down to 20-30 degrees. Correspondingly, the cutting land is rotatable about the rotation axis extending in the transverse direction to thereby allow the cutting blade to be received in the cutting land for different angles of the slicing path.The cutting blade and the cutting land may be fixed to the same fixture, e.g. forming a yoke extending both above and below conveyor and being rotatable about the rotation axis extending in the gap. This allows adjustment of the angle of the slicing plane relative to the conveying direction simultaneously with the adjustment of the cutting land and therefore ensures that the cutting blade reaches the recess in the cutting land.

[0025] The slicer may comprise a second actuator arranged to move the slicing path angularly relative to the conveying path, e.g. by rotation of said fixture about the rotation axis to thereby adjust the angle of the cutting path and the angle of the cutting land simultaneously.

[0026] The cutting land is located in the gap, and the food object will therefore be conveyed over the cutting land. The contact between the food object and the cutting land may be problematic, particularly when the food object is fragile, e.g. like a fish fillet, since fragments of the food object may be stuck in the cutting land.

[0027] To protect the food object, reduce the friction, and provide a smooth conveying of the food object over the cutting land, the cutting land may have a softly curved upper surface facing the food object in the gap. Accordingly, the recess may be formed in a curved surface of the cutting land. Particularly, the recess may be formed in a surface forming a curve in a cross section perpendicular to the transverse direction.

[0028] The curved surface may be constituted by a surface portion of a cylindrical body, e.g. a cylindrical body having a circular shape when viewed in a cross-section perpendicular to the transverse direction. This may allow an easy replacement of the cutting land by sliding the cylinder formed cutting land into a tubular receptacle.

[0029] Accordingly, the slicer apparatus may comprise a tubular receptacle configured to receive the cylindrical body. The tubular receptacle may form an elongated slit facing upwardly and allowing the recess to be exposed through the slit.

[0030] The cutting land may be rotatable within the receptacle, and the cutting land may be fixed to said fixture, e.g. via an actuator arm. Since the fixture holds the cutting blade and the cutting land, it facilitates mutual rotation of the cutting land and the cutting blade around the rotation axis.

[0031] The recess of the cutting land may be defined by elongated and opposing sidewalls each extending between an outer surface of the cutting land and a bottom wall of the recess. Atleast one of the sidewalls may not extend radially relative to the circular shape of the cylindrical body, and the sidewalls may have different length.

[0032] The sidewalls could be parallel, and they could be perpendicular to the bottom wall. This shape may result in a good distance between the cutting blade and the cutting land and allow the cutting blade to extend into the recess and therefore facilitate complete slicing through the food object without contact between the cutting blade and the cutting land.

[0033] The cutting blade may define elongated side-surfaces extending in the transverse direction. These side-surface may be non-parallel to the sidewalls.

[0034] The cutting blade may have a triangular shape when seen in a cross-section perpendicular to the transverse direction, e.g., an isosceles triangular shape. Moreover, the cutting blade and the recess may have different shapes in the cross-section perpendicular to the transverse direction.

[0035] The non-parallel, particularly triangular shape of the cutting blade, particularly when used in connection with the recess having parallel sidewalls, provides an increasing distance between the cutting blade and the cutting land in the direction into the recess. Accordingly, it further protects against contact between the cutting blade and the cutting land and allows the cutting blade to extend deeper into the recess and therefore a ensures a complete slicing through the food object.

[0036] The conveyor may comprise at least two separate lanes extending side-by-side and the cutting blade and / or the cutting land may extend across both lanes, alternatively, each lane has a separate cutting land and / or a separate cutting blade.

[0037] The cutting blade may have a larger deflection perpendicular to the transverse direction than the cutting land. Accordingly, a width of the recess, i.e. a dimension perpendicular to the transverse direction of the recess, exceeds the width of the cutting blade to such an extent that sufficient space is defined between the cutting blade and the recess to allow the deflection of the cutting blade without contact between the cutting land and the cutting blade. The width of the recess, i.e., the distance between the sidewalls, may particularly be more than 130 percent of the width of the cutting blade, and particularly more than 150 or 200 percent of the width of the cutting blade. This may allow a gap between each sidesurface of the cutting blade and each sidewall of the recess to be up to 50 pct. of the width of the cutting blade.In a second aspect, the invention provides a cutting land for a slicer, particularly a cutting land for use in a slicer of the first aspect.

[0038] The cutting land comprises a recess extending in the transverse direction, and the recess is formed in a curved surface, e.g., a surface portion of a cylindrical body, e.g., a body having a circular shape in a cross-section perpendicular to the transverse direction.

[0039] The recess may be defined by elongated and opposing sidewalls each extending between an outer surface of the cutting land and a bottom wall of the recess.

[0040] The at least one of the sidewalls does not extend radially relative to the circular shape of the cylindrical body, and the sidewalls may have different length, and the sidewalls may be parallel and they may be perpendicular to the bottom wall.

[0041] In a third aspect, the invention provides a method of slicing a food object in a slicer according to the first aspect.

[0042] The method comprises the step of conveying the food objects in the downstream direction along a conveying path on a conveyer belt and moving the at least one cutting blade from the outer to the inner position through the food object while avoiding contact between the cutting blade and the cutting land.

[0043] The cutting blade may be moved while avoiding contact between the cutting blade and the cutting land, and the cutting blade may be allowed to deflect in a direction perpendicular to the transverse direction of the recess due to a width of the recess being sufficient to allow the deflection of the cutting blade without contact between the cutting blade and the cutting land.

[0044] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0045] Embodiments of the invention will be described, by way of example only, with reference to the drawings, in which:

[0046] Fig. 1 illustrates a prior art device.

[0047] Fig. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a slicer apparatus;Fig. 3 illustrates an embodiment of a cutting land;

[0048] Figs. 4-7 illustrate cross-sections of a cutting land and a cutting blade;

[0049] Fig. 8-13 illustrate replacement of the cutting land;

[0050] Fig. 14 illustrates a slicer apparatus where the conveyor comprises two separate lanes; and

[0051] Fig. 15 illustrates steps of a method of slicing a food object.

[0052] DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0053] Fig. 1 illustrates the general principles of a slicer apparatus 1 for slicing food objects 101.

[0054] Fig. 2 illustrates in further details an apparatus 200 comprising a conveyer 201 for conveying the food objects in a downstream direction 202 along a conveying path.

[0055] The conveyor defines a gap 203 extending in a transverse direction across the conveying path.

[0056] A cutting blade 103 movable in a slicing path towards and away from the conveyer, and a cutting land 204 is arranged in and along the gap such that the cutting blade moves towards and away from the cutting land, i.e. between an outer and an inner position.

[0057] The slicer apparatus further comprises an actuator 205 controlling movement of the cutting blade 103 along the slicing path between an outer and an inner position whereby the cutting blade moves into and out of the recess. The blade guide can inter alia control the stroke length along the slicing path as indicated by the arrow 206 and the angle of the slicing path relative to the surface of the conveyor 201 as indicated by the arrow 207.

[0058] The conveyor 201 comprises a first section upstream relative to the gap, and a second section downstream relative to the gap. The first section comprises spikes 208 to maintain the fish fillet steady during slicing.

[0059] Fig. 3 illustrates the cutting land 204 and the cutting blade 103. The cutting land 204 comprises a recess 300 extending in the transverse direction such that the cutting blade can be received in the recess in its lowest position when it is closest to the conveyor.The cutting land is illustrated also in Figs. 4-5 in different positions relative to the cutting blade.

[0060] The cutting land is rotatable about a rotation axis extending in the transverse direction. This is illustrated by the arrow 301 and enables movement and rotation of the recess and therefore adaptation for different cutting angles 207.

[0061] Fig. 4 illustrates the cutting land 204 and the cutting blade 103 in a cross-section transverse to the direction of the gap 203 housing the cutting land 204, i.e. transverse to the direction referred to herein as the transverse direction.

[0062] Fig. 4 illustrates that the recess is formed in a curved outer surface 400 of the cutting land. In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 4, the outer surface is circular when seen in the cross section. The curved surface is therefore formed by a surface portion of a cylindrical body with a circular shape in a cross-section perpendicular to the transverse direction.

[0063] Fig. 5 illustrates an enlarged view of the recess without the cutting blade 103. The recess 300 of the cutting land is defined by elongated and opposing sidewalls 500 each extending between an outer surface 400 of the cutting land and a bottom wall 501 of the recess 300.

[0064] In Fig. 5, the sidewalls do not extend radially relative to the circular shape of the cylindrical body but rather offset relative to the radial direction indicated by the dotted line 502 which extends through the centre 503 of the circular cross-section.

[0065] Fig. 6. illustrates the slicer with the sidewalls having different length, / , L, and illustrates that the sidewalls are parallel. Moreover, the sidewalls are perpendicular to the bottom wall.

[0066] Fig. 7 illustrates that the cutting blade defines elongated side-surfaces 700 extending in the transverse direction defined by the gap. These side-surfaces 700 are non-parallel to the sidewalls 500 which creates a gap between the cutting blade and the gap and thereby reduces the risk of collision and potentially reduces wear.

[0067] In the illustrated cross-section perpendicular to the transverse direction, the cutting blade has an isosceles triangular shape, i.e. the side-surfaces defines two legs mirrored in the centre line 701.

[0068] Figs. 8 and 9 illustrate a cutting land 204 slidingly received in a receptacle 80 and which is rotatable in the receptacle. The cutting land and the cutting blade are both fixed to a yoke-shaped fixture, not illustrated, which is rotatable around the rotation axis in the gap and therefore allows simultaneous angle adjustment of the cutting blade and the cutting land relative to the conveying direction. During the adjustment, the cutting land rotates in the receptacle. The slidingly engagement between the cutting land and the receptacle facilitates a fast replacement of the cutting land.

[0069] Fig. 10 illustrates replacement of a cutting land. The cutting land is received in a tubular slot in the receptacle. The tubular slot defines a wall which, in a cross section, defines a sector 110 of a circle exceeding 180 degrees. The sector defines a pocket 100 illustrated in Fig. 11.

[0070] The cutting land is slidable into and out of the receptacle which thereby offers quick replacement of the cutting land. The receptacle and the cutting land are shaped to allow rotation of the cutting land in the receptacle and thereby allow the cutting land to be positioned correctly relative to the cutting blade by rotation of the cutting land in the receptacle.

[0071] Fig. 12 illustrates a cutting land being pulled out of the receptacle. In this illustration, the cutting land is shown with an actuator arm 120 by which the cutting land is rotated in the receptacle. Since the actuator arm and the cutting blade are fixed to the same fixture which is rotatable around an axis extending in the gap, the angles of the cutting path and the cutting land are amended simultaneously by rotation of the fixture.

[0072] Fig. 13 illustrates that the cutting land comprises two cutting land sections 204', 204" received individually in the receptacle, e.g. in different pockets of the receptacle. The two cutting land sections comprises individual actuator arms both being joined with the fixture for mutual rotation with the cutting blade.

[0073] Fig. 14. illustrates a slicer according with a conveyor 201 comprising at least two separate lanes 140, 141 extending side-by-side. In this embodiment, the cutting blade 103 and / or the cutting land 204 extend across both lanes.

[0074] Fig. 15 illustrates a diagram with steps defining a method of slicing a food object in a slicer as illustrated in Figs. 1-7.

[0075] Step A defines the process of conveying the food objects in the downstream direction along a conveying path. Step B defines the process of moving the at least one cutting blade from the outer to the inner position through the food object while avoiding contact between the cutting blade and the cutting land. The optional further step C defines the process of rearranging thecutting blade for changing the slicing angle and in step D the process of rearranging the cutting land accordingly such that the cutting blade may enter the recess for different cutting angles. The steps A-D may be subsequent steps separated in time, or some or all steps may occur simultaneously.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A slicer apparatus (200) for slicing food objects, comprising:• a conveyer (201) for conveying the food objects, where the food object is conveyed in a downstream direction along a conveying path, where a gap (203) is provided extending in a transverse direction across the conveying path,• at least one cutting blade (103),• a cutting land (204) arranged in and along the gap, the cutting land comprising a recess (300) extending in the transverse direction, and the cutting land being rotatable about a rotation axis extending in the transverse direction,• a first actuator (205) arranged to move the at least one cutting blade along a slicing path relative to the cutting land between an outer and an inner position whereby the cutting blade moves into and out of the recess.

2. The slicer according to claim 1, wherein the recess (300) of the cutting land is defined by elongated and opposing sidewalls (500) each extending between an outer surface (400) of the cutting land and a bottom wall (501) of the recess (300).

3. The slicer according to claim 2, wherein the sidewalls (500) are perpendicular to the bottom wall (501).

4. The slicer according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the recess is formed in a curved surface (400).

5. The slicer according to claim 4, wherein the curved surface is formed by a surface portion of a cylindrical body with a circular shape in a cross-section perpendicular to the transverse direction.

6. The slicer according to claim 2 and 5, wherein the at least one of the sidewalls (500) does not extend radially relative to the circular shape of the cylindrical body.

7. The slicer according to any of claims 2-6, wherein the sidewalls (500) have different length.

8. The slicer according to any of the claims 2-7, wherein the sidewalls (500) are parallel.

9. The slicer according to any of the claims 2-8, wherein the cutting blade (103) defines elongated side-surfaces (700) extending in the transverse direction, and wherein the sidesurfaces (700) are non-parallel to the sidewalls (500).

10. The slicer according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the cutting blade (103) has a triangular shape in a cross-section perpendicular to the transverse direction.

11. The slicer according to claim 10, wherein the triangular shape is an isosceles triangular shape.

12. The slicer according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the cutting blade (103) and the recess (300) have different shapes in a cross-section perpendicular to the transverse direction.

13. The slicer according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the conveyor (201) comprises at least two separate lanes (140, 141) extending side-by-side, and wherein the cutting blade (103) and / or the cutting land (204) extend across both lanes.

14. The slicer according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the cutting blade has a larger deflection perpendicular to the transverse direction than the cutting land.

15. The slicer according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the cutting land (204) comprises at least two separate cutting land sections (204', 204").

16. The slicer according to any of the preceding claims, comprising a receptacle (80) with at least one receptacle pocket configured for slidingly receiving the cutting land.

17. The slicer according to claim 15 and 16, wherein the at least two separate cutting land sections (204', 204") are received in the same receptacle pocket or in different receptacle pockets of the receptacle (80).

18. The slicer according to claim 17, wherein the receptacle and the cutting blade are fixed to a mutual fixture which is rotatable around the rotation axis.

19. The slicer according to claim 18, comprising a second actuator arranged to rotate the mutual fixture relative to the conveying path.

20. A cutting land for a slicer, the cutting land comprising a recess extending in the transverse direction, wherein the recess is formed in a curved surface.

21. The cutting land according to claim 20, wherein the curved surface is formed by a surface portion of a cylindrical body with a circular shape in a cross-section perpendicular to the transverse direction.

22. The cutting land according to any of claims 20-21, wherein the recess is defined by elongated and opposing sidewalls each extending between an outer surface of the cutting land and a bottom wall of the recess.

23. The cutting land according to claim 20 and 22, wherein the at least one of the sidewalls does not extend radially relative to the circular shape of the cylindrical body.

24. The cutting land according to any of claims 20-23, wherein the sidewalls have different length.

25. The cutting land according to any of the claims 20-24, wherein the sidewalls are parallel.

26. The cutting land according to any of the claims 20-25, wherein the sidewalls are perpendicular to the bottom wall.

27. A method of slicing a food object in a slicer according to any of claims 1-19, comprising conveying the food objects in the downstream direction along a conveying belt and moving the at least one cutting blade from the outer to the inner position through the food object into the recess.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the cutting blade is moved while avoiding contact between the cutting blade and the cutting land.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein the cutting blade is allowed to deflect in a direction perpendicular to the transverse direction of the recess, and wherein the recess is sufficiently wide perpendicular to the transverse direction to avoid contact between the cutting blade and the cutting land.

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