Adjustable Side-Guide Assembly for High-Speed Food Portioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing food portioning machines struggle to operate at high speeds while maintaining precise control over the weight and size of slices or portions, particularly when handling irregular food products, as they lack effective mechanisms to constrain and guide the food products accurately during cutting.
Innovation Solution
A control assembly comprising a pair of side guides and a positioning mechanism that moves and adjusts the spacing of these guides relative to a support plane, allowing for precise lateral and vertical control of food products as they approach and are cut by a cutter, using drive belts and pulleys for coordinated motion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If food products are fed at high speed through the cutting region, then productivity is improved, but control over the location and shape of the food product during cutting deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The side guides are made movable rather than fixed, allowing them to dynamically adjust their position and spacing to accommodate different food products and maintain optimal constraint during high-speed operation. The positioning mechanism enables real-time adjustment of guide positions to match product dimensions.
Solution Approach 2:
The guiding function is divided into multiple independent side guides that can be individually positioned and adjusted. Each side guide can be independently controlled to engage with specific portions of the food product, providing segmented constraint that adapts to irregular shapes while maintaining high-speed throughput.
2Manufacturing precision
If fixed side guides are used to constrain the food product, then manufacturing precision is improved, but adaptability to different food product sizes and shapes deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The side guides transition from fixed to movable components, enabling them to adapt their positions dynamically. The positioning mechanism allows each side guide to be independently adjusted to match the dimensions and shape of different food products while maintaining precise constraint during cutting.
Solution Approach 2:
The adjustable side guides serve multiple functions: they can accommodate various food product sizes and shapes, provide lateral constraint, provide vertical constraint, and adapt to different cutting positions. This multi-functionality replaces the need for multiple fixed guide configurations.
3Ease of operation
If the food product is not closely constrained, then ease of operation is improved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to inability to control cut location and portion size
Solution Approach 1:
The movable side guides can dynamically adjust their constraint force and position during the cutting process. They engage with the food product to provide necessary constraint during cutting, then relax to allow easy feeding of the next product, optimizing both precision and ease of operation.
Data Source
AI summary
A product control assembly (2) to guide a food product along a flow path (A) towards a cutter (88) of a food portioning machine and a method of restraining a food product moving towards a cutter. The assembly comprises a pair of side guides (6, 8) for engaging opposite side surfaces of a food product lying on the support plane (84), and a positioning mechanism (10) which is operable to move the side guides towards and away from the support plane, and to change the spacing between the side guides in a transverse direction with respect to the flow path.