Integrated Bread Slicer Bagging Chute for Hygienic Self-Service
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing bread slicing machines are bulky, require cumbersome bagging processes, and lack adequate hygiene and safety features, especially for self-service use.
Innovation Solution
A compact bread slicing machine design with integrated bagging aid within the housing, featuring angled chutes and a gripper mechanism to secure the loaf during slicing, allowing for efficient slice transfer and reduced user interaction with the cutting blade.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the bagging aid is mounted outside the machine housing as a separate component, then the bagging function is available, but the machine becomes bulkier and requires more space
Solution Approach 1:
The bagging aid is integrated into the machine housing by forming it as part of the receiving chute structure. The receiving chute is designed with a cantilevered section that extends beyond the housing to serve as the bagging aid, combining the receiving and bagging functions into a single integrated component rather than separate external elements.
Solution Approach 2:
The receiving chute serves multiple functions: it receives sliced bread, acts as a support structure, and extends as a cantilevered bagging aid. This multi-functional design eliminates the need for separate bagging components, reducing overall machine volume while maintaining the bagging capability.
2Ease of operation
If the user manually handles and squeezes the loaf for bagging, then the bagging process is simple, but hygiene is compromised and bread slices are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The machine performs the bagging function automatically through its integrated cantilevered receiving chute. The sliced bread is conveyed automatically into the chute, and the structure itself provides the support needed for packaging, eliminating the need for manual handling and squeezing by the user.
Solution Approach 2:
The cantilevered receiving chute acts as an intermediary between the slicing mechanism and the packaging process. It provides a hygienic, enclosed pathway that transfers sliced bread without requiring direct manual contact, thereby preventing contamination and slice loss.
3Device complexity
If the feed chute and receiving chute are arranged horizontally, then the layout is simple, but the machine occupies more horizontal space
Solution Approach 1:
The feed chute and receiving chute are arranged in a vertical configuration rather than horizontally. The feed chute extends vertically from above, and the receiving chute with its cantilevered section extends vertically downward, utilizing the vertical dimension to reduce the machine's horizontal footprint while maintaining structural simplicity.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a bread cutting machine (1) for cutting a bread loaf (B) in slices, having a machine housing (2) which receives a drive motor (3) and a cutting blade (5) that is driven by the drive motor, is held on a blade arm (4), and rotates on a cutting plane (E). The bread cutting machine comprises a feed shaft (6) for introducing the bread loaf (B) to be cut, a receiving shaft (7) which adjoins the feed shaft (6) up to a blade gap (5') for receiving all of the slices (S) of the cut bread loaf, and a bagging aid for wrapping a bag-shaped packaging means together with the slices of the cut bread loaf lying thereon over the bagging aid, wherein the bagging aid comprises a claw section (8). The invention is characterized in that the exterior dimensions of the feed shaft are larger than the maximum exterior dimensions of the bread loaf in the directions parallel to the cutting plane, the exterior dimensions of the claw section parallel to the cutting plane at at least one free end (8') facing away from the feed shaft are smaller than the exterior dimensions of the feed shaft in said directions, and the receiving shaft is designed as the bagging aid with the claw section and is arranged within a cover (2') of the machine housing. In this manner, the bagging aid is integrated into the bread cutting machine in a structurally simple and space-saving manner while increasing the protection of a user from an accidental engagement.