Cutting Valve Spindle Drive for Gentle Portioning of Fibrous Masses
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cutting valve units for portioning pumpable pasty to liquid product masses with lumpy or fibrous consistency, such as sausage or ham mass, are complex to manufacture, require intricate designs, and suffer from material wear and limited rotational movement due to cam guides.
Innovation Solution
A cutting valve unit utilizing a spindle transmission with a threaded spindle connected to the ejection piston, allowing for a simple and flexible gearbox design using standardized components, which combines linear and rotary movements to facilitate precise and gentle portioning of products.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a cam guide is used to transmit stroke movement and generate rotary movement of the ejection piston, then the cutting valve unit can perform helical cutting motion, but the device becomes complex to manufacture and the filling tube requires intricate design
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the cam guide mechanical system with a threaded spindle and nut mechanism. The threaded spindle converts linear stroke movement directly into rotary movement of the ejection piston through screw-thread engagement, eliminating the need for complex cam guides and helical guide grooves in the filling tube. This substitution simplifies both manufacturing and design while maintaining the helical cutting motion functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent separates the functions of linear motion generation and rotary motion generation into distinct components: the linear drive generates stroke movement, while the threaded spindle converts it to rotary movement. This functional segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and simplifies the overall system design compared to the integrated cam guide approach.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a cam guide with helical guide groove is used, then rotary movement is generated, but the pitch is relatively large and rotation of the ejection piston is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables adjustment of rotational movement parameters by changing the thread pitch of the threaded spindle. Unlike fixed-pitch cam guides, the screw thread can be manufactured with various pitch values, allowing flexible control over the rotation speed and helical cutting path. This parameter adjustability provides adaptability for different product types and portioning requirements while enabling higher rotation speeds through finer thread pitches.
3Reliability
If a cam guide is used for transmitting motion, then the ejection piston achieves rotary movement, but the system is comparatively susceptible to material wear
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the cam guide system with a threaded spindle and nut mechanism. The screw-thread engagement provides more uniform contact and distribution of loads, reducing stress concentrations and material wear. The threaded components can be manufactured with precise tolerances and appropriate surface treatments, enhancing durability and service life compared to the sliding contact in cam guides.
4Ease of operation
If individual linear drives are assigned to each ejection piston, then precise control is achieved, but the device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple linear drives into a single common linear drive that serves multiple ejection pistons. The threaded spindles of multiple cutting valves are coupled to the common linear drive, allowing synchronized operation. This consolidation reduces the number of linear drives required, simplifies the overall system, and lowers manufacturing costs while maintaining precise control through the threaded transmission mechanism.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The spindle transmission enables a compact, cost-effective, and hygienic design with reduced wear, allowing for efficient separation and ejection of portions with adjustable rotary motion, suitable for various product consistencies.
Implementation Method 1
The threaded spindle thus functions as a piston rod, simultaneously transmitting the linear oscillating stroke motion of the linear drive and the rotary motion generated by the spindle drive to the ejector piston.
Data Source
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AI summary
A cutting valve unit for portioning pumpable pasty to liquid product masses, particularly those with a lumpy or fibrous consistency, such as sausage or ham mass, bakery products, dairy products, delicatessen products, meat substitutes, or animal feed, is described. The unit comprises: at least one cutting valve, each comprising a filling tube with a lateral inlet for a strand of the product mass and an ejection piston that can be moved by a stroke in the filling tube across the inlet to separate and eject a portion of the product mass from the strand; a linear drive for generating a stroke movement of the ejection piston; and a gearbox associated with each cutting valve, designed to superimpose a rotary movement of the ejection piston onto the stroke movement.The gearbox, designed as a spindle gearbox, comprises a threaded spindle which is connected to the ejection piston in a rotationally fixed manner on one side and to the linear drive in a rotatable manner on the other, and is fixed in the stroke direction on both sides, thus enabling a compact and easy-to-manufacture cutting valve as well as a rotary movement of the ejection piston that can be adapted to different production requirements with minimal effort.