Mincing Drum Feed Channel Design for Cutting Quality

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Solution Overview

Problem

Cutting and separating devices in the food industry, particularly for processing meat, face inefficiencies due to excessive squeezing rather than cutting, leading to impaired performance and quality of the desired food component.

Innovation Solution

The design of a shredding drum with sunken feed channels and inclined cutting openings, supported by a screw conveyor, ensures that food is processed with a straight forward movement, maximizing pressure and filling of cutting openings, thereby enhancing cutting performance and quality.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If food is conveyed through the shredding drum using a screw conveyor, then the food is pressed against the cutting openings, but excessive squeezing occurs instead of cutting, impairing cutting performance and food quality

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecutting performanceVSAvoidexcessive squeezing
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The feed channel is designed to extend in the axial direction of the drum, creating a new spatial dimension for food conveyance. This axial feed channel allows food to be pushed along the drum axis rather than radially, enabling the food to reach the cutting openings from a different direction and reducing excessive squeezing while maintaining cutting effectiveness

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

Solution Approach 2:

The feed channel acts as an intermediary structure between the screw conveyor and the cutting openings. It mediates the food conveyance process by providing a dedicated pathway that guides food from the conveyor to the cutting openings, allowing for controlled food movement and preventing direct radial pressing that causes excessive squeezing

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Manufacturing precision

If the feed channel is made deeper to support food better, then food support and pressure increase, but the spacing between cutting openings must be increased, reducing the number of cutting openings

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvefood support and pressureVSAvoidnumber of cutting openings
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The feed channel utilizes the axial dimension of the drum to provide food support and pressure buildup. By extending the feed channel axially, the design achieves better food support without requiring increased radial depth, thereby maintaining close spacing between cutting openings while still providing sufficient food pressure for effective cutting

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

3Productivity

If cutting openings are spaced closer together to increase cutting performance, then more cutting openings are available, but food may escape through gaps before being cut

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecutting performanceVSAvoidfood containment
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The feed channel performs preliminary action by pre-positioning and pressurizing the food before it reaches the cutting openings. This preliminary pressure buildup ensures that food is held firmly against the cutting edges, preventing escape through gaps while allowing cutting openings to be spaced closely together for maximum cutting performance

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

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

This design significantly improves the cutting performance and quality of the desired food component by ensuring that food is supported against rotational movement, resulting in longer meat plugs and cleaner cuts, reducing the formation of unusable solids.

Implementation Method 1

a screw conveyor (130) rotatably mounted in the shredding drum (110), comprising a screw shaft (131) with at least one spirally formed screw thread

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectScrew mechanism: Screw

Implementation Method 2

The cutting openings (120) emerge on the inner wall (117) of the pressure housing section (116) and, when the cutting and separating device is in operation, perform the majority of the cutting work on the foodstuff to be processed

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectMechanical cutting: Fracture Mechanics

Data Source

PatentEP4030918B1Comminuting barrel for a cutting and separating apparatus
Publication Date: 2023.08.09 SEPAGRIND GMBH
  • EP4030918B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4030918B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3

AI summary

The invention relates to a mincing drum (110) for a cutting and separating device, at the first end section (112) of which there is an inlet opening (113) and at the second end section (114) of which there is an outlet opening (115), a plurality of cutting openings (120) being arranged in a pressure housing section (116) of the mincing drum (110) and passing continuously through the pressure housing section (116) from an inner wall (117) to an outer wall (118), each cutting opening (120) having, on the inner wall (117), a cutting opening edge (112a) facing the outlet opening (115) and a drawing-in opening edge (122b) facing the inlet opening (113). The invention addresses the problem of improving a mincing drum (110) such that the cutting performance of the cutting and separating device and the quality of the desired food component is significantly improved. The problem is solved according to the invention in that a feed channel (100) which is recessed relative to the inner wall (117) is situated between the cutting opening edge (122a) and the drawing-in opening edge (122b).