Discontinuous Slice Conveyor for Weighed Food Portioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing food processing devices lack flexibility and the ability to weigh sliced portions, and conventional conveyors are complex and inflexible, limiting their functionality.
Innovation Solution
A food processing device with a discontinuous conveyor using a contactless drive system, such as magnetic levitation, allows for flexible movement of conveying carriers without a fixed path, integrated with a lifting device and a scale to measure portion weights, enabling precise control over portion shape and weight.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a conveyor belt is used to transport sliced food products, then continuous transport is achieved, but the system becomes complex and inflexible
Solution Approach 1:
The conveyor system is segmented into multiple independent conveying carriers (12, 13) that can be individually controlled and positioned. Each carrier operates independently rather than as part of a continuous belt, allowing flexible routing and positioning while reducing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The conveying carriers are made dynamically movable within a conveying area without being bound to a fixed conveying path. The contactless drive system enables real-time repositioning and dynamic control of each carrier's position and speed, providing adaptability while maintaining simple individual carrier designs.
2Measurement precision
If conventional conveyors are used, then transport function is provided, but the ability to weigh portions and control drop height is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The conveying carriers are designed as multi-functional units that combine transport, weighing, and positioning functions. Each carrier can transport slices, be weighed by integrated or external scales to determine portion weight, and have its drop height independently controlled, providing versatile functionality in a single integrated system.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback through scales that measure the weight of conveying carriers with slices, and through control devices that use this information to regulate the positioning and movement of carriers. This closed-loop feedback enables precise portion control and consistent drop heights by adjusting carrier positions based on measured weights.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a fixed conveying path is used, then simple conveyor design is achieved, but flexibility in portion shape and positioning is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The conveying carriers operate without being bound to a fixed conveying path, allowing dynamic repositioning within the conveying area. This enables the system to adapt to different portion shapes and positioning requirements by programmatically controlling carrier trajectories rather than relying on fixed mechanical paths.
Solution Approach 2:
The contactless drive system replaces traditional mechanical conveyor mechanisms with a non-contact actuation method. This substitution eliminates the need for complex mechanical guiding structures and fixed paths, allowing carriers to be moved and positioned flexibly through electromagnetic or other contactless forces while reducing mechanical complexity.
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 solution provides a flexible and precise method for slicing and conveying food products, allowing for consistent drop heights and varied portion shapes, while enabling accurate weighing of conveyed materials.
Implementation Method 1
the contactless drive system consists of several modules (15-18), which adjoin one another without gaps and form the conveying surface (14), in that the conveying path (27) within the conveying surface (14) is freely programmable
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a food-processing device for slicing food articles (2) into slices (6), the slices (6) preferably jointly forming a portion, more particularly for slicing pieces of meat or pieces of cheese. The food-processing device according to the invention comprises a cutting device (1) for cutting the slices (6) off the food articles (2) and a conveyor (AS, 12-18) for receiving, after a cutting process, the slices (6) that have been cut off. The conveyor (AS, 12-18) is preferably disposed in the fall line of the slices (6) so that the slices (6) that have been cut off fall from the cutting device (1) onto the conveyor (AS, 12-18). According to the invention, the conveyor (AS, 12-18) is a discontinuous conveyor which, in contrast to a conveyor belt, discontinuously conveys the deposited slices (6). The invention also relates to a corresponding operating method.