Synchronized Portioning and Control Belts for Food Product Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing portioning units for sliced food products face challenges in efficiently removing cut products due to permanent coupling or separation of portioning and control belts, leading to throughput issues and difficulties in removing products directly to the front or rear.
Innovation Solution
A method and device where the portioning belt and control belt are synchronized and separable for vertical movement, allowing for independent control of their drives to create a gap for easy removal of product cuts, enabling efficient transfer and high throughput by coordinating drives for synchronized vertical movements during normal operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the portioning belt and control belt are permanently coupled, then the structure is simple, but the product cut cannot be removed directly to the front and throughput is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling between the portioning belt and control belt is made dynamic rather than permanent. The belts can be coupled during normal operation for synchronized movement, and decoupled when product removal is needed. This dynamic coupling allows the system to adapt between different operational modes (stacking vs. removal) without structural complexity, resolving the contradiction between structural simplicity and productivity.
2Ease of operation
If the control belt is permanently separated from the portioning belt, then product removal to the front is possible, but throughput decreases due to time losses
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling and decoupling of the portioning belt and control belt occurs periodically based on operational needs. During stacking operations, the belts are coupled and move together. When product removal is required, they decouple allowing front removal. This periodic switching between coupled and separated states enables both easy product removal and high throughput without permanent separation.
3Ease of operation
If the portioning belt removes product to the rear, then removal is possible under certain conditions, but it is often not possible depending on structural conditions
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of relying on rear removal which is structurally constrained, the invention enables front removal by decoupling the control belt from the portioning belt. This inversion of the removal direction (from rear to front) provides greater operational flexibility and adaptability, as front removal is not limited by the same structural conditions that restrict rear removal.
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
The invention relates to a method for portioning sliced products, in particular sliced food products, in which product slices cut by means of a cutting device are placed onto a generally vertically movable portioning belt to form stacks comprising several product slices each, and the stacks formed are transferred from the portioning belt to a control belt pivotably mounted in the region of its end facing away from the portioning belt, wherein the free end of the control belt and the portioning belt are synchronized with respect to their vertical movements during normal operation, in the course of which complete stacks are formed after each product slice has been cut, at least for the transfer of the stacks formed, and are separated in the vertical direction for the removal of each product slice from the portioning belt.in order to remove the product cut-off via the portioning belt through the gap formed between the control belt and the portioning belt.