Cutting – With means to convey work relative to tool station – Cut made parallel to direction of and during work movement
Reexamination Certificate
2002-04-10
2004-06-15
Peterson, Kenneth E. (Department: 3724)
Cutting
With means to convey work relative to tool station
Cut made parallel to direction of and during work movement
C083S446000, C083S449000, C083S932000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06748837
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the food processing industry, the size of processed food product must be strictly maintained to meet the requirements of end users. For example, potato processors who deliver cut potatoes for use as french fries must take care to ensure that the cut potatoes are of proper length. Fast food outlets offer french fries to consumers in small pockets, bags or sleeves. The french-fried potatoes must be of the proper length in order to fit within the pockets. If the potatoes are too long, they cannot be contained in the company's standard packaging. What this means for the food processor is that cut raw potatoes for use as french fries will be rejected if a significant number of those potato slices fail to fall within length guidelines. It is therefore critically important for the food processor to ensure that the cut potato products delivered to the user meet the user's specifications for length.
Unfortunately, food product such as potatoes does not exist in uniform lengths. Grown potatoes can vary in length from three inches to eight inches or more. Food processors must therefor have a method of sorting potatoes so that the processed food product falls within specifications for length.
In the past, food processors have used sizing machines for sizing potatoes, grouping them into several different size categories prior to slicing. These products have generally been adequate for bulk processors such as those who sell to grocery stores, but since a high degree of size accuracy is not required for these uses, such machinery has been inadequate for processors who wish to sell to fast food chains.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The machine of the invention provides an apparatus for sizing and halving food product. The apparatus contemplates that potatoes that fall within acceptable ranges are sorted according to size and product that exceeds acceptable ranges is cut in half so that the potato slices generated from halves of an oversized potato fall within acceptable requirements for length.
A combination sizing machine and product halver includes a first conveyor for carrying food product, canted at an angle, and a vertical lift conveyor having lanes of sized pockets of varying sizes for sorting food product that rolls from the first conveyor onto the lift conveyor. Following the product sizer, a product halver contains a second conveyor also canted to the horizontal plane and placed at the output of the first conveyor. In the halver, a second upwardly extending lift conveyor is oriented substantially perpendicular to the second conveyor belt. The second lift conveyor has pairs of product holders or flites which are positioned in side by side relation with a space between each pair of flites and placed along the lift conveyor at predetermined intervals. A cutting blade is positioned to extend into the space between the flites and to slice the oversized food product in half.
The halving mechanism also includes a centering device positioned above the conveyor belt for centering the food product so that it rests substantially in equal portions on the pairs of the flites. The centering mechanism includes pairs of centering heads at the ends of articulated arms which clamp either end of the food product. The arms are centered on the flite pairs so that when the clamp is applied the food product rests in equal portions between each side of the flites. A timer controls the actuation of the centering mechanism to center the product on the flites.
The lift conveyor for the sizing apparatus includes pockets that are formed by a series of flites with support rails and pairs of dividers. The dividers are adjustable along the support rails to define pockets of differing widths. The support rails include spaced slots and the dividers are slidable along the support rails with detent mechanisms which interact with the slots to affix the dividers to the support rails at positions chosen by the user.
In another aspect of the invention, an apparatus for halving pieces of product comprises a loading conveyor for conveying individual pieces of product in a direction along a longitudinal axis. A lift conveyor positioned adjacent to the loading conveyor and oriented at substantially a right angle thereto receives pieces of product from the loading conveyor and conveys pieces of product in an upward direction. The lift conveyor includes a plurality of flites spaced along the lift conveyor, each flite supporting, one at a time, the pieces of product. Centering fingers positioned adjacent to the lift conveyor engage the pieces of product as they are conveyed upward by the lift conveyor and center each piece of product on its respective flite, while a cutting blade is positioned to engage and cut each piece of product as it rises on the lift conveyor.
The foregoing and other objectives, features, and advantages of the invention will be more readily understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
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Benjamin Scott R.
Mobley John E.
Olsen Marc R.
Chernoff Vilhauer McClung & Stenzel LLP
Key Technology Inc.
Peterson Kenneth E.
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