Cutting – Other than completely through work thickness or through work... – Splitting
Patent
1990-03-23
1992-01-07
Yost, Frank T.
Cutting
Other than completely through work thickness or through work...
Splitting
836391, 83697, 83931, 29239, A24B 306, B26D 512
Patent
active
050780360
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention concerns opening of blocks of tobacco which have been packed in cases, bales or hogsheads. Such blocks have laminations or strata and successive layers or slices taken along such strata are removed and are then fed to a conditioning process. (There is an alternative procedure in which slices are taken at right angles to the strata, which does not concern this invention.). In particular the invention thus concerns the means and method for dividing off the slices parallel with the strata.
2. History of the Related Art
Patent applications EPO 0095866 and EPO 0159836 disclose examples of prior art in this field.
When dividing a slice from the package it is desirable to divide it at a boundary between natural strata in the package to obtain a clean division. In practice these strata are not flat planes, but are generally convex due to the way the block has been formed (or concave if the block has been inverted). In some cases the strata can be sloping if the filling of a case containing the block is biased to one side or one end.
Existing systems for separating such slices typically use a two pronged fork (as fitted to a fork lift truck), which is forced into the block. Because these prongs are rigid, blunt ended and moving on a fixed path they tend to cut or tear through the laminations, degrading the leaves in the lamina. And then when the slice is separated from the main package there is an untidy cleavage of interlocking lamina, which hang below the prongs.
It is very difficult to make a prong or blade which is sufficiently compliant to follow the contour of a strata in all three dimensions, and if two or more prongs are used, it is also difficult in practice to enter these between the same strata.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus and method for separating such slices from such a block of tobacco.
Any blade or prong has thickness and part of the action of dividing is one of wedging or prising apart. If a wedge shaped prong or spade is inserted into the edge of a case the case starts to split apart along a natural cleavage.
According to the present invention there is provided an apparatus for separating a slice of material from a block of said material which has a laminated structure, comprising the block of material to remove a slice therefrom during a forward separating stroke of the blade in the general direction of the planes of the laminations, the forward stroke, means to permit tilting of said carriage relative to said drive means, including inclined cam portions arranged therealong at a predetermined position, which inclined cam portions serve to join two portions of said guide means disposed at different levels, and portions after said predetermined position has been reached to cause said carriage to tilt so that the cutting edge of the blade effects a movement transverse to the direction of reciprocation of said carriage whereby after the blade has penetrated a short distance into the block the blade pares the slice from the remainder of the block by substantially following the path of a boundary between laminations in the block.
By this means the blade is lifted a small amount away from the main body of the block whereby the split is propagated forward ahead of the blade and to both sides along a natural cleavage surface between the lamina or strata.
If after initial penetration the blade is inserted further into the block the force required will be less and the split will precede ahead of the blade without the blade cutting into any convexity of the cleavage surface, provided of course that the lift exceeds the convexity.
If two blades are used, as in the prior art, it is unlikely that they will enter between the same strata or cleavage surface, so it is preferably to use a single blade which produces a forward and sideways wedging action as the blade is inserted. It is also desirable to have a continuous blade to give a complete separation of the lamina and t
REFERENCES:
patent: 2771107 (1956-11-01), Vasey
patent: 3364556 (1968-01-01), Cocce et al.
patent: 4554933 (1985-11-01), Neville
patent: 4628948 (1986-12-01), Beard et al.
GBE International plc
Jones Eugenia A.
Yost Frank T.
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