Slicing machine with product recognition device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11511450-B2
Application number	US-202117231332-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 15, 2021
Priority date	Apr 16, 2020
Publication date	Nov 29, 2022
Grant date	Nov 29, 2022

Abstract

In order to reliably detect, without supplying electric current or any other type of energy to a gripper, whether a rear end of a product caliber is in a grippable position close to a gripper base body and/or gripper claws are extended into the product caliber, i.e., are activated, a signal transmitter may be moved into an activated position via a purely mechanical operative connection between a sensing element, which detects the approach of the product caliber to the gripper base body in a contacting manner, which position can be detected by a sensor arranged far behind the gripper at a base frame of the machine.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A slicing machine for slicing a product caliber, comprising:
a cutting unit,
a feed unit for feeding the product caliber to the cutting unit in a feeding direction,
a gripper, which is movable along the feed direction and is movable
between an engagement position in which it holds the product caliber, and
a release position in which it does not hold the product caliber,

a controller for controlling moving parts of the slicing machine, and
a product detection device connected to the controller and configured to detect whether or not the gripper is holding a product caliber,

wherein the product detection device includes
a sensing element movably disposed on the gripper so as to be movable from a normal position to an activated position by one end of the product caliber,
a signal transmitter which is pivotably attached to the gripper and operatively connected to the sensing element in such a way that it is in an activated position when the end of the product caliber is at least in contact with the sensing element and is otherwise in a rest position, and
a sensor unit arranged away from the gripper and adapted to detect whether or not the signal transmitter is in the activated position.

2. The slicing machine according to claim 1 , wherein
the sensor unit is arranged behind the gripper in the feed direction, and/or
the sensor unit is arranged at a non-moving part of the slicing machine.

3. The slicing machine according to claim 1 , wherein the sensor unit is embodied to detect whether the signal transmitter is in the rest position.

4. The slicing machine according to claim 1 , wherein
the signal transmitter is biased toward the rest position, and/or
the sensing element protrudes from the gripper in the normal position and is biased into the normal position.

5. The slicing machine according to claim 4 , further comprising a spring that biases the signal transmitter toward the rest position.

6. The slicing machine according to claim 1 , wherein the sensor unit comprises a contactless sensor.

7. The slicing machine according to claim 6 , wherein the contactless sensor comprises an optical sensor.

8. The slicing machine according to claim 7 , wherein the optical sensor comprises a laser and/or a camera.

9. The slicing machine according to claim 1 , comprising a plurality of the grippers.

10. The slicing machine according to claim 9 , wherein the plurality of the grippers are variable in length in the feed direction, so that a length of each gripper can be varied.

11. The slicing machine according to claim 10 , wherein each gripper has a blocking device which is configured to block a length change after the sensing element to which the gripper is mechanically coupled is in contact with a product caliber.

12. The slicing machine according to claim 10 , wherein the grippers are pretensioned in the feed direction by a clamping element.

13. The slicing machine according to claim 9 , further comprising a drive unit to move the grippers in the feed direction, wherein the grippers are arranged at a common gripper unit that can be moved by the drive unit.

14. The slicing machine according to claim 13 , wherein the common gripper unit comprises a gripper carriage.

15. The slicing machine according to claim 1 , wherein the signal transmitter is mechanically coupled to the sensing element.

16. A slicing machine for slicing a product caliber, comprising:
a cutting unit,
a feed unit for feeding the product caliber to the cutting unit in a feeding direction,
a gripper, which is movable along the feed direction and is movable
between an engagement position in which it holds the product caliber, and
a release position in which it does not hold the product caliber,

a controller for controlling moving parts of the slicing machine, and
a product detection device connected to the controller and configured to detect whether or not the gripper is holding a product caliber,

wherein the product detection device includes
a sensing element movably disposed on the gripper so as to be movable from a normal position to an activated position by one end of the product caliber,
a signal transmitter which is operatively connected to the sensing element in such a way that it is in an activated position when the end of the product caliber is at least in contact with the sensing element and is otherwise in a rest position, and
a sensor unit arranged away from the gripper and adapted to detect whether or not the signal transmitter is in the activated position,

and wherein the slicing machine further comprises a spring that biases the signal transmitter toward the rest position.

17. The slicing machine according to claim 16 , wherein the sensing element protrudes from the gripper in the normal position and is biased into the normal position.

18. A slicing machine for slicing a product caliber, comprising:
a cutting unit,
a feed unit for feeding the product caliber to the cutting unit in a feeding direction,
a gripper, which is movable along the feed direction and is movable
between an engagement position in which it holds the product caliber, and
a release position in which it does not hold the product caliber,

a controller for controlling moving parts of the slicing machine, and
a product detection device connected to the controller and configured to detect whether or not the gripper is holding a product caliber,

wherein the product detection device includes
a sensing element movably disposed on the gripper so as to be movable from a normal position to an activated position by one end of the product caliber,
a signal transmitter which is operatively connected to the sensing element in such a way that it is in an activated position when the end of the product caliber is at least in contact with the sensing element and is otherwise in a rest position, and
a sensor unit arranged away from the gripper and adapted to detect whether or not the signal transmitter is in the activated position, wherein the sensor unit comprises a contactless optical sensor.

19. The slicing machine according to claim 18 , wherein the optical sensor comprises a laser and/or a camera.

20. The slicing machine according to claim 18 , comprising a plurality of the grippers, wherein the grippers are pretensioned in the feed direction by a clamping element.

Assignees

• Multivac Haggenmueller Kg

Inventors

• Hartmann Albert

Classifications

• B26D2007/011

  by clamping claws, e.g. in high speed slicers for food products · CPC title

• B26D5/42

  with interrelated action between work feed and clamp (work clamping arrangements B26D7/02) · CPC title

• B26D2007/013

  the work being tubes, rods or logs · CPC title

• B26D5/007

  Control means comprising cameras, vision or image processing systems · CPC title

• B26D7/01 Primary

  Means for holding or positioning work · CPC title