Gap adjustment assembly for blade portioner conveyors

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9834384-B2
Application number	US-201615004912-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 23, 2016
Priority date	Jan 23, 2016
Publication date	Dec 5, 2017
Grant date	Dec 5, 2017

Abstract

An automatic blade and conveyor gap adjustment assembly for a blade portioning conveyor machine having a blade assembly and a conveyor assembly with an infeed conveyor and an outfeed conveyor includes a blade adjustment assembly suitable for moving the blade assembly between at least first and second positions relative to the conveyor assembly and a first automatic conveyor gap adjustment assembly. The first automatic conveyor gap adjustment assembly is configured to define a first gap between an interior nose of the infeed conveyor and an interior nose of the outfeed conveyor to correspond to the first position of the blade assembly, and it is configured to define a second gap between the interior nose of the infeed conveyor and the interior nose of the outfeed conveyor to correspond to the second position of the blade assembly.

First claim

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A blade and conveyor gap adjustment assembly for a blade portioning conveyor machine having a blade assembly and a conveyor assembly with an infeed conveyor and an outfeed conveyor, the blade and conveyor gap adjustment assembly comprising:
(a) a blade adjustment assembly suitable for moving the blade assembly between at least first and second positions relative to the conveyor assembly; and
(b) a first conveyor gap adjustment assembly configured to define a first gap between an interior nose of the infeed conveyor and an interior nose of the outfeed conveyor to correspond to the first position of the blade assembly and configured to define a second gap between the interior nose of the infeed conveyor and the interior nose of the outfeed conveyor to correspond to the second position of the blade assembly, wherein the first conveyor gap adjustment assembly includes a mechanical movement assembly configured to linearly move one of the interior nose of the infeed conveyor and the interior nose of the outfeed conveyor for defining the first and second gaps between the interior nose of the infeed conveyor and the interior nose of the outfeed conveyor, the mechanical movement assembly comprising:
(i) a push-pull rod that is configured to linearly move in forward and rearward directions substantially along an axis of the conveyor assembly;
(ii) a sliding bar moveable by the push-pull rod that is coupled to the one of the interior nose of the infeed conveyor and the interior nose of the outfeed conveyor; and
(iii) an adjustable limiting assembly configured to limit the linear movement of the sliding bar when the push-pull rod is moved in the forward and rearward directions.

2. The assembly of claim 1 , further comprising a mechanical connection assembly operably disposed between the blade adjustment assembly and the first conveyor gap adjustment assembly suitable for translating the movement of the blade assembly to the first conveyor gap adjustment assembly.

3. The assembly of claim 2 , wherein the blade adjustment assembly comprises a drive shaft secured to a portion of the blade assembly that is rotatable to move the blade assembly between the at least first and second positions, wherein the drive shaft is operably coupled to a driven shaft of the first conveyor gap adjustment assembly through the mechanical connection assembly.

4. The assembly of claim 3 , wherein the mechanical movement assembly includes a cam assembly moveable by the driven shaft.

5. The assembly of claim 4 , wherein the cam assembly is operably coupled to the push-pull rod, and the cam assembly is configured to translate the rotation of the driven shaft to linear movement of the push-pull rod in forward and rearward directions.

6. The assembly of claim 5 , wherein the sliding bar is engageable with a second stop when the push-pull rod is moved in the forward direction and a first stop when the push-pull rod is moved in the rearward direction.

7. The assembly of claim 6 , wherein the sliding bar is in a first position when it engages the first stop, and wherein the sliding bar is in a second position when it engages the second stop.

8. The assembly of claim 7 , wherein the first and second stops are adjustable in position to adjust the first and second positions of the sliding bar.

9. The assembly of claim 7 , wherein the first and second stops are fasteners threadably received within a portion of the blade portioning conveyor machine.

10. The assembly of claim 7 , wherein the first and second stops are sensors received within a portion of the blade portioning conveyor machine.

11. The assembly of claim 7 , further comprising a first biasing member secured to the push-pull rod and engageable with the sliding bar to urge the sliding bar into the second position, and a second biasing member secured to the push-pull rod and engageable with the sliding bar to urge the sliding bar into the first position.

12. The assembly of claim 11 , wherein the first biasing member compresses when the push-pull rod moves the sliding bar into the second position to allow the push-pull rod to continue moving forward after the sliding bar engages the second stop, and wherein the second biasing member compresses when the push-pull rod moves the sliding bar into the first position to allow the push-pull rod to continue moving rearward after the sliding bar engages the first stop.

13. The assembly of claim 2 , wherein the mechanical movement assembly is configured to convert rotational movement of the blade assembly into linear movement of one of the interior nose of the infeed conveyor and the interior nose of the outfeed conveyor for defining the first and second gaps between the interior nose of the infeed conveyor and the interior nose of the outfeed conveyor.

14. The assembly of claim 2 , wherein the adjustable limiting assembly includes first and second stops configured to limit the linear movement of the sliding bar between first and second positions, and wherein the first and second stops are adjustable to define a maximum distance between the first and second positions and a minimum distance between the first and second positions.

15. The assembly of claim 14 , wherein the mechanical connection assembly and the mechanical movement assembly are configured to move at least the maximum distance to accommodate movement of the blade assembly between the first and second positions.

16. The assembly of claim 15 , further comprising an adjustment accommodation assembly configured to allow the mechanical movement assembly to move at least the maximum distance while stopping movement of the one of the interior nose of the infeed conveyor and the interior nose of the outfeed conveyor at the first and second positions when the distance between the first and second positions is less than the maximum distance.

17. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first conveyor gap adjustment assembly includes a releasable lock assembly configured to secure one of the interior nose of the infeed conveyor and the interior nose of the outfeed conveyor in at least one of first and second positions.

18. A blade and conveyor gap adjustment assembly for a blade portioning conveyor machine having a blade assembly and a conveyor assembly with an infeed conveyor and an outfeed conveyor, the blade and conveyor gap adjustment assembly comprising:
(a) a blade adjustment assembly suitable for moving the blade assembly between at least first and second positions relative to the conveyor assembly; and
(b) a conveyor gap adjustment assembly configured to define a first gap between an interior nose of the infeed conveyor and an interior nose of the outfeed conveyor to correspond to the first position of the blade assembly and configured to define a second gap between the interior nose of the infeed conveyor and the interior nose of the outfeed conveyor to correspond to the second position of the blade assembly, wherein the conveyor gap adjustment assembly comprises:
(i) a mechanical movement assembly moveable in first and second directions, the mechanical movement assembly coupled to one of the interior nose of the infeed conveyor and the interior nose of the outfeed conveyor for defining the first and second gaps; and
(ii) an adjustable limiting assembly configured to limit the movement of the mechanical movement assembly in both the first and second directions to selectively widen or narrow the first and second gaps.

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Assignees

• John Bean Technologies Corp

Inventors

• Dopp Alex
• Sorenson Erick

Classifications

• B26D1/0006 Primary

  Cutting members therefor · CPC title

• B26D5/22

  having the cutting member and work feed mechanically connected · CPC title

• B26D5/02

  Means for moving the cutting member into its operative position for cutting · CPC title

• B65G2201/0202

  Agricultural and processed food products · CPC title

• B26D7/2614

  Means for mounting the cutting member · CPC title