US 12,134,204 B2
Food item cutting system and method
Elias Halldor Bjarnason, Reykjavik (IS)
Assigned to MAREL A/S, Arhus N. (DK)
Appl. No. 17/281,182
Filed by MAREL A/S, Arhus N (DK)
PCT Filed Oct. 4, 2019, PCT No. PCT/EP2019/076969
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Mar. 29, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/070315, PCT Pub. Date Apr. 9, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 18198859 (EP), filed on Oct. 5, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2021/0394385 A1, Dec. 23, 2021
Int. Cl. B26D 7/02 (2006.01); B26D 5/00 (2006.01); B26D 7/06 (2006.01); B26D 7/14 (2006.01)
CPC B26D 7/02 (2013.01) [B26D 5/007 (2013.01); B26D 7/0625 (2013.01); B26D 7/14 (2013.01); B26D 2210/02 (2013.01)] 17 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A cutting system for cutting food items, the cutting system comprising:
an in-feed conveyor arranged for speed control and including an in-feed conveyor surface;
an out-feed conveyor arranged for speed control and including an out-feed conveyor surface, the in-feed and the out-feed conveyors being arranged in an end-to-end arrangement;
a cutting knife defining a cutting plane within which it moves as it performs a cut, the cutting plane being defined between the ends of the in-feed and the out-feed conveyors;
an in-feed hold down device including a surface facing the in-feed conveyor surface and being arranged in relation to the in-feed conveyor surface;
an out-feed hold down device including a surface facing the out-feed conveyor surface and being arranged in relation to the out-feed conveyor surface to apply an out-feed pressure in a direction of the conveyor surface of the out-feed conveyor onto a portion of a food item resting on the out-feed conveyor surface while it is being cut by the cutting knife; and
a computing unit configured to control the cutting knife to perform a cut, an out-feed conveying speed of the out-feed conveyor, and an in-feed conveying speed of the in-feed conveyor;
wherein the surface of the in-feed hold down device applies an in-feed pressure onto a portion of the food item resting on the in-feed conveyor surface while being cut by the cutting knife;
wherein the out-feed pressure applied by the out-feed hold down device creates a friction between the food item and the conveyor surface of the out-feed conveyor large enough to immobilize the food item relative to the conveyor surface without causing an unacceptable deformity in the food item;
wherein the cutting knife is configured to cut the food item in the cutting plane while the food item is simultaneously pressed against both the in-feed conveyor and the out-feed conveyor;
wherein the out-feed conveying speed is defined in a downstream direction away from the cutting plane of the cutting knife and the in-feed conveying speed is defined in a downstream direction towards the cutting plane of the cutting knife;
wherein the computing unit is arranged to increase the out-feed conveying speed from a first speed to a second speed within a first time period defined as within 1 second after the cutting knife performs a cut;
wherein the computing unit is arranged to decrease the out-feed conveying speed from the second speed to the first speed after the first time period.