Patent Application
20210347078
The invention relates to a bread slicer with a frame having a front side opposite a rear side and two lateral sides extending between the front side and the rear side. This slicer is designed to be operated by a user who is located at the front side of the machine. The slicer includes:
a loading compartment that is connected to a receiving compartment; the loading compartment is adjacent to the front side and the receiving compartment is near the rear side of the slicer frame,
an access opening for the loading compartment for placing a loaf of bread to be sliced in that compartment; the access opening is accessible from said front side by a user who is positioned in front of that front side for placing a loaf of bread to be sliced in the loading compartment and for retrieving the loaf of bread after it has been sliced,
a cutting member which can move along a cutting plane to cut slices off the bread as it is moved between said compartments,
a support surface for the bread extending into said compartments and having a slot between the compartments to allow the passage of the cutting member along said cutting plane; the support surface defines a direction of travel of the bread between the front side and the rear side of the frame which extends parallel to the support surface,
a movable push rod which can move in said direction of travel of the bread in order to move the bread between said compartments through the cutting plane;
a movable support which can move in said direction of travel in order to support the bread to be cut or the slices of the cut bread.
Slicers that have the above-mentioned features are, for example, described in EP 3 102 376. This document describes a slicer with a support surface for the bread to be sliced that is slightly inclined with respect to a vertical direction. In this slicer, the receiving compartment is adjacent to the front side of the slicer and the loading compartment is closer to the rear side than the receiving compartment. Thus, when a loaf of bread to be sliced is placed in the loading compartment of this slicer by a user, the loaf descends and approaches the user while being cut. Since the loading compartment is further back than the receiving compartment in relation to the user, the user must pick up the sliced bread from the loading compartment in a non-ergonomic manner. In addition, a loaf of bread placed in the loading compartment is not stable in its upright position and may tip over.
A second slicer described in EP 3 102 376 has a horizontally extending support surface. The loading compartment of the slicer is located facing the user on the front side, while the receiving compartment is situated near the rear side of the slicer. The bread is sliced by a circular blade as it is moved from the receiving compartment to the loading compartment on the front side of the slicer. With such a horizontal slicer, the user must lean relatively far forward to retrieve the cut bread from the loading compartment. This is not optimal from an ergonomic point of view and it is sometimes cumbersome to put the sliced bread in a bag. Moreover, the cutting quality of such a horizontal slicer is not always satisfactory.
The invention aims to remedy these disadvantages and to propose a slicer which allows an optimized cutting quality to be obtained as well as improved ergonomics for the user of the slicer.
To this end, according to the invention, the aforementioned support surface is inclined at an angle (α) of between 25° and 70° with respect to a horizontal line which extends perpendicularly to the front side of the slicer. This angle (α) is, in particular, between 30° and 60° and is preferably between 35° and 55°.
Advantageously, the slicer according to the invention comprises a bagging pallet which is provided in the loading compartment. This pallet can be moved between a receiving position in which the pallet extends in the plane of the support surface and a bagging position in which at least one end of the pallet is elevated in relation to the plane of the support surface.
According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the bagging pallet comprises a base plate and a stop plate, which can be moved in relation to each other, and which extend along the plane of the support surface in said receiving position. In the bagging position, the stop plate extends substantially transversely to the base plate so as to allow a cut loaf to be supported on the base plate and against the stop plate.
According to an interesting embodiment of the invention, the bagging pallet is mounted such that it can pivot about a horizontally extending pivot axis.
In an advantageous embodiment of the slicer according to the invention, the slicer has a lateral guide surface adjacent to the support surface. This guide surface extends substantially transversely to the support surface and parallel to said direction of travel in order to enable the bread to be guided as it moves between the compartments.
According to a very interesting embodiment of the slicer according to the invention, the support surface is inclined between said lateral sides with respect to the horizontal line, so that a loaf of bread which is placed on the support surface rests against said guide surface.
In a very advantageous manner, the bagging pallet has a side edge connecting to the guide surface in the receiving position of the pallet.
The invention also relates to a method for automatically slicing a loaf of bread and for bagging the bread after it has been sliced with a slicer having a frame with a front side, opposite to a rear side, and two lateral sides extending between the front side and the rear side. This slicer comprises a loading compartment connected to a receiving compartment and the loading compartment is adjacent to said front side while the receiving compartment is situated near said rear side.
The method according to the invention comprises the following steps:
a loaf of bread to be sliced is placed in the loading compartment of the slicer by a user who is positioned in front of the front side of the slicer,
moving the loaf to a receiving compartment and returning the loaf to the loading compartment from the receiving compartment in a direction of travel of the loaf which is inclined with respect to the horizontal line,
cutting successive slices of the bread as it moves downward in the direction of travel between the compartments, the slices being cut from the bread in a cutting plane extending substantially perpendicularly to said direction of travel of the bread.
This method is characterized in that the bread is moved along said direction of travel inclined at an angle (α) between 25° and 70°, in particular between 30° and 60°, with respect to a horizontal line that extends perpendicularly to the front side of the slicer. This angle (α) is, for example, between 35° and 55°.
According to a preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention, the bread is received by a bagging pallet following the movement of the bread from the receiving compartment to the loading compartment in said direction of travel. This pallet extends substantially along said direction of travel upon receiving the bread.
Other details and particularities of the invention will become clear from the following description of some particular embodiments of the slicer and the method according to the invention, given by way of example without being limitative in any way, with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In the various figures, the same reference numbers refer to similar or identical elements.
The invention generally relates to an automatic bread slicer which makes it possible to bag a sliced bread in a simple manner. Such a slicer is shown very schematically in
The slicer 1 has a rectangular base and comprises a frame with a front side 2 opposite a rear side 3 and two lateral sides 4 and 5 extending between the front side 2 and the rear side 3. The sides of the frame preferably each extend approximately in a straight, vertical plane. The front side 2 and the rear side 3 are, for example, perpendicular to the lateral edges 4 and 5.
Adjacent to the front side 2, the interior of the slicer 1 includes a loading compartment 6 which is provided for placing a loaf of bread to be sliced in and for retrieving the bread after it has been sliced. This loading compartment 6 is connected to a receiving compartment 7 which is provided in the slicer 1 near the rear side 3.
In order to be able to introduce a loaf of bread in the slicer and to retrieve this bread after it has been cut, an access opening 8 is provided which gives access to the loading compartment 6. For clarity's sake in the figures, this access opening is not represented, but only indicated by the reference number 8. The access opening is accessible from said front side 2 by a user who is positioned in front of said front side 2 to place a loaf of bread to be sliced in the loading compartment 2 and to retrieve the bread after it has been sliced. This access opening 8 is therefore provided in the front side 2 and/or in the upper side of the slicer 1 facing the loading compartment 6. Preferably, this access opening 8 can be closed by a cover, not shown in the figures, during the operation of the slicer 1.
A support surface 9 for the bread extends in both said compartments 6 and 7. Between these compartments 6 and 7 is provided a slot 10 to allow the passage of a cutting member along a cutting plane. The cutting member is provided for cutting slices of bread and includes, for example, a circular blade which is driven about its axis. This cutting member with the circular blade can be moved along a cutting plane through said slot 10. The cutting plane preferably extends perpendicularly to the support surface 9 between said compartments 6 and 7.
After a loaf of bread to be sliced has been introduced in the loading compartment 6, it is moved in a direction of travel, as indicated by the double arrow 11, to the receiving compartment 7. This direction of travel 11 extends between the front side 2 and the rear side 3 of the frame and parallel to the support surface 9.
Preferably, this direction of travel 11 of the bread is substantially parallel to a vertical plane that extends transversely to said front side 2 and said rear side 3, or approximately parallel to the lateral sides 4 and 5 of the frame of the slicer 1.
The slicer also comprises a movable push rod 12 which can be moved in said direction of travel 9 of the bread to move the bread between said compartments 6 and 7 through the cutting plane. This push rod is 12 known to those skilled in the art and comprises, for example, retractable claws. A push rod with retractable claws is described, for example, in document DE 202011005113.
This push rod 12 cooperates with a movable support 13 which can also be moved along said direction of movement 11 of the bread. Such a movable support 13 is known to those skilled in the art and allows to support the bread to be sliced or to support the slices that are cut from the bread. To this end, the movable support 13 is driven along the direction of travel of the bread.
The push rod 12 and the movable support 13 may, for example, be driven by means of a toothed belt extending along and adjacent to the support surface 9, as is shown for example in EP 2045053.
In the slicer according to the invention, the support surface is inclined at an angle α with respect to a horizontal line which extends perpendicularly to the front side 2 of the slicer 1, as shown in
Optionally, the support surface 9 may also be inclined at an angle β with respect to a straight line that extends transversely with respect to the lateral sides 4 and 5 of the slicer 1, as shown in
In this case, the slicer 1 has a lateral guide surface 14 that is adjacent to the support surface 9. This guide surface 14 extends substantially transversely to the support surface 9 and parallel to said direction of travel 11 to allow the bread to be guided as it moves between the compartments 6 and 7.
When a loaf of bread is placed in the loading compartment 6 of a slicer having a support surface that is inclined at an angle α and an angle (3, as shown in
In
This slicer comprises a bagging pallet 15 which is provided in the loading compartment 6. The bagging pallet 15 can be moved between a receiving position in which the pallet 15 extends along the plane of the support surface 9, as shown in
It is also possible for the bread 16 to be moved from the loading compartment 6 to the receiving compartment by pushing it by the movable support 13. The bread 16 can, for example, be moved forward until it is situated entirely in the receiving compartment 7 by the action of the push rod 14 and/or by the displacement of the movable support 13. The bread is then lowered through the cutting plane 17 to be cut into slices.
The push rod 12 is returned, together with the bread 16, to the loading compartment 6 in discrete steps corresponding to the thickness of the slices to be cut. This movement takes place in said direction of travel 11. After each step, the circular blade is driven along the cutting plane 17 to cut a next slice of bread 16. The movable support 13 is moved synchronously with the push rod 12 so that the cut slices can rest against the support and will not fall off. Thus, successive slices are cut from the loaf 16 as it moves downward in the direction of travel 11 between the compartments 6 and 7.
As it moves to the loading compartment 6 from the receiving compartment 7, the sliced bread 16 is received by said bagging pallet 15 which is in its receiving position. The bread 16 is being held between the movable support 13 and the push rod 12 until it is situated entirely on the bagging pallet 15, as shown in
In order to bag and retrieve the sliced bread 16, the bagging pallet 15 is, after the bread 16 has been received by the latter, moved from its receiving position, as shown in
In the embodiment of the slicer of
To move the bagging pallet 15 from the receiving position to the bagging position, the pallet 15 is driven about a pivot axis 19 as indicated by arrow 20 in
The portion of the support surface 9 that extends between the axes 19 and 21 thus constitutes a stop plate 23 of the pallet 15. When the end 18 of the bagging pallet 15 is elevated relative to the plane of the support surface 9, this stop plate 23 will straighten up substantially transversely to the base 24 of the pallet 15 that extends on the other side of the pivot axis 19.
Thus, the bagging pallet 15 comprises a base plate 24 and a stop plate 23, which can be moved with respect to each other and which extend in the plane of the support surface 11 in said receiving position, whereas in the bagging position, the stop plate 23 extends substantially transversely to the base plate 24 in order to enable a sliced loaf 16 to be supported on the base plate 24 and against the stop plate 23.
In the bagging position of the pallet 15, the latter, in particular the base plate 24, extends horizontally or preferably somewhat inclined to the horizontal so that the loaf of bread 16 that is present on the pallet 15 will be supported against the stop plate 23.
In order to hold the slices of the bread 16 together as it moves to the bagging pallet 15, the sliced bread is held and possibly slightly clamped between the push rod 12 and the movable support 13, as shown in
As the bagging pallet 15 is moved to its bagging position, the movable support 13 is moved together with the pallet 15 and the bread 16 to ensure that the bread 16 is held between this movable support 13 and the stop plate 23. This prevents the slices of bread from coming loose from each other or from falling.
The movable support 13 comprises a metal or plastic plate, a first part 25 of which extends substantially transversely to the direction of travel 11 of the bread or to the plane of the support surface 9. The first part 25 is connected to a second part 26 which extends above the plane of the support surface 9. This first part 25 is guided and driven in its longitudinal direction by a drive unit 27 which is provided above the plane of the supporting surface 9. The drive unit 27 itself is driven such that it can move parallel to said direction of travel 11. This movement of the drive unit 27 is illustrated in
Consequently, the movable support 13 can be simultaneously moved transversely to the plane of the support surface 9 and parallel to the direction of travel 11. This double movement allows the movable support 13 to maintain contact with the sliced loaf while the bagging pallet 15 is moved to its bagging position, as shown in
The movable support 13, shown in
Thus, when the bagging pallet 15 is in the receiving position, the fingers 31 of the movable support 13 extend through the recesses 30 of the pallet 15. This allows said second part 26 of the movable support 13 to move above the plane of the support surface 9 while said first part moves, at least partially, below that plane. Thus, the fingers 31 of the movable support 13 are moved along the elongated recesses 30 of the bagging pallet 15.
During the movement of the bagging pallet 15 from the receiving position to the bagging position, said first part 25 of the movable support is moved transversely to the plane of the support surface 9, as indicated by arrow 32 in
Said second part 26 of the movable support 13 has a first bearing surface 34 that extends transversely to the surface of the base 24 of the bagging pallet 15 when the latter is in its receiving position. This first bearing surface 34 gradually connects to a second bearing surface 35 that extends at least approximately transversely with respect to the base 24 when the pallet 15 is in its bagging position and the bread is held between this second bearing surface 35 and the stop plate 23. Thus, the contact between the movable support 13 and the loaf 16 is moved from the first bearing surface 34 to the second bearing surface 35 as the pallet 15 advances towards its bagging position, as shown in
This second part 26 of the movable support 13 has a length L in said direction of travel 11 of the bread which is large enough to extend at least up to a distance from the cutting plane 17 corresponding to the thickness of a slice of bread. This is illustrated, for example, in
After the bagging pallet 15 has reached its bagging position, it is in an inclined position with respect to the horizontal line so that the bread 16 automatically rests against the stop plate 23. The movable support 13 is then lowered into its initial position by the action of the drive unit 27, as already explained above.
The bagging pallet 15 of
When the support surface 9 is also inclined at an angle β with respect to a horizontal line extending transversely with respect to the lateral sides 4 and 5, as is the case for the slicer 1 shown in
In the receiving position of the pallet 15, this lateral flange 36 connects to said guide surface 14. Therefore, if a loaf of bread 16 to be cut is placed on the bagging pallet 15, when the latter is in the receiving position, the loaf can slide against the flange 36 and the guide surface 14 extending along the flange 36.
As the pallet 15 is moved to its bagging position, the flange 36 breaks away from the guide surface 14 and a distance is created between the guide surface 14 and the flange 36. This distance allows a bag 29 to be slid over the bagging pallet 15 so as to wrap the bread 16 when the pallet is in the bagging position.
It is clear that numerous variations of the slicer according to the invention as shown in
The first part 25, in this embodiment of the invention, is formed of a metal or plastic plate that is cylindrically curved about an axis parallel to the axis 19 or 21. The axis of the cylinder which defines the curvature of this first part 25 may, for example, coincide approximately with the axis 21 which extends adjacent to the slot 10. This first part 25 also has fingers 31 which can move through corresponding recesses 30 provided in the base 24 of the pallet 15. This plate which forms the first part 25 is driven by the drive unit 27 so that it can be moved in the direction of travel 11 of the bread or along its curvature as indicated by the arrows 32.
Thus, when a sliced loaf of bread is situated on the base 24 of the bagging pallet 15, which is moved to its bagging position, as shown in
The second part 26 of the movable support 13 comprises a support which can be moved in said direction of travel 11. This support serves to support the lower part of the loaf 16 during its movement in the direction of travel 11. After the bagging pallet has received the sliced bread and before it is moved to its bagging position, this support forming the second part 26 of the movable support 13 is withdrawn laterally so as to allow the pallet 15 being moved with the bread into the bagging position. Therefore, this support is shown as a dashed line in
When the bagging pallet 15 has reached the bagging position, the movable support is folded towards the user who is standing in front of the front side of the slicer and in line with the base 24 of the pallet 15. Thus, the user can slide a bag 29 over the movable support 13, the pallet 15 and the bread 16 as a whole in order to retrieve the latter, as shown in
A further difference from previous embodiments of the slicer according to the invention is that the bagging pallet 15, in particular the base 24, is rotatably mounted about a fixed axis 19. This axis 19 extends into the loading compartment 6 and in the plane of the supporting surface 9. Said stop plate 23 may also rotate about this axis 19 to an upright position relative to the base 24 to form a support for the sliced bread when it is on the bagging pallet 15 as illustrated in
In the embodiments of the slicer according to the invention, described above, the bagging pallet 15 is moved from its receiving position to the bagging position by a rotation about an axis 19 provided in the vicinity of the cutting plane 17. Thus, the end of the loaf 16 which is directed towards the front side 2, or towards the user, is moved upward when the pallet is moved towards its bagging position.
Yet another variant of the slicer according to the invention is shown in
In the embodiment of the slicer shown in
Another difference is that the bagging pallet 15 is displaced together with the movable support 13 to move the pallet 15 from its receiving position to the bagging position, as shown in
The bagging pallet 15 may include, for example, elongated recesses that extend next to each other, as shown in
Naturally, the invention is not limited to the various embodiments described above; on the contrary, still other variants can be considered without departing from the scope of the present invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020/5304 | May 2020 | BE | national |
