Automated method for placing sliced food stacks in packages

• Main Authors: DOLL PAUL, GLYNN RANDY J, WATSON TIMOTHY T, DOLL PETER V, SKAAR GARY, DREBING TIMOTHY J
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 01.09.2005
• Edition: 7
• Subjects: CONVEYING; CUTTING; DETAILS COMMON TO MACHINES FOR PERFORATING, PUNCHING,CUTTING-OUT, STAMPING-OUT OR SEVERING; ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE; ELECTRICITY; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; HAND CUTTING TOOLS; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL; MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGINGARTICLES OR MATERIALS; PACKING; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; SELECTING; SEVERING; STORING; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS; TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION; TRANSPORTING; UNPACKING

A system and method are provided that allow meat logs to be manually loaded into a slicing station and thereafter be continuously automatically processed at the slicing station, a harping station, and an insertion station for automated packaging thereof without the need for handling of the meat stacks by workers. To this end, the slicing station is effective to form smaller sections or chubs from the meat logs and to do so such that the chubs are provided with substantially parallel flat end-faces to ensure that high quality meat slices are generated therefrom. The chubs are then transported to the harping station where each of the chubs undergoes a single cutting operation, thus simultaneously forming the meat slices therefrom and substantially maintaining the slices in the configuration of the chubs for generating well-formed stacks of the slices. Thereafter, the stacks are received at the insertion station where they are transferred to their packages, on an automated basis without the need for manual handling thereof. This is enabled due to the well-formed stacks generated by the harping station which allows the stacks to be dropped into the packages aligned therebelow.