US4941375A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Slice thickness control for an automatic slicing machine
Assignee: SPX Technologies Inc
•
Filing: 1985-03-26
•
Granted: 1990-07-17
•
Expires: 2005-03-26
Abstract
Abstract The thickness of slices cut by an automatic slicing machine is controlled to produce a draft of slices having a predetermined weight. Desired thickness is determined in accordance with the cross-sectional density of the food product being sliced, which is obtained from the weight and thickness of the most recently cut slice or slices. This information is combined with a desired weight for each of the remaining slices to be cut in the draft to control the rate of advance of the food product into a continuously rotating knife so as to obtain the proper thickness.
Inventors
- 👤 Frank S. Kasper
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 18:16
CPC Classifications
B; B26; B26D; B26D7/00; B26D7/27; B26D7/30; B26D5/00; B26D5/20; Y; Y10; Y10T; Y10T83/00; Y10T83/04; Y10T83/0448; Y10T83/141; Y10T83/145; Y10T83/148; Y10T83/182; Y10T83/525; Y10T83/536
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 11
Claim 1
Independent Claim
92 words
A method for controlling the slicing of a food product to produce a draft of slices having a predetermined weight, comprising the steps of: cutting the food product to produce a slice thereof; determining the thickness of said slice; weighing said slice; determining the cross-sectional density of said slice from its thickness; and controlling the thickness of a subsequently cut slice in accordance with the determined cross-sectional density, the desired weight and a number of slices remaining to be cut in the draft to produce a final draft having said predetermined weight.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
92 words
A method for controlling the slicing of a food product to produce a draft of slices having a predetermined weight, comprising the steps of: cutting the food product to produce a slice thereof; determining the thickness of said slice; weighing said slice; determining the cross-sectional density of said slice from its thickness; and controlling the thickness of a subsequently cut slice in accordance with the determined cross-sectional density, the desired weight and a number of slices remaining to be cut in the draft to produce a final draft having said predetermined weight.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
63 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said controlling step includes the steps of determining a desired slice weight for each of the slices that remain to be cut in the draft, dividing the desired slice weight by the determined cross-sectional density to obtain a desired thickness, and adjusting the speed of product advancement into a knife to produce slices of the desired thickness.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
41 words
The method of claim 2 further including the steps of determining whether the desired thickness is outside of a range of predetermined thicknesses, and changing the number of slices in the draft when the desired thickness is outside of said range.
Claim 5
Independent Claim
140 words
A method for controlling the slicing of a food product, comprising the steps of: feeding the product into a moving blade at a known speed to cut slices having known thicknesses therefrom; weighing a group of slices cut from the product; determining the weight of a number of the most recently cut slices, which number is less than the total number of slices in said group; determining the cross-sectional density of said most recently cut slices on the basis of their weight and known thicknesses; determining a desired slice weight for the remaining slices to be cut in a draft containing said group of slices; determining a desired slice thickness on the basis of said cross-sectional density and said desired slice weight; and adjusting the speed of the feed rate of the product to produce slices of said desired thickness.
Claim 6
Independent Claim
140 words
A method for controlling the slicing of a food product, comprising the steps of: feeding the product into a moving blade at a known speed to cut slices having known thicknesses therefrom; weighing a group of slices cut from the product; determining the weight of a number of the most recently cut slices, which number is less than the total number of slices in said group; determining the cross-sectional density of said most recently cut slices on the basis of their weight and known thicknesses; determining a desired slice weight for the remaining slices to be cut in a draft containing said group of slices; determining a desired slice thickness on the basis of said cross-sectional density and said desired slice weight; and adjusting the speed of the feed rate of the product to produce slices of said desired thickness.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 4 wherein said number of slices comprises only the most recently cut slice.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 4 wherein the step of determining cross-sectional density includes dividing the weight of the slice by its known thickness.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
42 words
The method of claim 4 further including the steps of determining whether the desired thickness is outside of a range of predetermined thickness values, and changing the number of slices in the draft when the desired thickness is outside of said range.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
95 words
A method for controlling the slicing of a food product to produce a draft of slices having a predetermined weight, comprising the steps of: cutting the food product to produce a slice thereof having a known thickness; weighing said slice; determining the cross-sectional density of said slice by dividing its known thickness into its weight; and controlling the thickness of a subsequently cut slice in accordance with the determined cross-sectional density, the desired weight and a number of slices remaining to be cut in the draft to produce a final draft having said predetermined weight.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
95 words
A method for controlling the slicing of a food product to produce a draft of slices having a predetermined weight, comprising the steps of: cutting the food product to produce a slice thereof having a known thickness; weighing said slice; determining the cross-sectional density of said slice by dividing its known thickness into its weight; and controlling the thickness of a subsequently cut slice in accordance with the determined cross-sectional density, the desired weight and a number of slices remaining to be cut in the draft to produce a final draft having said predetermined weight.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US3133571A
Cited
US3762257A
Cited
US3906823A
Cited
US3995517A
Cited
US4114492A
Cited
US4572044A
Cited
US4580475A
Cited
GB2149650A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1993-07-16 | 1994-01-15 | 1994-07-17 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1997-07-16 | 1998-01-15 | 1998-07-17 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2001-07-16 | 2002-01-15 | 2002-07-17 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |