Food product slicing apparatus
AssigneeProvisur Technologies, Inc.
InventorsGage A. Fox, Glen F. Pryor, Fernando Garcia-Perez, Jeff Schmuker
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A food product slicing apparatus includes a frame and upper and lower drive assemblies. The upper drive assembly includes a belt configured to engage an upper surface of a food product block to be sliced, a plate pivotally mounted to the frame, front and rear wheels supporting the upper belt, the front wheel rotatably mounted to the plate and a drive member engaged with the plate. When the drive member is engaged, the plate and the front roller pivot relative to the frame and to the rear wheel. The lower drive assembly includes a belt configured to engage a bottom surface of the food product block.
Claims14
A food product slicing apparatus comprising:
- a frame;
- an upper drive assembly mounted on the frame and including an upper belt configured to engage a top surface of a food product block to be sliced, a front wheel at a front end of the upper belt, a rear wheel at a rear end of the upper belt, the rear wheel being rotatably mounted on the frame in a first position, plates pivotally mounted on the frame around a fixed in place pivot, the fixed in place pivot being spaced from the rear wheel, the front wheel rotatably mounted on the plates, and a drive member engaged with the plates;
- a lower drive assembly mounted in a second position on the frame and including a lower belt, the lower belt configured to engage a bottom surface of the food product block, the upper and lower drive assemblies separated from each other by a distance,
- wherein when the drive member is engaged, the drive member rotates the plates and the front wheel around the fixed in place pivot so that the plates and the front wheel rotate relative to the frame, relative to the rear wheel, and relative to the lower drive assembly, while the rear wheel remains in the first position mounted on the frame and while the lower drive assembly remains in the second position mounted on the frame, to vary the distance a front end of the upper drive assembly is from the lower drive assembly, while maintaining the distance a rear end of the upper drive assembly is from the lower drive assembly;
- and
- a slicing station attached to the frame and downstream of the upper and lower drive assemblies;
- wherein (1) the frame includes a rod, and further comprising a height adjustment assembly attached to the rod, the upper drive assembly mounted on the height adjustment assembly, the height adjustment assembly mounted within a housing slidably mounted on the rod, an actuator mounted in the housing, a pivot member rotatably mounted to the housing, the pivot member including a pin extending therefrom which mounts in a slot on the rod;
- or (2) the fixed in place pivot comprising a pivot shaft connected directly to and extending between the plates.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.