Soft material separator with fill-level-dependent adjustment of speed, and method for operating such a soft material separator

A method for separating soft material food product constituents, comprising:

• placing soft material food product constituents into a feed zone and onto a squeezing belt;
• moving the squeezing belt adjacent to a circumferential surface of a rotatable perforated drum, causing a portion of the soft material food product constituents through perforations formed through the circumferential surface of the rotatable perforated drum;
• regulating the speed of the squeezing belt and the speed of rotation of the perforated drum as a function of a filling level of the feed zone with a detection system with contactless equipment selected from the group consisting essentially of:
• camera(s), laser scanner(s), ultrasound apparatus, and combinations thereof, and a control unit operatively connected to the detection system.

A soft material separator for processing food products, comprising:

• a perforated drum with a plurality of holes through its circumferential surface;
• a squeezing belt that contacts a circumferential section of the perforated drum and directs a material mixture made up of constituents having different consistencies from a feed zone toward the perforated drum, so that the material mixture drawn between the perforated drum and the squeezing belt breaks up and separates the material constituents;
• a detection system to determine a filling level of the feed zone with contactless equipment selected from the group consisting essentially of:
• camera(s), laser scanner(s), ultrasound apparatus, and combinations thereof;
• and
• a control unit operatively connected to the detection system that adjusts speed of rotation of the perforated drum and speed of the squeezing belt as a function of the filling level.

A soft material separator, comprising:

• a perforated drum with holes on its circumference;
• a squeezing belt that runs along a circumferential section of the perforated drum and adapted to be operated together with the perforated drum;
• a feed zone from which a material mixture made up of constituents having different consistencies is drawn in between the perforated drum and the squeezing belt in order to break up and separate the material constituents contained therein;
• a detection system that quantitatively determines a filling level of the feed zone comprising at least one sensor to quantitatively determine the filling level of the feed zone and at least one second sensor to detect whether the filling level has fallen below a minimum and/or whether the filling level has exceeded a maximum;
• and
• a control unit that is connected to the detection system and configured to bring the perforated drum and the squeezing belt to a standstill if the filling level falls below a prescribed minimum value, wherein the control unit adjusts the speed of the perforated drum and of the squeezing belt as a function of the filling level.

A soft material separator, comprising:

• a perforated drum with holes on its circumference;
• a squeezing belt that runs along a circumferential section of the perforated drum and adapted to be operated together with the perforated drum;
• a feed zone from which a material mixture made up of constituents having different consistencies is drawn in between the perforated drum and the squeezing belt in order to break up and separate the material constituents contained therein;
• a detection system that quantitatively determines a filling level of the feed zone and
• a control unit that is connected to the detection system and that adjusts the speed of the perforated drum and of the squeezing belt as a function of the filling level, wherein the perforated drum and the squeezing belt are always operated at the lowest possible speed.