Blade assembly and counterweight mechanism for a high-speed food slicing apparatus, and methods associated with the same

A food slicing system for a high-speed food slicing machine having an involute blade configured for rotation about a rotational axis and a motor configured to drive a drive shaft, the food slicing system comprising:

• a hub fixedly secured to a distal end of the drive shaft and configured to rotate with the drive shaft, the hub having a central pilot projection coaxial with the drive shaft, and having a blade contacting surface surrounding the pilot projection, wherein the pilot projection is configured to be received through a mounting aperture of the blade, to center the blade on the hub;
• a counterweight mounted to the hub and rotatable between a first position and a second position relative to the hub;
• wherein when the counterweight is in the first position, the counterweight is in axial alignment with pilot projection, and permits the blade to be attached to or removed from the hub via movement of the blade in an axial direction and in a plane parallel to a plane of the blade contacting surface;
• and
• wherein when the counterweight is in the second position, the counterweight is eccentric to the pilot projection and is offset from the rotational axis, to provide a predetermined amount of weight offset from the rotational axis to counterbalance the weight of the blade.

A method of balancing an involute blade in a food slicing system for a high-speed food slicing machine, the involute blade configured for rotation about a rotational axis, the high-speed food slicing machine having a motor configured to drive a drive shaft, the method comprising:

• fixedly securing a hub to a distal end of the drive shaft;
• providing a central pilot projection on the hub coaxial with the drive shaft, and providing a blade contacting surface surrounding the pilot projection;
• pivotally mounting a counterweight to the hub to permit the hub to rotate about a pivot point, between a first position and an second position relative to the hub;
• removing the blade from the hub when the counterweight is in the first position, via movement of the blade in an axial direction and in a plane parallel to a plane of the blade contacting surface, wherein the counterweight is in axial alignment with pilot projection in the first position;
• attaching a new blade to the hub when the counterweight is in the first position so that the pilot projection is received within a central mounting aperture of the new blade;
• rotating the counterweight from the first position to the second position so that the counterweight is eccentric to the pilot projection and is offset from the rotational axis, wherein the blade is disposed between the blade contacting surface of the hub and an inner surface of the counterweight;
• and
• tightening a fixing bolt to fixedly secure the counterweight to the hub and to secure the blade between the hub and the counterweight.