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OwnerJohn Nicholas Reed, Simon John Miles +1inventors
InventorsJohn Nicholas Reed, Simon John Miles, Andrew Wakefield
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This invention relates to apparatus of forming a row of sliced product, which has a lateral dimension when aligned in a row. The apparatus 10 includes a row former, generally indicated at 13 and a pattern former generally indicated at 14. The row former forms rows of, for example, tomato slices 16, which are delivered onto a receiving surface, formed by the belt of a conveyor 17. The conveyor 17 is driven intermittently to deliver slices 16 in their row 15 onto the first conveyor 18 of the pattern former 14. The row former 13 includes an inclined conveyor belt 31, which has slats 32 spaced along its length, the spacing being dictated by the lateral dimension of the sliced product to be handled. A series of wiper blades 33 are spaced along the conveyor 31, along the direction of travel. As the belt 31 is driven intermittently the slices are elevated and wiped into the spaces between the slats until rows are formed.
Apparatus for forming a row of sliced product having a maximum lateral dimension (as hereinbefore defined) when aligned in a row including a reservoir for the product, an inclined slatted conveyor extending through the reservoir to elevate the product on to a receiving surface characterised in that the slats are spaced by a distance which is 95%-105% of the maximum lateral dimension and in that the height of the slats is approximately equal to the thickness of the slices and in that there is a plurality of wiping means or wipers spaced along the conveyor for displacing slices, which do not lie between the slats.
Apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the conveyor is inclined at an angle in the range 45°-60°.
Apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein at least some of the surfaces of the reservoir are roughened or locally raised to reduce surface tension.
Apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the conveyor includes a belt for bearing the product and has a low coefficient of friction.
Apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the conveyor is driven discontinuously or jerkily.
Apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims further including the receiving surface and an abutment overlying the receiving surface and facing the downstream end of the conveyor for correcting any misalignment in the row.
Apparatus for forming patterns of sliced product from a row thereof including a first conveyor for delivery a row of sliced product to a first transfer point;
Apparatus, as claimed in any one of claims 21 to 33 wherein the first or second conveyor has a lateral position in which a slice delivered to the transfer point will fall past that conveyor to be rejected.
Apparatus for delivering a pattern of product to a substrate, travelling on a substrate conveyor, at a substrate location including a detector for detecting the approach of a substrate to the substrate location and a controller for controlling the operation of the apparatus in dependence on the substrate detection.
An assembly of independently drivable laterally movable adjacent conveyors, wherein the conveyors are mounted on a plurality of parallel, independently drivable spline drives for ‘lateral’ movement along the drives, there being one drive for each conveyor and each conveyor only being drivingly engaged to its respective drive.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.