Cutting Equipment

Abstract

The present invention relates to a cutting equipment having a cutting device with a cutting element which is linearly reversibly movable in a cutting direction, and a drive device for reversibly moving the cutting element, wherein the drive device includes a pneumatically driven piston/cylinder arrangement, with the piston/cylinder arrangement comprises a cylinder and a piston. The piston has a first effective piston surface and a second effective piston surface, wherein the cutting device is connected with the second effective piston surface and the first effective piston surface faces away from the cutting device, the piston being linearly reversibly movable in the cylinder between a retracted position and an extended position. The cylinder has a first end and a second end and is separated by the piston into a first cylinder chamber arranged between the first effective piston surface and the first end of the cylinder, and a second cylinder chamber arranged between the second effective piston surface and the second end of the cylinder. The cutting equipment further comprises a switch valve having a high-pressure input port, a high-pressure output port and a low-pressure output port, with the high-pressure input port coupled to a high-pressure source, the high-pressure output port coupled to the first cylinder chamber and the low-pressure output port coupled to the second cylinder chamber, wherein the switch valve is adapted to connect the high-pressure input port to the high-pressure output port upon application of a pressurized fluid, and to connect the high-pressure output port to the low-pressure output port upon reduction of the pressure level of the pressurized fluid. The present invention further relates to a clipping machine for producing sausage-shaped products, like sausages, which includes a cutting equipment, and a method for controlling the cutting equipment.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.