Method of manufacturing food loaf slice groups

A method of manufacturing two series of groups of food loaf slices comprising the following steps:

• A1. driving a first food loaf at a first constant loaf feed speed in a first loaf feed direction toward engagement with a continuously cyclically driven knife blade for X knife blade cycles so that the knife blade cuts a slice from the first food loaf in each knife blade cycle;
• A2. driving a second food loaf at a second constant loaf feed speed in a second loaf feed direction, parallel to the first loaf feed direction, toward engagement with the knife blade for X knife blade cycles so that the knife blade cuts a slice from the second food loaf in each knife blade cycle;
• B. collecting successive food loaf slices cut in steps A1 and A2 on a receiver to form two groups of X food loaf slices, one from each loaf, on the receiver;
• C. driving both food loaves away from the knife blade at a given speed for a given time interval Y;
• D. again driving both the food loaves toward the knife blade at their respective given speeds for a second time interval Y to counteract step C;
• E. discharging the two groups of food loaf slices from the receiver onto a plural-belt scale conveyor driven in a forward direction away from the knife blade;
• F. after step E, weighing the two groups of food loaf slices by means of two weighing grids each positioned below but interleaved with the belts of the scale conveyor to generate two weight signals, one representative of the weight of the food loaf slice group cut from the first food loaf and the other representative of the weight of the food loaf slice group cut from the second food loaf;
• F1. effectively lowering the scale conveyor relative to the two weighing grids once during each step F to deposit any group of food loaf slices present on the scale conveyor on a weighing grid;
• F2. after sub-step F1, restoring the scale conveyor to its original level above the weighing grids to lift the food loaf slice group from the weighing grid;
• F3. weighing each empty weighing grid at a time when the scale conveyor is at its original level above the weighing grids to generate two tare weight signals;
• F4. subtracting each tare weight signal of sub-step F3 from the corresponding weight signals of step F to generate two weight control signals relating to the net weight of a stack of food loaf slices;
• G. depositing each group of food loaf slices from the scale conveyor onto a transfer conveyor;
• H. deflecting each transfer conveyor between a reject position and an accept position in response to the transfer conveyor weight control signal of step F4;
• I. recording two target weights, one for a group of food loaf slices cut from the first food loaf and the other for a group of food loaf slices cut from the second food loaf;
• J. adjusting the first and second loaf feed speeds of steps A1 and A2 in accordance with differences between the target weights of step I and the related weight control signals of step F4;
• and repeating steps A through H and J in manufacturing two series of food loaf slice groups, each group including X slices.