Apparatus and method for cutting food products
AssigneeSoremartec S.A.
InventorBruno Giamello
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The cutting apparatus includes an ultrasound cutting element associated with a drive mechanism which enables the rate of advance of the cutting element through the product being cut to be varied selectively and locally. The preferred application is for cutting layered food products.
Claims14
Apparatus for cutting food products which are oriented and advanced in a first direction substantially within a plane, said food products having non-homogeneous characteristics in a direction of cutting comprising a second direction in a direction which intersects the plane, said product being comprised of a plurality of zones, each zone having a substantially homogenous characteristic, said apparatus including:
- a cutting element;
- an ultrasound source associated with said cutting element;
- a drive mechanism for providing a selected form of movement with respect to the plane;
- a control unit for governing the operation of the ultrasound source and the drive mechanism, said control unit comprising means for storing experimentally determined data for a predetermined product for defining rate of motion of said cutting element through said product in said cutting direction, each defined rate of motion in the cutting direction being selected as appropriate for the zone to be cut, and operating said cutting means in accordance with said data to cut through each successive zone.
A method for cutting food products with an ultrasound cutting element, said products being oriented and advanced in a first direction substantially within a plane, said food products having non-homogeneous characteristics in a direction of cutting comprising a second direction in a direction which intersects the plane, said product being comprised of a plurality of zones, each zone having a substantially homogenous characteristic, comprising the steps of:
- selecting a law of motion for a preselected product for advancing said cutting element selectively through successive zones of the product being cut;
- varying selectively the advance of the cutting element through the product in accordance with the law in accordance with a corresponding characteristics of a zone currently being cut.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.