Food product slicing machine with motor torque assistance profile

A food product slicing machine comprising:

• a circular knife defining a cutting plane;
• a carriage for accommodating food products to be cut, said carriage being guided for movement parallel to the cutting plane of the circular knife, said parallel movement defining an axis of movement, and the carriage having at least one parameter related to said movement;
• a drive motor operatively connected to the carriage for providing the movement of the carriage along said axis;
• a sensor for detecting said at least one parameter of the carriage movement, the at least one parameter being and selected from a speed and an acceleration of the carriage movement;
• and
• a control device operatively connected to the drive motor and to the sensor, said control device selectively controlling the drive motor based on a selected operating mode;
• the machine having a servo operating mode wherein the carriage is moveable manually and the drive motor provides assistance to the manual movement of the carriage;
• wherein, in the servo operating mode, the drive motor has a motor torque that is controlled by the control device as a function of the at least one parameter of the carriage movement and, as a result, the assistance provided by the drive motor in the servo operating mode is dependent on the at least one parameter of the carriage movement, and
• wherein the motor torque of the drive motor is further controlled in accordance with a predetermined travel profile for further controlling the movement of the carriage, the travel profile having a start-up range, a limiting range, and a central range therebetween, wherein the ranges are dependent on the carriage position along said one axis.