US2823718A - Knife guard for slicing machines - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 18, 1958 J. D. BRowN KNIFE GUARD FOR sucms MACHINES 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 24. 1956 ATTORNEW INVENTOR. J w/55 0 BROWN Feb. 18, 1958' v J. D. BROWN 2,823,718

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KNIFE GUARD FOR SLICING MACHINES Filed Feb. 24, 1956 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENT OR.

2%; E BQIAIVIES D. BRWN ATTORNEYS Feb. 18, 1958 J. D. BROWN 2,823,718

KNIFE GUARD FOR SLICING MACHINES e sheets-sheet 5 Filed Feb. 24, 1956 INVENTOR, "g xlvsEs D. BROWN ATTORNEYS Feb. 18, 1958 J. D. BROWN 2,323,713

KNIFE GUARD FOR sucme MACHINES Filed Feb. 24, 1956 s Sheets-Sheet e ENVENTOR.

finite KNIFE GUARD FUR SLICING MACHINES James D. Brown, Toledo, Ohio, assignor to Toledo Scale Company, Toledo, Ohio, a corporation of New Jersey This invention relates to slicing machines and particularly to protective guards for the rotating knives of slicing machines.

The knife of a slicing machine, if proper cutting is to be achieved, must be sharpened to a very high degree. Such sharpness creates certain hazards. Primarily, an operator of such a slicing machine and others who may come into contact with the machine must be protected from injury by the knife both during operation of the machine and during the time that certain parts of the machine are being removed before cleaning or are being replaced after cleaning. secondarily, from the standpoint of economy, the sharp edge of the knife must be protected from being marred by objects which may come into contact with it either during operation of the machine or during the time that certain parts of the machine are being removed before cleaning or are being replaced after cleaning.

For these and other reasons, guards of one type or another are generally provided to protect the circular knives of slicing machines. The provision of such guards creates additional problems, of which cleanliness is foremost.

In order that a knife guard may be properly cleaned it generally is necessary to remove it from the slicing machine. Such removal and the replacement which follows the cleaning must be simple and must be accomplishable with maximum safety to the operator and without marring the cutting edge of the knife. Furthermore, the knife guard itself should be so constructed that a minimum of cleaning is necessary.

The principal object of this invention is to provide for the circular knife of a slicing machine a knife guard mechanism which may be easily removed from or replaced on the machine with both maximum safety to the operator and without danger of marring the cutting edge of the knife.

Another object of the invention is to provide a knife guard mechanism the overall design of which is such as to permit easy cleaning.

A further object of the invention is to provide a knife guard mechanism which is constructed with a minimum number of parts which may be manufactured and assembled at low cost.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a knife guard mechanism which permits only the rim of the knife to contact the work material being sliced and permits easy feeding of such material past the knife.

Further objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description in which reference is had to the accompanying drawings.

According to the invention, a rear knife guard is provided for the circular knife of a slicing machine. The guard has an interrupted front portion exposing less than one half of the marginal area of the knife and includes a throat opening toward the interrupted front portion of the guard and a flange covering all but the exposed mar- States Patent I ginal portion of the knife. The throat on the guard cooperates with a finger-operable ring cam on the machine by means of which one may shift the guard into encom passing relationship with the cutting edge of the knife only when the guard is so placed on the machine that movement of the guard toward the knife cannot mar the cutting edge of the knife, and by means of which one may move the guard away from the knife in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the knife for subsequent removal from the machine by sliding the guard in its plane until the throat is free from the cam. Movement of the guard, either toward or away from the knife, is accomplished without danger to the fingers of the operator and without danger that the cutting edge of the knife will be marred by striking it with the guard.

The circular knife may have a marginal area which lies in a plane about a dished central area. A stationary center plate, which permits only the rim of the knife to contact the work material being sliced and which permits easy feeding of such material past the knife, is disposed within the dished central area of the knife and is substantially coplanar with the marginal area of the knife to support the pressure of the work material.

In the drawings:

Figure I is an elevational view of a slicing machine embodying the invention.

Figure II is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line 11-11 of Figure I.

Figure III is a fragmentary elevational view as seen from a position at the right of Figure II looking in the direction indicated by the arrows IIIIII of Figure II.

Figure IV is a detailed elevational view of the knife guard and its support showing the knife guard being removed from or being replaced on the slicing machine by sliding the guard in its plane.

Figure V is a detailed elevational view similar to Figure IV showing the knife guard in operative guarding position on the support therefor.

Figure V1 is an enlarged elevational view of the support for the knife guard illustrated in Figures IV and V together with a ring cam which is guided in slots in said support.

Figure VII is an elevational view as seen from the line VII-VII of Figure VI looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Figure VIII is an elevational view of the knife guard.

Figure IX is a vertical sectional view taken along the line IX-IX of Figure VIII. I

Figure X is an enlarged, fragmentary perspective view of those parts of the device which are shown in elevation in Figure III.

Referring to the drawings, which disclose a preferred embodiment of the invention, the slicing machine includes a main base member 1 which extends across the entire lower portion of the machine, serving as a base and main supporting frame. The base carries cushion members 2 which are located at the four corners to provide for resiliently supporting the entire machine in non-slipping engagement above a supporting surface.

The base is formed with an integral upwardly extending housing 3 (Figure II) at the rear side thereof, and within this housing there is received the drive motor, not shown, the broken away drive shaft of which is shown at 4. The motor thus stands with its drive shaft substantially vertical.

A reciprocable commodity carriage 5 carries a substance to be sliced in a work support 6 mounted above the carriage in a plane which is substantially perpendicular to the plane of a vertical gauge plate 7 that is laterally adjustable with respect to the path of movement of the reciprocable carriage 5. Such adjustment of the gauge plate 7 is provided, as is usual in commodity slicing machines, to vary the thickness of slices. This adjustment is accomplished by rotation of a gauge plate knob 8. The work material to be sliced is held between the gauge plate 7 and an ordinary pusher plate 9, the gauge plate being grooved as indicated at 16 to allow smooth travel of the work material over its surface.

Referring to Figure II, the housing 3 supports a hollow bolt 11 having a collar 12 drawn up tight against an eye 13 in the housing by means of a nut 14 into which the hollow bolt 11 is screwed. A knife drive member 15 is mounted for rotation onball bearings 16 that are supported by the stationary hollow bolt 11. Fixed on the end of the drive member 15 remote from theball bearings 16 is a circular knife 17 having a cutting edge or marginal area 18 which lies in a plane about a dished central area 19. Power to drive the knife drive member 15 and the circular knife 17 fixed thereon is provided by the motor, the broken away drive shaft of which is shown at 4. The motor drive shaft is connected to the drive member 15 through a worm gear 20 fixed to the drive member which gear meshes with a drive worm which is not shown but which is secured on the motor drive shaft 4.Suitable sealing elements 21 prevent escape of lubricant outwardly from thebearings 16.

Disposed within the dished central area 19 of the knife 17 and substantially coplanar with the marginal area 18 of the knife is astationary center plate 22 to support the pressure of work material being sliced. Thecenter plate 22 is grooved, as indicated at 23, to allow smooth travel of work material past the cutting edge 18 of the knife 17 and covers most of the front surface of the knife so that only the rim of the knife contacts the work material. Thestationary center plate 22 is fixed to the housing 3 by means of throughbolt 24 which is located within the hollow bolt 11 and which is end threaded in anextension 25 of the center plate, that fits snugly within an end of the hollow bolt 11, and which is locked by anut 26. Thecenter plate 22 may be removed from the housing 3 by removing thenut 26 at the end of the throughbolt 24. After such removal, the knife 17 and its drive member 15 may be removed along with thebearings 16 as a unit by removing the nut 14 at the end of the hollow bolt 11.

The operator and others who may come into contact with the slicing machine are protected from injury by the knife by means of arear knife guard 27. Theguard 27 has an interrupted front portion 23 (Figures I and l1I-V exposing less than one half of the cutting edge 18 of the knife 17 and includes a substantiallyU-shaped throat 29 opening toward said interrupted front portion and aflange 30 covering all but the exposed rear area of the knife. Thethroat 29 on therear guard 27 cooperates with a finger-operable ring cam 31, surrounding a portion of asleeve 32 fixed within the housing 3 by means of a cone-pointedscrew 33, by means of which one may shift the guard into encompassing relationship with the cutting edge 18 of the knife only when the guard is so placed on the machine that movement of the guard toward the knife cannot mar the cutting edge 18 of the knife, and by means of which one may move the guard away from the knife in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the knife for subsequent re moval from the machine by sliding the guard in its plane until thethroat 29 is free from thecam 31.

' Cam-guidingslots 34 in thesleeve 32, 180 degrees apart with a rise toward the knife 17 (see Figure VII), are provided as guides for cooperatingpins 35 fixed to thering cam 31. Theslots 34 in the sleeve and thepins 35 on thecam 31 guide the cam toward or away from the plane of the knife 17 as indicated by the arrow heads in Figure VII, when finger pressure is applied,fin' one or-the other of the directions indicated tiallyU-shaped throat 29 on theguard 27 necessitating removal of the guard from the machine by sliding it in its plane until the bottom 37a of thethroat 29 is free from thegroove 37, the bottom 37a being in the nature of a tongue which fits closely in thegroove 37. When thethroat 29 is fully engaged with thecircular groove 37 in thecam 31, movement of the cam, by finger pressure on thehandle 36, toward the plane of the knife 17 moves the guard against a rim orabutment 38 on thesleeve 32 into encompassing relationship with the cutting edge of the knife and movement of the cam away from the plane of the knife withdraws the guard out of said encompassing relationship. When the guard is in such encompassing relationship, the rim orabutment 38 helps support the guard. Movement of the guard, either by cam-movement toward or away from the knife, and its removal or replacement on the machine by sliding it in its plane from or onto the cam respectively is accomplished without danger to the fingers of the operator and without danger that the cutting edge of the knife will be marred by striking it with the guard.

As hereinbefore mentioned, one may shift therear guard 27, by turning thecam 31, into encompassing relationship with the cutting edge of the knife 17 only when the guard is so placed on the machine that movement of the guard toward the knife cannot mar the cutting edge of the knife. This is an important feature and is illustrated in detail in Figures 1V, V, VIII and IX. Adjacent thethroat 29 in the guard there is formed acircular ridge 39 having leading edges or surfaces 40 which by striking theabutment 33 on thesleeve 32 limits movement of the guard toward the knife 17 unless the vertical centerline A of the guard coincides with the vertical centerline B of thesleeve 32. As illustrated in Figure IV, when theguard 27 is being removed or being replaced on the machine by sliding the guard in its plane, the centerlines A and B do not coincide and theleading edges 40 on theridge 39 on the guard are behind theabutment 38 on thesleeve 32 so that the guard is prevented from being moved toward the knife into on compassing relationship therewith. If the guard could be moved toward the knife, as may be done in prior art devices, when the centerlines A and B do not coincide, theflange 30 on the guard might strike and mar the cutting edge on the knife 17. When the bottom 37a of the substantiallyU-shaped throat 29 in theguard 27 is fully engaged in thecircular groove 37 in thecam 31, the leading edges or surfaces 457 on theridge 39 on the guard clear theabutment 38 just enough to allow the guard to be moved into operative guarding position, as illustrated in Figure V. The sectional view, Figure II,'al so illustrates the position of the guard in its operative guarding position with theabutment 38 helping to support the guard. In such operative guarding position, flats 41 (Figures IV, V and VIII) at the open end of thethroat 29 in theguard 27 cooperate with a pair ofarms 42 extending from and integrally formed with theabutment 38 on thesleeve 32 to prevent rotation of the guard about a horizontal axis.

.Thearms 42 on theabutment 38 on thesleeve 32 also function to pivotally support a slice deflector 43 (Figure III) attached by means'of a hinge pin 44 in uxtaposition with the exposed rear area 45 of the knife 17. The deflector 43 serves to guide slices of a commodity downwardly onto the base member 1 behind and below the gauge plate 7. The deflector 43 may be swung away from the knife 17 for cleaning purposes and swung .toward the knife until a button 46 contacts the knife before the slicing machine is to be used.

When the slicing machine is to be cleaned, thering cam 31 isrotated by finger pressure applied to itshandle 36 in the right hand direction as viewed in Figure VI.

This causes thering cam 31 to withdraw therear guard 27 away from the knife and away from locking engagement with the rim orabutment 38 on thesleeve 32. Theguard 27 is then removed from the machine by sliding it in its plane, as illustrated in Figure IV, until the substantiallyU-shaued throat 29 on the guard is free from thegroove 37 in thecam 31. Theguard 27 is replaced by reversing such steps. Since the guard is moved into or removed from encompassing relationship with the cutting edge of the knife by thering cam 31 and since the engagement of the bottom 37a of the substantiallyU-shaped throat 29 in thecircular groove 37 in thecam 31 necessitates removal of the guard from the machine by sliding it in its plane until the throat is free from the groove, the guard may be safely removed and replaced on the machine without danger of marring the cutting edge of the knife.

The embodiment of the invention herein shown and described is to be regarded as illustrative only, and it is to be understood that the invention is susceptible to variation, modification, and change within the spirit and scope of the subjoined claims.

Having described the invention, I claim:

1. In a slicing machine, in combination. a housing having a cam-guiding portion, a circular knife that has a marginal area which lies in a plane about a dished central area and that is mounted for rotation on the housing, a cam surrounding a part of the housing and cooperating with said cam-guiding portion whereby the cam may be moved toward or away from the plane of the knife, a stationary center plate that is carried by the housing and that is disposed within the dished central area of the knife and that is substantially coplanar with the marginal area of the knife to support the pressure of work material being sliced, an abutment on the housing between the knife and the cam, and a rear knife guard that is carried by the cam and that has an interrupted front portion exposing less than one half of the marginal area of the knife and that includes a throat opening toward the interrupted front portion of the guard and a flange covering all but the exposed marginal portion of the knife, the throat on the guard being carried by the cam whereby movement of the cam toward the plane of the knife moves the guard against the abutment into encompassing relationship with the cutting edge of the knife and movement of the cam away from the plane of the knife moves the guard out of such encompassing relationship so that the guard safely may be removed from the machine without danger of marring the cutting edge of the knife by sliding it in its plane until its throat is free from the cam.

2. In a slicing machine, in combination, a housing, a sleeve that is fixed to the housing and that has a camguiding portion, a knife drive member mounted for rotation within the sleeve, a circular knife that has a marginal area which lies in a plane about a dished central area and that is fixed to the knife drive member, a stationary center plate that is carried by the housing and that is disposed within the dished central area of the knife and that is substantially coplanar with the marginal area of the knife to support the pressure of work material being sliced, a circularly grooved cam surrounding a portion of the sleeve and cooperating with said camguiding portion whereby the cam may be moved toward or away from the plane of the knife, there being a rim on the sleeve between the knife and the cam, and a rear knife guard that is carried by the cam and that has an interrupted front portion exposing less than one half of the marginal area of the knife and that includes a throat opening toward the interrupted front portion of the guard and a flange covering all but the exposed marginal portion of the knife, the throat on the guard engaging 1n the circular groove in the cam whereby movement of the cam toward the plane of the knife moves the guard against the rim of the sleeve into encompassing relationship with the cutting edge of the knife and movement of the cam away from the plane of the knife moves the guard out of such encompassing relationship so that the guard safely may be removed from the machine without danger of marring the cutting edge of the knife by sliding it in its plane until its throat is free from the cam, said rim on the sleeve helping to support the guard in its said encompassing relationship with the knife.

3. In a slicing machine, in combination, a housing, a sleeve that is fixed to the housing and that has at least one cam-guiding slot therein, a knife drive member mounted for rotation within the sleeve, a circular knife that has a marginal area which lies in a plane about a dished central area and that is fixed to the knife drive member, a stationary center plate that is carried by the housing and which is disposed within the dished central area of the knife and which is substantially coplanar with the marginal area of the knife to support the pressure of work material being sliced, a circularly grooved cam surrounding a portion of the sleeve and cooperating with said cam-guiding slot whereby the cam may be moved toward or away from the plane of the knife, there being a rim on the sleeve between the knife and the cam, and a rear knife guard that is carried by the cam and that has an interrupted front portion exposing less than one half of the marginal area of the knife and that includes a substantially U-shaped throat opening toward the interrupted front portion of the guard and a flange covering all but the exposed marginal portion of the knife, the bottom of the substantially U-shaped throat engaging in the circular groove in the cam thereby necessitating removal of the guard from the machine by sliding it in its plane until the throat is free from the groove, movement of the cam in one direction moving the guard against the rim on the sleeve into encompassing relationship with the cutting edge of the knife and movement of the cam in the other direction moving the guard out of such encompassing relationship, said rim on the sleeve both serving to prevent the cam from moving the guard against the knife to mar its cutting edge if the bottom of the substantially U-shaped throat is not fully engaged in the circular groove in the cam and to help support the guard when the bottom of the substantially U-shaped throat is fully engaged in the circular groove and the guard is in its said encompassing relationship with the knife.

4. The combination according to claim 1 wherein a slice deflector is provided which is pivotally mounted on the abutment and is in juxtaposition with the exposed rear area of the knife.

5. The combination according to claim 2 wherein a slice deflector is provided which is pivotally mounted on the rim on the sleeve and is in juxtaposition with the exposed rear area of the knife.

6. The combination according to claim 3 wherein a slice deflector is provided which is pivotally mounted on the rim on the sleeve and is in juxtaposition with the exposed rear area of the knife.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,862,858 Lyon June 14, 1932 2,364,288 Haggerty Dec. 5, 1944 2,573,860 Meeker et al. Nov. 6, 1951 2,728,367 Brown Dec. 27, 1955

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