Automated apparatus and method for placing sliced food stacks in packages

摘要

A system and method are provided that allow meat logs (24) to be manually loaded into a slicing station (18) and thereafter be continuously automatically processed at the slicing station (18), a harping station (20), and an insertion station (22) for automated packaging thereof without the need for handling of the meat stacks (12) by workers. To this end, the slicing station (18) is effective to form smaller sections or chubs (26) from the meat logs (24) and to do so such that the chubs (26) are provided with substantially parallel flat end-faces (34, 36) to ensure that high quality meat slices (30) are generated therefrom. The chubs (26) are then transported to the harping station (20) where each of the chubs (26) undergoes a single cutting operation, thus simultaneously forming the meat slices (30) therefrom and substantially maintaining the slices (30) in the configuration of the chubs (26) for generating well-formed stacks (12) of the slices (30). Thereafter, the stacks (12) are received at the insertion station (22) where they are transferred to their packages (14), on an automated basis without the need for manual handling thereof. This is enabled due to the well-formed stacks (12) generated by the harping station (20) which allows the stacks (12) to be dropped into the packages (14) aligned therebelow.