Automatic food slicing machine

摘要

A conveying system for an automatic food slicing machine is disclosed. The conveying system has a floating upper conveyor positioned above a lower conveyor. The conveyors cooperatively feed the food item to be sliced an incremental length into the slicing knives during the feed cycle and retain the remainder of the food item during the cut-off cycle. An indexing mechanism, adjustable to provide different feed length increments and timed to the rotational cycle of the cut-off knife, drives the conveyors. The indexing mechanism only drives the conveyors during the feed cycle and the conveyors remain static during the cut-off cycle. The food item to be sliced is captively held between the upper and lower conveyors during both the feed cycle and the cut-off cycle. Small diameter rollers at the exit end of the conveyors are utilized and are positioned in close proximity to the travel path of the cut-off knife providing retentive capability throughout the feed length range.