Stacking conveyor for product slicing machine

摘要

A stacking conveyor is provided for receiving thin product slices moving along a horizontal path and placing a plurality of slices in stacks of predetermined configuration. One embodiment of the stacking conveyor includes a conveyor belt carried on a fixed position frame and is oscillated to receive a predetermined number of slices forming a stack and then revolved to discharge the formed stack. A second embodiment of the stacking conveyor includes a conveyor belt carried on a movable frame that is reciprocated to receive a slice while moving in one direction and then discharging the slice while moving in the opposite direction. Each of the two embodiments is adapted to be mechanically coupled with an apparatus forming the slices to either revolve the conveyor belt or to displace the conveyor belt at the same speed as the slice being received.