Apparatus for stacking and weighing sliced food products

Claim 1

IN COMBINATION A SLICING MACHING HAVING A SLICING BLADE, A FEEDING MEANS FOR FEEDING OF PRODUCT TO BE SLICED INTO SAID BLADE, AND CONTROL MEANS FOR DETERMINED THE RATE OF ADVANCE OF SAID FEEDING MEANS TOWARDS SAID BLADE, AND, CONSEQUENTLY, THE SLICE THICKNESS; APPARATUS FOR STACKING A PRESELECTED NUMBER OF SLICES OF SAID PRODUCT AS THEY ARE DISCHRGED BY SAID SLICING MACHING AND THEN TRANSFERRING THE STACKS OF SLICED PRODUCT, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING IN COMBINATION A STACKING MEANS TO BE LOCATED ADJACENT THE DISCHARGE END OF SAID SLICING MACHING FOR RECEIVING THE SLICES DISCHARGED THEREFROM; SLICE COUNTING MEANS FOR DETERMINED THE PRESELECTED NUMBER OF SLICES DISCHARGED FROM THE SLICING MACHING; STACKER ACTUATION MEANS COUPLED WITH BOTH SAID STACKING MEANS AND SAID SLICE COUNTING MEANS FOR ACTUATING SAID STACKING MEANS TO TRANSFER THE STACK OF PRESELECTED NUMBER OF SLICES OF SAID PRODUCT AND READY SAID STACKING MEANS FOR RECEPTION OF ANOTHER STACK OF SLICES; STACK RECEIVING MEANS AND CONVEYING MEANS IN STACK RECEIVING POSITION ADJACENT SAID STACKING MEANS, AND ADAPTED TO RECEIVE THEREON THE STACKS OF SLICED PRODUCT TRANSFERRED BY SAID STACKING MEANS; WEIGHING MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTED WITH SAID RECEIVING AND CONVEYING MEANS SUCH THAT IT IS ADAPTED TO REGISTER THE WEIGHT OF THE INDIVIDUAL STACKS THEREON; SAID STACKING MEANS AND SAID RECEIVING AND CONVEYING MEANS BEING SO CONSTRUCTED AND ARRANGED SUCH THAT SAID STACKING MEANS TRANSFERS THE STACKS OF SLICED PRODUCT TO SAID RECEIVING AND CONVEYING MEANS AT A LOCATION SUBSTANTIALLY NEAR SAID WEIGHING MEANS SERVO MECHANISM ADAPTED TO BE COUPLED WITH SAID CONTROL MEANS OF SAID SLICING MACHINE AND ADAPTED TO BE ACTUATED TO THEREBY CORRCET THE ADJUSTMENT OF SAID CONTROL MEANS OF SAID SLICING MACHINE TO ADJUST THE RATE OF ADVANCE OF SAID FEEDING MEANS AND, CONSEQUENTLY THE SLICE THICKNESS; FEED BACK MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTED WITH SAID WEIGHING MEANS AND SAID SERVO MECHANISM FOR FEEDING BACK SIGNALS TO SUCH SERVO MECHANISM CORRESPONDING TO THE WEIGHT OF THE INDIVIDUAL STACKS OVER AND BELOW SAID PRESCRIBED WEIGHT FOR THE PRESELECTED NUMBER OF SLICES TO THEREBY AUTOMITICALLY ACTUATE SAID SERVO MECHANISM TO CORRECT THE ADJUSTMENT OF SAID CONTROL MEANS OF SAID SLICING MACHINE TO, RESPECTIVELY, DECREASE AND INCREASE THE RATE OF ADVANCE OF SAID FEEDING MEANS AND, SAID SERVO MECHANISM INCLUDING A REVERSIBLE MOTOR ADAPTED TO BE ACTUATE IN ONE DIRECTION UPON THE RECEIPT OF SIGNALS FROM SAID FEED BACK MEANS TO ADJUST SAID CONTROL MEANS AND DECREASE THE RTE OF ADVANCE OF SAID FEEDING MEANS AND BE ACTUATED IN THE OTHER DIRECTION BY SAID FEED BACK MEANS TO ADJUST SAID CONTROL MEANS TO INCREASE THE RATE OF ADVANCE OF SAID FEEDING MEANS; SAID SERVO MECHANISM INCLUDES MEANS FOR BRAKING SAID MOTOR FOR ACCURATE ADJUSTMENT OF SAID FLOW CONTROL MEANS; SAID WEIGHING MEANS, SAID KNIFE AND SAID SERVO MECHANISM BEING DISPOSED AT A MINIMUM DISTANCE FROM ONE ANOTHER OF MINIMIZE THE DISTANCE-BETWEEN THE PLACE AT WHICH THE WEIGHT IS REGISTERED AND THE PLACE AT WHICH THE ADJUSTMENT OF SLICE THICKNESS TAKES PLACE AND, CONSEQUENTLY, REDUCE THE TIME REQUIRED FOR SUCH ADJUSTMENT TO BECOME EFECTIVE SO THAT A MINIMUM PERIOD OF TIME ELAPSES FOLLOWING THE REGISTRATION OF A STACK OUTSIDE THE PRESCRIBED WEIGHT AND THE CORRECTION OF THE ADJUSTMENT OF SAID CONTROL MEANS OF SAID SLICING MACHINE BY SAID SERVO MECHANISM; REJECT MEANS FOR REJECTING STACKS OF SLICED PRODUCT THAT ARE UNDERWEIGHT; AND ELECTRICAL MEANS ELECTRICALLY COUPLING SAID REJECT MEANS WITH SAID WEIGHING MEANS TO CAUSE SAID REJECT MEANS TO BE ACTUATED TO REJECT A STACK OF SLICED PRODUCT FOLLOWING REGISTRATION OF UNDERWEIGHT OF THIS STACK BY SAID WEIGHING MEANS.