Description Field of the art

The present invention refers to a new industrial device for cutting and processing animal meat intended for food consumption. In particular the present invention refers to a cutting device that is a component of the animal meat processing plant for preparing food sausages. The cutting device, subject of the present invention, has characteristics such to render the device itself more durable over time without having structural and conformational damages, and also such to considerably reduce the release, and consequently the content of metallic elements in the finished product.

State of the art

Sausages and cold meats/salami in general, are among the foods mostly widely produced, sold and purchased today by consumers throughout the world. The cold meats/salami and particularly sausages are generally foods with uncooked or cooked/smoked meat base, which have added salt, animal fat, spices, possible preservatives, and which are inserted in closed containers, conventionally constituted by animal intestines.

Among the most well-known and consumed sausages worldwide, mortadella undoubtedly occupies one of the foremost positions. This cold meat/salami, more in detail sausage, has very ancient origins, probably dating back to the 1 ^st century; its production can be dated with certainty to the late medieval era, in Italy and in particular in the city of Bologna, as various sources attest and particularly as represented in various painted and carved depictions of that epoque.

This cold meat/salami is a cooked/smoked sausage, with cylindrical or oval form, pink- coloured and slightly spiced. In ancient times, in order to produce mortadella, meats were used of various animal species, including swine, bovine and equine species; it was considered a high-quality product given the difficulty of its manner of production and the length of the process, which rendered it rather costly.

Over the years, the technology of production of this cold meat/salami has developed greatly, and today mortadella is a product exclusively constituted by high-quality cuts of pork meat and prepared according to precise regulations.

The mortadella production process is known, and is quite particular.

Modern technology provides that the fresh meat arrives into the production plant in separately frozen, anatomical cuts of pork. These cuts of meat, after having reached an ideal temperature for their processing, are minced and reduced to creamy emulsion through various passages in suitable meat mincing machines. Separately, cubes of fat are prepared with approximately 1 cubic centimeter size; such cubes are made of throat fat, the hardest and highest quality fat, and from the lard coming from the back of the swine. The fine emulsion is then mixed with the fat cubes and mixed with salt, water and spices (or aromas in powder or solution). Additives are subsequently added, and the mixture thus obtained is placed in the casing with the desired size/diameter. There are in fact mortadellas with different sizes, i.e. ranging from 500 g up to over 100 kg. The casings used for the sausage- making can be natural or artificial, and the latter are usually used for the smallest sizes/diameters.

The sausage is also subjected to cooking by using suitable dry air stoves, in times that vary from several hours up to a full day according to the size; it is important that the internal temperature reach 70°C.

A cold-water shower follows, along with a stay period in a cooling cell in order to stabilize the product. The quality of a sausage and specifically of a mortadella depends mainly on factors such as the quality of the raw material used, for example the composition, the chemical-physical and microbiological characteristics, the additives used, the storage, the distribution of the finished product, and undoubtedly the production technology. The latter, even if it can be considered quite advanced, nevertheless has limitations that are due to the need to complete certain process steps by means of components and systems that sometimes lead to problems, pertaining to the damage and early wear of the components themselves, and which often affect the properties of the finished product.

More in detail, the rubbing of the knives or the meat cutting devices against the fixed discs for drawing the mortadella itself often causes a release of metallic material with high iron content and other metals within the product being processed. This rubbing is quite considerable if one considers entities such as pressure and force acting on the components of the plant, as these are very high. The release and the presence of these metallic substances in the minced mixture in fact cause subsequent oxidative-reduction mechanisms, which occur when these substances come into contact with the meat, consequently altering the final properties thereof. The current knives or cutting devices employed substantially have discoid form, rotating around a central axis. The knives are constituted by a support, adapted to sustain the blades and by a plurality of blades of various geometry, which however is usually rectangular.

These knives are situated between two fixed drawing discs, thus generating an alternating sequence of discs and knives inside the cutting group. The knives, together with their support and their blades, are arranged in a manner so as to have - both in rest conditions and in work conditions - the upper and the lower surfaces extended parallel to the surfaces of the fixed drawing discs and placed near the latter. This structural and configuration characteristic causes strong rubbing of the contact surfaces when the plant is in operation. More in detail, the rubbing is verified when the passage of considerable quantities of meat, pressed towards the cutting blades by the auger, causes the development of high pressure on the circular surfaces of the elements involved in the process. The pressure that is developed is also not uniform over all the points of the surfaces, but is greater in proximity to the central zones of said surfaces. The effect of this aspect causes the formation of deformations and concavities in the central zones of the surfaces of the fixed discs and knives. These deformations trigger the undesired phenomena of rubbing between the surfaces of the knives and those of the fixed discs, in addition to the aforesaid consequences relative to the release of metallic material in the product being processed.

In order to overcome the aforesaid problems, the present invention intends to describe a new cutting device for preparing any cold meat/salami, and specifically for preparing mortadella, which has characteristics and particularly blades supported and balanced with components and expedients such to considerably reduce the contact surface between the cutting blades and the drawing discs. These characteristics prevent the release of metals within the product being processed and positively contribute to the efficiency of the entire production process. Description of the invention

The present invention describes a new and innovative cutting device for animal meat for production purposes in the industrial food sector. More in detail, the present industrial invention patent application describes a cutting device which constitutes the fundamental component of the current industrial plants for producing cold meat/salami and in particular sausages such as mortadella. Said cutting device comprises a support, in turn anchored to the plant, adapted to sustain the blades used for cutting meat. More in detail said support comprises a plurality of radial support arms radially extended around a central shaft or fulcrum, around which the entire cutting device rotates. Said arms are adapted to support a respective plurality of blades which in rest conditions each result in equilibrium with respect to a central pin, inserted within each blade and placed in a special housing channel present within the blade and within the radial support arms for the blades. More in particular, each single cutting blade has, at its interior, a pin reversibly inserted in the thickness of the blade and radially extended with respect to the central shaft, in a direction parallel to the length of the corresponding radial support arm and parallel to the larger axis of each single blade, but not necessarily coinciding with said axis.

Each single blade has, though not necessarily, rectangular shape and has the longer sides in a parallel direction with respect to the length of the respective radial support arm. The presence of the pin within the thickness of the blade, being however moved with respect to the larger axis of the blade, causes the unbalancing of the two portions of each single blade, which are extended from both sides of said pin.

More in detail, the presence of the pin causes the identification of two blade portions with different width and mass, which under the effect of the pressure exerted by the meat introduced in the auger are arranged asymmetrically in a manner such to automatically compensate for the deformations of the adjacent fixed disc. Said spatial orientation of the blades, adapted to compensate for the aforesaid deformations, allows preventing the blades that are rotating while cutting the meat from rubbing up to the point where micro-melting of the adjacent rigid disc is created.

More in detail, when the plant is in operation, the material to be processed, in the specific case the meat to be cut, arrives from above by means of a suitable load hopper. Subsequently, the meat is transferred into an auger which, by vigorously introducing it into the cutting group, facilitates the passage of the meat at nearly constant pressure and speed. At the outlet of the auger, the meat is then pushed, pressed and processed on a plurality of drawing discs and cutting devices, adhering to each other and arranged in an alternating manner, along the central shaft passing through the drawing discs and connected with the cutting devices. The central shaft is extended centrally, also within the auger itself. In addition, both the fixed drawing discs and the knives are arranged with the surfaces oriented parallel with respect to the cross section of the auger. This configuration causes the unbalancing of each blade with respect to the internal pin, under the effect of the force acting on the two blade portions and which is exerted by the meat being processed.

Given that the pressure here is very high, this spatial orientation will occur independent of the orientation of the cutting devices with respect to the ground. The advantageous aspect offered by the present invention is evident when, under the effect of the pressure, the blades, assuming the aforesaid spatial configuration, only partially impact the surfaces of the drawing discs underlying and overlying the cutting device. This is due to the fact that each single blade can oscillate with respect to its pin, drastically reducing the friction since the rubbing will only involve the edges of the blades and the respective contact points with the surfaces of the fixed drawing discs. The resulting effect will cause a considerable reduction of the release of metallic material inside the finished product.

Brief description of the figures

FIGURE 1 shows a plan view of the cutting device 1 according to the present invention in which a support 2 is visible, adapted to sustain a plurality of radial support arms 3, a plurality of blades 4 each sustained by the radial support arm 3 and each having a pin 5, placed within each blade 4, and arranged in a direction parallel to and not coinciding with the larger axis of each blade 4.

FIGURE 2 shows a schematic side view of the cutting device 1 according to the present invention in which the positioning of the cutting device 1 on the central shaft 6 of the production plant is visible. The housing of said cutting device 1 between two fixed drawing discs 100 can be observed; a blade 4 is observed arranged in a manner so as to only partially rub the surface of the drawing disc 100 overlying the cutting device 1, and the surface of the drawing disc 100 underlying the cutting device 1. The different length of the two portions of the blade 4 is observed. FIGURE 3 shows a perspective view of a blade 4 with rectangular shape, and of a pin 5 with cylindrical shape. The following can be observed in the figure: the larger sides 13 and 14 of the blade 4, the smaller sides 11 and 12 of said blade 4, the thickness 9 of the blade 4 at the smaller side 11 that has a hole 7 adapted for the insertion and/or extraction of the pin 5, the thickness 10 of the blade 4 at the smaller side 12 which has a hole 8 also adapted for the introduction and/or exit of the pin 5. The asymmetry is noted that produces the non-aligned insertion of the pin 5 of the body of the blade 4. Also observable in the figure are the ends 5' and 5" of the pin 5, adapted to project from the blade 4 when said pin 5 is inserted in the blade. Also visible is the housing channel 15, within which the pin 5 is inserted. FIGURE 4 shows a perspective view of the radial support arm 3 in which the following can be observed: a hole 16 placed on the thickness 17 of the smaller side 18 of the radial support arm 3 and adapted to receive the end 5" of the pin 5 within the blade 4.

FIGURE 5 shows a perspective view of the support 2 of the cutting device 1 in which a hole 19 is visible, present on the thickness 20 of the support 2, adapted to receive the end 5 'of the pin 5, and mating with the hole 8 present on the thickness 10 of the smaller side 12 of the blade 4.

FIGURE 6 shows a perspective view of the blade 4 in which the following can be identified: a smaller portion 21 of blade 4 and a larger portion 22 of blade 4 when the pin 5 is within the blade 4. Said insertion is adapted to generate an oscillating movement of the smaller portion 21 and the larger portion 22 of blade 4 with respect to said pin 5. Also observable are the edges 24 and the edges 25, respectively of the larger portion 22 and the smaller portion 21, adapted to be subjected to rubbing with the surfaces of underlying and overlying drawing discs 100 (not shown in the figure).

Description of the preferred embodiments

In a first embodiment, the cutting device 1, subject of the present invention, comprises a support 2 having a plurality of radial support arms 3, each adapted to allow the housing of a respective blade 4.

More in detail, the cutting device 1 comprises a plurality of blades 4 supported, by means of a pin 5, by a respective plurality of radial support arms 3 having an L-shaped profile. Said pin 5 is reversibly housed, due to a locking pin, within the housing channel 15 placed in the thickness of the blade 4. More in detail, the pin 5 is inserted within the blade 4 by means of a hole 7 and an inlet and/or outlet hole 8, respectively present at the thickness 9 and at the thickness 10 of the smaller sides 11 and 12 of the blade 4. The pin 5, inserted within the blade 4, also has a greater length than the length of the larger sides 13 and 14 of the blade 4. Each blade 4 is also supported by the cutting device 1, and more in detail by the radial support arm 3, by means of the insertion of the end 5" of the pin 5 projecting from the blade 4 inside a hole 16 placed on the thickness 17 of the smaller side 18 of the radial support arm 3 and mating with the hole 7 of the blade 4, and by means of the insertion of the end 5' of the pin 5, it too projecting from the blade 4, inside a hole 19 present on the thickness 20 of the support 2 of the cutting device 1 and mating with the hole 8 present on the thickness 10 of the smaller side 12 of the blade 4. The assembly of the aforesaid components causes the identification of two blade portions 4 that are oscillating with respect to the pin 5, present within the blade 4. The housing channel 15, in which the pin 5 is inserted, is also parallel and not coinciding with the larger axis of the blade 4; hence, the two blade portions have different width and mass and are therefore asymmetric and unbalanced with respect to said pin 5. More in detail, on the blade 4, a smaller portion 21 and a larger portion 22 can be identified. The result of this unbalancing implies that, under the effect of only the pressure applied by the meat coming from the auger, the blade can still oscillate, preventing the creation of friction peaks between the blade itself and the rigid discs - which under the action of the pressure applied by the meat tend to be irregularly deformed. As stated above, the cutting device 1, subject of the present invention, constitutes one of the many components of a cold meat/salami production plant. More in detail, the cutting device 1 is usually positioned at drawing discs 100 and in particular between two drawing discs 100 in a manner so as to generate an alternating sequence of drawing discs 100 and cutting devices 1. Said drawing discs 100 are fixed with respect to the central rotation shaft 6 passing through the central hole 110 present at the center of each fixed drawing disc 100. The central shaft 6 also passes through a hole 23 present at the center of each support 2 of the cutting device 1. Thus, said central shaft 6 presents an alternating sequence of drawing discs 100, fixed with respect to said shaft, and rotary cutting devices 1 which are extended along its axis. Said fixed drawing discs 100 and said cutting devices 1 are further arranged in a manner so as to operate, during the operation of the plant, next to each other in alternating sequence, given that they are all parallel to each other. During the operation of the production plant, the actuation of the auger causes the passage of the meat to be processed, in the specific case pork meat, to the cutting devices and to the drawing discs. The impact of the meat supplied by the auger on said components occurs at a high pressure, which will determine an equally high force acting on all the surface of the components involved, and in particular on the blades 4. The innovative aspect of the present invention is realized when the pressure of the material, i.e. of the meat coming from the auger, exerts a force that will be different on the two portions of the blade 4 and in particular it will be higher on the larger portion 22 with respect to that exerted on the smaller portion 21, given that the lever arm of the larger portion 22 of each blade 4 is longer than that of the smaller portion 21. This aspect ensures that during the operation of the plant, i.e. during the rotation of the cutting devices 1 around the axis of the central shaft 6, and under the effect of the pressure and force exerted by the meat being processed, the blades 4 only partially rub the surfaces of the underlying and overlying fixed drawing discs 100. More in detail, one obtains a rubbing of only the edges 24 of the larger portion 22 of blade 4 with the surface of the underlying drawing disc 100 and a rubbing of only the edges 25, of the smaller portion 21 of blade 4, with the surface of the drawing disc 100 overlying each cutting device 1. Given that the entities involved, such as the force and pressure, are quite high, this configuration of the blades will be obtained independent of the orientation of the central shaft 6, of that of the drawing discs 100, and of that of the cutting devices 1 as well as of the blades 4, with respect to the ground.

The mobility thus obtained by the blades drastically reduces the load peaks that are created at the points of greater deformation of the discs, considerably reducing the consumption and wear of the blades.

The final result of this reduced rubbing of the aforesaid components causes a lower release of metallic material inside the finished product. In the art, the phenomenon of the deformation of the fixed discs, during the meat processing step, involves considerable wear of the points of contact between the fixed discs themselves and the blades. The wear of classic blades is triggered by repeated phenomena of micro- melting between said metallic parts, such melting caused by friction peaks with consequent overheating. It is the subsequent separation of said micro-welding that causes the repeated and substantial loss of metallic portions and their introduction in the mixed mixture. The mobility with which the blades according to the present invention are equipped prevents the onset of the aforesaid load peaks, averting the creation of micro-melting phenomena and considerably reducing the wear of the blades, which thus not only will be consumed to a lesser extent, but will also have less need for maintenance.