TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to packaging apparatus.

BACKGROUND

In the food processing industry, many slicing machines exist for slicing food products and separating the slices one from another. Such machines are typically found in the smoked salmon industry for example. However, the process of packaging unfrozen cooked, smoked or fresh sliced products which require separation of the slices by interleaving sheets is currently very labour intensive. Human skill is required in the manipulation of the products and the interleaving sheets, and it may also be necessary to manually sort the products by weight, shape or other complex parameters, which may be geometric, colour-related or based on the quality of each slice.

Similar interleaving is also carried out to separate formed food products such as burgers and fish cakes.

The present invention seeks to provide a new and inventive form of packaging apparatus which is capable of accurately and quickly handling products which are to be packaged between interleaving sheets.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention proposes packaging apparatus for products which includes a supply of interleaving sheet material and means for moving the sheet material from one operating position to another; said operating positions including: - a depositing position at which products are deposited on the sheet one- after-another; and - a cutting position including a cutting device for separating pieces of the interleaving sheet each carrying an individual product.

The pieces of interleaving sheet are preferably separated from the remainder of the sheet material by making a continuous endless cut surrounding each individual product.

The cutting position may include a collection surface spaced below the moving sheet such that said separated pieces of sheet and products drop onto the collection surface to form a stack of products alternating with pieces of interleaving sheet.

The apparatus preferably includes sensing means for detecting the position of the products and which is arranged to control the cutting device. The sensing means is preferably provided at an inspection position located between the depositing position and the cutting position. The sensing means may be provided by a visual inspection device for analysing the products on the moving sheet. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following description and the accompanying drawings referred to therein are included by way of non-limiting example in order to illustrate how the invention may be put into practice. In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side view of packaging apparatus for sliced food products in accordance with the invention; and

Figure 2 is a plan view of the packaging apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The apparatus shown in Fig.s 1 and 2 includes a roll 1 of interleaving sheet 2, which may be of any food grade sheet approved for contact with food products. Transparent polymeric materials are preferred. The sheet 2 is continuously de-reeled and fed around rollers 4 with the unused sheet being re-wound onto a waste roll 6. The sheet may be moved by driving the waste roll 6, by passing the sheet through the nip between a pair of rollers, or by other pulling means such as a robotic arm. The sheet passes along a horizontal section 7 from a loading position 8, past an inspection position 9 to a cutting position 10. Additional rollers and/or conveyors 11 and 12 may be provided to support the sheet between these positions, as necessary.

A known form of slicing machine 15 is mounted at the start of the horizontal section 7. The machine has a slicing blade 16 for slicing food products 17 such as smoked salmon, and a sectioning blade 18 for transversely cutting the slices into smaller portions 19. The machine may handle one, two or more food products 17 at the same time. At the loading position 8 the sliced food products 19 fall onto the sheet 2, one- after-another, in one, two or more lanes depending on the capacity of the slicing machine.

When the portions arrive at the inspection position 9, in a gap between the conveyors 11 and 12, the top and bottom faces of the slices are visually inspected by cameras 20 and 21 linked to a computer control system (not shown). The computer system accurately determines the position of the slices and is also programmed to carry out detailed analysis of the products, e.g. to check their quality, colour and estimate their weight from the size of the pieces.

The sliced products continue to the cutting station 10 which includes a movable cutting device 24 such as a blade, thermal cutter or laser cutter for example, and a collection surface 26 is mounted a short distance below the moving sheet 2. When the computer calculates that a food slice has arrived at the cutting station 10 (with a known rate of travel) it operates the cutter 24 to separate a piece 25 of the interleaving sheet by making a continuous cut surrounding the individual slice, meeting at opposite ends, causing the cut piece and product slice to drop onto the collection surface 26. Following product slices are removed in the same manner, thereby forming a stack of slices alternating with pieces of interleaving sheet. When the stack has built up to the required number of slices, or weight, it is removed from the collection surface 26 so that another stack may begin.

The cutting position may easily be changed by the computer so that the slices are sorted by weight, quality etc., and deposited in separate stacks. Reject products or non-conforming slices may pass through the cutting position to be scraped off the moving sheet 2 at the end of the horizontal section 7 and collected in a waste bin 28 or otherwise disposed of.

It is also possible, though less efficient, for the cutter 24 to remove every slice together with a piece of interleaving sheet, guided by a simple optical sensor, and then carry out inspection, weighing and sorting after the sheet-cutting operation.

In some cases, e.g. where the slices are deposited on the sheet 2 in a single line, the cutter 24 may operate to remove pieces of the sheet by making transverse cuts between the product slices, extending between opposite sides of the sheet. In such cases the sheet may be moved intermittently, e.g. by means of a gripper acting on the cut end.

Instead of allowing the cut pieces of interleaving sheet and product slices to drop onto the collection surface 26 they may be removed by other means such as a robotic arm having a hand adapted for gripping the product together with the interleaving sheet and removing them together to the stacking position.

Instead of a slicing machine 15, the packaging apparatus could also be used with a machine for forming food products in slabs, cakes and similar shapes.

It will be appreciated that the features disclosed herein may be present in any feasible combination. Whilst the above description lays emphasis on those areas which, in combination, are believed to be new, protection is claimed for any inventive combination of the features disclosed herein.