Subject of the Invention and Technical Field

The invention relates to a four-outlet wafer cutting machine. The invention relates to a machine system which increases the production speed, capacity, and diversity by performing the cutting and distribution processes in four directions in the wafer cutting and the subsequent wafer arrangement, especially in the wafer cutting machines. The invention provides the products to be extracted, independently of each other, from the wafer cutting in four different directions by means of the device on the machine which provides a single piece of wafer block to be sliced by cutting.

State of the Art

Today, the mechanization in the food production has advanced considerably. In the production of the wafers which are a type of food, there are highly advanced machines for the production of the wafers, as well as for cutting and packaging after the production. One of these machines is the wafer cutting machines, which carry the wafers in layers, cut and transfer them to another place for packaging properly.

The wafer cutting machines cut the wafers which are taken as a complete wafer block (uncut or unsliced) longitudinally and transversely in slices in the desired number. This wafer block piece can be, for example, 350x720 mm in size and is cut into small pieces after cutting. The cutting machines take the wafer block from the inlet and discharge it in slices onto the conveyor in the outlet.

In the state of the art, since the wafer blocks always pass through the same cutting cassettes in the single-outlet cutting machine, the cutting can be performed with the uniform product dimensions at the same time. When it is desired to work on a different product, the cassettes are changed and the product with the new dimensions is obtained. Since these types of the machines are dependent on a single outlet, their speed is limited. The single-outlet machines on the market have been developed and the two- outlet wafer cutting machines are also available. In the two-outlet cutting machine, the wafer block always passes through the same cutting cassette in the transverse cutting operation, while it passes through two different cutting cassettes in the longitudinal cutting operation. Therefore, when the products are discharged from two different points of the cutting machine, it is possible to provide a difference in the dimensions of the products obtained. Since there are two outlets in this type of machines, the production speed can be increased and the cutting can be done in different sizes. In both single- and two-outlet wafer cutting machines, the products are packed by arranging the packaging machines at the cutting outlets. The packaging machines have the certain working speeds. In the cases where the speed of the packaging machines cannot keep up with the speed of the plant, more packaging machines are operated in parallel in order to try to use the plant capacity more efficiently. Compared to the single-outlet wafer cutting machines in the state of the art, in the two-outlet cutting machines, two packaging machines can be used since one packaging machine will be arranged at each outlet. However, for a high-speed wafer cutting machine or a wafer production plant that requires three or more packaging machines, one cutting machine is not enough and the use of a second cutting machine is inevitable. This situation both increases the production costs, narrows the production area and interrupts the mass production. As there is no high-speed production and packaging, a production in the form of the full integration is not possible.

In the state of the art, a wafer cutting machine is described in Turkish Patent application no. 2018/18494 belonging to Haas Food Equipment Gmbh - Austria. Said wafer cutting machine comprises the contour cuts which allow the flat and hollow wafers to be cut in different sizes and geometric shapes, for example in the form of an arc or clover leaf.

Another patent in the state of the art is the British patent no. GB2348356A. Said patent describes a machine construction that allows cutting in two directions.

Another patent in the state of the art is the international patent no. WO9819549. Said patent describes a machine assembly that allows the foods, especially wafers, to be cut in different sizes and geometric shapes.

Technical Problems to Be Solved by the Invention

With the four-outlet wafer machine of the invention, it is intended to obtain a machine that allows the wafer materials, which come in wafer blocks from a single point, to be cut from four different points in the same or different sizes and transferred to the packaging machines.

An advantage of the wafer machine of the invention is that the product can be fed to four different packaging machines by using a wafer cutting machine. This cannot be done with one cutting machine in the state of the art, it is inevitable to use a second wafer cutting machine in order to use three or four packaging machines. However, with the machine system of the invention, up to four packaging machines can be used by obtaining the products from four cutting regions and thus four outlets with one wafer cutting machine. Thanks to the different cassette (cutting region) for cutting the wafers in the system, if desired, the different products can be obtained and the idle capacity of the wafer plant is loaded.

Another advantage of the wafer cutting machine of the invention is that a single machine design that can take the products in different sizes from four different outlet points which are not in the state of the art has been obtained. With the unique mechanical and automation design of the system, two different transverse cutting sizes and four different longitudinal cutting sizes can be used at the same time. Another benefit of the system of the invention is that the continuity will be ensured in the operation of the wafer plant by performing the different functions independently of each other for each outlet. A malfunction of one outlet will not affect the other outlets. In the system of the invention, the wafer block enters as a whole through the inlet of the machine. Optionally, the wafer blocks can be placed on top of each other so as to form a double-ply structure. The wafer block entering the machine is first fed to the bidirectional carriage for the transverse cutting. Said carriage feeds the wafer block by cutting transversely to the right and left regions relative to the direction of movement. In said machine design, since the cutting cassettes of the inlets of the right and left regions (or the first direction and the second direction in its symmetry) are different, the cutting can be made in different sizes, which is important in terms of the production flexibility.

Another advantage of the wafer cutting machine of the invention is that the wafer block from a single inlet is cut by distributing in four directions and transferred to the packaging machines at four outlets. The wafer cutting system of the invention will be better understood from the figures below.

Description of the Figures

Fig. 1 is the projection view with a top view of the basic elements of the wafer cutting machine of the invention.

Fig. 2 is the perspective view of the wafer cutting machine of the invention.

Fig. 3 is the projection view with a top view of the wafer cutting machine of the invention.

Fig. 4 is the projection view with a top view of the wafer cutting machine of the invention with four package distribution trays.

Fig. 5 is the projection view with a top view of the wafer cutting machine of the invention without the wafer pressing devices.

Fig. 6 is the projection view with a top view of the wafer cutting machine of the invention without the carriages.

Fig. 7 is the perspective view of the wafer cutting machine of the invention without the wafer pressing device and carriages.

Fig. 8 is the projection view with a top view of the wafer cutting machine of the invention without the package trays.

Fig. 9 is the perspective view of the wafer cutting machine of the invention without the wafer pressing devices, but with the carriages.

Fig. 10 is the projection view with a side view of the wafer cutting machine of the invention.

Fig. 11 is the projection view with a front view of the wafer cutting machine of the invention. Fig. 12 is the perspective view of the device comprising the carriages in the wafer cutting machine of the invention.

Fig. 13 is the perspective view, from a different viewpoint, of the device comprising the carriages in the wafer cutting machine of the invention.

Fig. 14 is the perspective view of the device comprising the carriages in the wafer cutting machine of the invention without other parts of the machine.

Fig. 15 is the perspective view of the carriages and cutting device in the wafer cutting machine of the invention.

Fig. 16 is the perspective view of the carriages and cutting device in the wafer cutting machine of the invention without the lower tray.

Fig. 17 is the perspective view with a bottom view of the carriages and cutting device in the wafer cutting machine of the invention.

Fig. 18 is the projection view with a top view of the carriages in the wafer cutting machine of the invention.

Fig. 19 is the projection view with a top view of the carriages and cutting device in the wafer cutting machine of the invention.

Fig. 20 is the perspective view with a bottom view of the mechanism which drives the carriages in the wafer cutting machine of the invention.

Fig. 21 is the perspective view of the mechanism which drives the carriages in the wafer cutting machine of the invention without the motor.

Fig. 22 is the perspective view of the carriages in the wafer cutting machine of the invention.

Fig. 23 is the perspective view, from a different viewpoint, of the carriage in the wafer cutting machine of the invention. Fig. 24 is the perspective view of the wafer pressing device in the wafer cutting machine of the invention with the wires.

Fig. 25 is the perspective view of the wire adjusting section of the cutting device in the wafer cutting machine of the invention.

Fig. 26 is the perspective view of the double-ply blocking device in the wafer cutting machine of the invention.

Fig. 27 is the perspective view of the movable rail section of the wafer block carriage device in the wafer cutting machine of the invention.

Reference Numbers of Parts and Sections that Help Explain the Invention

1- Main tray

2- Wafer inlet area

3- Wafer block feeding carriage

4- Wafer block ply making flap

5- Transverse cutting driver carriage

6- T ransverse cutting cassettes

7- First longitudinal cutting driver carriage

8- Second longitudinal cutting driver carriage

9- First longitudinal cutting cassettes

10- Second longitudinal cutting cassettes

11- First cut wafer outlet

12- Second cut wafer outlet

13- Third cut wafer outlet

14- Fourth cut wafer outlet

15- Inlet conveyor

16- Wafer block feeding driver group

17- Transverse cutting chain group

18- First longitudinal cutting chain group

19- Second longitudinal cutting chain group

20- Chain group body

21- Motor 22- Chain wheel

23- Chain

24- Movable body

25- Carriages

26- Guides

27- Cutting cassettes

A- Wafer block inlet direction

B- First transverse cutting direction

C- Second transverse cutting direction

D- First longitudinal cutting outlet direction

E- Third longitudinal cutting outlet direction

G- Second longitudinal cutting outlet direction

H- Fourth longitudinal cutting outlet direction

Detailed Description of the Invention

In the wafer cutting machine of the invention, it is the object to design a machine which allows the wafers coming from one direction in the wafer blocks to be directed and cut in four directions, and then transferred to the packaging layer section or packaging machine section. Said design may comprise an inlet and four outlets, but may comprise three outlets. The outlets can be positioned with the ninety-degree angles from each other. However, the directions and angles may change. In the technical drawings and explanations for understanding the subject, a machine construction is chosen, comprising a wafer block inlet and four outlets positioned at ninety-degree angles to each other. However, it should be noted that this is not binding.

The basic units of the wafer cutting machine of the invention can be seen in the projection view with a top view in Fig. 1. Here, the entrance of the wafer in the form of a wafer block from a single point and the exit by cutting in four regions are shown schematically. Fig.

2 is the perspective view of the four-outlet wafer cutting machine. Fig. 3, Fig. 4, Fig. 5 and Fig. 6 are the projection views with a top view of the machine in the different statuses with or without the wafer cutting sections and pushing sections. Fig. 7 and Fig. 9 are the perspective views of the machine without the wafer cutting sections and pushing sections. Fig. 8 is the projection view with a top view of the machine; Fig. 10 and Fig. 11 are the projection views of the machine with the side and front views. Fig. 12, Fig. 13, Fig. 14, Fig. 15, Fig. 16 and Fig. 17 are the views of the wafer cutting sections and pushing sections of the machine in the different statuses. Fig. 18 is the projection view with a top view of the machine without the main tray; Fig. 19 is a top view with the main tray. Fig. 20, Fig. 21 , Fig. 22, Fig. 23, Fig. 24, Fig. 25, Fig. 26 and Fig. 27 are the views of the different parts of the wafer cutting sections and pushing sections of the wafer cutting machine.

The wafer cutting machine of the invention comprises basically a wafer inlet 2 which is arranged on a main tray 1 or connected thereto and by which a semi-finished uncut wafer enters the system, a wafer block feeding carriage 3 which takes the uncut wafer from said wafer inlet 2 and carries it in the inlet direction A, a wafer block ply making flap 4 which feeds said wafer to the system and makes a double ply, a transverse cutting driver carriage 5 which carries said wafers into the first transverse cutting direction B and the second transverse cutting direction C, the transverse cutting cassettes 6 which cut said wafers transversely, a first longitudinal cutting driver carriage 7 which carries said wafers into the first longitudinal cutting outlet direction D or the third longitudinal cutting outlet direction E, a second longitudinal cutting driver carriage 8 which carries said wafers into the second longitudinal cutting outlet direction G or the fourth longitudinal cutting outlet direction H, a first longitudinal cutting cassette 9 and a second longitudinal cutting cassette 10 which cut said wafers longitudinally, a first cut wafer outlet 11 by which the cut wafers are extracted, a second cut wafer outlet 12, a third cut wafer outlet 13, and a fourth cut wafer outlet 14.

The wafer cutting machine of the invention comprises a wafer inlet 2 and at least three wafer outlets, preferably four wafer outlets 11 ,12,13,14. The wafer outlets are called as the first cut wafer outlet 11 , the second cut wafer outlet 12, the third cut wafer outlet 13, and the fourth cut wafer outlet 14. But the number of the outlets is not important and these outlets are the same or similar. In each of these outlets, there may be the cut wafers of the same size and type, as well as the wafers of the different sizes and types. The first wafer entering the system is in an uncut state and it is called as a semi-finished wafer. In the state of the art, the wafer entering the system is cut to the desired dimensions and exits in one direction. It has been observed in the market that some machines have two outlets. However, a machine configuration with three or four outlets has not been found. The focus of the invention is a wafer cutting machine configuration with three or four outlets that allows cutting and transport in different sizes. Here, the wafer configuration with four outlets have been described, and it should not be overlooked that it is not binding and there may be the configurations with three outlets.

In the wafer cutting machine of the invention, the main tray 1 may be a single-piece tray, and there may be the different trays for the different outlets, and in this configuration, these trays can be connected by the connection elements, such as screw, pin, fastening lugs. In the wafer cutting machine of the invention, there is an inlet conveyor 15, in which the wafer enters the system through the wafer inlet area 2. In the system, the wafer block feeding carriage 3 and the wafer block ply making flap 4 are arranged, downstream of the inlet conveyor 15, between the wafer inlet area 2 and the middle section of the main tray 1. Here, the middle section of the main tray means that it is not a geometric middle section or a center of gravity, but the middle section which is positioned to allow the wafer to be taken and distributed from the outer system. In the system, the wafer block ply making flap 4 takes the wafer block from the inlet conveyor 15 and feeds it into the wafer block feeding carriage 3 by stacking in a single ply or on top of each other. The wafer block feeding carriage 3 pushes the wafer in the wafer block inlet direction A and feeds it to the transverse cutting driver carriage 5. The wafers in the system are on the main tray 1. The transverse cutting cassettes 6 are arranged on the right and left or both sides of the middle section of the system (machine). The transverse cutting cassettes 6 cut the raw (uncut) wafers transversely to the desired dimensions. The transverse cutting driver carriage 5 carries the wafers to the right or left, or to the first transverse cutting direction B or the second transverse cutting direction C. The transverse cutting driver carriage 5 is moved by the chain groups located at the bottom of the main tray and the details of which are described below. Here, the term transverse cutting means cutting the wafers in one direction. The wafers are carried to the side areas as explained below and cut in another direction (preferably at 90 degrees right angle to the transverse cut or at a different angle to the transverse cut). The transverse cutting cassettes 6 comprise a device that allows the cutting operation to be performed with the wire system applied in the wafer cutting in the state of the art or with other methods, which will not be detailed here. In the wafer cutting machine of the invention, on both sides of the middle section on the main tray 1 in the wafer cutting machine, the first longitudinal cutting driver carriage 7 and the first longitudinal cutting cassette 9 are arranged in the first one of the regions in which the wafers which are cut in one direction (transversely) are carried, and the second longitudinal cutting driver carriage 8 and the second longitudinal cutting cassette 10 are arranged in the second one. These carriages and cassettes are the same or identical to each other. Since only one side and the other side are given a place name first and second, respectively, they are named with the terms first and second, which should not be binding. The wafers directed on both sides and cut in one direction (transversely) are carried, for cutting in another directions (longitudinally), by the first longitudinal cutting driver carriage 7 in the first longitudinal cutting outlet direction D or the third longitudinal cutting outlet direction E and cut in the first longitudinal cutting cassette 9. After cutting, the wafers are taken from the first cut wafer outlet 11 or the third cut wafer outlet 13 and transmitted to the packaging section or the section from which they are transferred. Similarly, the wafers are carried in another direction by the second longitudinal cutting driver carriage 8 in the second longitudinal cutting outlet direction G or the fourth longitudinal cutting outlet direction H and cut in the second longitudinal cutting cassette 10. After cutting, the wafers are taken from the second cut wafer outlet 12 or the fourth cut wafer outlet 14 and transmitted to the packaging section or the section from which they are transferred. The first longitudinal cutting driver carriage 7 and the second longitudinal cutting driver carriage 8 are moved by chain groups arranged at the bottom. These chain groups exist in the state of the art. The details will not be given here, but will be explained in general as seen below. Similarly, the first longitudinal cutting cassette 9 and the second longitudinal cutting cassette 10 are configured by applying the wire cutting method in the state of the art or another cutting methods. There was no need to give the detailed construction.

In the wafer cutting machine of the invention, the wafers are carried by the chain groups arranged at the bottom of the main tray 1. The wafer block feeding driver group 16 is arranged in the inlet section at the bottom of the main tray 1 , the transverse cutting chain group 17 is arranged in the middle section, and the first longitudinal cutting chain group 18 and the second longitudinal cutting chain group 19 are arranged on both sides. The chain groups transmit the energy and rotational motion from an engine to the trays or movable mechanisms linearly (axially) by means of the chain mechanism. Its general construction is known in the state of the art and therefore no details will be given. However, it should not be forgotten that these chain groups are the same or similar to each other and the motor movement can be provided with the chain, belt and pulley system, screw systems (for example, rack system) or hydraulic-pneumatic systems. The basic structure and basic elements of the chain groups are shown in Fig. 10, Fig. 11 , Fig. 12, Fig. 13, Fig. 14, Fig. 15, Fig. 16, Fig. 17, Fig. 18, Fig. 19, Fig. 20 and Fig. 21. Here, the basic elements in a chain group comprises basically a chain group body 20 in which the group is carried or mounted, at least one motor 21 from which the rotational power and motion are taken, a chain wheel 22 through which the motion is transmitted from said motor to the chain, a chain 23 which receives the rotational motion from said chain wheel, converts it to the linear motion and transmits it, a movable body 24 in which the linear motion is taken from said chain and which gives the positioning area to the carriages, and the carriages 25 arranged on said movable body 24 and carrying the wafers. In the system, there are the guides 26 which are arranged on said carriages 25 and allow the wafers to move smoothly. In the system, as mentioned above, there are the cutting cassettes 27 for cutting the wafers, and the wire system which allows the cutting operation to be performed with the wire in the state of the art is preferred. There is no need to give the details about these parts here.

Industrial Application of the Invention

The wafer cutting machine of the invention basically has one inlet and four outlets as stated above. However, if desired, instead of four outlets, there may be three outlets, two outlets and one outlet. In addition, while the system is basically designed for the wafer cutting produced in the food industry, it can also be used for the similar products. Furthermore, the system can be used not only for the wafers, but also for cutting the layered food or non-food products and transporting them to the relevant packaging sections or other sections.