Abstract: An apparatus for slicing food products includes a product feed which feeds a product to be sliced along a product feed direction through a cutting plane in which at least one cutting blade moves. The position of the cutting blade is adjustable relative to the product. A control unit is provided which is designed to automatically adjust the position of the cutting blade for the optimization of the blade wear.

Abstract: An apparatus for preparing portions of products, in particular food products, conveyed by means of a product conveyor, includes a plurality of robots which each define a working region. A first robot serves to sort the conveyed products in accordance with a sorting criterion. At least one second robot serves to pick up sorted products from the product conveyor and to place them down at a placement location in order to prepare a product portion satisfying a target criterion at the placement location.

Abstract: An apparatus for slicing food products includes a product feed which is configured to convey at least one product along a direction of advance through a cutting plane in which at least one cutting blade moves, in particular in a rotational and/or orbital manner, to cut slices from the product, wherein a spacing can be established between the cutting blade and the product for a blank cut phase in which the cutting blade continues to move, but does not cut any slices from the product in so doing. The product feed is configured to continue to convey the product along the direction of advance during the blank cutting phase.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for speed optimizing a robot which is configured to carry out a plurality of product transfer procedures which follow one another and in which products are transferred from a pick-up region into a placement region, wherein at least one first transfer procedure is repeatedly carried out at which a first kind of product is picked up at a first predetermined pick-up location of the pick-up region and is placed down at a first predetermined placement location of the placement region, in which method an upper limit for the permitted kinematic load on the robot is defined and the speed at which the first transfer procedure is carried out is increased, starting from a starting speed at which the resulting kinematic load on the robot is in any case below the defined upper limit, during a teaching phase on every repetition of the first transfer procedure up to an ideal working speed at which the resulting kinematic load corresponds at least approximately to the defined upper limit.

Abstract: The invention relates to an apparatus for slicing food products, in particular to high-performance slicers, having a product feed, at least one cutting blade which rotates about a blade axis and/or orbits a center axis in a planetary manner and to which at least one product to be sliced can be fed in a product feed direction and having an adjustment device for the cutting blade with which the cutting blade is movable between a cutting position and an additional function position, wherein the cutting blade is coupled to the adjustment device at a first region and to a guide at a second region, and wherein the adjustment movement of the cutting blade is fixed by an exciter movement of the adjustment device and by the guide.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for setting the cutting gap on a cutting device for cutting food products. According to said method, the actual distance between the blade and the cutting edge is first determined and a desired distance between the blade and the cutting edge is subsequently set by an electric repositioning device, taking into consideration said actual distance.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a scanning device for determining at least partial cross-sectional profiles of food products to be sliced in accordance with the light cutting process, having at least one illumination device for generating a light line on the surface of a product and having at least one detection device for taking images of the product surface including the light line, wherein the illumination device includes at least one light source which is configured to generate a light beam propagating in the direction of a scanning region for the product in a scanning plane and widening in so doing and includes an optically effective device which is arranged in the propagation path of the widening light beam and which is configured to counter the divergence of at least some of the incident light.

Abstract: A robot includes a kinematic mechanism and an end effector coupled to the kinematic mechanism for transferring products, in particular food products. The end effector is automatically cleaned on the satisfaction of a cleaning criterion.

Abstract: An apparatus for transferring products, e.g. food products, from a pick-up region into a placement region includes a conveying device to convey the products into the pick-up region after one another in a conveying direction and at least one first and one second robot which are arranged spaced apart from one another when viewed in the conveying direction in the environment of the conveying device and which each include a robot base and an end effector movable relative to the robot base for picking up and placing down the products. The spacing between the robot base of the first robot and the robot base of the second robot can be set.

Abstract: The invention relates to an apparatus for slicing food products, in particular to a high-performance slicer, comprising a product feed, at least one cutting blade which rotates about a blade axis and/or orbits a center axis in a planetary manner and to which at least one product to be sliced can be fed in a product feed direction and having an adjustment device for the cutting blade with which the cutting blade is movable in an adjustment direction, with the blade axis and/or the center axis of the cutting blade being inclined with respect to the horizontal during the slicing and with the adjustment direction of the cutting blade extending obliquely to the blade axis and/or to the center axis of the cutting blade.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an apparatus for slicing food products, in particular to high-performance slicers, having a product feed which is made to feed at least one product to a cutting plane in which at least one cutting blade moves, in particular in a rotating and/or orbiting manner, for cutting slices from the product, wherein the cutting blade is pivotally mounted and is pivotable for carrying out at least one additional function, in particular for carrying out blank cuts, for setting a cutting gap and/or for the vertical or dipping depth setting such that the spacing between the cutting blade and a reference plane which extends parallel to the cutting plane or coincides with the cutting plane is changed and in this process the cutting blade remains parallel to the cutting plane or departs from a parallel alignment.

Abstract: An apparatus for the slicing of food products has a product feeder which includes a plurality of belt conveyors arranged parallel next to one another. The belt conveyors each include an elastic endless belt serving as a product support for a product to be sliced and they are drivable together in order simultaneously to feed a plurality of products which each lie on one of the belts to a cutting plane in which a cutting blade moves. The belt conveyors have a common drive with a drive shaft. For the setting of an individual single conveying speed for each belt conveyor, a respective setting apparatus is associated with them which is made to individually change the degree of stretching of the belt.

Abstract: An apparatus for the slicing of food products has a product feeder which includes a plurality of belt conveyors arranged parallel next to one another. The belt conveyors each include an endless belt serving as a product support for a product to be sliced and they are drivable together in order simultaneously to feed a plurality of products which each lie on one of the belts to a cutting plane in which a cutting blade moves. The belt conveyors have a common drive with a drive shaft. For the setting of an individual single conveying speed for each belt conveyor, a respective setting apparatus is associated with them which is made to individually change the running diameter of the drive shaft in the region of the belt.

Abstract: The invention relates to a device, in particular a high-power slicing device, for slicing a food product in accordance with a selected slicing programme. Said slicing device comprises a process control and several components that can be mounted in or onto the device in accordance with the selected slicing programme. Said components respectively have a coding that clearly identifies the component and detection means for detecting the coding of a component that is mounted in or onto the device. Said detection means is connected to the process control which can determine from the detected coding whether the component has been mounted in accordance with the selected slicing programme.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for skinning sausages or other food products, wherein an initial cut is made on a front end of said sausage, particularly in the region of an end-side tapering of the sausage, the skin is grabbed in the region of the initial cut at two points located at a distance from each other in the circumferential direction by means of two gripping elements, wherein the skin is particularly pulled onto a plane in a planar manner by a first working movement, particularly onto the contact surface of the sausage, the skin is cut parallel to the longitudinal extension of the sausage starting at the initial cut in the region between the gripping elements, the skin is lifted up away from the plane by a working movement of the gripping elements, and the sausage is conveyed parallel to the longitudinal extension thereof, particularly relative to the position of the gripping elements holding the sausage in a lifted position, and the skin is thus pulled off the sausage.

Abstract: The invention relates to a measuring device (18) for determining the thickness of a layer of fat of a meat product (12) comprising a premium cut part and a layer of fat, wherein the thickness of the layer of fat is determined in a contact-free manner. The invention also relates to a device for separating the layer of fat of a meat product from a premium cut part of a meat product by means of said type of measuring device, and to a method for determining the thickness of a layer of fat of a meat product and to a method for separating a layer of fat of a meat product.

Abstract: The invention relates to a robot having delta kinematics, comprising a tool receiver which has a joint plate connected to a robot base via control arms and a drive for the rotation of a tool received by the tool receiver, said drive being fastened to the joint plate.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for the alignment of food products in which food products arriving on an input conveyor in the supply direction arrive at an alignment station at which the products are aligned and from which the aligned products arrive at an output conveyor, wherein a misalignment of the products relative to a target alignment is detected and the product is aligned as a function of the misalignment, said products being aligned by the products resting against a product support and the product support being actuated in order to perform the alignment movement, and wherein the alignment of the products is accomplished without relative movements between the products and the product support. The invention further relates to a device for the alignment of food products.

Abstract: The invention relates to a product gripper for the taking up of a product, having two vane blades, having a driving means to move the vane blades between a first position, in which the vane blades can be placed onto a support for the product to be taken up at oppositely disposed sides of the product to be taken up, and a second position, in which the vane blades are located at least partly beneath the product to be taken up, and having a downholder for the fixing of the product to be taken up while the vane blades are moved beneath it, with the downholder being arranged above a vane blade plane defined by the vane blades.

Abstract: The invention relates to an apparatus for the operation of a robot having a product gripper which is designed to represent at least one approach position of the product gripper for the picking up and/or placing down of a product, in particular of a food product, as a graphical element on a display device. The apparatus is designed so that the respective graphical element can be directly displaced on the display device for the setting of the coordinates of the respective approach position, with the coordinates of the respective approach position being changed automatically in response to such a displacement of the graphical element in accordance with the displacement.