Apparatus for sizing elongated food pieces

Abstract

Apparatus for sizing a mix of randomly sized food pieces into chunks of a predetermined maximum length. The apparatus includes a carrier drum and a cutting drum mounted on parallel shafts which are interconnected for rotation in opposing directions. The carrier drum has a plurality of parallel longitudinal bars mounted equidistant around the periphery of the drum, spaced apart a distance equal to the desired maximum length of the food chunks. The cutting drum carries a plurality of elongated cutting blades mounted parallel to the longitudinal bars on the carrier drum and spaced apart the same distance as the longitudinal bars. The drums are aligned so that upon rotation of the drums the blades cooperate with the longitudinal bars to cut elongated food pieces carried on the surface of the bars into the nip between the drums, without striking against the bars. A conveyor mounted adjacent the carrier drum delivers a mix of randomly sized food pieces onto the carrier drum, with the longitudinal axes of the elongated pieces in the mix being aligned so that the elongated pieces are deposited on the longitudinal bars of the rotating carrier drum perpendicular to the axes of the bars and are carried into the nip between the counter rotating drum where they are cut to a desired length.