APPARATUS FOR THE TRACK INDIVIDUAL PROVISION OF SHEET MATERIAL FOR PLACING UNDERNEATH

1 . A method of placing sheet material under food product in a food processing line, comprising:

drawing-in, by a draw-in device, the sheet material from at least one material web of a plurality of material webs, wherein each of the plurality of material webs is associated with a track of a plurality of tracks of the food processing line; and

ejecting, by an ejection device, the sheet material onto at least one track of the plurality of tracks, wherein the ejection device comprises:

an ejection gap that is jointly associated with the plurality of tracks.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

separating, by a separation device, the sheet material into a plurality of individual sheets,

wherein the separation device is disposed between the draw-in device and the ejection device.

3 . The method of claim 2 ,

wherein the draw-in device comprises a draw-in gap and the separation device comprises a separation gap, and

wherein the draw-in gap, the separation gap, and the ejection gap are arranged in a common plane.

4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

responsive to detecting, by at least one sensor, a food portion on the track, drawing-in, by the draw-in device, the sheet material from a material web associated with the track.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein drawing in the sheet material comprises:

moving a draw-in shaft of the draw-in device towards a draw-in pressure unit of the draw-in device, thereby reducing a draw-in gap between the draw-in shaft and the draw-in pressure unit; and

rotating the draw-in shaft to draw-in the sheet material from a material web through the draw-in gap.

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the draw-in device and the ejection device are identical.

7 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the draw-in gap and the ejection gap are co-planar.

8 . A method of placing sheet material under food product in a food processing line, comprising:

ejecting, through an ejection gap formed by a first ejection roller and a second ejection roller of an ejection device, the sheet material onto at least one track of a plurality of tracks of the food processing line,

wherein a single ejection gap is provided for the plurality of tracks.

9 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

drawing-in, by a draw-in device, the sheet material for the at least one track; and

separating, by a separation device, the sheet material into a plurality of individual sheets, wherein the plurality of individual sheets is provided to the ejection device.

10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the sheet material and the plurality of individual sheets are conveyed through the draw-in device, the separation device, and the ejection device in a direction perpendicular to a travel direction of the plurality of tracks.

11 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

removing, by a removal device, the sheet material from at least one material web that is associated with the at least one track; and

providing the sheet material to the draw-in device.

12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein removing the sheet material comprises:

moving a first shaft of the removal device towards a second shaft of the removal device, shortening a distance of a removal gap formed between the first shaft and the second shaft; and

pressing the first shaft against the second shaft to engage the sheet material, thereby entraining the sheet material and unwinding the sheet material from a material web.

13 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the sheet material from the at least one material web is stored in a loop and wherein the method further comprises:

guiding, by a dancer roller, the sheet material to the draw-in device, wherein the dancer roller maintains a constant tension in the loop.

14 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the sheet material is stored in a loop and wherein the method further comprises:

detecting, by at least one ultrasound sensor, an amount of the sheet material in the loop; and

controlling a removal of the sheet material from a material storage based on the amount of the sheet material in the loop.

15 . The method of claim 8 , wherein ejecting the sheet material onto the at least one track comprises:

pressing the second ejection roller against the first ejection roller; and

operating the first ejection roller at a belt speed of the plurality of tracks such that a discharge speed of the sheet material is substantially equivalent to the belt speed of the plurality of tracks.

16 . A method of placing sheet material under food product in a food processing line, comprising:

drawing-in, by a draw-in module of an output unit, the sheet material for at least one track of a plurality of tracks of the food processing line; and

ejecting, by an ejection module of the output unit, a plurality of individual sheets obtained from the sheet material onto the at least one track,

wherein the draw-in module and the ejection module are each individually removable from a housing of the output unit.

17 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

separating, by a separating module of the output unit that is individually removable form the housing of the output unit, the sheet material into the plurality of individual sheets.

18 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising: wherein each of the draw-in module and the ejection module comprises a separate housing.

19 . The method of claim 16 ,

wherein the draw-in module comprises a draw-in shaft and a draw-in shaft motor for each track of the plurality of tracks, and

wherein the ejection module comprises a single ejection shaft and a single ejection shaft motor, the single ejection shaft spanning a width of the plurality of tracks.

20 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the ejection module is mechanically coupled to a product outfeed belt of the food processing line such that a first ejection speed of the plurality of individual sheets by the ejection module is synchronized with a second belt speed of the product outfeed belt.