AU654294B2

AU654294B2 - Apparatus for the removal of bone

Info

Publication number: AU654294B2
Application number: AU86748/91A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Steven John Leo Besley; David Ronald Chadwick; John Francis Curtain; Warren James Jenkins; Warren Paul Jones; Grant Michael Mccarthy; Weng Yew Ng; Gordon Wickham
Original assignee: NEW ZEALAND MEAT IND RES INST
Current assignee: Meat Industry Research Institute Of New Zealand Incorporated
Priority date: 1990-10-24
Filing date: 1991-10-24
Publication date: 1994-11-03
Anticipated expiration: 2011-10-24
Also published as: AU8674891A; NZ235820A

Description

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AUSTRALIA

P/00/011 2815/91 Regulation 3.2(2) Patents Act 1990 6-54294

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Application Number: Lodged: Invention Title: APPARATUS FOR THE REMOVAL OF BONE The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us I IlLr

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:i! 2 This invention relates to an apparatus for the removal of bone from a part of an animal carcass. More particularly the apparatus according to the present invention is intended primarily for the chine and feather bone removal operation on a rack saddle taken from an animal carcass.

There are known machines whereby meat can be mechanically removed from the or part of an animal carcass. Such machines reduce the labour intensive manual operations which have traditionally been used to remove meat from bone. For example in our Australian Patent Specification 53253/90 there is described tc apparatus for removal of meat from a loin. Apparatus of this type has provided a useful means of removing whole tissue meat from bone in an efficient manner. In particular the apparatus of Patent Specification 53253/90 provides for clean and high yield removal of whole tissue meat in the saddle region of the carcass thereby resulting in high quality whole tissue boneless meat able to command premium prices.

However, another high quality cut of meat is the french rib which requires that some of the bone remain with the tissue. The chine and feather bone removal operation is one which is conventionally carried ilult manually and thereby is a labour intensive operation. Therefore is such an operation is to be carried out mechanically it apparatus is required which can process bone bearing meat such that some of the bone remains with the meat.

Unlike the known types of apparatus referred to above the apparatus has the end result of effectively removing only unwanted bone from the tissue.

Broadly therefore in one aspect the present invention t consists of apparatus for removing bone from whole- Ji~ tissue meat. of a part of an animal carcass, the ~sa o o 0a 0000 0000 or, 0o 0 0 o o o 0 0 0 a o 0 eoo 0 0r o 0000 t t *0 apparatus comprising support means for support of bone bearing meat to be processed by said apparatus, cutting means engageable with said meat supported by said support means, and a guide arrangement engageable with the carcass part to provide correct orientation thereof prior to engagement with said cutting means, said guide arrangement including a first guide means for engagement with bone contained in said carcass part and spaced therefrom a second guide means for engagement with tissue means for causing relative movement between said support means and said cutting means, the cutting means being arranged and operative to cut meat and bone such that a portion of bone can be removed from the meat.

According to a second broad aspect of the invention there is provided a method of removing bone from wholetissue meat of a part of an animal carcass, said methbd comprising the steps of placing the part of the carcass on a support, mechanically causing relative movement between said support, mechanical cutting means and guides which engage with the ribs and tissue carried by said ribs such as to stabilise the rack saddle during movement thereof whereby said mechanical cutting means forms cuts in said meat and bone to permit removal of bone from said part of the carcass.

In the following more detailed description of the invention according to its preferred form reference will be made to the accompanying drawings in which:- Figure 1 is an elevation view of the apparatus, Figure 2 is an end view of the apparatus when viewed from the operators console end thereof (the console not being shown in the interests of clarity), Figure 3 is a more detailed elevation view of the knife and saw assembly of the apparatus, ,r ir *r 0* 0a 0 00 0000 o 0o oeo ooro o 0 o 0o0 0 or o o o oo Qtct s t 4* 00 04 I 4 Figure 4 is a cross-sectional representation of a rack saddle, Figure 5 is a section taken on line A-A of Figure 3, and Figure 6 is a section taken on line B-B of Figure 3.

The apparatus comprises a base 10 within which is housed a drive motor which imparts drive to a drive chain, belt or the like coupled with the trolley 14 of a support means 15 such that the support means can be moved along a track which is within and supported by base Control gear (not shown) is housed at one end of base and an operators console 11 is supported thereby.

Extending upwardly from the other end of base 10 are uprights 12 which, in cantilevered fashion, support an overhead frame 13.

The movable support means 15 includes a vertical rack support 16 which, as more clearly shown Figures 5 and 6, includes a grooved upper edge 17. As also shown in Figures 5 and 6 the chine bones of a rack saddle can engage in and be centralised by longitudinally extending groove 17 of the rack support 16.

Located within groove 17 is a fixed pin 19 (but being mounted such as to have a degree of vertical "Ifloat") this pin being at such general height that it can engage within the spinal cord passageway P through the chine bones C.

The degree of float allows lii-lited adjustment of the height of pin 19 so as 5 to take into account different thicknesses between the spinal cord passageway P and outer periphery of the chine bones C.

Oppositely disposed to fixed pin 19 is a movable clamping pin 20. Once again pin 20 is able to engage in r Ax *11 I rt r the spinal cord passageway P. To accommodate different lengths of rack saddle pin 20 is mounted to the end of a piston rod of a pneumatiL ram 22. The longitudinal axis of the ram and piston rod is angled relative to the groove 17 so that as the piston rod is retracted pin moves downwardly relative to groove 17. This downward movement ensures that the chine bones C are correctly engaged with groove 17 as generally a shorter rack -indicates a lesser thickness between the spinal cord passageway P and the periphery of the chine bones C.

The support means 15 is shown in Figure 1 in its rest position i.e. the position in which a rack saddles would be loaded thereon. Consequently with a rack saddle in position the operator, by pressing an appropriate button on console 11, causes the drive arrangement to operate to move support means 15 toward a guide arrangement and then a cutting means as will now be described.

The guide means comprise a pair of spaced apart rib guides 23 which engage on the underside of the ribs either side of the rack support 16 (see Figures 5 and It will be appreciated that as the rack saddle merely rests on the upper edge of rack support 16 it can drop to one side if the weight distribution of the tissue, bones etc is such that the rack saddle does not evenly balahnce on the grooved edge 17. Thus the rib guides 23 ensure that the rack saddle is correctly disposed prior to engagement with the cutting means.

The guide arrangement, however, also includes a pair of rack steady members 24 which are located above the rib guides 23 and engage with the fat cover or muscle of the rack saddle. These rack steady members 24 provide a downward pressure which maintains the rack saddle on the rib guides 23 during the cutting and sawing operations as described later.

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In the preferred arrangement the rack steady members 24 are connected via a linkage to a small pneumatic cylinder 26 this pneumatic cylinder providing a downward bias to ensure that the rack steady members 24 provide the necessary down force to keep the rack saddle in correct engagement with the rib guides 23. By suitable alteration of the pneumatic pressure this downward bias can be increased or decreased as may be required though generally it is pre-set and is not altered during normal operation of the apparatus.

Located at the trailing end of the rack steady members 24 are a pair of knives 27 these knives being spaced apart so that they engage either side of the feather bones F of the rack saddle. Preferably each knife 27 has a recessed portion 27a which provides a clearance for oo the bulging portion formed by cartilage) which o exists near the upper end of the feather bones (see Figures 5 and Thus as the rack saddle is moved through the guide arrangement the knives 27 engage o a o therewith to form a cut either side and close to the uaaa O feather bones. Preferably the lower leading corner of the knife is rounded to ensure the knife (which is pivotally mounted at pivot point 27b) follows the contours of the feather bone where it merges with the chine bones.

o 9 0 e 0 Knives 27 are carried by a mounting arrangement (shown a r generally at 29) which is coupled to the piston rod of a small pneumatic ram 28. This ram, as with ram 26, provides a downward bias which thereby enables the oblades to ride along the chine bones but deflect 0000 o° upwardly upon coming in contact with any projections, size variations or deformities in the chine bones. In this way it can be ensured that the tissue is cut right down to the curved recess which exists between the small nodules of the chine bones and the lower end of the feather bones (see Figure i r 7 The rack saddle is placed on the movable support 15 with the "fore-end" of the saddle being the leading end as it approaches the guide means and the cutting means. It has been found that such orientation gives the best and most desirable yield of bone still attached to the ribs after the cutting operation.

After being cut by blades 27 the leading end of the rack saddle comes in contact with a pair of opposed circular saw blades 32 which are rotatably (on the longitudinal axis) carried by saw arms 30. The saw blades 32 are angled toward one another and each blade 32 is driven by a motor 31. The saw arm also carries the rib guide 23 and a saw guard 33.

As can be seen in Figure 6 the saw blades 32 are angled o: so that they cut through the chine bones to approximately the point where the feather bones merge with the chine bones. The saw blades are provided with .00 a set which determines that in operation the amount of o 0: deflection of the blades during the cutting process is 1 so ccGtrolled that a taper cut along the length of the a 41! chine bones is achieved. Thus the required amount of bone left with the tissue is that which is desirable for a french rib. The saw blades are adjustable vertically up or down so that the thickness of chine removed can be adjusted.

Located closely adjacent the saw blades 32 are deflectors 34. Each deflector has a first or leading portion 34a which is basically parallel and the same width apart, to the corresponding blade 27 and a second or angled portion 34b which angles outwardly away from the line of travel of the rack support i6. Thus as the cutting operation is completed the whole-tissue meat with the ribs and a small portion of the chine bone still attached are deflected away so as to fall into trays 37 (see Figure 2).

8 This leaves the remainder of the chine bones and feather bones still located with groove 17. Thus the jaws of a "pick and place" mechanism 35 can engage with the feather bones so that the bone can be lifted away from the rack support 16 and, after the gripping mechanism has been moved along track 36, dropped into a disposal bin, chute or the like.

The bone removal operation having been completed the support mechanism 15 is returned to its "rest" position to complete the operating cycle and be ready for the mounting of a further rack saddle prior to the next processing operation being carried out.

The apparatus according to the present invention thus provides an effective mechanical means of cutting bone from a part of an animal carcass so that there remains whole tissue meat with part of the bone still attached.

Thus as described herein a chine and feather bone removal operation can be readily and efficiently carried out by use of the apparatus. Even though the apparatus as described herein has been described primarily in connection with a chine and feather bone removal operation apparatus incorporating the present invention can be used for other "boning" operations.

As shown in Figures 4,5 and 6 the rack saddle is preprocessed so that tissue and fat is removed from the j outer portions of and between the ribs. This preprocessing is known as "rib frenching". This operation can be carried out either manually or mechanically. If carried out mechanically then such mechanical removal of the tissue and fat from the ribs can be effected after the rack saddle has been mounted with the support means 15 but prior to either engagement with the guide arrangement or commencement of the S cutting operation.

-i -j 4: 9 If carried out manually rib frenching is effected before loa, i:mg the rack ~add1e onto the rack support 16.

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Claims

1. Apparatus for removing bone f rom a part of an aninal carcass, the apparatus comprising support means for support of the carcass part, means for retaining the carcass part to the support means, cutting means engageable with the carcass part retained on said support means, means for causing relative movement between said support means and said cutting means, and a guide arrangement engageable with the carcass part to provide correct orientation thereof prior to engagement with said cutting means, said guide arrangement 0: including a first guide means for engagement with bone contained in said carcass part and spaced therefrom a second guide means for engagement with tissue, said cutting means being arranged and operative to cut meat and bone longitudinally with respect to the direction of relative movement such that a portion of bone can be removed from the carcass part. o2. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the cutting 00, means includes knife means located such that upon the carcass part being engaged by said guide means it can *0000 0engage with and cut tissue immediately adjacent bone to 999 0000 which said tissue is connected. 9 0 9 09 9 06 0 1)

3. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 2 wherein the knife means includes a recessed portion to provide a clearance for any bone protuberEance and/or cartilage,

4. Apparatus as claimer! in any one of Claims 1 to 3 further including deflector means located adjacent the cutting means to facilitate separation of the portion of bone to be removed from the remainder of the carcass part. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the Aretaining means includes longitudinally extending 0 locating neans with which the chine bone of a rack saddle from an animal carcass can be engaged and pinning means to prevent longitudinal movement of the rack saddle relative to the locating means.

6. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 5 wherein said first guide means is located such as to engage with the ribs of the rack saddle and the second guide means is located such as to engage with the fat cover and/or muscle carried by said ribs.

9. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 5 or 6 wherein the cutting means includes a pair of knives which are spaced apart and are engageable either side of the feather bone of the rack saddle during said relative movement. 8. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 5, 6 or 7 wherein the cutting means includes a pair of circular saw blades driven by drive means, said saw blades being spaced apart but angled toward each other such as to make convergent cuts through the chine bone toward substantially the point where the feather bone merges with the chine bone. 9. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 8 wherein the saw blades are provided with a set such that in operation the amount of deflection of the blades is controlled to provide a taper cut along the length of the rack saddle. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 8 or 9 wherein deflectors are located adjacent to but rearward of each saw blade, each deflector having a leading portion which is substantially parallel to the feather bones and a trailing portion which angles away from the direction of relative movement of the support means and cutting means.

11. Apparatus for removing bone substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 'r 0 UA4r'- -I 12]..

12. A method of removing bone from a part of an animal carcass, said method comprising the steps of placing the carcass part on a support and mechanically retaining the carcass part thereon, and mechanically causing relative movement between said support, mechanical cutting means and guides which engage with the ribs and tissue carried by said ribs such as to stabilise the rack saddle during movement thereof whereby said mechanical cutting means forms cuts in said meat and bone in a longitudinal direction with respect to the direction of relative movement to permit removal of a portion of bone from said carcass part. il 13. The method according to Claim 12 wherein the carcass par is a rack saddle, the method including causing a cut -to be made along each side of the feather bone down to the chine bone and cutting said chine bone to substantially the point at which the feather bone merges into said chine bone such as to remove at least a portion of the chine bone, said cut along each side of the feather bone being made in advance of the cutting of the chine bone.

14. The method according to Claim 13 wherein the cut in the chine bone is formed by cutting blades which are angled toward each other. A method of removing part of the chine bone of a rack saddle substantially as herein described. DATED this 28th day of July, 1994 ;"THE MEAT INDUSTRY RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF NEW ZEALAND (INCORPORATED) WATERMARK PATENT TRADEMARK ATTORNEYS THE ATRIUM 290 BURWOOD ROAD HAWTHORN VICTORIA 3122 AUSTRALIA 0