IES77866B2

IES77866B2 - A system and method for processing meat

Info

Publication number: IES77866B2
Authority: IE
Inventors: Joseph Carey
Original assignee: R J Res Ltd
Priority date: 1997-08-01
Filing date: 1997-08-01
Publication date: 1998-01-14
Also published as: IES970574A2; AU8745898A; EP1000319A1; WO1999006796A1

Abstract

Apparatus (1) for determining the topographical surface shape of a bulk meat product (2) comprises an infeed conveyor (7) in which the length of the bulk meat product (2) is determined. A weighing conveyor (9) weighs the bulk meat product (2), which is then transferred to a throughfeed conveyor (10) for passing the bulk meat product (2) through a scanning device (11) for scanning the circumferential surface of the bulk meat product (2) through 360 DEG transversely of the direction of movement (arrow A) of the bulk meat product (2) through the scanning device (11). The scanning device (11) comprises a hoop-shaped carrier (43) on which four ultrasonic scanning heads (45) are mounted at 90 DEG intervals to each other. A stepper motor (47) rotates the carrier (43) in incremental angular steps through 90 DEG for performing 360 DEG of scanning of the surface of the bulk meat product (2). The stepper motor (47) rotates the carrier (43) through 90 DEG in the direction of the arrow B, and then in the reverse direction of the arrow C and so on so that the bulk meat product is scanned at intervals along its length as the carrier (43) is oscillated in the direction of the arrows B and C through 90 DEG .

Description

A system and method for processing meat This invention relates to a system for selecting and processing meat.

Meat production generally involves the butchering of 5 meat into selected cuts for retail sales. Cuts can consist of joints, steaks, sliced cuts and the like. Generally, it is desired to optimise yield from meat by appropriately selecting the portions or segments of the meat which should be cut so that wastage is minimised.

In addition, customer requirements in terms of the aesthetics of the cut must also be taken into account when producing meat so that the shape of the resultant meat cut is pleasing to the eye.

Furthermore, weight requirements of customers dictate that the resultant cuts must be of the appropriate weight, thickness, etc.

In short, it is necessary for meat producers to produce cuts having fixed weights whilst maximising meat yield and arriving at an aesthetically pleasing product.

Furthermore, legislative requirements in terms of weight of product and measures must be adhered to.

In order to enhance the aesthetic appearance of meat products, the meat is frequently pressed following cutting to enhance the shape of the meat cut. However, r excessive pressing of meat can result in damage to the meat product. This problem is particularly prevalent ' in the bacon processing industry, where a product cut so as to optimise yield may require excessive pressing in dies and the like, resulting in damage to the meat product.

Heretofore, optimisation of all the aforementioned parameters has been difficult to achieve, and has been performed by simple manual cutting of meat product based on the appearance of the product and manual weighing of the product. However, such non-automated manual methods give rise to considerable risk of error where the aforementioned parameters fail to be optimised.

Accordingly, a need exists for an automated method of selecting meat to optimise the aesthetic and weight parameters of the resultant meat cuts.

An object of the invention is to overcome the problems of the prior art. ».

A further object of the invention is to provide a system for automatically selecting meat cuts.

Yet a further object of the invention is to provide a process for processing meat in which the aesthetic and weight parameters of the meat cuts are optimised.

According to the invention there is provided a system for processing meat comprising characterising means for characterising the dimensions of a meat cut.

Preferably, the characterising means comprises meat cut length measuring means. More preferably, the characterising means comprises weight determining means. Most preferably, the characterising means comprises meat cut topography determining means.

Suitably, the meat processing system further comprises a central processing unit for processing the dimensions of the meat.

Preferably, the length measuring means comprises a photo cell. Suitably, the weight determining means comprises a load cell. Preferably, the topography determining means comprises a scanner.

Suitably, the photo cell is mounted adjacent an infeed conveyor for conveying a meat cut into the system. Preferably, the load cell is disposed beneath a weighing conveyor. Suitably, the infeed conveyor and the weighing conveyor are contiguous.

Advantageously, the topography determining means further comprises a split conveyor. Suitably, the scanner is disposed over the split in the split conveyor. Preferably, the scanner is mounted on a hoop disposed about the split to scan the underside of the meat as it is passed across the split.

Advantageously, the scanner comprises four scanners disposed about the hoop. Suitably, the scanners are disposed at 90° intervals about the circle defined by the hoop.

Preferably, the hoop is rotatable by 90° in a clockwise and anti-clockwise direction.

The invention will now be described having regard to the accompanying drawings, in which; Fig. 1 is a schematic side elevation of a portion of a meat processing production line in accordance with the invention, and Fig. 2 is a schematic end elevation of the scanner * hoop surrounding a meat cut on the split conveyor of the production line of Fig. 1.

As shown in the drawings, a production line or grading system 1 in accordance with the invention is made up of an infeed conveyor 2 for feeding meat to a weighing conveyor 3 contiguous with the infeed conveyor 2. The weighing conveyor 3 in turn is contiguous with a split conveyor 4 which is split into a first part 5 and a second exit part 6 separated from the first part 5 by a gap 7 .

The weighing conveyor 3 can perform a standard conveying function, but is further provided with a load cell 9 disposed beneath the weighing conveyor 3 to weigh product on the weighing conveyor 3.

A photocell 8 is disposed above the infeed conveyor 2 at the end of the infeed conveyor 2 adjacent the weighing conveyor 3. The photocell 8 can detect a leading edge of a meat cut 13 conveyed along the infeed conveyor 2. The photocell 8 is actuated by the leading edge of the meat cut 13.

Length information is communicated to a central processing unit or computer (not shown) in which the data is stored. Detection of the length information is more fully explained below.

Similarly, the load cell 9 of the weighing conveyor 3 serves to record and register the weight of the meat cut 13 which is held stationary on the weighing conveyor 3 during weighing. As with the length data recorded by the photocell 8, the weight of the meat cut 13 recorded by the load cell 9 is communicated to the central processing unit.

The split conveyor 4 is surrounded by a scanner hoop 10 disposed perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis defined by the split conveyor 4. The scanner hoop 10 is disposed about the split conveyor 4 at the gap 7 between the first part 5 and the exit part 6 of the split conveyor 4.

The scanner hoop 10 is provided with four scanners 12 spaced 90° apart along the circumference of the scanner hoop 10. Accordingly, the scanners 12 are disposed at 90° with respect to each other.

The scanner hoop 10 is further provided with a motor 11 for rotating the scanner hoop 10 about the centre of the circle defined by the scanner hoop 10. The scanner hoop 10 is rotatable by the motor 11 by 90° so that each scanner 12 is displaceable by 90° so that the four scanners 12 in combination complete a 360° rotation about the circumference of the scanner hoop 10.

The motor 11 has an encoder on it or the shaft of the conveyor 2, so once photocell 8 detects the leading edge of the product the encoder starts to measure the distance travelled by the conveyor. When the photocell 8 sees the end of the product the encoder stops measuring. The encoder is suitably communicating directly to the computer via an interface card.

Rotation of the scanner hoop 10 is effected automatically upon passage of the meat cut 13 across the gap 7 between the first part 5 and the exit part 6 of the split conveyor 4. The scanners 12 during rotation, serve to scan the meat cut 13 to obtain a record of the topography of the meat cut 13. The gap 7 ensures that the topography of the surface of the meat cut 13 which normally rests on the conveyors is also recorded so that the entire surface topography of the meat cut 13 is determined. The topography data like the length data and the weight data recorded by the photocell 8 and the weighing conveyor 3 respectively is transmitted to the central processing unit.

The central processing unit is provided with software which, based on the length data recorded by the photocell 8, the weight data recorded by the weighing conveyor 3 and the topography recorded by the scanner hoop 10, can calculate the volume and density of the meat cut 13. Accordingly, the meat cut 13 can be characterised to determine where the meat cut 13 should be cut to optimise the dimensional, weight and aesthetic parameters of a final finished meat product.

Rotation of the scanner hoop 10 is controlled by the motor 11. Typically, the scanner hoop 10 is rotated clockwise for a first meat cut 13 by 90° and anticlockwise, by 90°, for a second meat cut 13 so that rotation of the scanner hoop 10 is only necessary by 90° per meat cut to determine the topography of the meat cut.

The motors can be a servo motor or the AC/DC type while the conveyors are suitably flat belt type driven by such motors. The dimensions of the conveyors can be varied according to the available space.

Suitable lasers are Nippon Analogue Displacement Sensors having a variable beam. The load cells can be Tedea off-centre load types while the photocell can be a standard reflective photocell.

Based on the topography, weight, density characteristics of the meat cut 13, the meat cut 13 can then be directed to an appropriate selected press or slicer to optimise or maximise yields of meat cut both aesthetically and in terms of weight of meat cut. Accordingly, the production line or grading system of the invention minimises error to optimise meat production.

Claims

1. A system for processing meat comprising characterising means for characterising the dimensions of a meat cut. 5

2. A system as claimed in Claim 1 characterised in that the characterising means comprises meat cut length measuring means, weight determining means and/or meat cut topography determining means .

3. A system as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 further 10 comprising a central processing unit for processing the dimensions of the meat.

4. A system as claimed in Claims 2 or Claim 3 characterised in that the length measuring means comprises a photo cell, the weight determining means 15 comprises a load cell and the topography determining means comprises a scanner.

5. A system as claimed in Claim 4 characterised in that the photo cell is mounted adjacent an infeed conveyor for conveying a meat cut into the system, the 20 load cell is disposed beneath a weighing conveyor and the infeed conveyor and the weighing conveyor are contiguous.