WO1994002024A1

WO1994002024A1 - Method and means for removing meat from an animal carcass

Info

Publication number: WO1994002024A1
Application number: PCT/NZ1993/000058
Authority: WO
Inventors: Neil Anton Hintz; Graham Morley Boyce; Peter Petera Waru
Original assignee: The Meat Industry Research Institute Of New Zealand (Incorporated)
Priority date: 1992-07-24
Filing date: 1993-07-21
Publication date: 1994-02-03
Also published as: NZ243718A; AU4591593A

Abstract

A method and apparatus for removing cheek meat from the head of an animal carcass. The apparatus comprises a clamp (10) for clamping the head in a stable position; cutting knives (21) for applying a cut in the cheek meat of the head and claws (13) which are engageable with the cheek meat after it has been cut and movable toapply a pulling force to the cheek meat. According to the method the pulling force is in a direction from the back of the lower jaw toward the nose.

Description

METHOD AND MEANS FOR REMOVING MEAT FROM AN ANIMAL CARCASS

This invention relates to a method and means of removing meat from an animal carcass and more particularly removal by mechanical means of the cheek meat from an animal's skull.

At present cheek meat is removed manually from an animal skull. This can typically require two slaughterman in order to achieve a 600-800 heads per day throughput for bovine. The yield of cheek meat is very much dependant on the skill of the slaughterman and therefore yield is quite often variable. Consequently at times a substantial amount of meat is left on the skull.

In a typical meat processing plant the head of the carcass is removed and placed on a hook conveyor with the head suspended by the lower jaw (chin), i.e. nose up and atlas joint down. After inspection, which requires an incision to be made at the cheeks, the cheek meat is manually removed. This involves exerting a downward pull on the cheek meat using a hand held meat hook while marking the head in strategic places with a knife, e.g. along the outside of the lower jaw bone around the eye socket etc. The meat is subsequently separated from the back of the lower jaw and despatched to the offal department for trimming and packaging.

This work is generally rated as being physically hard.

The prime object of the present invention is thus to provide a method and means of removing cheek meat from an animal's skull using mechanical means and thereby obtain a consistently higher yield than normally achieved by known manual means. Broadly in one aspect the invention provides a method of removing cheek meat from the head of an animal carcass the method comprising retaining the head in a stable position,, making cuts in the meat by mechanical means and pulling the cheek meat by mechanical means with the direction of pull being from the back of the lower jaw toward the nose.

Preferably the step of cutting is carried out using reciprocating knives controlled by robotic means.

In the preferred method the cut extends down the nose to the lower jaw and is situated just below the eye socket.

According to a second broad aspect of the invention there is provided apparatus for the removal of cheek meat from the head of an animal carcass said apparatus comprising means for retaining a suspended head in a stable position, cutting means for applying a cut to the cheek meat of the head, and pulling means arranged and operative to engage with the cheek meat and apply a pull in a direction from the back of the lower jaw toward the nose.

Preferably the cutting means comprises reciprocating knives mounted for controlled movement by robotic arms.

In the preferred form of the apparatus the pulling means comprises a claw with clamping means. Preferably there is also provided eject means for ejecting meat from said claw.

Preferably the apparatus is mounted by moving means which is movable in conjunction with the head moving along conveyor means. In the drawings:-

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the head of an animal removed from a carcass, the head being suspended from a hook conveyor with clamping and cutting means of apparatus according to the present invention in position adjacent the head prior to commencement of the method according to the present invention, Figure 2 is a similar view showing the head about to be clamped by the clamping means and prior to commencement of cutting,

Figure 3 is yet a similar view showing the skull clamped and the cutting operation commencing, Figures 4 and 5 are further views during and at completion of the cutting operation, and

Figure 6 is a further perspective view showing removal of the cheek meat taking place.

While the present invention is useful for removal of cheek meat from an animal's skull in general it is particularly applicable to a bovine skull. Thus while the following will concentrate on removal of cheek meat from a bovine skull the invention is not limited solely thereto.

According to the preferred form of the invention as illustrated the apparatus for removal of the cheek meat consists of a head clamp 10, cutting devices 12 (there being two such devices located at the right and left hand sides of the head) and (see Figure 6) pulling devices 11 with once again a pulling device being situated to each of the left and right hand sides of the head.

The head S from which the cheek meat is to be removed is suspended by a hook H of a conventional hook conveyor (not shown) . The main components of the removal apparatus as outlined above are mounted on a trolley (not shown) which traverses with the head S as it is moved by the hook conveyor. Consequently means (not shown) are provided for latching the trolley onto the hook conveyor to ensure correct alignment of the removal apparatus with the head during the entire meat removal cycle. The direction of movement of head S is shown by the arrow at the top of Figure 1. '

The head clamp 10 is located in a rest position beneath head S as shown in Figure 1 and moves upwardly as indicated to engage with the head. Head clamp 10 is hydraulically controlled as illustrated, includes a base 13 which is mounted to moving means such as the end of a piston rod 14 of an hydraulic ram. Fixed arms 15 extend upwardly at an incline from base 13 and are provided at their upper end with pins 16. Located between arms 15 at their lower end is a pivotal arm 17 movement of which is controlled by an hydraulic ram 18. At the free end of arm 17 is at least one pin 20.

The arrangement of the head clamp 10 is such that it clamps the head and holds it firmly in place during the meat removal cycle. In the preferred form it is provided with a sensing system which senses the size of the head.

The sensing system can take different forms including the use of a rising light beam which when it is broken by the lowermost part of the head causes the clamp 10 to cease its upward movement. In a preferred form, however, the base 13 of the clamp 10 carries a limit switch which upon coming into contact with the lower end of the head is tripped and causes the piston rod 14 to stop thereby resulting in the clamp being correctly positioned.

Each of cutting devices 12 consists of a pair of reciprocating knives 21. These knives are mounted on a robotic arm shown generally at 22. The robotic arm has 4 degrees freedom of motion as will hereinafter become apparent.

Each pulling device 11 (see Figure 6) consists of a claw 23 having a plurality of hook shaped spikes, fingers or prongs 30 which are positioned and configured so as to coincide with the contour of the chervk meat. In use, as described hereinafter, the prongs 30 penetrate through the cheek meat as shown in the upper portion of Figure 6.

An eject mechanism is provided so as to eject the meat from the claw 23 upon completion of the pull action. This eject mechanism consists of rods 27 and 28 which are pivotally coupled (not shown) to arm 26 and extend at their lower ends through slots 29 in claw 23. Rods 27 and 28 are able to be pivoted in a controlled manner by a linear actuator (not shown).

The aforementioned assembly is mounted on an arm 26 associated with moving means (not shown) whereby the arm 26 can move in/out and up/down.

To more fully describe the invention reference will now be made to a full operating cycle of the apparatus.

The cycle commences with the head S, suspended from the head conveyor, coming into a position whereby the trolley of the apparatus is latched onto the head conveyor. Upon the trolley becoming latched the head clamp 10 moves upwardly from its waiting position as shown in Figure 1. Upon the head clamp sensing the bottom of the head S arm 17 is actuated so that pins 16 and 20 bite into and clamp the head firmly in position (see Figure 3).

As the clamping action takes place and is completed the cutting devices 11 move in toward the head and engage same with the reciprocating knives 21 cutting the head meat just below the eye socket (see Figure 3). As a consequence of downward movement of the robotic arms 22 (as indicated by the arrows in Figure 3) the cut is straight down from the nose to the lower jaw.

At a predetermined point the knives 21 are rotated 90° (Figure 4) by arms 22. As a result the direction of the cut is changed by 90° with the knives now cutting along the back of the lower jaw bone as shown in Figure 4.

The knife orientation relative to the head is such that the cut is as close to the bone as possible. With the cut completed (Figure 5) the knives are moved out of the way by arms 22 in order for the claws 23 to come into engagement with the head.

The aforementioned predetermined point at which the knives rotate can be determined by different means. However, in a preferred form a limit switch carried by at least one knife assembly contacts with the clamp 10 (which has previously been positioned relative to the length of the head) and tripping of the switch(es) causes the arms 22 to rotate the knives.

Each claw 23 is moved by arm 26 from a wait position to a position just below the cheek meat with prongs 30 of the claw just touching the bone. As with the knives 21 the claws 23 sense the position of the clamp by a limit switch or switches coming into contact with the clamp. When the limit switch is tripped the downward movement of the arm 26 ceases whereby the claws are in correct position for engagement with the cheek meat.

The claws then commence their meat removal action by arm 26 moving upwardly (Figure 6) which (because movement of claw 23 away from the head is restricted) causes prongs 30 to engage through the meat. The claw continues its upward movement and the pulling action which is set up results in separation of the meat from the bone. When the upward pull is completed and the meat thereby completely separated from the skull claw 23 moves out away from the head.

Preferably one of prongs 30 is longer than the others such that the tip of the longer prong projects beyond the tips of the other prongs. This longer prong is so positioned that it runs along the jaw of the head whereby it acts as a guide and prevents the other prongs digging in.

The meat is then ejected from the claw using the eject mechanism. This occurs by rods 27 and 28 being pivoted so that they move upwardly toward arm 26 with the result that the free ends of the rods which extend through slots 29 engage with the meat and push the meat off prongs 30. Generally the meat will drop into a chute (not shown) whereupon it can be conveyed to the trimming and packaging area.

Upon completion of the cycle the trolley becomes unlatched from the head conveyor and returns to its start position to await arrival of the next head. At this start position the knives and claws are washed (preferably inside a suitably located cabinet) in order to prevent excessive build up of meat and fat tissue.

The present invention thus provides a method and an apparatus for bringing the method into effect whereby the cheek meat is pulled off in a direction opposite to that normally used in a traditional manual system. As a consequence reliable performance and consistent results are achieved.

The cheek meat removal process is thus achievable automatically via mechanical means which removes the physical hard work normally associated with head processing. Accordingly a reduction in labour costs is reflected in reduced processing costs. Other benefits achieved from the method and means according to the present invention include more consistency in yield leading to an increase in revenue from the cheek meat and improved hygiene with associated longer shelf life of the meat.

Claims

CLAIMS :

1. A method of removing cheek meat from the head of an animal carcass the method comprising retaining the head in a stable position, making cuts in the meat by mechanical means and pulling the cheek meat by mechanical means with the direction of pull being from the back of the lower jaw toward the nose.

2. The method according to Claim 1 wherein the step of cutting is carried out using reciprocating knives controlled by robotic means.

3. The method according to Claim 1 or 2 wherein the cut extends down the nose to the lower jaw and is situated just below the eye socket.

4. The method according to any one of Claims 1 to 3 wherein the head is retained in a position where the nose is uppermost.

5. The method according to any one of Claims 1 to 4 wherein the mechanical pull is applied by hook shaped prongs which engage in the cheek meat at the back of the lower jaw.

6. Apparatus for the removal of cheek meat from the head (S) of an animal carcass said apparatus being characterized by means (10) for retaining a suspended head in a stable position, cutting means (12) for applying a cut in the cheek meat of the head, and pulling means (13) arranged and operative to engage with the cheek meat and apply a pull in a direction from the back of the lower jaw toward the nose.

7. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 6 wherein the cutting means (12) comprises reciprocating knives (21) mounted for controlled movement by robotic arms (22).

8. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 6 or 7 wherein the pulling means (13) comprises a claw (23) having a plurality of hook shaped prongs (30), said claw (23) being carried by an arm (26) which is movable relative to the head (S) .

9. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 6, 7 or 8 further including eject means (27,28) associated with the pulling means.

10. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 6 or 7 wherein the pulling means (13) comprises a claw (23) having a plurality of spaced apart prongs (30) and in this is included eject means formed by rods (27,28) which locate between adjacent prongs (30) and are movable to engage with cheek meat engaged on the prongs to eject the cheek meat from the prongs.

11. Apparatus as claimed in any one of Claims 6 to 10 wherein the retaining means (10) comprises a clamp formed by a first arm or arms (15) and at least one second arm (17) said first and second arms being locatable either side of the head and having engagement means (16,20) which upon relative movement between the arms (15,17) engage with the head and clamp same.

12. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 11 wherein said engagement means are a plurality of spikes (16,20), said first arm(s) being fixedly mounted and said second arm(s) being movable relative thereto by moving means (is).

13. Apparatus as claimed in any one of Claims 6 to 12 wherein the retaining means (10), cutting means (11) and pulling means (13) are mounted with a trolley which is coupleable with a conveyor which suspends the head (S) and along which the head is conveyed.

14. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 13 wherein the retaining means (10) is mounted by control means (14) whereby the retaining means can move relative to the head, there being sensing means which sense the size of the head for positioning of the retaining means prior to it engaging with and retaining the head.

15. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 8 or any one of Claims 9 to 14 when appendant to Claim 8 wherein the end of one prong projects beyond the ends of the other prongs.

16. Apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims wherein the cutting means is constructed and arranged such that the cut resulting therefrom extends down the nose to the lower jaw and is situated just below the eye socket of the head.