Boning tool assembly

Abstract

This invention relates to a deboning tool assembly, comprising: a body portion; a pivot portion rotatably disposed on the front side of the body portion in a left-right direction; and a tool portion connected to the front end of the pivot portion, wherein the tool portion can move along the contour of the bone even when the position of the bone inside the carcass changes in real time via the pivot portion. According to this invention, even when the position of the bone changes in real time due to pressure from the tool portion during deboning of the carcass, the tool portion can be pressed tightly against the outer surface of the bone and moved along the contour of the bone via the pivot portion, thereby achieving precise deboning. This prevents incomplete separation of bone and meat, increasing meat yield and maintaining a certain level of deboning quality. This invention was developed with financial resources from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Livestock Products and Food, supported by the High Value Added Food Technology Development Project of the Agricultural, Forestry and Food Technology Planning and Evaluation Institute (321052-5).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a cutter module for debonding, and more specifically, to a cutter module that enables precise debonding even when the bone position changes in real time due to pressure from the cutter during carcass debonding, allowing the cutter to be pressed against the outer surface of the bone and moved along the contour of the bone via a pivot, thereby achieving precise debonding. Background Technology

[0002] As society develops, meat consumption is also increasing. In order to provide consumers with this meat, the bone-removing process must first be carried out to separate the bones from the meat.

[0003] This deboning process typically involves the operator using a knife to cut the meat along the bone. The deboning speed varies greatly depending on the operator's experience and skill, resulting in significant differences in meat yield and ultimately inconsistent deboning quality.

[0004] Therefore, there is an urgent need for a deboning device that does not depend on the operator's skill level and can automatically debone the bones, thereby maintaining a certain deboning quality for a short period of time.

[0005] Therefore, devices that can automatically perform bone removal are currently under development.

[0006] Therefore, various devices that can automatically perform deboning operations have been developed. Korean Patent No. 10-1693585 discloses a deboning device for livestock carcasses that uses X-rays to confirm the position of bones. This device uses X-rays to confirm the position of bones and moves the blade based on the position to perform deboning.

[0007] In the aforementioned Korean Patent No. 10-1693585, the position of the bones inside the carcass is confirmed by X-ray, and the knife is moved based on the confirmed position information to automatically cut the meat around the bones.

[0008] In addition, for the carcass, since there are fascia and tendons between the bone and the meat that are not easy to cut, the cutting path needs to be set slightly inside the bone than the outline of the bone during the deboning process. In this way, pressure can be applied to the bone by the knife to achieve complete deboning.

[0009] At this point, the position of the bone being pressed by the blade may change in real time inside the carcass. Korean Patent No. 10-1693585 states that, given the real-time change in the position of the bone as described above, a reliable deboning operation cannot be performed.

[0010] Prior art literature

[0011] Patent documents

[0012] (Patent Document 1) Korean Patent No. 10-1693585 (Village Deboning Device for Animals Using X-ray to Confirm Bone Location, 2017.01.06)

[0013] (Patent Document 2) Korean Patent No. 10-2431082 (Bone Removal Assist Device, 2022.08.10) Summary of the Invention

[0014] Technical issues

[0015] The present invention was proposed to solve the above-mentioned problems. The purpose of the present invention is that even when the position of the bone changes in real time due to the pressure of the blade part during the deboning operation, the deboning tool assembly can keep the blade part close to the outer surface of the bone and move along the contour of the bone through the pivot part, thereby performing a precise deboning operation.

[0016] Technical solution

[0017] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides a bone-removing tool assembly, characterized in that it comprises: a body portion; a pivot portion disposed on the front side of the body portion in a manner rotatable in the left-right direction, and applying an elastic restoring force in the opposite direction of rotation while rotating in one direction; and a tool portion coupled to the front end of the pivot portion, wherein the tool portion can be closely attached to the outer surface of the bone and move along the contour of the bone even when the position of the bone inside the body changes in real time via the pivot portion.

[0018] The pivot portion is rotatable to the left and right and is located on the front side of the main body. The pivot portion includes: a pivot block with a cutting tool attached to its front end; a support plate with its rear end attached to one side of the main body and its front end extending along the front of the main body; and elastic members, each with its lower end attached to both sides of the pivot block and its upper end attached to the bottom surface of the front end of the support plate corresponding to both sides of the pivot block. When the elastic member is compressed towards the support plate due to the rotation of the pivot block, an elastic restoring force is applied in the opposite direction to the support plate; when stretched in the opposite direction to the support plate, an elastic restoring force is applied towards the support plate.

[0019] Invention Effects

[0020] According to the present invention as described above, even if the position of the bone changes in real time due to the pressure of the blade during the deboning operation of the carcass, the blade can be made to fit closely to the outside of the bone and move along the contour of the bone through the pivot part, thereby achieving a precise deboning operation. As a result, there will be no problem of incomplete separation of bone and meat, which not only increases the yield of meat, but also maintains a certain deboning quality. Attached Figure Description

[0021] Figure 1 This is a perspective view of a bone-removing tool assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 2 This is an exploded perspective view of a bone-removing tool assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 3 This is a front view schematic diagram of a bone-removing tool assembly shown to illustrate the function of an elastic member according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 4a as well as Figure 4b This is a schematic diagram illustrating the operation of a boning tool assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures

[0026] 1: Boning tool assembly 10: Body part

[0027] 11: Mounting bracket 11a: Substrate

[0028] 11b: Extension plate; 11c: Reinforcing plate

[0029] 12: Installation Block

[0030] 20: Pivot section 21: Pivot block

[0031] 21a: Cut-out portion; 21b: Mounting surface

[0032] 21c: Support protrusion; 22: Support plate

[0033] 23: Elastic component; 30: Cutting tool section

[0034] 31: Mounting plate 32: Cutting tool Detailed Implementation

[0035] The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the same constituent elements in the drawings are shown with the same reference numerals wherever possible. Furthermore, detailed descriptions of well-known functions and structures that may unnecessarily confuse the spirit of the invention are omitted.

[0036] Figure 1This is a perspective view of a bone-removing tool assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 This is an exploded perspective view of a bone-removing tool assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 This diagram illustrates the function of the elastic member by showing a frontal view of a bone-removing tool assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0037] refer to Figures 1 to 3 According to an embodiment of the present invention, a deboning tool assembly 1 moves along the contour of the bone inside the carcass and performs deboning operations, including a body part 10, a pivot part 20 and a tool part 30.

[0038] The main body 10 is located at the front end of the drive unit to provide a mounting area for the pivot unit 20, and includes a mounting bracket 11 and a mounting block 12. The drive unit, which is not shown, can be a multi-joint robotic arm.

[0039] The mounting bracket 11 includes: a base plate 11a, which is attached to the front end of the drive unit; an extension plate 11b, the rear end of which is attached to the front side of the base plate 11a, and the front end of which extends horizontally along the front of the base plate 11a; and a reinforcing plate 11c, which is disposed vertically at the lower part of the extension plate 11b, the rear end of which is attached to the lower front end of the base plate 11a, and the upper end of which is attached to the bottom surface of the extension plate 11b.

[0040] Mounting block 12 is generally rectangular in shape, fixedly mounted on the upper surface of the front end of extension plate 11b, and provides a mounting area for pivot portion 20.

[0041] The pivot portion 20 is rotatably disposed on the front side of the body portion 10 in the left and right directions on the pivot. Even if the bones inside the body undergo real-time positional changes due to the pressure of the cutter portion 30 (described later), the pivot portion 20 can still move the cutter portion 30 along the contour of the bone. The pivot portion 20 includes a pivot block 21, a support plate 22, and a pair of elastic members 23.

[0042] The pivot block 21 is generally cylindrical, with its rear end inserted into the front side of the mounting block 12 so as to be rotatable in the left and right direction, and its front end extending along the front of the mounting block 12.

[0043] Then, the pivot block 21 has a mounting surface 21b formed in the vertical direction at the front end through a cut 21a formed on one side of the front end, and a pair of support protrusions 21c are formed on the opposite sides of the front end behind the mounting surface 21b in the outward direction.

[0044] Among them, a pair of support protrusions 21c provide areas for fixed mounting of the lower ends of each of the pair of elastic members 23, which will be described later.

[0045] The rear end bottom surface of the support plate 22 is attached to one side of the upper surface of the mounting block 12, and the front end extends along the front of the mounting block 12. The extended front end is arranged side by side with the extension plate 11b.

[0046] This support plate 22 provides areas for the upper ends of a pair of elastic members 23, which will be described later, to be fixedly mounted on both sides of the bottom surface of the front end corresponding to a pair of support protrusions 21c.

[0047] The lower ends of each pair of elastic components 23 are connected to each support protrusion 21c, and the upper ends are connected to both sides of the bottom surface of the front end of the support plate 22, thereby limiting the rotation radius of the pivot block 21 to a certain angle. At the same time, when the pivot block 21 rotates to one side, an elastic restoring force is applied to the pivot block 21 in the opposite direction of rotation.

[0048] More specifically, such as Figure 3 As shown, for a pair of elastic components 23, when the pivot block 21 rotates to one side by a certain angle, the elastic component 23, which is compressed towards the support plate 22, will apply an elastic restoring force in the stretching direction in order to return to its original state, that is, in the opposite direction of the support plate 22.

[0049] Additionally, the elastic member 23, which is stretched in the opposite direction to the support plate 22, applies an elastic restoring force in the direction of compression in order to return to the original state, i.e., in the direction of the support plate.

[0050] As described above, the pivot portion 20, through the pivot block 21 rotatably mounted on the mounting block 12 and a pair of elastic members 23 that limit the rotation angle of the pivot block 21 in one direction while applying an elastic restoring force in the opposite direction of rotation, enables the cutting tool portion 30 to be in close contact with the outer surface of the bone and to move easily along the contour of the bone even if the position of the bone inside the body changes.

[0051] The cutting tool 30 performs bone removal while moving along the contour of the bones inside the carcass. The cutting tool 30 includes a mounting plate 31 and a cutting tool 32.

[0052] Mounting plate 31 is generally formed in the shape of a plate-like disc, with one side of its rear end attached to the mounting surface 21b of pivot block 21 so as to be arranged in a direction perpendicular to support plate 22, and its front end extending forward.

[0053] The cutting tool 32 is a plate-shaped component of a certain length. Its rear end is connected to the front end of the mounting plate 31 and is arranged in the same direction as the mounting plate 31. It has a cutting edge formed at the bottom.

[0054] With the structure described above, in the process of deboning according to an embodiment of the present invention, when the cutting edge of the blade 32 of the blade section 30 applies pressure to the bone inside the body, even if the pivot block 21 is rotated to the direction outside the bone, the cutting edge of the blade 32 can be kept close to the outside of the bone by the elastic member 23 that applies an elastic restoring force to the pivot block 21 in the opposite direction of rotation. Therefore, even if the position of the bone inside the body changes in real time during the deboning process, the blade 32 can move precisely along the contour of the bone.

[0055] The operation of a bone-removing tool assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0056] Figure 4a as well as Figure 4b This is a schematic diagram illustrating the operation of a boning tool assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0057] As explained in the background section above, in the case of a carcass, since there are fascia and tendons between the bone and the meat that are different from the meat and are not easy to cut, it is necessary to set the cutting path in the deboning operation to be closer to the inside of the bone than the outline of the bone, so that the cutting blade can press the bone to perform a reliable deboning operation.

[0058] Therefore, during the deboning process, such as Figure 4a As shown, when the blade presses down on the bones inside the carcass, bone B inside the carcass will frequently change position.

[0059] Therefore, the present invention, through the structure described above, such as Figure 4b As shown, in order to perform the deboning operation, when the blade 32 of the blade section 30 presses against the outside of the bone inside the body, in order to move along the contour of the bone, the lower part of the blade 32, which has a cutting edge, will rotate a certain angle towards the outside of the bone via the pivot block 21 of the pivot section 20.

[0060] At this time, in this invention, the elastic member 23 compressed by the pivot block 21 will apply an elastic restoring force in the stretching direction in order to return to its original state, and the elastic member 23 stretched will apply an elastic restoring force in the compression direction in order to return to its original state.

[0061] As a result, the pivot block 21, which rotates outward from the bone, generates a force in the opposite direction of rotation, i.e., in close contact with the bone, thereby keeping the lower part of the blade 32, which has a cutting edge, in close contact with the outer surface of the bone during the deboning operation.

[0062] With the pivot portion 20 as described above, even if the position of the bone changes in real time, the tool 32 according to the present invention can be moved along the contour of the bone in a state of close contact with the outer surface of the bone, while performing a precise deboning operation.

[0063] As described above, in the deboning process of the carcass, the present invention uses the pivot part to move the lower part of the blade with the cutting edge along the contour of the bone in a state of close contact with the outer surface of the bone, thereby achieving a precise deboning operation. As a result, the problem of incomplete separation of bone and meat will not occur, which not only increases the meat yield but also maintains a certain deboning quality.

[0064] While the invention has been described in connection with the preferred embodiments, various modifications or variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the appended claims should cover these modifications or variations that fall within the spirit of the invention.

Claims

1. A knife assembly for deboning, characterized in that Comprise: a body portion; a pivot portion comprising: a pivot block provided at a front side of the body portion in a manner rotatable in left and right directions; a support plate whose rear end portion is joined to one side of the body portion and whose front end portion is formed by extending along the front of the body portion; a pair of elastic members whose lower end portions are respectively joined to both sides of the pivot block and whose upper end portions are respectively joined to the bottom side of the front end portion of the support plate corresponding to both sides of the pivot block, which apply elastic restoring force in the opposite direction of the support plate when compressed in the direction of the support plate due to rotation of the pivot block and which apply elastic restoring force in the direction of the support plate when stretched in the opposite direction of the support plate; a knife portion joined to the front end portion of the pivot portion, the pivot portion, when performing a deboning operation, rotates the knife portion by a certain angle in the opposite direction of the bone when the knife portion contacts a bone inside a carcass and applies pressure in the opposite direction of rotation so as to adhere to the outer surface of the bone.

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