A tail cutter for protecting and partially cutting off the tails of slaughtered animals.

Abstract

A tail cutter or tail saver capable of partially cutting off the tail of an animal carcass while a cutting device is cutting the back of the animal carcass into two halves. The tail saver is suitable for connection to a cutting device for dividing an animal carcass. The tail cutter comprises a tail knife having a longitudinal cutting blade for cutting off the tail portion at the base of the tail, and fingers connected to the tail knife, the fingers enabling the free portion of the tail to face a predetermined side of the animal carcass, the fingers being bent to the right or left relative to the longitudinal direction of the cutting blade of the tail knife, and the cutting blade of the tail knife being arranged in the same line and / or in the same plane as the cutting device when the tail knife is placed in the cutting device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a tail cutter for protecting and partially separating the tail of a slaughtered animal, such as a pig carcass, a splitting saw equipped with the tail cutter, and a method for separating the tail of a slaughtered animal. A tail protector or finger disposed in the tail cutter ensures partial separation, and the tail to be separated later includes a complete tail or a complete tail portion in the complete carcass of the slaughtered animal.

Background Art

[0002] The tails of slaughtered animals such as pigs and the tails of cows have value as food. This value can be higher if the tail is intact as a whole and / or is cut in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the tail, and there is no damage along the length of the tail during cutting.

[0003] When splitting the carcass of a slaughtered animal along the backbone with a splitting saw or the like, the tail can be cut into two by a longitudinal cut passing through the tail bone or a part of the tail, splitting the tail into two longitudinal sections or cutting off a part of the tail by at least a partial longitudinal cut. As a result, the tail has little value and at least no value when sold for human food.

[0004] Another possibility when splitting the carcass of a slaughtered animal along the backbone is to cut on one side of the tail when cutting along the area where the tail is located, resulting in obtaining the tail on one side of half of the split carcass, but also obtaining a non-straight cut of the back of the carcass in the area where the tail is located, thereby cutting some ham meat from the thigh on the side where the tail is separated. Removing meat from the thigh portion reduces the weight of the thigh and thus the value of this part.

[0005] A further possibility when splitting a carcass with a splitting saw is to push the tail sideways and make a cut along the base of the tail with a tail cutter before the carcass is split by the saw. Such tail cutters have been observed to have projection-like fingers that are slightly bent to one side to turn the tail to the opposite side before cutting it off. However, the knife of this tail cutter is not coplane with the saw that splits the back of the carcass, and therefore the tail is cut higher along the tail towards the tip rather than at the base of the tail. As a result, when cutting off the tail and leaving the tail attached to one half of the carcass, the tail cutter does not make a high-quality cut of the tail. The cut is often made obliquely to the longitudinal direction of the tail and therefore cuts across several tail bones. Furthermore, adjustment of the tail knife is not possible.

[0006] The invention described herein is a type of tail cutter that controls the movement of the tail or carcass portion positioned on the carcass, before and / or during the cutting at the base of the tailbone, shortly before the saw is used to divide the carcass into two halves. The tail is cut in such a way that the quality of the partially separated tail is improved, thereby increasing its value when sold for human food. [Overview of the project]

[0007] In a first aspect, the present invention relates to a tail cutter suitable for connection to a cutting device for dividing an animal carcass, the tail cutter being able to partially separate the tail of the animal carcass while the cutting device is cutting the back of the animal carcass into two halves, the tail cutter A tail knife having a longitudinal cutting blade for separating the tail portion at the base of the tail, It is equipped with a finger, which is connected to a tail knife and allows the free portion of the tail to be directed toward a predetermined side of the animal carcass, The fingers are bent to the right or left relative to the longitudinal direction of the cutting blade of the tail knife. The cutting blade of the tail knife is positioned collinearly and / or coplanely with the cutting device when the tail knife is placed in the cutting device.

[0008] A tail cutter may be used to partially separate the tail of a slaughtered animal carcass, such as a pig carcass that can hang by its hind legs with its head down. Before dividing the carcass and partially separating the tail, the carcass is opened along the ventral side, and preferably the intestines, including the plug (anal opening), are removed. The carcasses to be processed may be transported by a conveyor system toward the location where the carcasses are divided, or the carcasses may be placed in locations where multiple processing is performed on each carcass. When the dorsal side of the carcass is cut, i.e., divided by a longitudinal cut from the dorsal end of the carcass toward the head, this is done by a cutting device for dividing animal carcasses, which is directed toward the spine from the ventral side of the carcass, i.e., the cutting device is positioned inside the opened carcass. The tail cutter described herein may be connected to a cutting device for partially separating the tail. The tail is partially separated by partially cutting around the base end of the tail and by making a substantially straight cut along the coccyx perpendicular to an axis passing through the length of the tail, and such cuts yield a high-quality tail.

[0009] "Partially cutting off the tail" means cutting one side of the tail in relation to the longitudinal cut made by the tail cutter to divide the carcass into two halves. The tail cutter also cuts through the tail by cutting substantially transverse to the longitudinal axis running through the bone in the tail. This separates the tail from one half of the carcass, while the tail remains connected to the other half of the divided carcass. Thus, "partial tail cutting" means that the tail is completely separated from one half of the carcass, while still connected to the other half. This connection is achieved by not cutting through the skin on one side of the tail, and this connection refers to a connection consisting of skin, fat, and other tissue structures located around the base of the tail.

[0010] The tail knife of the tail cutter has a longitudinal cutting blade and is more preferably stable or fixed in the sense that it does not move by itself. The cutting blade is more preferably inclined and more preferably flat in the longitudinal direction.

[0011] The fingers are connected to the tail knife and are bent to the right or left relative to the longitudinal direction of the tail knife's cutting blade. As the fingers are bent in one direction during processing, i.e., before and / or during cutting the tail, the free tail portion is directed to the other side; i.e., if the fingers are bent to the right, the free tail portion is directed to the left. By directing the free tail portion laterally, the tail knife does not cut into the tail except at the base where it is connected to the thigh portion of the animal carcass. The direction in which the fingers are bent determines which half of the carcass the partially severed tail will be connected to after the carcass has been cut and divided.

[0012] The cutting blades of the tail knife are positioned on the same line and / or plane as the cutting device when the tail knife is positioned in the cutting device. More specifically, the cutting edges of the tail knife and the cutting device (dividing saw blade) are on the same line / plane. The result is that the cut made by the tail knife's cutting blades is straight and / or follows the plane of the cutting device, thereby preventing damage to the thigh from cutting too far from the tail root, or reducing the amount of cut into the thigh compared to cutting with prior art tail cutters. For at least some markets, the value of meat is higher when the same amount of meat is located in the thigh than when it is located in the tail.

[0013] The phrase "the tail knife is positioned in the cutting device" means that when the splitting device is in a position such as when processing a pig hanging by its hind legs, the tail knife is positioned near the cutting device, for example, in front of the cutting device. The physical connection for positioning the tail knife relative to the cutting device is preferably located between the holder of the tail knife or tail cutter and the splitting device.

[0014] The fingers of the tail cutter are positioned at an angle A of approximately 90°-160°, such as 110°-130°, relative to the cutting blade of the tail knife. Angle A is the angle from the cutting blade to the edge of the finger closest to the knife blade of the tail cutter.

[0015] The tail cutter's fingers are bent laterally and are located on this side at an angle B of approximately 130°-180°, such as 150°-170°, relative to the rest of the tail cutter.

[0016] The fingers of the tail cutter have fingertips, which are bent laterally so that the fingertips are offset 1 to 3 cm perpendicularly from the cutting surface made by the cutting device. Since the cutting blade of the tail knife and the cutting blade of the cutting device are on the same line / plane, the fingertips may also be offset 1 to 3 cm perpendicularly from the plane of the cutting blade of the tail cutter. Preferably, the length of the fingers measured from the edge of the cutting blade of the tail knife is 5-15 cm. The cutting blade of the tail knife may be 4-10 cm long. All these dimensions are preferably selected in relation to the size of the carcass of the animal being processed. For example, the above dimensions or some of these dimensions for a pig should be larger for a larger pig, such as a sow, than for a young pig raised solely for meat production.

[0017] The tail knife may be connected to a holder suitable for holding the tail knife in position relative to a cutting device (dividing saw blade). The holder connects the tail knife to the cutting device, or more precisely, to equipment or a system equipped with a cutting saw or cutting blade for cutting the carcass into two halves of a carcass. If the holder is positioned during carcass processing, it is preferable that it is positioned above the cutting device and that the holder is connected to the dividing device above the cutting device. The holder may be positioned on one or both sides of the tail knife and may hold the tail knife in that position.

[0018] The holder and / or tail knife may have adjustment means to adjust the tail knife so that it is positioned in a straight line and / or coplane with the cutting device. The effect of this is that if the use of a different size cutting device is decided, the tail cutter can still be positioned in a straight line / coplane with the cutting device. Therefore, if a larger cutting device is used, the tail cutter or tail knife should be repositioned, for example, further away from the midpoint of the cutting blade.

[0019] The holder and / or tail cutter may be at least adjustable rearward and / or forward relative to the plane of the cutting blade of the cutting device. This may allow the holder and / or tail cutter to have adjustment means for adjusting or repositioning the tail cutter relative to the size of the cutting device so that the tail cutter's cutting blade is aligned linearly and / or coplane with the cutting device. The tail cutter may also be repositioned once a day, for example, due to a reduction in the diameter of the cutting device due to wear.

[0020] The tail cutter and / or holder may also have a quick exchange system for attaching and detaching the tail knife to the holder, or attaching and detaching the holder to the splitting device. The advantage of such a quick exchange system is that the tail knife can be quickly replaced with a tail knife of a different size when smaller or larger carcasses are being processed, or if one or two or three carcasses being transported to the splitting location / area are of a different size than the carcasses that are typically processed, the tail knife can be quickly removed, thereby ensuring that carcasses of different sizes placed among carcasses of normal-sized pigs, such as carcasses of sows, are not processed by the tail cutter because the tail cutter, which is suited to cutting smaller carcasses, is not suited to processing carcasses of that size.

[0021] The fingers of the tail cutter should preferably not be blunt or sharp. The advantage of this is that when the tail is turned to one side, the fingers can engage with the tail of the carcass without damaging it. At least the outermost tip edge and the edge of the fingers facing the cutting blade of the tail knife should preferably not be blunt or sharp, as these are the edges that will be in contact with the tail for the majority of the time during processing.

[0022] The cutting device is preferably a saw blade or a knife blade, and preferably circular. The cutting device is used to divide the carcass from one end to the other, including dividing the spine into two halves.

[0023] A second aspect of the present invention relates to a splitting device for dividing the carcass of a slaughtered animal, which may comprise a cutting device such as a saw or knife for dividing the carcass along the spine, and a tail cutter as described herein for cutting the base of the tail with the tail facing sideways.

[0024] "Dividing an animal along its spine" means dividing the spine into two halves, and in the case of a carcass without a spine, dividing the carcass at the dorsal end and optionally the head end, thereby dividing the carcass into two halves.

[0025] The cutting device may be connected to an automatic system for cutting up the carcasses of slaughtered animals. The cutting device may be used for the automatic cutting of the tail of a pig attached to a single side.

[0026] The automatic system may have at least one robot arm having at least three degrees of freedom and / or a system for determining the position of the carcass to be handled, such as a vision system. Further, the system may further include an image analysis system for receiving and analyzing the image data of the carcass and the position of the carcass, a control unit for receiving information from the analysis system, and an automatic system for controlling at least the operation and activation of the cutting device with respect to the carcass to be processed, etc.

[0027] A third aspect of the present invention relates to a method of partially separating a tail from the carcass of a slaughtered animal by use of the tail cutter described herein or by use of the cutting device described herein, the method comprising: a) directing the fingers of the tail cutter towards the first side of the tail disposed on the carcass, thereby pushing the tail aside; b) cutting into the skin of the carcass on the first side of the tail with the cutting edge of the tail knife; c) further cutting into the carcass around the base of the tail with the cutting edge of the tail knife and cutting through bone and / or cartilage at the base of the tail; d) thereby partially separating the tail from the carcass and having the steps of.

[0028] In the method described, the partially severed tail in step d) is preferably connected to the carcass on a second side, the second side being opposite to the first side. The tail is also preferably attached to one half of the carcass by a skin connection. The tail may be severed in a subsequent step, for example, by hand. This severed tail may be a high-quality tail suitable for human consumption. The quality of the tail also depends on the quality of the live animal before slaughter, and the method and apparatus described herein may be used to obtain a high-quality cut when severing the tail at the base.

[0029] In this method, at least a portion of the spine near the base of the tail may be cut into two halves before and / or during step a). The spine may be cut with a cutting device described elsewhere. The splitting devices described herein may be used to split the carcass and partially separate the tail of these carcasses.

[0030] In this method, cutting through at least one bone and / or cartilage at the base of the tail may be cutting through the curved, semi-elastic coccyx or tailbone at the lower end of the spine.

[0031] It should be understood that any characteristic of one side can be combined with any characteristic of the other side described herein. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0032] [Figure 1] This is a perspective view of a dividing device equipped with a tail cutter. [Figure 2] This is a perspective view of a tail knife. [Figure 3] This is a view of the tail knife from below. [Figure 4] This is a perspective view of the tail knife from below. [Figure 5] This is a side view of the tail knife. [Figure 6] This is a side view of the tail cutter. [Figure 7]This is a front view of the tail cutter. [Figure 8A] The image shows the tail knife protecting and cutting the tail of the pig carcass. [Figure 8B] The image shows the tail knife protecting and cutting the tail of the pig carcass. [Figure 8C] The image shows the tail knife protecting and cutting the tail of the pig carcass. [Figure 8D] The image shows the tail knife protecting and cutting the tail of the pig carcass. [Figure 8E] The image shows the tail knife protecting and cutting the tail of the pig carcass. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0033] Figure 1 shows a splitting device 1 equipped with a tail cutter 3, which is positioned in front of the splitting device 1. The tail cutter 3 is positioned above the cutting device 2 of the splitting device 1, and such that the fingers 6 of the tail cutter 3 are positioned to some extent in front of the upper part of the cutting device 2. The cutting device 2 may be a circular saw blade or a circular knife blade for splitting the carcass by orienting the splitting device 1 from the ventral side (not shown) of the carcass toward the spine, and cutting the spine from the thigh end toward the head end of the carcass.

[0034] Figure 2 shows the tail knife 4. The tail knife 4 comprises a finger 6 with a fingertip 7 and a cutting blade 5. The finger 6 is bent to the right with respect to the longitudinal direction of the cutting blade 5 and when viewed from the position indicated by the box X in front of the tail knife 4 (see Figures 3, 4, and 7 below for details). When the carcass is processed, the finger 6 is pointed to the right of the tail (not shown) so that the tail faces left, and the cutting device 5 cuts along the right side of the tail at the base of the tail. The box cross indicates the position in front of the tail knife 4 and where right and left are determined in the text.

[0035] Figure 3 shows the tail knife 4 viewed from below, facing the cutting blade 5. Shown are the longitudinal cutting blade 5 and the fingers 6 bent laterally. The fingertips 7 are rounded to avoid the sharp edge.

[0036] Figure 4 shows the tail knife 4 viewed from below, as if looking towards finger 6. The fingertip 7 and cutting blade 5 are shown. The figure shows how the finger is bent laterally and the angle B11 between finger 6 and the base of the cutting blade 5.

[0037] Figure 5 is a side view of the tail knife 4. The angle A9 between the cutting blade 5 and the finger 6 is shown. Also shown is the outer shape 10 of a part of the cutting device 2, such as a saw blade.

[0038] Figure 6 is a side view of the tail cutter 3. The holder 8 holds the tail knife 4. The outline 10 shows where a portion of the cutting blade of the cutting device 2 is positioned when the tail cutter 4 is correctly positioned, so that the cutting blade 5 is collinear or coplane with the cutting device 2. An adjustment means 12 may be used to adjust the position of the tail cutter 3 on a splitting device (not shown). As indicated by the pair of arrows 17, the tail cutter 3 can be moved forward, i.e., to the left, or backward, i.e., to the right by adjusting with the adjustment means 12, adjusting along a transverse opening in the part where the holder 8 and / or tail cutter 3 are connected to the splitting device.

[0039] Figure 7 is a front view of the tail cutter 3. The holder 8 is positioned on both sides of the tail knife 4 and the cutting device indicated by the outer shape 10. The fingers 6 are bent to the side.

[0040] Figures 8A-8E show a tail knife 4 protecting and cutting the tail 13 of a pork carcass 14. Before the splitting process, the pork carcass 14 is opened in the abdomen, and the intestines are removed, leaving an opening 15 next to the base of the tail, including the plug (anal opening). During processing, the splitting device enters the carcass 14 from the ventral side and cuts the spine from the inside of the carcass 14. In Figure 8A, the tail knife 4 with fingers 6, holder 8, and cutting device 2 is shown just before or at the moment the cutting device 2 begins to cut into the thigh portion of the carcass 14. As can be seen, the tail knife 4 and its fingers 6 are positioned in front of the cutting device 2, i.e., in a position to engage with the tail 13. In Figure 8B, the cutting device 2 is cutting or has finished cutting the thigh portion, and a part of the cutting device 2 may be seen where the plug opening 15 is located. The fingers 6 of the tail knife 4 are pointed to the right side of the tail 13. In Figure 8C, the cutting device 2 cuts across the tail 13 without cutting through it, finger 6 is pointing the tail 13 to the left, and the tail knife 4 is engaged with the tail 13, about to cut through the tail 13 at the base 16 and on the right side of the tail 13. In Figure 8D, the tail knife 4 continues to hold the tail 13 laterally, that is, protecting the tail 13 from being cut by damage or poor quality cutting, while the tail knife 4 cuts through the base 16 or the tail 13 with its cutting blade (hidden). Figure 8E shows the protected, i.e., undamaged and partially separated tail 13 after the division is complete, placed on one half carcass, the first half carcass. The thigh portion 20 of the first half carcass 18 is shown, as is the thigh portion 20 of the second half carcass 19. The tail portion is not present in the second half-carcass 19, and the tail 13 has been separated from the second half-carcass 19, although the base portion 16 of the tail 13 is shown. The tail 13 can be separated from the first half-carcass 18 in subsequent processing, which can be easily done by hand, as the tail 13 is connected to the half-carcass by skin, fat and other tissue structures present at the base portion 16 of the tail before cutting.

[0041] Various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description; therefore, the detailed description and specific examples should be understood to be provided for illustrative purposes only, while illustrating embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A tail cutter (3) suitable for connection to a cutting device (2) provided on a dividing device (1) for dividing an animal carcass, wherein the tail cutter (3) is capable of partially separating the tail of the animal carcass while the cutting device (2) is cutting the back of the animal carcass into two halves, and the tail cutter (3) A tail knife (4) having a longitudinal cutting blade (5) for separating the tail portion at the base of the tail, A finger (6) is connected to the tail knife (4) and is capable of directing the free portion of the tail toward a predetermined side of the animal carcass. It is equipped with, The aforementioned finger (6) is bent to the right or left with respect to the longitudinal direction of the cutting blade (5) of the tail knife (4), The cutting blade (5) of the tail knife (4) is positioned on the same straight line and / or on the same plane as the cutting device (2) when the tail knife (4) is positioned in the cutting device (2). Tail cutter (3).

2. The fingers (6) are positioned at an angle A of approximately 90°–160°, such as 110°–130°, with respect to the cutting blade (5) of the tail knife (4). The tail cutter (3) according to claim 1.

3. The finger (6) has a fingertip (7), and the finger (6) is bent laterally such that the fingertip (7) is offset by 1 cm to 3 cm perpendicularly from the cutting surface made by the cutting device (2). The tail cutter (3) according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The tail knife (4) is connected to a holder (8) suitable for holding the tail knife (4) in a position relative to the cutting device (2). A tail cutter (3) according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The holder (8) and / or the tail cutter (3) have an adjustment means (12) that allows adjustment so that the tail cutter (3) is positioned in the same line as the cutting device (2) when using cutting devices (2) of different sizes. The tail cutter (3) according to claim 4.

6. The holder (8) and / or the tail cutter (3) are adjustable to be rearward and / or forward relative to the plane of the cutting device (2). The tail cutter (3) according to claim 5.

7. The aforementioned finger (6) is not blunt or sharp. A tail cutter (3) according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. The cutting device (2) is a saw blade or knife blade such as a circular saw blade or a circular knife blade. A tail cutter (3) according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. The system further comprises a quick exchange system for attaching and detaching the tail cutter (3) to the holder (8), or attaching and detaching the holder (8) to the splitting device (1). The tail cutter (3) according to claim 4.

10. A splitting device (1) for dividing the carcass of a slaughtered animal, wherein the splitting device (1) A cutting device (2) for dividing the carcass along the spine, A tail cutter (3) according to any one of claims 1 to 9 for cutting the base portion of the tail with the tail facing sideways, and A dividing device (1) equipped with the following:

11. Connected to an automated system for splitting the carcasses of slaughtered animals, The dividing device (1) according to claim 10.

12. The automated system includes at least one robotic arm having at least three degrees of freedom and / or a system for determining the position of the carcass being handled, such as a vision system. The dividing device (1) according to claim 11.

13. A method for partially separating the tail from the carcass of an animal slaughtered by using the tail cutter (3) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, or by using the dividing device (1) according to any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein the method is: a) The step of directing the fingers (6) of the tail cutter toward the first side of the tail that is placed on the carcass, thereby pushing the tail to the side, b) The step of cutting the skin of the carcass on the first side of the tail with the cutting blade (5) of the tail knife (4), c) Furthermore, the cutting blade (5) of the tail knife (4) is used to make an incision in the carcass around the base of the tail, and to cut through the bone and / or cartilage at the base of the tail, d) The step of partially separating the tail from the carcass. A method of having.

14. In step d), the partially separated tail is connected to the carcass on the second side of the tail, the second side being opposite to the first side. The method according to claim 13.

15. At least a portion of the vertebral column near the base of the tail is cut into two halves before and / or during step a). The method according to claim 13 or 14.

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