How to remove bones from fish fillets

Abstract

To provide a fish fillet holding plate, a fish fillet deboning method, and a fish fillet placing plate capable of preventing the fish from lifting up and reliably removing only the bones when removing the bones with a fish fillet deboning chuck, and preventing the bones from shifting due to the shift in position of the fish. [Solution] The device has a fish body abutment piece 71 that holds down the fish body Y, and a notch 74 is formed in the fish body abutment piece 71. When the bone X is grasped with the clamping parts 61A, 61B, the clamping parts 61A, 61B are positioned in the notch 74, and when the bone X is pulled out by moving the clamping parts 61A, 61B in the longitudinal direction of the bone X, the fish body Y is held down by the fish body abutment piece 71.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention is a method for accurately removing small bones and pin bones from fish, especially from half of a fish that has been filleted into three pieces. How to remove bones from fish fillets Regarding. [Background technology]

[0002] Currently, the salmon market in Japan has a demand of over 400,000 tons per year. Most salmon produced in Japan is caught in the wild, which generally meets the Japanese preference for "natural products", but on the other hand, issues such as parasites make it unsuitable for "raw consumption". This industry structure has led to an increase in imports, and considering that processed products for "raw consumption" generally have higher added value than processed products for "cooked consumption", the result is a situation in which added value in the form of profits is difficult to reduce for Japanese producers and processing companies. Salmon is one of the fish species that is particularly popular with Japanese people, and because it is difficult to increase wild catches due to resource constraints and other factors and because it is unsuitable for eating raw, salmon farming is expanding domestically, and there are hopes for a partial shift from imported to domestically produced products. Salmon processing consists of removing the scales, cutting the head, filleting, skinning, and removing the pin bones. Currently, the steps of removing the scales, cutting the head, filleting, and skinning can be automated using existing seafood processing machinery, regardless of the size of the salmon. However, the process of removing the upper nerve bones (small bones or pin bones) from salmon is still done manually, which requires a great deal of effort. Although equipment has been devised to automatically remove the pin bones, various issues remain. An explanation is given below with references. Patent Document 1 describes a device that removes pin bones from fish fillets by clamping them between a set of rotating belts that wrap around the fillets. However, because there are individual variations in the shape of fish and the location of bones, if the bones are misaligned with respect to the belt, the boneless part may get clamped by the belt and the bones may be left behind. In Patent Document 2, a specific clamping member is used to clamp and remove pin bones protruding from a fish fillet. If the pin bones are buried or the pin bones are misaligned due to individual differences in the fish fillet, the pin bones may not be removed properly or some may be left behind. In Patent Document 3, a rotating roller is pressed against a fish fillet and rotated in the opposite direction to the moving direction of the fish fillet. The roller has a net-like structure that allows bones to pass through. The pin bones are pulled out by passing the bones through the net. However, it is necessary for the pin bones to protrude from the fillet. Patent Document 4 discloses a structure in which a roller is pressed against a fish fillet to protrude the pin bones, and while maintaining that state, the pin bones are pulled out with a claw-like jig. However, because there are individual variations in the shape of the fish and the location of the bones, if the bones are misaligned with the position of the jig, some of the bones may be left behind. As mentioned above, these devices are limited to bones that are inserted perpendicularly to the surface of the fish, and the fish is deformed because the deboning device holds the fish to make the pin bones protrude. Another problem that these devices have in common is that they do not remove the bones after identifying the location of the bones, but remove the bones from the locations where the bones are likely to be, which can lead to bones being left behind or touching the fish around the bones, which can damage the fish, and the fish fillets may be discarded. For this reason, salmon deboning is mainly done manually, and due to these problems, it is not currently possible to automate the process. In Patent Document 5, the position of the bone is confirmed by an image, but there is variation in the size and shape of the fish fillet, and variation in the position and direction of the bone, making it difficult to deal with this using only a normal camera and a linear robot, and there is a problem in that it is not possible to measure the position of the bone in three dimensions, recognize the direction in which the bone is inserted from that measurement, and remove the bone by three-dimensional movement along that direction. Therefore, there are cases where the fish is damaged when the bone is removed by force, or some bones are left behind, and there is insufficient recovery for such cases, so it is not in the form of a fully automatic system. Thus, Patent Documents 1 to 4 have proposed devices for automatically removing bones from fish fillets. However, these devices are limited to target bones that are inserted perpendicularly to the surface of the fish, and have the problem that the fish is deformed by being pressed or lifted from below in order to bring the fish into contact with the deboning device. Furthermore, a problem common to these devices is that, instead of removing the bones after identifying the bone positions, they remove the bones from positions where bones are likely to be found, which can lead to bones being left behind or the fish being damaged by touching the fish around the bones. As a result, the fish fillets may be discarded. As a result, deboning salmon is mainly done by hand, and due to these challenges it is not currently possible to automate the process. In recent years, it has become difficult to secure workers in the back yards of major cities, and there is also a shortage of skilled workers, so production areas are being asked to carry out advanced processing, including deboning. However, it is becoming more difficult to secure skilled workers in production areas as the workers age, and there is a demand for mechanization and automation of production area processing plants. Furthermore, the boom in Japanese food is accelerating all over the world, and the demand for frozen sashimi fillets and frozen sushi toppings is increasing year by year. However, instead of removing only the bones without damaging the fish, the fish around the bones may come into contact and possibly damage the fish. Furthermore, in response to the recent increase in demand for boneless fillets, there is also a demand for deboning small fish such as horse mackerel and sea bream, and a fully automatic deboning system that can handle a variety of fish types and sizes is required, but there is still no system that can solve such problems. In light of this situation, the present applicant has already proposed a fish fillet bone removal system that can recognize the position of each bone in a fish fillet and remove only the bones without damaging the fish flesh around the bones (Patent Document 6). According to the fish fillet deboning system proposed in Patent Document 6, the position of each bone in the fish fillet can be recognized, and only the bones can be removed without damaging the fish flesh around the bones. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 4955036 [Patent Document 2] JP 2001-61404 A [Patent Document 3] Special Publication No. 07-063300 [Patent Document 4] Patent No. 4078281 [Patent Document 5] Patent No. 6006568 [Patent Document 6] Patent No. 6950994 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] As disclosed in Patent Document 6, by using a fish fillet bone removal chuck, it is possible to remove only the bone without damaging the fish flesh around the bone, as compared to the methods of Patent Documents 1 to 5. However, in the process of clamping the bone and tightening the chuck, the bone may slip out of the chuck, and if it slips too much, the bone may protrude from the chuck. If the bone protrudes from the chuck in this way, it cannot be grasped. The reason for the bone slipping out of the chuck is that the fish flesh is attached around the bone, and when trying to grasp the bone, the fish flesh is clamped together with the bone, causing the fish flesh to move in the process of tightening the chuck. Therefore, the applicant has already proposed a fish fillet boning chuck that can prevent the bones from shifting and can reliably remove only the bones without damaging the fish flesh around the bones, a multi-joint robot that operates this fish fillet boning chuck, and a fish fillet boning system that has this multi-joint robot. However, when removing bones with the fish fillet bone removal chuck, the fish may be lifted in the direction of bone removal, and the bone may not be removed within the range of movement of the fish fillet bone removal chuck. Also, when the fish is lifted, the position of the fish may shift slightly, causing the bone to shift position.

[0005] The present invention can prevent the fish from lifting up when removing bones with a fish fillet deboning chuck, and can reliably remove only the bones, and can prevent the bones from shifting out of position due to the displacement of the fish. How to remove bones from fish fillets The purpose is to provide. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] Claim 1 The method for deboning fish fillets of the present invention described herein comprises the steps of: A fish fillet deboning chuck 60 is mounted on the tip of a first articulated robot 41 (51) disposed on one side of the fish fillet 21, and a fish fillet holding plate 70 is mounted on the tip of a second articulated robot 80 disposed on the other side of the fish fillet 21. The fish fillet deboning chuck 60 can be adjusted in a pulling direction to match the orientation of the bone X, which varies, by the first articulated robot 41 (51), and the fish fillet holding plate 70 can change the direction in which it holds the fish meat Y by the second articulated robot 80. The fish fillet deboning chuck 60 has a pair of clamping portions 61A, 61B that hold the fish fillet. The fish fillet holding plate 70 is used together with the fish fillet deboning chuck 60 that grips and removes the bone X from the fillet 21, and has a fish body abutment piece 71 that holds the fish body Y, an attachment piece 72 that is attached to the second articulated robot 80, and a U-shaped piece 73 that is positioned between the fish body abutment piece 71 and the attachment piece 72. A notch 74 is formed in the fish body abutment piece 71, and when the bone X is gripped by the clamping parts 61A, 61B, the clamping parts 61A, 61B are positioned in the notch 74, and when the bone X is pulled out by moving the clamping parts 61A, 61B in the longitudinal direction of the bone X, the fish body abutment piece 71 holds the fish body Y. A fish fillet deboning method using a fish fillet holding plate 70, comprising: a fish body abutment piece moving step of moving the fish body abutment piece 71 to the vicinity of the bone X; a bone clamping step of gripping the bone X with a pair of the clamping parts 61A, 61B after the fish body abutment piece moving step; a fish body holding step of holding the fish body Y with the fish body abutment piece 71 at the same time as the bone clamping step or at a timing before or after the bone clamping step; a bone pulling step of pulling out the bone X by moving the clamping parts 61A, 61B in the longitudinal direction of the bone X while the fish body Y is held down by the fish body abutment piece 71; and a fish body abutment piece retracting step of retracting the fish body abutment piece 71 from the fish body Y after the bone pulling step. After the bone removal step, the clamping units 61A, 61B are moved to the bone recovery mechanism unit 90, and the pair of clamping units 61A, 61B are opened to recover the bone X to the bone recovery mechanism unit 90, thereby performing a boning operation for one of the bones. The boning operation for the next bone X is performed by repeating the fish body contact piece moving step, the bone clamping step, the fish body holding step, the bone removal step, the fish body contact piece retracting step, and the bone recovery step. The bone recovery mechanism unit 90 is provided in the second articulated robot 80 that operates the fish fillet holding plate 70, and the bone recovery mechanism unit 90 is disposed on the upper end side of the fish fillet holding plate 70. It is characterized by: Claim 2 The present invention described above is characterized in that in the fish fillet holding plate 70 described in claim 1, a vacuum pipe for sucking the extracted bones X is connected to the bone recovery mechanism part 90. Claim 3 The present invention relates to Claim 1 In the method for removing bones from fish fillets described above, in the bone recovery step, the removed bones X are counted. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, when the bone is pulled out by moving the clamping portion in the longitudinal direction of the bone, the fish body is held down by the fish body abutment piece, thereby preventing the fish body from lifting up, ensuring that only the bone is removed and preventing the fish body from shifting position. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a process diagram showing a fish fillet deboning system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] A diagram showing the configuration of the pallet used in the fish fillet deboning system. [Diagram 3] A diagram showing the work area of ​​the fish fillet deboning system [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a work area of ​​a fish fillet deboning system according to a second embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a working place of a fish fillet deboning system according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a main part of the bone removing chuck shown in FIGS. 3 to 5; [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the operation process of the bone removal chuck shown in FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a main part showing another configuration of the boning chuck shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 . [Figure 9] Photograph showing the fish fillet holding plate shown in Figs. 3 and 4 in use [Figure 10] Photographs showing a method for deboning fish fillets using the fish fillet holding plate shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. [Figure 11] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a fish fillet placement plate suitable for the present invention; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] The present invention No. 1 The method for deboning fish fillets according to the embodiment of the present invention is ,fisha fish body abutment piece moving step of moving the fish body abutment piece to the vicinity of the bone; a bone clamping step of gripping the bone with a pair of clamping parts after the fish body abutment piece moving step; a fish body holding step of holding the fish body with the fish body abutment piece together with the bone clamping step or at a timing before or after the bone clamping step; a bone removal step of removing the bone by moving the clamping parts in the longitudinal direction of the bone while the fish body is held down by the fish body abutment piece; and a fish body abutment piece retracting step of retracting the fish body abutment piece from the fish body after the bone removal step. a bone collecting step of moving the clamping parts to a bone collecting mechanism part after the bone pulling step and opening the pair of clamping parts to collect the bone to the bone collecting mechanism part; By A boning operation is performed for one bone, and a boning operation for the next bone is performed by repeating a fish body contact piece moving step, a bone clamping step, a fish body holding step, a bone pulling step, a fish body contact piece retracting step, and a bone collecting step, and the bone collecting mechanism is provided in a second articulated robot that operates the fish fillet holding plate, and the bone collecting mechanism is disposed on the upper end side of the fish fillet holding plate. According to this embodiment, When the clamping portion is moved in the longitudinal direction of the bone to pull out the bone, the fish body is held down by the fish body abutment piece, preventing the fish body from lifting up, and it is possible to reliably pull out only the bone and prevent the fish body from shifting position. This prevents the fish from lifting up and allows for stable, continuous deboning operations. In addition, the bones can be reliably collected, and continuous bone removal can be performed stably. Furthermore, since the bone collection mechanism is located close to the operating range of the fish fillet bone removal chuck, the time required for continuous bone removal can be shortened.

[0010] The present invention Second The embodiment of the present invention is No. 1 In the method for removing bones from fish fillets according to the embodiment, a vacuum pipe for sucking up the removed bones is connected to the bone recovery mechanism. According to this embodiment, the bones can be reliably recovered.

[0011] The present invention Third The embodiment of the present invention No. 1 In the embodiment of the method for removing bones from fish fillets, the bone collecting step includes counting the number of removed bones. According to this embodiment, by counting the number of removed bones, it is possible to confirm whether the bones have been removed. EXAMPLES

[0012] FIG. 1 is a process diagram showing a fish fillet deboning system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. At the input location 1, fish fillets 21 (see FIG. 2) are placed on a pallet 20 (see FIG. 2). The pallet 20 on which the fish fillets 21 are placed at the input location 1 is moved by the conveyor 11 to the pallet meeting location 2. At the putting-in location 1, the markers 22 (see FIG. 2) on the pallet 20 are read and sent to the system computer 13 via the communication line 12. This identifies the marker 22 information on the pallet 20 and the fish fillets 21. As for the reading device and reading method for the marker 22, a non-contact magnetic information reading is suitable, but other methods may also be used. When the pallet 20 moves from the putting-in location 1 to the joining location 2, a new fish fillet 21 is placed on a new pallet 20 at the putting-in location 1 at almost the same time. Pallets 20 not carrying fish fillets 21 are preferably automatically fed from a stocker capable of storing a plurality of pallets 20, but may also be fed manually. The pallet meeting point 2 is also a retry input point, and is controlled so that the pallet 20 for retry from the retry conveyor 10 does not collide with the pallet 20 from the input point 1. When a pallet 20 for retry is present on the retry conveyor 10, the pallet 20 from the input point 1 and the pallet 20 from the retry conveyor 10 are alternately supplied to the meeting point 2 and moved to the work area 3.

[0013] The work area 3 has a first imaging process 3A, a second imaging process 3B, and a bone removal process 3C. In the first imaging step 3A, the fish fillet 21 placed on the pallet 20 is imaged, and the system computer 13 identifies an area where bones exist from the first image captured in the first imaging step 3A (bone area identifying step 13A). In the second imaging step 3B, the region identified in the bone region identifying step 13A is imaged, and the system computer 13 identifies the position of the bone from the second captured image captured in the second imaging step 3B (bone position identifying step 13B). In the boning step 3C, the outer end of the bone identified in the bone position identifying step 13B is gripped by the fish fillet boning chuck 60, and the bone is removed by moving the fish fillet boning chuck 60. In this manner, in the work area 3, the fish fillets 21 loaded on the pallet 20 are deboned one by one. Details will be described later with reference to FIG. 2 and subsequent figures.

[0014] The pallet 20 after the deboning process 3C is moved to the inspection location 4. At the inspection location 4, X-rays or infrared rays are used to determine whether any bones remain or not by image (inspection process). The result of the determination is sent to the system computer 13 via the communication line 12 together with the information of the marker 22 read at the inspection location 4, and the information of the marker 22 and the result of deboning are specified. The determination result includes at least the number of times the same fish fillet 21 has been determined to be defective and the location of the remaining bones. The marker 22 is read at the non-defective product branching location 5, and if all the predetermined number of bones have been removed, the pallet is moved from the non-defective product branching location 5 to the non-defective product storage location 7. The non-defective product storage location 7 is a group of non-defective product stockers that store the pallet 20 carrying the fish fillet 21 determined to be non-defective. It is also possible to configure the system so that the pallet is always taken out without being stored. The marker 22 is read at the non-defective product branching location 5, and if it is defective, it is moved to the defective retry branching location 6. That is, the number of times the fish fillets 21 on this pallet 20 have been judged to be defective is checked against a predetermined number of times by the marker 22 read at the defect retry branching point 6, and if the predetermined number of times has been reached, the fish fillets 21 are moved to the defective product storage location 8. The defective product storage location 8 is a defective product stocker that stores the pallets 20 on which the fish fillets 21 judged to be defective are loaded. It is also possible to have a system in which the fish fillets 21 are always taken out without being stored, or a system in which the fish fillets are moved to the defective product work location 16 by the worker 17. If the number of times the fish fillets 21 on this pallet 20 have been judged to be defective has not reached the predetermined number of times by the marker 22 read at the defect retry branching point 6, the fish fillets are moved to the retry conveyor 10 and sent to the junction point 2.

[0015] In this embodiment, a group of defective pallets carrying fish fillets 21 with remaining bones are shown as the defective product storage area 8. The defective product stockers in the defective product storage area 8 are transported to the defective product stocker storage area 15. The defective product work area 16 is a place where one pallet 20 is removed from the defective product stocker transported to the defective product stocker storage area 15 and placed there, where the marker 22 on the pallet 20 is read and the defect information is displayed on the display 14. A worker 17 removes the remaining bones in accordance with the contents shown on the display 14. The defective product storage area 8 may also be the defective product work area 16.

[0016] FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a pallet used in the fish fillet deboning system according to this embodiment. FIG. 2 shows a state where the fish fillet 21 is placed on the pallet 20. It is preferable to provide three or more reference marks 23, and at least one of the position and the inclination of the pallet 20 is measured. Although not shown, a measurement sensor capable of measuring the coordinates of the reference marks 23 is disposed above the pallet 20, and the coordinates of the reference marks 23 are measured by the measurement sensor, thereby making it possible to identify the coordinates of the pallet 20 relative to the position of the measurement sensor. Even if the pallet 20 moves to another work site 3, the position of the pallet 20 is identified by reading the reference marks 23 of the pallet 20 that has moved in the same manner as in the above. Therefore, even if the stopping position of the pallet 20 is shifted, the shape of the fish fillet 21 placed on the pallet 20 can be shared among all work sites by reading the reference marks 23 at all work sites where the reference marks 23 are located. If the stopping position of the pallet 20 does not shift in all work sites, or the shift is within the allowable range, it is not necessary to correct the coordinates using the reference marks 23. Therefore, if an environment can be created in which the work can be performed in a manner that does not cause deviation in the stopping position of the pallet 20, it is possible to eliminate this reference mark 23.

[0017] The markers 22 identify the pallet 20, and can also identify the fish fillets 21 placed on the pallet 20. In this embodiment, when the pallet 20 is carried into the work area 3, the markers 22 are read almost simultaneously with the reference marks 23, and the contents of the read markers 22 are sent to the system computer 13 via the communication line 12, which is a LAN or wireless LAN. At the inspection area 4, the inspection results corresponding to the markers 22 on the pallet 20 are sent to the system computer 13. At the good product branching area 5, the system computer 13 determines from the marker 22 information whether to send the pallet 20 to the bad product retry branching area 6 or to the good product storage area 7. The same is true at the bad product work area 16, where the system computer 13 displays the inspection results corresponding to the markers 22 on the display 14.

[0018] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a working area of ​​the fish fillet deboning system according to this embodiment. In the first imaging step 3A, when the pallet 20 is carried in by the conveyor 11, the reference mark 23 and the marker 22 are read, and the information is transferred to the system computer 13. The three-dimensional sensor 36 measures the height information and brightness information in a line shape, and captures the three-dimensional coordinates of the entire fish fillet 21. If the height information is not read, a two-dimensional camera can also be used. The three-dimensional sensor 36 is mounted on a rail 44 and performs measurements while moving along the rail 44. In this embodiment, it moves in a direction opposite to the moving direction 37 of the conveyor 11. When the measurement of the entire fish fillet 21 or a predetermined area is completed, the three-dimensional information is transferred to the system computer 13, and a part or group of parts of the fish fillet 21 where bones are likely to be present is identified. Note that it is also possible to identify the bones by image processing using an image processing computer other than the system computer 13, and the identified coordinates may be transferred to the system computer 13. In addition, instead of image processing, processing can be performed by a machine learning neural network in the image processing computer, the system computer 13, or a computer attached thereto. In this case, the captured images are stored in memory, and the stored images are further trained by machine learning to improve the accuracy of recognition. The parts or parts of the fish fillet 21 where bones are likely to be present are stored as coordinates representing those areas in the memory managed by the system computer 13 together with the reference marks 23 and markers 22 information. Almost simultaneously with the completion of the three-dimensional measurement, the pallet 20 on which the fish fillet 21 is mounted is transported to the second imaging process 3B.

[0019] In the second imaging process 3B, similarly to the first imaging process 3A, the reference mark 23 and the marker 22 are read, and the information is transferred to the system computer 13. The articulated robot 38 is equipped with a light 39 and a camera 40 at its tip. The system computer 13 transfers the coordinates of a part or a group of parts of the fish fillet 21 where bones are likely to be, which correspond to the marker 22 information and are further calibrated by the reference mark 23, to the articulated robot 38. Based on the transferred information, the light 39 and the camera 40 mounted on the articulated robot 38 move to a place where bones are likely to be, and image is taken. In the second imaging step 3B, the image information is transferred to an image processing computer, which identifies the bones or bone groups of the fish fillet 21 and transfers the identified coordinates to the system computer 13. In the first imaging step 3A, if a two-dimensional camera is used instead of the three-dimensional sensor 36, a camera that can simultaneously obtain height information is used instead of the camera 40, or a height sensor is added in addition to the camera 40, and the information is transferred to the system computer 13 as three-dimensional coordinates. As in the first imaging step 3A, the image information may be transferred to the system computer 13 and image processing may be performed depending on the investment in equipment and production takt time, or it may be processed by a machine learning neural network instead of image processing. In this case, as in the first imaging step 3A, the captured images may be stored in a memory, and the stored images may be further machine-learned to improve the accuracy of recognition. Then, the bones or bone groups of the fish fillet 21 are stored in a memory managed by the system computer 13 together with the reference mark 23 and marker 22 information. The recognized bones are stored in a memory managed by the system computer 13 as coordinates of the location of the bone that the fish fillet deboning chuck 60 clamps to remove the bone. In addition to the coordinates, the direction in which the bone is inserted may also be stored in the memory. The direction in which the bone is removed is basically toward the head of the fish, but the direction may differ depending on the individual fish, or when the fish and bone are tightly entangled and it is difficult to remove the bone, it may be easier to remove the bone by pulling it along the direction in which the bone is inserted.

[0020] Almost simultaneously with the completion of the image measurement, the pallet 20 carrying the fish fillets 21 is carried into the boning process 3C. As in the first imaging step 3A and the second imaging step 3B, the reference mark 23 and the marker 22 are read, and the information is transferred to the system computer 13. The articulated robot 41 is equipped with a fish fillet deboning chuck 60 at its tip. The system computer 13 transfers the coordinates of the bone part or parts of the fish fillet 21, which correspond to the marker 22 information and are further calibrated by the reference mark 23, to the articulated robot 41. Based on the transferred information, the fish fillet deboning chuck 60 moves to the part with the bone and removes the bone. This deboning step 3C is repeated a predetermined number of times. The result is transferred to the system computer 13, and after the deboning step 3C is completed, the pallet 20 is moved to the inspection step.

[0021] The reason why the articulated robot 38 is used in the second imaging step 3B is that the fish fillet 21 has a three-dimensional shape, and therefore highly accurate measurements can be made by arranging the lighting 39 and the camera 40 in positions that follow the shape. For example, by measuring at a position perpendicular to the surface of the fish fillet 21, the entire surface is in focus and image distortion is reduced. The reason why the articulated robot 41 is used in the boning step 3C is that the bones stuck in the fish fillet 21 basically face the head of the fish, but there is some variation. Since the bones are entangled with the fish flesh, they can be removed smoothly by removing them in the direction in which they face. In order to remove the bones in various directions, the fish fillet boning chuck 60 is mounted on the articulated robot 41, and the outer end of the bone is grasped by the fish fillet boning chuck 60.

[0022] Another advantage of attaching the camera 40 is that by using the image from the camera 40 and focusing using a mechanism that moves the camera 40 back and forth, when the focus is achieved, the distance between the camera 40 and the target image, for example, the bone to be removed, becomes constant, and this makes it possible to know the distance to the fish fillet deboning chuck 60, and to accurately guide the fish fillet deboning chuck 60 to the position of the bone. Instead of focusing and measuring the distance with the camera 40, it is also possible to change the camera 40 to a three-dimensional sensor 36, or to add a height sensor separate from the camera 40, and obtain three-dimensional coordinates.

[0023] Although not shown in the figure, the reference mark 23 and the marker 22 are also read during the inspection process, and the information is transferred to the system computer 13. Then, the remaining bones are judged by X-ray or infrared images. The acquired image is transferred to an image processing computer (not shown), which judges whether there are any remaining bones in the fish fillet 21, and transfers the result to the system computer 13. Depending on the investment in equipment and production takt time, the image may be transferred to the system computer 13 instead of the image processing computer for processing. Instead of image processing, the image may be processed by a machine learning neural network. In that case, the captured image may be stored in a memory, and the accuracy of recognition may be improved by further machine learning the stored image. If it is judged that there are any remaining bones, the read marker 22 is queried to the system computer 13 via the communication line 12 to know how many times the same fish fillet 21 has been inspected, and the number of inspections (hereinafter referred to as the defective coefficient) is increased by one. The defective coefficient is set to 0 when a new fish fillet 21 is put into the pallet 20. The coordinates of the locations of the remaining bones are transferred to the system computer 13 in coordinates calibrated by the fiducial marks 23. Instead of transferring the coordinates to the system computer 13 in coordinates calibrated by the fiducial marks 23, the coordinates of the remaining bones may be transferred to the system computer 13 and converted there to coordinates calibrated by the fiducial marks 23. When transferring the coordinates to the system computer 13, the number of remaining bones is also transferred.

[0024] As shown in Fig. 1, when the defective coefficient of the pallet 20 brought into the work place 3 is found to be 1 or more by reading the marker 22, the first imaging step 3A and the second imaging step 3B can be skipped, and the bones can be removed in the bone removal step 3C based on the calibrated coordinates of the remaining bones from the system computer 13. At this time, if it is determined that the fish fillets 21 loaded on the pallet 20 may have moved relative to the pallet 20 during the retry conveyor 10 or other transport, the work can be performed without skipping the first imaging step 3A and the second imaging step 3B, or the first imaging step 3A can be skipped and the work can be performed from the second imaging step 3B. In this case, the bone removal is performed using the coordinates of the bones newly measured in the first imaging step 3A and the second imaging step 3B, rather than using the coordinates of the remaining bones stored in the system computer 13.

[0025] The articulated robot 80 is equipped at its tip with a fish fillet holding plate 70 and a bone collecting mechanism 90. The fish fillet holding plate 70 is used together with a fish fillet deboning chuck 60 that uses a pair of clamping parts 61A, 61B to grab and remove bones X from the fish fillet 21, and operates in conjunction with the fish fillet deboning chuck 60. The system computer 13 transfers the coordinates of the part or part group of bones X of the fish fillet 21, which correspond to the information of the marker 22 and are further calibrated by the reference mark 23, to the articulated robot 80. The fish fillet holding plate 70 moves to the part where the bones X are located based on the transferred information. This deboning process 3C is repeated a number of times equal to the determined number of bones X.

[0026] A vacuum pipe (not shown) for sucking the extracted bone X is connected to the bone recovery mechanism 90. In this way, the bone X can be reliably recovered by sucking the bone X together with air. Furthermore, a bone detection unit (not shown) for detecting the extracted bone X is provided, and the extracted bone X can be counted to confirm that the bone X has been removed. By confirming that the bone X has been removed, it is possible to quickly respond to any bone X that has been left behind. For example, an infrared sensor can be used as the bone detection unit, and the bone detection unit can be provided in the vacuum pipe. By providing the bone recovery mechanism 90 together with the fish fillet holding plate 70 at the tip of the articulated robot 80, the bone recovery mechanism 90 is positioned close to the operating range of the fish fillet deboning chuck 60, thereby shortening the time required for continuous bone X removal operations. The bone collecting mechanism 90 is preferably disposed on the upper end side of the fish fillet holding plate 70, into which the tip of the fish fillet boning chuck 60 can be inserted, and the pair of clamping parts 61A, 61B can be opened to accommodate the bones X. The bones X accommodated in the bone collecting mechanism 90 are sucked into a vacuum tube together with air. By providing a brush material in the bone recovery mechanism 90, the fish meat Y and the like adhering to the pair of clamping parts 61A, 61B can be removed.

[0027] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a working place of the fish fillet deboning system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, in order to reduce the number of processes while taking into account the balance between investment amount, work takt time, production volume, etc., the first imaging process 3A remains the same as in embodiment 1, and the second imaging process 3B and the deboning process 3C are performed in the same place. In process 3D, the second imaging process 3B and the deboning process 3C are performed by the same articulated robot 51. That is, the lighting 39, the camera 40, and the fish fillet deboning chuck 60 are mounted on one articulated robot 51.

[0028] The new advantage of this embodiment is that after the bones are removed, the lighting 39 and the camera 40 are used to check, and if it is determined that the bones are not removed, the bones can be removed again. As a method for determining whether the bones are removed, there is a method for taking an image of the vicinity of the location where the bones should be, processing the image, and checking the bones. As another method, by devising a way to make the periphery of the tip of the fish fillet boning chuck 60 appear in the field of view of the camera 40, an image of the periphery of the tip of the fish fillet boning chuck 60 is taken after the bones are removed, and the image is processed to check the bones. That is, if there is a bone near the tip of the fish fillet boning chuck 60, it is possible to know that the bones have been removed. To do this, it is necessary to remove the bones from the fish fillet boning chuck 60 every time after removing the bones, since it is not possible to make a correct judgment if the previously removed bones remain near the tip of the fish fillet boning chuck 60. As a method for removing the bones, the bones can be removed by removing the bones from the tip of the fish fillet boning chuck 60 and then washing it. It is also possible to check the presence of the bones by an image after further washing. Furthermore, in the first embodiment, when the pallet 20 moves from the second imaging step 3B to the deboning step 3C, if the fish fillet 21 moves for some reason, it may cause a discrepancy with the coordinates of the bones sent to the articulated robot 41 in the deboning step 3C, and deboning may not be performed properly. However, as explained above, this problem can be solved by controlling the robot to recognize the bones again and perform deboning. Furthermore, in the second embodiment, it is possible to control the fish fillet deboning chuck 60 while checking the position of the bones to remove the bones, thereby realizing a deboning system with improved reliability. In the second embodiment, if the remaining bones in the fish fillet 21 after deboning are checked every time all the bones are removed, the inspection step can be omitted.

[0029] As in the second embodiment, another advantage of the camera 40 is that the image from the camera 40 is used to adjust the focus using a mechanism that moves the camera 40 back and forth, and when the focus is achieved, the distance between the camera 40 and the target image, for example, the bone to be removed, becomes constant, and this makes it possible to know the distance to the fish fillet deboning chuck 60, and to accurately guide the fish fillet deboning chuck 60 to the position of the bone. A sensor that obtains height information can be used instead of the camera 40, or a height sensor can be added separately from the camera 40 to obtain three-dimensional coordinates.

[0030] In this embodiment, similarly to the second embodiment, the articulated robot 80 is equipped with the fish fillet holding plate 70 and the bone collecting mechanism 90.

[0031] FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a working place of the fish fillet deboning system according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In the third embodiment, the first imaging step 3A remains the same as in the first embodiment, and the second imaging step 3B and the deboning step 3C are performed at the same location. However, in the step 3E, the second imaging step 3B is performed by the articulated robot 38, and the deboning step 3C is performed by the articulated robot 41. That is, the lighting 39 and the camera 40 are mounted on the articulated robot 38, and the fish fillet deboning chuck 60 is mounted on the articulated robot 41.

[0032] The advantage added by the third embodiment over the second embodiment is as follows: the fish fillet deboning chuck 60 and the removed bones can be freely confirmed by the lighting 39 and the camera 40. For example, in the second embodiment, even if only half of the removed bone is captured due to the position of the camera 40 and the position of the fish fillet deboning chuck 60, the camera 40 can be freely moved, so that the entire bone can be captured and the shape of the entire bone can be confirmed.

[0033] Another advantage is that in the second embodiment, the lighting 39 and the camera 40 move to a position where the bone is included, and after the image is captured, the fish fillet deboning chuck 60 moves to the position of the bone, whereas in the third embodiment, when the lighting 39 and the camera 40 capture an image of a place where the bone is included, the fish fillet deboning chuck 60 can be moved to the vicinity of the bone almost at the same time, so that the movement time of the articulated robot 38 from the recognition of the bone to the deboning can be reduced. In the third embodiment, two articulated robots 38 and 41 are used, but it can also be realized with one robot and a dual-arm robot with two arms. As in the first and second embodiments, a sensor that captures height information can be used instead of the camera 40, or a height sensor can be added separately from the camera 40 to capture three-dimensional coordinates.

[0034] Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the main part of the boning chuck shown in Fig. 3 to Fig. 5, in which Fig. 6(a) shows a state in which a pair of clamping parts is open, and Fig. 6(b) shows a state in which the pair of clamping parts is closed. Fig. 7 shows the operation process of the boning chuck shown in Fig. 6. The boning chuck 60 has pressing portions 62A, 62B at the front ends of the pair of clamping portions 61A, 61B for pressing the fish meat Y (see FIG. 7) located around the bone X (see FIG. 7). One pressing portion 62A is disposed on both sides of the front end of one clamping portion 61A, and extends beyond one clamping surface 63A of one clamping portion 61A in the direction of the other clamping portion 61B. The other pressing portions 62B are disposed on both sides of the front end of the other clamping portion 61B, and extend further toward the one clamping portion 61A than the other clamping surface 63B of the other clamping portion 61B. The one side clamping surface 63A has ridges 64A formed in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the bone X to be clamped. The other side clamping surface 63B has ridges 64B formed in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the bone X to be clamped.

[0035] 6(a), in the state where the pair of clamping portions 61A, 61B are open, a cubic frame is formed by one pressing portion 62A, a ridge portion 64A located between one pressing portion 62A, the other pressing portion 62B, and a ridge portion 64B located between the other pressing portion 62B. Note that the front surface of one pressing portion 62A protrudes forward from the ridge portion 64A located between one pressing portion 62A, and the front surface of the other pressing portion 62B protrudes forward from the ridge portion 64B located between the other pressing portion 62B. Also, as shown in FIG. 6(b), when the pair of clamping portions 61A, 61B are closed, the ridge portion 64B formed on the other clamping surface 63B is positioned between the ridge portion 64A formed on the one clamping surface 63A. In this way, the one-side clamping surface 63A and the other-side clamping surface 63B are formed with ridges 64A, 64B in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the bone X to be clamped, so that the bone X can be securely grasped and the bone X can be prevented from slipping out of the pair of clamping portions 61A, 61B during the removal operation.

[0036] In a state where the pair of clamping portions 61A, 61B are closed, the other pressing portion 62B protrudes outward from one side outer surface 65A of one clamping portion 61A, and one pressing portion 62A protrudes outward from the other side outer surface 65B of the other clamping portion 61B. This is because the thicknesses (thickness from one side clamping surface 63A to one side outer surface 65A, thickness from the other side clamping surface 63B to the other side outer surface 65B) at the front end sides of the pair of clamping portions 61A, 61B are thinned, and the opening degree of the pair of clamping portions 61A, 61B is increased.

[0037] FIG. 7(a) is a side view of the essential parts showing the state in which a bone removal chuck is placed on the bone X to be removed, and FIG. 7(b) is a view of the essential parts as seen from the direction of arrow D shown in FIG. 7(a). As shown in FIG. 7(a), the articulated robots 41 and 51 place the boning chuck 60 near the bone X. The bone removal chuck 60 is positioned so that the longitudinal direction of the bone X is perpendicular to an imaginary plane defined by a cubic frame formed by one pressing portion 62A, a ridge portion 64A located between one pressing portion 62A, the other pressing portion 62B, and a ridge portion 64B located between the other pressing portion 62B (see FIG. 7(a)), and the bone X is positioned within the imaginary plane (see FIG. 7(b)).

[0038] Fig. 7(c) is a side view of the essential parts showing the state where the boning chuck is pressed against the fish body, and Fig. 7(d) is a view seen from the direction of the arrow D shown in Fig. 7(c). Figs. 7(c) and 7(d) show the state where the pair of clamping parts 61A, 61B are slightly closed after the boning chuck 60 is moved in the longitudinal direction of the bone X. As shown in FIG. 7(c), the articulated robots 41 and 51 move the boning chuck 60 in the longitudinal direction of the bone X, and the pressing parts 62A and 62B press the fish body Y. When the pressing portions 62A, 62B are pressed against the bone X in the longitudinal direction, the pair of clamping portions 61A, 61B are in an open state. In this way, by pressing the fish meat Y around the bone X, it is possible to prevent the bone X from shifting, and even if the bone X shifts, it will not fall outside the cubic frame. Therefore, as shown in Figure 7(d), the bone X is positioned within the cubic frame. Furthermore, the bone X can be exposed from the fish meat Y by pressing the pressing parts 62A, 62B against the bone X in the longitudinal direction, or by slightly closing the pair of clamping parts 61A, 61B after pressing them against each other.

[0039] FIG. 7(e) is a side configuration diagram of the main part showing a state in which a bone is gripped and pulled out by the clamping portion, and FIG. 7(f) is a configuration diagram seen from the direction of arrow D shown in FIG. 7(e). From the state shown in Figures 7(c) and 7(d), the pair of clamping parts 61A, 61B are closed to grasp the bone X with the clamping parts 61A, 61B, and the bone X is removed by pulling out the clamping parts 61A, 61B in the longitudinal direction of the bone X.

[0040] As described above, by pressing the fish meat Y located around the bone X, it is possible to prevent the bone X from protruding from between the pair of clamping parts 61A, 61B, and by pressing the pressing parts 62A, 62B against the bone X in the longitudinal direction, it is possible to expose the bone X from the fish meat Y, and it is possible to reliably remove only the bone X.

[0041] Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the essential parts showing another configuration of the boning chuck shown in Fig. 3 to Fig. 5, Fig. 8(a) shows a state in which a pair of clamping parts is open, and Fig. 8(b) shows a state in which the pair of clamping parts is closed. The same components as those in Fig. 6 are given the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. In this embodiment, when the pair of clamping portions 61A, 61B are closed, the other pressing portion 62B does not protrude outward from one side outer surface 65A of one clamping portion 61A, and the one pressing portion 62A does not protrude outward from the other side outer surface 65B of the other clamping portion 61B. According to this embodiment, the thicknesses (thickness from one side clamping surface 63A to one side outer surface 65A, thickness from the other side clamping surface 63B to the other side outer surface 65B) at the front end sides of the pair of clamping portions 61A, 61B are increased, thereby increasing the strength of the pair of clamping portions 61A, 61B. The cubic frame may have a slight gap narrower than the bone X. That is, a gap may be present between one pressing portion 62A and the other pressing portion 62B. This cubic frame may be formed when the fish meat Y is pressed. 6 and 8 show the case where one clamping portion 61A is provided with a pair of pressing portions 62A and the other clamping portion 61B is provided with a pair of pressing portions 62B, but it is also possible to provide a pair of pressing portions 62A only on one clamping portion 61A and not provide a pressing portion 62B on the other clamping portion 61B. In this case, a cubic frame is formed by one pressing portion 62A, a ridge portion 64A located between one pressing portion 62A, and a ridge portion 64B of the other clamping portion 61A.

[0042] FIG. 9 is a photograph showing the fish fillet holding plate shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 in use, with FIG. 9(a) showing the plate positioned near the bone, FIG. 9(b) showing the plate holding the fish flesh, and FIG. 9(c) showing the plate just beginning to remove the bone using the bone removal chuck. Figure 10 is a photograph showing a method of deboning fish fillets using the fish fillet holding plate shown in Figures 3 and 4, where Figure 10(a) shows the state after the fish body abutment piece moving step, Figure 10(b) shows the state before the bone clamping step after the boning chuck has been moved to the bone position, Figure 10(c) shows the state after the bone clamping step and after the fish body holding step, Figure 10(d) shows the state during the bone removal step, and Figure 10(e) shows the state after the fish body abutment piece retracting step and during the bone recovery step.

[0043] 9, the fish fillet holding plate 70 has a fish body abutment piece 71 that holds the fish body Y, an attachment piece 72 to the articulated robot 80, and a U-shaped piece 73 that is positioned between the fish body abutment piece 71 and the attachment piece 72. The U-shaped piece 73 prevents interference between the fish fillet deboning chuck 60 and the fish body abutment piece 71, and makes it possible to adjust the angle of the fish body abutment piece 71.

[0044] 10, a notch 74 is formed between the fish body contact pieces 71, and when the clamping parts 61A, 61B are gripping the bone X, the clamping parts 61A, 61B are positioned in the notch 74. Note that, in this embodiment, the notch 74 is formed between one fish body contact piece 71, but the fish body contact piece 71 may be composed of a plurality of pieces, and the notch 74 may be formed between the plurality of pieces. In the fish fillet holding plate 70 of this embodiment, the fish body abutment piece 71 is deformed to conform to the surface shape of the fish body, and when the bone X is pulled out by moving the clamping portions 61A, 61B in the longitudinal direction of the bone X, the fish body abutment piece 71 holds the fish body Y. In this way, when the bone X is pulled out by moving the clamping parts 61A, 61B in the longitudinal direction of the bone X, the fish body Y is held down by the fish body abutment piece 71, thereby preventing the fish body Y from lifting up, ensuring that only the bone X is removed while preventing the fish body Y from shifting out of position.

[0045] 9(c), when the bone X is pulled out, the fish body Y is held down by the fish body contact piece 71, which is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the bone X. Therefore, the contact area of ​​the fish body contact piece 71 with the fish body Y can be minimized, and the fish body Y can be prevented from being lifted up.

[0046] The method for deboning fish fillets according to this embodiment includes a fish body abutment piece moving step of moving the fish body abutment piece 71 to the vicinity of the bone X as shown in FIG. 10(a), a bone clamping step of gripping the bone X with a pair of clamping parts 61A, 61B as shown in FIG. 10(c) after the fish body abutment piece moving step, a fish body holding step of holding the fish body Y with the fish body abutment piece 71 at the same time as the bone clamping step or before or after the bone clamping step as shown in FIG. 10(c), and a fish body abutment piece moving step of holding the fish body Y with the fish body abutment piece 71 as shown in FIG. 10(d). The deboning operation for one bone X is performed by a bone removing step in which the clamping parts 61A, 61B are moved in the longitudinal direction of the bone X while the fish body Y is held down by the piece 71 to remove the bone X, a fish body contact piece retracting step in which the fish body contact piece 71 is retracted from the fish body Y after the bone removing step, and a bone collecting step in which the clamping parts 61A, 61B are moved to the bone collecting mechanism part 90 after the bone removing step and the pair of clamping parts 61A, 61B are opened to collect the bone X in the bone collecting mechanism part 90. The deboning operation for the next bone X is then performed by repeating the above steps, thereby preventing the fish body Y from lifting up and enabling continuous deboning operations to be performed stably. The fish fillet placing plate 100 shown in FIG. 10 is fixed onto a pallet 20 and has fish fillets 21 placed thereon.

[0047] FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a fish fillet placement plate that is most suitable for the present invention. The fish fillet placing plate 100 has a placing surface 100u on which the fish fillet 21 is placed, which is formed with a number of protrusions 101. By using such a fish fillet placing plate 100, it is possible to prevent the fish meat Y from shifting in position due to the operation of removing the bones X. Further, the protrusion 101 is formed with a pointed top 102. Therefore, the pointed top 102 is caught by the fish meat Y, thereby preventing the fish meat Y from being lifted up and preventing the fish meat Y from shifting in position. [Industrial Applicability]

[0048] The present invention precisely removes bones from a fish half that has been filleted into three pieces. [Explanation of symbols]

[0049] 1. Place of input 2 Pallet meeting point 3. Workplace 4. Inspection location 5. Location of good products branch 6 Bad retry branch location 7. Storage area for quality products 8. Defective product storage area 10 Conveyor 11 Retry Conveyor 12. Communication Lines 13 System Computer 14 Display 15 Defective product storage area 16 Defective product work area 17 Workers 20 palettes 21 Fish Fillet 22 Marker 23 Reference Mark 36 3D Sensor 37 Direction of movement 38 Articulated Robot 39 Lighting 40 Camera 41 Multi-joint robot (first multi-joint robot) 44 Rail 51 Multi-joint robot (first multi-joint robot) 60 Fish Fillet Bone Removal Chuck 61A, 61B clamping part 62A, 62B Pressing part 63A One side clamping surface 63B Other side clamping surface 64A, 64B ridges 65A One side outer surface 65B Other side outer surface 70 Fish fillet holder plate 71 Fish body contact piece 72 Mounting piece 73 U-shaped piece 74 Cut 80 Multi-joint robot (Second multi-joint robot) 90 Bone Retrieval Mechanism 100 Fish fillet plate 100u mounting surface 101 Protrusion 102 Top X bone Y Fish meat

Claims

1. A fish fillet deboning chuck is mounted on the tip of a first articulated robot arranged on one side of the fish fillet, and a fish fillet holding plate is mounted on the tip of a second articulated robot arranged on the other side of the fish fillet; The fish fillet bone removal chuck can be adjusted by the first articulated robot to have a removal direction that matches the orientation of the bones, which may vary; The fish fillet holding plate can change the direction in which the fish fillet is held down by the second articulated robot, The fish fillet holding plate is used together with the fish fillet bone removing chuck, which grasps and removes the bone from the fish fillet with a pair of clamping portions of the fish fillet bone removing chuck, A fish body abutment piece that holds the fish body; An attachment piece that is attached to the second articulated robot; A U-shaped piece positioned between the fish body abutment piece and the attachment piece; having A cut is formed in the fish body abutment piece, When the bone is gripped by the clamping portion, the clamping portion is positioned in the notch, When the pinching portion is moved in the longitudinal direction of the bone to pull out the bone, the fish meat is held down by the fish meat abutment piece. A method for deboning fish fillets using a fish fillet holding plate, comprising: A fish body abutment piece moving process for moving the fish body abutment piece to the vicinity of the bone; A bone clamping step of gripping the bone with a pair of the clamping parts after the fish body abutment piece moving step; A fish meat holding step of holding the fish meat by the fish meat abutment piece at the same time as the bone clamping step or before or after the bone clamping step; a bone removal process in which the fish meat is held down by the fish meat abutment piece, and the pinching part is moved in the longitudinal direction of the bone to remove the bone; A fish body abutment piece retraction process for retracting the fish body abutment piece from the fish body after the bone removal process; a bone collecting step of moving the clamping units to a bone collecting mechanism unit after the bone pulling step and opening the pair of clamping units to collect the bone into the bone collecting mechanism unit; a bone removing operation is performed on one of the bones by The deboning operation for the next bone is performed by repeating the fish body abutment piece moving step, the bone clamping step, the fish body holding step, the bone pulling step, the fish body abutment piece retracting step, and the bone collecting step. The bone recovery mechanism is provided on the second articulated robot which operates the fish fillet holding plate, The bone recovery mechanism is disposed on the upper end side of the fish fillet holding plate. A method for deboning fish fillets.

2. A vacuum tube for sucking the extracted bone is connected to the bone recovery mechanism.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the fish fillet is deboned.

3. In the bone recovery step, the extracted bones are counted.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the fish fillet is deboned.

Images