Cutting device
The cutting device addresses the challenge of inconsistent cuts in meat processing by using a rotatable clamper and elastically supported clamping member to adjust to the workpiece's size and shape, ensuring precise cuts without damaging the bone.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- MAYEKAWA MFG CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2022-08-08
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-23
AI Technical Summary
Existing meat processing machines struggle to consistently and accurately cut meat and tendons around bones in bone-in meat, particularly due to variations in size and shape, leading to incomplete cuts or cutting through the bone, which affects subsequent processing.
A cutting device with a rotatable clamper and elastically supported clamping member that adjusts to the size and shape of the workpiece, using a variable elastic force to ensure precise cutting without damaging the bone.
The device ensures appropriate cutting of meat and tendons around bones regardless of size or shape, preventing incomplete cuts and bone damage, thereby preparing the workpiece for subsequent processing.
Smart Images
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Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present disclosure relates to a cutting device.
Background Art
[0002] In the field of meat processing that handles meat such as chicken, beef, and pork, automation using meat processing machines has been progressing. For example, in a meat processing treatment for separating bone and meat using bone-in meat, such as the leg of a chicken (turkey), as a workpiece, as a subsequent process, a tendon insertion is performed on a predetermined portion of the bone-in meat using a cutting device. Such tendon insertion is performed to facilitate the separation of bone and meat by making incisions or pre-cutting relatively hard tendons on the bone-in meat supported by suspension.
[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses an example of a meat processing machine using bone-in meat as a workpiece. In this document, although it is a configuration regarding a so-called meat separator for separating meat from bone in the bone-in meat after tendon insertion, a configuration for separating meat from bone by accessing a movable separator from the other side of the workpiece while stabilizing the posture of the workpiece by a fixed separator from one side of the suspended workpiece is shown.
Prior Art Documents
Patent Documents
[0004]
Patent Document 1
Summary of the Invention
Problems to be Solved by the Invention
[0005] As described in Patent Document 1 above, when working on bone-in meat, which is a suspended workpiece, the posture of the workpiece can be stabilized by guiding it from one side with a pressing member such as a fixed separator. Such a mechanism could also be used in meat processing machines where various processes are sequentially performed while a suspended workpiece moves along a predetermined trajectory, including in the process of scoring a predetermined part of bone-in meat as described above.
[0006] Specifically, the workpiece is guided by positioning a clamping member fixed near the trajectory of the workpiece, which is suspended and supported by a clamp. Then, by applying a cutter to the workpiece guided by the clamping member from the opposite side of the clamping member and rotating the workpiece, the meat and tendons around the bone can be cut, allowing for muscle definition in a predetermined area of the workpiece (e.g., around the ankle). In this type of bone-in meat preparation, it is necessary to properly cut the meat and tendons around the bone without cutting the bone itself, in order to supply the workpiece in a suitable condition for subsequent processing. Generally, there is considerable variation in the size of bone-in meat, and in particular, bone-in turkey meat shows a large difference in size depending on the sex (male or female). Furthermore, bone-in meat generally has a non-circular cross-section. When using a fixed clamping member as described above, the clamping member that restrains the workpiece during cutting is fixed in a fixed position regardless of the size of the workpiece. Therefore, for example, if the size of the workpiece is relatively small, it is easy for uncut meat and tendons around the bone to remain. On the other hand, when the workpiece is relatively large, it becomes easier to cut the bone itself, in addition to the surrounding flesh and tendons that are to be cut. These cutting defects may lead to the workpiece not being able to be handled properly in subsequent processing after pre-processing.
[0007] At least one embodiment of this disclosure has been made in view of the above circumstances and aims to provide a cutting device that can appropriately cut the necessary parts of bone-in meat, regardless of the size of the bone. [Means for solving the problem]
[0008] (1) A cutting device according to one embodiment solves the above problem, A clamper (102) that rotatably supports a workpiece (W) which is bone-in meat, A cutter (104) for cutting grooves in the workpiece is provided, which rotates the workpiece supported by the clamp and brings it into contact with the workpiece, A clamping member (106) for restraining the workpiece supported by the clamp from the opposite side of the cutter, A support portion (108) that elastically supports the aforementioned pressing member, It is equipped with.
[0009] According to the embodiment of (1) above, when the workpiece is rotated and cut with the cutter, the clamping member for restraining the workpiece is elastically supported by the support part. As a result, even if the size of the workpiece is different, the clamping member can swing due to the elastic force it receives according to the size of the workpiece. Therefore, the degree to which the cutter contacts the workpiece restrained by the clamping member is adjusted according to the size of the workpiece, and the necessary part of the workpiece can be cut appropriately.
[0010] (2) In other embodiments, in the embodiment of (1) above, The support portion is switchable between a first position (P1) in which the pressing member contacts the workpiece supported by the clamper, and a second position (P2) in which the pressing member is separated from the workpiece supported by the clamper.
[0011] According to the embodiment of (2) above, the support portion that elastically supports the clamping member is configured such that the clamping member can switch between a first position and a second position. When the clamping member is switched to the first position, as described above, the workpiece can be elastically restrained by the clamping member, thereby appropriately cutting the required portion of the workpiece. On the other hand, when the clamping member is switched to the second position, for example, when a workpiece supported by a clamper is transported along a predetermined trajectory, the clamping member can be retracted so that the workpiece and the clamping member do not interfere with each other during transport.
[0012] (3) In other embodiments, in the embodiment of (1) or (2) above, The magnitude of the elastic force that the support portion exerts to support the pressing member is variable.
[0013] According to the embodiment of (3) above, by making the magnitude of the elastic force supporting the pressing member variable, it becomes possible to adjust the positional relationship between the cutter and the workpiece restrained by the pressing member. As a result, the degree of cutting of the workpiece can be adjusted by the user by setting the elastic force.
[0014] (4) In other embodiments, in any one embodiment of (1) to (3) above, The support portion includes an air cylinder (110) for providing elastic force to support the pressing member.
[0015] According to the embodiment of (4) above, by configuring the support member to include an air cylinder, a support portion capable of elastically supporting the pressing member can be suitably realized.
[0016] (5) In other embodiments, in any one embodiment of (1) to (4) above, The pressing member has a contact surface (106c) that can contact the workpiece, The contact surface has a recess (106d) corresponding to the surface shape of the workpiece.
[0017] According to the embodiment of (5) above, a recess is provided on the contact surface of the workpiece of the pressing member. As a result, when the workpiece is elastically restrained by the pressing member, the workpiece engages with the recess, thereby stably maintaining the position of the workpiece during cutting.
[0018] (6) In other embodiments, in any one embodiment of (1) to (5) above, The cutter is elastically supported.
[0019] According to the aspect (6) above, the cutter located on the side opposite to the pressing member that elastically restrains the workpiece during cutting is also elastically supported. As a result, the workpiece is rotated while being sandwiched by the pressing member and the cutter that are elastically supported, enabling appropriate cutting of the required part.
[0020] (7) In another aspect, in any one of the aspects (1) to (6) above, The workpiece has a non-circular cross-sectional shape at the position where it is cut by the cutter.
[0021] According to the aspect (7) above, in a workpiece having a non-circular cross-sectional shape, a cutting device capable of appropriately cutting a required part can be realized.
Advantages of the Invention
[0022] According to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, a cutting device capable of appropriately cutting a required part can be provided regardless of the size of the meat with bone.
Brief Description of the Drawings
[0023] [Figure 1] It is a schematic view showing the workpiece from the side. [Figure 2] It is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 1. [Figure 3] It is a schematic view showing the cutting device according to one embodiment from the side. [Figure 4] It is a top view shown from the B direction of FIG. 3. [Figure 5] It is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the contact surface of the pressing member.
Modes for Carrying Out the Invention
[0024] Hereinafter, several embodiments will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, etc. of the configurations described as embodiments or shown in the drawings are not intended to limit the scope of the invention, but are merely illustrative examples.
[0025] First, the workpiece W to be cut by the cutting device 100 will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the workpiece W from the side, and Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view AA of Figure 1.
[0026] Work W is a so-called bone-in meat, with a meat portion 2 surrounding a bone portion 1. In this embodiment, bone-in meat from a turkey leg is used as work W, but the type and part of the animal, such as beef, pork, or chicken, are not limited. As shown in Figure 1, work W has a main body portion 4 with a large amount of meat portion 2 relative to the bone portion 1, and an ankle portion 6 which is relatively smaller in diameter than the main body portion 4 and has less meat portion 2. Also, as shown in Figure 2, the bone portion 1 has a non-circular cross-section, and a tendon 5 is provided on a part of the outer surface of the bone portion 1. The tendon 5 extends along the outer surface of the bone portion 1 and is a harder tissue than the meat portion 2.
[0027] Next, a cutting device 100 for cutting a workpiece W having the above configuration will be described. Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing a cutting device 100 according to one embodiment from the side, and Figure 4 is a top view shown from direction B in Figure 3.
[0028] The cutting device 100 is a device for performing an ankle cutting process, which involves making an incision around the bone portion 1 in the ankle portion 6 as a preliminary step in separating the bone portion 1 from the flesh portion 2 in the workpiece W. In the ankle cutting process, an incision is made circumferentially in the ankle portion 6, which serves as the starting point for the subsequent separation of the bone portion 1 from the flesh portion 2. At this time, the cutting device 100 needs to appropriately cut the flesh portion 2 around the bone portion 1 and the tendon 5, which is a relatively hard part that hinders the separation. Furthermore, if the cutting device 100 were to cut all the way to the bone portion 1, it would be impossible to properly separate the flesh portion 2 from the bone portion 1 in the subsequent separation process of the flesh portion 2, or a part of the bone portion 1 would be separated together with the flesh portion 2, potentially contaminating the processed meat as a foreign object. Therefore, the cutting device 100 is required to appropriately cut the flesh portion 2 and tendon 5 in the ankle portion 6, while ensuring that the cut does not extend to the bone portion 1.
[0029] The cutting device 100 includes a clamper 102 that rotatably supports the workpiece W. The clamper 102 is configured to grip one end of the workpiece W that is closer to the ankle portion 6. The detailed structure of the clamper 102 is omitted, but in this embodiment, the clamper 102 supports the workpiece W such that, with one end of the workpiece W inserted, the ankle portion 6, which is the cutting site by the cutting device 100, is exposed downwards.
[0030] Furthermore, the cutting device 100 is incorporated as part of each step that constitutes a series of meat processing operations for separating the bone portion 1 from the meat portion 2. The clamper 102 is movable along rails (not shown) to sequentially transport the workpiece W to each of these steps. That is, by moving along rails (not shown), the clamper 102 can transport the workpiece W before cutting to the cutting device 100 and transport the workpiece W cut by the cutting device 100 to the next step.
[0031] The cutting device 100 includes a cutter 104 for cutting the ankle portion 6 of the workpiece W. The cutter 104 is a disc-shaped cutter having an arc-shaped tooth surface 104a, supported by a central axis C that is approximately vertical (the central axis C is fixed to a peripheral structure not shown). The cutter 104 is installed such that its tooth surface 104a is approximately horizontal with respect to the central axis C, and is positioned to face one side of the ankle portion 6, which is the cutting portion of the workpiece W gripped by the clamper 102. Furthermore, the tooth surface 104a of the cutter 104 may be straight.
[0032] The cutting device 100 includes a clamping member 106 for restraining the workpiece W, supported by the clamper 102, from the side opposite to the cutter 104. The clamping member 106 is positioned on the side opposite to the cutter 104 from the workpiece W. As a result, the workpiece W is restrained by the clamping member 106, and the cutter 104 contacts the ankle portion 6 from the opposite side of the clamping member 106. In this state, the clamper 102 rotates due to a driving force from an external drive source, and the workpiece W, supported by the clamper 102, rotates while being restrained between the cutter 104 and the clamping member 106, thereby cutting the ankle portion 6 along the circumferential direction.
[0033] Furthermore, it is preferable that the position where the tooth surface 104a of the cutter 104 contacts the workpiece W and the position where the pressing member 106 contacts the workpiece W are at approximately the same height, but as shown in Figure 3, there may be a slight difference in height between the two.
[0034] The pressing member 106 comprises an arm portion 106a and a contact portion 106b. The arm portion 106a has a shape such that the contact portion 106b provided at its tip is in a position to contact a predetermined part of the workpiece W. As described above, the contact portion 106b is configured to contact a position on the workpiece W that is approximately equal in height to the position where the tooth surface 104a of the cutter 104 contacts. In this embodiment, as will be described later, the pressing member 106 is configured to be switchable between a first position P1 and a second position P2 (in Figure 3, the first position P1 is shown by a dashed line and the second position P2 by a solid line). In the first position P1, the pressing member 106 is in a position where the contact portion 106b is in contact with the workpiece W. In the second position P2, the pressing member 106 is in a position where the contact portion 106b is retracted from the workpiece W.
[0035] The contact portion 106b is the part that contacts the workpiece W when the pressing member 106 is in the first position P1. In this embodiment, the contact portion 106b is formed to be wider toward the side that contacts the workpiece W. This ensures that even if there is variation in the size of the workpiece W, the contact portion 106b can accurately grasp the workpiece W and reliably contact the workpiece W.
[0036] Here, Figure 5 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the contact surface 106c of the pressing member 106. As shown in Figure 5, the contact surface 106c of the contact portion 106b that contacts the workpiece W may be provided with a recess 106d corresponding to the shape of the outer surface of the workpiece W. This allows the workpiece W to be more accurately gripped by the contact portion 106b by engaging a part of the workpiece W with the recess 106d when the contact portion 106b contacts the workpiece W.
[0037] Furthermore, the contact portion 106b may be detachable from the arm portion 106a. In this case, by replacing the contact portion 106b, it becomes possible to accommodate a wider range of workpiece sizes and types W.
[0038] The cutting device 100 includes a support portion 108 for elastically supporting the pressing member 106. The support portion 108 elastically supports the pressing member 106 with respect to the surrounding structure 109 of the cutting device 100. As a result, the pressing member 106 supported by the support portion 108 restrains the workpiece W with a predetermined elastic force. Therefore, even if the size of the workpiece W is different, the pressing member 106 can swing according to the size of the workpiece W, thereby adjusting the contact of the cutter 104 located on the opposite side of the workpiece W. For example, when the size of the workpiece W is small, the cutting depth of the cutter 104 into the workpiece W is adjusted so that no uncut portions of the flesh 2 or tendons 5 of the workpiece W are left behind. On the other hand, when the size of the workpiece W is large, the cutting depth of the cutter 104 into the workpiece W is adjusted so that the flesh 2 and tendons 5 are accurately cut without cutting through the bone 1 of the workpiece W. In this way, by elastically supporting the pressing member 106 with the support portion 108, the contact of the cutter 104 with the workpiece W restrained by the pressing member 106 is adjusted according to the size of the workpiece W, and the necessary part of the workpiece W can be cut appropriately.
[0039] The support portion 108 is switchable between a first position P1 in which the pressing member 106 contacts the workpiece W supported by the clamper 102, and a second position P2 in which the pressing member 106 is separated from the workpiece W supported by the clamper 102. When the pressing member 106 is switched to the first position P1, as described above, the workpiece W can be elastically restrained by the pressing member 106 (by elastically pressing the pressing member 106 against the workpiece W), thereby allowing the necessary portion of the workpiece W to be cut appropriately. On the other hand, when the pressing member 106 is switched to the second position P2, for example, when the workpiece W supported by the clamper 102 is transported along a predetermined trajectory, the pressing member 106 can be retracted so that the workpiece W and the pressing member 106 do not interfere with each other during transport.
[0040] The support portion 108 for elastically supporting the pressing member 106 is configured, for example, to include an air cylinder 110. In this case, the magnitude of the elastic force that the support portion 108 exerts on the pressing member 106 can be easily varied by adjusting the air pressure of the air cylinder 110. This makes it possible to adjust the magnitude of the elastic force that restrains the workpiece W by the pressing member 106 (in other words, the elastic force that presses down on the workpiece W by the pressing member 106) when the pressing member 106 is switched to the first position P1. For example, if the amount of cutting into the workpiece W is small (for example, if there is a tendency for uncut areas to remain in the flesh portion 2 or tendon 5), the amount of cutting into the workpiece W can be appropriately improved by adjusting the air pressure of the air cylinder 110 to increase the elastic force. Also, if the amount of cutting into the workpiece W is too large (for example, if the cutting extends not only to the flesh portion 2 or tendon 5 but also to the bone portion 1), the amount of cutting into the workpiece W by the cutter 104 can be reduced by adjusting the air pressure of the air cylinder 110 to decrease the elastic force, thereby appropriately improving the amount of cutting into the workpiece W. Such adjustment of elastic force allows the user to appropriately control the cutting quality of the workpiece W by changing the settings of the air cylinder 110, for example. Furthermore, other embodiments of the support portion 108 may include, for example, a member capable of applying elastic force, such as a spring member.
[0041] In the above-described embodiment, the case in which the cutter 104 is fixed to the surrounding structure (not shown) was illustrated, but the cutter 104 may also be elastically supported relative to the surrounding structure. In this case, the workpiece W gripped by the clamper 102 is rotated while being elastically restrained from both sides of the cutter 104 and the pressing member 106, thereby allowing for finer adjustment of the cutting quality along the ankle portion 6.
[0042] As described above, according to the above embodiment, when the workpiece W is rotated and cut by the cutter 104, the pressing member 106 for restraining the workpiece W is elastically supported by the support part 108. As a result, even if the size of the workpiece W is different, the pressing member 106 can swing due to the elastic force it receives according to the size of the workpiece W. Therefore, the degree to which the cutter 104 contacts the workpiece W restrained by the pressing member 106 is adjusted according to the size of the workpiece W, and the necessary part of the workpiece W can be appropriately cut. In this way, a cutting device 100 that can appropriately cut the necessary part regardless of the size of the bone-in meat can be provided. [Explanation of symbols]
[0043] 1 bone 2 Meat part 4. Main body 5 Tendons 6 Ankle area 100 cutting equipment 102 Clamper 104 Cutter 104a Tooth surface 106 Retaining member 106a Arm section 106b Contact part 106c Contact surface 106d recess 108 Support part 109 Surrounding Structure 110 Air Cylinder C center axis P1 1st position P2 2nd position Double job
Claims
1. A clamp that allows the workpiece, which is meat with the bone still attached, to rotate, A cutter for cutting grooves in a workpiece is provided, which rotates the workpiece supported by the clamp and brings it into contact with the workpiece, When the cutter cuts the reinforcing bar, a pressing member is provided for pressing the workpiece, which is supported by the clamp, toward the cutter from the opposite side of the cutter, A support portion that elastically supports the aforementioned pressing member, A cutting device equipped with the following features.
2. The cutting device according to claim 1, wherein the support portion is switchable between a first position in which the pressing member contacts the workpiece supported by the clamper and a second position in which the pressing member is separated from the workpiece supported by the clamper.
3. The cutting device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the magnitude of the elastic force that the support portion exerts on the pressing member is variable.
4. The cutting apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the support portion includes an air cylinder for providing elastic force to support the pressing member.
5. The pressing member has a contact surface that can contact the workpiece, The cutting apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the contact surface has a recess corresponding to the surface shape of the workpiece.
6. The cutting apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cutter is elastically supported.
7. The cutting apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the workpiece has a non-circular cross-section at the position where it is cut by the cutter.
8. The cutting device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pressing member has a contact portion that can contact the workpiece at a height substantially equal to the position where the tooth surface of the cutter contacts.
9. The cutting device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pressing member has a contact portion that is formed to be wider toward the side that contacts the workpiece.