Method and apparatus for automatic temperature measurements of moving poultry items

Abstract

An apparatus and method are described that makes possible the automatic measurements of temperature in poultry items moving on a conveyor. The apparatus is characterized in that it can receive information from sensors located upstream in the conveyor line about incoming poultry items. The apparatus can further adapt the position of temperatures probes with respect to the size and shape and speed of an item to be measured and insert one or more temperature probes into the item in such a way that the temperature probe will always be inserted at the same relative spot and at the same depth in items that have the same size or shape. After the temperature probe has been inserted, it will move with the poultry items on the conveyor line for sufficient time and distance to obtain a stable temperature reading.

Description

[0001] METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATIC TEMPERATURE

[0002] MEASUREMENTS OF MOVING POUETRY ITEMS

[0003] FIELD

[0004] The present invention relates to methods for automatic temperature measurements of food products, in particular poultry, during their processing.

[0005] BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0006] Consumers are increasingly favoring fresh food over frozen as is seen by numerous market trends, especially for fish and poultry products. The quality and shelf-life of fresh food depends on many characteristics and conditions, especially factors such as hygiene and handling, during pre- and post-processing (from catch / sacrifice to in-house processing). Bacterial contamination and growth are the main cause of quality loss in fresh foods such as fish and poultry, as well as the main cause of food poisoning. The single most important factor for controlling bacterial growth in food is temperature during processing, storage, and transport of the food. Keeping fresh food safe and of acceptable quality for the consumers as long as possible (i.e. long shelf-life) is therefore of major concern for health authorities, and at the same time of major economic importance for the producers.

[0007] Poultry production is the largest and fastest growing sector of meat productionin the world, with over 40% of total world meat production. Chicken production is now over 120 million tons (Mt) a year and growing >2% a year.

[0008] Modem food industries are now generally very high tech, and especially so in chicken processing, where the output of many chicken producers is as high as 20.000 bird per hour (bph). In industrial processing of poultry, the birds go quickly through slaughter, bleeding, defeathering by hot water immersion and rubbing, followed by evisceration, washing and finally chilling. Poultry carcasses must be chilled to lower their breast temperature from approximately 40°C to 4°C or below to ensure safe products, before entering secondary processing and / or shipment to customers. The cooling time is therefore critical in the overall economy of the chicken production. The cooling process will in principle follow Newton’s law of cooling, where the rate of cooling is dependent on the temperature difference, surface area and the heat transfer coefficient between the body and the environment. The chilling rate is therefore rapid in the beginning but slows down dramatically when the body temperature approaches the environmental temperature in a particular chiller. Accurate temperature measurements are therefore crucial tool for the producer to decide on chilling time and chilling methods used. Much like other parts of nature, the size and weight of birds is highly varied. Even for highly controlled poultry farms, there will still be a large distribution in weights. Since every bird receives the same chilling time and is immersed in the same ambient temperature, it is evident that larger birds will have a higher core temperature than smaller birds.

[0009] There are over 2000 slaughterhouses for poultry in Europe and from a sample visit to 30 of these, it was confirmed that the industry as a whole is dealing with the problem of too high bird temperatures. It was also observed that the slaughterhouses had great difficulties complying to stricter regulations in chilling of poultry. These difficulties are not limited to Europe, as poultry processing plants all over the world are also facing major problems with too high temperatures in their production. The cause fo these difficulties are several, among them are stricter regulations, increased size of birds, pressure to increase production, and higher cost of chilling due to increasing energy price and warmer weather from global warming and seasonal changes.

[0010] Poultry plant operators are required to report regularly to official regulators with results of sampling from poultry and poultry meat. Generally, these samples can include several known strains of bacteria, and temperature measurements of birds. The report shall state at least information on the type of sample, date of sampling, traceability number / batch, analytical method, and results. The system of the current invention can provide reliable information on the temperature of the poultry, providing confirmation for the effective cooling and quality of the product and aid in the reporting process to authorities.

[0011] Different methods and apparatuses for weighing foodstuffs such as poultry or fish filets when traveling on conveyor belts have been described and are well known in the art (Hagendorn et al. 2023, Joergensen et al. 2019). This demonstrates that the industry is continuously looking for improvements in how best to automatically weigh poultry or other foodstuffs, while it is moving in the conveyor line. However, no similar developments have been made for automatic measurements of temperature in poultry or other foodstuffs that is moving on a conveyor. SUMMARY

[0012] The present disclosure seeks to mitigate, alleviate or eliminate one or more deficiencies, disadvantages or issues in the art, such as the above-identified, singly or in any combination.

[0013] In the present invention we describe the characteristics of an apparatus and method for automatically measuring temperature in foodstuffs, in particular poultry items such as whole poultry carcasses or poultry parts, when moving on a conveyor. The disclosure provides solutions for such measurements without the need for removing items from a conveyor, or slowing down or stopping a conveying system to determine the temperature of one or more items on the conveyor. Thereby, a high throughput measurement system and method is provided that can operate in unison with high throughput conveying systems.

[0014] In a first aspect, the disclosure provides a method of measuring the temperature of one or more poultry items such as poultry carcasses when in motion along a conveyor during its processing. The method comprises inserting at least one temperature probe into the poultry while in motion for a sufficient length of time to allow an internal temperature measurement of the poultry to be made.

[0015] An advantage is that during the measurement, the at least one probe can be moving in a similar speed and direction as the one or more poultry items to be measured. Preferably, the at least one probe can be moving at substantially the same speed and in the same direction as the poultry items to be measured.

[0016] During the measurement, the at least one probe and the one or more poultry items can be moving in unison, so the probe stays in substantially the same position in the poultry during measurement.

[0017] Following the measurement, the at least one temperature probe can be removed or withdrawn from the poultry item.

[0018] The method can comprise detecting a poultry item to be measured and aligning the at least one temperature probe with respect to the detected poultry item before inserting the probe into a desired location of the poultry item. Sensing or detecting means can generally be selected from imaging means (e.g., one or more camera), mechanical sensors, optical sensors, photoelectric sensors, metallic sensors, magnetic sensors, etc.

[0019] A poultry processing plant may have several sensing means. For example, there can be imaging means at an upstream location from the temperature measurement apparatus, for example close to or at the entrance of a conveyor into a cooling chamber or cooling room. In this context, “upstream” is taken to refer the direction of movement of a conveyor in a poultry processing facility. Thus, an “ustream” location is a location that is towards the entry or starting position of the conveyor from the point of view of the position at which a temperature measurement as described herein is to be made.

[0020] The imaging means can provide information about the size, weight or other physical characteristics of individual poultry items moving on the conveyor. Based on this information, or based on other information, poultry items can be selected for temperature measurement at a downstream location. The selection can also represent a random selection, or alternatively can be made to select a certain interval of items moving on the conveyor.

[0021] The temperature measurement can, for example, be made at a downstream location of additional / secondary cooling means that may be provided within the processing plant or cooling chamber / room.

[0022] Information on weight, size and / or shape of a poultry item to be measured can thus be sent from one or more upstream sensing apparatus to a temperature probe apparatus comprising at least one temperature probe so that the temperature probe apparatus can position itself to a predetermined position and depth of measurement of the poultry item to be measured.

[0023] Information on the speed of the moving poultry item can subsequently be sent to the temperature probe apparatus, whereby the temperature probe apparatus will start moving itself to the same speed as the poultry item. At least one temperature probe is then inserted at a predetermined position and at a predetermined depth into the poultry item.

[0024] One or more additional sensors can provide information about the position of a preselected item to be measured on the conveyor. Such an additional sensor may be located closer to the temperature probe apparatus than the first upstream sensing apparatus and can thus be useful for alerting the temperature probe apparatus about the imminent arrival of a poultry item to be measured.

[0025] As a result, the at least one temperature probe is inserted into the poultry item at a first location on a conveyor line and withdrawn when the poultry item has moved to a second downstream position on the conveyor line, and wherein the at least one temperature probe remains inside the poultry item at the predetermined position and depth during the measurement. This way, a temperature measurement of a moving poultry item on a processor can be made, without having to remove the item from the conveyor, or even slow down the conveyor for the measurement.

[0026] The conveyor can, during the measurement, be moving at a speed as high as 10 m / s (equivalent to about 240k birds per hour (bph)), as high as 5 m / s (120k bph) or as high as 2 m / s (50k bph). The speed can generally be in the range of 0.05-10 m / s, such as 0.05-5 m / s, 0.05-2 m / s, 0.5-5 m / s, 0.5-4 m / s, 0.5-3 m / s or 0.5-2 m / s. 0.05 - 0.85 (1200bph - 20000 bph).

[0027] The method can also comprise taking an internal temperature of a plurality of a poultry items on a conveyor, wherein the temperature is taken at the same or similar location or position within each of the poultry items. This way a comparison of measurement represents a true measure of the variation in temperature between poultry items on the conveyor.

[0028] The disclosure also provides a temperature measuring system. The system can generally comprise a conveyor for moving poultry items, and a temperature probe apparatus comprising at least one actuator mechanism for moving at least one temperature probe along, and in a direction parallel to the conveyor, and at least one actuator mechanism for inserting the at least one temperature probe into moving poultry items and taking an internal temperature of the moving poultry items.

[0029] The system generally can comprise means to detect moving poultry items and align the temperature probe apparatus with the poultry items on the conveyor. The system can also comprise sensing means to align the temperature probe apparatus and insert the temperature probe into the poultry items while the temperature probe is moving at substantially the same speed as the poultry items. The temperature probe apparatus can thus be configured to move the temperature probe at the same speed and direction as the poultry items, and the temperature probe apparatus further configured to insert the at least one temperature probe into moving poultry items with no relative movement between the probe and the poultry items after the temperature probe has been inserted into the poultry

[0030] The system can be composed of a temperature probe positioning and inserting station that is situated on a main body with a slider such as a sliding rod. The main body with slider can be positioned above, or to one side of a conveyor or conveyor line with travelling foodstuffs such as poultry items. The conveyor line can be a flat conveyor belt, such as conveyors typically used in fish processing, or an overhead conveyor line, such as in poultry processing. The main body with slider can be supported by stand-alone support or be attached to the frame structure of the conveyor line. The system can receive information on the size and shape of each item (e.g. poultry item) on the conveyor line sent from an upstream sensing apparatus. Then the temperature probe apparatus that will start moving to position itself to insert one or more temperature probes into a selected location and then insert the temperature probes into a predetermined depth of the item to be measured.

[0031] Information on the speed of the conveyor line can be provided from one or more upstream sensing apparatus to the temperature probe apparatus that will start moving itself to the same speed before lining up with the incoming poultry item(s) selected for measurement. The temperature probe positioning and inserting station will then move on the main body with slider at the same speed as the conveyor line, with the temperature probes inserted for sufficient time to obtain a stable temperature reading.

[0032] Alternatively, the time needed for travel with the temperature probe inserted in the item on the conveyor line will be at least equivalent to one time constant for the temperature probes. This constant is the time required for the temperature reading to reach a certain percentage or fraction (e.g., 63.2% ) of the temperature step in the poultry item being measured. The temperature step is the difference in degrees of temperature between the environmental temperature and the actual final temperature inside the poultry item, which would be recorded if the temperature probe would be kept inside the poultry item for longer time, such as for up to 3 to 5 times the time used for the actual measurement (the time costant). The time constant of commercially available temperature probes, are normally below 1 second, which then is the time needed for the temperature probes to stay inserted inside the poultry item for the temperature to be determined with sufficient accuracy. When the temperature probes have stayed inserted for at least one time constant, the probes are withdrawn from the poultry item and the temperature probe positioning and inserting station moves back to starting point.

[0033] Also provided herein is a temperature probe apparatus for positioning adjacent to and for use with, a conveyor, to the apparatus being configured to determine the temperature of poultry items moving on the conveyor. The apparatus can comprise a slider or sliding mechanism (such as a sliding rod) that supports a driving mechanism (such as a driving belt or the like). The apparatus also comprises a temperature probe positioning and inserting station that is mounted on the slider and attached to the driving mechanism. The temperature probe positioning and inserting station comprises an insertion mechanism comprising at least one temperature probe, the insertion mechanism being configured to insert at least one temperature probe in a predetermined location on a poultry item and towards a predetermined depth. The temperature probe positioning and inserting station generally has a first position and a second position on the slider and is configured to receive information about poultry items on a conveyor. This information can be related to the position of the items on a conveyor and / or the speed, weight, size and / or shape of poultry items moving on the conveyor. The temperature probe positioning and inserting station is configured to initiate movement of the slider driving mechanism to a speed that is substantially the same as the speed of a poultry item to measured, based on received information about the at least one moving poultry item and upon reaching said speed activate the insertion mechanism to insert at least one temperature probe into at least one predetermined location on the poultry item.

[0034] As a result, the temperature is configured to measure the temperature of the poultry item during its movement on the conveyor as the temperature probe positioning and inserting station moves towards the second position.

[0035] After measurement, the temperature probe is removed from the poultry item. The insertion mechanism is therefore further configured to retract the at least one inserted temperature probe out of the poultry item after the measurement. Furthermore, the probe positioning and inserting station is configured to subsequently come to a halt at the second position on the sliding rod and subsequently move back to the first position.

[0036] The temperature probe apparatus is configured to receive information on position, weight, size, speed and / or shape of poultry items moving on the conveyor from at least one upstream sensing apparatus, such as from weighing or from computer images obtained by different signaling methods, such as one or more imaging apparatus, one or more optical sensors, one or more photoelectric sensors, by thermal (IR) imaging, 2D imaging, 3D imaging, or mechanical sensors.

[0037] The temperature probe apparatus can be used in the temperature measuring system described herein.

[0038] The present invention also relates to the use of a temperature probe apparatus for measuring the temperature of poultry items moving in conveyor line and reporting the measurements directly and in real time to a processor or computer. The use can be for measuring the temperature in poultry items moving in conveyor line according to a preprogrammed sampling program, such as measuring every 5th, every 10th, every 50th, or every 100thitems, measure items at random and therefore irrespective of size and shape of the items. With the information received from upstream sensor relating to size and weight of birds, the sampling program can also be configured to provide instructions to sample certain weights or weight ranges of interest..

[0039] The present use can be for measuring the temperature in poultry items moving in conveyor line according to a preprogrammed sampling program, such as measuring a fixed number of poultry items, and, or only measuring poultry items of specific size or shape.

[0040] The use can in particular be for measuring the breast temperature of poultry carcasses travelling in conveyor line in a cooling chamber.

[0041] For example, the measuring can be performed in such a way that it will only measure the breast temperature of poultry items above a certain weight, or only measure the temperature of poultry items of a certain weight range.

[0042] In certain embodiments the apparatus disclosed herein can be used to connect to other components or functionalities, such as for directing or controlling the speed of a conveyor line in a cooling chamber, to decrease or increase the cooling time needed for poultry carcasses of certain weights, to reach a target breast temperature. Such additional cooling can be provided by stronger air blowing, or colder air blowing, or spraying cold water or shooting ice slurry at only those poultry carcasses that are too hot to reach a target breast temperature in set time of the cooling chamber.

[0043] In certain embodiments the apparatus can be used to connect to other components, such as in directing the separation of poultry carcasses of certain weights or that are having breast temperature above a set target temperature, to transfer them to another a conveyor line in a cooling chamber, so that poultry carcasses that are too hot, can be cooled for longer time if needed, to reach a target breast temperature.

[0044] In certain embodiments of the invention the apparatus can be controlled via a preprogrammed computer and software or as a coordinated task involving valves and switches coordinated beforehand and running in a prefixed / preprogrammed manner.

[0045] In certain embodiments the apparatus can be incorporated into a food processing chain to control the temperature of poultry items in the processing chain. For example, if attached to a conveyor belt that is moving poultry carcasses after slaughter and feather removal and by controlled delivering of dewatered ice-slurry onto a carcass, the apparatus can be used to initiate rapid cooling and for controlling the temperature of certain poultry items or poultry parts in the process line.

[0046] In certain embodiments the invention can be incorporated into a food processing chain, such as if attached to a conveyor belt that is moving poultry items or poultry parts between processing stations and by controlled delivering of a cooling agent providing additional cooling onto the parts, it can be used to control the temperature of the food parts in the process line.

[0047] In one embodiment, the invention is a method for checking and direct controlled precooling of poultry items before packaging in insulated packaging boxes for transport.

[0048] The invention uses known chemical and physical principles to combine in a new way a set of actions and design of an apparatus that makes the actions possible and therefore useful and commercially viable. The invention is therefore an efficient method for measuring temperature in high-throughput and fast moving poultry processing lines, and is expected to be useful and consequently to have large potential for industrial application and commercial use.

[0049] Additional features and advantages of the present invention are described in, and will be apparent from, the following detailed description.

[0050] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0051] Figure 1 shows a drawing of an exemplary embodiment of a temperature probe positioning and inserting station for inserting and measuring the temperature of poultry moving in a conveyor line. The poultry is not shown but a person skilled in the art will understand what poultry looks like and that the probe actuator fixture bracket 10 may fit to align up to a poultry breast.

[0052] Figure 2 shows an exemplary embodiment of a main body of a slider unit with drive belt and drive motor for driving the belt so that a temperature probe positioning and inserting station can brought up to same speed as the conveyor line before positioning and inserting the temperature measuring probe and then once the probe is inserted can move the probe unit with the foodstuff, in this case a poultry carcass, at the same speed as the conveyor line until the temperature has been recorded and the probe withdrawn. Also shown in this Figure is a conveyor for poultry items, illustrating the functional relationship between the conveyor and the temperature probe apparatus. The function of the individual parts as numbered in the drawings in Figures 1 and 2 are explained according to the following examples.

[0053] Figure 3 shows an example of a 4,000 bird lot being chilled in a standard blower air chilling chamber at a European poultry processor. The air temperature in the chamber stayed at 0.5- 1°C for the whole time. The size distribution follows a typical normal distribution curve (blue line), and orange line shows the time in minutes that it takes to reach a target 4°C in breast. The average weight of the lot was 1.59 kg. The first arrow indicates the average weight mark where 50% of the birds have reached 4°C in 125 min. The second arrow indicates the weight mark where 85% of the birds have reached 4°C in 150 min. The third arrow indicates the weight mark where 95% of the birds have reached 4°C in 180 min. The standard operation at this processor was to run the chilling chamber for 130-150 min. Therefore, about 15% of the birds would still be having breast temperature >4°C, when entering secondary processing.

[0054] Figure 4 shows an example of chicken breast temperature measurements when done by the usual manual method at the end of chilling in a state-of-the-art blower air chilling chamber. The data shown indicates two large lots of chicken with different average weights. The example shows that the final breast temperature has a near- linear relation as function of bird weight. The calculated slope coefficient here was about 0.0079 x weight.

[0055] Figure 5 shows an example of chicken breast temperature measurements after about 65 min of chilling time in a state-of-the-art blower air chilling chamber with full length chilling time of 100 min. The data shown indicates that the system was set to measure every 100thbird on the conveyor line and therefore statistically covering the whole lot of chickens with the respective weight range. The example shows that the final breast temperature has a near-linear relation as function of bird weight. The calculated slope coefficient here was about 0.0073 x weight, indicating that it is practically the same as normally measured manually. The examples shown in figures 4 and 5 therefore demonstrate that the temperature measurements done automatically by the method of the invention, compare well with manually done measurements of the temperature in chicken breast travelling in conveyor line in a standard blower- air cooling chamber.

[0056] Figure 6 shows an example of temperature response time, with two different commercially available thermocouple measuring probes. The dotted vertical line indicates the time constant of 0.85 second, which is the same as the measured temperature found for the 63.2% temperature step, that in this case is going from 7°C to end temperature of 12.2°C. This shows that the temperature measurements of the invention behave according to theory, allowing the calculation of the actual final temperature after a period of one time constant. Therefore, the temperature probes only need to be inserted in the chicken breast for 0.85 second to obtain an accurate measurement, but if needed the travelling time of a temperature probe positioning and inserting station unit of the invention can be extended, such as in case of poultry, by using a longer main body of a slider unit.

[0057] Figure 7 shows a schematic view of a poultry carcass illustrating the methodology for aligning a temperature probe with the carcass. In (A) is shown a front view with the two arrows indicating adjustment of a temperature probe in a horizontal direction and vertical direction, respectively. In (B) there is shown a side view illustrating the adjustment of the depth of insertion of a temperature probe by the arrow.

[0058] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0059] In the present disclosure, we describe a practical way to apply the principle of on-line measurement for continuous temperature monitoring of different foodstuff, in particular items of slaughtered poultry or poultry items (e.g. whole slaughtered poultry or poultry parts), moving in conveyor lines. The system and apparatus described herein can measure temperature accurately and continuously in different types of poultry processing factories. Alone, the system and apparatus can give temperature reports to the producers, retailers, or further processors, so they can monitor and respond to secure the safety of their products. The system and apparatus can furthermore communicate with or be connected to computers or other systems in a processing plant or factory, allowing the collection of information, reporting and response that can be taken under different situations.

[0060] As described herein, the invention is used to automatically measure temperature in foodstuffs such as poultry carcasses when moving on a conveyor line. Preferably the poultry item is a chicken, but it can also be turkey, duck or other poultry processed in a food production facility. The poultry may be pre-cooled or undergoing cooling in a processing plant.

[0061] A typical poultry producer will receive lots of birds from different poultry farms. Each lot will be composed of all birds that were grown in a particular cage at the farm, since the growing cages are normally cleaned and disinfected between lots and before new lot of chicks is put in the cage. Therefore a shipment of birds arriving for slaughter will contain different sizes. The average size will vary depending on how long the birds have been grown and which average size is intended for different markets. Size distribution data obtained from several producers show that the size within each lot generally follows a normal distribution, with the average varying between lots.

[0062] As mentioned previously, the size of a bird has a great impact on the required chilling time. To give each size the appropriate chilling time, the producers would need to sort the birds in the lot according to size and cool them for different lengths of time. However, this is very impractical for producers and therefore they apply the same chilling time to birds of all sizes. This will therefore mean that at the end of the chilling time, the breast temperature of the birds will be different as shown in an example in Figure 3.

[0063] Another problem in the industry is that temperature measurements are generally made manually and not standardized throughout the industry or even within a particular factory. Furthermore, since lower temperature is required and desirable during processing, the employees doing the measurement tend to be biased in their measurement and / or reporting. This bias can manifest itself in different ways, some may prefer not report the highest temperatures obtained, or move the measurement location in the bird until a suitably low temperature is found. This poses a significant quality control risk.

[0064] Since there are no automatic ways of measuring, it is up to the Quality Control (QC) expert at every factory to do so manually. This is both labor-intensive and time-consuming work. There are also several inherent problems with the manual approach, such as: • The sample size is low and will not give full confidence. Each lot of birds is too big for one person to manually do a large enough sample.

[0065] • The chilling condition in a chilling chamber will also change between days and can even change within a day. Therefore measurements conducted in the morning hours may not be representative for the afternoon.

[0066] • The locations of where the temperature probes are inserted are arbitrary, or most likely, intentionally, or unconscionably biased with a target temperature goal in mind. Therefore, if the QC person wants to find lower temperatures, they will select insertion spots on the bird where it is so.

[0067] • Smaller birds are easier to handle and are generally cooler than larger birds. The QC person knows this and might use this fact to obtain a lower temperature of the sample. The number of sampled birds is typically skewed so more of the lower weight birds are sampled, and therefore not representing the actual size distribution in the lot.

[0068] If a practical system for standardized and automatic temperature measuring would be commercially available, this would be highly valuable for the producers for better and more accurate operation and QC and would also lead to improved food safety in general.

[0069] The main obstacles to automatic and standardized temperature measurements in foodstuffs such as chicken carcasses on a conveyor line is that they are variable in size and shape, coming in random order and moving very rapidly. Common speed of birds moving on conveyor line in chilling chambers is between 0.1 and 2 m / sec, more typically between 0.1 and 0.85 m / sec.

[0070] The current invention relates to new ways to provide both automatic and accurate temperature measurements in poultry items (e.g., whole bodies or carcasses, or poultry parts) that can be of variable size and shape and are moving rapidly and in random order in conveyor lines, such as in chilling chambers that are used for chilling poultry, including both whole carcasses or cut pieces.

[0071] Reference now will be made in detail to embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. The examples provided as an explanation of the invention are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope of the invention. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0072] Therefore, as used herein, the term “or” is generally intended to be inclusive (i.e., “A or B” is intended to mean “A or B or both”). The invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings and figures provided.

[0073] Unless defined otherwise, all technical terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the invention belongs. Although any methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of the present invention, the preferred methods and materials are now described.

[0074] EXAMPLE 1

[0075] This example shows drawings of an apparatus of the invention. Figure 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a temperature probe positioning and inserting station for inserting and measuring the temperature of poultry moving in a conveyor line. Suitably, the location of the insertion of the temperature probe is in the breast of the poultry, such as chicken breast. The poultry is not shown but the skilled person will know what poultry looks like and therefore appreciate that the temperature probe fixture bracket 10 may fit to align up to a poultry breast that is moving on a conveyor.

[0076] Figure 2 shows an exemplary embodiment of a temperature probe apparatus 15 and a conveyor 16 for conveying poultry items such as chicken carcasses. The temperature probe apparatus has a main body comprising a slider unit with drive belt and drive motor for driving the belt so that a temperature probe positioning and inserting station unit can be brought up to same speed as an adjacent conveyor line before positioning and inserting the temperature measuring probe, wherein during the insertion and once the probe is inserted the driving mechanism will move the temperature probe positioning and inserting station unit with the poultry items, in this case a poultry carcass, at the same speed as the conveyor line until the temperature has been recorded and the probe subsequently withdrawn. The function of the individual parts as numbered in the drawings in figures 1 and 2 is as follows:

[0077] 1. Main body of a slider unit with temperature probe positioning and inserting station, attached to drive belt 5 with slider.

[0078] 2. Temperature probe positioning and inserting station 2, attached to drive belt 5 on slider and driven by drive motor 4 for slider.

[0079] 3. Cable / hose carrier attached to main body slider 1 and to attachment plate 6 on the temperature probe positioning and inserting station unit 2.

[0080] 4. Drive motor for slider

[0081] 5. Main drive belt

[0082] 6. Attachment plate on temperature probe positioning and inserting station unit.

[0083] 7. An actuator 7 for moving temperature probe fixture bracket 10 horizontally, intended for meeting the poultry item to be measured, in this case adapted to fit to a chicken breast by moving horizontally towards the chicken breast.

[0084] 8. An actuator 8 for moving temperature probe fixture bracket 10 vertically, intended for meeting the poultry item to be measured, by moving vertically to a position for the temperature probe 11 to be aligned properly for insertion at a correct spot on a chicken breast.

[0085] 9. An actuator for inserting the temperature probes 11 to a predetermined depth into the poultry item, in this case into a chicken breast.

[0086] 10. Temperature probe fixture bracket 10. The bracket as shown has a V-shape that is suitable for meeting the breast bone of a poultry carcass. The bracket may alternatively have alternate shapes as appropriate for meeting a poultry item to be measured at a suitable position thereof, thereby ensuring a reproducible insertion of the temperature probe 11 into the poultry item.

[0087] 11. Temperature probe 11 that is inserted into the poultry item, in this case a chicken breast at a specific spot and to a specific depth by the forces of actuators 8 and 9. Only one probe 11 is shown on the drawing but attachment positions can be provided on the unit for additional temperature probes that can be protruding to different lengths from the bracket 10 and therefore would enter the poultry item, in this case a chicken breast on different spots and at different depths. 12. Conveyor 16 has a slider or slider unit 13 on which a plurality of shackles 14 are arranged. The shackles are used for attaching or hanging individual poultry items that are transported along the conveyor. Other individual parts of conveyor 16, such as the driving mechanism, is not shown on this figure. During operation, the temperature probe apparatus, which is arranged adjacent and parallel to the slider 13 of the conveyor, moves in the same direction and at approximately the same speed, as the conveyor. This allows for temperature measurement of individual poultry item to be made during their transport.

[0088] EXAMPLE 2

[0089] This example shows real data of a typical example of a 4,000 bird lot being chilled in a standard blower air chilling chamber at a European poultry processing site. The air temperature in the chamber stayed at 0.5-1 °C for the whole time. The size distribution follows a typical normal distribution curve (solid curve), and the straight line shows the time in minutes that it takes to reach a target 4°C in the breast. The average weight of the lot was 1.59 kg. The first arrow indicates the average weight mark where 50% of the birds have reached 4°C in 125 min. The second arrow indicates the weight mark where 85% of the birds have reached 4°C in 150 min. The third arrow indicates the weight mark where 95% of the birds have reached 4°C in 180 min. The standard operation at this processing site was to run the chilling chamber for 130-150 min. Therefore, about 15% of the birds would still have a breast temperature >4°C, when entering secondary processing. In figure 4 is shown another real data example of chicken breast temperature measurements when done by a conventional manual method at the end of chilling in a state-of-the-art blower air chilling chamber. The data shown indicates two large lots of chicken with different average weights. The example shows that the final breast temperature increases with increasing size or weight of the birds and furthermore it shows that the breast temperature shows a near-linear relation as function of bird weight.

[0090] EXAMPLE 3

[0091] This example demonstrates the use of the invention for measuring the temperature of chicken breast temperature measurements when done by the automatic method as disclosed herein after about 65 min of chilling time in a state-of-the-art blower air chilling chamber with full length chilling time of 100 min. The data shown indicates that the system was set to measure every 100th bird on the conveyor line and therefore statistically covering the whole lot of chicken with the respective weight range. The example shows that the final breast temperature has a near- linear relation as function of bird weight, with calculated slope coefficient that was about 0.0073 x weight, indicating that it is practically the same as normally measured manually and shown in example 2 above. The examples shown in figures 3 and 4 therefore demonstrate that the temperature measurements done automatically by the method of the invention compare well with manually done measurements of the temperature in chicken breast travelling in conveyor line in a standard blower-air cooling chamber.

[0092] Further explaining the usefulness of the invention, the temperature response time of the invention is shown in Figure 6, when using two different commercially available thermocouple measuring probes. The dotted vertical line indicates the time constant of 0,85 second, which is the same as the measured temperature found for the 63.2% temperature step (i.e. 63.2% of the temperature change from a starting temperature to a final temperature within the chicken breast), that in this case is going from 7°C to a final temperature of 12.2°C. This data shows that the temperature measurements using the method and apparatus described herein behave according to theory, allowing the calculation of the actual final temperature after a period of one time constant. Therefore, the temperature probes only need to be inserted in the chicken breast for 0.85 second to obtain an accurate measurement, but if needed the travelling time of a temperature probe positioning and inserting station unit of the invention can be extended, such as in case of poultry. In the case of using a slider unit as shown herein, the main body of the slider unit can simply be made longer to accommodate a longer measurement time.

[0093] EXAMPLE 4

[0094] The insertion of a temperature probe into poultry breast can be adjusted in three dimensions using the apparatus described herein. As illustrated in Figure 7, the positioning of the insertion of the temperature probe can be adjusted along a horizontal direction and along a vertical direction. This way it can be ensured that every item to be measured is measured at a correspondingly identical position, taking into account variability in the size, shape and weight of the incoming poultry item to be measured. By Fig. 7A, referring also to Fig. 2, there is shown a system as disclosed herein, arranged adjacent to a conveyor for poultry, illustrated here by a shackle 14 moving along a sliding unit. The poultry is suspended from the shackle, typically with legs up. The positioning dimensions of the temperature probe to inserted into the poultry are illustrated in the front view of Fig. 7B and the side view of Fig. 7C. Thus the two-dimensional positioning is shown in Fig. 7A, with the third dimension, depth of insertion, indicated in the side view of Fig. 7C.

[0095] Thus, as illustrated by this example, the temperature probe positioning and inserting station receives information about a poultry item to be measured, such as the weight, size, shape of the item to be measured. Based on this information, a processing unit in the station determines the appropriate position and dept of insertion of the probe for the item. Alternatively, the processing unit may be separate, sending directions to the temperature probe positioning and inserting station on the positioning and depth of a measurement to be made. When the appropriate poultry item comes into vicinity of the station, i.e. the item moves along the conveyor toward the temperature probe apparatus, the system is apparatus is activated to (a) move in a concerted fashion (i.e. at the same speed and direction) as the poultry item along the slider, and (b) insert the temperature probe into the predetermined position on the item and a the predetermined depth using actuators for (i) moving the temperature probe positioning and inserting station in the horizontal and vertical position for appropriate positioning for measurement and (ii) insert the at least one temperature probe into the poultry item, (c) measure the temperature of the item and (d) withdraw the temperature probe after the measuring. During the measurement, the poultry item and the temperature probe positioning and inserting station move in a joint fashion, so that the temperature probe(s) remains stationary within the poultry item.

[0096] It should be understood that various changes and modifications to the presently preferred embodiments described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention and without diminishing its intended advantages. It is therefore intended that such changes and modifications be covered by the appended claims. REFERENCES

[0097] Hagendorn, J.W. et al. 2023. Apparatus for weighing poultry moving in a conveyor line. US patent application US2023 / 0400345A1.

[0098] Joergensen, A. et al. 2019. Weight Estimation of Broilers in Images Using 3D Prior Knowledge. M.

[0099] Felsberg et al. (Eds.): SCIA 2019, LNCS 11482, pp. 221-232, 2019. https: / / doi.org / 10.1007 / 978-3- 030-20205-7_19

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method of measuring the temperature of one or more poultry items such as poultry carcasses when in motion along a conveyor during their processing, the method comprising inserting at least one temperature probe into the one or more poultry items while in motion for a sufficient length of time to allow an internal temperature measurement of the one or more poultry items to be made.

2. A method according to claim 1 wherein during the measurement, the at least one probe is moving in a similar speed and direction as the one or more poultry items.

3. The method according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein during the measurement, the at least one probe and the one or more poultry items are moving in unison, so the probe stays in substantially the same position in the poultry during measurement.

4. The method according to any preceding claim, further comprising removing or withdrawing the at least one temperature probe after the measurement.

5. The method according to any preceding claim, further comprising detecting a poultry item to be measured and aligning the at least one temperature probe with respect to the detected poultry item before inserting the probe into a desired location of the poultry item.

6. The method according to any preceding claim, wherein the method comprises taking an internal temperature of a plurality of a poultry items, wherein the temperature is taken at the same or similar relative location or position within each of the poultry items.

7. A method according to any preceding claim which comprises using at least one sensing means selected from imaging means, mechanical sensors, optical sensors, photoelectric sensors, metallic sensors, magnetic sensors.

8. The method according to any preceding claim, characterized in that a plurality of poultry items to be measured is variable in size and / or shape and whereininformation on weight, size and / or shape of a poultry item to be measured is sent from one or more upstream sensing apparatus to a temperature probe apparatus comprising at least one temperature probe so that the temperature probe apparatus can position itself for a predetermined positioning and depth of measurement of the next poultry item to be measured; information on the speed of the moving poultry item is sent to the temperature probe apparatus, whereby the temperature probe apparatus will start moving itself to the same speed as the poultry item; and at least one temperature probe is inserted at a predetermined position and at a predetermined depth into the poultry item after the temperature probe apparatus has reached the same speed as the conveyor; whereby the at least one temperature probe is inserted into the poultry item at a first location on the conveyor and withdrawn when the poultry item has moved to a second downstream position on the conveyor, and wherein the at least one temperature probe remains inside the poultry item at the predetermined position and depth in the at least one poultry item during the measurement.

9. The method according to the previous claims, wherein when withdrawn from the at least one poultry item after the measurement, the at least one temperature probe moves back to a starting position.

10. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein during the measurement, the at least one temperature probe moves with the poultry item at a speed between 0.05 m / sec and 5 m / sec, and / or for distance between 0.5m and 10 m.

11. A method according to any preceding claim 8-10, wherein the temperature probe apparatus is configured for receiving information on weight, size, shape and / or speed of travel speed of poultry items from one or more upstream sensing apparati, and wherein the temperature probe apparatus adjusts the position and / or depth of insertion of the at least one temperature probe based on the received information.12.The method of the preceding claim, wherein the temperature probe apparatus is configured for receiving information selected from weight and imaging information from one or more imaging apparatus, one or more optical sensors, one or more photoelectric sensors, thermal (IR) imaging, 2D imaging, 3D imaging.

13. The method of any one of the preceding two claims, wherein the temperature probe apparatus comprises computing means for receiving and processing the information received to control insertion of the at least one temperature probe.

14. A temperature measuring system comprising: a. a conveyor for moving poultry items; and b. a temperature probe apparatus comprising at least one actuator mechanism for moving at least one temperature probe along, and in a direction parallel to, the conveyor, and at least one actuator mechanism for inserting the at least one temperature probe into moving poultry items and taking an internal temperature of the moving poultry items.

15. A system according to claim 14 which further comprises means to detect moving poultry items and align the temperature probe apparatus with the poultry items.

16. A system according to claim 14 or claim 15 which further comprises sensing means to align the temperature probe apparatus and insert the temperature probe into the poultry items while the temperature probe is moving at substantially the same speed as the poultry items.

17. A system according to any of claims 14 to 16 wherein the temperature probe apparatus is configured to move the temperature probe at the same speed and direction as the poultry items, and wherein the temperature probe apparatus is further configured to insert the at least one temperature probe into moving poultry items with no relative movement between the probe and the poultry items after the temperature probe has been inserted into the poultry.

18. A system according to any of claims 14 to 17, characterized in that the temperature probe apparatus- is configured to receive information from one or more upstream sensing devices on size and shape of poultry items moving on a conveyor line;- is configured to receive information on the speed of the conveyor line from an upstream sensing apparatus and initiate movement of the temperature probe to the same speed and direction as the conveyor prior to positioning at least one temperature probe for insertion into adjacent poultry items selected for measurement; and is configured to adjust the position of the temperature probes in at least two dimensions based on information on the weight, size and / or shape of a poultry item to be measured, so that poultry items having the same size or same shape will be measured at the same corresponding location and / or depth;19. A system according to any of claims 14 to 18, wherein the temperature probe apparatus is configured to move the temperature probe along the conveyor at a speed between 0.05 m / sec to 5 m / sec, and / or for distance between 0.5m to 10m.

20. A system according to any of claims 14 to 19, wherein the at least one temperature probe is configured to measure temperature of the poultry between -10°C and 100°C, preferably between -5 °C and 50 °C.

21. A system according to any of claims 14 to 20, wherein the temperature probe apparatus is configured to receive information on size and shape and speed of motion of poultry items on the conveyor from at least one upstream sensing apparatus, such as one or more imaging apparatus, one or more optical sensors, one or more photoelectric sensors, by thermal (IR) imaging, 2D imaging, 3D imaging.

22. A system according to claim 14 to 21 wherein the temperature probe apparatus comprises:- a stationary slider supporting a driving mechanism such as a driving belt;- a temperature probe positioning and inserting station mounted on the slider and attached to the driving mechanism, comprising- an insertion mechanism comprising at least one temperature probe, the insertion mechanism configured to insert the at least one temperature probe into a poultry item at a predetermined location and towards a predetermined depth; the temperature probe positioning and inserting station having a first position and a second position on the stationary rod, and being configured to receive information from at least one sensing mechanism about the speed, weight, size and / or shape of upstream poultry items on the conveyor line, wherein the temperature probe positioning and inserting station is configured to initiate movement of the slider driving mechanism from the first position on the slider, based on received information about at least one moving poultry item to be measured, to a speed that is the same as the speed of the poultry item to measured, and wherein upon reaching said speed activate the insertion mechanism to insert at least one temperature probe into at least one predetermined location on the poultry item.

23. A system according to the previous claim, wherein the insertion mechanism is further configured to retract the at least one inserted temperature probe out of the poultry item after the measurement, the probe positioning and inserting station being configured to subsequently come to a halt at a second position on the slider and move back to the first position by the stationary slider driving mechanism.

24. A system according to claim 23, characterized in that: the system is configured to measure as many as every 10th poultry item moving on the conveyor; the system is configured to measure a predetermined number of items in a conveyor line; and / or the system is configured to measure a predetermined number of poultry items in a selected size range one the conveyor.

25. A temperature probe apparatus, for positioning adjacent to and for use with, a conveyor, comprising:- a stationary slider supporting a driving mechanism such as a driving belt;- a temperature probe positioning and inserting station mounted on the stationary slider and attached to the driving mechanism, comprising- an insertion mechanism comprising at least one temperature probe, the insertion mechanism configured to insert at least one temperature probe in a predetermined location on a poultry item and towards a predetermined depth; the temperature probe positioning and inserting station having a first position and a second position on the stationary rod, and configured to receive information from at least one sensing mechanism about the speed, weight, size and / or shape of poultry items moving on a conveyor; wherein, based on received information about at least one moving poultry item to be measured, the temperature probe positioning and inserting station is configured to initiate movement of the slider driving mechanism to a speed that is substantially the same as the speed of the poultry item to measured on the conveyor and upon reaching said speed activate the insertion mechanism to insert at least one temperature probe into at least one predetermined location on the poultry item; whereby the temperature of the poultry item is measured during its movement on the conveyor as the temperature probe positioning and inserting station moves towards the second position.

26. The temperature probe apparatus of the previous claim, wherein the insertion mechanism is further configured to retract the at least one inserted temperature probe out of the poultry item after the measurement, the probe positioning and inserting station being configured to subsequently come to a halt at the second position on the slider and subsequently move back to the first position.

27. The temperature probe apparatus of any of the previous two claims, wherein the temperature probe positioning and inserting station comprises a probe fixture bracket that isconfigured to meet with a poultry item to be measured and on which the at least one temperature probe is mounted.

28. The temperature probe apparatus claim 27, comprising at least one probe fixture bracket actuator for moving the temperature probe positioning and inserting station towards a poultry item to be measured.

29. The temperature probe apparatus claim 28, wherein the at least one probe fixture bracket actuator comprises a first actuator for moving the temperature probe positioning and inserting station horizontally, and a second actuator for moving the temperature probe positioning and inserting station vertically.

30. The temperature probe apparatus according to any one of claims 25 to 29, wherein the temperature probe apparatus is configured for movement from the first to the second position at a speed between 0.05 to 5 m / sec.

31. The temperature probe apparatus of any one of the preceding claims 25 to 30, wherein the stationary slider has a length in the range of 0.5 to 10 m.

32. The temperature probe apparatus according to any one of claims 25 to 31, wherein the at least one temperature probe is configured to measure temperature of poultry between -10°C and 100°C, preferably between -5°C and 50°C.

33. The temperature probe apparatus according to any of claims 25 to 32, wherein the temperature probe apparatus is configured to receive information on size and shape and speed of motion of poultry items on the conveyor from at least one upstream sensing apparatus, such as from weighing or from computer images obtained by different signaling methods, such as one or more imaging apparatus, one or more optical sensors, one or more photoelectric sensors, by thermal (IR) imaging, 2D imaging, 3D imaging.

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