Arc-Shaped Food Cutting System with Conveyor-Level Pivot
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing food processing systems face inefficiencies in cutting food products like fish fillets due to inaccuracies in cutting angles caused by robotic arms, leading to reduced throughput and increased costs, especially when dealing with angled bones like pin bones in fish fillets.
Innovation Solution
An arc-shaped cutting system positioned above a conveyor with a control unit operating the cutting means based on image data, allowing precise angle adjustments and flexible movement to accommodate angled cuts, utilizing timing belts for reduced weight and increased mobility, enabling precise cuts without the need for heavy robotic arms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a robotic arm with 6 degrees of freedom is used to adjust the cutting angle, then the cutting angle can be adjusted to match the angle of tough tissues, but the pivot point inaccuracy magnifies the angular cut inaccuracy and reduces throughput
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of positioning the pivot point above the food product (as in conventional robotic systems), the patent inverts the approach by positioning the pivot point at the same level as the food product on the conveyor belt. This inversion eliminates the magnification of angular errors that occurs with elevated pivot points, thereby improving cutting precision without sacrificing throughput.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the conventional 6-degree-of-freedom robotic arm with a simplified mechanical system consisting of a linear actuator and a rotating arm mechanism. This substitution reduces system complexity and eliminates the pivot point elevation problem inherent in robotic arms, achieving both precision and productivity goals.
2Manufacturing precision
If the conveying speed of the food product is slowed down to accommodate the slow motion of the robotic arm, then the robotic arm can make accurate cuts, but the capacity of the system is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic cutting system where the linear actuator and rotating arm can quickly adjust to different cutting positions and angles. This dynamic capability allows the system to perform accurate cuts without requiring slow conveying speeds, thereby maintaining both cutting accuracy and system capacity.
3Productivity
If multiple robotic arms are increased to overcome the slow motion problem, then the cutting capacity is improved, but the system becomes too costly and spacious
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs a single cutting device with multi-functional capabilities through the rotating arm mechanism that can accommodate different cutting angles and positions. This universal design eliminates the need for multiple robotic arms, reducing system cost and space requirements while maintaining improved cutting capacity.
4Manufacturing precision
If heavy robotic arms are used to achieve precise angle adjustment, then cutting precision is improved, but the system weight and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the heavy robotic arm system with a lighter mechanical system comprising a linear actuator and a rotating arm with pivot point at conveyor level. This substitution achieves the same angle adjustment precision while significantly reducing system weight and complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
This invention relates to a cutting system for cutting food products while the food products are conveyed by a conveyor. An arc-shaped system and a cutting means are provided, where the cutting means is adapted to be connected to the arc-shaped system. The arc-shaped system is adapted to be positioned above a surface area of the conveyor on which said food products are resting during the cutting such that the center of the arc-shaped system is around the surface area. A control unit operates the position of the cutting means within the arc-shaped system based on image data.