Fish Head Cutting Machine V-Guide Centering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current fish processing machinery struggles with efficiently decapitating fish across a wide size range while minimizing meat loss and ensuring operator safety, as existing machines often result in off-center cuts due to varying fish sizes and lack of control over fish positioning, and require multiple operators for larger fish.
Innovation Solution
A fish head cutting machine that precisely locates the v-cut using anatomical body parts, controls the fish's angle and centering, tips the head back for maximum meat recovery, and is designed for automatic operation with a programmable logic controller to interface with subsequent processing machines, using conveyor belts, light curtains, and adjustable components for various fish sizes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If fish are laid on their side for transportation past the v-cut blades, then the fish can be processed, but the center point of the fish varies in relation to the backbone position according to the girth of the fish, causing the cut to be off center
Solution Approach 1:
A V-shaped guide member is introduced as an intermediary element between the fish and the cutting blades. This guide member receives the fish on its V-shaped surface, which automatically centers the fish's backbone along the V-shaped axis. The guide member acts as a mediator that transforms the random positioning of fish into precise centering, ensuring that the cutting blades always engage the fish at the correct central position regardless of fish girth variations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system allows for adjustment of the V-shaped guide member's position and angle to accommodate different fish sizes and species. By changing the geometric parameters of the guide member (V-angle, position relative to blades), the system adapts to various fish girths while maintaining precise centering. This parameter adjustment capability ensures that the cut remains centered across different fish dimensions.
2Ease of operation
If fish are hung by the gill plate on a locating mechanism and carried past the blades by narrow spiked belts, then the fish can be processed, but the weight of the fish determines the angle that the fish passes through the blades as there is no control of the body of the fish
Solution Approach 1:
The V-shaped guide member serves as a mediator that receives the fish from the conveying mechanism and imposes the correct angular orientation. Instead of relying on the fish's weight to determine the angle (as in previous systems), the guide member's V-shaped surface physically guides the fish's backbone into the correct angular position relative to the cutting blades, providing precise angle control independent of fish weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The fish is pre-positioned and centered on the V-shaped guide member before reaching the cutting zone. This preliminary centering action ensures that when the fish is cut, it is already in the correct angular and positional orientation. The guide member performs the centering and angling preparation in advance, eliminating the need for weight-dependent angle determination during the cutting process.
3Productivity
If spiked belts are used to carry fish past the blades, then the fish can be transported, but the spiked belts are hazardous to the operator especially on smaller fish
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces the reusable spiked belts (which pose safety hazards) with a disposable or easily cleanable V-shaped guide member. The guide member provides the necessary guiding function without the hazardous spiked surface that could injure operators handling smaller fish. This substitution eliminates the safety hazard while maintaining the productivity benefit of automated fish conveyance and positioning.
4Quantity of substance
If standalone machines are used for fish larger than 1 Kg, then the fish can be processed, but additional operators are required to load the fish into subsequent downstream machines in the fish filleting process
Solution Approach 1:
The machine is designed with universal capabilities to handle fish of various sizes (including those larger than 1 Kg) while integrating multiple functions: automated conveying, V-shaped centering, angular positioning, and cutting. The system can interface with downstream filleting machines, providing a multi-functional solution that eliminates the need for separate standalone machines and additional operators for loading and transferring fish through the processing line.
Data Source
AI summary
A fish head cutting machine for decapitating a fish, comprising: a) a fish support for supporting a fish in an infeed loading zone with its belly side down and its backbone in a substantially horizontal orientation; b) a guide mechanism positioned adjacent the fish support to hold the fish via an anatomical body part, such as its gill plate, collar bone, pectoral fin or pelvic fin, so that only the body of the fish is supported by the fish support; c) a drive mechanism transporting the fish in a downward direction and at an acute angle to vertical from the infeed loading zone downstream to a head cutting zone while the fish is supported on the fish support and held by the guide mechanism; d) a head pusher located between the infeed loading zone and the head cutting zone that engages the head of the fish and tips the head of the fish upwardly and rearwardly as the fish moves downstream to the head cutting zone; and e) head cutting blades located downstream of the head pusher in the cutting zone that cut the head of the fish from the body of the fish.