Orifice Plate Vacuum Grinding for Meat Fiber Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current forming technologies for food products, particularly meat, rely on high pressure and speed, leading to excessive protein binding and contraction, resulting in undesirable textures and cook shapes.
Innovation Solution
The use of an orifice plate with spherical geometry in the grinding machine creates a venturi effect, accelerating the meat product and aligning fibers, thereby reducing myosin activity and improving the final cook shape and texture.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If high pressure and high speed are used in current forming technology, then the meat cells are massaged and squeezed effectively, but the muscle fibers contract excessively and protein binding increases, resulting in rubber-like texture and odd cook shapes
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using high pressure to force meat through the orifice plate, the invention uses a low-pressure vacuum environment to draw the meat through the orifices. This reverses the conventional approach, allowing the meat to be accelerated through the orifices without the harmful massaging and squeezing effects of high pressure, thereby preventing excessive protein binding and fiber contraction while still achieving effective forming.
2Productivity
If complicated material flow pathways are used, then the meat product is worked extensively, but the pressure and turbulence increase, causing myosin and actin to release and mix, leading to protein binding and fiber contraction
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the forming process into discrete segments by using multiple separate orifices in the orifice plate, each creating its own controlled flow path. This segmentation allows the meat to be processed through multiple small openings rather than one complicated pathway, achieving thorough processing while minimizing turbulence and protein binding in each individual flow path.
3Speed
If high pressure is applied to accelerate meat through the orifice plate, then the meat is forced through effectively, but the meat cells are worked excessively causing fiber contraction and rubber-like texture
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses vacuum pressure as a counterweight force to balance the pressure differential across the orifice plate. By applying vacuum on the downstream side, the system achieves effective meat acceleration through the orifices without requiring excessive upstream pressure, thereby preventing harmful cell massaging and fiber contraction while maintaining high speed processing.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively aligns meat fibers, reduces protein binding, and enhances the quality of the final product by controlling fiber orientation and minimizing myosin activity, resulting in better bite and cook shape control.
Implementation Method 1
an orifice plate for a grinding machine, said orifice plate configured for accelerating food product and a decrease in pressure of the product in order to cause the product to be stretched, aligning the fibers of the product
Data Source
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AI summary
An apparatus and method for accelerating food product and decreasing pressure of the product in order to cause the product to be stretched aligning the fibers of the product.