Overhang Rail Transport System for Automated Carcass Transfer
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for transferring slaughter animal carcass parts between carriers are labor-intensive and limit throughput speed, often requiring manual handling and horizontal deboning, which is inefficient and limits automation opportunities.
Innovation Solution
An overhang rail transport system that includes a first carrier with a carcass engaging portion, a second carrier with a corresponding engaging portion, and a synchronized control system to automatically transfer carcass parts from one carrier to another, using vertical and horizontal alignment, tilting, and removing devices to facilitate seamless weight transfer and engagement with leg openings, enabling fully automated re-shackling without manual labor.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual transfer methods are used to transfer carcass parts between carriers, then the system can handle carcass parts, but the throughput speed is limited and labor intensity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses the weight of the carcass part itself to facilitate the transfer process. The tilting device utilizes gravitational force acting on the carcass part to automatically move it from the first carrier to the second carrier, eliminating the need for manual lifting or additional mechanical transfer mechanisms. This self-service approach directly resolves the contradiction by enabling high-speed automated transfer without manual labor.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the angle of the first carrier using the tilting device during the transfer process. The carrier transitions from a horizontal position to a tilted position, allowing the carcass part to slide off automatically. This dynamic movement enables continuous automated operation at high speed without manual intervention, solving the productivity-labor contradiction.
2Extent of automation
If carcass parts are transferred manually and placed on horizontal conveyors for deboning, then processing can occur, but automation opportunities are limited and efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system maintains the carcass part in a vertical hanging position throughout the transfer and processing sequence, rather than placing it on a horizontal surface. This vertical dimension preservation allows automated cutting devices to operate directly on the hanging carcass, enabling full automation of the deboning process while maintaining high productivity through continuous operation without manual handling.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces manual mechanical handling and horizontal conveyor transfer with an automated overhead conveyor system that operates in a vertical plane. The synchronized movement of carriers and automated tilting mechanism substitutes for manual labor, enabling both high automation extent and sustained processing efficiency.
3Ease of operation
If heavy lifting is required for deboning operations, then processing can be performed, but manual labor increases and automation becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses the vertical hanging position and gravitational force to counteract the weight handling problem. By maintaining the carcass part suspended from the overhead conveyor, the system eliminates the need for heavy lifting during transfer and processing. The gravitational force acts continuously to keep the carcass part in the correct position, enabling automated processing without manual lifting effort.
Solution Approach 2:
The system maintains the carcass part in a consistent vertical position throughout the entire process, from transfer to deboning. This equipotential vertical positioning eliminates variations in height and weight handling requirements, creating ideal conditions for automated processing while making the operation inherently easy to perform without manual intervention.
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 system allows for fully automated transfer of carcass parts, reducing manual labor, increasing deboning efficiency, and enabling more varied processing steps by bypassing certain stations or selecting different processing lines, thus enhancing overall yield and reducing the need for sawing operations that can leave less valuable rib products.
Implementation Method 1
a tilting device to tilt the first carcass engaging portion downwards, so that the weight of the carcass part is gradually transferred from the first carcass engaging portion to the second carcass engaging portion
Data Source
Figure 1~2DD
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A system and a method for automatic transfer of a carcass or carcass parts suspended from a first carrier to being suspended from a second carrier where at least one of the carriers is tilted at least during a part of the transfer. The carcass parts may be a half carcass that may have been eviscerated and cleaned. The first carrier may be an industry standard gambrel or a single carrier, for example a Euro Hook or a modified Euro Hook. The second carrier may be a single carrier, for example a Euro Hook, or a modified Euro Hook carrier.