Pin Bone Removal via Spaced Conveyor Belts
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current automated food processing systems lack a method for automatically removing the pin bone area of a fish fillet after cutting, necessitating manual intervention or inefficient processes.
Innovation Solution
A conveyor system with adjustable side-by-side conveyor belts and a pin bone removal device that utilizes gravity or external force to automatically remove the cut pin bone area, controlled by imaging data for precise positioning and operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual operation is used for pin bone removal, then flexibility and adaptability are maintained, but productivity is reduced and labor costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The conveyor system is divided into multiple sections with side-by-side conveyor belts that can be independently controlled. This segmentation allows the system to handle different fish fillet sizes and orientations simultaneously, enabling automated processing while maintaining adaptability to various product specifications.
Solution Approach 2:
The conveyor belts are designed with adjustable speeds and positions, allowing dynamic adaptation to different fish fillet dimensions. The system can automatically adjust the conveyor configuration based on detected fish characteristics, combining automation with flexibility to maintain high productivity across varying product specifications.
2Extent of automation
If the conveyor belts are spaced apart downstream, then the cut pin bone area can fall through for automatic removal, but the complexity of the conveyor system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts the cut pin bone area from the fish fillet by creating a gap in the conveyor belts downstream. This allows the pin bone to fall through by gravity into a collection area, achieving automatic removal without complex mechanical removal devices. The simplicity of using gravity and a controlled gap reduces overall system complexity while maintaining high automation.
Solution Approach 2:
The conveyor system is designed so that the pin bone removal point is at a lower elevation than the fish fillet placement point, creating a gravitational potential difference. This allows the cut pin bone to naturally fall through the gap in the conveyor belts without requiring additional mechanical force or complex removal mechanisms, simplifying the system while achieving automatic removal.
3Manufacturing precision
If the transversal position is adjusted based on imaging data, then manufacturing precision is improved, but the measurement and detection complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary imaging and detection of the fish fillet position and characteristics before the cutting operation. This advance measurement allows the control system to pre-calculate the optimal transversal position for the conveyor belts, ensuring high positioning accuracy for pin bone removal while using straightforward detection methods that minimize measurement complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses imaging data to provide feedback on the fish fillet position and adjusts the conveyor belt transversal positioning accordingly. This closed-loop feedback mechanism ensures high manufacturing precision in pin bone area positioning while using standard imaging and control technologies that keep the detection and measurement system relatively simple.
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
Enables fully automated and efficient removal of pin bone areas from fish fillets, improving processing efficiency and reducing manual labor, with the ability to adapt to varying fish sizes and orientations.
Implementation Method 1
This may be achieved via gravity where the pin bone area will simply fall through the space
Data Source
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AI summary
This invention relates to a pin bone removal system adapted to automatically removing a pin bone area of a fish fillet when conveyed by a conveyor after undergoing a cutting process, where the pin bone area has been cut from the remaining part of the fish fillet. The system includes a conveyor system having at least two side by side arranged conveyor belts extending from a first end to a second end. The first end acts as a receiving end where the fish fillet is received with the cut pin bone area. The internal arrangement of the side by side arranged conveyor belts is such that at the first end the conveyor belts are substantially adjacent to each other and at a position downstream from the first end the side by side arranged conveyor belts are spaced apart. The transversal position of the fish fillet in relation to the first end is adjusted such that when the fish fillet arrives at the downstream position the position of the cut pin bone area is such that the cut pin bone area falls through the space while the remaining part of the fish fillet remains on the first and/or second conveyor belts.