Piston Pump Meat Processing with Tapered Chamber for Bone Separation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for processing meat, such as beef, pork, and poultry, fail to consistently produce high-quality, boneless ground meat products that meet standards of palatability, long shelf life, and acceptable appearance while minimizing bone breakage and contamination.
Innovation Solution
A piston pump and tapered chamber system, combined with a feeder-separator apparatus featuring a separator auger and ring valve, operates at low pressure and slow speed to efficiently debone meat, ensuring minimal bone breakage and high-quality output by controlling processing speed, temperature, and pressure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional high-speed meat processing methods are used, then productivity is improved, but bone breakage and contamination increase while meat quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by operating the piston pump at controlled speeds (50-200 RPM) and adjusting pressure parameters (50-300 PSI) to optimize the balance between processing efficiency and meat quality. The tapered chamber geometry and ring valve adjustments modify flow dynamics to reduce bone breakage while maintaining productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses dynamic control of the piston pump operation with adjustable speed and pressure parameters. The ring valve provides dynamic flow control to regulate meat throughput while the tapered chamber creates dynamic pressure gradients that facilitate gentle bone separation without excessive force that would cause breakage.
2Productivity
If high pressure is applied during meat processing, then processing speed increases, but bone breakage and contamination increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes pressure parameters by operating within a controlled range of 50-300 PSI rather than applying excessive pressure. The tapered chamber geometry creates progressive pressure gradients that facilitate bone separation through controlled force application, preventing sudden high-pressure spikes that would cause bone breakage and contamination.
Solution Approach 2:
The processing system is segmented into distinct functional zones: the piston pump chamber, tapered chamber, and separator assembly. This segmentation allows pressure to be applied gradually through the tapered geometry rather than all at once, and enables independent optimization of each zone's contribution to bone separation while minimizing harmful effects.
3Manufacturing precision
If slow speed processing is used, then meat quality and temperature control are improved, but productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent achieves optimal meat quality through controlled slow-speed processing (50-200 RPM) while maintaining productivity through efficient system design. The piston pump's controlled reciprocating motion at these speeds allows adequate time for bone separation and meat extrusion without excessive heat generation, while the system's efficiency compensates for the lower speed to maintain acceptable throughput.
Solution Approach 2:
The piston pump operates in continuous reciprocating cycles, maintaining continuous useful action on the meat-bone mixture. This continuous action at controlled slow speeds ensures consistent quality throughout processing while the uninterrupted operation maintains productivity. The ring valve ensures continuous flow control through the separator assembly, preventing idle time and maximizing effective processing capacity.
4Productivity
If high temperature processing is used, then processing speed increases, but meat quality and shelf life deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces thermal processing mechanisms with mechanical processing. The piston pump and tapered chamber use mechanical force and geometry to separate bone from meat rather than relying on heat to facilitate separation. This mechanical approach allows processing at lower temperatures that preserve meat quality and shelf life while still achieving efficient bone removal and meat extrusion.
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 effectively produces high-quality, boneless ground meat with reduced bone content and improved texture, color, and shelf life, suitable for human consumption while maintaining the integrity of muscle tissue.
Implementation Method 1
a piston pump connected to the inlet of the sleeve such that operation of the piston pump pushes bone-in-meat articles, provided to the piston pump, to the inlet of the sleeve and the separator auger therein
Implementation Method 2
a separator auger disposed in the sleeve for rotation therein adjacent the openings
Implementation Method 3
a tapered chamber; and a particular implementation of the method of the present invention cooperatively operates these components to provide low pressure, slow speed, good temperature
Data Source
AI summary
Meat processing, especially but not exclusively for bone-in-meat product (for example, chicken), uses a combination of equipment or process parameters to obtain high quality ground or boneless meat. Particular equipment implementations include a piston pump in combination with an extrusion screen, and particular process parameters include speed, temperature, pressure and screen configuration.