Poultry Keel Bone Cartilage Harvesting Apparatus
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Solution Overview
Problem
The poultry industry faces challenges in maximizing the commercial value of poultry carcass parts by effectively detaching and collecting cartilage from the keel bone without contamination from other parts, which limits the value realization of harvested components.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus utilizing a movable knife and catching mechanism to isolate and harvest the cartilage of the keel bone by making precise cuts and using scraping means to remove residual meat and membrane, ensuring only the cartilage is collected with high integrity and commercial value.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the cartilage of the keel bone is detached using conventional methods, then the cartilage can be harvested, but it becomes contaminated with other parts of the keel bone or carcass, reducing its commercial value
Solution Approach 1:
The keel bone is segmented into distinct regions (cartilage portion and remaining bone portion) through a controlled cut. The cartilage is detached at a specific location where it separates cleanly from the bone, allowing isolated harvesting without contamination from other keel bone parts or carcass tissues.
Solution Approach 2:
The cartilage is extracted as a separate, clean component from the keel bone through precise cutting and detachment operations. The cutting instrument removes only the cartilage portion while leaving the remaining keel bone intact, ensuring the harvested cartilage is free from contamination by other parts.
2Manufacturing precision
If a movable knife is used to cut the keel bone, then the cartilage can be harvested with higher precision, but the apparatus complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting instrument is designed to be movable rather than fixed, allowing it to be positioned dynamically along the carrier's path. The knife can move towards and from the path depending on the carrier's position, enabling precise cutting at the optimal location while maintaining a relatively simple apparatus structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The cutting instrument is positioned and activated at a predetermined optimal moment during the carrier's movement through the processing line. This preliminary positioning ensures the cut is made at the exact location where the cartilage separates cleanly, achieving high precision without requiring complex real-time control systems.
3Manufacturing precision
If the knife cuts the keel bone at the cartilage location, then the cartilage can be harvested cleanly, but the risk of cutting adjacent parts increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting instrument is designed to target a specific local area of the keel bone where the cartilage is located. The cut is made at this precise location where the cartilage naturally separates from the bone, creating a clean detachment point that minimizes the risk of cutting adjacent parts or causing contamination.
Solution Approach 2:
The cartilage itself serves as an intermediary structure that facilitates clean separation. By cutting at the location where the cartilage attaches to the keel bone, the cartilage acts as a natural separator that allows the harvesting process to proceed cleanly, reducing the risk of contamination from other parts.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a method for processing poultry or a part thereof in a processing line, including the step of detaching and/or collecting a cartilage of the poultry's keel bone, whereby during transport of the poultry's carcass in the processing line, a cut is made in the cartilage of the keel bone, which cut is made initially transverse to the transport direction of the poultry and towards the poultry's backbone, and which cut develops from said transverse direction to eventually a direction opposed to the transport direction.