Automated Knee Cap Removal Apparatus for Poultry Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Manual removal of knee caps and associated tissue from deboned poultry thighs is inefficient, costly, and prone to human error in poultry processing, as it requires multiple employees to maintain processing line speed and is inconsistent.
Innovation Solution
An automated apparatus with a series of plates and plungers that align and push knee caps through apertures, followed by a rotating knife to sever them from the meat, allowing for consistent and efficient removal of inedible tissue.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If manual workers use sharp knives to cut away knee caps and tissue from deboned poultry thighs, then the knee caps can be removed, but the process becomes expensive in human capital, inconsistent, and requires multiple employees to maintain line speed
Solution Approach 1:
The apparatus segments the knee cap removal process into distinct functional zones: positioning plates with apertures for alignment, plungers for pushing tissue through apertures, and rotating knife blades for severing. This segmentation allows each component to perform a specific function efficiently, automating the process while maintaining manageable complexity through modular design
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces intermediary components between the manual worker and the final cutting action. Plates with apertures serve as intermediaries to position and guide the knee cap tissue, while plungers act as intermediaries to push the tissue through the apertures. These intermediaries enable automated control while simplifying the overall system architecture
2Productivity
If multiple employees are used to manually remove knee caps to keep up with processing line speed, then line speed is maintained, but labor costs increase and human error and oversight occur
Solution Approach 1:
The apparatus is designed to perform the knee cap removal operation autonomously once the poultry product is positioned. The plungers automatically push the knee cap tissue through the apertures, and the rotating knife blades automatically sever the tissue without requiring continuous human intervention. This self-service capability maintains consistent processing speed and eliminates human error in the removal operation
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical system of workers using knives with an automated mechanical system. The rotating knife blades are driven by the conveyor system itself, substituting human manual cutting with automated mechanical cutting. This substitution ensures consistent cutting action at line speed while eliminating variability associated with human operators
3Ease of operation
If an automated apparatus with plates and plungers is used to push knee caps through apertures and sever them with a rotating knife, then labor costs are reduced and consistency is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The plates serve multiple functions: they support the poultry product, provide apertures for positioning the knee cap tissue, and guide the plungers. The plungers both push the tissue through the apertures and are automatically retracted by spring mechanisms. The rotating knife blades both sever the tissue and are automatically positioned by the conveyor system. This multi-functionality reduces the number of separate components needed, simplifying the overall device while maintaining ease of operation
Solution Approach 2:
The apparatus utilizes periodic action through the rotating knife blades that sever the knee cap tissue at regular intervals as the poultry products pass by on the conveyor. The plungers are periodically activated to push tissue through apertures, and the spring mechanisms periodically retract the plungers. This periodic operation simplifies the control system while maintaining ease of operation throughout the processing cycle
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus for removing a knee cap from a poultry part, and particularly a deboned poultry thigh, includes a plurality of bays attached to an endless conveyor and movable by the conveyor in a processing direction. Each bay includes a plate sized to support a poultry thigh and having an aperture formed therethrough. A plunger assembly includes a plunger tip that can be moved selectively into and out of the aperture by a cam mechanism. Poultry parts are placed by workers on the plates as they move in the processing direction with the knee caps of the parts aligned with and pressed partially into the apertures. The cam mechanism then moves the plunger tip of each bay into its respective aperture to press the knee cap through the aperture, where it is severed by a rotating knife. The plunger tip is then withdrawn for a successive processing cycle.