Poultry Leg Clamping and Cutting for Drumstick Separation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for providing drumsticks from poultry legs are not accurate enough to ensure a visibly perfect product, as they either lack precise positioning or fail to maintain the knee joint at the optimal cutting altitude, affecting the quality and monetary value of the drumstick.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus where the poultry leg is clamped and then raised to position the knee joint at the predetermined altitude of a cutter, allowing for precise separation of the thighbone from the drumstick by cutting through the knee joint, ensuring the drumstick is held firmly in place to prevent slippage and accommodate different leg sizes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the poultry leg is guided through a slot without clamping, then the device complexity is reduced, but the manufacturing precision deteriorates because the knee joint cannot be positioned accurately at the cutting altitude
Solution Approach 1:
The clamp is raised to a predetermined altitude before the cutting operation begins. This preliminary positioning ensures that when the clamp grasps the poultry leg, the knee joint is already at the correct cutting position, eliminating the need for complex guiding slots while maintaining high cutting precision
Solution Approach 2:
The clamp acts as an intermediary device between the poultry leg and the cutter. By raising the clamp to a predetermined altitude and then grasping the leg, it mediates the positioning process, bringing the knee joint to the exact cutting position without requiring complex mechanical guides
2Manufacturing precision
If the clamp holds the poultry leg tightly to prevent slippage, then the manufacturing precision is improved, but the ease of operation deteriorates due to difficulty in accommodating different leg sizes
Solution Approach 1:
The clamp transitions from a gentle clamping state during raising to a firm clamping state during cutting. This dynamic adjustment allows the same clamp to accommodate different leg sizes during the raising phase while ensuring tight, slippage-free holding during the cutting phase, thus maintaining both adaptability and precision
3Device complexity
If the cutter is positioned at a fixed altitude, then the device complexity is reduced, but the manufacturing precision deteriorates because the knee joint may not be at the optimal cutting position
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of moving the cutter to follow the knee joint or using a complex guiding system, the invention inverts the approach by raising the clamp with the knee joint to meet the fixed-position cutter. This simplifies the device while ensuring accurate positioning, as the clamp's predetermined raise distance directly controls the knee joint's position relative to the cutter
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
Method and apparatus for providing a drumstick from a poultry's leg suspended by the ankles in hooks of a carrier, wherein said poultry's leg comprises said drumstick, a knee joint, and a thighbone from which the thighbone meat has been or has to be removed, said apparatus comprising a clamp and said method comprising the step of clamping the poultry's leg with the clamp and arranging that the poultry's leg is kept in position, followed by the step of cutting the ligaments between the drumstick and the thighbone for removal of the thighbone and providing the drumstick, wherein the step of clamping the poultry's leg is followed by raising the clamp with the poultry's leg so as to raise the ankles from the hooks of the carrier and arrange that the knee joint is positioned at a predetermined altitude, and by providing that a cutter is positioned at said predetermined altitude and is activated to cut through the knee joint so as to separate the thighbone from the drumstick.