Poultry Leg Meat Slit Blade Alignment for Variable Bone Thickness

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Poultry carcasses with varying bone thicknesses due to species and rearing methods cause issues with optimal slit-forming blade positioning, leading to bone damage or incomplete slit-forming, resulting in bone pieces remaining in deboned meat and reduced yield percentage.

Innovation Solution

A poultry leg meat slit-forming device with an ankle holding part, blade unit, and leg meat pressing part that elastically biases the slit-forming blade to align with bones, allowing it to escape when hitting bones, and adjusts pressing force to avoid joint cartilage, ensuring precise slit-forming along the bone.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If the slit-forming blade is inserted along the bone to perform slit-forming, then the yield percentage of deboned poultry leg meat is improved, but bone pieces may remain in the deboned meat when the bone thickness varies

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveyield percentage of deboned poultry leg meatVSAvoidcompleteness of bone removal

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The blade holding part allows the slit-forming blade to be displaced in the front surface/back surface direction, transforming a static positioning system into a dynamic one that can adapt to varying bone thicknesses and positions, ensuring reliable bone removal while maintaining high yield percentage

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The biasing part provides continuous elastic force to the blade, creating a feedback mechanism that allows the blade to automatically adjust its position relative to the bone, ensuring the blade maintains optimal contact pressure regardless of bone thickness variations

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

2Manufacturing precision

If the slit-forming blade is pressed firmly against the bone to ensure precise alignment, then slit-forming accuracy is improved, but the blade may damage the bone or cartilage when bone thickness varies

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveslit-forming accuracyVSAvoidbone or cartilage damage

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The biasing part provides elastic cushioning force that allows the blade to maintain firm contact with the bone for precise alignment while automatically absorbing excessive force that could cause bone or cartilage damage, protecting the bone structure beforehand

Inventive Principle:

Principle #11Beforehand cushioning (Prior cushioning)

Solution Approach 2:

The blade holding part enables the blade to change its position parameter in the front surface/back surface direction, allowing the pressing force parameter to be dynamically adjusted based on bone thickness variations, maintaining precision without causing damage

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Device complexity

If the slit-forming blade is inserted at a fixed position, then the device structure is simple, but optimal blade positioning cannot be achieved for poultry with varying bone thicknesses

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveblade positioning mechanismVSAvoidblade inserting position accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The blade holding part with displacement capability transforms a fixed-positioning system into a dynamic positioning system that can automatically adjust to optimal blade inserting positions for poultry with varying bone thicknesses without significantly increasing device complexity

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The biasing part enables the blade to self-adjust its position automatically through elastic force, eliminating the need for complex external positioning mechanisms while achieving high measurement precision for blade inserting position

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

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 device effectively prevents bone pieces from remaining in deboned meat, improving the yield percentage by ensuring the slit-forming blade aligns with and follows the bone structure without damaging it.

Implementation Method 1

a biasing part configured to elastically bias the slit-forming blade toward a bone of the poultry leg meat in the front surface/back surface direction of the slit-forming blade

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectElastic biasing: Elasticity

Implementation Method 2

a leg meat pressing part configured to elastically press a surface of the poultry leg meat from a side of the kneecap

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectElastic pressing: Elasticity

Data Source

PatentUS12349687B2Poultry leg meat slit-forming device and poultry leg meat automatic slit-forming method

Publication Date: 2025.07.08 MAYEKAWA MFG CO LTD

AI summary

A poultry leg meat slit-forming device includes: an ankle holding part configured to hold an ankle of bone-in poultry leg meat cut from a femur of a poultry carcass; a blade unit having a slit-forming blade; an inserting driving part configured to drive the blade unit such that an blade tip of the slit-forming blade is inserted into the poultry leg meat along an opposite side with respect to a kneecap in a tibia among the poultry leg meat held on the ankle holding part; and a leg meat pressing part configured to elastically press a surface of the poultry leg meat from a side of the kneecap.