Poultry Carcass Separation Blade with Tensioning Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ensuring the complete and safe removal of bones from poultry products is challenging due to small and fragile skeletal structures like the wish bone, rib bones, and fan bones, which can shatter and get stuck in the meat, reducing quality and posing a health hazard.
Innovation Solution
A carcass separation assembly with a first blade assembly and a tensioning assembly that separates the breast muscle from these bones by shaping the blade to correspond to the poultry carcass and using a shearing edge to peel the muscle away, while supporting the wings in a spaced apart relationship to facilitate bone removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional cutting methods are used to separate breast muscle from poultry carcass, then separation speed is maintained, but bones shatter and contaminate the meat
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the breast muscle from the poultry carcass using a specialized blade assembly that separates the muscle tissue from the bone structure. The blade is designed to peel and separate the breast muscle away from the rib bones, wish bone, and fan bone, effectively extracting the desired meat portion while leaving the bones behind in the carcass.
Solution Approach 2:
The blade assembly features a curved upstream edge with a shearing edge portion specifically designed to interact with the breast muscle tissue. The blade body is shaped to correspond to the contour of the poultry carcass, creating localized contact points that enable precise separation without affecting other areas. This local quality approach ensures clean separation at the muscle-bone interface while maintaining integrity of both the meat and bone structures.
2Manufacturing precision
If the blade is shaped to correspond to the carcass contour, then separation precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The blade assembly incorporates a curved upstream edge that follows the contour of the poultry carcass. This curvature allows the blade to conform to the natural shape of the breast muscle and rib cage, enabling precise separation along the muscle-bone interface. The curved geometry provides continuous contact along the separation path, improving precision without requiring multiple blades or complex mechanical adjustments.
3Reliability
If the wing is supported in spaced apart relationship, then bone removal effectiveness is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tensioning assembly positions the wing in a spaced apart relationship relative to the breast muscle before the separation process begins. This preliminary positioning creates the necessary clearance for the blade to access and separate the breast muscle from the rib bones without interference from the wing structure. By preparing the wing position in advance, the system enables effective bone removal while maintaining a relatively simple assembly design.
Data Source
AI summary
A carcass separation assembly may include a first blade assembly configured to separate a first breast muscle from at least one of wish bone, a rib bone, and a fan bone on a first side of a poultry carcass as the poultry carcass moves downstream passed the first blade assembly. The carcass separation assembly may further include a first tensioning assembly configured to support a first wing of the poultry carcass in a spaced apart relationship relative to the first breast muscle as the poultry carcass moves downstream passed the first blade assembly.