Rib Primal Cut Scanning for Precise Bone-Aware Portioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for portioning and trimming rib primal cuts, such as St. Louis style ribs, face challenges due to the embedded bones and cartilage being invisible to operators, leading to inaccurate cuts and potential damage during manual or powered cutting, and difficulty in achieving uniform meat portions.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that uses scanning technology to gather data on the physical characteristics of the workpiece, including bone locations and sizes, to determine precise cutting paths for portioning and trimming into desired sub primal cuts, utilizing conveyors and cutters controlled by a processor to achieve accurate and safe cuts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If manual or powered band saw cutting is used to portion rib primal cuts, then the cutting process can be performed with simple equipment, but the cuts are inaccurate because bones and cartilage are not visible to the operator
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary scanning of the rib primal cut to detect bone and cartilage locations before cutting occurs. This advance detection allows the cutting path to be planned and executed with high precision, avoiding the trial-and-error approach of manual cutting where operators cannot see embedded bones.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary scanning system (X-ray or optical) that mediates between the hidden bone structure and the cutting operation. This intermediary provides visual information about bone locations, enabling accurate cutting without direct visual inspection by the operator.
2Productivity
If hand cutting is used to trim ribs to produce St. Louis style racks, then flexible control over cut shape is possible, but the process is time-consuming and difficult because cartilage extends toward shorter ribs making horizontal cuts difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical cutting with an automated cutting system that uses scanner data to determine cut paths. This substitution eliminates the difficulty of manual trimming while maintaining the ability to produce complex shapes like St. Louis style racks, and significantly increases production speed.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback from the scanning process to automatically adjust cutting paths based on actual bone and cartilage locations. This feedback loop allows the system to adapt to variations in rib anatomy, making the operation easy while maintaining high productivity.
3Manufacturing precision
If portions are sliced along the gap between ribs without visible bone guidance, then cutting can proceed quickly, but uniform meat portions cannot be achieved because bones are not always straight in length
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of bone positions and trajectories before portioning. This advance knowledge allows the cutting system to compensate for curved or non-straight bone arrangements, ensuring uniform meat portions are achieved without time-consuming manual measurement and adjustment during cutting.
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
Enables accurate and safe portioning and trimming of rib primal cuts, minimizing miss-cuts and maximizing yield of high-quality meat products by ensuring uniform meat portions and adhering to desired criteria.
Implementation Method 1
The workpiece is scanned while being conveyed to generate data regarding the physical characteristics of the workpiece. Data generated by the scanning of the workpiece is used to determine the physical characteristics of the workpiece, including the location, shape and size of the bones embedded in the workpiece.
Data Source
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AI summary
An animal ribcage primal cut having a bone array located therein is portioned into one or more sub primal cuts, each having at least one bone located therein. The primal cut is scanned at scanning station (14) while being conveyed on a conveyor (12) to determine the physical characteristics of the primal cut. A processor (18) determines how to portion the primal cut into desired sub primal cuts in accordance with desired physical characteristics of the sub primal cut and production requirements for the sub primal cuts. A controller controls a cutter to divide the primal cut into one or more sub primal cuts according to the determination previously made on how to portion the primal cut into desired sub primal cuts.