UV-Fluorescent Food Casing Fragment Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing artificial food casings, especially transparent ones, pose challenges in detecting remaining fragments after peeling due to their transparent nature, which can compromise food safety and quality, as fragments may not be visually detectable.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating an ultraviolet-detectable component, such as a photoluminescent or fluorescent pigment, into the artificial food casing that emits visible light when illuminated with ultraviolet light, allowing for easy detection of remaining fragments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If the casing is made transparent, then the quality and colour of the sausage during cooking or smoking can be evaluated, but remaining casing fragments cannot be detected
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies color change principle by incorporating UV-detectable components (fluorescent or phosphorescent pigments) into the transparent casing. These components remain invisible under normal lighting, preserving transparency for quality evaluation, but emit visible light under UV illumination, enabling detection of remaining fragments. This resolves the contradiction by making the casing property dynamic rather than static.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions the detection problem from the visible spectrum to the ultraviolet spectrum. By using UV-detectable components that fluoresce under UV light, the system adds a new dimensional aspect (wavelength dimension) to detection, allowing simultaneous transparency in visible light and detectability in UV light.
2Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If the casing is coloured, then remaining fragments can be visually detected, but the colour of the sausage during cooking or smoking cannot be evaluated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses UV-detectable components that are invisible under normal lighting conditions, thus maintaining the transparency needed for evaluating sausage quality and color during cooking. Under UV illumination, these components fluoresce, providing detectability of fragments without interfering with normal visual assessment.
Solution Approach 2:
The detection process operates periodically or on-demand using UV illumination rather than continuous coloring. The UV light source can be activated when needed for fragment detection, while the casing remains transparent during normal cooking and evaluation processes.
3Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If the casing is striped, then some fragments can be detected, but fragments outside the striped areas cannot be detected
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the entire casing surface uniformly detectable by incorporating UV-detectable components throughout the casing material. This universal detection capability replaces the limited striped pattern, allowing any fragment anywhere on the casing to be detected with equal effectiveness, thus improving reliability of complete fragment detection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates homogeneous distribution of UV-detectable components throughout the entire casing surface, replacing the heterogeneous striped pattern. This ensures uniform detectability across all areas of the casing, eliminating detection blind spots and improving reliability.
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 efficient and reliable detection of remaining casing fragments using UV light, ensuring complete removal and maintaining the transparency of the casing for quality evaluation during cooking or smoking, without interfering with food product visibility or processing.
Implementation Method 1
an artificial food casing comprising an ultraviolet-detectable component
Implementation Method 2
Incorporating an ultraviolet-detectable component, such as a photoluminescent or fluorescent pigment, into the artificial food casing that emits visible light when illuminated with ultraviolet light
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to an artificial food casing; method for removing said artificial food casing; and methods for manufacturing said artificial food casing.