X-ray guided deboning apparatus for precise meat cutting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional automated deboning methods for arm and thigh parts of carcasses face challenges in maintaining high yield and preventing cutting blade damage due to individual size variations and complex bone shapes, leading to reduced efficiency and excessive load on the cutting blade.
Innovation Solution
A deboning method using an X-ray to precisely determine the outline of bones, allowing a multi-axis articulated arm with a cutting blade to operate on a corrected course, ensuring accurate meat cutting and separation while minimizing blade damage and load.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If the cutting blade operates on a predetermined course based on empirical rules, then the deboning process can be automated, but the cutting blade may cut into the bone or leave bone in the meat due to individual size variations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs X-ray imaging and bone outline detection before the cutting operation to obtain precise bone position information. This preliminary action allows the cutting blade to follow a corrected course that accurately matches the actual bone shape, preventing both bone cutting and bone residue while maintaining automation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses X-ray imaging to obtain real-time feedback on bone position and shape, then corrects the cutting blade's operation course based on this feedback. This closed-loop control ensures the cutting blade precisely follows the bone surface despite individual variations in work size and shape.
2Reliability
If the cutting blade operates on a safe side to avoid excessive load, then blade damage is prevented, but the yield of meat is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs X-ray imaging and operation course correction before cutting to precisely determine the bone outline. This allows the cutting blade to operate exactly on the bone surface without excessive load, preventing blade damage while maximizing meat yield by avoiding conservative cutting paths.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical estimation methods with X-ray imaging and image processing to accurately determine bone position. This substitution eliminates the need to operate on a safe side, allowing precise cutting that prevents blade damage while maintaining high meat yield.
3Manufacturing precision
If the cutting blade follows a corrected operation course based on X-ray image, then manufacturing precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an X-ray imaging system and image processing unit as intermediaries between the workpiece and the cutting blade. These intermediaries provide precise bone position information and corrected operation courses, achieving high cutting precision while using commercially available technologies that minimize overall system complexity.
4Productivity
If the cutting blade operates rapidly at constant speed, then productivity is improved, but the cutting blade may generate excessive load on complex bone shapes
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs X-ray imaging and operation course correction before the cutting operation, allowing the cutting blade to follow a precisely corrected path that matches the actual bone shape. This prevents excessive load generation while maintaining rapid constant-speed operation, thereby preserving productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses X-ray image feedback to correct the operation course before cutting, enabling the cutting blade to maintain constant high speed without generating excessive load. The corrected course ensures the blade follows the bone surface accurately, preventing load spikes that would require speed reduction.
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 method enhances yield by accurately detecting bone shapes and positions, reducing blade damage, and preventing bone fragments in meat, while maintaining high operation efficiency and reducing the capacity and power requirements of the cutting device.
Implementation Method 1
an X-ray image analysis step of irradiating the X-ray to each arm part or each thigh part to obtain two-dimensional position coordinates of the outline of the bone of the arm part or the thigh part by analyzing a transmitted X-ray image
Data Source
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AI summary
An object is to generate no excessive load to a cutting blade, reduce damage to the cutting blade or the like to maintain high operation efficiency, and improve the yield of meat in an automatic deboning step of a work. In an automatic deboning apparatus 10, an X-ray irradiation unit 30 is provided on the upstream side of a meat cutting unit 50 in a direction of transport of the work. In the X-ray irradiation unit 30, an X-ray r is irradiated to a work w from an X-ray irradiation device 34, an image of the X-ray transmitted through the work w is subjected to image processing in an image analysis process unit 40, and two-dimensional position coordinates of a bone part are thereby obtained. In the meat cutting unit 50, there are provided three robot arms 52a to 52c provided with cutting blades 58a to 58c. A storage unit 62 of a controller 60 stores three-dimensional position coordinates of a target operation course of each of the cutting blades 58a to 58c. The target operation course is corrected on the basis of the two-dimensional position coordinates of the bone part obtained for each work in the image analysis process unit 40.