IE84452B1 - Meat carcass processing - Google Patents

Description

"Meat carcass processing" Introduction The present invention relates to a process for the handling and preparation of meat It further relates to the actual preparation of meat into portions for subsequent sale to the consumer. carcass quarters, namely, fore and hind quarters.

If, after slaughtering, the meat quarters are to be handled and prepared into portions in an efficient manner, it is necessary to have a system that will allow portions to be produced that are of the correct quality and have the organoleptic properties required by the consumer.

It is known, for example, as described in GB Patent Specification No. 2277245 (Eez- Away) to have pneumatic deboning systems, however, these do not have control means to ensure that excessive force is not imparted to the carcass during the PCT Patent Specification No. WO/0048468 (Kildegaard) describes a somewhat similar pneumatic deboning system for pig carcasses. As skilled staff deboning. become harder to employ, it is essential to de-skill the deboning operation.

The present invention is directed towards providing this.

Statements of Invention According to the invention, there is provided a process for the handling and preparation of meat carcass quarters, namely fore and hind quarters, comprising:- (a) Achilles suspending each quarter on a transfer rail; (b) delivering the quarter to an initial preparation station having a cradle pivotally mounted adjacent one side of the rail and pivoting the cradle forwards to engage and support the quarter; " 84452 removing some of the meat and scribing the quarter by cutting some of the bones in an initial preparation step to provide subsequent access to the bones; sending the quarter to an initial deboning station; securing the quarter in a stationary position on the rail; pushing portion of the carcass away from the stationary position by an animal horizontal deboner comprising a rodless pneumatic cylinder mounted parallel to an actuator rail mounted parallel to a meat transfer rail; a carriage mounted on the actuator rail; a magnetic shuttle block embracing the cylinder and slidable thereon and connected to the carriage; a vertically adjustable support bar depending from the carriage; a substantially horizontal meat pusher arm pivotally mounted on the support bar beneath the carriage; locking means for securing the pusher arm in a position orthogonal to the meat transfer rail; and control means provided by a programmable controller for operation of the rodless pneumatic cylinder; removing meat from the carcass as the horizontal deboner operates; simultaneously sensing the pressure exerted by and the motion of the pusher arm and using them to control the speed and pressure exerted on the carcass; delivering the semi-boneless quarters to a bone clearance station where the quarter is transferred from Achilles suspension to Achilles tendon suspension and further removing meat; transferring each quarter to a further deboning station and repeating steps (e) to (h) inclusive; transferring the forequarters to a final deboning station having a rotary deboner comprising a rigid support table for mounting below the meat transfer rail and rotatable about a substantially vertical axis; a flexible connector mounted adjacent one end on the support table, spaced—apart from the vertical axis; a meat engaging hook adjacent the other free end of the connector; a stationary bone engaging clamp; and means for rotating the support table to exert a rotational and downward pulling force on the hook; (I) clamping the round shoulder bones to prevent rotation; (m) attaching the hook to the shoulder muscles; (n) rotating the support table to exert a rotational and downward force on the muscle while separating the muscle from the bone; and (o) transferring all the boneless meat to a final trimming and packing station.

In another process according to the invention, in the carrying out of step (f) listed above, the pressure exerted on the meat by the pusher arm is sensed as the deboner operates and when the pressure exceeds a preset level, the controller is operated to cause the rodless pneumatic cylinder reduce the pressure exerted by the pusher arm.

In one method of carrying out the invention, there is stored in a memory, connected to the programmable controller, a database of pressures and speeds suitable for different types of carcase and at some stage, prior to or at entering the carcase into the initial deboning station: the type of carcase is inputted into the controller; the database is searched; the desired speeds and pressures are taken from the operating parameters; the controller uses the operating parameters for operation of the rodless cylinder.

In this latter process, the position, speed, acceleration and pressure exerted by the rodless cylinder are continuously sensed and compared with the desired operating parameters and the controller varies the input to the rodless cylinder having regard to the variance measured.

In one manner of carrying out the invention, the horizontal deboner is operated at linear speeds within the range 15 m to 40 m per minute and exerts loads within the range 26 Kg to 80 Kg.

In another embodiment, the subsequent steps are carried out of:- vacuum packing the trimmed and boneless meat as various cuts; storing the vacuum packed meat in a store at a temperature less than 3°C; subsequently removing vacuum packed meat from the store; inspecting the meat for TVC and E-coli contamination i; slicing the meat into desired portions; putting one or more portions into a container; weighing the portions and container; delivering the container to a vacuum packing station including a container sealing chamber; closing the container sealing chamber; delivering a conditioning gas comprising oxygen and carbon dioxide to the sealing chamber, the conditioning gas comprising between 60% and 85% carbon dioxide ; and sealing the container.

In this latter process, the meat is rejected with > 1 x 106 cfu TVC and > 500 cfu/g E coli.

Also, in this process, the conditioning gas comprises approximately 75% carbon dioxide.

In a process according to the invention, in one embodiment, the slicing comprises:- securing the meat in a container having at least one adjustable side wall used to cause the meat to contact the side walls and assume a regular shape; using a slicing machine connected to a controller which is connected to a check weigher, to cut a portion off the meat, the thickness of the slice being chosen having regard to the desired weight of the portion; weighing the portion in the check weigher; feeding the weight to the controller; and the controller sending a signal to the slicing machine to determine the thickness of the next slice having regard to the previously sensed weight of the previous slice.

Detailed Description of the invention The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description of some embodiments thereof, given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig. 1 is a front view of a deboner according to the invention, Fig. 2 is an end view of the deboner, Fig. 3 is an underneath plan view of the deboner mounted adjacent a transfer rail, Fig. 4 is a plan, partially diagrammatic view of the pneumatics of the deboner of Figs. 1 to 3, Fig. 5 is a schematic side view showing the deboner in action, Fig. 6 is an elevational view of another deboner forming part of the assembly, Fig. 7 is an underneath plan view of the deboner of Fig. 6, Fig. 8 is a top plan view of portion of the deboner of Fig. 6, Fig. 9 is a side view of a cradle according to the invention, Fig. 10 is a front view of the cradle, Fig. 11 is a layout of a plant for carrying out the process according to the invention, Figs. 12 to 14 inclusive are enlarged views of portions of the plant, as illustrated in Fig. 11, Fig. 15 is a plan view of a further processing plant according to the invention, Figs. 16 to 18 inclusive are enlarged views of the plant of Fig. 15.

Before describing the process according to the invention, it is advantageous to describe the various machines used in the process.

Referring to the drawings and initially to Figs. 1 to 5 thereof, there is provided a horizontal deboner, indicated generally by the reference numeral 1, comprising a stainless steel housing 2 mounting a rodless pneumatic cylinder 3 connected by a magnetic shuttle block 4 to a carriage 5, mounted on an actuator rail 6. The carriage 5 incorporates four horizontal guide rollers 7 and four vertical guide rollers 8.

A vertically adjustable support bar 10, mounted in an adjustable brace 11, is connected by a cantilevered bar 15 to the carriage 5. On its lower extremity, the support bar 10 carries a substantially horizontal meat pusher arm 16 which is rotatable at 17. A locking cam 18 is provided. Limit switches 20 are also provided. The deboner 1 is illustrated in Fig. 3 mounted parallel to a meat transfer rail 25.

The transfer rail 25 carries hooks 26 and is pivotally mounted at 29 so that portion of it forms a drop rail 28 raised and lowered about the pivot 29 by a pneumatic ram 33.

Various pressure sensing switches and a controller are provided but are not shown, as the controller can be provided by any suitable computerised device. There is also provided motion sensing means for determining the travel of the pusher arm, in this particular embodiment, provided by the limit switches 20. The controller will have means to control the operation of the rodless pneumatic cylinder 3 in response to data received from the pressure sensing means and the motion sensing means. Further, the controller can comprise any programmable device having input means for reception of carcass characteristics as a carcass type. It is envisaged that a database of suitable pressure speed and acceleration requirements for each carcass type can be programmed into the computer or controller, probably by means of a suitable database.

Then, output means will also be provided to control the operation of the cylinder having regard to the carcass type.

The controller may be arranged to change the pressure exerted by the pusher arm on the meat, for example, a high pressure setting is used to remove meat that is more firmly attached to the bone and this normally occurs during the initial phase of a stroke, for example, at the ileum bone. When part of the quarter with less firmly attached bone is reached, for example, deboning the vertebral column, the air pressure in the cylinder is reduced to a lower level. The pulling or pushing force can be regulated by differential pressure along the cylinder block with a back pressure of 3.5 bar being usual. Under these conditions, the rodless pneumatic cylinder can exert loads of between 25 and 80 Kgs at linear speeds in the range of 15 to 40 m/min.

It is also envisaged that the degree of control can be enhanced by utilising servo- pneumatic technology in which displacement decoders and access controllers are installed between a PLC and the rodless pneumatic cylinder to continuously monitor member position, speed, acceleration and force, so that a pre-sequence of events can be programmed and controlled. This technology, when used, would eliminate the need for ancillary limit switches and valves which are often maintenance intensive.

Referring now to Fig. 5, in operation, a carcass quarter, whether a fore quarter or a hind quarter, identified by the reference numeral 30, is carried along the transfer rail 25 in conventional manner and then a hook on the drop arm 28 and identified by the reference numeral 31, is connected to portion of the carcass 30 and the pusher arm 16 is pivoted into position and the rodless pneumatic cylinder 3 operated to push the quarter 30 away from the hook 31. The bone to be removed is held static and the meat is pushed away from the bone with a predetermined force and speed. As the pusher arm 16 moves fon/vard, the operator will clear the meat from the bone in an ergonomic fashion. If a given force threshold is exceeded, for example, due to the meat not being cleared from the bones, the puller arm 16 stops so as not to tear the meat. The speed, threshold force and direction of travel can be set for one or more points along the entire length of the stroke. These settings can be adjusted for different categories of raw material, for example, hind quarters, fore quarters and then for different types of animals such as steers, heifers, cows and so on. On completion of a stroke, the puller arm 16 returns to the start position at a higher speed so as to minimise cycle time. It will also be appreciated that the stroke length is adjustable.

In not all situations, will the drop rail which is operated by the pneumatic ram 33 be used.

Referring now to Figs. 6 to 8 inclusive, there is illustrated another construction of deboner which can be used in conjunction with the assembly for the detachment of muscles from round bones and in particular, for the detachment of shoulder muscles.

This vertical deboner is indicated generally by the reference numeral 40 and comprises a rigid support arm 41 mounted on a support rail 42 carrying a clamp, indicated generally by the reference numeral 45, in Fig. 8. The clamp 45 comprises a pneumatic cylinder 46 for moving a hook 47 between a rest position, as identified by the reference numeral 47(a) to a clamping position, identified by the reference numeral 47(b), where a round bone can be clamped by it. Further, the vertical deboner comprises a support table 50 rotably mounted on a support shaft 51 driven by a motor 52. The support table 50 carries a pair of upright rods 53, on each of which is mounted connectors and hooks 54 and 55 respectively.

In operation, shoulder muscle with round bones is introduced into the work station and the round bones are clamped rigid using the clamp 45. The stainless steel hooks 54 are then inserted into the shoulder muscles and as the support table 50 is rotated, a downward and rotational force is exerted on the meat which pulls the meat away from the bones and the accompanying thick membrane which runs through the centre of the shoulder muscle. The rotary action ensures a smooth and complete removal of the membrane which is not possible to achieve using conventional butcheiy techniques. It has been found that as a result, the eating quality of the muscle is dramatically improved as well as the visual appearance being transformed into 100% lean meat tissue.

The speed of rotation of the support table is controlled via a frequency inverter and is bi-directional for left-sided and right-sided beef quarters.

Referring to Figs. 9 and 10, there is illustrated a cradle, indicated generally by the reference numeral 60, which cradle comprises a main support frame 61 mounted by means of a support framework 62 and a pivot hinge 63. The support framework 61 is movable from the operative position, as shown by the bold lines, to a rest position shown by interrupted lines, free of the existing transfer rail 25 by a pneumatic cylinder 64. The cradle 60 has an extension frame 65, pivotally mounted thereon at 66 and again moved by a further pneumatic cylinder 67. In use, at an initial preparation stage, as will be described hereinafter, the cradle 60 is pivoted fonivards to engage and support a meat quarter suspended from the transfer rail 28.

Referring now to Figs. 11 and 12 to 14, the various stations in the plant for carrying out the process according to the invention, are illustrated. The various stations are identified by the reference letters P1 to P6 and these are used in the following description. The bone-in hind quarters or fore quarters are guided through the system on rails, either flat bar or twin rail types, which can be powered continuous or stop-start, or gravity fed, as required. .10- The meat enters the preparation station P1. In this preparation station P1, it is rested on the resting cradle 60, as illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10. The retractable extension frame 65 is used for presenting the striploin region of the meat in the best orientation for butchery. The pneumatic cylinders 64 and 67 can be used to retract the support frame 61 and extension frame 65 respectively. The initial meat butchering occurs at this station P1 which is required so as to provide access to the bones at subsequent stations. Thus, for example, the hind quarter flank is dropped, the fillet removed (psoas major). brisket patch cleared, oyster steak removed to clear obturator foramen, and so on. When such meat has been removed, an operator "scribes" the quarter with a disc saw. Scribing involves cutting through bones of two adjacent primal cuts (e.g. between striploin & flank) or where it assists the removal of the vertebral column by severing the column from the ribs.

Butchered and scribed quarters then enter station P2. At this point, meat and bone are separated using the horizontally mounted deboner, as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5. As explained already, as the puller moves fon/vard, the boner clears meat from the bones in an ergonomic fashion.

After station P2, semi-boneless quarters enter station P3 where the meat suspension point is transferred from the Achilles to the Achilles Tendon so as to allow the meat to be cleared from the leg bones (tibia, fibia, humerus and femur). Transfer is achieved using a horizontally mounted pneumatic actuator to which is attached a hook and chain in conventional manners.

Then, quarters are transferred to the station P4 via a de-elevating rail section fitted with a spring loaded safety brake. At station P4, meat is held static while round bones are pulled from the meat using a further deboner as described in Figs. 1 to 5. During fore quarter deboning, it is important that only round bones (tibia, fibia, humerus) are deboned with the scapula being left attached to the shoulder meat. The deboning of this tissue is described hereinafter in station P6.

At station P5, the boneless quarter is butchered on-line into primal cuts and placed onto meat conveyors for subsequent trimming. However, for forequarters, only the boneless meat cuts are broken down and removed from the quarter. The remaining bone-in shoulder is then fed to the rotary pulling station P6 where the rotary pulling deboner, as described with reference to Figs. 6 to 8, is used.

At this stage, the various cuts of meat which are now sent for further trimming and packing in station P7, where they are then usually vacuum packed. They are then sent to a raw material store or station P8, as illustrated in Fig. 15.

Referring now to Figs. 15 and 16 to 18, the vacuum packed meat is removed from the station P8, that is to say, the raw materials store. Then, the meat is inspected from TVC and E—coIi contamination and is rejected if the meat is greater than 1 x 105 cfu TVC and more than 500 cfu/g E-coll. Then, the meat is, in station P9, further treated and in station P10 is delivered to slicing machines, where it is portioned by placing one or more portions into containers.

To obtain the necessary desired slices, the slicing of the meat in station P10 is carried out by securing the meat in a container having at least one adjustable side wall used to cause the meat to contact the side walls and assume a regular shape. Then, using a slicing machine connected to a controller and a check weigher, a portion is cut off the meat. The thickness of the slice is chosen having regard to the desired weight of the meat and then the portion of the meat is weighed in the check weigher. The weight is then fed back to the controller which in turn sends a signal to the slicing machine to determine the thickness of the meat slice having regard to the previously sensed weight of the previous slice. In this way, by using feedback, it is possible to get more accurate portioning of the meat.

Then each container is delivered to a vacuum packing station P11 where a conditioning gas comprising oxygen and carbon dioxide is delivered to a sealing chamber, the conditioning gas comprising between 60% and 85% CO2 and preferably approximately 75% CO2. Subsequent to that, the container is sealed.

In the specification the terms "comprise, comprises, comprised and comprising" or any variation thereof and the terms "include, includes, included and including" or any variation thereof are considered to be totally interchangeable and they should all be afforded the widest possible interpretation and vice versa.

The invention is not limited to the embodiment hereinbefore described, but may be varied in both construction and detail within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (1)

1. A process for the handling and preparation of meat carcass quarters, namely fore Achilles suspending each quarter on a transfer rail; delivering the quarter to an initial preparation station having a cradle pivotally mounted adjacent one side of the rail and pivoting the cradle fomvards to engage and support the quarter; removing some of the meat and scribing the quarter by cutting some of the bones in an initial preparation step to provide subsequent access to the bones; sending the quarter to an initial deboning station; securing the quarter in a stationary position on the rail; pushing portion of the carcass away from the stationary position by an animal horizontal deboner comprising a rodless pneumatic cylinder mounted parallel to an actuator rail mounted parallel to a meat transfer rail; a carriage mounted on the actuator rail; a magnetic shuttle block embracing the cylinder and slidable thereon and connected to the carriage; a vertically adjustable support bar depending from the carriage; a substantially horizontal meat pusher arm pivotally mounted on the support bar beneath the carriage; locking means for securing the pusher arm in a position orthogonal to the meat transfer rail; and control means provided by a programmable controller for operation of the rodless pneumatic cylinder; removing meat from the carcass as the horizontal deboner operates; simultaneously sensing the pressure exerted by and the motion of the pusher arm and using them to control the speed and pressure exerted on the carcass; delivering the semi-boneless quarters to a bone clearance station where the quarter is transferred from Achilles suspension to Achilles tendon suspension and further removing meat; transferring each quarter to a further deboning station and repeating steps (e) to (h) inclusive; transferring the forequarters to a final deboning station having a rotary deboner comprising a rigid support table for mounting below the meat transfer rail and rotatable about a substantially vertical axis; a flexible connector mounted adjacent one end on the support table, spaced-apart from the vertical axis; a meat engaging hook adjacent the other free end of the connector; a stationary bone engaging clamp; and means for rotating the support table to exert a rotational and downward pulling force on the hook; clamping the round shoulder bones to prevent rotation; attaching the hook to the shoulder muscles; rotating the support table to exert a rotational and downward force on the muscle while separating the muscle from the bone; and transferring all the boneless meat to a final trimming and packing station. A process as claimed in claim 1, in which in the carrying out of step (f), the pressure exerted on the meat by the pusher arm is sensed as the deboner operates and when the pressure exceeds a preset level, the controller is operated to cause the rodless pneumatic cylinder reduce the pressure exerted by the pusher arm. A process as claimed in claim 1 or 2, in which there is stored in a memory, connected to the programmable controller, a database of pressures and speeds suitable for different types of carcase and at some stage, prior to or at entering the carcase into the initial deboning station: the type of carcase is inputted into the controller; the database is searched; the desired speeds and pressures are taken from the operating parameters; and the controller uses the operating parameters for operation of the rodless cylinder. A process as claimed in claim 3, in which the position, speed, acceleration and pressure exerted by the rodless cylinder are continuously sensed and compared with the desired operating parameters and the controller varies the input to the rodless cylinder having regard to the variance measured. A process as claimed in any preceding claim in which the horizontal deboner is operated at linear speeds within the range 15 m to 40 m per minute and exerts loads within the range 26 Kg to 80 Kg. A process as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the subsequent steps are carried out of:- vacuum packing the trimmed and boneless meat as various cuts; storing the vacuum packed meat in a store at a temperature less than 3°C; subsequently removing vacuum packed meat from the store; inspecting the meat for TVC and E—coli contamination ; slicing the meat into desired portions; putting one or more portions into a container; 30 -[6- weighing the portions and container; delivering the container to a vacuum packing station including a container sealing chamber; closing the container sealing chamber; delivering a conditioning gas comprising oxygen and carbon dioxide to the sealing chamber, the conditioning gas comprising between 60% and 85% carbon dioxide ; and sealing the container. A process as claimed in claim 6, in which the meat is rejected with > 1 x 106 cfu TVC and > 500 cfu/g E coli. A process as claimed in claim 7, in which the conditioning gas comprises approximately 75% carbon dioxide. A process as claimed in any of claims 6 to 8, in which the slicing comprises:- securing the meat in a container having at least one adjustable side wall used to cause the meat to contact the side walls and assume a regular shape; using a slicing machine connected to a controller which is connected to a check weigher, to cut a portion off the meat, the thickness of the slice being chosen having regard to the desired weight of the portion; weighing the portion in the check weigher; feeding the weight to the controller; and the controller sending a signal to the slicing machine to determine the thickness of the next slice having regard to the previously sensed weight of the previous slice. A process substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Meat produced in accordance with the process as claimed in any preceding claim.