NL2006074C2 - Method of deboning animal thighs for separating and collecting meat therefrom and apparatus for performing the method. - Google Patents

Description

P93585NL00

Title: Method of deboning animal thighs for separating and collecting meat therefrom and apparatus for performing the method

The invention relates to a method and apparatus for mechanically removing meat from thigh bones encased by said meat. Being able to obtain thigh meat from slaughtered animals, such as poultry or fowl, by mechanical means is of great importance to world food production. It is not uncommon in 5 the food industry to process up to well over a hundred thousand slaughtered birds in a one day’s shift.

Various methods and apparatuses have been developed for removing thigh meat from thigh bones or femur of poultry and fowl. Generally cut-up 10 lines for bird carcasses can operate at high capacity, but suspend the carcasses from their ankle joints. As a result the legs can thereby only be amongst the last items to be processed. Moreover this manner of suspension is not always ideal in getting the best yield of meat and in preventing contamination by bone fragments. It has therefore become increasingly popular to process thigh meat 15 separately from the traditional cut-up lines, at the disadvantage of having to collect the yet unprocessed thighs and convey and feed these one by one to a dedicated processing device. Part of this drawback has been overcome in that one or a plurality of such thigh processing devices can be operated simultaneous to a cut-up line. Such dedicated thigh deboning devices, as 20 disclosed for example in US 3510908, are often relying on manual labour, can be cumbersome to operate, and clearly do little to increase processing speed.

Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to propose an improved method and apparatus for deboning animal thighs for separating and collecting meat from the thigh bone. In a more general sense it is an object 25 of the invention to overcome or ameliorate at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art. It is also an object of the present invention to provide alternative structures which are less cumbersome in assembly and operation and which 2 moreover can be made relatively inexpensively. Alternatively it is an object of the invention to at least provide the public with a useful choice.

To this end the invention provides a method of deboning animal 5 thighs for separating and collecting meat therefrom and an apparatus for performing the method, as defined in one or more of the appended claims. The method according to the invention includes automated individual processing steps of: grasping a thigh bone of an animal thigh at a hip knuckle with a bone holder; cutting tissue near the hip knuckle; and engaging the thigh bone 10 adjacent the bone holder with a meat stripper. The processing steps further include: moving the bone holder and meat stripper away from one another in a direction substantially coextensive with the longitudinal extend of the thigh bone; allowing the meat stripper to pass over the knee knuckle; and collecting the meat separated from the bone. In particular the method includes and the 15 apparatus performs the process step of cutting tissue adjacent a knee knuckle of the thigh bone, prior to allowing the meat stripper to pass over the knee knuckle. The apparatus includes a plurality of processing stations for carrying out the individual steps, and the processing stations are arranged along a path of conveyance defined by a conveyor chain moving through a predefined path. 20 Such method and apparatus enables the animal thigh to be hung from their hip knuckles, rather than suspending the entire leg from an ankle knuckle or the thigh from its knee knuckle. It has been found that stripping the meat from a thigh bone gives the best yield when stripping from the hip knuckle in the direction of the knee knuckle. Also the cutting of knee knuckle related 25 tissue prior to stripping the meat of the bone improves the yield and the quality of the meat. In this way the sleeve of meat is also not turned inside-out when it has to pass the last knuckle to which it is still attached before it is cut lose, as is the case with the prior art methods and apparatuses.

3

The aspects as covered by the appended claims as well as other aspects, features and advantages of the invention will be explained in further detail in the description below in reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 5 Figure 1 is a bird’s eye perspective view of the apparatus according to and for performing the method of the invention from a first direction;

Figure 2 is a bird’s eye perspective view of the apparatus of Figure 1 from a second direction;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a bone holder for use with the 10 invention;

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the bone holder of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a schematic top plan view of the apparatus of Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 6 is a partial side elevation of a first tissue cutting section of 15 the apparatus of Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 7 is a detail view of the first tissue cutting section of Figure 6 viewed from an opposite direction;

Figure 8 is a plan view from below of the cutting section of Figures 6 and 7; 20 Figure 9 is a partial side elevation of a second tissue cutting section of the apparatus of Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 10 is a perspective view of a first cutting station for use in the second tissue cutting section of Figure 9;

Figure 11 is a second cutting station for use in the second tissue 25 cutting section of Figure 9;

Figure 12 is a third cutting station for use in the second tissue cutting section of Figure 9;

Figure 13 is a partial side elevation of a meat stripping and discharge section of the apparatus; 4

Figure 14 is a meat stripper unit for use in the meat stripping and discharge section of Figure 13;

Figure 15 is a side elevation of an alternative form of bone holder; and 5 Figure 16 is a perspective exploded view of the alternative form of bone holder of Figure 15.

In Figures 1 and 2, bird’s eye perspective views are shown of opposite sides of an apparatus 1 for performing the method of the invention.

10 The apparatus 1 has an overhead conveying means that is defined by a first linear conveyor section 3, a first carousel 5, a second linear conveyor section 7 and a second carousel 9. The overhead conveying means include conveyor chain (not shown but conventional) that is arranged for movement in the direction of arrows 11 (Figure 1) and 13 (Figure 2). The conveyor chain is 15 driven for movement by the second carousel 9 that is provided for this purpose with an electric drive motor 15 that may drive the carousel 9 through a gear reduction. The first carousel 5 is mounted for idle rotation and is driven indirectly by the conveyor chain, as is conventional for such overhead conveying systems for moving article hangers, such as bone holder 17, through 20 a processing path. All the basic elements described thus far are mounted on an apparatus frame, generally indicated with reference numeral 19, which can be supported by legs 21 (only shown in Figure 1) to be at a convenient height. In the direction of movement of the conveying means, the apparatus 1, in accordance with the direction of movement of arrows 11 and 13, can be 25 distinguished by a loading section 23 (Figure 2), a first tissue cutting section 25, a second tissue cutting section 27 and a meat stripping and discharge section 29.

As seen in Figure 2, at the loading section 23, the bone holder 17 is presented with a bifurcated receiving end opening to the exterior of the 30 apparatus 1. The bone holder 17 is illustrated in more detail in Figures 3 and 5 4, to which reference is made for a more detailed description of the bone holder. While only one bone holder 17 is shown in Figures 1 and 2, for clarity, it is to be understood that a plurality of such bone holders will be present and spaced at regular intervals along the overhead conveyor. Such arrangements 5 are in itself conventional and require no further explanation. The bone holder 17 as shown in Figure 3 is provided with a bifurcated receiving end 31, which defines a receiving slot 33 for receiving and supporting the hip knuckle (caput femoris) of the thigh bone (femur), with the knee knuckle (condylus) hanging substantially vertically downwardly. The receiving end 31 of the bone holder 10 17 is rotatably received in bone holder shackle 35 by a hollow central shaft, which is connected for rotation by a turning gear 37. Also connected to the hollow central shaft for rotation of the receiving end 31 is a gear pinion 39. The hollow shackle 35, together with several others and intermediate shackles 41, connected by bolts 43, form the conveyer chain. Another special feature, in 15 addition to the gear pinion 39, is that the bone holder is provided with a swivelable locking arm 45. This swivelable locking arm 45 is mounted for swivelling from an open position, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, to a locking position in which it will engage in the receiving slot 33 to prevent a thigh bone engaged in the receiving slot 33 to escape therefrom. Swivelling of the locking 20 arm 45 is effected through an intermediate pinion 47 which is driven by a toothed pusher rod 49 that extends through the hollow central shaft of the bone holder 17. Pusher rod 49 at its upper end carries a cam follower 51, which in use is positioned to be engaged by a cam track of the apparatus (not shown, but conventional). A compression spring 53 urges the pusher rod 49 upwardly 25 and thereby biases the locking arm to its open position.

Figure 5 schematically shows the rotational movements of the bone holder along the processing or conveying path through the apparatus. The bone holders 17 are indicated by their turning gears 37, only at the locations about the conveying loop, where their rotational position is changed. In the 30 actual apparatus there can be many more bone holders, but these are deleted 6 in the schematic representation of Figure 5 for clarity sake. Schematically indicated by numeral 55 is a first turning station, which readjust the bone holders 17 returning from the second carousel 9 through 90° before these enter the loading section 23. This positions the receiving slots, so that these face a 5 loading platform 57, where an operator may manually insert the fowl or poultry thighs into the bifurcated receiving ends of the respective bone holders 17. The concept of a turning station, such as 55 is conventional and well known in the art. To avoid unnecessary repetition, reference can be had to the disclosure of EP 0 786 208 for a further description of such a turning station 10 that generally uses one or more protrusions engaging the diagonal slots at the corner points of the turning gear 37 of the bone holders 17. Upon having left the loading section 23, the bone holders 17 are turned through 180° by a further, second turning station 59. Thereby the receiving slots 33 (Figure 3) are turned inwardly before entering the first carousel 5, where these slots will 15 be facing toward the axis of rotation of the first carousel. Upon leaving the first carousel 5 and before entering the second tissue cutting section 27, the bone holder 17 is again turned through 90° in a counter clockwise direction by a third turning station 61. After turning by the third turning station 61, the receiving slot 33 (Figure 3) will be leading in the direction of movement (arrow 20 11). Then in the second tissue cutting section 27 the bone holder 17 will engage rotation station 63, in which its pinion gear 39 engages a toothed rack by which it is rotated through six full revolutions of 360°, while it is at the same time advanced by the conveyer chain.

While at the loading section 23 (figs. 2 and 5), the bone holder 17 is 25 positioned to face with the open end of its receiving slot 33 toward the loading platform 57. In this position an animal thigh may be positioned by an operating person to be grasped by the bifurcated receiving end 31 (see Figure 3) at the thigh bone shaft adjacent the hip knuckle (caput femoris). Preferably the animal thigh is also positioned with the front part of the knee knuckle 30 facing the operator at the loading platform 57. Up to its transition past the 7 first carousel 5, the swivelable locking arm 45 will remain in its open position. Upon leaving the first carousel 5 and in association with the third turning station 61, the locking arm 45 is moved into its locking position by urging the cam follower 51 downwardly against the compressing spring 53 (Figure 3).

5 This can be effected by an overhead cam track positioned to engage the cam follower 51. By this movement the pusher rod 49 will swivel the locking arm 45 via the intermediate pinion 47 into its locking position. The bone holder 17 will retain this locked position up to its transition through the second carousel 9, and it will be allowed to open again by the cam track, to release the thigh bone 10 just prior to passing again the first turning station 55.

Brief reference will now be made to Figure 6, which shows the first carousel that forms the first tissue cutting section 25 in a partial side elevation looking from the side of the apparatus 1 where the loading section 23 is located. For clarity the cutting means have been deleted from Figure 6. The 15 first carousel 5 is rotatably suspended from the machine frame 19. The linear conveyer section 3 joins the first carousel 5 in a radial direction, so that each bone holder (not shown in Figure 6) becomes associated with a relevant one of a plurality of pivotable knee end supports 65. The knee end supports 65 rotate with the first carousel 5 and are each provided with a guide roller 67 for 20 controlling the pivotal position of the knee end support as will be explained herein below.

Figure 7 is a partial view, opposite from the direction of Figure 6 of a detail of the first carousel, but now showing the cutting means, comprised of a circular rotating cutting blade 68 in position relative to the first carousel 5 and 25 the knee end supports 65. Rotating cutting blade 68 is rotated by an electric motor unit 69. The rotating cutting blade 68 is confronted by a further circular cutting blade 71 that is mounted for idle rotation on the electric motor unit 69. The entire electric motor unit 69 with its rotatable cutting blades 68, 71 is height adjustably mounted on the machine frame 19 by a screw adjustment 30 device 73. The pivotable knee end supports 65 assists in positioning the 8 individual knee ends of the animal thighs for passage between the opposed circular cutting blades 68, 71. The knee end supports 65 by moving the knees of the animal thighs radially outwardly of the first carousel 5 also ensure that there is sufficient spacing between successive knee portions, even when the 5 thighs are suspended from a narrow pitch conveyor chain. A narrow pitch conveyor chain may be used to reduce the floor space required for the machine and/or to increase its throughput.

In Figure 8 an arrangement is shown for pivoting the individual knee supports 65 in respect of the cutting means. Figure 8 is a view of the first 10 carousel 5 as seen vertically upward from below. In this view it is possible to recognise a stationary excenter 75 that urges the guide rollers 67 and thereby the pivotable knee end supports in a predetermined position with respect to the cutting blades 68, 71 on the motor unit 69. The predetermined position is such that the front and back portion of the bone shaft directly adjacent to the 15 knee knuckle passes between the cutting blades 68, 71 for cutting tissue that connects the meat to the bone. Thereby, such tissue is severed that is positioned adjacent the front and back of the knee knuckle end of the thigh bone.

From the first carousel 5 the bone holders 17 will advance along the 20 overhead conveyor to the second linear section 7, after being turned by the third turning station 61 anti-clockwise through 90°. This turning movement positions the receiving slot 33 with its opening in the direction of conveyance but as explained above, the locking arm 45 will now also have moved into its closed position in which it is engaged in the receiving slot 33 of the bifurcated 25 receiving end 31. In this position and with the locking arm 45 closed, the bone holders 17 progress through the second tissue cutting section 27. A close-up detail of the second tissue section 27 is shown in Figure 9. For a description of the second tissue section 27, reference can also be had again to Figure 1. While progressing through the second tissue cutting section 27 in the direction of 30 arrow 11, an animal thigh suspended from one of the bone holders 17 9 successively passes a first cutting station 77, a second cutting station 79 and a third cutting station 81. The first cutting station 77 as shown in more detail in Figure 10 includes first and second parallel knife blades 83, 85. Each of the first and second knife blades 83, 85 is mounted on a supporting frame 87 that 5 is mounted to the machine frame 19 by means of a mounting flange 89. The first and second knife blades 83, 85 are each pivotally linked to one of a first and second pair of substantially parallel pivoting arms 91, 93 and 95, 97 respectively. Of each pair of arms 91, 93, respectively 95, 97, at least a first one 91, 95 is provided with a torsion spring 99 that biases the knife edges 83A, 10 85A toward the centre of the path of conveyance. The first cutting station 77 is positioned at a level with respect to the second linear conveyor section 7 to engage tissue adjacent the knee knuckle of an animal thigh passing between the opposite knife edges 83A, 85A. Because the animal thigh has been rotated through 90°, the knife edges 83A, 85A engage tissue that connects the meat to 15 the bone at opposite side portions of the bone shaft adjacent the knee knuckle. This part of the tissue has not yet been severed by the first tissue cutting section 25. It is further seen in Figure 9 that the first cutting station 77 is also associated with a rotation cutting blade 101, driven by motor unit 103. The rotating cutting blade 101 is positioned below the parallel knife blades 83, 85 20 at a level to remove any excess matter below the knee knuckle, such as parts of the lower leg (tibiotarsus) that may have resulted from imperfections in previous poultry or fowl processing machines for obtaining the animal thighs. The frame 87 of the first cutting station 77 is provided with a large cut-out through which the rotating cutting blade 101 and part of the motor unit 103 25 may extend. Preferably height adjustment is additionally provided to fine tune the operation of the machine.

In Figure 11 the second cutting station 79 is shown in more detail than in Figure 9. The second cutting 79 is positioned at a level with respect to the second linear conveyor section 7 to engage tissue near the hip knuckle of 30 an animal thigh. To this end the second cutting station 79 has opposite first 10 and second rotatable knife blades 105, 107, which are not driven. The non-driven knife blades 105, 107 can be either stationary or idle to rotate upon engagement with animal tissue. However, when mounted for idle rotation, the rotation of the knife blades 105, 107 is preferably provided with a certain 5 amount of drag, so as not to compromise the cutting action. The first and second rotatable knife blades 105, 107 are each pivotally mounted from a supporting frame 109 that has a mounting plate 111 for attachment to the machine frame 19. Both first and second rotary knife blades 105, 107 are biased to interfere with the path of conveyance through which the animal 10 thighs are advanced. Each of the first and second rotary knifes 105, 107 is mounted from a respective first or second swivel arm 113, 115, each carried on shafts rotatable in bearing blocks 117, 118. Biasing of the rotatable knife blades 105, 107 to overlap at the centre of the path of conveyance is obtained by respective first and second torsion springs 120, 122 that urge the arms 113, 15 115 inwardly.

In Figure 12 the third cutting station 81 is shown in more detail.

The third cutting station 81 includes a supporting frame 117 cantilevered from a mounting plate 119 for attachment to the machine frame 19. Supported by the support frame 117 are a first pair of opposing knife blades 121, 123 and a 20 second pair of opposing knife blades 125, 127. Confronting knife edges 121A, 123A and 125A, 127A of each first and second pair of opposing knife blades are biased towards the centre of the path of conveyance by torsion springs 129, 131, 133, 135, acting on at least one of respective arms 137, 139, 141, 143 of the pairs of pivoting arms. The respective pairs each have a relevant further 25 arm 145, 147, 149, 151 that is mounted for idle rotation about a vertically extending axis. With the arrangement of each knife blade being pivotally connected to a pair of substantially parallel pivoting arms the knife blades each remain generally parallel to the path of conveyance, but still have some freedom to deviate from the parallel position when the hip bone of an animal 30 thigh passes there between. The knife edges 121A, 123A, 125A, 127A of the 11 first and second parts of opposing knife blades are positioned with respect to the second linear conveyer section 7 at a level to engage tissue near the hip knuckle that connects the meat of an animal thigh to the bone shaft. When entering the first pair of opposing knife blades 121, 123 in the direction of the 5 arrow 11, the animal thigh will be rotated about an axis substantially coextensive with the longitudinal extent of the thigh bone shaft between its opposite end protuberances formed by the hip and knee knuckles. This rotation is induced by the bone holder 17 being rotated by rotation station 63, which includes a toothed rack engaging gear pinion 39 (not shown, but conventional). 10 While passing through the first and second pairs of opposing knife edges 121 A, 123A, 125A, 127A, juxtaposed in a downstream direction, the animal thigh is rotated through six full revolutions of 360° to ensure that all tissue connecting the meat to the hip bone adjacent the hip knuckle is severed. It should be clear to the skilled person that other arrangements of the third cutting station are 15 also possible. One such possibility is the use of only a single pair of opposing knife edges, which then would each have a longer length. Other variations may be sought in the number of revolutions through which the bone holder 17 is rotated. Nonetheless, good results have been achieved with the example as described, especially in combination with a more compact narrow pitch 20 conveyor system, using an eight inch, rather than the more common twelve inch pitch, between the suspended animal thighs.

In Figure 13 a partial side elevation is shown of the meat stripping and discharge section 29. The meat stripping and discharge section 29 includes the second carousel 9 that receives the bone holders 17 from the second linear 25 conveyer section 7 after these have been advanced through the second tissue cutting section 27. The second carousel 9 is driven by the electric drive motor 15 and rotates together with cage 155. The cage 155 can turn around a stationary cam drum 157 which is provided with a cam track 159. The rotating cage 155 includes a plurality of pairs of bars 161, 163 allowing vertical 30 movement there along of meat stripper units 165. The meat stripper units will 12 now be further explained in reference to Figures 13 and 14. When reference is had to Figure 14 it will be apparent that the meat stripper unit 165 has a sliding block 167, with a pair of vertically extending bores 169 (only one of which is visible in Figure 14), for accommodating the pair of bars 161, 163 of 5 the rotating cage 155. At the rear of sliding block 167 there is provided a guide roller 171 that in use engages the cam track 159 of the stationary cam drum 157. At the front of the sliding block 167 are positioned a first pivotable gripper arm 173 and a second gripper arm 175. The first and second gripper arms engage one another through gear toothed segments 173A, 175A. Thereby 10 the pivoting movement of the gripper arms 173, 175 and respective gripper plates 173B, 175B is synchronised to move away from the closed position shown in Figure 14 in equal amounts. The gripper plates 173B, 175B are urged toward the closed position by a pull spring 177. The second gripper arm 175 has an arm extension 179 that carries a cam follower wheel 181 at its 15 distal end. The cam follower wheel 181 is positioned to engage perimeter cam track sections 183, 185 that extend about the rotating cage 155 as shown in Figure 13. The cam track sections 183, 185 are stationary with respect to the rotating cage 155. A first one of the cam track sections 183 is positioned to urge the gripper plates 173B, 175B to the open position to engage a thigh 20 hanging from an adjacent bone holder 17 at the thigh bone directly below the bifurcated end 31 of the bone holder 17. At a downstream end of the one cam track section 183, the cam track 159 of the stationary cam drum 157 will move the meat stripper unit 165, with the gripper plates 173B, 175B closed around the bone shaft, in a vertically downward direction, by means of the guide roller 25 171. During this downward movement and the meat stripper unit’s progress in the second carousel, the other of the cam track sections 185 will engage the cam follower roller 181 with an upwardly directed hump 185A and thereby slightly open the gripper plates 173B, 175B to pass over the knee knuckle of the thigh bone. Because the tissue holding the meat to the knuckle region of 30 the thigh bone has already been severed sufficiently, the continued downward 13 movement of the meat stripper unit 165 will completely remove the meat from the thigh bone. This removed meat may then be collected by gravity in a collecting tray or alternatively by a collecting conveyer placed underneath the second carousel 9 of the meat stripper and discharge section 29. After removal 5 of the meat, the bone holders 17 continue their movement around the second carousel 9 and the locking arm 45 will be allowed to open again for release of the thigh bone from which the meat has been removed. Suitable means may additionally be provided to collect the discharged thigh bones, such as trays or conveyors.

10 An alternative form of bone holder 17A is shown in Figure 15 in side elevation, whereas Figure 16 is a perspective exploded view of the same alternative form of bone holder. Because the upper portion of the bone holder 17A is largely similar to that described in reference to Figures 3 and 4, the same reference numerals have been used to denote the bone holder shackle 35, 15 the turning gear 37, the gear pinion 39, the intermediate shackle 41, and the connecting bolts 43. Depending from a pinion shaft 201, which extends through the bone holder shackle 35 is a receiving block 203, to which is mounted a bifurcated receiving end 205. The bifurcated receiving end 205 has a receiving slot 207, for receiving the hip joint protrusion of an animal thigh hip bone 20 (femur). Pivotally mounted to the receiving block 203 is a swivelable locking arm 209 that pivots about a first pivot pin 211. The swivelable locking arm 209 is biased to an open position by a torsion spring (not shown, but conventional). In Figure 15 the swivelable locking arm 209 is shown in its closed position, which closed position is held by a pivotable latch arm 213 mounted from a 25 second pivot pin 215. The latch arm 213 has a downwardly extending detent 217 that in Figure 15 is shown engaging an aperture 221 in a latch gripper 219. The latch gripper 219 can be adjustably attached to the locking arm 209, to thereby determine the position of closure of the locking arm 209 and take into account variations in bone shaft thicknesses. Closing of the locking arm 30 209 is effected by a cam track means (not shown, but conventional) acting 14 directly on the locking arm, upon passing and engaging the cam track means. In difference to the bone holder of Figures 3 and 4, the bone holder 17A of Figures 15 and 16 locks itself in the closed position, so that it is not necessary to keep it engaged by a cam track for as long as the locking arm 209 needs to 5 be closed. Conversely only a further cam track means is needed to unlatch the locking arm 209 to cause the latch arm 213 to lift the detent 217 from the latch gripper 219 and thereby allow the locking arm 209 to swivel to its open position to which it is normally biased. The latch arm can be actuated by a cam track that is positioned to depress the exposed end of the latch arm 213 and 10 cause it to pivot about the second pivot pin 215. This arrangement has the benefit of reducing friction and wear in the operation of the apparatus, by avoiding cam track followers (such as 51 of bone holder 17), to be in prolonged engagement with a cam track. The modified bone holder 17A, also results in a reduction of raw materials, such as stainless steel, necessary in the 15 construction of a deboning apparatus.

Accordingly a method of mechanically deboning animal thighs for separating and collecting meat therefrom is disclosed, as well as an apparatus (1) for performing this method, that includes automated individual processing steps. The processing steps include: grasping a thigh bone of an animal thigh 20 at a hip knuckle with a bone holder (17); cutting tissue near the hip knuckle; and engaging the thigh bone adjacent the bone holder with a meat stripper (165). Further the processing steps include: moving the bone holder (17) and meat stripper (165) away from one another in a direction substantially coextensive with the longitudinal extend of the thigh bone; allowing the meat 25 stripper (165) to pass over the knee knuckle; and collecting the meat separated from the bone. In particular the method includes and the apparatus (1) performs the process step of cutting tissue adjacent a knee knuckle of the thigh bone, prior to allowing the meat stripper (165) to pass over the knee knuckle. The apparatus (1) includes a plurality of processing stations (23, 25, 27, 29, 68, 30 77, 79, 81) for carrying out the individual steps, and the processing stations 15 are arranged along a path of conveyance defined by a conveyor chain (35, 41, 43) moving through a predefined path that is defined by a first linear conveyor section (3), a first carousel (5), a second linear conveyor section (7), and a second carousel (9).

5 It is thus believed that the operation and construction of the present invention will be apparent from the foregoing description. To the skilled person in this field of the art it will be clear that the invention is not limited to the embodiment represented and described here, but that within the framework of the appended claims a large number of variants are possible. Also kinematic 10 inversions are considered inherently disclosed and to be within the scope of the present invention. The terms comprising and including when used in this description or the appended claims should not be construed in an exclusive or exhaustive sense but rather in an inclusive sense. Expressions such as: "means for ...” should be read as: "component configured for ..." or "member constructed 15 to ..." and should be construed to include equivalents for the structures disclosed. The use of expressions like: "critical", "preferred", "especially preferred" etc. is not intended to limit the invention. Features which are not specifically or explicitly described or claimed may be additionally included in the structure according to the present invention without deviating from its 20 scope.

Claims (35)

A method for deboning animal thigh pieces to separate and collect meat therefrom, comprising automated individual processing steps of: gripping a thigh bone of an animal thigh piece at a hip joint by a bone holder; cutting tissue close to the hip joint; engaging the thigh bone in the vicinity of the bone holder with a meat scraper; moving the bone holder and the meat scraper away from each other in a direction substantially coincident with the longitudinal extension of the femur; allow the meat scraper to pass over the knee joint; and collecting the meat separated from the bone, the method further comprising cutting tissue in the vicinity of a knee joint of the femur prior to allowing the meat scraper to pass over the knee joint. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of cutting tissue in the vicinity of a knee joint of the thigh bone further comprises supporting and moving a portion of the thigh bone in close proximity to the knee joint in contact with a cutting blade. The method of claim 2, wherein the cutting blade is a rotary cutting blade. The method of claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the step of cutting tissue close to the knee joint of the femur precedes the step of cutting tissue close to the hip joint. The method of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the step of cutting tissue close to the knee joint of the thigh bone also comprises maintaining a portion of the thigh bone in close proximity to the knee joint with a non-rotating knife blade, while the animal thigh piece is moved by a displacement path that is determined by the sequence of individual processing steps. 6. A method according to claim 4, wherein keeping the portion of the thigh bone in close proximity to the knee joint with a non-rotating knife blade is a further step after the step of claim 2, and cuts tissue related to the knee joint that connecting the meat to the bone at a side portion of the bone shaft in the vicinity of the knee joint in a direction transverse to the tissue cut through the step of claim 2. The method of claim 6, wherein the cutting steps of claim 2 and claim 4 each include cutting from opposite sides of the bone shaft in proximity to the knee joint. The method of any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising advancing the animal thigh portion along a processing path while the individual processing steps are performed. The method of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the step of cutting tissue close to the hip joint comprises rotating the bone holder about an axis substantially coincident with the longitudinal extension of the femur, while a portion of the thigh bone in close proximity to the hip joint is engaged with a knife cut. 10 10. Method according to claim 9, wherein the step of cutting tissue close to the hip joint includes passing the portion of the hip bone in close proximity to the hip joint between oppositely disposed knife edges that are forced toward each other. The method of any one of claims 1 to 10, further comprising collecting meat for further processing after the meat scraper has passed over the knee joint. 20 The method of claim 11, wherein the meat collection is followed by releasing the thigh bone from the bone container. 13. Method as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, wherein the transport path extends in a closed loop. 14. Device for carrying out the method according to one of the preceding claims, provided with a plurality of processing stations for carrying out the individual steps, the processing stations are arranged along a transport path determined by a conveyor belt which is located in a predetermined trajectory moves. Device according to claim 14, suitable for moving the bone holder through the transport path, while the processing stations 10 are activated to carry out the individual processing steps. Device as claimed in claim 15, wherein the transport path is arranged in a closed loop and wherein the conveyor belt is endless and extends through the closed loop. 15 The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the closed loop is defined by first and second carousels, which connect parallel first and second linear conveyor sections. The device of any one of claims 14 to 17, wherein the bone holder is adapted to rotate about an axis substantially coincident with longitudinal extension of a thigh bone. 19. Device as claimed in claim 18, wherein the bone holder is rotatably suspended on a conveyor link. Device as claimed in claim 19, wherein link for the bone holder is adapted to be moved by the conveyor belt through the transport path. Device as claimed in any of the claims 18 to 20, wherein the bone holder is adapted for selective rotation through one of a turnstile and a rotation loop. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the rotation of the bone holder 10 through the turnstile is selected for the processing step of cutting tissue close to the hip joint at a cutting station specifically adapted for cutting tissue of the hip joint. 23. Device as claimed in claim 22, wherein the station intersecting the tissue of the hip joint comprises a stationary rack adapted to engage the turnstile when the bone holder is moved along it in the transport path. 24. Device as claimed in claim 22 or 23, wherein the station cutting the tissue of the hip joint comprises a pair of opposite cutting blades which are resiliently urged to a passage of passage reserved for the thighbone. 25. Device as claimed in claim 21, wherein adjustment of the bone holder 25 from one to another of a number of separate rotational positions is selected by the turnstile each time the bone holder passes each point where the first linear conveyor section in the conveying path on one of first and second carousels connect. 26. Device as claimed in any of the claims 14 to 25, wherein the bone holder comprises a pivotable locking arm. 27. Device as claimed in claim 26, wherein the pivotable locking arm is forced with spring force to be in an open position and is adapted to be turned into a closed position by engagement of the bone holder with a cam track. The device of claim 27, wherein the pivotable locking arm is locked in its closed position. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the meat scraper is associated with the second carousel. The device of claim 17 or 29, wherein the second carousel defines a meat scraping and releasing section. 20 Device according to claim 17, 29 or 30, wherein the second carousel is driven for rotation. 32. Device as claimed in claim 17, 29, 30 or 31, wherein the first carousel is passively driven by the conveyor belt. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the first carousel defines a first tissue cutting section. Device as claimed in any of the claims 17 or 29 to 33, wherein the first of the linear conveyor sections extends, in the conveying direction, from the second carousel to the first carousel and defines a loading section. 35. Device as claimed in any of the claims 17 or 29 to 34, wherein the second of the linear conveyor sections extends, in the conveying direction, from the first carousel to the second carousel and defines a second tissue-cutting section. 15