NZ214902A

NZ214902A - Separating meat from carcass using tensioned moving rough surfaced wire

Info

Publication number: NZ214902A
Application number: NZ214902A
Authority: NZ
Inventors: C A Roberts; S M Mason
Original assignee: New Zealand Meat Ind Res Inst
Priority date: 1986-01-22
Filing date: 1986-01-22
Publication date: 1988-02-12
Also published as: AU6786987A; AU592614B2

Description

New Zealand Paient Spedficaiion for Paient Number £14902 214902 I NEW ZEALAND Patents Act 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION N.Z. No. 214902 22 January 1986 A METHOD OF REMOVING MEAT FROM AN ANIMAL CARCASS We, THE MEAT INDUSTRY RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF NEW ZEALAND INCORPORATED, an incorporated company organised and existing under the laws of New Zealand of East Street, Hamilton, New Zealand, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a Patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement:- 214902 This invention relates to a method for the removal of meat, in a substantially intact form (i.e. whole-tissue meat) from the carcasses of slaughtered animals.

The manual boning of meat from the carcasses of slaughtered animals is a labour-intensive operation and as such the processing costs involved in producing boneless whole-tissue meat are high. Existing technology for the separation of meat and bones mechanically is primarily directed at the recovery of meat from bones where the bulk of the meat has already been removed manually. The resultant product from such processes is in the form of a slurry or finally comminuted pieces of meat, usually with relatively high concentrations of calcium. Such a product has limited shelf life and the ranges of uses to which such product can be put are limited.

The object of the present invention is to provide a method of removal of meat in a substantially intact form from the carcasses of slaughtered animals, said method including mechanical means to form at least a part of the removal of the meat from the carcass.

According to one broad aspect of our Patent Specification No 204450 there is provided a method of mechanically removing whole-tissue meat from animal carcass, said method including the steps of making a longitudinal cut in the meat of the carcass along at bringing forcing means into contact with the meat adjacent to said cut which force the meat away from the dorsal protrusions least one side of the dorsal protrusions of the vertebrae. ft 21430.: and at least part of the laterial projections of the vertebrae, and engaging the carcass with second forcing means which engages with the meat forced away toy the aforementioned first forcing means so as to remove the meat as whole-tissue from at least a part of the length of the ribs extending from the vertebrae. In the preferred form of the invention cuts are formed either side of the dorsal protrusions and forcing means force the meat away from either side of said protrusions.

According to a second aspect of that patent specification there is provided mechanical apparatus for the removal of whole-tissue meat from an animal carcass, said apparatus comprising support means for supporting said carcass, cutting means to make a longitudinal cut in the meat along at leat one side of the dorsal protrusions of the vertebrae, forcing means engagable with the carcass to force meat away from the dorsal protrusions and at least part of the lateral projections of the vertebrae, and second forcing means which is engagable with the carcass and trails behind the first forcing means to force additional meat away from the ribs of said carcass.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of removing whole-tissue meat from an animal carcass, including the step of tensioning a length of rough-surfaced filament, driving the filament at a selected speed lengthwise, causing the filament to be pressed against bones in the carcass from which the meat is to be removed, and traversing the moving filament along the junction of the bone and meat in a direction generally normal to the length of the filament at JT) positions therealong.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided mechanical apparatus for the removal of whole-tissue meat from an animal carcass, said apparatus including support means for supporting said carcass, a length of tensioned of rough-surfaced filament, drive means to drive the filament at a selected speed lengthwise, filament guide means to o , >0'£ N ? - */o ^ O ft u \ 27OCT IMP' press the driven filament against bones in the carcass from which the meat is to be removed, and traversing means of the guide means and the filament adapted to traverse the driven filament along the junction of the bone and meat in a direction generally normal to the length of the filament at positions therealong.

Preferably the filament is a steel wire and is advantageously formed as 6 strands of 7 wires in each strand.

The filament may be formed as an endless loop, driven and guided by one or more pulleys.

Alternatively, the filament may be a length to be wound back and forth between two filament winding drums.

One preferred embodiment Of th« present invention is desctibeG, oy way of example only, with reference to the drawings accompanying the provisional specification, in which:- Figure 1 is an elevational view of supporting means for supporting the carcass during removal of the meat, Figure 2 is a side view of a carcass mounted on the supporting means, Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 but showing the neck of the carcass clamped with clamping means forming part of the supporting means, Figure 4 is an end elevation in the view of arrow A of Figure 3, Figure 5 is a plan view of the carcass in the orientation shown in Figure 3 and showing the location of preparatory cuts about the region of the neck and tail, 214902 Figure 6 is a sectional view on the line X-X of Figure 3, Figure 7 is an end elevation view of the supporting means, Figure 8 is a side elevation view showing cutting means for cutting the carcass longitudinally and forcing means for forcing the meat away from the frame of the carcass, Figure 9 is a cross-section through the line Y-Y of Figure 8, Figure 10 is a more detailed perspective view of the forcing means shown in Figures 8 and 9, Figure 11 is a plan view of a carcass from which meat has been partially stripped, Figure 12 is a side elevation of Figure 11, and Figure 13 is a perspective view showing apparatus for further removing the meat from the carcass.

In the following description reference will be made to the carcass being supported in a horizontal position on suitable supporting means. In addition the following disclosure will refer to the method being commenced at the neck end of the carcass and proceeding to the hind-quarter end of the carcass. This has to be considered to be only by way of example as the method could equally be used with the carcass being orientated in a substantially vertical position and/or with the process being carried out from the rund-quarter end of the carcass to the neck.

Referring firstly to Figure 1 of the drawings the supporting means consists of a body 1 with a top surface 2 so contoured as to provide a support portion 2a for the thoracic 214902 and lumbar vertebrae and the ends of the ribs (of the carcass to be processed) adjacent to their connection to the thoracic vertebrae. The surface 2 also provides a support portion 2b for the sacrum and coccygeal vertebrae with these two support portions of the surface 2 being formed integrally as part of the body 1 though the latter support portion 2a could be provided by a separate unit. Either side of the body 1 and coincident with a line which is approximately one half the way down the rib cage of the carcass to be processed is a rib support member 3 which provides support to the rib cage during processing of the carcass. These rib supports 3 are retractable to a position close to the body 1 for loading of the carcass and unloading of the boned frame whilst a hydraulic or pneumatic ram 4 or any other convenient means is provided to activate these rib supports so as to take up an operating position which is more particularly shown in Figure 6 of the drawings.

The support means also provide a support surface 5 for the neck of the carcass and this is preferably formed as a separate unit. In the illustrated form the support surface 5 is mounted on legs 6 which are operated by a linear actuator 6a (either pneumatically or hydraulically operated) or any other suitable moving means. The neck support 5 also incorporates clamping means 7 which is designed to clamp the neck of the carcass when the carcass is supported on the support surface 2. Preferably the clamping surface 5 and clamping means 7 are such that they clamp the neck into a position where it is forced from its natural curved disposition as shown in Figure 2 to a flat 214902 position parallel with the neck support as shown in Figure 3. The clamping means 7 thus includes any suitable mechanical means (such as for example a linear actuator 7a) for carrying out this function and in addition the clamping means provides a means of anchoring the carcass against longidutinal movement.

The carcass is placed on the support surface 2 and the neck support 5 is brought into position as shown in Figure 2 with the neck then being straightened to lie flat on the neck support by the clamping means 7 as shown in Figure 3. At this stage or, if desired, before or after this stage is reached, the pelvis is cut along its centre line as shown more paticularly in Figure 4.

Once again at this stage or prior to this stage preparatory cuts 12a and 12b are made in the regions of the neck and tail respectively of the carcass by any convenient method. Cues 12a are made either side of the cervical vertebrae from the atlas to the region of the first and second thoracic vertebrae and extend from the top side of the neck right through to the under side. Cuts 12b are made either side of the coccygeal vertebrae and sacrum from the base of the tail to the region of the joining of the pelvis to the sacrum.

Prior to the meat removal process commencing the rib supports 3 are opened to their operating position by actuation of the operating mechanism 4. The carcass thus prepared and mounted is ready for the meat removal operation.

In the following description of the method of meat removal the preferred form of the apparatus as illustrated is one where the mechanical removal devices are mounted in close proximity to 214902 one another. Relative axial movement of these devices and the carcass is achieved either by traversing the devices over the carcass or by movement of the carcass while the devices are held stationary relative to the axis of the carcass. The latter case is used in the following description of the method and the apparatus for carrying out the method.

The longitudinal cuts either side of the dorsal protrusions of the vertebrae are carried out by suitable cutting means and for the sake of simplicity there is illustrated in the drawings knives or cutting elements 8. These knives are lowered to such a position as to cut the meat either side of the dorsal protrusions of the spine and whilst preferably the cuts are made by mechanically operated knives or cutting elements this marking down of the carcass can oe carried out manually.

The forcing means are indicated generally at 9 and in the preferred form consists of a pair of discs 9a (see Figure 9 for a general view and Figure 10 for a more detailed view of one such disc 9a) of equal diameter which are mounted coaxially with a space between them of a distance comparable to the transverse thickness of the dorsal protrusions P of the vertebrae. As the neck of the carcass reaches the point below the discs the discs are lowered with suitable controlled application of pressure and height so that they contact the vertebrae and in so doing are forced to bend along a chord parallel to the axis of the carcass thus being forced to lie on the top parts of the ribs in a plane more or less at right angles to the plane of the major portion of the discs. To facilitate this bending, and to restrict the radius of curvature of the bend in the disc, it is required that the discs be constructed of suitable materials and preferably be guided and supported in operation. One method is to build the discs 9a from a flexible rubber-like elastomer with a hardness and stiffness sufficient to retain an edge on the disc and thus scrape the meat from the frame F while being flexible enough that the material can be bent around a radius of curvature, of the order of 10 mm, along the chord where the bending takes place.

Such effect can be achieved by a disc 15 (see Figure 10) constructed of an elastomer of appropriate mechanical properties and thickness which is sandwiched between supporting stainless steel discs or hubs 16 of a smaller diameter, such a composite disc 9a being guided by independent guides 17 to restrict the radius of curvature of the bend of disc 15 along the chord forward of the support given by the stainless steel part 16 of the composite disc 9a.

By suitable sizing of these composite discs 9a for example for sheep carcasses an overall diameter of about 300 mm and a support hub 16 diameter of 200 mm, as the discs 9a are traversed along the spine, while simultaneously rotating, the meat is cleared from the vertebrae and the top of the ribcage, to allow the introduction of subsequent discs.

An alternative form of these discs 9a is to make the elastomer discs 15 larger in diameter while retaining similar sized supporting hubs 16, so that the flexible material protrude, say 75 mm outside the hubs. This enables more of the 214302 ribcage to be cleared by the discs but may require that the extremity of the discs be forced onto the ribcage to clear the meat from the ribs in the region where the ribs curve away from the plane.

Discs 9a thus force most of the meat from the bones where contact is made. Figure 7 shows the position in the early stages of the method whilst Figure 8 is a cross-sectional schematic view showing the pair of discs 9a mounted on a spindle 10 and forcing the meat from either side of the dorsal projections P and at least part of the lateral projections which in the rib cage portion of the carcass are formed by the ends of the ribs.

The next step is to remove the meat from the neck and ribcage, as shown in Figures 11, 12 and 13 by use of a moving wire 20. The wire 20 used is about 3mm diameter and an adequately rough construction has been achieved by winding the wire as though it comprised a normal 7 strands twisted together of 7 steel wires twisted in each strand, except that only 6 strands are used.

There are a number of ways of achieving an adequate cutting action - three major factors are involved including the roughness of the wire 20, the speed at which the wire 20 is moving and the tension. It has been found that a 7 x 7 weave with one strand left out during the weaving process gives a wire a sufficiently rough surface that when it is driven at about 5 m/sec under a tension in the order of 200 N, it effectively scrapes the meat from the ribcage at a reasonably rapid rate. 214902 Similar results could be achieved by a smoother wire 20 travelling faster or by a rougher wire (e.g. embriotomy wire) driven slower. The above parameters have been found to achieve a clean, quick separation of meat and bone without a strong tendency to cut into the bones.

In Figures 11 and 12 typical paths for the wire 20 are shown by the lines 21. Two wires 20 and guide apparatus therefor are used, one on each side of the carcass.

The wire 20 is introduced as near to the spine as practical and passes over the ribcage at an angle before it is led away by a pulley mounted so as to pass below the brisket area. An arrangement to achieve this positioning of the wire 20 is shown in Figure 13. The wire 20 is spliced into an endless loop and passes over grooved pulleys 22, 2j, 24, l L>. One of the pulleys 22, 23 is driven to move the wire 20 in the direction shown by the arrows thereon. A tensioning force is applied to the pulley 22, as shown by the arrows 26, so as to maintain a relatively constant tension as the wire is stretched over the ribcage.

In order to effectively cut the meat from the neck and that area of the carcass between the neck and brisket, it has been found that more tension is required than for the ribcage. Thus additional tension is applied while the wire is cutting in those areas.

In an alternative to the use of a loop, the wire 20 may be mounted on one or more drums and its direction of travel is reversed at the end of the wire 20. During reversal the wire 20 is preferably not traversed along the carcass, so that the

Claims

- 12 - 214902 direction of wire travel is correct during a cutting phase. The use of the wire cutter allows the meat to be cleanly removed from the whole of the ribcage from the area of the spine to the brisket thus the requirement to pull the meat by the back leg to tear remaining attachments around the brisket is unnecessary. The cutting action of the wire in separating the meat from the ribcage is enhanced by tensioning the point of separation of tissue and bone. Thus as the wire is traversed along the ribcage (from neck to lumbar region) the meat is pulled outwards from the bone to put the separation point in tension. This can be achieved in a number of ways, probably most conveniently by a mechanism which grasps the front leg and pulls it outward and backward as liie cutting action continues as shown by the arrows 27 in Figures 11 and 12. - 13 - 214902 VYHAI^WE CLAIM IS

1. A method of removing whole-tissue meat from an animal carcass, including the step of tensioning a length of rough-surfaced filament, driving the filament at a selected speed lengthwise, causing the filament to be pressed against bones in the carcass from which the meat is to be removed, and traversing the moving filament along the junction of the bone and meat in a direction generally normal to the length of the filament at positions therealong.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the cutting action of the filament in separating the meat from the rib cage is enhanced by imparting tension to the tissue at the point of separation of tissue from bone.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 including the additional step of applying greater tension to the filament at the area of the carcass between the neck and brisket.

4. Apparatus for the removal of whole-tissue meat from an animal carcass, said apparatus including support means for supporting said carcass, a length of tensioned rough-surfaced filament, drive means to drive the filament at a selected speed lengthwise, filament guide means to press the driven filament against bones in the carcass from which the meat is to be removed, and traversing means of the guide means and the - 14 - 214902 filament adapted to traverse the driven filament along the junction of the bone and meat in a direction generally normal to the length of the filament at positions therealong.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4 wherein the filament is a metal wire.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5 wherein the filament is formed as six strands, there being seven wires in each strand.

7. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 6 wherein the filament is substantially 3mm in diameter.

8. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 4 L.C 7 wnerem said filament is formed as an endless loop.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 8 wherein said filament is driven and guided by one or more pulley means.

10. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 7 wherein said filament is a length wound back and forth between two filament winding drums.

11. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 10 wherein said filament is driven at a speed of substantially 5 metres per second. r\ —3 - 15 - 214902

12. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 11 wherein said filament is under a tension substantially of 200N.

13. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 12 wherein two filaments, drive and guide systems are used, one for each side of said carcass.

14. Apparatus as claimed in any one of the claims 4 to 13 wherein said filament is guided by means which includes means to provide variable tension.

15. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 14 wherein said apparatus includes means to tension the point of separation of tissue from bone on saiu carcass as said filament progresses.

16. A method substantially as herein described with reference to the drawings accompanying the provisional specification.

17. Apparatus substantially as herein described with reference to the drawings accompanying the provisional specification. c. THE MEAT INDUSTRY RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF NEW ZEALAND INCORPORATED By His/Their Attorneys, HENRY HUGHES LIM!TT:n, Pur C( civ *&>*-■