This is a continuation in part of application

Serial Number 07/455,291 filed on December 22, 1989.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for slicing meat, and particularly to poultry fillets.

Background Art

Poultry, and particularly chickens, are a very popular food commodity. Deboned poultry breasts are especially popular. Furthermore, it is believed that well over one half of the deboned chicken breast produced in the United States is sold to food service establishments. These establishments strongly prefer that the breasts be of a specific mass to allow for uniform cooking times t?y semi-skilled cooks who operate under rigid, systematic cooking procedure requirements.

A problem exists, however, in that the thicknesses of breast fillets varies, especially in the case of those taken from larger birds. To overcome this problem, the poultry industry has moved toward processing chicken meat into formed slurries or mixtures of variable sized pieces. While these formed products have gained some consumer acceptance, there remains a premium on unprocessed, "whole muscle" items.

In an attempt to provide thinner and more uniform "whole muscle" items, chickens are currently grown to approximately 3.8 pounds live-weight. This practice creates inefficiencies in that today's poultry plants are capable of processing birds up to 8 pounds. By having to process smaller, "whole muscle" birds, the plant loses

significant revenue due to the fact that, for each 1/10 pound of live-weight increase, overall costs reflect an approximately 1/2<J decrease per finished pound. Therefore, by processing birds nearly 3 pounds lighter than capacity allows, the plant loses approximately 150 per finished pound, per bird.

A further problem exists regardless of the size of the bird, in that the texture of raw poultry meat at processing temperatures is extremely pliable, sticky and fluid-like. Such characteristics make cutting, by hand and particularly by current mechanical means, very difficult, and increase the overall cost of chicken processing.

Therefore, there exists a need for a method and apparatus that can efficiently and economically slice meat, and particularly poultry meat, into fillets.

There exists a further need for such a device which will allow the meat of optimally-sized birds (up to about 8 lbs.) to be sliced into relatively uniform thicknesses for the purpose of furnishing systematized food-service establishments with specific-mass "whole muscle" fillets.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for cutting a piece of meat, preferably a piece of poultry meat such as chicken, turkey, or otherwise. The apparatus includes a frame, means on the frame for moving the piece of meat in a path of travel, means in the path of travel for cutting the piece of meat, and means on the frame for applying pressure to the piece transverse to the cutting means as the piece engages the cutting means and cuts the piece into at least two portions.

The means for moving the piece of meat in a path of travel preferably comprises a lower conveyor belt assembly which moves the piece under the means for applying pressure to the piece. The means for applying pressure to the piece preferably comprises an upper conveyor assembly belt having a conveyor belt super-posed with the lower conveyor belt and travelling in a path corresponding to that of the lower conveyor belt. The piece is held firmly between the upper and lower belt as it engages the cutting means.

The cutting means preferably comprise a saw frame, a pair of wheels rotatably attached to the saw frame, the rotational axis of the wheels being perpendicular to the path of travel of the piece of meat, and an endless saw blade on the wheels arranged to operate in super-posed relation to the belt. The rotating saw blade, therefore, will engage the meat as it is pulled - through the two belts and slices the meat into pieces of desired thickness.

Means are also provided for adjusting the position of the saw frame, and hence the saw blade, in relation to the path of the incoming meat.

In operation, the piece of meat is placed on the lower conveyor and is drawn to the cutting means under pressure exerted by the upper conveyor belt. The meat, under pressure, is pushed into the cutting blade which has been positioned to provide the resulting fillet at a predetermined, and uniform thickness. The cut takes place just at the release of pressure from the top conveying surface. Slicing the tender boneless meat while it is fully between the pressure-applying belts results in jagged and ripped surfaces.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the apparatus of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus of the present invention;

Figure 3 is a front elevational view of the apparatus of the present invention;

Figure 4 is an exploded view of the cutting assembly and the upper conveying assembly of the present invention;

Figure 5 is a partial view of the cutting area of the present invention;

Figure 6 is a partial view of the cutting area of the present invention;

Figure 7 is an schematic view of the cutting means of the present invention positioned at an angle;

Figure 8 is an schematic view of the cutting means of the present invention disposed at an a slope;

Figure 9 is an schematic view of the present apparatus having the cutting means disposed at an angle relative to the path of travel of said piece meat; and

Figure 10 is an schematic view of the apparatus of the present invention showing the cutting means disposed at an angle.

BEST MODE OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

An apparatus 10 suitable for carrying out the method of the present invention is illustrated in Figs, l-

9. Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the apparatus includes a frame 12, means 14 on the frame for moving a piece of meat, preferably chicken or other poultry, in a path of travel, means 16 in the path of travel for cutting the piece of meat, and means 18 on the frame for applying pressure to the piece of meat as the piece engages the cutting means to cut the piece into two or more portions.

The frame 12 is preferably table-like, having . legs 20 as well as means 22 provided on the legs 20 for adjusting leg height. The frame 12 also includes a pair of horizontally positioned frame bars 24 atop the legs. It is preferable that the frame 12 be made of a material acceptable for use in a food processing plant, such as stainless steel.

The means on the frame for moving 14 the piece of meat in a path of travel preferably comprise a lower conveyor assembly, but may be any means of moving the meat towards the cutting means. The lower conveyor assembly is comprised of an endless conveyor belt 26 carried over rollers 28 held between the rearward 30 and forward ends 32 of the frame bars 24. The rollers 28 may be driven by a conventional variable speed drive system, such as internal motors. Auxiliary guide rollers 34 may also be provided to guide the belt 26 in its path. The conveyor belt 26 is preferably a crescent-top type belt made of a material suitable for use in a food processing plant. Alternatively, and for example, a conveyor of belt cords or movable plates may be used to move the piece of meat in the path of travel.

The means 18 for applying pressure to the meat as the meat engages the cutting means 16 are preferably comprised of a conveyor hold-down assembly located above the lower conveyor assembly, as seen in Fig. 4. The conveyor hold-down assembly preferably includes a pair of

horizontally oriented supporting bars 36, 37 having upper rollers 38, 40 between the rearward 42 and forward ends 44 of the bars 36. An endless upper conveyor belt 46, preferably a crescent-top type, is trained on the upper rollers 38, 40. The textured surface of the upper conveyor belt acts to prevent lateral movement of the slippery boneless meat. As shown in Fig. 6, the saw blade 58 is positioned relative to the means 18 for applying pressure so that the meat is sliced as the pressure from the top conveying surface is released. The upper rollers 38, 40 may be driven by a conventional variable speed drive system, such as internal motors, and should be adjustable so that the upper belt 46 is capable of being made to move at the same speed and in the same path of travel as the lower conveyor belt 26.

Other means for applying pressure to the piece of meat may also be used. For example, a plurality of large rollers mounted over the lower conveyor assembly may be provided, the piece moving between the rollers and the lower conveyor belt 26 as it travels through the path to the cutting means 16. Alternatively, a plate or mold moving through the path may be used to apply the necessary pressure on the piece.

The means 16 in the path of travel for cutting the meat preferably comprises a saw assembly. The saw assembly preferably comprises a saw frame 48 having a pair of wheels 50, 52 each on an axle 54, 56 attached to the saw frame 48 and an endless cutting blade 58 trained on the wheels 50, 52. Alternatively, the apparatus may include a reciprocating or vibrating blade, a stationary blade, a high pressure fluid, a laser or other cutting means 16. The blade 58 is approximately perpendicular to the plane of travel of the piece of meat as the piece travels along the path. An axle 56, and hence the wheels 50, 52 and blade 58, is driven by a motor 60. An outer

housing assembly 62 covers the saw assembly to prevent access to and contamination of the cutting means 16. The saw frame 48 preferably includes saw frame support bars 64, 66 which rest atop the upper conveyor support bars 36, 37, thereby supporting the saw assembly above the upper conveyor assembly.

The saw assembly also includes means for adjusting the position of the saw blade 58 relative to the path of travel of the piece of meat. Means for controlling the height of the saw blade 58 relative to the lower conveyor belt assembly comprise a pair of upwardly extending, threaded height control posts 68, 70 provided on the supporting bars 36, 37 of the upper assembly. The saw assembly has a pair of brackets 72, each of which has a longitudinal adjustment slot 74 through which a control post 68 may be placed. The control post 68 may be maintained in a fixed position by means of a pair of nuts 76, 78, each placed on one side of the bracket 72 to ho ^' ld the bracket 72 in position relative to the threaded control post 68. By positioning the brackets 72 at identical elevations along their respective posts 68, the saw assembly will be at a level position and the saw blade 58 will be parallel to the plane of the lower conveyor belt 26. A handle 69 attached to one side of the saw frame 48 and extending through the housing 62 may be provided to facilitate movement of the saw frame 48 relative to the posts 68, as seen in Fig. 2. By placing a first control bracket 72 at a higher elevation relative to the lower conveyor belt 62 than a second control bracket 72, as illustrated in Fig. 7, the saw assembly may be placed into a tilted position so that the saw blade 58 meets the piece of meat at a slope, which enhances slicing.

The saw assembly also contains means for adjusting the angle of the saw blade 58 relative to the

path of travel of the piece, such as illustrated in Figs. 2, 4 and 8. The angle adjusting means preferably comprise a pair of control crank assemblies each positioned adjacent one side of the saw assembly approximate a wheel 50, 52. Each crank control assembly comprises an upper frame journal block 76 attached to the upper portion of the saw frame 48 and a lower frame journal block 278 attached to the lower portion of the saw frame 48. Each block 276, 278 is connected to a crank bar 80 having handle 90 which extends through the two journal blocks 276, 278 and out of the upper portion of the housing 62. Located at the lower end of the crank bar 80 is a lower guide block 82 which is in slidable interlocking relationship with the lower guide slots 84 of the saw assembly supporting bar 66. The housing 62 has a pair of upper guide slots 86 and the crank bar 80 has an upper guide block 88 which is in slidable interlocking relationship with the upper guide slots 86. Therefore, the position of the saw assembly, and hence the saw bla ^' de 58, may be adjusted relative to the path of travel of the piece of meat by manipulating the crank bar 80 along the upper and lower guide slots 84, 86.

As seen in Figs. 5 and 6, the cutting portion of the blade 58 travels through a cutting area at the forwardmost end of the upper conveyor assembly between the upper assembly and the lower assembly. Guide rollers 92 may be provided for maintaining the proper position of the blade 58 as it passes into the cutting area between the belts 26, 46. A wiper blade 94 is provided at the forward end of the upper belt 46 for removing debris from the belt 46 as the belt 46 travels out of the cutting area. Means for removing excess particles from the blade 58 may be provided, such as a pair of scraper blocks 90 surrounding the blade 58 after the blade 58 leaves the cutting area. A spraying head 98 may be provided for spraying cleaning

water to the blade 58 as the blade 58 enters the scraper blocks 96.

In operation, the lower belt 26 and the upper belt 46 are set to travel at identical rates of speed and in the same direction towards the cutting means 16. The piece of meat is placed upon the lower belt 26 and is conveyed by the belt 26 until it meets the upper belt 46. The piece is then pulled between the two belts 26, 46 and is firmly held in place between the two belts 26, 46 as it is pushed into the rotating saw blade 58. The meat engages the blade at the point where the pressure from the top conveying surface is released. The saw blade 58 then slices the piece into two pieces of desired thickness. The downward pressure exerted onto the piece by the upper belt 46 prevents the meat from moving laterally as the piece proceeds through the blade 58 and otherwise holds the piece in stable position during the cutting operation.

As set forth above, the position of the cutting means 16 may be adjusted so that the blade is positioned at a choice of slope, angle and height relative to the oncoming piece. For example, the blade 58 may be placed into a vertical slope by raising one of the wheels 50, 52, such as shown in Fig. 7. This will allow the blade 58 to cut the piece at an angle. Furthermore, as shown in Fig. 8, the blade 58 may be positioned at an angle offset from the direction of the oncoming piece so that the piece is pushed back into the belts 26, 46 to enhance cutting. Positioning the blade 58 to meet the piece at an angle will act to push the piece backwards between the belts 26, 46 instead of causing the piece to be pulled out of the cutting area by the blade 58. By adjusting the position of the blade 58, the apparatus 10 can be made to precisely cut pieces of meat of various sizes into fillets of uniform thicknesses.

The upper belt may be cleaned with a spray of water, and a roller 100 may be provided near the spray jet to prevent the water from splashing.

The apparatus and method of the present invention may be further enhanced by providing a plurality of cutting means 16 between the belts 26, 46, each such cutting means 16 placed at a different height above the lower belt 26. This will enable a single piece of meat to be cut into a plurality of fillets of specified thicknesses.