Butchering – Deboning
Patent
1993-01-21
1994-04-12
Little, Willis
Butchering
Deboning
452138, A22C 1700
Patent
active
053021495
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to boning of carcasses and particularly though not exclusively to the boning of beef carcasses.
A manual operation is presently used in the meat industry to bone beef carcasses. The carcass is usually split into two sides or four quarters and each side is suspended from a hook on a carriage which travels along a rail so that the side hangs generally vertically. The boning operation is carried out by operators working on the suspended sides as they travel along the rail.
The technique of boning involves the use of a hook which is used with one hand to hold and position the side as desired. The operator uses a relatively short bladed boning knife which is used for separating the various cuts of meat from the suspended side by cutting the meat from the bones and from other cuts of meat. This operation of manually cutting the meat from the side can leave substantial amounts of meat attached to the side. Even though this meat can be recovered as scrap cuttings, such scrap cuts of meat attract only a very low price.
Furthermore, the use of the manual operation means that the labour costs add substantially to the total cost of the boning operation.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a boning process and a boning apparatus which enable recovery of a larger proportion of meat from a carcass or from other smaller portions of a carcass.
It is a further and preferred object of the present invention to provide a boning apparatus for recovery of meat from a carcass or from a smaller portion of a carcass which can be operated at least partially automatically.
According to the present invention there is provided a boning process for separating meat and bone in an animal carcass or in a portion of an animal carcass, the process being characterised by the steps of: restraining a first one of two bones meeting at a joint so that the first bone is restrained relative to the other second one of the two bones; moving the second bone relative to the first bone in a direction so as to dislocate the joint; exposing the second bone at or in close proximity to the dislocated joint; and moving the second bone relative to the restrained first bone to progressively extend the exposed portion of the second bone along the length of the second bone so as to thereby separate at least a major part of the second bone from tissues remaining attached to the restrained first bone.
The step of relatively moving the second bone to dislocate the joint preferably comprises a pivoting movement of the second bone about the joint beyond the normal limit of jointed movement between the two bones. Preferably the dislocating movement is continued beyond the point of the dislocation occurring so as to separate the joint end of the second bone from the region of the joint and facilitate access to the joint end of the second bone for effecting the step of exposing the second bone at that joint end.
The step of exposing the second bone at the dislocated joint preferably comprises a pivoting movement of the second bone about the joint and in a general plane of the movement until the joint end of the second bone at the dislocated joint emerges through the adjacent tissues to thereby expose that joint end of the second bone. In this embodiment, the step of exposing the joint end of the second bone preferably includes relatively moving the second bone in a general linear movement along the general line of the second bone, the linear movement being effected after dislocation of the joint, the linear movement moving the joint end of the second bone past the restrained first bone to thereby cause the joint end of the second bone to emerge through the adjacent tissues.
The step of exposing the second bone may include the step of forming at least one cut in the connective tendon between the second bone and adjacent to the joint so as to thereby expose or assist in the exposing of the second bone.
The step of separating the second bone preferably comprises relatively moving the exposed end of the second bone away from the disloc
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Aqualini Matthew
Boyce Phillip R.
Buhot John W.
Finney Andrew L.
Gibbons Richard J.
Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organization
Little Willis
Meat Research Corporation
Witham William John
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