U.S. patent application number 12/378375 was filed with the patent office on 2009-08-27 for meat packaging.
This patent application is currently assigned to CARGILL, INCORPORATED. Invention is credited to Alec L. Gordon, David R. Mckenna, Derek J. Vote.
Application Number | 20090214724 12/378375 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40957436 |
Filed Date | 2009-08-27 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090214724 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Gordon; Alec L. ; et
al. |
August 27, 2009 |
Meat packaging
Abstract
Meat products are provided to an automated bagging system in a
controlled and managed manner. Packaging systems in accordance with
the present invention preferably include one or more buffering
systems capable controlling the flow of meat products to a bagging
system. Buffering systems are positioned along a meat product
packaging line to provide such flow control. Plural buffering
systems may be used as arranged in one or both of in series and in
parallel.
Inventors: |
Gordon; Alec L.; (Plainview,
TX) ; Mckenna; David R.; (Benton, KS) ; Vote;
Derek J.; (Valley Center, KS) |
Correspondence
Address: |
CARGILL, INCORPORATED
P.O. Box 5624
MINNEAPOLIS
MN
55440-5624
US
|
Assignee: |
CARGILL, INCORPORATED
Wayzata
MN
|
Family ID: |
40957436 |
Appl. No.: |
12/378375 |
Filed: |
February 13, 2009 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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61029194 |
Feb 15, 2008 |
|
|
|
61066000 |
Feb 15, 2008 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
426/129 ;
426/392; 426/410 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65B 25/065 20130101;
A22C 17/0093 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
426/129 ;
426/392; 426/410 |
International
Class: |
B65B 25/06 20060101
B65B025/06 |
Claims
1. A food processing system for packaging meat products, the
processing system comprising a source of meat products, a buffering
station, and a packaging station arranged along a process flow path
in that order, wherein the processing system is configured so the
source of meat products provides a flow of randomly spaced meat
products to a first conveyor system that transports the randomly
spaced meat products to the buffering station and the buffering
station converts the flow of randomly spaced meat products to a
regular flow of meat products having a predetermined minimum
spacing and provides the regular flow of meat products having a
predetermined minimum spacing to a second conveyor system that
transports the regular flow of meat products having a predetermined
minimum spacing to the packaging station.
2. The food processing system of claim 1, wherein the source of
meat products comprises one or more fabrication tables of a meat
processing plant.
3. The food processing system of claim 1, wherein the buffering
system comprises at least one of a uniform spacing device, a sensor
coupled to a gate to regulate the distance between meat products on
the second conveyor system, and a spiral conveyor coupled to a
timing device to regulate the time spacing between meat products on
the second conveyor system.
4. The food processing system of claim 1, wherein the buffering
system comprises a first uniform spacing device coupled in-line to
a second uniform spacing device, wherein the first uniform spacing
device is configured to accumulate a first plurality of meat
products having a first characteristic and the second uniform
spacing device is configured to accumulate a second plurality of
meat products having a second characteristic different from the
second characteristic.
5. The food processing system of claim 1, comprising an object
recognition system configured to identify a characteristic of the
meat products, wherein the characteristic comprises at least one of
type, dimension, and shape, and wherein the object recognition
system is configured to direct a first plurality of meat products
having a first characteristic to a first location and direct a
second plurality of meat products having a second characteristic to
a second location.
6. The food processing system of claim 5, wherein the first
location comprises a first uniform spacing device and the second
location comprises a second uniform spacing device.
7. The food processing system of claim 1, comprising a sorting
system configured to determine a characteristic of the meat
products.
8. The food processing system of claim 7, wherein the sorting
system is configured to direct a first plurality of meat products
having a first characteristic to a first location and direct a
second plurality of meat products having a second characteristic to
a second location.
9. The food processing system of claim 1, wherein the packaging
station comprises a bagging device and a vacuum-sealing device.
10. A method for packaging meat products, the method comprising:
providing a flow of randomly spaced meat products as conveyed along
a process flow path; at a first processing station positioned along
the process flow path, identifying meat products having a common
characteristic and directing the meat products having a common
characteristic to a second processing station positioned downstream
from the first processing station along the process flow path as a
flow of randomly spaced meat products having a common
characteristic; at the second processing station, converting the
flow of randomly spaced meat products having a common
characteristic to a regular flow of meat products having a
predetermined minimum spacing and having a common characteristic;
and at a third processing station positioned downstream from the
second processing station along the process flow path, packaging
the meat products.
11. The method for packaging meat products of claim 10, wherein
converting the flow of randomly spaced meat products having a
common characteristic to a regular flow of meat products having a
predetermined minimum spacing and having a common characteristic
comprises batch processing plural groups of meat products.
12. The method for packaging the products of claim 10, comprising
providing the flow of randomly spaced meat products from a
fabrication table of a meat processing plant.
13. The method for packaging meat products of claim 10, wherein
packaging the meat products comprises one or both of bagging the
meat products and vacuum sealing the bagged meat products.
14. A method for packaging meat products, the method comprising:
providing a flow of randomly spaced meat products as conveyed along
a process flow path; at a first processing station comprising a
first uniform spacing device positioned along the process flow
path, passing the flow of randomly spaced meat products through the
uniform spacing device; at a second processing station comprising a
second uniform spacing device positioned downstream from the first
processing station along the process flow path, accumulating at
least a portion of the flow of randomly spaced meat products at the
second uniform spacing device; providing the accumulated meat
products as a flow of meat products having a predetermined minimum
spacing along the process flow path; and at a third processing
station positioned downstream from the second processing station
along the process flow path, packaging the meat products.
15. The method for packaging meat products of claim 14, wherein
providing the accumulated meat products as a flow of meat products
having a predetermined minimum spacing comprises batch processing
plural groups of meat products.
16. The method for packaging meat products of claim 14, comprising
identifying meat products having a common characteristic and
processing the identified meat products together.
17. The method for packaging meat products of claim 16, comprising
identifying meat products having a common characteristic before
providing the accumulated meat products as a flow of meat products
having a predetermined minimum spacing.
18. The method for packaging meat products of claim 16, comprising
identifying meat products having a common characteristic after
providing the accumulated meat products as a flow of meat products
having a predetermined minimum spacing.
19. The method for packaging meat products of claim 14, wherein the
first and second processing stations are configured to convert the
flow of randomly spaced meat products to a flow of regularly
spaced, distinct meat products.
20. The method for packaging meat products of claim 14, wherein
packaging the meat products comprises one or both of bagging the
meat products and vacuum sealing the bagged meat products.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
application Ser. No. 61/029,194 filed Feb. 15, 2008, entitled FOOD
PACKING SYSTEM and U.S. Provisional application Ser. No.
61/066,000, filed Feb. 15, 2008, entitled FOOD PACKING SYSTEM,
which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present invention relates to food processing. More
specifically, the present invention relates to methods and systems
for automated packaging of meat products.
BACKGROUND
[0003] It is generally known to use automated bagging systems for
meat products such as individual cuts of meat. In such known
systems, the cuts of meat are individually placed or wrapped in a
bag and air is subsequently evacuated from the bag. However, one
shortcoming associated with such known bagging systems is that cuts
of meat are sporadically conveyed to such bagging systems in an ebb
and flow of product, resulting in one or more of a lack of timely
product, blockages, and massive accumulation of product at the
bagging systems.
[0004] It is also generally known to use machines that function to
provide separation and single file placement of raw bulk poultry
that is provided to a weighing scale (e.g. AEW Delford Systems
checkweighers scale model No. G1000 commercially available from
Marel Food Systems of Lexena, Kans.) or a check weigh scale (e.g.
commercially available from Marel Food Systems of Lexena, Kans.).
One such machine for use with bulk poultry is shown and described
in U.S. Pat. No. 5,740,899 entitled "Positive Spacing Conveyor
Apparatus" issued Apr. 21, 1998 to Roger Dale Pugh et al., which is
incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all
purposes.
[0005] Accordingly, there is a need for systems for conveying food
items to an automated bagging system or other downstream processing
system. Further there is a need for systems for conveying food
items to an automated bagging system that aids in the prevention of
one or more of untimely product, blockages, and accumulation of
product at the bagging or packaging systems.
SUMMARY
[0006] The present invention thus provides systems and methods that
provide meat products to an meat processing system such as an
automated packaging machine, for example, in a controlled and
managed manner. Packaging systems in accordance with the present
invention preferably include one or more buffering systems capable
of controlling the flow of meat products to a bagging system.
Buffering systems are strategically positioned along a meat product
packaging line to provide such flow control. Plural buffering
systems may be used as arranged in one or both of in series and in
parallel. Buffering systems in accordance with the present
invention can be used to provide a controlled flow of product to
any desired processing system such as those that include one or
more of bagging, weighing, sorting, cutting, and containing, for
example.
[0007] In an aspect of the present invention a food processing
system for packaging meat products is provided. The processing
system comprising a source of meat products, a buffering station,
and a packaging station arranged along a process flow path in that
order, wherein the processing system is configured so the source of
meat products provides a flow of randomly spaced meat products to a
first conveyor system that transports the randomly spaced meat
products to the buffering station and the buffering station
converts the flow of randomly spaced meat products to a regular
flow of meat products having a predetermined minimum spacing and
provides the regular flow of meat products having a predetermined
minimum spacing to a second conveyor system that transports the
regular flow of meat products having a predetermined minimum
spacing to the packaging station.
[0008] In another aspect of the present invention a food processing
system for packaging meat products is provided wherein the
buffering system comprises at least one of a uniform spacing
device, a sensor coupled to a gate to regulate the distance between
meat products on the second conveyor system, and a spiral conveyor
coupled to a timing device to regulate the time spacing between
meat products on the second conveyor system.
[0009] In another aspect of the present invention a food processing
system for packaging meat products is provided wherein the
buffering system comprises a first uniform spacing device coupled
in-line to a second uniform spacing device, wherein the first
uniform spacing device is configured to accumulate a first
plurality of meat products having a first characteristic and the
second uniform spacing device is configured to accumulate a second
plurality of meat products having a second characteristic different
from the second characteristic.
[0010] In another aspect of the present invention a food processing
system for packaging meat products is provided wherein the food
processing system comprises an object recognition system configured
to identify a characteristic of the meat products, wherein the
characteristic comprises at least one of type, dimension, and
shape, and wherein the object recognition system is configured to
direct a first plurality of meat products having a first
characteristic to a first location and direct a second plurality of
meat products having a second characteristic to a second
location.
[0011] In another aspect of the present invention a method for
packaging meat products is provided. The method comprises providing
a flow of randomly spaced meat products as conveyed along a process
flow path; at a first processing station positioned along the
process flow path, identifying meat products having a common
characteristic and directing the meat products having a common
characteristic to a second processing station positioned downstream
from the first processing station along the process flow path as a
flow of randomly spaced meat products having a common
characteristic; at the second processing station, converting the
flow of randomly spaced meat products having a common
characteristic to a regular flow of meat products having a
predetermined minimum spacing and having a common characteristic;
and at a third processing station positioned downstream from the
second processing station along the process flow path, packaging
the meat products.
[0012] In another aspect of the present invention a method for
packaging meat products is provided. The method comprises providing
a flow of randomly spaced meat products as conveyed along a process
flow path; at a first processing station comprising a first uniform
spacing device positioned along the process flow path, passing the
flow of randomly spaced meat products through the uniform spacing
device; at a second processing station comprising a second uniform
spacing device positioned downstream from the first processing
station along the process flow path, accumulating at least a
portion of the flow of randomly spaced meat products at the second
uniform spacing device; providing the accumulated meat products as
a flow of meat products having a predetermined minimum spacing
along the process flow path; and at a third processing station
positioned downstream from the second processing station along the
process flow path, packaging the meat products.
[0013] In another aspect of the present invention a method for
packaging meat products comprises providing a flow of randomly
spaced meat products from a fabrication table of a meat processing
plant.
[0014] In another aspect of the present invention a method for
packaging meat products comprises one or both of bagging the meat
products and vacuum sealing the bagged meat products.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and
constitute a part of this disclosure, illustrate several aspects of
the present invention and together with description of the
exemplary embodiments serve to explain the principles of the
present invention. A brief description of the drawings is as
follows:
[0016] FIG. 1 is a schematic flow diagram of an exemplary food
packaging system in accordance with the present invention and
including a food source, conveying system, buffering system,
optional second buffering system, and bagging system.
[0017] FIG. 2 is a schematic flow diagram of an exemplary packaging
system in accordance with the present invention and including a
food source, conveying system, object recognition system, buffering
system, and bagging system.
[0018] FIG. 3 is a schematic flow diagram of an exemplary packaging
system in accordance with the present invention and including a
food source, conveying system, first and second buffering systems,
optional buffering systems, and bagging system.
[0019] FIG. 4 is a schematic flow diagram of an exemplary packaging
system in accordance with the present invention and including a
food source, conveying system, buffering system, sorting system,
and bagging system.
[0020] FIG. 5 is a schematic flow diagram of an exemplary packaging
system in accordance with the present invention and including a
food source, conveying system, first buffering system, second
buffering system, object recognition system, bagging system, and
sorting system.
[0021] FIG. 6 is a schematic flow diagram of an exemplary packaging
system in accordance with the present invention including a food
source, conveying system, first buffering system, second buffering
system, object recognition system, sorting system, and bagging
system.
[0022] FIG. 7 is a schematic flow diagram of an exemplary packaging
system in accordance with the present invention including a food
source, conveying system, buffering system, object recognition
system, bagging system, and sorting system.
[0023] FIG. 8 is a schematic flow diagram of an exemplary packaging
system in accordance with the present invention including a food
source, conveying system, first and second buffering systems,
object recognition system, bagging system, and sorting system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0024] The exemplary embodiments of the present invention described
herein are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present
invention to the precise forms disclosed in the following detailed
description. Rather the exemplary embodiments described herein are
chosen and described so those skilled in the art can appreciate and
understand the principles and practices of the present
invention.
[0025] Referring to FIG. 1-8, exemplary food (e.g. meat) packaging
systems 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, and 800, respectively,
are schematically illustrated. The illustrated food packaging
systems disclose exemplary arrangements of processing stations in
accordance with the present invention. Such processing stations
include, for example, food source 20, conveying system 30, bagging
system 40, buffering system 50, object recognition system 60, and
sorting system 70. The identified processing stations are exemplary
and additional processing stations such as are conventionally used
in meat processing plants can be used. Moreover, such processing
stations can be arranged in any desired order and the present
invention is not limited to the exemplary packaging systems
illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 8.
[0026] Referring to FIGS. 1-8, each food packaging system comprises
food source 20. Food source 20 provides a source of food items to
be further processed and ultimately packaged. Food source 20 is
preferably derived from the processing of an animal and thus
provides meat products. For example, in a preferred embodiment, the
food source comprises meat products that result from processing of
a bovine animal. The meat products may originate from any meat
areas of an animal, such as from the sirloin, chuck, rib, loin,
flank/plate, brisket/shank primals, subprimals thereof, and further
cuts thereof including bone-ill, boneless, commodity,
close-trimmed, and combinations, for example. The meat products are
typically generated from cutting primals and subprimals from the
animals and placing or depositing such cuts onto conveyors
otherwise known as boning, trimming, or fabrication tables in a
meat fabrication plant. The meat products are often randomly
deposited on the fabrication tables, depending in part on the speed
of the conveyors associated with the fabrication tables and the
speed of the workers disassembling the primal and subprimals. This
random deposition can result in an ebb and flow of the quantity and
spacing distance of the meat products deposited on the fabrication
tables, which can also create unequal spacing in distance between
meat products on the conveyors and may result in meat products
touching one another or overlapping.
[0027] Referring to FIGS. 1-8, conveying system 30 transports meat
products throughout the illustrated food packaging systems. Meat
products are transported from food source 20 throughout the food
packaging systems by conveying system 30. That is, conveying system
30 provides conveying functionality between each of the various
systems of the exemplary illustrated food packaging systems.
Conveying system 30 may comprise a variety of conveyors, such as
belt conveyors, and such conveyors may be arranged in any desired
manner including in series, parallel, inclined, and declined, for
example.
[0028] Specific types of meat products can be associated with
dedicated conveyors according to a preferred embodiment. For
example, meat type A can be associated with a first dedicated
conveyor for meat type A, whereas meat types B and C can be
associated with second dedicated conveyor for meat types B and C.
In an exemplary embodiment, meat type B can be associated with one
side or area of the second conveyor, and meat type C can be
associated with another side of the second conveyor such as when
parallel conveyors are used.
[0029] Under certain processing conditions the various types of
meat products may be commingled on the various conveyor systems.
Accordingly, referring to FIGS. 2, 5, 6, and 8, the illustrated
food packaging systems, as shown, preferably include an object
recognition system 60. The object recognition system 60 can be
positioned anywhere along the process flow and is not limited to
the placement shown in the exemplary embodiments. The object
recognition system 60 may additionally or alternatively comprise a
weigh-scale system. The object recognition system 60 is preferably
configured to identify a property of the meat products.
[0030] The property identified by the object recognition system 60
may include one or more of a feature, quality, characteristic, and
attribute of the meat products. In an exemplary embodiment, the
property identified by the object recognition system 60 includes a
physical characteristic related to the shape, size, length, width,
thickness, circumference, volume, density, and weight, for example,
of the meat product. The property identified by the object
recognition system 60 preferably relates to a property of the meat
muscle of the meat product such as beef rib, rib eye, lip-on, and
subprimal of a bovine carcass, for example. The property also
preferably includes measurement of the area, length, width, depth,
volume, and density, for example, of the meat muscle of the meat
product. The property may also comprise the circumference of the
cut of meat or any other 2-dimensional or 3-dimensional properties
of the meat product according to alternative embodiments. The
property may also comprise a property or quality of the lean
portion of the meat product (e.g. meat, muscle, etc.) or a property
or quality of the fat portion of the meat product. Systems and
methods for measuring such properties are described in U.S. Patent
publication No. 2006/000460394, to David R. McKenna et al. entitled
"Meat Sortation" filed Jul. 27, 2006 and assigned to Cargill,
Incorporated, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by
reference herein for all purposes.
[0031] Exemplary data inputs for the object recognition system 60
include data from laser scanning, image analysis, and x-ray
scanning. Measurement of the property by the object recognition
system 60 may be accomplished via objective criteria using
equipment such as cameras or vision grading, for example, to
determine surface area, color, linear measures such as one or more
of length, width, and depth, x-ray to determine volume; ultrasound
to measure volume or linear parameters such as one or more of
length, width, and depth; laser to measure length, width, depth,
volume, thermography to measure volume or linear measures such as
one or more of length, width, and depth; magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI) to measure volume or linear measures such as one or more of
length, width, and depth; computerized tomography (CT) to determine
volume or linear measures such as one or more of length, width, and
depth; nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to measure volume or linear
measures such as one or more of length, width, and depth, or
hand-measurements or subject criteria such as estimates by human
visualization and/or evaluation.
[0032] With such data, a model, such as a 3-dimensional model, of
the meat products can be built. Sorting decisions based on the
model can be made, such as by using logic, for example.
Additionally, data obtained from the object recognition system can
be used for any desired processing step such as processing steps
that involves sorting. For example, data from the object
recognition system can be used to assign a criteria to a meat
product which criteria can be used in any subsequent processing
operation such as for automatic sorting for directing packets the
products to desired boxes or containers.
[0033] The object recognition system may be associated with a gate
so that upon recognizing a certain property or characteristic such
as a meat product having the shape of a particular cut of meat, the
object recognition system can direct like pieces of meat product to
a single location such as a conveyor, bin, or processing device
dedicated to handling that particular type of meat product. The
object recognition system may use known shapes and relationships
associated with individual cuts of meat such as a known or
predetermined 2-dimensional or 3-dimensional shape of a meat
product, to predict the identity of the cut of meat, so that like
cuts of meat can be directed to the appropriate location for batch
holding or processing.
[0034] Conveying system 30 transports meat products from food
source 20 to bagging system 40. Bagging system 40 preferably
includes a bag loader and a vacuum packaging device. The bag loader
may comprise any type of manual, semi-automatic or automatic device
for enveloping the meat product in a container such as a flexible
tapered plastic bag, for example. Typically, the bag loader urges
one or more meat product between two sheets of material that form
the walls of a bag. After the bag is placed around the meat product
by the bag loader, conveying system 30 transports the meat product
provided in the bag to the vacuum packaging device which removes
the air from and seals the bag with the meat product inside.
[0035] Exemplary manual bag loaders include the Model 8164 manual
bag loader with Model 8163 bag dispenser commercially available
from Cryovac Sealed Air Corporation of Elmwood Park, N.J. Exemplary
automatic bag loaders include the Models BL100 and BL101 tapered
bag loaders (commonly referred to as a "horizontal" bag loader)
commercially available from Cryovac Sealed Air Corporation of
Elmwood Park, N.J. Additional exemplary automatic bag loaders
include Flow-Vac model numbers 350, 450, and 550 such commercially
available from Ulma Packaging of Ball Ground, Georgia. Exemplary
automatic bag loaders also include the Models BL145, BL125 and
BL126 bag loaders (commonly referred to as "vertical" bag loaders)
commercially available from Cryovac Sealed Air Corporation of
Elmwood Park, N.J. Combinations of horizontal and vertical bag
loaders may be used in the food packaging systems in accordance
with the present invention. In accordance with the present
invention any desired arrangement of bag loaders can be used
including horizontal bag loaders, vertical bag loaders, and
combinations thereof.
[0036] An exemplary vacuum packaging device includes a rotary
vacuum chamber and sealing machine for fresh meats, such as the
Model 8610-14 and 8610T-14E (or 86-008b-18) vacuum chamber machine
commercially available from Cryovac Sealed Air Corporation of
Elmwood Park, N.J. According to an alternative embodiment, the
bagging system may include an integrated bag loader and vacuum
packaging device such as the Model 8800E Automatic Bag Loader and
Rotary Vacuum Chamber System commercially available from Cryovac
Sealed Air Corporation of Elinwood Park, N.J.
[0037] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention,
buffering systems preferably function to convert a continuous
irregular flow of randomly spaced meat products to a continuous
regular flow of uniformly spaced meat products for processing by
the bagging system 40. In accordance with another exemplary aspect
of the present invention, buffering systems preferably function to
convert a flow of meat products having meat products that are
touching, overlapping, or both to a flow of meat products having
meat products that are individualized and distinct from each other.
Buffering systems in accordance with the present invention provide
the ability to controllably manage the flow of meat products in a
meat packaging system during events such as downtime and
changeover, for example. In an exemplary embodiment, after meat
products have been accumulated by a buffering system, meat products
can be provided to the next processing station as a flow of
substantially equally spaced meat products. During production,
where accumulation is not occurring, a buffering system preferably
functions as a pass-through device that eliminates overlapping
product and provides a flow of meat products having a predetermined
minimum spacing. Advantageously, buffering systems in accordance
with the present invention preferably function to assure that each
individual piece of meat product is processed by a downstream
processing station as a distinct individual piece. For example,
object recognition systems and bagging systems preferably process
meat products as distinct pieces.
[0038] Referring further to FIGS. 1 through 8, meat products from
foods source 20 are preferably transported by conveying system 30
to the buffering systems (50, 54a, 56a, 54b, and 56b). Because the
meat products are typically randomly deposited on the conveyors of
conveying system 30, the meat products are typically randomly
provided to the buffering systems. For example, the meat products
may arrive at the buffering system at unequally spaced time
intervals or at unequal distances between individual meat products
or vice versa. Also, multiple pieces of a meat product may arrive
simultaneously. Accordingly, a continuous irregular flow of
randomly spaced meat products is typically provided by conveying
system 30 the buffering systems.
[0039] Buffering systems preferably includes a rotary single file
placement device. Such devices are also referred to as positive
spacing conveyor apparatuses, singulators, or singlefilers. The
meat products provided to the buffering system are preferably
processed as batches by the buffering systems. Buffering systems
are preferably configured to take inputs of surges of meat products
and output a controlled flow of the meat products, such as time or
distance, thereby inhibiting unnecessary production stoppages. For
example, the buffering system can be configured to parse out
individual meat products one at a time, in single file order, so
that each meat product is generally equally spaced in distance from
another depending on the constant speed of a conveyor. The
buffering system can accomplish this spacing of meat products by
parsing the meat products onto conveying system 30 at set intervals
of time. Accordingly buffering systems converts a continuous
irregular flow of randomly spaced meat products to a continuous
irregular flow of uniformly spaced meat products that can be
provided to the bagging system 40.
[0040] Buffering systems can be fully or partially loaded with meat
products of the same meat type such as by loading only chucks or
only lipons (or strip loins), for example, having the same
characteristics such as select grade, choice grade, weight, and
volume, for example. After loading, the buffering system can output
the meat products with a consistent separation and having
predetermined spacing in time and distance between the meat
products.
[0041] Certain conveyors and associated buffering systems may be
dedicated to certain types of meat products such as chucks, lipons
(or strip loins), briskets, briskets, top butts, strips,
tenderloins, knuckles, bottom round flats, eye of rounds, and
inside rounds, for example. In an exemplary embodiment, a conveyor
system having parallel conveyors can be used. A first type of meat
product is processed on one side of the conveyor and a second type
of meat product different from the first type of meat product is
processed on the opposite side of the conveyor. Thus, the conveyor
may be dedicated to a certain type of meat product such as wherein
only lipons (or strip loins) or briskets are conveyed on a
particular conveyor.
[0042] The meat products on the dedicated conveyors are transported
to the buffering system, which is also preferably dedicated to a
particular type of meat product. For example, in an exemplary
embodiment, only lipons (or strip loins) meat pieces are processed
on the dedicated conveyor (or dedicated side of the conveyor) and
are transported to the dedicated lipons (or strip loins) meat
product buffering system and only brisket meat pieces are processed
on the dedicated conveyor (or dedicated side of the conveyor) and
are transported to the dedicated lipons (or strip loins) meat
buffering system. According to an alternative embodiment, dedicated
conveyors and dedicated buffering systems can be switched over to
other types of meat products, for example during a shift at a plant
or during changeover to a different type of meat product from the
food source.
[0043] Preferably, in accordance with the present invention, plural
buffering systems are arranged in series as illustrated in FIGS. 1,
2, 5, and 6. Using plural buffering systems in series allows each
buffering system to be controlled cooperatively. Referring to FIG.
1 in particular, buffering systems 50 and 58 are shown as
configured in series. During a downstream shutdown event, for
example, meat products are accumulated by buffering system 58 while
buffering system 50 functions as a pass-through conveyor. This
arrangement advantageously increases the amount of time that meat
products can be accumulated in the packaging system. For example,
in the case where a single buffering system can provide about 3
minutes of accumulation time, adding a second buffering system
increases the effect of accumulation time to about 6 minutes.
[0044] Plural buffering systems may also be arranged in parallel.
Referring to FIGS. 3 and 8 first and second buffering systems 54a
and 56a, respectively, are shown as arranged in parallel. One
exemplary service procedure for the bagging system 40 takes about 2
minutes to accomplish. In order to complete the service procedure,
the bagging system 40 is stopped. During the downtime a gate on the
second buffering system 56a is closed which prevents meat products
from entering the bagging system 40. Once the second buffering
system 56a reaches capacity a gate on the first buffering system
54a closes which allows additional accumulation of meat products.
In an exemplary embodiment, each buffering system can hold about 3
minutes worth of production. When the service procedure on the
bagging system 40 is completed the first and second buffering
systems 54a and 56a, respectively, work in concert to meter out the
accumulated meat products in an organized fashion. Preferably, the
packaging system 300 is configured to run at 70% of capacity during
normal production and ramps up to 100% capacity after accumulation
of meat products, such as described above, so the accumulated
inventory of meat products can be cleared from the processing
system 300.
[0045] According to a preferred embodiment, the buffering system
comprises a rotary single file placement device commercially
available from L&W Equipment, Inc. of Poteau, Okla. The
buffering system may also comprise a dynamic accumulation spiral
conveyor which multiple spiral conveyors may be arranged in series
or parallel. Sprial conveyors are designed for continuous vertical
product flow. The buffering system may comprise a Ryson Vertical
Accumulation Buffer spiral conveyor commercially available from
Ryson International, Inc. of Yorktown, Va. The buffering system may
also comprise an AmbaFlex SpiralVeyor.RTM. SV spiral conveyor
commercially available from AmbaFlex, Inc. of Bedford, Tex.
[0046] The buffering system may also comprise any bin or hopper
that releases meat products at a predetermined time to ensure a
minimum time or spacing distance of meat products on a conveyor.
The buffering system may also comprise a vision system such as a
photo eye or the like that controls a gate or door to ensure
adequate spacing between meat products on a conveyor. The buffering
system may also include a worker that manually ensures minimum
distances between meat products on a conveyor transporting the meat
products to the bagging system.
[0047] Typically, a meat plant processes carcasses having a certain
meat characteristic or grade such as USDA Prime grade, USDA Choice
grade, and USDA Select grade, for example, as a batch or at the
same time. Thus, the food source produces meat products or types of
meat having a like characteristic for a period of time. After a
certain period of time of running one batch of carcasses having
like grades of meat, the plant will conduct a "changeover" to
carcasses having a different grade of meat such as running USDA
Choice carcasses as a batch and subsequently changing to run USDA
Select carcasses as a batch. Changeover comprises an event that
occurs downstream from the buffering system and the bagging system.
According to a particularly preferred embodiment, meat cuts from
the two grades are completely segregated in adherence with truth in
labeling requirements.
[0048] The use of multiple buffering systems can help to reduce
changeover time between grades of meat and helps to provide
complete segregation. Multiple buffering systems shown as a first
buffering system 54a and a second buffering system 56a in shown in
FIGS. 3 and 8 may be used to facilitate line or plant changeovers
and accommodate different types or grade of meat products.
Referring to FIGS. 3 and 8 in an exemplary embodiment prior to
changeover first buffering system 54a is loaded with meat products
of the same type and having the same characteristic. For example,
prior to changeover first buffering system 54a can be loaded with
USDA choice grade inside rounds. Before and at the point of
changeover, first buffering system 54a will continue to be loaded
with USDA Choice grade inside rounds until the source of USDA
Choice grade inside rounds is depleted, and first buffering system
54a will continue to parse out USDA Choice grade inside rounds to
bagging system 40. As changeover material (USDA Select grade inside
rounds) works its way downstream to buffering system 50, second
buffering system 56a is loaded with only USDA select grade inside
rounds. As a result, the first buffering system may be loaded and
unloaded with a first material during changeover, and then bypassed
for loading (and eventual unloading) of the second buffering system
with a second material. Accordingly, the gap in time for loading
and unloading different materials during a changeover may be
decreased.
[0049] Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6 first buffering system 54a and
second buffering system 56a are preferably configured in-line or in
series with one another. Meat cuts that are USDA Choice are
preferably fed into first buffering system 54a which parses the
meat cuts into in-line second buffering system 56a, which parses
the meat cuts to bagging device 40. During changeover, once the
last USDA Choice meat cut has transferred into second buffering
system 56a, a close gate is actuated on the outfeed portion of
first buffering system 54a. This makes it so that USDA Select meat
cuts can transfer from the fabrication table into first buffering
system 54a, however the USDA Select meat cuts are restricted from
entering second buffering system 56a. After the USDA Choice cuts
have cleared the second buffering system 56a, the close gate of the
second buffering system 56a is activated and the close gate of the
first buffering system 54a is deactivated allowing the USDA Select
cuts to transfer from the first buffering system 54a to the second
buffering system 56a while continuing to maintain segregation
between the USDA Choice and USDA Select cuts. Once the USDA Choice
cuts are cleared from bagging device 40, the close gate on second
buffering system 56a is retracted, thus allowing USDA Select
product to flow into bagging device 40. This process creates
distinct separation of the two grades of product, with minimal
interference of production time. According to alternative
embodiments, there may be greater than two buffering systems used
and such devices may be arranged in series, for example. According
to alternative embodiments, the multiple buffering systems may be
arranged or configured in parallel with respect to the meat
fabrication line. According to alternative embodiments, release of
meat products from the second buffering system 56a may occur after
preceding meat products have cleared the bagging device 40, or
after meat products have been placed into a labeled box.
[0050] Referring now to FIG. 3, two banks of buffering systems are
shown: (i) first and second buffering systems 54a and 56a
preferably dedicated to a first meat type in an exemplary process;
and (ii) first and second buffering systems 54b and 56b preferably
dedicated to a second meat type in the exemplary process. An
exemplary process for providing first and second meat types to the
buffering systems before and after changeover includes several
steps. Before changeover, meat products having the first meat type
and a known grade (e.g. USDA Choice) are transported on one side of
conveying system 30 to first buffering system 54a. After
changeover, the meat products having the first meat type of a
different grade (e.g. USDA Select grade) are transported to second
buffering system 56a so the first buffering system 54a is bypassed
for loading. Next, the meat products of the first meat type and of
USDA Choice grade are ejected from first buffering system 54a and
the meat products of the first meat type of USDA Select grade are
ejected from second buffering system 56a to be processed by bagging
system 40.
[0051] Regarding the meat products of the second meat type, before
changeover the meat products of the second meat type having a known
grade (e.g. USDA Choice grade) are transported on one side of
conveying system 30 to first buffering system 54b. After
changeover, the meat products of the second meat type having a
different grade (e.g. USDA Select grade) are transported to second
buffering system 56b so the first buffering system 54b is bypassed
for loading. Next, the meat products of the first meat type and
having USDA Choice grade are ejected from first buffering system
54b and the meat products of the second type and having the USDA
Select grade are ejected from second buffering system 56b to be
processed by the bagging system 40.
[0052] Referring to FIGS. 4 through 8, illustrated food packaging
systems preferably include a sorting system 70. Sorting system 70
is useful for identifying whether a meat product or cut of meat
(e.g. ejected from the buffering system) for example, has a
particular property, attribute, characteristic, or parameter. Cuts
of meat having like attributes may be directed to a like location
for storage, shipment, and processing individually or as a batch.
The sorting system can be located anywhere on the meat processing
line such as near the food source, before items of food are
provided to a buffering system, after the buffering system, and
associated with the bag loader or vacuum packaging device, for
example. According to an alternative embodiment, the bagging system
prints a label or identification marks or indicia on the bag for
the meat products that is representative of the attribute of the
meat, which can facilitate grouping and sorting during packaging,
transportation and shipment.
[0053] Although many of the embodiments described in this
disclosure relate to food sources comprising beef such as steers
and heifers, the food packaging systems may be applied to
carcasses, subprimals or any smaller cuts of meat from any animal
protein including all bovine (Bos Taurus & Bos Indicus),
porcine, equine, caprine, and ovine animals, or any other animal
harvested for food production including poultry, fish, and veal. In
this specification, bovine animals include, but are not limited to,
buffalo and all cattle, including steers, heifers, cows and bulls.
Porcine animals include, but are not limited to, feeder pigs and
breeder pigs, including sows, gilts, barrows and boars. Ovine
animals include, but are not limited to, sheep, including ewes,
rams, wethers and lambs.
[0054] Although embodiments of a particular improved system and
method are disclosed, it should be observed that the invention
includes, but is not limited to a novel structural or functional
combination of elements and features, and not in the particular
detailed configurations disclosed herein. Accordingly, the
structure, methods, functions, control, and arrangement of
components have, for the most part, been illustrated in the
drawings by readily understandable block representations and
schematic diagrams, in order not to obscure the disclosure with
structural details which will be readily apparent to those skilled
in the art, having the benefit of the description herein.
[0055] The present invention has now been described with reference
to several exemplary embodiments thereof. The entire disclosure of
any patent or patent application identified herein is hereby
incorporated by reference for all purposes. The foregoing
disclosure has been provided for clarity of understanding by those
skilled in the art of meat processing. No unnecessary limitations
should be taken from the foregoing disclosure. It will be apparent
to those skilled in the art that changes can be made in the
exemplary embodiments described herein without departing from the
scope of the present invention. Thus, the scope of the present
invention should not be limited to the exemplary structures and
methods described herein, but only by the structures and methods
described by the language of the claims and the equivalents of
those claimed structures and methods.
* * * * *