Method of cutting and cutting apparatus using high pressure liquid

A cutting apparatus, comprising:

• a frame supporting a conveyor in spaced relation relative to an underlying supporting surface, and wherein the conveyor has a proximal end, and an opposing, distal end, and wherein the conveyor transports a stream of discrete, individual articles of interest at a predetermined speed along a first supported path of travel to the distal end thereof, and wherein the stream of articles of interest includes a plurality of discrete individual articles of interest having portions that are desirable, and portions that are not desirable, and wherein each individual article of interest has a major axis and a minor axis, and the individual articles of interest are oriented on the conveyor with the major axis transverse relative to the first supported path of travel, and wherein the conveyor releases the individual articles of interest into a second predicted, unsupported trajectory from the distal end of the conveyor;
• an inspection zone spaced apart from the distal end of the conveyor, and wherein the stream of articles of interest passes therethrough for inspection;
• an image capturing device for inspecting the stream of articles of interest passing though the inspection zone;
• an illumination device for illuminating the stream of articles of interest passing through the inspection zone;
• a high pressure liquid manifold coupled to a source of high pressure liquid, and wherein the high pressure liquid manifold has a plurality of individual liquid jet nozzles which are positioned downstream of the inspection zone, and wherein the high pressure liquid manifold and individual liquid jet nozzles are operatively coupled with a controller which activates and deactivates the individual liquid jet nozzles so as to release individual jet streams of the high pressure liquid and which strike and sever identified discrete individual articles of interest forming the stream of articles into desirable portions, and undesirable portions, during the second, predicted unsupported trajectory;
• an ejector assembly having a plurality of high-pressure air nozzles, coupled with the source of high-pressure air and which further is positioned downstream of the inspection zone, and wherein the ejector assembly is operatively coupled with the controller, and which individually activates and deactivates the high pressure air nozzles of the ejector assembly, and wherein the high pressure air nozzles release a burst of the high pressure air which removes identified individual articles of interest in the stream of articles that have been identified as having predetermined undesirable characteristics during the predicted unsupported trajectory;
• and wherein the controller is further operatively, and controllably coupled to the image capturing device, the high pressure liquid manifold and the ejector assembly, and which further sends a signal to the high pressure liquid manifold so as to induce the high pressure liquid manifold to emit a jet of high pressure liquid to strike and to sever identified discrete individual articles of interest into desirable portions and undesirable portions, and which further sends a signal to the ejector assembly so as to induce the ejector assembly to emit a burst of the high pressure air to strike and to remove identified individual articles of interest having undesirable characteristics from the stream of articles passing by the ejector assembly by redirecting the identified individual articles of interest having undesirable characteristics into a removal trajectory;
• and
• a user interface controllably coupled with the controller.