Method and apparatus for conveying a meat product and using a knife for automated cutting of meat

A method for supporting a poultry item during an automated cutting operation, comprising:

• mounting a poultry carcass on a generally cone-shaped poultry mount having a top apex portion and a bottom body portion having a diameter that progressively widens from top to bottom with respect to the top apex portion, by inserting the cone-shaped poultry through a cavity opening of a poultry carcass thereby positioning and stabilizing the poultry carcass for processing;
• providing a support structure, where said one end of said support structure is attached to the generally cone shaped poultry mount proximate the bottom body portion, said support structure supporting and spreading apart wings of the poultry carcass, where said one end of said support structure is extending laterally away from the generally cone shaped poultry mount to a distal stand-off arm extension end, and said support structure is further extending vertically from the distal stand-off arm extension end upward to a distal end of said support structure proximate a height of the top apex portion of the generally cone-shaped poultry mount;
• and
• providing a wing support structure attached at the distal end of said support structure positioned laterally outward from the cone-shaped poultry mount, where said wing support includes a member extending orthogonally from the distal end and having an upward facing surface, where the upward facing surface is supporting pits of the wings of the poultry carcass,
• and
• maintaining spatial separation between the cone-shaped poultry mount and the wing support structure during a cutting operation, and supporting and stabilizing the poultry carcass at a region contacted by a cutting tool during the cutting operation.