Method and Apparatus for Removing the Knee Cap from a Deboned Poultry Part

An apparatus for removing a knee cap from a poultry part comprising:

• at least one bay comprising a plate with an aperture formed therethrough, the plate being arranged such that the poultry part can be located against the plate with the knee cap of the poultry part substantially aligned with the aperture;
• a plunger associated with the at least one plate, the plunger having a plunger tip sized to move through the aperture in the plate;
• a mechanism for selectively moving the plunger tip between a first position spaced away from the aperture and a second position extending into the aperture;
• the mechanism moving the plunger tip to its first position for locating a poultry part against the plate and moving the plunger tip to its second position after the poultry part is located against the plate to urge the knee cap through the aperture until it protrudes from the other side of the plate;
• and
• a blade on the other side of the plate arranged to sever the protruding knee cap from the poultry part.

An apparatus for removing knee caps from a plurality of poultry parts, the apparatus comprising:

• a plurality of bays for receiving poultry parts;
• a mechanism for moving the plurality of bays in side-by-side relationship in a processing direction;
• each bay comprising a plate having an aperture formed therethrough and a plunger assembly associate with the plate, the aperture being sized to receive a knee cap of a poultry part resting on the plate;
• each plunger assembly including a plunger tip sized to be received through the aperture and being attached to a plunger assembly including a cam follower configured to move the plunger tip between a first position spaced away from the aperture and a second position extending into the aperture upon engagement of the cam follower with a cam located along the processing path;
• the plunger tip pressing a knee cap of a poultry part resting on the plate through the aperture to expose the knee cap on an opposite side of the plate;
• and
• a knife located on the opposite side of the plate and positioned to sever the exposed knee cap from the poultry part as the bay passes the knife.

A method of removing a bone from a meat part comprising the steps of:

• (a) aligning the bone of the meat part with an aperture formed through a plate;
• (b) urging the bone through the aperture until at least a portion of the bone protrudes from the aperture on an opposite side of the plate;
• (c) severing the protruding bone from the poultry part;
• (d) collecting the severed bone;
• and
• (e) collecting the meat part from which the bone has been removed.

An apparatus for removing a bone from a meat part comprising:

• at least one bay comprising a plate with an aperture formed therethrough, the plate being arranged such that the meat part can be located against the plate with the bone of the meat part substantially aligned with the aperture;
• a plunger associated with the at least one plate, the plunger having a plunger tip sized to move through the aperture in the plate;
• a mechanism for selectively moving the plunger tip between a first position spaced away from the aperture and a second position extending into the aperture;
• the mechanism moving the plunger tip to its first position for locating a meat part against the plate and moving the plunger tip to its second position after the meat part is located against the plate to urge the bone through the aperture until it protrudes from the other side of the plate;
• and
• a blade on the other side of the plate arranged to sever the protruding bone from the meat part.