Method and apparatus for automatically cutting food products to predetermined weight or shape
AssigneeDesign Systems, Inc.
InventorsNorman A. Rudy, James S. Tomlin
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Food products, such as fish fillets, chicken fillets and many others, are cut to predetermined portion sizes of equal weight and volume, or to predetermined profile shapes, by moving the food products on a conveyor, scanning them as then move through a shadow line with a camera capable of providing a programmed computer with dimensional data, and utilizing the computer to control the operation of a plurality of high pressure water jet cutters to cut the food products to reduced sizes as dictated by the computer program.
Claims11
The method of cutting food and like products to desired reduced sizes, comprising:
- (a) moving the product on a conveyor from an infeed end to an outfeed end,
- (b) determining the length, width and thickness dimensions of the moving product,
- (c) providing at least one line-type cutter having the capability of cutting the moving product along linear and nonlinear lines,
- (d) selecting one of said linear and nonlinear cutting capabilities for cutting the moving product, and
- (e) subjecting the moving product to the selected cutting action of said at least one line-type cutter to cut the moving product along lines predetermined to reduce the product to desires weight or shape.
The method of cutting food and like products to desired reduced sizes, comprising:
- (a) moving the product on a conveyor from an infeed end to an outfeed end,
- (b) determining the length, width and thickness dimensions of the moving product, and
- (c) subjecting the moving product to the cutting action of at least one line-type cutter to cut the moving product along linear and non-linear lines predetermined to reduce the product to desired weight or shape.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.