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US 6,267,661 B1Granted
Apparatus and process for meat packing
OwnerRichard Archer Melvilleinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
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OwnerRichard Archer Melvilleinventor
Estimating the term…
A method and apparatus for carrying out a meat packing process in which carcasses of animals (102) are weighed (100) and moved on a boning line (101) in sequence past a number of boning and trimming stations (103 and 105). The trimmed cuts are transferred to a main conveyor (108). The cuts are placed in bags dispensed by one or more machines (22) which produce bags whose lengths and widths are matched to those of the cuts placed therein. Each hook (38) has a bar code (39) which is scanned at the boning stations. Feed conveyors (241-243) are controlled by the central processor (34). The travel of the main conveyor (108) is monitored by the central processor so that each position on the main conveyor to which the cuts are transferred from the feed conveyors is identified at each trimming station and at the bagging station. By this means each bagged cut can be identified with the animal from which it was derived
A method of carrying out a meat packing process in which carcasses of animals which have been slaughtered are moved in order past a plurality of work stations at each of which cuts of preselected type are removed from the carcasses and transferred to a conveyor means arranged to move past the work stations and to carry cuts which are transferred to the conveyor means at the work stations to a remote locality, the method including the steps of transferring the cuts removed from the carcasses at each work station to the conveyor means in the order in which such cuts are so removed, and providing means for identifying each position on the conveyor means to which cuts are transferred at each work station, and for identifying each such position when such position has moved to the remote locality.
Apparatus for use in a meat processing operation in which carcasses of animals which have been slaughtered are moved in order past a plurality of work stations at each of which cuts of preselected type are removed from the carcasses and transferred to a conveyor means arranged to move past the work stations and to carry cuts which are transferred to the conveyor means at the work stations to a remote locality and in which process the cuts removed from the carcasses at each work station are transferred to the conveyor means in the order in which such cuts are so removed, the apparatus including means for identifying each position on the conveyor means to which cuts are transferred at each work station, and means for identifying each such position when such position has moved to the remote locality.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.