Patent ID: 7593785
Filing Date: 2009-09-22
Classification: A22C,B26D,B26F,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A method of portioning a foodstuff into one or more pieces, comprising: (a) using a scanner, scanning a foodstuff to obtain scanning information; (b) using a processor coupled to the scanner, receiving the scanning information from the scanner and determining a cut path to portion a piece having a predefined shape and satisfying one or more user-defined parameters from the foodstuff by scaling up or down a template of the predefined shape stored in memory of the processor, while automatically changing a ratio between two or more dimensions of the predefined shape, until the one or more user-defined parameters are satisfied, wherein the change allowed to the ratio is user-specified; (c) portioning the foodstuff according to the determined cut path; and (d) using a user interface system, switching between at least normal production mode, in which foodstuffs are automatically scanned and portioned, and shape scanner mode, in which a reference shape of the predefined shape, into which the foodstuffs are to be portioned, is placed on a conveyor to be scanned by the scanner.