Patent ID: 8276490
Filing Date: 2012-10-02
Classification: A47J,B26D,G01N,H04N,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A system for cutting blocks of food product into individual bars of substantially equal weight, the system comprising: a conveyor system configured with a plurality of stations, including a station each to cut a slab portion of the food product, weigh the slab portion, trim the slab portion, cut the slab portion into a plurality of elongated bars, cut simultaneously the plurality of elongated bars into individual bars of substantially equal weight, weigh the individual bars and discard any individual bar that is either over or under a specified weight; a three camera vision system coupled to the conveyor system, the vision system including a camera controller configured to image the slab portion and determine an optimal cut solution based on the image and from select data related to the slab portion of food product; and a programmable logic controller coupled to the conveyor system and configured to control each of the stations, the programmable logic controller also coupled to the vision system and configured to optimize, based on the cut solution, the cuts to the slab portion to produce the individual bars of substantially equal weight and maximize total yield of individual bars from the slab portion and minimize the give-away for the food product.