Abstract:
An apparatus for automatically delivering placed and oriented pieces of meat to a netter for wrapping and netting is described, in which the placement and orientation of the meat pieces remains unchanged from initial placement until final wrapping and netting. The apparatus is a conveyor having a series of compartments in which the meat is placed and oriented. The conveyor is situated below the level of the breech of the feed tube to the netter, so that a compartment carried on said conveyor will be precisely aligned with the opening to the feed tube. A ram pushes the meat pieces out of the compartment and into the feed tube, without changing the placement or orientation of the meat pieces relative to each other. The netter wraps the meat pieces in a collagen film and encases the wrapped meat in a net for further processing.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     This invention relates to the field of packaging material in nets. More particularly, the invention relates to the field of packaging edible food products, such as hams, in nets. More particularly, this invention relates to the field of packaging material such as hams in shirred, tubular casings and enclosing the products in netting.  
         [0002]     Traditionally, meat products were wrapped in netting prior to processing. Removal of the netting after processing, whether by cooking, smoking, curing, aging, or otherwise, often resulted in some of the meat products sticking to the netting and being pulled off during the removal process, leaving an unsightly appearance unpleasant to consumers. Later, the use of edible collagen films solved this problem. Meat products, including sausages and whole-muscle products, are now conventionally enveloped in an edible collagen film. In the prior art, flat sheets of collagen film were turned over plows to form a tubular casing. The meat products are extruded or forced into the casing and the wrapped meat product is then enclosed in a net and the product is further processed. This method and a netting apparatus is described in, for example, U.S Pat. No. 4,958,477 to Winkler,  Apparatus for the Production of Meat Products.  A newer method of encasing meat products in tubular collagen film is described in, for example, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/695,115,  Apparatus and method to net food products in shirred tubular casing.  An apparatus for netting products is described in, for example, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/787,988, Automated netter, Publication No. 2004168405.  
         [0003]     Some meat products are made of several pieces of whole-muscle meat. Boneless hams, for example, are made by combining several pieces of whole-muscle meat, which usually are irregularly-shaped pieces with one dimension much greater than the other two dimensions. Other types of meat products are made in a similar fashion. In the prior art, the several pieces were placed by hand in, for example, the feed tray (herein, the “breech”), of the netter shown in f the &#39;477 patent. A ram pushes the meat through the guide tube of the netter, and ultimately the meat is wrapped in collagen film, encased in a net, and then processed.  
         [0004]     The process of placing the several meat pieces by hand is labor-intensive and time consuming. The process can be automated by bringing the pieces to the feed tray of the netter on a conveyor. The meat must be transferred, however, from the conveyor to the breech of the netter. In one prior art automated system, the conveyor belt is higher than the breech of the netter. Accordingly, the conveyor drops the meat pieces into the breech of the netter. As the meat pieces reach the end of the conveyor, they roll off the end into the feed tray, which is of necessity slightly lower than the conveyor. This rolling disrupts the orientation of the meat.  
         [0005]     Placement and orientation of the several meat pieces is important. Most hams will be sliced for use by the consumer, either by a retailer or by the consumer at home. Accordingly, it is the cross-section of the ham that the ultimate consumer sees. Meat packers are trained to arrange the several pieces that will constitute the entire ham to minimize voids within the ham and to create a pleasing appearance once the ham is sliced. Moreover, some consumers want a layer of fat on the outside of the ham, which will retain moisture within the ham and provide flavor during cooking, but can be removed prior to consuming. Accordingly, it is important to place and orient the several meat pieces that will form the ham (or other meat product), and to place and orient the fat layer properly on the several muscles that make up the ham.  
         [0006]     Accordingly, a need exists for an apparatus to deliver carefully packed and arranged pieces of meat (and possibly fat) into the feed tray of a netter, without changing the position or orientation of the meat until it has been wrapped and netted. The present invention meets this need.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     It is an object of this invention to provide an apparatus that will automatically load pieces of whole-muscle meats (and fat, if necessary) directly into the breech of a netter. It is a further object of this invention to provide an apparatus that will automatically load pieces of whole-muscle meats (and fat, if necessary) without changing the placement or orientation of those pieces relative to each other.  
         [0008]     Briefly, and in accordance with the foregoing, the present invention discloses a conveyor having compartments oriented on the belt. The conveyor is oriented to move transversely to the loading direction of a netter, and to be slightly below the height of the breech of the netter, so that the base of the compartments aligns with the breech. Pieces of meat (and fat, if necessary) are placed by hand within a compartment at a loading station. The conveyor then moves transversely to the breech of the netter, aligning the full compartment with the breech and bringing an empty compartment to the loading station. A ram pushes the meat out of the compartment and into the breech. From the time the pieces are placed and oriented in a compartment at a loading station, until they are wrapped and netted upon exit from the netter, they stay in the same position and in the same orientation relative to each other.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]     The organization and maimer of the structure and operation of the invention, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals identify like elements in which:  
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is a front elevational view of the conveyor system of the preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0011]      FIG. 2  is a top plan view of the conveyor system of the preferred embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0012]      FIG. 3  is a side elevational view of the conveyor system of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0013]     While the invention may be susceptible to embodiment in different forms, there is shown in the drawings, and herein will be described in detail, a specific embodiment with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the principles of the invention, and is not intended to limit the invention to that as illustrated and described herein.  
         [0014]     The breech loader  20  of the preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in elevation view in  FIG. 1 , in plan view in  FIG. 2 , and in side elevation in  FIG. 3 . Loader  20  is designed for use with a netter  22 , such as one described in the prior art referenced above. The moving parts of loader  20  and, preferably, netter  22  are controlled by a programmed logic controller, PLC  24 .  
         [0015]     Loader  20  has a conveyor  26  has a belt  28  oriented on a plurality of rollers  30 . An electric motor  32  attaches to one roller  30  through a chain  34  to drive the conveyor  26  which, in the orientation shown in  FIG. 1 , moves in a counterclockwise direction. The direction of travel of conveyor  26  is transverse to the direction of feed to the breech  36  (feed tube or tray) of netter  22 .  
         [0016]     A series of compartments  38 A,  38 B,  38 C, etc., are attached to belt  28  by respective brackets  40 . Each compartment  38  is spaced from the adjacent compartments, at least enough to prevent interference as the compartments  38  travel along the conveyor  26 . Each compartment  38  has a generally rectangular base  42 , with sides  44 ,  45 ,  46 , and  47 . Two side walls  48 ,  50  project from two opposing sides  44 ,  45  of base  42  and are transverse to the direction of travel of conveyor  26 . Base  42  and side walls  48 ,  50  accordingly define a space  52  within each compartment  38  which is open on the two remaining sides  46 ,  47 of base  42 , those sides  46 ,  47  being parallel to the direction of travel of conveyor  26 .  
         [0017]     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the three compartments  38 A,  38 B, and  38 C are positioned at stations  54 A,  54 B, and  54 C. As the belt  28  turns in a counterclockwise direction, compartment  54 C, for example, will move from station  54 C to station  54 B and then to station  54 A. After the unloading operation at station  54 A, as will be explained, a compartment  38  moves around and under conveyor  26 , empty, until it arrives again at station  54 C.  
         [0018]     A ram  56  is positioned transverse to the direction of travel of belt  28  at station  54 A and strokes co-axially with the direction of feed to breech  36 . When a compartment  38  (as illustrated, compartment  38 A) arrives at station  54 A, it is in alignment with the ram  56  and a breech  36 , as will be explained. The ram  56  is then activated to push the contents of compartment  38  (in the preferred embodiment, composite meat  58  that has been packed into compartment  38 , as will be explained) into breech  36 . In the meantime, two workers are hand- loading pieces  60  of whole muscle and portion of whole muscle and, if desired, fat, into compartments  38 B and  38 C at stations  54 B and  54 C.  
         [0019]     Thus, as illustrated, two compartments,  38 B and  38 C, are being loaded at loading stations  54 B and  54 C, as ram  56  pushes the composite meat  58  of compartment  38 A into netter  22 . It is the inventor&#39;s experience that the hand-loading steps at stations  54 B and  54 C take more time than the feed step at station  54 A, so multiple loading stations are illustrated. The principle of the invention, however, could be used with a single loading station  54 B or with more than two loading stations  54 B and  54 C. For example, by lengthening conveyor  26 , one or more extra loading stations  54 D,  54 E, etc., can be added. Or, the conveyor  26  could feed to two parallel netters  22  and  22 ′, by having, for example, two stations  54 A and  54 A′, two stations  54 B and  54 B′, etc., so that four workers pack pieces  60  into compartments  38 , which then move two increments at a time to load the two netters  22  and  22 ′.  
         [0020]     A frame  62 , having legs  64 ,  66 , holds conveyor  26  off the floor of the facility. Frame  62  and legs  64 ,  66  are shown in  FIG. 1  but are omitted, for clarity, in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . Frame  62  is preferably adjustable or else custom made so that the base  42  of each compartment  38  aligns with the breech  36  of the netter  22  and ram  56 , as shown in elevation view in  FIG. 3 .  
         [0021]     For ease of illustration, only compartments  38 A,  38 B, and  38 C are shown in  FIG. 2 . Ram  56  is shown aligned with compartment  38 A at station  38 A. Ram  56  has a face plate  68  having a width just slightly less than the space between walls  48 ,  50 . Face plate  68  has a height approximately the same as the height of walls  48 ,  50 . Accordingly, face plate  68  is designed to sweep out space  52  when ram  56  is actuated.  
         [0022]     Face plate  68  is attached to cylinder  70 . Any method of driving face plate  68  in a reciprocal manner will suffice, such as a rocker arm, a rail system, or a hydraulic piston.  
         [0023]     Workers hand-load pieces  60  of whole-muscle meat, parts, and, if appropriate, fat sections, into compartments  38 B and  38 C, placing the long dimension of the pieces  60  transverse to the direction of travel of the conveyor  26 . Preferably, one worker loads the muscles and fat into compartment  38 C at station  54 C and another worker places and orients the pieces within compartment  38 B at station  54 B to form composite meat  58 . Any other method of dividing the work tasks will suffice. The pieces rest on base  42  and are constrained from lateral movement by walls  48 ,  50 .  
         [0024]     When compartment  38 B is fill and ready for packaging, belt  28  moves in a counterclockwise direction to move the full compartment  38 B to station  54 A. A cover  74 , preferably actuated by a second cylinder  76 , is mounted above conveyor  26 . Cover  74  can be mounted on frame  62 , can be mounted on netter  22 , or can be a separate structure. Cover  74  is designed so that, during the forward and reverse strokes of ram  56 , cover  74  seals compartment  38 A and breech  36 , to keep workers&#39; hands out of the way. Cover  74  can be a vertically-moving piece that descends onto compartment  38  at station  54 A, as illustrated in  FIG. 3 , or cover  74  can be hinged, for example, to netter  22 , to rotate from an open position to a closed position. Thus, after conveyor  26  moves to place a fully-loaded compartment  38  at station  54 A, cover  74  descends or rotates into its closed position, preventing any contact by workers with any moving parts. After ram  56  has completed its forward and reverse strokes, cover  74  rotates or ascends back to an open position, to allow the now-empty compartment  38  at station  54 A to move with conveyor  26  and to allow a now-full compartment  38  to move into station  54 A. Any other means to keep workers&#39; hands safe will suffice.  
         [0025]     Cylinder  70 , winch, like second cylinder  76 , is coupled to a compressed air source, such as plant air, a compressor, or bottled compressed air, actuates to drive face plate  68 , through compartment  38 A. PLC  24  prevents operation of cylinder  70  unless cover  74  is closed. Alternatively, proximity switches  78  could be wired to cover  74 , to be tripped by contact with a compartment  38 , and wired to PLC  24  in a conventional manner to prevent actuation of cylinder  70  unless cover  74  is closed.  
         [0026]     When cylinder  70  actuates to drive a forward stroke, the movement of face plate  68  through space  52  pushes the composite meat  58  in compartment  38 A out of compartment  38 A and into breech  36 . Cylinder  70  is designed to have a sufficient stroke to push the meat  58  completely out of compartment  38  and as far into breech  36  as is necessary to operate netter  22 . When the meat  58  has been completely moved into breech  36 , cylinder  70  retracts, leaving compartment  38 A empty. When the workers have completed placing and orienting the pieces in the compartment  38  at station  54 B, belt  28  moves again to bring the next full compartment (as illustrated, compartment  38 B) to station  54 A and in alignment with ram  56  and breech  36 .  
         [0027]     The belt  28  of conveyor  26  is slightly below the level of breech  36 . As a result, bracket  40  holds compartment  38  at the same level as breech  36 . Accordingly, ram  56  can push the meat  58  directly into breech  36 . The meat  58  does not roll off the end of the conveyor  26  in this system and therefore does not change position or orientation upon leaving the conveyor  26 . Rather, since the force applied to the meat  58  is in the direction of travel through netter  22 , the pieces  60  maintain their position and orientation relative to each other when pushed into breech  36 . Inside breech  36 , there is no room for the pieces  60  to change position or orientation. Accordingly, from the time the pieces  60  are placed and oriented at station  54 B, they stay in the same position and orientation until meat comes out the distal end  78  of netter  22 , wrapped and netted.  
         [0028]     When the meat is pushed into breech  36 , the wrapping and netting operation begins, as described in the &#39;477 patent to Winkler discussed above or in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/695,115 and Ser. No. 10/787,988, also discussed above, all of which is incorporated by reference. Accordingly, a collagen film (or other wrapping) is applied at film station  80  and netting is applied at netting station  82 . Preferably, film station  80  and netting station  82  are one integral unit, netter  22 . A wrapped, netted boneless ham (or other meat) will exit at distal end  78 , ready for further processing and having a proper placement and orientation of the pieces that make up the ham.  
         [0029]     The movements of belt  28 , ram  56 , and cover  74  are preferably controlled by PLC  24 . PLC  24  preferably also controls the operations of netter  22 , which works in conjunction with the loader  20 . PLC  24  can be programmed to move belt  28  automatically, at predetermined time intervals. For example, a particular time for packing pieces  60  at stations  54 B and  54 C can be set in PLC  24 , so that, after this time interval, belt  28  moves each compartment  38  an increment of one station. Thus, after this predetermined time interval, the compartments  38  illustrated in  FIG. 1  will move one station to the left, so that compartment  38 A, now empty, begins to rotate under conveyor  26 , compartment  38 B moves from station  54 B to  54 A, and compartment  38 C moves from station  54 C to station  54 B. The workers continue to pack at stations  54 B and  54 C, while rain  56  empties the previously-packed contents of the compartment at station  54 A. After the same predetermined time interval, PLC  24  instructs motor  32  to move belt  28  another increment to the left and the process repeats.  
         [0030]     Alternatively, a command controller  84  could be used. In this embodiment, when the worker at station  54 B determines that the contents of the compartment  38  at that station  54 B are ready for wrapping and netting, he or she actuates controller  84 , using a push button, foot pedal, voice-actuated controller, or any other suitable device. Upon actuation, controller  84  instructs motor  32  to move belt  28  one increment and the process repeats until the worker actuates controller  84  again.  
         [0031]     While a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown and described, it is envisioned that those skilled in the art may devise various modifications of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.