Patent Publication Number: US-2020282585-A1

Title: Cutting apparatus for cutting food items conveyed on a conveyor including at least one conveyor belt

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/381,069, which is the national phase of International Application No. PCT/EP2013/054743 filed on Mar. 8, 2013, which claims the benefit of priority to European Patent Application No. EP 12001608.4 filed on Mar. 8, 2012 and U.S. Patent Application No. 61/624,563 filed on Apr. 16, 2012. The entire disclosures thereof are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a cutting apparatus for cutting food items conveyed on a conveyor including at least one conveyor belt and further to a food processing system comprising such cutting apparatus. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Undesired objects such as tissues or bones in food items such as fish fillets, poultry fillets and meat may be removed in an automatic way via cutting, where the cutting is performed in accordance to images taken of the food items that identify the locations of the tissues/bones to be cut and removed. Today, the food items are often moved or placed on a first conveyor that may include a thin solid belt where the imaging, e.g. x-ray imaging, takes place while the food items are being conveyed. Since the cutting involves implementing cutting procedure such as high pressure water jet that extends below the surface of the conveyor belt the objects must me moved onto a special cutting belt, typically a stainless steel conveyor belt, that will not be damaged during the cutting. A tracking mechanism is implemented for tracking the position of the food item pieces at all times during the conveying. The movement between the two conveyors can easily result in an inaccuracy in the displacement of the food items at the interface between the two conveyors so that the tracking of the food items becomes less reliable. Such errors have been corrected up to some extent in W020 11 095998 by providing a second image data when the food items are positioned on the cutting conveyor and compare this second image data with the first image data by utilizing the tracking position, i.e. the second image data is compared to the expected position of the food items. In case of non-match between the first and second image data, the x-ray image data are mapped onto the second image data such that the position of the tissued matches to the second image data, and the cutting process is then based on the mapped image data. 
     There are however several disadvantages involved in using such two separate conveyors such as that the whole apparatus including this imaging section and the cutting section can be very spacious and costly. Also, transferring the food items from the x-ray conveyor towards the cutting conveyor does always, despite the solution described in W02011095998, result in some inaccuracy and is also costly since a second imaging mechanism is required. Further, the cutter belt is made of multiple of small stainless steel modules that are connected via hinges which makes the cleaning of the belt more difficult compared to the above mentioned thin solid belt. 
     N0176343 discloses a machine for cutting fish fillet while these are supported on a conveying surface on a conveyor belt comprising a frame which can move linearly in the conveyor belt&#39;s direction of movement and which is arranged to support a cutting element at a level above the conveying surface. The conveyor belt is so arranged, in conjunction with the frame, that it runs in a largely V-shaped path, lateral to the conveying surface of the conveyor belt to form a gap-shaped depression in the conveyor belt&#39;s conveying surface. A guide roller, seated in a rotation fashion in the frame and running laterally to the conveyor belt at a level below the conveying surface, supports the conveyor belt at the bottom section of the V-shape belt. The frame is so constructed that the internal arrangement between the vertical plane through the cutting element&#39;s longitudinal axis and the vertical plane throught the guide roller are shifted away from each other such that the V-shaped profile is askew in relation to the vertical plane through the cutting element&#39;s longitudinal axis. This means that if the cutting means is not a knife blade but waterjet cutter or other relevant jet cutter it is possible to use narrow gap. 
     A collection channel may be disposed at arbritary levels in the depression for preventing offcuts and any cutting fluid from forming an obstruction at the guide roller. In this embodiment it is preferred that the collection channel is disposed in the upper section of the depression. The reason for this is that due to the oblique relation between the U-shaped profile and the vertical plane through the cutting element&#39;s longitudinal axis the collection channel can constitute a protection for the conveyor belt in the cutting area so as to prevent the cutting element damaging (cutting into) the conveyor belt. 
     The drawback with this cutting machine is how complex it is, especially when cutting tools such as watetjet are being implement instead of cutting blades. 
     Moreover, there is no support for the conveyer belt except the tension in the conveyor belt created between the drive roller and the reversing roller of the cutting machine. However, the conveyor belt will always be deflected from it&#39;s initial two dimensional planar surface arrangement when food items are present and are being conveyed on the conveyor belt, where the more heavier the food items are the more will this deflection be. Such a deflection, e.g. between the drive roll and the U-shaped gap, is obviously reflected in less accurate cutting because the position of the food items in relation to the cutting means will always be shifted. Such an inaccuracy may be avoided up to some extent via arrangement in the reversing roller for regulating the tension in the belt, but such an increase in the tension may affect the back and fort movement of the frame comprising the cutting means. 
     Also, the length of the apparatus will always be limited because of the lack of support for the conveyor belt. This means that it can be difficult or even impossible to implement this apparatus in relation to further apparatus e.g. as any types of imaging equipments such X-ray machines where it is important the such imaging equipments are associated with the same conveyor belt as the conveyor belt of the cutting machine. 
     The inventor of the present invention has appreciated that there is thus a need for a simplified and more efficient cutting apparatus and food processing system and has in consequence devised the present invention. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It would be advantageous to achieve an improved and more efficient and precise cutting apparatus and a food processing system. In general, the invention preferably seeks to mitigate, alleviate or eliminate one or more of the above mentioned disadvantages singly or in any combination. In particular, it may be seen as an object of the present invention to provide a cutting apparatus that solves the above mentioned problems, or other problems, of the prior art. 
     To better address one or more of these concerns, in a first aspect of the invention a cutting apparatus is provided for cutting food items conveyed on a conveyor including at least one conveyor belt, comprising: 
     a cutter arranged above a gap extending across said at least one conveyor belt, the cutter being positioned in relation to the gap such that the cutting path of the cutter extends through the food items and the gap and below the surface level of said at least one conveyor belt, the cutter being adapted to be connected to a control mechanism for operating crosswise movement of the cutter along said gap, 
     wherein said gap is formed between adjacent elongated supporting means with a fixed internal arrangement, the adjacent elongated supporting means and the cutter being adapted to be connected to a control mechanism for operating back and forth movement of the adjacent elongated supporting means and the cutter parallel to the conveying direction while maintaining said internal arrangement of the adjacent elongated supporting means and the cutter fixed. 
     Accordingly, in case that the imaging equipment is a x-ray machine, there is no longer need for using two separate conveyors, i.e. one as a x-ray conveyor and one as a cutting conveyor since one and the same conveyor may be used for both conveying the food items during imaging and also during cutting. Thus, any errors in the displacement of the items and thus in the cutting due to the transferring between x-ray conveyor and cutting conveyor has been eliminated. Also, the cutting may take place on a thin solid belt instead of e.g. a stainless steel conveyor. This has several advantages such as easier cleanability of the belt compared to such steel belts that they have alot of hinges and the like. Also, the costs relating to using such belts is typically much lower compared to such cutting belts. Further, similar type of belt may be implemented for this cutting apparatus as in the remaining conveyors in the food processing system which results in e.g. lowers costs. Additionally, the food items may be imaged at all times, e.g. shortly before the cutting starts and also during the cutting, but such an imaging, e.g. x-ray imaging, is not possible on a such cutting belts. The apparatus thus facilitates that monitoring of the cutting compared to said prior art cutting apparatus that uses stainless steel belts. 
     In one embodiment, said conveyor further comprises at least one supporting means arranged adjacent and below said conveyor belt for providing a support for said conveyor belt. 
     In one embodiment, said at least one supporting means comprises at least one supporting belt extending between a first roller means and a second roller means roller means. 
     Accordingly, a support is provided for the conveyer belt which prevents the conveyor belt from being deflected when food items are conveyed on it meaning that any kind of inaccuracy in cutting is no longer present because the position of the food items in relation to the cutting means will always be the same. Thus, extra arrangement for maintaining sufficient tension in the conveyor belt is not needed. This also means that the conveyor can be significantly longer than such prior art conveyor where such a V-shaped gap arrangement is utilized. The at least one supporting means may further include any means that is arranged parallel to the conveying direction and below said conveyor belt and/or transversally to the conveying direction. The supporting means may also include, but is not limited to, telescopic bars arranged longitudinal below the main conveyor belt, and/or number of transversal bars arranged transversal to the transport direction that can be pushed together and pulled apart arranged below said conveyor belt. 
     In one embodiment, said at least one supporting belt has a first end mounted to a downstream side of a frame structure for maintaining said internal arrangement of the adjacent elongated supporting means fixed, and a second end mounted to an upstream side of said frame structure. 
     In one embodiment, where the first end of the at least one supporting means extends from the downstream side of said frame structure and around a first elongated bar to the first roller and the second end of the at least one supporting means extends from the upstream side of said frame structure and around a second elongated bar to the second roller means. 
     In one embodiment, said at least one of said first roller and said second roller is a driving roller for providing back and forth displacement of the frame structure via said at least one supporting belt. In that way, a simple solution is provide to operate the back and forth movement of said adjacent elongated supporting means, and said at least one further elongated supporting means and the cutter parallel to the conveying direction while maintaining said internal arrangement fixed. The at least one supporting belt does not necessarily have to extend around the first and the second roller means, i.e. so that the at least one support belt forms in a way at least one endless-like belt. The at least one support belt however typically extends around said first and second roller means and in that way form a kind of an endless-like belt. 
     In one embodiment, said conveyor further comprises a third roller means and a fourth roller means placed distally away from said first and second roller means, where at least one of said third or fourth roller means act as a driving roller means for said conveyor belt. In that way, said means that maintains the internal arrangement of said adjacent elongated supporting means, said at least one further elongated supporting means and said cutter parallel to the conveying direction fixed during use, is operated independently of the conveyor belt. 
     In one embodiment, the cutting apparatus comprises at least one further elongated supporting means placed below said adjacent elongated supporting means, said at least one conveyor belt being a single conveyor belt and said adjacent elongated supporting means and said at least one further elongated supporting means being adapted to create a bypass for said conveyor belt by means of extending the conveyor belt between the adjacent elongated supporting means and said at least one further elongated supporting means such that a substantial V-shaped profile of the conveyor belt is formed. Accordingly, a simple solution is provided to provide said opening for the cutter. The at least one further elongated supporting means may e.g. be an idle roller that is placed directly below the cutter, but by placing it in the cutting plane it is ensured that the belt/conveyor will not be damaged during the cutting because the cutting tool, e.g. a water jet and the like, will never intersect with the conveyor belt. Also, that fact that a single conveyor belt is being used makes the apparatus both more economical and simpler. 
     The internal arrangement between the adjacent elongated supporting means and the at least one further elongated supporting means may be such that the V-shaped profile may be oblique in relation to the surface of the conveyor belt, i.e. such that the at least one further elongated supporting means does not lie directly below the cutting means and in the cutting plane, or as mentioned above, such that the at least one further elongated supporting means is directly below the cutting means. 
     In one embodiment, said elongated supporting means is adjustable from being in a closed position where it is placed in a lowest position in relation to said adjacent elongated supporting means where the conveyor belt is in a stretched state towards being in an unlocked position where the conveyor belt is in a slack state. By moving the elongated supporting means from said closed position where it is positioned below said adjacent elongated supporting means towards said open position towards the rollers or above the rollers, the conveyor belt may easily be removed for e.g. cleaning purposes or for replacing it with a new belt. 
     In one embodiment, said elongated supporting means are rollers. In another embodiment, said adjacent elongated supporting means are triangular shaped bars where the acute angles of said triangular shaped bars are facing each other. The advantage of using rollers compared to the triangular shaped bars is that the wear on the conveyor belt is less which increases the lifetime of the belt, and also the friction is less meaning that less power is required to operate it. On the other hand, the advantage of using such triangular shaped bars is that the active distance between the distal ends of said adjacent triangular shaped bars can be shorter compared to rollers, which may be favorable if the food items are relatively short. 
     In one embodiment, said acute angle of said triangular shaped bars have a round shape. This is to provide a “smooth” interaction between the conveyor belt and the triangular shaped bars but the more sharper the acute angles are the higher is the risk that the conveyor belt becomes damaged. 
     In one embodiment, the cutting apparatus further comprises elongated bar arranged below the surface level of said at least one conveyor belt between said at least one further elongated supporting means and said cutter, the elongated bar being positioned such that it intersects with the cutting plane of the cutter at all times. In one embodiment, said elongated bar is a tube with a slot extending along the longitudinal axis of the tube and where the tube is positioned such that the slot is facing the cutter and thus intersects with the cutting plane of the cutter at all times. Accordingly, the enormous impact from the cutter, e.g. if the cutter is a water cutter, onto the at least one further elongated supporting means is absorbed by said elongated bar, which may easily be replaced by a new one. 
     In one embodiment, the adjacent elongated supporting means are distal end-rollers of two adjacent conveyor belts each of which being provided with a belt stretching mechanism for maintaining a fixed belt tension at all times while maintaining said fixed internal arrangement of the adjacent rollers. 
     In one embodiment, said cutting apparatus further comprises a scraper adapted to remove cut out pieces of the food items after the cutting. It is namely of particular advantage to be able to remove the cut out pieces after the cutting on one and the same conveyor as where the cutting is taking place, but today, such an automatic removing is not possible on the stainless steel cutter belt that are being used due to their rough surface. Also, it is prevented that the cut out pieces/offcuts become accumulated in said gap, i.e. the V-shaped depression. 
     In one embodiment, said scraper is mounted to a scraper operating mechanism capable of moving the scraper down adjacent to the surface level of said at least one conveyor belt during cutting, and up from the surface level when not in use. In that way, and “active” mode and “non active” mode of the scraper is provided since some cuts may be such that an immediate removing is not possible. 
     In one embodiment, said scraper operating mechanism further comprises angle adjustment mechanism to adjust the angle of the scraper around vertical axis. This may be of particular advantage when e.g. trimming pork belly where the trimming is taking place at both sides of the pork belly. Thus, by adjusting the angle accordingly it is ensured that the automatic removing of the trim is guided away from the conveyor belt. 
     In one embodiment, the scraper is positioned adjacent and behind the cutter at the downstream end with respect to the conveying direction of the at least one conveyor belt. Accordingly, an immediate removal of the cut out portions) of said food items is possible. In one embodiment, the cut-off material may also can be removed by means of vacuum or suction means. 
     In one embodiment, the cutter is further provided with a tilting mechanism for adjusting the tilting angle in both directions within the cutting plane of the cutter. The cutter may be selected from, but is not limited to: 
     a fluid pressure cutter, 
     a laser beam cutter, 
     a high pressurized gas cutter, or 
     a cutting blade. 
     In one embodiment, said at least one further elongated supporting means comprises two spaced apart roller means. Accordingly, a space is created between the two spaced apart roller means for collecting off-cuts and the like that might fall down through said gap between said adjacent elongated supporting means. 
     In one embodiment, the cutting apparatus further comprises a removing means for removing undesired particles, off-cuts and the like from the gap extending across said at least one conveyor belt. Thus, means is provide to immediately remove any off-cuts, dirt, particles and the like that might e.g. fall onto the space between said spaced apart roller means and be pushed hard by the roller means onto the conveyor belt resulting in that they might otherwise stick firmly to the conveyor belt. 
     In a second aspect of the invention a food processing system is provided comprising said cutting apparatus, comprising: 
     an imaging system for imaging and producing image data of the food items to be processed, 
     a computer system operable connected to a tracing mechanism for tracing the position of the food items while being conveyed, the computer system being adapted to process said image data so as to generate operation parameters for operating said movement of the cutter across the conveyor belt and parallel to the conveying direction. 
     Accordingly, a food processing system is provided that may utilize a “unified” x-ray and cutting conveyor with the above mentioned advantages. This does not only make the system as such more compact but also enhances the accuracy in e.g. trimming since it is now possible to use a single conveyor meaning that the error caused when transferring the foot items from one conveyor to the next is no longer an issue. 
     In one embodiment, said imaging system is a x-ray system and where said image data is x-ray data. In another embodiment, said imaging system includes x-ray system positioned subsequent to cutting the food items adapted to image the processed food items, the image data subsequently being processed by said computer system so as to determined whether undesired objects are present in the processed food items. 
     In one embodiment, said imaging system is selected from: 
     a light source placed below/above the conveyor belt for imaging said food items and based thereon produce data identifying said undesired objects, or 
     a three dimensional imaging equipment, or 
     a color vision, or 
     a x-ray system, or 
     an ultraviolet system, or 
     a combination of one or more of the above. 
     In one embodiment, x-ray system includes a first x-ray beam for radiating the food items from a first viewing angle for generating a first view x-ray image data, and a second x-ray beam for radiating the food items from a second viewing angle for generating a second view x-ray image data, said first view and second view image data being utilized as input data in generating three dimensional image data based of said items. 
     In general the various aspects of the invention may be combined and coupled in any way possible within the scope of the invention. These and other aspects, features and/or advantages of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Embodiments of the invention will be described, by way of example only, with reference to the drawings, in which 
         FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a cutting apparatus according to the present invention for cutting food items, 
         FIGS. 2-4  depict graphically a perspective view, top view and a side view of the cutting apparatus shown in  FIG. 1 , 
         FIGS. 5-7  depict graphically a perspective view, top view and a side view of the cutting apparatus in  FIGS. 2-4  during cutting, 
         FIG. 8  depicts graphically aU-shaped cut out portion from a fish fillet, 
         FIG. 9  shows where a cutter is moved sidewise across an opening for cutting other parts of the fish fillet, 
         FIGS. 10 and 11  depict a perspective view and a side view of one embodiment according to the present invention, where adjacent elongated supporting means and the further elongated supporting means are rollers that create a bypass for the conveyor belt, 
         FIGS. 12 a  and 12 b    depict two different embodiments of said adjacent elongated supporting means, 
         FIGS. 13-15  shows a perspective view 0 f an embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention further comprising a scraper adapted to remove cut out pieces of the food items immediately after the cutting, 
         FIGS. 16-18  depict a top view of the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 13-15 , where  FIG. 16  shown the scenario shortly before cutting the loins of the fish fillet, 
         FIG. 19  shows one embodiment of a food processing system according to the present invention comprising the cutting apparatus as discussed in relation to  FIGS. 1-18 , 
         FIGS. 20-25  depict a perspective view, a top view and a side view of another embodiment of a cutting apparatus according to the present invention, 
         FIG. 26  shows one embodiment of means a frame structure associated with the cutting apparatus according to the present invention, 
         FIGS. 26 a  and 26 b    show close ups of a portion of the embodiment of the frame structure associated with the cutting apparatus of  FIG. 26 , 
         FIG. 27  shows another embodiment of a system according to the present invention, 
         FIGS. 28 and 29  show another embodiment of a cutting apparatus according to the present invention for cutting food items conveyed on a conveyor but instead of utilizing only a single conveyor belt two adjacent conveyor belts are used, 
         FIG. 30  shows yet another embodiment of a cutting apparatus according to the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
       FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a cutting apparatus  100  according to the present invention for cutting food items conveyed on a conveyor  101  including a conveyor belt  102 . The apparatus comprises a cutter  103  that is arranged above a gap  104  extending across the conveyor belt  102 . The gap is formed between adjacent elongated supporting means such as adjacent rollers with a fixed internal arrangement. This will be discussed in more details in relation to the remaining figures. The conveyor belt  102  may be made of any type of deflecting material that may be of solid type such as any type of rubber or plastic material and/or any type of belt that is stiff in the transversal direction and flexible in the longitudinal direction such as an Intralox belt type. 
     The cutter may be, but is not limited to, a fluid pressure cutter, a laser beam cutter, a high pressurized gas cutter, or a cutting blade, where the cutter is slideable mounted to a track  105  positioned transverse and across the conveyor belt  102  directly above the gap  104  such that the cutting path of the cutter  103  extends through the gap  104  and below the surface level of the conveyor belt  102 . The track may be an integral part of oppositely arranged supporting frames  106  for supporting the track and thus the cutter  103 . The frames are mounted to vertical side plates  107  that are slideable mounted to opposite arranged tracks  108  parallel to the conveying direction. The cutter is operable connected to a control mechanism including a driving unit (not shown) for operating crosswise movement of the cutter along the gap  104  as indicated by the arrow  112 . The cutter is further operable connected to a control mechanism including a driving unit  111  to operate back and forth movement of the adjacent elongated supporting means as indicated by the arrow  113  and the cutter parallel to the conveying direction while maintaining the internal arrangement of the adjacent elongated supporting means and the cutter  103  fixed, i.e. so that the cutter plane is at all times positioned directly above the opening  104 .  FIG. 1  shows further a conveyor motor  109  for running the conveyor belt, and a frame structure  110  for supporting the cutting apparatus. 
     In another embodiment and which will be discussed in more details in relation to  FIGS. 28-29 , the adjacent elongated supporting means, e.g. adjacent rollers, are distal endrollers of two adjacent conveyor belts each of which being provided with a belt stretching mechanism for maintaining a fixed belt tension at all times while maintaining said fixed internal arrangement of the adjacent rollers. 
       FIGS. 2-4  depict graphically a perspective view, top view and a side view of an embodiment of the cutting apparatus  100  shown in  FIG. 1 , where a single conveyor belt  102  is used and where the adjacent elongated supporting means  202 ,  203  are rollers. This should of course not be construed as being limited to rollers since any types of elongated supporting means that preferably have a smooth surface area for preventing the conveyor belt from being damaged may be implemented. In this embodiment, a further roller (elongated supporting means)  204  is provided and placed between and below the adjacent rollers  202 ,  203  such that it intersects with the cutting plane  206  of the cutter. As mentioned in relation to  FIG. 1 , the cutter may e.g. be a fluid pressure cutter meaning that this further roller must be made of material that can withstand the impact from the fluid pressure, such as a stainless steel. As shown here, the internal arrangement between the rollers  202 - 204  is such that the further roller  204  is positioned below the cutter  103  and thus intersects with the cutting planes  206  at all times. This arrangement of the rollers provides bypass for the conveyor belt  102  since the conveyor belt extends between the adjacent rollers  202 ,  203  and the further roller  204  such that a substantial U-shaped profile of the conveyor belt  102  is formed. The arrangement of the rollers  202 - 204  shown here may be considered as the position where the further roller  204  is in a closed position, i.e. where it is placed below the surface level of the adjacent roller  202 ,  203  and where the conveyor belt  102  is in a stretched state. The adjacent rollers  202 ,  203  may be rigidly mounted to the vertical side plates  107  (see  FIG. 1 ), whereas the further roller  204  is also mounted to the side plates  107  but in a way that it is adjustable from being in a locked position, as shown here, to an unlocked position via an lock/unlock mechanism comprised in the side plates. By doing so, the further roller  204  is adjustable upwards so that the conveyor belt will be no longer be stretched, i.e. in a slack state. The conveyor belt may thus easily be removed from the cutting apparatus  100 , e.g. for cleaning purposes or for replacing it with a new belt. Any types of conveyor belts may be used, e.g. thin solid belts made of plastic material or e.g. polyurethane, polyester and the like. 
     The conveying direction of the food item  201 , in this case a fish fillet, is indicated by arrow  205 . A typical procedure as will be discussed in more details in relation to  FIG. 13  is following: an imaging apparatus such as an x-ray system, takes x-ray images of the fish fillet  201 . The x-ray images are processed by a computer system including a processing unit which detects where e.g. undesired fat tissues and/or undesired objects such as bones are located. Based on this, cutting operation parameters are generated that operate both the back and forth movement of the cutter  103  across the conveyor belt  102  within the gap  104  as indicated by arrow  112 , and also back and forth movement of the cutter parallel to the conveying direction as indicated by arrow  113 . Accordingly, one and the same cutter is being used for performing a two dimensional cutting, i.e. it is capable of cutting while being moved back and forth parallel to the conveying direction as well as simultaneously being move transverse across the conveyor. 
     The rollers  202 - 204  and the track  105  shown in  FIG. 1  may be mounted to a common frame structure, e.g. said supporting frames  106  and side plates  107 , which is operable connected to a driving unit (not shown) that operate the back and forth movement of this frame structure and thus the back and forth movement of the cutter  103  where this back and forth speed may be larger or less than the speed of the conveyor belt  102 . Accordingly, while the fish fillet  201  is being conveyed one and the same cutter can trim the periphery of the fish fillet  201  and also remove e.g. the bones from the fish fillet. 
       FIGS. 5-7  depict graphically a perspective view, top view and a side view of the cutting apparatus in  FIGS. 2-4 , showing where a portion of the fish fillet  201  at the head end is being cut. In order to do so, the cutter moves first against the conveying direction  205  towards the tail end, and subsequently in the same direction as the conveying direction with a speed that is larger than that of the conveyor belt  102 . The result is a substantial U-shaped cut out portion  801  as shown in  FIG. 8 , but as shown this portion has been removed from the fish fillet.  FIG. 9  shows where the cutter  103  has moved sidewise across the opening  104  for cutting other parts of the fish fillet. The fluid pressure (or the laser beam, or the air pressure) is preferably also controllable at all times meaning that the e.g. the fluid pressure is adjustable from being in operation when cutting is taking place and shut off when no cutting is taking place, i.e. a kind of an on-off mode of the cutting is preferably fully operable. As an example, while the cutter is moving across the gap  104  the fluid pressure is shut off, and when the cutting is continued it is turned on. 
     In one embodiment, the cutter is further provided with a tilting mechanism (not shown) for adjusting the tilting angle within the cutting plane of the cutter. 
     The food items should of course not be construed as being limited to fish fillets, but this cutting apparatus may be of particular importance for cutting poultry items such as poultry breast, red meat and the like. 
     The cut out portions)  801  may in one embodiment be removed with a vacuum or suction means. This may of particular importance when the cut out portions)  801  are located a position, which as shown, is e.g. between the opposite sides of the fish fillet (or any food products) where it is not possible to scrape it away. As will be discussed later, if the cut out portions is at either sides of the food product (see e.g.  FIG. 13-17 ) other means may be used to removed the cut out portions) from the conveyor belt  102 . 
       FIGS. 10 and 11  depict a perspective view and a side view of one embodiment of a cutting apparatus according to the present invention, where the adjacent elongated supporting means  202 ,  203  and the at least one further elongated supporting means, which in this case is a single further elongated supporting means  204 , are rollers  202 - 204  that create a bypass for the conveyor belt  102 . The diameter of the further roller  204  is preferably larger than that of the adjacent rollers  202 ,  203 . 
     The cutting apparatus in this embodiment further comprises an elongated bar  1000  arranged below the surface level of the conveyor belt  102  between the further elongated supporting means  204  and the cutter  103  and extends across the conveyor belt, e.g. between said common frame structure. In that way, the internal arrangement between the bar  1000  and the rollers  202 - 204  is fixed meaning that the bar  1000  moves back and forth as the rollers  202 - 204  are moved back and forth. 
     As depicted in this embodiment, the bar is a tube  1000  with a slot  1004  extending along the longitudinal axis of the tube  1000  where the slot is facing the cutting plane of the cutter  103  at all times. The tube may be open at its opposite end or partly open so as to let the water  1001  that accumulates in the tube to flow out of the tube. 
     Assuming the cutter  103  is a water cutter, the water beam  1003  hits the slot and thus the accumulated water, which results in that the impact from the water beam  1003  becomes absorbed or depleted by the tube or by the water accumulated within the tube. In that way, the conveyor belt will in no way be damaged during the cutting procedure. The tube  1000  may in addition to this easily be replaced with a new one when due to e.g wear. Thus, a cost saving solution is provided since it is more economical to replacing the tube  1000  with a new once, instead replacing the roller  204 . 
     It should be noted that the elongated bar  1000  should not be construed to the tube shown here but other shapes of elongated bars may be used suitable for absorbing the cutting impact from the beam so as to prevent the belt from being damaged. The shapes, material type, thickness etc. of the elongated bar may also depend on the type of the cutter being used. 
       FIG. 12 a,b    depicts two different embodiments of said adjacent elongated supporting means, where  FIG. 12 a    shows the embodiment that has been discussed in relation to  FIGS. 2-11 , where the adjacent elongated supporting means are rollers  202 ,  203  as well as the further elongated supporting means  204 , that create a bypass for the conveyor belt  102 . 
       FIG. 12 b    shows an embodiment where the adjacent elongated supporting means are triangular shaped bars  2002 ,  2003  where the acute angles of the triangular shaped bars are facing each other. As the figures show, the active distance  1201  between the adjacent rollers  202 , 203  in  FIG. 12 a   , i.e. the distance where the planar surface of the conveyor belt  102  starts to deviate from the planer surface, is larger compared to the active distance  1201  in  FIG. 12 b    between the adjacent triangular shaped bars  2002 ,  2003 . Thus, in case the food items are relatively short, it may be preferred to use such triangular shaped bars  2002 ,  2003 . 
       FIGS. 13-15  shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention further comprising a scraper  1301  adapted to remove cut out pieces of the food items after the cutting. The embodiment shown here further comprises said elongated bar  1000 , but this embodiment obviously applies also to the embodiment in the absence of this elongated bar  1000 . 
     The scraper  1301  may be mounted to the cutter  103  or the track  105  (see  FIG. 1 ), but preferably so that the scraper  1301  follows the cutter  103  at all times, e.g. by rigidly mounting the scraper to the cutter with a pre-fixed angle. The scraper may also be mounted to a scraper operating mechanism (not shown here) that is capable of lifting the scraper  1301  up, as shown in  FIG. 14 , and down, as shown in  FIG. 13 , via e.g. air jack mechanism, depending on whether the scraper is  1301  is being used or not. 
     In one embodiment, the scraper operating mechanism is also capable of adjusting the angle of the scraper via vertical rotational axis, depending on whether a portion of the right or left side of the fish fillet  201  (food item) is being cut and subsequently removed. As shown here, the distal end of the scraper  1301  points towards the distal end of the conveyor belt  102 . 
       FIG. 15  shows where the loins  1501  of the fish fillet has been cut and subsequently removed from the fish fillet. Accordingly, no extra manpower is needed to manually remove the cut out portion. 
     As an example, if the food item is pork belly, the scraper  1301  is of particular advantage when being utilized to remove the trim of the pork belly at the opposite sides of the pork belly. In such cases, the above mentioned angle of the scraper  1301  would be changed in accordance to e.g. images taken of the pork belly indicating which of the sides of the pork belly is being processed. This will be discussed in more details in relation to  FIG. 19 . 
       FIG. 16-18  depict a top view of the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 13-15 , where  FIG. 16  shows the scenario shortly before cutting the loins  1501  of the fish fillet  201 ,  FIG. 17  depicts the scenario during the cutting, showing clearly that the scraper  1301  is attached or associated to the cutter  103  at all times. As shown in this embodiment, the scraper  1301  is positioned adjacent and behind the cutter  103 , i.e. at the downstream end with respect to the conveying direction  205  of the conveyor belt  102  so as to allow immediate removal of the loins  1501  (i.e. the cut out piece). However, the scraper  1501  may just as well be placed further down the conveying direction  205  and thus remove the cut out portions somewhat compared to the embodiment shown here.  FIG. 18  shows where the loins  1501  of the fish fillet has been removed from the fish fillet. 
       FIG. 19  shows one embodiment of a food processing system  1900  according to the present invention comprising the cutting apparatus  100  as discussed in relation to  FIGS. 1-12 . The food processing system  1900  comprises an imaging system  1902  and a computer system  1901 . The imaging system may be, but is not limited to, a light source placed above the conveyor belt for imaging said food items and based thereon produce data identifying said undesired objects, or a three dimensional imaging equipment, or a color vision, or a x-ray system, or an ultraviolet system, or a combination of one or more of the above. Assuming that the imaging system is x-ray system, the resulting imaging data are x-ray data of the food items to be processed, in this case said fish fillet  201 . The computer system  1901  is operable connected to a tracing mechanism (not shown), such as a tacho meter, for tracing the position of the fish fillet  201  while being conveyed. The computer system  1901  is further adapted to process the image data  1903  and generate operation parameters  1905  for operating said movement of the cutter  103  across the conveyor belt  102  and parallel to the conveying direction as indicated by the arrow  113 . The operation parameters  1905  may further contain information indicating e.g. whether said scraper should be in an “active” mode adjacent to the conveyor belt (see  FIGS. 13-18 ), and/or whether angle direction of the scraper, and/or the angle of the scraper. 
     In one embodiment, the imaging system includes a further x-ray system (not shown) positioned subsequent to cutting the food items adapted to image the processed food items. The computer system  1901  is also adapted to process this image data, e.g. x-ray data, for determining whether undesired objects are present in the processed food items, e.g. bones or small metal pieces. These food items may then subsequently be rejected. 
     In another embodiment, the x-ray system includes a first x-ray beam for radiating the food items from a first viewing angle, e.g. from above or below, for generating first view xray image data, and a second x-ray beam for radiating the food items from a second viewing angle, e.g. from the side, for generating a second view x-ray image data. The image data are then processed for generating three dimensional image data based of said items. 
     The imaging system, in this case the x-ray system, may be a dual energy system, meaning that the x-ray radiation uses two frequencies, where the attenuation of the radiations, e.g. the two frequencies when passing the products are measured and detected. However, also x-ray radiation systems with a single energy/frequency can be used for this purpose, for example when the height/thickness of the products are even or when the products are formed to have a substantially uniform thickness. 
       FIGS. 20-22  depict a perspective view, a top view and a side view of another embodiment of a cutting apparatus  100  according to the present invention. The cutting apparatus shown here further comprises at least one supporting means  2000  for supporting said belt  201 . In this embodiment, the at least one supporting means is a supporting belt that extends between a first roller means  2001  and a second roller means  2002 . As will be discussed in more details later the at least one supporting belt is fixed to a frame structure  2003  that supports said adjacent elongated supporting means  202 ,  203  and said further elongated supporting means  204 . At least one of the roller means  2001 , 2002  acts as a driving roller for the frame structure  2003  via the at least one supporting belt and provides said back and forth displacement of the elongated supporting means  202 - 204  and the cutting means  103 . 
     As shown, the at least one supporting belt  2000  is arranged adjacent and below said conveyor belt  102  and provides a support for the conveyor belt, i.e. the conveyor belt  102  lies on top of the at least one supporting belt  2000 . For illustrative purposes the conveyor belt  102  is shown in dotted lines to educe the view of the at least one supporting belt  2000 . The conveying direction of the food item, in this case a fish fillet  201 , is indicated by the arrow  205 . 
     The number of supporting belts shown here is four, but this number may vary from being only one supporting belt to two or more supporting belts, where the number of belts may e.g. depend on the width of the conveyor belt  102  or the type and/or weight of the food products. Also, in this embodiment, the four supporting belts  2000  extend around the first and second roller means  2001 ,  2002  where the distance between the upper and the lower horizontal sides of the supporting belts is greater that the depth of the V-shaped belt. 
     The ends  2006 ,  2007  of the four supporting belts  2000  are mounted to an upstream side  2005  and a downstream side  2004  of the frame structure  2003 . As  FIGS. 20 and 22  show, the first and the second ends  2007 ,  2006  of the four supporting belts  2000  extend upward and along the downstream and the upstream sides of the frame structure  2003  and around elongated bars (not shown here) to the first and second rollers  2001 ,  2002 , respectively. 
     The at least one supporting belt may be made a timing belt which has a tooth shaped pattern and where the driving roller  2001 ,  2002  has a corresponding tooth shaped surface for engaging with the at least one tooth shape of the timing belt. 
       FIGS. 23-25  depict a perspective view, a top view and a side view of the same embodiment as shown in  FIGS. 20-22 , but at some later time point where the fish fillet  201  has been conveyed from the first position shown in  FIGS. 20-22  towards a second position and where a portion  2301  of the fish fillet has been removed with the cutting means. 
       FIG. 26  shows one embodiment of said frame structure  2300  discussed in relation to  FIGS. 20-25 , where the frame structure comprises two opposite sides  2601  (the distal side is not shown). Said adjacent elongated supporting means  202 ,  203  is mounted to an upper part of the two opposite sides  2601  and said further elongated supporting means  204  is mounted to the lower part of the two opposite sides  2601 . The internal arrangement between the adjacent elongated supporting means  202 ,  203  and the further elongated supporting means  204  is such that the vertical plane extending through the further elongated supporting means  204  is between the vertical planes extending through the adjacent elongated supporting means  202 ,  203 . These elongated supporting means shown in this embodiment are guide rollers that rotate around an elongated rotation axis and act as idle rollers. 
     The frame structure further comprises a winch acting as a locking/un-locking mechanism  2604  for locking and unlocking the further elongated supporting means  204  by e.g. moving the winch  2604  from the horizontal position shown here where the further elongated supporting means  204  is in a locked position up to a horizontal position where the further elongated supporting means  204  is in an unlocked position. By doing so the further elongated supporting means  204  may be lifted upwards via the handle  2605  when e.g. removing the belt  102 . 
     The mounting of the first and second ends  2006 ,  2007  of the supporting belts may as an example done by means of sliding the open ends into a pockets  2602  that e.g. clamp the open ends of the supporting belts in a fixed position, and extending the supporting belts  2000  upwards and around elongated bars  2610 , 2611  that are rigidly mounted to the frame structure towards said first and second roller means  2001 ,  2002 , respectively. 
     Other means may also be provided for fixing the open ends of the supporting belts to the upstreamJdownstream sides of the frame structure. 
     The wheels  2603 , 2604  are adapted to slide on a sliding track (not shown here) for allowing said back and forth movement of the frame structure. 
     The cutting means may in relation to  FIGS. 20-26  be mounted to the frame structure  2300  so that it follows the back and forth movement of the frame structure  2300  and also along a sliding track or similar means across the gap (not shown here), or the cutting means may run along and across separate sliding means along and/or across the gap  104  by be synchronized such that it is position above the gap at all times, i.e. independently from said frame structure  2300 . 
       FIG. 27  shows another embodiment of a system according to the present invention  1900 . In this embodiment, the conveyor  101  further comprises a third roller means  2701  and a fourth roller means  2702  placed distally away from said first and second roller means  2001  of the cutting apparatus  100 , where the third roller means act as a driving roller means for the conveyor belt  101 . In this embodiment the cutting means may, but is not limited to, be a water jet cutter, but shown here is also a spiral shaped water inlet  2705  into the cutter, that is connected to a water source (not shown). 
     The cutting apparatus  100  is arranged within a frame  2706  but in this embodiment the size of the frame is large enough to contain another cutting apparatus (not shown) next to the cutting apparatus shown here. Moreover, the frame  2706  further includes an upper compartment  2707  to host the motor that drives the back and forth movement of the frame structure  2300 . 
     Also, imaging equipment  2703  is shown, but this may e.g. be an X-ray apparatus for collecting data indicating e.g. the position of bones to be removed and/or undesired tissues, fat etc. but this data is used by a computer system/control unit (not shown) to operate the cutting means that removes the bones and/or the undesired tissues fat etc. 
     One and the same conveyor belt  101  is used throughout the system, i.e. from where the food items enter the imaging equipment until the food items have been processed by the cutting apparatus  100 . This means that there is no need to use two different conveyor belts, i.e. one conveyor belt for the imaging equipment that conveys the food items into and through the imaging equipment and another cutting belt when cutting the food items with the cutting means. 
       FIGS. 28 and 29  depict another embodiment of a cutting apparatus  100  according to the present invention for cutting food items conveyed on a conveyor, but instead of utilizing only a single conveyor belt as discussed in relation to the previous figures and create a bypass for creating said gap, two adjacent conveyor belts  2801 , 2802  are used where said adjacent elongated supporting means  202 , 203  are distal end-rollers of two adjacent conveyor belts  2801 ,  2802 . As depicted here, each of the conveyor belts  2801 ,  2802  is provided with a belt stretching mechanism that is connected to the opposite ends  2803 ,  2804  of the two conveyors  2801 ,  2802 , that adjusts height of the opposite ends in dependence of the length of the horizontal part of the conveyors such that the belt tension of the conveyor belt remains substantial constant at all times. These opposite ends may e.g. be idle rollers.  FIGS. 28 and 29  show the adjacent ends  202 ,  203  of the cutting apparatus  100  in two different positions, where  FIG. 28  shows the adjacent elongated supporting means  202 ,  203  are more to the right compared to  FIG. 29  and where the opposite end  2803  is moved downward whereas the opposite end  2804  moved upward. 
     Any type of means (not shown) may be placed below the gap, especially in case the cutting means is a water jet, to take the impact from e.g. the water jet. In case the cutting means is a cutting blade such means may not be needed. 
       FIG. 30  shows another embodiment of a cutting apparatus  100  according to the present invention where the at least one further elongated supporting means comprises two roller means  3001 ,  3002  instead of said single roller as shown in  FIGS. 2-26 . The space between the two roller means  3001 ,  3002  facilitates the removal of any undesired dirt, particles, tissues, bones, off-cut particles and the like from the processing, but it is important that such dirt/particles etc. do not land on the surface of the conveyor belt and become clamped between the belt  102  and the rollers  3001 ,  3002 . The rollers  3001 ,  3002  might then push them hard to the belt  102  and therefore they might stick firmly to it. 
     A removing means  3004  may be provided at the space between the roller means  3001 ,  3002  for removing said undesired dirt/particles/off-cuts etc. that may fall down through the opening between the adjacent elongated supporting means  202 ,  203 . This may as an example be, but is not limited to, a blowing devices that blows these away before the dirt becomes clamped between the conveyor belt and the rollers, a water jets, a suction mechanism and the like. 
     This embodiment shows also said elongated bar  1000  as discussed in relation to  FIGS. 10 and 11 , but this may especially be important if the cutting means is a water jet cutter, to prevent the cutting means from damaging the belt  102 . In case the cutting means is a cutting blade or similar means such an elongated beam  1000  may not be needed. 
     Also, this embodiments shows where said at least one supporting belt  2000  extends between four rollers where at least one of these rollers are driving rollers for the adjacent elongated supporting means  202 ,  203  and the two roller means  3001 ,  3002 , or the frame structure (not shown here) to which these adjacent elongated supporting means  202 , 203  and the two rollers  3001 , 3002  are mounted to. The number of rollers between which the at least one supporting belts  2000  extends should of course not be construed as being limited to these four rollers, but e.g. two rollers as discussed in relation to  FIGS. 20-25  could just as well be possible. 
     The same applies to the number of rollers between which the conveyor belt extends between, but these rollers could just as well be two or more. 
     While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, such illustration and description are to be considered illustrative or exemplary and not restrictive; the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed invention, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word “comprising” does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article “a” or “an” does not exclude a plurality. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.