Abstract:
A meat saw pusher device is provided, for use with a table type meat saw machine. The device comprises a pusher panel disposed in sliding cooperation with a feed channel, the feed channel defined by a structure preferably having a smooth, flat bottom surface to promote ease of sliding across a smooth flat table of a meat saw machine. Preferably, the device includes a feed handle mounted for advancing the pusher panel, and a cutting and return stroke handle mounted to one or both sides of the channel structure for moving the entire device laterally in cutting and return stroke directions. A guide panel extending below a base of the channel structure cooperates with an edge of the meat saw table to guide a lateral cutting stroke movement of the device.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to meat processing equipment and methods. More particularly, it relates to a pusher device for use with a meat saw and to a combination of the pusher device and a meat saw operating in conjunction with the pusher device. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Speed, efficiency, and product consistency are crucial to a successful meat processing enterprise. Thus, a common piece of equipment in a meat processing facility is a meat saw, typically a powered, table mounted band saw with an adjustable fence for setting the thickness of cuts. Existing meat saws commonly employ a movable carriage assembly comprising a tray mounted on a track for side-to-side cutting stroke movement parallel to the saw blade and fence. A pusher plate slidingly mounted to the tray is pushed forward to advance meat on the tray against the fence before each cutting stroke. The pusher plate provides a simple and convenient way to support meat from behind during a lateral cutting stroke with multiple safeguards against an operator inadvertently cutting his or her hands, including a stop mechanism that prevents the plate from crossing the plane of the saw blade, in addition to the plate itself serving as a guard or obstruction standing between the operator&#39;s hand and the blade. Typical examples of such a meat saw are the BIRO® Models 1433 and 1433FH (Fixed Head) Meat Cutters available from the Biro Manufacturing Company. 
         [0003]    However, the typical meat saw design described above suffers from a number of shortcomings. For example, the lateral mobility of the carriage itself imposes limitations on its size, as it would be undesirable for the carriage to intermittently protrude beyond the profile of the saw table on every stroke, either jutting into or limiting available space for walking pathways on the facility floor. Consequently, the carriage tray is typically made to have a width substantially less than that of the whole device, with the attendant disadvantage of limited working surface space for manipulating the meat before or after cutting. Additionally, the tracks used to mount the carriage are susceptible to soiling of interior corners, grooves or other hard to reach and clean areas, as is the corresponding mating structure of the carriage itself. Furthermore, the mating track structure adds to the cost and complexity of the device. 
         [0004]    A need therefore exists for an improved meat saw apparatus with an elegant and practical design that provides the advantages of control and operator safety provided by existing carriages without limitations on available working/counter space, with improved ease of cleaning, and simpler manufacture. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    According to an aspect of the present invention, a meat saw pusher device is provided for use with a table type meat saw machine. The pusher device comprises a substantially vertically oriented pusher panel slidably mounted within a housing defining a feed channel, for feeding meat to a meat saw from the feed channel. The structure of the feed channel includes a smooth bottom panel that provides a smooth bottom surface of the pusher device, for resting on and sliding across a smooth, horizontal tabletop surface of the meat saw machine, and pair of parallel side panels affixed to opposite sides of the bottom panel. Thus, the channel structure defines a feed channel having a closed bottom and sides, and an open front end. The pusher panel has a height and width approximately equal to those of the feed channel, thus defining a closed back end of the feed channel opposite the open front end. 
         [0006]    Sliding the pusher panel in a forward feed direction shortens the channel and forces meat forward, while sliding the pusher panel backward in a return direction lengthens the channel to make more room for loading of meat. The feed and return directions are substantially normal to a forward facing pushing surface of the pusher panel and aligned with a longitudinal dimension of the feed channel. 
         [0007]    A guide panel affixed to the channel structure and extending below said bottom surface of the pusher device comprises a substantially planar, smooth guide surface configured to slide along a straight horizontal edge of the meat saw machine extending parallel to a saw blade of the meat saw machine. Typically, this edge of the machine would be the edge of the table on which the pusher device rests, though any suitable structure having an effective stiffness, position relative to the machine and saw blade, and shape adapted to guide a straight lateral movement of the pusher device through a cutting stroke may substitute for a table edge. The guide surface is oriented transversely with respect to the feed channel, but does not necessarily have to be permanently held perpendicular thereto. In alternative embodiments, the guide surface may be fixed at a different transverse angle for making diagonal cuts with respect to the feed and return directions, or may be adjustable to a selected angle for making angled cuts, such as to adapt to the grain orientation of the meat being fed from the pusher device, for example. 
         [0008]    In one embodiment, the pusher device further comprises a backstop panel affixed to the channel structure and disposed to provide a hard stop to movement of the pusher panel in the return direction, thus defining a home position of the pusher panel. In this case, the guide panel may advantageously be comprised in the backstop panel, which may simplify the device construction while at the same time the connection of the guide panel to the base panel and side panels may provide enhanced structural rigidity to the guide panel as compared to a guide panel extending only below the base panel. 
         [0009]    In another embodiment, a pusher mounting panel, preferably having a pusher handle affixed thereto, is perpendicularly affixed to the pusher panel and slidingly connected to the feed channel to provide sliding movement of the pusher panel in the feed and return directions. An additional handle may be provided on one or both side panels, preferably oriented with an upward incline towards the front of the device for comfortable gripping by a user standing behind the device, for pushing the channel structure across the meat saw table in the cutting stroke direction, a return stroke direction generally opposite to the cutting stroke direction, and in directions for moving the guide surface toward and away from the guiding edge of the table or other guiding structure of the meat saw machine. 
         [0010]    If the pusher device includes both the pusher mounting panel and the backstop panel described above, the bottom surface of the pusher mounting panel may be aligned approximately coplanar with a top surface of the backstop panel to slide just over the top of the backstop panel as the pusher panel is fully withdrawn to the home position. In this case, an air vent may be formed in at least one of the panels to facilitate further movement of the pusher panel in the return direction when pusher mounting panel bottom surface overlaps backstop panel top surface, as otherwise a shrinking volume of air enclosed between the pusher panel and the backstop panel, the bottom panel and the pusher mounting panel, and the two side panels would become pressurized and make fully withdrawing the pusher panel too difficult. 
         [0011]    Preferably, the various panels of the device are composed of a stiff, nonstick, low density, solvent resistant (to facilitate cleaning) panel material, which does not absorb meat residue. One suitable panel material is polyethylene. 
         [0012]    In another aspect of the invention, a method is provided for using a meat saw apparatus substantially as described above to form meat cubes. The method comprises starting a motor of the meat saw blade of a meat saw machine, placing the pusher device on the tabletop surface of the meat saw machine, aligning the guide panel against a straight horizontal edge of the meat saw machine extending parallel to the meat saw blade, placing meat in the feed channel, advancing the pusher panel in the feed direction to push a front portion of the meat past the open feed channel end and against the fence, and sliding the pusher device on its bottom surface across the tabletop surface of the meat saw machine and the guide panel along the edge of the meat saw machine in a cutting stroke direction parallel to the meat saw blade to pass the meat saw blade through the front portion of the meat. The cutting stroke should of course be executed last, but the previous actions may be performed in any order, and are not necessarily discrete “steps” performed one at a time; rather, two or more of the actions may be performed simultaneously. 
         [0013]    To form meat cubes, first a plurality of slices are formed by repeating the advancing and cutting stroke steps described above. The steps of advancing the pusher panel and sliding the pusher device in the cutting stroke direction are repeated to slice the meat into a plurality of pieces of substantially equal thickness. Next, the slices are stacked and fed to the saw again to form cords of substantially square cross sections by cutting perpendicularly to the cut surfaces of the slices. The meat cords may then be placed in the feed channel, aligned longitudinally therewith, and fed again to the saw blade to form cubes. If desired or necessary due to the size of an initial slab of meat not being accommodated by the height, width, and/or maximum length of the feed channel, an operator may quite readily perform the first and second series of cuts freehand without using the pusher device as a guide, while advantageously using the device for the third series of cuts, when it is most needed to prevent lateral sliding or tumbling of cords away from the bundle being fed to the saw blade. In this regard, the elegant cooperation of the smooth bottom surface of the pusher device with a smooth, broad, flat meat saw table, free of ribs, channels, or other such guide features, provides a convenient benefit—the same table is ideally suited to freehand manipulation of a slab of meat directly thereon, where the meat will easily slide in any direction, and avoid leaving traces of residue in tight spaces. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]      FIG. 1A  is a top perspective view of a meat saw pusher device according to the invention. 
           [0015]      FIG. 1B  is a bottom perspective view of the meat saw pusher device shown in  FIG. 1A   
           [0016]      FIG. 2  is a top perspective view of the meat saw pusher device shown in  FIG. 1A , illustrating another position thereof. 
           [0017]      FIG. 3  is a top perspective view of the meat saw pusher device shown in  FIG. 1A , illustrating still another position thereof. 
           [0018]      FIG. 4  is a front elevation view of the meat saw pusher device shown in  FIG. 1A . 
           [0019]      FIG. 5  is a partially exploded view of the meat saw pusher device shown in  FIG. 1A . 
           [0020]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a meat saw apparatus for use in conjunction with the meat saw pusher device shown in  FIG. 1A , illustrating part of a meat cutting method according to the invention. 
           [0021]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the meat saw apparatus shown in  FIG. 6 , illustrating another part of a meat cutting method according to the invention. 
           [0022]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the pusher device shown in  FIG. 1A  deployed for use with the meat saw apparatus shown in  FIG. 6  in performing yet another part of a meat cutting method according to the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0023]    With reference to the accompanying drawings, preferred embodiments of a meat saw pusher device and a meat saw apparatus incorporating the pusher device and a meat saw machine adapted for use in conjunction with the pusher device are described below. Additionally, methods of using the meat saw apparatus of the invention to process meat are described and illustrated. 
         [0024]    Turning to  FIGS. 1A-5 , a meat saw pusher device  10  is illustrated. Pusher device  10  includes a vertically oriented pusher panel  12  slidingly mounted in an integral feed channel structure  14  for longitudinal movement along the channel in a forward, feed direction F and a backward, return direction R as designated in  FIG. 1A . Feed channel structure  14  in turn includes a bottom panel  16  to which opposed, parallel right and left side panels  18  and  19  are affixed at right angles. Bottom panel  16  includes a smooth, flat bottom surface, as shown in  FIG. 1B . Pusher panel  12  is affixed to a pusher mounting panel  20 , which is in turn slidably retained between side panels  18  and  19  by its side edges being seated in opposed longitudinal sliding slots  22  and  24  of the respective side panels  18  and  19 . Shown in  FIG. 5  is an exploded view illustrating separately the two essential integral structures of pusher device  10 , namely, channel structure  14  and a pusher structure  25  that includes pusher panel  12  and pusher mounting panel  20 . 
         [0025]    A backstop panel  26  defines a rearmost, home position of pusher panel  12 , at which pusher panel  12  abuts backstop panel  26  and can move no further in return direction R. In  FIG. 1A , pusher panel  12  is shown at or near its home position. Backstop panel  26  also serves to provide structural rigidity and support to channel structure  14  by being attached at its opposite side ends to side panels  18  and  19 . For additional support, a back end of bottom panel  16  may optionally be attached to backstop panel  26  at a lower region of the latter (not shown). 
         [0026]    Serving as pusher panel stops at the front end of device  10  are stop pins  29  connected to side panels  18 ,  19  and disposed in respective slots  22 ,  24  to obstruct forward movement of pusher panel  12  in feed direction F past a position close to an open front end  27  of channel structure  14 . 
         [0027]    Comprised in the lowermost portion of backstop panel  26  is a guide panel  28 . The incorporation of guide panel  28  into backstop panel  26  advantageously simplifies the construction of the device. However, though not illustrated as such, guide panel  28  may alternatively be a separate member, which may for example allow for guide panel  28  to be adjustable to different angular orientations or longitudinal positions as desired. One benefit of such adjustability may be to permit adjusting the cutting angle to optimally address the grain of a cut of meat. 
         [0028]    With reference to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , it will be noted that a bottom face of pusher mounting panel  20  is aligned substantially coplanar with a top face of backstop panel  26  (see  FIG. 3 ), so that when pusher mounting panel  20  crosses the front plane of backstop panel  26  when moving in the return direction, a position as shown in  FIG. 2  is reached, where a volume of air is essentially trapped in a box defined between side panels  18  and  19 , between pusher panel  12  and backstop panel  26 , and between pusher mounting panel  20  and bottom panel  16 . To move pusher panel  12  farther in the return direction from this position, then, would tend to meet with resistance as the boxed in air is compressed, but for the presence of air vents  31  formed in backstop panel  26 . Air vents may alternatively be formed in one of the other panels, but forming them in backstop panel  26  is preferred, because they are positioned always to be in communication with the volume of boxed in air. In addition, unlike forming air vents in pusher panel  12  instead where they will also always be in communication with the boxed in air, forming air vents  31  in backstop panel  26  keeps them from being obstructed by being directly exposed to meat or meat residue, which would be detrimental to their effectiveness while making pusher device  10  more difficult to clean. 
         [0029]    Finally, pusher device  10  includes handles  30 ,  32  to facilitate manual operation. Handle  30  is illustrated in the drawings as attached (by suitable means not visible in the Figures, which may for example be countersunk screws) to pusher mounting panel  20  for advancing and withdrawing pusher panel  12  in respective feed and return directions F and R. Meanwhile, handle  32 , attached by suitable means to right side panel  18 , provides for manual movement of the entire device, its shape adapted to grasping and pulling as well as for pushing, the former being particularly useful for returning device  10  to a “ready” position for the next cut, and the latter for pushing device  10  through a cutting stroke in a lateral direction transverse to the channel of device  10 . A left handed version of pusher device  10  may include a handle 32′ attached to left side panel  19 , illustrated as a phantom feature in  FIG. 4 , in lieu of handle  32 , or both handles may be included to provide an ambidextrous pusher device, for use in conjunction with a left handed or reversible meat saw. 
         [0030]    In a preferred embodiment, panels  12 ,  16 ,  18 ,  19 ,  20 , and  26  are made of a low cost, durable, and stiff or rigid panel material, typically a polymer, having good chemical resistance, such as to solvents and disinfectants for cleaning meat and other residue from surfaces of pusher device  10 . For example, the panels may be cut from stock polyethylene material (such as HDPE) referred to in the industry as “poly board.” Stainless steel could also be expected to perform adequately, though its weight and cost would generally make it less desirable than a suitable polymer. Countersunk screws  34  provide a convenient and effective means of attaching panels  12 ,  20  and panels  16 ,  18 ,  19 , and  26  to one another to assemble pusher device  10 . Other suitable fasteners or fastening operations may be substituted without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention, including but not limited to bolts, rivets, adhesives, soldering/welding, press/interference fit dowels or mating features. Alternatively, in lieu of attaching panels together, the structures thus assembled may instead be integrally molded or otherwise formed as one piece. 
         [0031]    An illustrative meat processing method according to the invention will now be described, with reference to steps illustrated in  FIGS. 6-8 . Turning to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , an initial step of cutting slices S from a block of meat B using a meat saw apparatus  36  is illustrated. One advantage of the use of a pusher device  10  according to the invention is immediately highlighted: Because pusher device  10  is able to function by sliding its broad, smooth bottom surface across a smooth table top surface, its guide panel  28  being sufficient to align and guide its cutting stroke movements, pusher device  10  can be used in conjunction with a meat saw apparatus having a broad, flat, stationary front tabletop  38  provided in front of its saw blade  40  and fence  42 . Pusher device  10  is thus easily removed or pushed aside as desired, clearing front tabletop  38  for use in forming initial cuts in meat block B by simply placing meat block B directly on tabletop  38  against fence  42 , and sliding it repeatedly in a cutting stroke direction CS. Turning to  FIG. 7 , slices S thus formed may then be stacked face to face on their cut faces, and the stack moved against fence  42  and slid back and forth across tabletop  38  to cut meat slices S into meat cords CD. It may often be most convenient and practical to perform the portion of the method illustrated in  FIGS. 6 and 7  “freehand,” in the sense of not using a movable guide to push, align, or support the meat for the first two series of cuts, but only one&#39;s hands, the stationary tabletop  38 , and stationary fence  42 . Thus, again, it is particularly advantageous that device  10  is adapted for use in conjunction with a broad, flat tabletop that provides a convenient support surface for manipulation of meat by hand when device  10  is removed or moved aside. 
         [0032]    Once meat cords CD have been formed, they are gathered into an aligned bundle and placed within channel structure  14  of pusher device  10  resting on tabletop  38 . While it is easy enough to cut a meat block B into slices S and a stack of meat slices S into cords CD by hand, cutting a bundle of cords CD by hand would present difficult challenges, requiring a human operator to manually slide the bundle while at the same time attempting to prevent the cords in the bundle from twisting, bending, turning, or toppling out of alignment. Advantageously, side panels  18 ,  19  of pusher device  10  serve to passively maintain alignment of cords CD, freeing an operator&#39;s hands to advance cords CD, perform cutting strokes, and return cords CD to alignment with fence  42  following each cutting stroke. This also enhances safety. 
         [0033]    Finally, turning to  FIG. 8 , pusher device  10  is shown resting on tabletop  38 , captured in mid cutting stroke. Guide panel  28  is aligned with an edge  44  of tabletop  38  (which may, instead of a tabletop edge, be a straight edge of any suitable structure of meat saw apparatus  36  for aligning and guiding guide panel  28  through a cutting stroke movement), and pusher structure  25  is advanced in the feed direction to move the front ends of meat cords CD against fence  42 . Finally, a series of cutting strokes in direction CS is again performed to cut meat cubes CB from meat cords CD. Following each cutting stroke before the very last cutting stroke, a human operator moves pusher device  10  in the return stroke direction designated RS to return meat cords CD to the cutting side of saw blade  40 . If necessary, the operator may pull pusher device  10  backward in a clearance direction designated CL to clear the ends of any cords CD that may have slipped forward during the cutting stroke from running into the dull edge of saw blade  40  during the return stroke. Once clear of saw blade  40 , the operator returns guide panel  28  to alignment with tabletop edge  44  by pushing pusher device  10  forward in an alignment direction designated AL, and again advances pusher structure  25  to move the front ends of meat cords CD against fence  42 , which should also realign any cords CD which slipped forward during the previous cutting stroke. Thus, it will be noted that additional freedom of movement of pusher device  10  in clearance and alignment directions provides yet another significant advantage over track mounted meat carriages of the prior art, which require an operator to realign any meat pieces that have slipped forward by hand to clear them of the dull edge of the saw blade for a return stroke, as the prior art carriages can only be moved laterally. 
         [0034]    While the invention has been described with respect to certain embodiments, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, it is to be understood that the invention is capable of numerous changes, modifications and rearrangements, and such changes, modifications and rearrangements are intended to be covered by the following claims.