A system 10 for analyzing and trimming pork bellies and other three-dimensional food and non-food products which are to be subsequently portioned or sliced so as to achieve an optimum harvest of slices from the food product bearing in mind achieving a maximum yield together with a desired quality level of the portions/slices. The system 10 includes a conveyor 12 for carrying the workpieces (WP) to be trimmed prior to subsequent slicing of the workpiece past a scanning system 14 for scanning the workpiece WP to ascertain the physical characteristics of the workpiece, including, for example, its three-dimensional shape as well as its position on the conveyor. A cutting station 16 trims the workpiece WP into a desired two-dimensional shape which represents an optimum shape for the workpiece that seeks to maximize the harvest of slices from the workpiece while maintaining a desired quality level for the slices. A slicing station uses high speed cutters or slicers for portioning/slicing the workpiece into portions/slices which have been simulated by a processing system 18 employing a processor or computer 20.

The present invention relates to a ham stand (1) that comprises a support structure (2) for a ham (3) and a base structure (4) for the assembly, and a connection element (5) of the support structure (2) with the base structure (4). The connection element (5) comprises a spherical joint (6) and a housing piece (7) of said joint (6) attached to the other structure such that it presents multiple degrees of freedom due to the combination of pivoting and rotational movements of the support structure (2) with respect to the base structure (4). Thanks to the pivoting movement, the user can rotate the ham to position it as desired in order to cut it conveniently and safely.

Mist management systems are configured for a processing machine having a portioning station configured to portion a workpiece within an enclosed portioner housing having a first side wall extending along the portioning station, a second side wall, at least one hood portion between the first side wall and the second side wall, and at least one end wall between the first side wall and the second side wall, using at least one liquid jet cutter and a conveyor configured to move the workpiece in a longitudinal direction beneath the at least one liquid jet cutter.

A dividing device is used for dividing a piece of meat with bone contained therein, in particular for cutting off a slice, which device has, in particular on a supporting body, both a moving blade and a moving saw, in order to have to saw through only the rigid part of the piece of meat with the saw and, usually overlapping in time or afterwards, to cut the elastic part with the blade, but if possible in the same cutting-gap of the saw.

Method and system for optically assessing properties of a body on at least one sectional surface of at least one cut introduced in the body in question. The sectional surface is thereby optically recorded directly during the cutting operation by an image acquisition unit, namely, by means of optical sensors of a blade of a cutting tool that is designed for this purpose. The data resulting from a digitization of the sensor signals that have been converted into electrical signals are then processed in an image processing device to visualize the at least one sectional surface on at least one display or/and to create reports in regard to the characteristics of the body or/and to classify the body in accordance with a classification system, or/and to derive control signals for a subsequent further processing of the body or of parts produced by the execution of the at least one cut.

The invention relates to a machine for loosening or cutting the different fibres of the meats for human consumption into small pieces, such as chicken, beef, pork meat or meat from any animal with fibres. This is characterized by having two parallel shafts that rotate in the same direction, wherein by introducing the meat between the two blade-carrying shafts, in relation to the blades of the opposing blade-carrying shaft, permitting the tearing up of the fibres of the meat with the blades, the size of the cut pieces are determined according to the distance between the blades of one blade-carrying shaft and the other with which they intersect. This machine has different transmission means for moving the blade-carrying shafts with the motor force of the motor, given that they engage with the shaft having a speed reducer, which in turn engages with the blade-carrying shafts, wherein these can be pinions that engage with one another or via chains or via pulleys having bands, wherein these cutting machines can be used with combination gear means, as well as pulleys with bands and pinions with chains, which engage with one another or vice versa, wherein the blade-carrying shafts are disposed to be used with peripheral groups in a line of up to 4, 6 and 8 blades on each of the two blade-carrying shafts, and wherein the size of the fibres loosened from the bulk of the fibres is determined by the distance and speed present between the linear peripheral sets between each blade-carrying shaft.

Disclosed is a food product formed from the leg of a fowl comprising: a) a central leg bone having a foot end and a thigh end, said leg bone preferably being substantially without at least a foot knuckle; and b) a first portion of natural meat originally located around a portion of the foot-end of said bone and displaced from said foot end toward said thigh-end such that at least a portion of said foot-end bone is exposed and such that said displaced portion of meat remains indirectly attached to the bone.

This invention relates to a cutting apparatus for cutting food items conveyed on a conveyor including at least one conveyor belt. A cutter is arranged above a gap extending across the at least one conveyor belt. The cutter is 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 the at least one conveyor belt. The cutter is adapted to be connected to a control mechanism for operating crosswise movement of the cutter along the gap. The gap is formed between adjacent elongated supporting means such as rollers with a fixed internal arrangement, where the adjacent elongated supporting means and the cutter is 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 the internal arrangement of the adjacent elongated supporting means and the cutter fixed.

A mist management system for a processing machine includes a pressure distribution assembly configured to evacuate mist from a portion of the processing machine into a plenum using pressure differences between the portion of the processing machine and the plenum. In one aspect, the system may include a mist directing assembly configured to purposefully direct mist toward the plenum using movement and momentum of the mist.

A device for automatically cutting frozen food products into portions of an exact weight, including: an entry feeder that moves longitudinally a piece of a product to be cut; a detector that provides signals suitable for determining the total length and position of the end of the piece; a motorised movable head provided with claws for gripping and moving the piece of product in a longitudinal direction from the entry feeder to a cutting area; a scanner that determines the cross section of the piece of product during the movement thereof; a cutting area provided with a vertical band saw and a carriage that moves the piece to be cut, in a transverse and alternating manner; and a programmable automaton for programming the operation of the cutting device.