A jump shuttle conveyor system is configured to receive formed food patties from a molding assembly of a patty forming machine. The system includes a lifting plate and belt assembly coupled to a frame which are configured to be indexed to different vertical positions relative to the frame. Formed food patties are received on a belt of the belt assembly thereon, and can be moved off of the belt onto a transfer shuttle conveyor system. An output conveyor system can be provided to receive the formed food patties.

A slaughtered animal meat handling device and a method for transporting meat products from a receiving area to a discharge area device are provided. The device includes at least one supply conveyor, a suction transporter and at least one return conveyor. Meat products that are not engaged by the suction transporter are transported away from the transfer area towards the receiving area by the return conveyor. The meat products are reintroduced onto the supply conveyor away for the transfer area, for again being transported towards the transfer area. The supply conveyor and the return conveyor provide a circulation of meat products. By reintroducing the meat products onto the supply conveyor away from the transfer area, the chance of getting the meat products correctly positioned on the supply conveyor with respect to a suction opening of the suction transporter is increased.

The present invention relates to a system for picking up, conveying, and delivering a foodstuff product to a processing machine which preferably has an upright magazine tube, said system including: a handling device, a gripping device releasably attachable to the handling device, a transporting apparatus, and a control unit; wherein the transporting apparatus has a transporting portion on which the foodstuff product that is to be picked up by the gripping device may be positioned in a pick-up position allowing the foodstuff product to be picked up by the gripping device, and the control unit is connected at least to the handling device of the gripping device and to the transporting apparatus; wherein the control unit is configured for detecting when the foodstuff product to be picked up has reached the pick-up position.

A method carried out by a computing device may include: receiving a plurality of models each associated with a type of sub-primal cut, including a reference shape(s) for detection of a corresponding match characteristic by a corresponding scan type, and including a plurality of attribute characteristic value ranges; receiving a registered scan of a sub-primal cut including scans showing corresponding match characteristics; identifying attribute characteristics for the sub-primal cut using the registered scan; concurrently aligning reference shape(s) of each model to corresponding match characteristics and calculating a shape match values based on the alignment; determining a best model match for the registered scan using a plurality of attribute match values calculate based on the identified attribute characteristics compared to the attribute characteristic value ranges and the plurality of shape match values; and assigning a type of sub-primal cut to the sub-primal cut based on the best model match.

The meat processing apparatus includes a conveying line including a plurality of conveying units arranged in series, at least one processing station for processing the meat conveyed by the conveying line, and a controller for controlling the conveying units. The plurality of conveying units include: a first conveying unit having a first conveyor and a first sensor for detecting the meat placed on the first conveyor; and a second conveying unit located downstream of the first conveying unit, and having a second conveyor and a second sensor for detecting the meat placed on the second conveyor. The controller is configured to drive and control the first conveyor and the second conveyor based on a detection result of the second sensor.

A method includes receiving a stream of input material made up of pieces of meat and separating a first material and a second material from the input material. The first material includes liquified meat fat and the second material includes raw lean meat. Fat granules are formed from a portion of the first material. A quantity of the meat fat granules at a meat fat blending temperature are then combined with a quantity of the second material at a lean meat blending temperature to produce a target comminuted meat product having a target lean point.

A slit forming device according to an aspect includes a damper configured to pass through a plurality of stations arranged on a circumference, a slit forming blade disposed on an outer circumference side or an inner circumference side of a slit forming station among the plurality of stations, and a damper rotating part capable of rotating the damper about a vertical line such that a slit forming surface of a work faces the slit forming blade in the slit forming station.

The present invention provides a new method and apparatus for performing water jet cutting of food items on conveyor belts. The invention provides a cutting unit with a novel design and a method for the use of plurality of cutting devices for cutting, trimming and removing undesired tissue from food items in a more accurate but faster way than prior art methods.

A system and method for object processing using magnetic levitation includes moving carriers with drive magnets across an array of planar motors. Food items on the carriers are moved through processing steps. The system determines the weight of multiple food items and coordinates and arranges for the batching of food items totaling a desired weight from an assembly of available food items and presents the selected food items to an operator for further processing. The system moves the carriers to engage the food items with processing equipment, such as for attaching to poultry shackles, or for cutting by a filet machine.

A clamping device for a bone-in limb meat according to an embodiment includes a base portion, a pair of clamp pieces mounted to the base portion and configured to hold a bone-in limb meat, and an orientation adjusting member for adjusting an orientation of the bone-in limb meat, the orientation adjusting member being mounted to the base portion independently of the pair of clamp pieces and having an inclined surface inclined at an acute angle with respect to a center line between the pair of clamp pieces. When the pair of clamp pieces are in an opened state, in a planar view, at least a part of the inclined surface of the orientation adjusting member is disposed so as to overlap a space formed between the pair of clamp pieces.