A contour measurement apparatus and a contour measurement method for measuring a contour of a poultry carcass, and a deboning device for a poultry carcass are provided. The contour measurement apparatus includes: a fixing jig on which the poultry carcass is placed and fixed; a conveyer forming a conveyance path for conveying the fixing jig; a contact element being supported movably in an upper and lower direction within a two-dimensional plane, and being able to be in contact with a measurement target portion of the poultry carcass; an upper and lower direction position sensor for detecting a position of the contact element in the upper and lower direction; a fixing jig position sensor for detecting a position of the fixing jig moving in a conveying direction; and a contour calculation unit for calculating a contour of a surface of the poultry carcass on the two-dimensional plane based on detected values.

A poultry tenderloin extraction apparatus is provided that can achieve higher poultry tenderloin extracting process performance without posing a risk of bone chips mixing in the poultry tenderloin. The poultry tenderloin extraction apparatus includes: a fixing jig configured to move while holding a poultry carcass; a poultry tenderloin extraction body section disposed on each of left and right sides with respect to a conveying direction of the fixing jig; a first moving unit configured to move the poultry tenderloin extraction body section toward the moving fixing jig; and a second moving unit configured to move the poultry tenderloin extraction body section away from the moving fixing jig. The poultry tenderloin extraction body section includes a clamping device including: a clamping lower plate to be inserted under the poultry tenderloin in a width direction relative to a longitudinal direction of the poultry tenderloin of the poultry carcass held by the fixing jig; and a clamping upper plate to be supported above the poultry tenderloin, the clamping device being configured to clamp the poultry tenderloin between the clamping lower plate and the clamping upper plate when the poultry tenderloin extraction body section moves toward the fixing jig. The apparatus is configured to, while the poultry tenderloin is clamped between the clamping lower plate and the clamping upper plate, separate the poultry tenderloin from the poultry carcass by a movement of the fixing jig toward a front side in the conveying direction and a movement of the poultry tenderloin extraction body section away from the fixing jig by the second moving unit.

A contour measurement apparatus and a contour measurement method for measuring a contour of a poultry carcass, and a deboning device for a poultry carcass are provided. The contour measurement apparatus includes: a fixing jig on which the poultry carcass is placed and fixed; a conveyer forming a conveyance path for conveying the fixing jig; a contact element being supported movably in an upper and lower direction within a two-dimensional plane, and being able to be in contact with a measurement target portion of the poultry carcass; an upper and lower direction position sensor for detecting a position of the contact element in the upper and lower direction; a fixing jig position sensor for detecting a position of the fixing jig moving in a conveying direction; and a contour calculation unit for calculating a contour of a surface of the poultry carcass on the two-dimensional plane based on detected values.

A method of removing a foreign object from a food piece is provided. The method comprises detecting the location of a foreign object in a food piece (10); conveying the food piece to a cutting tool (42); operating the cutting tool to cut around the detected location of the foreign object and subsequently to engage and eject the foreign object from the food piece.

A method, arrangement and apparatus are provided for training at least one neural network for locating bony parts present in a poultry leg. The method includes the steps: conveying the poultry legs in a conveying direction by a conveying device; acquiring digital images of the front side or back side of each of the poultry legs conveyed past the imaging system by a first optical imaging system; sequentially providing the digital images as input data to a first neural network configured for locating the bony parts, wherein the first neural network for locating the bony parts has been trained by a described method; and determining position data of the bony parts by the first neural network; and providing the position data, for display and/or transmission, to a downstream machine for processing the poultry legs on the basis of the determined position data.

An automated chicken deboner system and method. The system includes a conveyor system to move the front-half of the chicken through the different deboning stations, including a loading station where the bird is placed on a cone, a press station to align the front half of the chicken on the cone, a skin cutter station to cut the skin and fat located at the base of the neck of the chicken, a wing cutter station to remove the wings, a scapula cutter station to separate the breast meat from the scapula, a wishbone cutter station to separate the breast meat from the wishbone, a breast plow station to separate the breast meat from the ribs, a wishbone paddle station to further separate the breast meat from the wishbone, a breast removal station to completely remove the breast meat, and a tender cutter station to remove the two tenders.

A method and apparatus for harvesting of backmeat of a carcass or carcass part of slaughtered poultry in connection with a process of filleting of the carcass or carcass part is provided. The method can include scraping the backmeat loose from the carcass or carcass part whereby a connection is maintained with fillets of the carcass or carcass part. Prior to the filleting of the carcass or carcass part a neck portion of a backbone of the carcass or carcass parts is fixed in position, whereby thereafter the backmeat is scraped loose from the carcass or carcass part.

A poultry tenderloin extraction apparatus is provided and includes: a fixing jig being moved while holding a poultry carcass; a poultry tenderloin extraction body section disposed on each of left and right sides with respect to a conveying direction of the fixing jig; and a first moving unit and a second moving unit, for moving the poultry tenderloin extraction body section toward/away from the moving fixing jig, respectively. The poultry tenderloin extraction body section includes a clamping device having: a clamping lower plate and a clamping upper plate for clamping the poultry tenderloin therebetween when the poultry tenderloin extraction body section moves toward the fixing jig. The poultry tenderloin is separated from the poultry carcass by a movement of the fixing jig toward a front side in the conveying direction and a movement of the poultry tenderloin extraction body section away from the fixing jig by the second moving unit.

A shoulder incision-making apparatus for a poultry carcass according to the present invention is for cutting a shoulder joint section of a poultry carcass, and includes: a fixing jig on which a poultry carcass which is eviscerated and which has leg parts removed is to be placed and fixed; a conveyer forming a conveyance path of the fixing jig and configured to convey the fixing jig along the conveyance path; a first cutter disposed in the conveyance path; and a second cutter disposed in the conveyance path at a downstream side of the first cutter in a conveying direction. The first cutter is configured to make an incision on the shoulder joint section of the poultry carcass, and the second cutter is configured to be inserted into the incision to cut the shoulder joint section.

A shoulder-blade incision-making apparatus is provided and includes: a fixing jig on which the poultry carcass which is eviscerated and which has leg parts removed is to be placed and fixed; a fixing jig conveyer forming a conveyance path of the fixing jig and convey the fixing jig along the conveyance path; a first separating member disposed above the conveyance path movably upward and downward; and a first driving device for moving the first separating member in an upward and downward direction. The first driving device is operated to move downward the first separating member and move the first separating member along a surface of the shoulder blade of the poultry carcass in accordance with a timing when the poultry carcass fixed to the fixing jig reaches a meat-separation position below the first separating member, therefore the meat portion attached to the shoulder blade is separated from the shoulder blade.