US-12616216-B2 - Poultry deboning device and method

US12616216B2US 12616216 B2US12616216 B2US 12616216B2US-12616216-B2

Abstract

An apparatus and method for poultry deboning. The poultry deboning apparatus may include a holder device including a holder chuck configured to hold a poultry product. The holder chuck may include an opening configured to receive a first portion of the poultry product and one or more blades configured to engage the first portion of the poultry product. The poultry deboning apparatus may include a grabber device including a grabber chuck configured to grab a second portion of the poultry product. The grabber chuck may include an opening configured to receive the second portion of the poultry product and one or more blades configured to extend into the opening and engage the second portion of the poultry product. The grabber device may be configured to move away from the holder chuck to remove a bone in the second portion of the poultry product.

Inventors

Alexander Libin
Evan PULSINELLI

Assignees

BLEXLEY HOLDINGS LLC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20250304

Claims (20)

1 . An apparatus, comprising: a holder device comprising a holder chuck configured to hold a poultry product, wherein the holder chuck comprises a first opening configured to receive a first portion of the poultry product and first one or more blades configured to extend into the first opening and hold the first portion of the poultry product; and a grabber device comprising a grabber chuck configured to grab a second portion of the poultry product, wherein the grabber chuck comprises a second opening configured to receive the second portion of the poultry product and second one or more blades configured to extend into the second opening and engage the second portion of the poultry product, and wherein the grabber device is configured to move away from the holder chuck to remove a bone in the second portion of the poultry product.
2 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein: the holder device further comprises a holder actuator configured to extend the first one or more blades into the first opening of the holder device or retract the first one or more blades from the first opening of the holder device; and the grabber device further comprises a grabber actuator configured to extend the second one or more blades into the second opening of the grabber device or retract the second one or more blades from the second opening of the grabber device.
3 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first one or more blades of the holder device and the second one or more blades of the grabber device are configured to rotate circumferentially to surround the poultry product.
4 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a first edge of the first one or more blades of the holder device and a second edge of the second one or more blades of the grabber device are bevelled.
5 . The apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the second edge of the second one or more blades of the grabber device are bevelled to a greater angle than an angle of the first edge of the first one or more blades of the holder device.
6 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising one or more pushing devices configured to linearly extend to apply a pushing force to an end of the poultry product, wherein the pushing force is configured to bias the poultry product into the holder device and the grabber device.
7 . The apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the one or more pushing devices are configured to apply the pushing force simultaneously with a pulling force applied by the grabber device to the second portion of the poultry product to perform bone removal.
8 . An apparatus, comprising: a holding container configured to hold a poultry product; a conveyor configured to move the holding container; and a deboning device comprising: a holder device comprising a holder chuck configured to hold the poultry product which protrudes from the holder device, wherein the holder chuck comprises a first opening configured to receive a first portion of the poultry product and first one or more blades configured to extend into the first opening and engage the first portion of the poultry product, and a grabber device comprising a grabber chuck configured to grab a second portion of the poultry product, wherein the grabber chuck comprises a second opening configured to receive a second portion of the poultry product and second one or more blades configured to extend into the second opening and engage the second portion of the poultry product, and wherein the grabber device is configured to move away from the holder chuck to remove a bone in the second portion of the poultry product.
9 . The apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein: the holder device further comprises a holder actuator configured to extend the first one or more blades into the first opening of the holder device or retract the first one or more blades from the first opening of the holder device; the grabber device further comprises a grabber actuator configured to extend the second one or more blades into the second opening of the grabber device or retract the second one or more blades from the second opening of the grabber device; and the first one or more blades of the holder device and the second one or more blades of the grabber device are configured to rotate circumferentially to surround the poultry product.
10 . The apparatus according to claim 8 , further comprising a cutting device configured to cut an end of the poultry product, wherein the cutting device comprises a rotary blade.
11 . The apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein an edge of the second one or more blades of the grabber device are bevelled to a greater angle than an angle of an edge of the first one or more blades of the holder device.
12 . The apparatus according to claim 8 , further comprising one or more pushing devices configured to linearly extend to apply a pushing force to an end of the poultry product, wherein the pushing force is configured to bias the poultry product into the holder device and the grabber device.
13 . The apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein the one or more pushing devices are configured to apply the pushing force simultaneously with a pulling force applied by the grabber device to the second portion of the poultry product to perform bone removal.
14 . A method, comprising: actuating first one or more blades of a holder device to extend into a first opening configured to receive a first portion of a poultry product and hold the first portion of the poultry product; actuating second one or more blades of a grabber device to extend into a second opening configured to receive a second portion of the poultry product and grab the second portion of the poultry product, wherein the first one or more blades of the holder device and the second one or more blades of the grabber device are configured to rotate circumferentially to surround the poultry product; and moving the grabber device away from the holder device to remove a bone in the second portion from the poultry product.
15 . The method according to claim 14 , further comprising cutting, by a cutting device, an end of the poultry product located in the holder, wherein the cutting device comprises a rotary blade.
16 . The method according to claim 15 , further comprising transporting, by a conveyor, a holding container including the poultry product to the cutting device and then to a deboning apparatus which comprises the holding device and the grabber device.
17 . The method according to claim 14 , wherein an edge of the second one or more blades of the grabber device are bevelled to a greater angle than an angle of an edge of the first one or more blades of the holder device.
18 . The method according to claim 14 , further comprising applying a pushing force, by one or more pushing devices, to an end of the poultry product, wherein the pushing force is configured to bias the poultry product into the holder device and the grabber device.
19 . The method according to claim 18 , wherein the pushing force is applied simultaneously with a pulling force applied by the grabber device to the second portion of the poultry product to perform bone removal.
20 . The method according to claim 14 , further comprising transporting, on a conveyor, a holding container, wherein the holding container is configured to hold the poultry product.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patent application No. 63/565,833, filed Mar. 15, 2024. The entire content of the above-referenced application is hereby incorporated by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD Some example embodiments may generally relate to the processing of poultry, particularly turkey, and separating the bones from the meat of a poultry carcass. BACKGROUND Methods and apparatuses for butchering or otherwise obtaining meat from poultry are well-known in the art. During processing of poultry, it may be necessary to remove the meat from the bones and carcass. This may be referred to as the bone removal process or deboning process, which may be used interchangeably herein. Conventional methods and apparatus for poultry deboning in poultry processing facilities may involve a bone removal or deboning process for a poultry carcass which may require the unnecessary and/or excessive use of manual labor and manual cutting of the poultry meat from the bone. This conventional manual process may require a high degree of difficulty and may be strenuous on the human body over time, which may make it inefficient or impractical in commercial facilities. The conventional processes may be labor intensive and time consuming. For example, the conventional methods may require multiple people to perform various types of incisions manually with a handheld knife. This may require extensive, training, skill, and time, and allows for more opportunities for human error and inefficiencies. Some conventional methods may have implemented a semi-mechanical device which performs a deboning process using both manual operations used in conjunction with the mechanisms of the semi-mechanical device. The semi-mechanical device in conventional deboning processes may use a combination of high-pressure liquid (e.g., water) and compressed air to perform the bone removal processes. The use of high-pressure liquid, such as water, during the bone removal in conventional semi-mechanical devices may alter the appearance and/or texture of the meat when removed (also referred to as the finished meat). A secondary process or post-processing procedure to remove excess water from the finished meat may also be required, which further increases the complexity and time necessary for deboning. The conventional deboning processes which use high-pressure or compressed air may be prone to breaking or chipping the bones during the removal process, which creates a food safety hazard and requires additional manual labor or other processes to remove the broken bones. Removing any bones after the deboning process may result in yield losses which in turn result in reduced revenue from the value of the finished meat or lost meat. SUMMARY Various exemplary embodiments may provide an apparatus including a holder device including a holder chuck configured to hold a poultry product. The holder chuck may include an opening configured to receive a first portion of the poultry product and one or more blades configured to extend into the opening and hold the first portion of the poultry product. The apparatus may also include a grabber device including a grabber chuck configured to grab a second portion of the poultry product. The grabber chuck may include an opening configured to receive the second portion of the poultry product and one or more blades configured to extend into the opening and engage the second portion of the poultry product. The grabber device may be configured to move away from the holder chuck to remove a bone in the second portion of the poultry product. Certain exemplary embodiments may provide an apparatus including a holding container configured to hold a poultry product and a conveyor configured to move the holding container. The apparatus may also include a deboning device. The deboning device may include a holder device including a holder chuck configured to hold the poultry product which protrudes from the holder device. The holder chuck may include an opening configured to receive a first portion of the poultry product and one or more blades configured to extend into the opening and engage the first portion of the poultry product. The deboning device may also include a grabber device including a grabber chuck configured to grab a second portion of the poultry product. The grabber chuck may include an opening configured to receive a second portion of the poultry product and one or more blades configured to extend into the opening and engage the second portion of the poultry product. The grabber device may be configured to move away from the holder chuck to remove a bone in the second portion of the poultry product. Some exemplary embodiments may provide a method including actuating one or more blades of a holding device to extend into an opening configured to receive a first portion of a poultry product and hold the first portion of the poultry product and actuating one or more blades