Apparatus and method for detecting and removing undesirable material from workpieces
US6563904B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 1, 2000 |
| Grant date | May 13, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 1, 2020 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10T83/141
- WIPO fieldOther special machines
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A conveyor (12) moves a workpiece (WP) past an x-ray source (14) to detect existence and location of any undesirable material included in the workpiece, such as bones, fat, metal, etc. Thereafter, the conveyor carries the workpiece further, wherein a cutter (22) segments the detected undesirable material from the workpiece into a segmented portion (SP) having a visually distinguishable shape, such as square, round, triangular, etc. A worker stationed downstream of the cutter along the conveyor may then easily spot the segmented portion (SP) in a distinguishable shape and offload the segmented portion from the conveyor, while leaving the rest of the workpiece (WP) on the conveyor for further processing. Alternatively, a pickup device (24) may be used to automatically offload the segmented portion from the conveyor. A computer (18) keeps track of the locations of the workpiece and the segmented portion at all times.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.