Quality control and grading system for meat

• US 5,668,634 A
• Filed: 03/01/1995
• Issued: 09/16/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 07/03/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Paul Bernard David Newman
• Original Assignee: Paul Bernard David Newman
• Inventors: Newman, Paul Bernard David
• Primary Examiner(s): Rosenberger, Richard A.
• Application Number:
  US08/362,439
• Time in Patent Office: 930 Days
• Field of Search: 356/445, 348/89, 348/92, 452/157
• US Class Current: 356/445
• CPC Class Codes: A22B 5/007 Non-invasive scanning of carcasses, e.g. using image recognition, tomography, X-rays, ultrasound analysing meat, e.g. search for foreign embedded objects G01N33/12; image analysis G06T7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/12 Meat; fish

Abstract

Automated grading of meat (carcasses or cuts, particularly pork legs) employs the steps of: a) obtaining a representative image, or representative images, of a meat cut; e.g. using video cameras; b) processing said representative image or representative images to provide data relatable to the fatness of said meat cut; c) processing data provided at step (b), so as to produce one or more parameters suitable for categorizing the meat cut and/or the carcass from which the meat cut was taken; suitable parameters include the amount of fat or lean tissue, the location of fat tissue and the predicted yield of meat product; and d) comparing said parameter(s) with values stored in a database to determine the overall grading of said carcass or meat cut.

Claims

1. A method for grading a hind leg of a meat animal according to the amount of popliteal fat, comprising:

a) obtaining a representative image, or representative images, of an exposed surface of a hind leg of a meat animal;

b) processing said representative image or representative images to determine the amount of intermuscular fat present at the exposed surface, thereby providing data relatable to the amount of popliteal fat present in said hind leg;

c) processing data provided by step (b) so as to produce a parameter or plurality of parameters suitable for categorising said hind leg; and

d) routing said hind leg to a grade or category on the basis of said parameter or plurality of parameters.

2. A method according to claim 1 in which, in step b, the amount of intermuscular fat is determined in a predefined region of the representative image or images.

3. A method according to claim 2 in which the amount of intermuscular fat is estimated by including in the processing of step b estimation of the mean greyness values of a plurality of predefined sub-regions within the predefined region of the representative image or images.

4. A method according to claim 3 in which the amount of intermuscular fat is estimated by including in the processing of step b connectivity analysis of a plurality of predefined sub-regions within the predefined region of the representative image or images.

5. Apparatus for grading hind legs of meat animals comprising conveying means for conveying a hind leg of a meat animal;

at least one video camera positioned adjacent to said conveying means to obtain an image or images representative of an exposed surface of said hind leg;

signal processing means to provide from said image or images data relatable to the amount of intramuscular fat present at the exposed surface thereby providing data relatable to the amount of popliteal fat present in the hind leg, and to produce from said data at least one parameter suitable for categorizing said hind leg; and

means for routing said hind leg to a grade or category on the basis of said parameter.