Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
g~z95045
METHOD AND_APPARATUS FOR ULTRASONIC GRADING OF ME~T
Ba_k~round of T e_Inventlon
The use o~ ultrasonic techniques in the evaluation of
the meat yield and quality of livestock has gradually been
5 developing over the past few years, and it is now well
established that such techniques provide a feasible way to
grade the quality of animal carcasses. U.S. Patent No.
4,09~,~20 to Stouffer, assigned to the Assignee of the present
application, discloses one such technique for obtaining
measurements needed for carcass measurement and inspection, but
it has been found that the device di~sclosed therein not only is
too complex, but does not provide, in an accurate, reliable,
and con~istent manner, the informati~on needed for rapid
evaluation and grading o~ carca~seJ.
After a meat animal such as a hog is slaughtered, it
may be graded for quality by a grader who evaluates each
carcass. At the present time, this grading is done by a visual
inspection. Because the grade assigned to a carcass determines
the price a~ which it can be sold, the grading has a
significant economic impact. However, as is well known in the
in~ustry, this is a highly subjective evaluation of the
carcass, and since small variations in grading can have an
extremely large economic impact on a large producer, there is a
strong economic pressure to make the process more objective, so
25~ that graaing will more accurately reflect the true value o~ the
~ ~ carcas~.
:; 1
' ~295~45
The ultrasonic techniques exemplified by the
aforementioned Patent No. 4,099,420 have helped to overcome the
problem of subjective j~dging, for such devices have shown that
through the use of ultrasonic transducer~, it i5 possible to
obtain an accurate reading of the fat content and muscling o~
not only carcasses, but live animals as well. However, the
mere existence of ultrasonic techniques has not solved all of
the problems that have been encountered in the grading of meat.
For example, in order to get consistent and comparable results,
it is necessary to measure in the same location on the carcass
each time and to compensate for the fact that the multiple
layers of fat in a hog carcass produce multiple readings in an
ultrasonic transducer. Furthermore,' since many available
transducers are not able to scan a complete cross-section of an
16 area of interest, time consuming multiple readings and
interpretations have been required, and since it is necessary,
on a commercial scale, to be able to grade hog carcasses at a
high rate of speed, for example, 300-1000 carcasses per hourr
speed and ease of operation of any ultrasonic device becomes
essential. It has been found that devices such as that
illustrated in Patent No. 4,099,420 are too complex to permit
the rapid use re~uired for commericaL evaluation of hog
carcasses, for such devices have required the use of coupling
fluids, spring-loaded transducers, multiple readings, and the
like to accommodace to different shapes and sizes of carcasses
as they pass by a grading sta~ion. Such complexities slow down
~z9s~s
the evaluation process and do not provide the economies that are
necessary to make the conversion to ultrasonic grading techniques
economically feasible at the present time. ~hat is required,
then, is a transducer device that will provide rapid, reliable
information concerning a carcass, and will provide information
that can be used quickly and easily for a more accurate evaluation
and grading of the carcass than is possible through visual
inspection. Absent an improved rate and accuracy of reading, a
mechanical device for evaluation will not find acceptance in the
industry.
Summary of the Invention
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for
rapidly and accurately measuring fat content and meatiness for u~e
in grading a carcass by attaching ultrasonic transducers to
carcasses in such a way that the transducers will be properly
positioned for measuring, by ultrasonic waves, the fat conten~ and
meatiness of the caecass and for providing that information in a
form which can be used to grade the carcass in a rapid and
reliable manner.
2a The invention also p~ovides ultrasonic tran6ducer
mounting devices for securing transducers at 6elected locations on
a carcass, the mounting devices serving to mount the transducers
a~ the same location on each carcass for consistency in
measurements.
The mounting apparatus is quickly and easily secured to a
carcass for positioning the transducers at desired loca~ions
, . . .
5~5
theLeon for accurate and ~eliable measurement of the fat content
and meatiness of ~he carcass.
Also provided is apparatus for easily positioning
transducers on a hog ca~cass in a preselected location so that
measuremen~s of successive carcasses will be made in the same
location rapidly and without error.
The present invention can also provide a method and apparatus
for evaluating the ultrasonic images produced by rib area and ham
area transducers on a hog carcass in order to produce an automatic
evaluation of the fat thickness and meat area measured by the
transducers and to automatically grade the carcass.
Briefly, the present invention relates to an ultrasonic system
incorporating transducer positioning devices for use in evaluating
fat thickness and muscle area at the last rib area and,
optionally, at the tenth rib area, of a hog carcass, and for
evaluating fat thickness and muscling in the ham portion of a hog
carcass. The positioning devices include a support unit adapted
to hold a first rib area transducer in
:~2~5~a~s
the proper position against a hog carcass for measurement of
fat thickness and meatiness at the last rib, and a collar unit
for holding a ham area transducer in position for measuring the
fac content, meat score, and profile of the meat in the ham
area of a hog carcass. In addition, or alternatively, the
support unic may carry a second rib area transducer positioned
to measure fat thickness and meatiness at the tenth rib of the
carcass./
The rib area support unit includes a transducer
support arm of predetermined length and having at one end a
connector for attaching it to the tail o~ the carcass. The
transducer support arm i~ selected to be of the corract length
so that when so attached, the rib area transducers will be
accurately positioned over the rib areas to be measured. It
has been found that a fixed length arm can be provided, since
hog carcasses will essentially all have their last rib area
and their tenth rib area located a ~ixed distances from the
tail. The support arm thus gives a consistent and reliable
reading of the thickness o~ the back fat at the areas on the
carcass which have been found to provide an accurate indication
of the ~at and lean content throughout the carcass and thus
permits an accurate judgment to be made of the grade of the
carcass as a whole.
Although only a single rib area transducer at the
last rib is needed for good accuracy in grading the carcass, it
has been found that improved accuracy in grading can be
~ ~ S
. ,, "., , -
.
~5~45
attained by adding an additional rib area tran.sducer in there~ion of the tenth rib of a hog carcass.
To further improve the accuracy of the grading,
another measurement may be made in the ham area of a hog
carcass by providing a ham area transducer, which can be the
same transducer as that used in making the rib area
measurements, which is mounted on the carcass by a second
transducer support device, or collar attachment. The collar
attachment is formed at one end with a C-shaped arm which
partially encircles the leg of a hog carcas-. The opposite end
of the collar carries a transducer clamp which secures the ham
area transducer to the collar in the proper location below the
C-shaped arm to insure that the ham area transducer hangs down
from the collar and is properly positioned for measurement of
the meatiness of the ham, when the carcass is suspended ~rom an
overhead hook.
Both the rib area and the ham area transducers
provlde scanning and read-out signals which reflect the fat
content of the carcas~ adjacent the location of the transducer.
As is known, ~he transducers produce ultrasonic waves which are
directed into the carcass, with portions of the waves being
reflected at the interfaces between fat and muscle, to thereby
produce output signals representative of the fat content and
its location within the carcass. The display of this
information permits an immediate vi~ual evaluation of the ~rade
of the carcass, and since the transducers produce an accurate
, ... .
~9S~5
output at the same location on each carcass, consistent
evaluations can be made.
The di3play can be visually reviewed so tha~ the
grader can supply a yrade to the meat based on the ultrasonic
readout without inspection of the carca~s itself. In addition,
the pr~sent invention provides an apparatus and method for
automatic interpretation of the transducer readout for an even
more objective evaluation of the carcass. Accordingly, the
displayed information, which i5 in the form of a rib area fat
and meat distribution image, or in the form of a ham area fat
and meat distribution image, can be evaluated through pattern
recognition techniques which will provida a printout or display
of calculations based on the rib area and ham area image~.
These calculations can, for example, provide a measure of msat
content or fat thickness, to permit a more accurate and
objective measure of the yield of the carcas3. In accordance
with one aspect of the present invention, this is accomplished
by displaying an image, representing, for example, the rib area
transducer output, and by tracing the image, as by means of a
digitizer, to provide da~a concerning the meat area and/or the
thickness of the fat layer. The digitizer converts the traced
image into a series of mathematical coordinates which are
supplied to a computer for calculation of the area and
thickness represented by ~he display in accordance with known
2S calculation techniques. ~lthough the present inventiOrl is
described in terms of the use of a digitizer for such
'- . '
,
~Z~5~
measurements, it will ~e apparent that other pattern
recognition techniques may be used to determine the areas of
the ultrasonic images obtained from the carcass.
~rief Descriotion Of The Drawin~s
The foregoing and additional objec~s, features and
advantages of the present invention will become apparent to
thos~ of skill in the art from a consideration of the following
detailed description of preferred emboaiments, taken in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of the system
of the present invention employed in the evaluation of a hog
carcass;
Fig. 2 is an enlarged, pe~spective view o~ the ham
portion transducer collar used in the system of Fig. l;
lS Fig. 3 is a perspective view of an alternate form of
the collar of Fig. 2;
Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a rib ar'ea transducer
support unit;
Fig. S is a diagrammatic illustration of the last rib
area of a carcass from which the image of Fig. 6 was obtained;
Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic illustration of a transducer
image produced from the rib eye area of the last rib of a first
hog carcass, illustrated in Fig. 5;
Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic illustration of the last rib
area of the carcass from which the image of Fig. 8 was
obtained;
"~."~ . . ,
5(~
Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic illustration of a transducer
image from the last rib eye ar2a of a second ho~ carcass,
illustra~ed in Fig~ 7;
Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic illustration of the ham area
of a hog carcass, to be measured by a ham area transducer;
Fig. 10 is a diagrammatic illustration of an
ultrasonic transducec image obtained from the ham area of Fig.
~;
Fig. 11 is a diagrammatic illustration of an
ultrasonic transducer image obtained from the ham area of a
second hog carcass.
Fig. 12 is a diag~ammatic illustration o~ an
alternative embodiment o~ the system of Fig. l; and
Fig. 13 is a flow diagram o~ a computer program for
the systems of Figs. 1 and 8.
DPscrl~tion Of Preferred Embodiments
Turning now to a more detailed consideration of the
present invention, there is illustrated in Fig~ 1 a grading
system 10 in accordance with the present invention for
evaluation and grading o~ carcasses such as the hog carcass
illustrated diagramma~ically at 12. The illustrated carcass 12
is split, as in general commercial practice, and is suspenaed
vertically from a hook 14 for yrading and for further
processing. Although a split carcass is shown, it will be
understoo.1 that the present invention is equally applicabl~ to
use with an intact carcass. In grading the carcass 12, it is
~5~i~5
necessary to inspect it for a variety of factors which are
weighted and comhin~d to determine the grade. Thus, it is
necessary to determine fat thickness on the carcass, the amount
of the muscling, as well as the hot carcass weight. These
factors are then used to determine the grade which will be
a-~signed to the carcass and which then will determine its
value.
Because of the subjective nature of grading in the
pa~t, only five grades (1-5) were used, thus providing a very
general grading system. Since only portions of a hog need to
be m~asured in order to grade, the relevant measurements are
made in the ham acea 16, which consists of the upper part o~
the rear leg of the hog, and along the backbone of the hog, in
the area of the last rib illustrated at 18 in the preferred
form of the invention. In the past, it was thought that
accurate grading required measurement of the back fat in three
areas along the backbone in order to obcain an accurate grading
of the carcass, and this led to complex measuring devices.
However, it has now been found that an accurate measurement for
purposes of grading can be obtained by a single measurement for
back fat in the Legion of the last rib 18 of the hog. As an
option, however, a second measurement of back fat may be made
in the region of the tench ri~, at area 19, in order to improve
the accuracy of the grading. Accordingly, the present
invention provides a measuring device adapted to determine the
bac~ fat and muscle area at one or two selected locations only,
~ ~z~
thereby simplifying the measurement5 as well as the apparatus
required, and increasing not only the ease of use, but the
reliability of the measurements.
As shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, measurements are made
in the ham region of the carcass 12 by means of a ha~ area
transducer 20 which is positioned vertically on the carcass 12
by means of a collar attachment 22. This artachment includes,
in one form of the invention, a pair of clamping arms 24 and 25
which are curved at one end to form a generally C-shaped collar
26, and are parallel to each other at the other end to provide
clamp support arms 27 and 28. The collar 26 has an opening 29
adapted to receive the leg 30 of a carcass, so that the collar
will slide downwardly along the leg'to the ham region 16 wher~
the thickness of the leg becomes great enou~gh to engage the
lS collar and prevent it from sliding any further. The collar
diame~er is selected so as to stop the motion of the collar in
such a location that the transducer 20 is properly position
over the ham region to provide the desired measurement. The
transducer 20 is secured to collar 26 by means of a depending
clamp 31 which receives and secures transducer 20. Clamp 31 is
secured to the clamp arms 27 and 28 by means of a suitable
fastener 32 such as a nut and bolt, rivet, or the like, passing
through corre~ponding apertures 33 formed in the arms. An
adjusting screw 34 may be provided to tighten the clamp 31
around the transducer 20 to secure it in place for easy
handling.
.
~2950~5
An al'ornate form of the collar attachment is
illustrated at 35 in Fig. 3. In this embodiment, the
attachment is formed with a C-shaped collar 36 which is formed
by a cllrved arm 37. The collar has an opening 38 which
receives the leg 32 of a carcass to allow the collar to slide
down to the ham area 16, as deseribed with respect to collar
attachment 22. The curved arm 37 carries at one end a
depending elamp 39 which is fixed to the arm, and which is
shaped to receive the transducer 20. A pair of threaded
fasteners 40 and 41 extend through the side of clamp 39 tO
secure the transdueer in place.
Transducer 20 is a eonventional ultrasonic scanning
head having a linear array or tran~ducer elements which
sequentially send ultrasonie bursts and receive returned echoes
in known fashion. The transducer head 20 is connected by way
of cable 42 to a conventional ultrasonic seanner 4~ such as an
Aloka 21~DX Linear Array Ultrasound System produced by Aloka,
Inc., and distributed by Corometrics Medical Systems. This
device produces ultrasonic waves at 3 or 5 MHz, detects
rellected waves, and incorporaces a small monitor screen for
display of the return image detected by transduc2r head 20.
Measurement of the last rib area 18 of the hog
carcass is obtained from a second trans~ucer head 46, which may
be identical to transducer 20, or may be a slightly smaller
version of such a transducer, and which is secured in a
horizontal posicion by means of a rib area transducer support
12
,~
~ .
, .,
.,
~2ffl5 Cll ~5
unit generally in~icated at 4a in Fiy. 4. The support unit 48
incl~des a support arm 50 which may be solid, or which may
consist of upper and lower t~lescoping sections 52 and 54
secured at a desired length by a suitable fastener 56. Arm 50
includes at its upper end a connector hook 58 which is
generally U-shaped and is adapted to fit over the tail 60 of
the hog carcass. It has been found that the distance between
the tail and the last rib area 18 of hog carcasses is generally
the same, normally about 16 inches, so it is usually not
necessary to adjust the support arm 50, although it may on
occasion be desirable to do so for greater accuracy. The
length of arm S0 is selected to position the transducer 46 over
the last rib area of the hog when the connector loop 58 is
secured over the hog's tail 60.
The transducer 46 is secured to the support arm 50 by
means of a generally rectangular support bracket 62 secured to
the bottom end of arm 50. The bracket has a generally
rectangular interior opening 64 which is sized to receive a
standard transducer head, and preferably includes a threaded
screw 66 or similar fastener for securing the transducer head
in the support unit 48.
In order to obtain a moze accurate measurement of
carcass back fat, it may be desirable to provide a second
support bracXet 62', secured to the bottom end of a support arm
extension 50' secured to the bottom of bracket 62. The support
arm eKtension 50' is sufriciently long to locate bracket 62'
: 13
, ~ :
~29~5
about 23 inches from the connector hook 5~ so that bracket 62'
will support an addicional rib area transducer over the region
of khe tenth rib of the carcass, located at area 19 (Fig. 1).
The bracket 62' includes an opening 64' and a threaded fastener
~6' for receiving and securing an additional transducer 46',
shown in phantom in Fig. 1.
The transducer head 46, and head 46f, if used, both
include a linear array of transducer elements, in conventional
manner, which are held by tne transducer support unit 4a in a
~enerally horizontal position, with transducer 46 over the last
rib area of the hog carcass, and transducer 46' over the tenth
rib area. The transducers are connected by way of ca~le 67 to
the ul~rasonic scanner and monitor 44, which is capable o~
selecting between transducer 20, transducer 46 and transducer
46', if used, for taking measurements and providing the
required image displays.
In use, the transducer 20 is positioned on the rear
leg of the hog by hanging collar attachment 22 or 35 on the leg
30 of the carcass so that the transducer hangs vertically
2~ along, and in close contact with, the outer surface of the ham
portion 16 of the carcass 12. The sur~ace of the carcass
normally is wet from being washed with water prior to the
grading process, and the moisture on the surface provides
sufficient contact between the transducer and the carcass to
permit transmission of ultrasonic waves from the transducer
into the ham area.
14
, . . ~ . . ~
S~5
~ t the same time, the support unit 48 is s~cured to
the tail of the hog carcass so as to locate the rib area
transducer 46 over the region of the last rib, and to locate
the rib area transducer 46', if used, over the region of the
tenth rib. Both transducer 46 and transducer 46' are supported
to extend horizontally, from the region of the backbone
outwardly over the ribs of the carcass. Although the splitting
of a carcass allows a visual inspection of the back fat along
the backbone, it has been found that a more accura~e
measurement is obtained in the area to one siàe or the other of
the backbone, which is wher2 the transducers 46 and 46' are
placed. Accordingly, it is not necessary to split the carcass
in order to obtain the desired measurement, by using the
apparatus Oe the pre~ent invention. The rlb area tran3ducers
46 and 46' are placed in intimate contact with the surface of
the carcass, using the moisture on its surface to insure good
transmission of the ultrasonic waves.
The images received by the several transducers,
produced by the reflection of ultrasonic waves from
discvntinuities within the carcass, are fed to the scanner 44
by way of cables 42 and 67 for display on its monitor. The
images may also be transmitted by way of cable 68 ~o suitable
remote equipment such as a display unit or a video cassette
recorder to be described. The monitors or the remote display
unit may be used by a grader to evaluate and determine the
grade to be assigned to the carcass. The monitor is also
: 15
. .
9~iO'~
available to the equipment operator to make sure that a proper
image is being obtained.
Fig. S is a diagrammatic illustration of a carcass
cross-section, while Fig. 6 illustrates a typical image 70
derived from a rib area of the carcass by a transducer head
such as that illustrated at 46 or 46'. The image is derived
from the rib eye, or loin eye, portion 71 of the carcass
section 72 illustrated in Fig. 5. The image 70 shows three
layers of fat at 73, 74 and 75, as is conventional in hog
carcasses, separated by connecting tissue 76 and 77, and
covered by a skin layer 78. Another layer of connecting tissue
79 separates the fat layer 75 from the rib eye meaty portion,
indicated at 80. In the particular carcass illustrated in Fig.
5, relatively heavy layers of fat are shown. This image, which
was taken from a test of the herein disclosed equipment, was
displayed on the monitor of scanner 44 during the operation of
transducer 46 to allow the operator of the equipment to make
sure that a good image was being obtained. This same scanner
image may be viewed by a grader at the monitor or at a remote
display 84 connected to the monitor by cable 68, for "real
time" grading purposes, or it may be transferred via cable 68
to recorder 86 for later display and grading. It will be
understood that when the image is to be recorded for later
evaluation, it is necessary to incorporate in the recording
suitable data to identify the carcass from which the
16
,
~s~
inforlnation was obtained so that the grade can be assigned to
the proper carcass.
Fig. 5 shows the location of a backbone 94 and the
three heavy layers of fac at 73, 74 and 75. Beneath the fat
layer~ is the rib eye area 80.
Figs. 7 and 8 illustrate diagrammatically a rib eye
ultrasonic image 106 taken from the region 108 of the
cross-section of a second carcass 110, it being understood that
the transducer 46 is positioned on the carcass as illustrated
at 46, carcass 110 having a significantly lower amount of fat
than was present in the carcass illustratsd in Fig~. 5 and 6.
As shown, the fat layers 114, 116 and 118 are significantly
thinner than those of the hog carcass illustrated in Figs. S
and 6, while the meaty area 120 is greater. The rib and
bac'~bone 122 is shown in Fig. 7, but does not appear clearly in
the diagrammatic image of Fig. 8. Figs. 5-8 illustrate that
the transducer 46 is capable of producing images of suf~icient
clarity to permit an accurate determination of the back fat and
meatiness in the rib area of the carcass for accurate and
reliable grading.
Figs. 9-11 similarly show the results of ultrasonic
imaging of the ham area of a carcass. Fig. 9 illustra~es in
~iagrammatic form the general configuration of a ham
124 CUt to show a cross-section, while Figs. 10 and lL are
diagrammatic repre~entations of ultrasonic images produced from
a fatty ham and from a lean ham, respectively, as measure~ by a
17
s
ham transducer 20 positioned on the outer surface of the ham.
The transducer obtains an image of the ham within the area
between the dotted lines 125 and 126. As illustrated, the ham
124 has two layers of fat, indicated at 127 and 128, beneath
the skin layer 129, with the meaty area 130 beneath the fatty
layers. The layers are joined by connective tissue which shows
up well on the ultrasonic image. Note that the ham shown in
Fig. 10 has relatively thick layers of fat 127 and 128, while
the ham represented by the image in Fig. 11 is relatively lean,
with very thin fat layers. The transducer image also shows the
skin layer at the opposite side of the ham, as indicated at
129' in Figs. 10 and 11, to permit determination of the ham
thic,cness and the ra~e of change of'thickness along its length,
to thereby per~it the grader to determine the meatiness of the
ham. Here again, the ul~rasonic image provides a clear picture
of the relative fat layer thickness and the meaciness of the
ham to allow accurate objective grading.
The use of ultrasonic transducers allows hot grading
of the carcass; that is, grading immediately after slaughter,
rather than requiring that the carcass be chilled for a period
of time beEore grading. This could reduce the energy required
in handling the carcass, by eliminating the portion of the
energy whi-h is required to cool and then later reheat fat
which is to be trimmed away from the carcass a~ter grading
priof to chilling. Furthermore, this would avoid the one-day
delay involved in the chilling process. Because the
1~
~Z~5~5
transducers are easily positioned and because they give
immediate and accurate readings of the area~ of interest for
gra~ing purposes, and further because the images so produced
provide a clear picture of the muscling and back fat in a
carcass, it is possible with the disclosed appar~tus to grade
as many as SQ0-1000 carcasses an hour.
A further improvement in the evaluation of carcasses
is provided by the syste~ of the present invention and is
illustrated in Figs. 1 and 8, to which reference is now made.
~s previously described, the display 84 may be a remote vic~eo
display unit on which the image produced by the ultrasonic
scanner 44 is reproduced. This may be an immediate, or real
time, display, as illustrated in the system of Fig. 1, or may
be a delayed display produced from a recording of the image, as
from the video recorder 86, in the system illustrated in Fig.
8. The display unit 84 may be, for example, a cathode ray
display unit which provides an enlarged view of an image such
as the image 70.
The grade of a carcass may be evaluated from a visual
inspection of the image on display unit 84, or may be evaluated
automa~ically by means of a computer 140 which receives
information concerning the image on the unit 84 by way of a
suitable pattern recognition device 142 which transfers to the
computer information concerning the image. Since one of the
2S factora to be used in evaluating the quality of the carcass is
the quantity of meat provided, the pattern recognition device
19
, ,:,, ",, "
~LZ9~ 5
includes a mechanism for scanning the displayed image, such as
image 70 from Fig. 6, for example, to determine the area of the
meaty portion 80, as well as for measuring the thickness of the
fat layers 73, 74 and 75.
A suitable pattern recognition device is a GrafBar
Model GP-7 Sonic Digitizer, produced by Science Accessories
Corporation, 970 Kings ~ighway West, Southport, Connecticut,
06490. This Sonic Digitizer 142 includes a stylus 144 and two
spaced, point microphones 146 and 148. The digitizer is placed
adjacent the flat surface on which the image 70 appears, and
the stylus 144 is positioned on the image at a selected
location~ Pressure on the stylus causes it to emit a high
frequency sound which is detected by the microphones 146 and
148, and, by triangulation, the digitizer 142 determines the
location, or the coordinates of the location, of the stylus on
the image. After det~rmining this first point, which may be
used as the origin of the recorded data, the stylus 144 is
moved around the periphery of the image to be measured, the
operator pressing the stylus on the periphery of the image
periodically to produce a series of sonically-generated data
points in the digitizer. Alternatively, the stylus can be set
to produce a stream of sonic pulses as it is moved around the
image. The stylus 144 is used to trace around the entire area
80, for example, r~turning to the point of origin for the last
measurement and thereby providing a series of data points
defin1n~ the total area of segment 80. These data points may
A .
~2~ 5
then be tran~ferred to computer 140 by way of cable 150 for
storage in the computec and subsequent processing. In
adaition. the stylus 144 may be used to define the thickness of
the fatty layers by producing corresponding data points which
are also transferred to the computer. Although there is some
subjectivity involved in tracing the outline of the meaty area
and of the fatty portions, nevertheless, with some practice in
reading ultrasonic images it is relatively easy to trace the
desired areas with considerable accuracy, with resultq that are
essentially reproducible.
The da~a points stored in the computer are utilized
to calculate the meaty area 80 and the thic~ness of the fatty
layers 73, 74, and 75 in the rib eye of the carcass, for both
the last rib area and the tenth rib area. For even greater
reliability in grading the carcass, similar calculations of the
thickness of the fatty areas in the ham, the taper of the ham
from one side to the other to provide an indication of its
profile, and the meatiness of the ham can also be performed.
This inrormation is then used to provide an evaluation of the
carcass based upon the selected data, as well as upon the
carcass weight, and to provida a printout on printer 152 of the
assigned grade for the carcass.
Table 1 provides an illustration of the type of
gradlng available from suc a system:
21
" ., ~
~ 2~5~;~5 ('
TABLE _l
Hot Carcass Back
Weight Fat Muscling
Carcass (lbs.) (in.) (in.) Grade
~ 160 1 43 C;. 76 3
B 160 1.61 5.20 4
The computer may also calculate the value of each of
the carcasses so graded, using the following formula~
Carcass Value = a + bl ~F ~ b2 C Weight ~ b3 MS,
where a is constant, where bl, b2 and b3 are adjus~ment factors
which are established empirically, BF is the back fat frsm
Table 1, C Weight is the carcass weight from Table 1 and MS is
the muscle score, or muscling from Table 1. In a typica:L
example, employing the foregoing formula, carcass A from Table
1 would be valued at $69.98, while carcass B would be valued at
~67.06. Thus, the system of the present invention can provide
not only an automatic grading of the carcass, but its value
as well, and can do so reliably and objectively from the two
simple measurements produced by the apparatus described above.
A further advantage of the present system of
automa~ic grading is that it is possible to establish a much
larger number of grades, since the ar~a and thickness
measurement can be made with such high accuracy. Thus, for
example, it is contemplated that as many as 100 different
22
, ~, ... .. .
~Z~ 5
~rades could be established on the basis of the measurements
available by the present system, thus permitting a highly
accurate evaluation of each carca~s.
Fig. 13 is a diagrammatic illustration of a flow
chart of a program used in computer 140 for obtaining and
storing the linear measurements produced by t:he Sonic ~igitizer
142, which is the presently preferred form oE the pattern
recognition system. Thus, upon activation of the input to the
computer, indicated at blocX 160, and selection of one or more
of the various operational options available as indicated in
blocks 162-167, the computer is instructed to watch for
incoming data from the digitizer, as indicated in block 170.
If a fixed origin point is selected,' in accordance with
selection block 164, that origin point is provided; otnerwise,
the first data point recelved according to block 170 is used as
the origin. Thus, the first data received at the computer from
either the fixed origin point signal or from incoming data from
the digitizer is considered as the origin point, and is
received by the computer, as indicated at block 172, and is
provided as the set point, as indicated at bloc~ 174. The
incoming data point is assigned an identiEication number, at
block 176, and the computer then watches for additional
incoming data, as indicated at block 178. A second da~a point
signal is then received, as indicated at block 180, the
identification number for that da~a point is increased as
indicated at bloc~ 182, and the computer then calculates the
23
. ~ ~ , . . .
~z~s~
distance bet~een the two data points, as indicated at block
18~. This distance, or linear measure, may be an indication of
fat thickness, or it may be the first of a multiplicity of
points used to calculate an area. If additional points are to
be de~ected for an area measurement, the computer program Loops
back to block 170 to receive additional input data points. If
not, then the linear measure which has been calculated is
stored in memory, as on a disc, as indicated at block 186, is
printed on printer 152, as indicated in block 188, or is
displayed on a suitable video display, such as the display unit
84, as indicated by block 190, after which the program
terminates, as indicated in block 192. A program Eor carrying
out the foregoing detection of data'points and calculation of
linear distances is contained in Appendix A. A similar program
is illustrated in Appendix B, but this program eliminates the
peovision of a fixed origin point, so that the first data point
received acts as the origin.
Calculation of an area enclosed by the linear
tracings is car ied out in accordance with the program set out
in Appendix C. These measurements are then used in the
computer 140 to calculate the grade and value o~ a carcass, as
explained above.
Although the present inventiorl has been described in
terms o~ measurements made on a hog carcass, it will be
apparent that similar principles may be used in evaluating and
grading a beet cattle carcass, although there are some
24
35~5
dirferences in the information received. Specifically, a beef
carcass will have only two layers of fat, instead of three, and
3ince the size of the carcass is much greater, much larger
transducer3 must be used or double readings must be taken in
order to obtain a full picture of the meat content in the rib
area. The use of two overlapping measurements with a small
transducer in the rib area of a beef carcass does not present a
serious problem in evaluation of the carcass, since each rib
eye has a "signature" mark, or discontinuity, in the rib eye
pattern which can be used as a reference for the two
measurements. This discontinuity allows two separate
measurements to be made and then added together to obtain the
desired information. Also, since the location of the last rib
with respect to the tail is variable in a beef carcass, a fixed
transducer mounting arm does not give as accurate a reading as
is available with hog carcasses.
It is further noted that the techniques described
herein can also be used in evaluating live animals, although
the automatic positioning by means of the transducer support
arm and collar cannot be used.
Although the present invention has been described in
terms of preferred embodiments, it will be apparent to those of
s~ill in the art that numerous variations and modifications may
be made without departing from the true spirit and scope
thereof, as set forth in the accompanying claims, in which:
:
, ., ,, ....:~ ... .
