Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
W O 91/19976 PCT/AUg1tO0263
- ~ - 2~8~al &
RING ME~T IENDERNESS
FI~LD OF TyE-I~vE~TIoN
The present lnvention relates to the meat ~ndustry and more
particularly to a probe to aid in classtfylng meat in respect of
tenderness and exterior fat layer thickness.
~AÇK~ROUND OF THE INVE~ N
Traditionally meat lncluding beef lamb and por~ has generally
i been class1fied by means of inspection carried out preferably by a
tra~ned lnspector. However lt is a disadvantage of th1s method that the
lO classif1cation is generally unrellable due to varying standards between
lnspectors and that inspection is generally merely visual.
Various devlces have been proposed to determine the tenderness of
meat. These devices have generally been unsuccessful.
It is the object of the present invention to overcome or
15 substantially ameliorate the above disadvantages.
SU~MARY OF T~E_INVE~TIQN
There ls disclosed herein a device to ald in determining the
tenderness of meat said device comprising:
a body to be gripped by a user;
an elongated probe member fixed with respect to sald body and
extending fowardly therefrom 1n the direction of intended ~ovement of the
device sald probe having a forward extremlty adapted to penetrate the
meat sample;
a piston sl~dably mounted in said body for longitudinal movement
-~ 25 along satd probe sald plston being movable relative to said probe from
an inlttal start posttion spaced towards said extremity and a retracted
position displaced rearwardly from said start position exposing a greater
length of sa~d prc~be; and
a load cell in communlcation with sald probe member to provlde a
30 signal ~nd~cat~ve of the forte applied to sald extremity as it penetrates
a meat sample.
There is further disclosed herein a tip for a device to aid in
deter~ning tenderness of meat said tip comprising a tip body to be
attached to the forward end of a probe and a plurality of forwardly
35 extending tip pins attached to said body.
The present invention also comprises methods for determining meat
tenderness and fat thickness.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINC.S
A preferred form of the present inventlon will now be descrlbed by
way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings whereln;
Figure 1 ls a schematic sectional vlew of a device to ald in
determining tenderness of meat;
Figure 2 is a schematic sectional view of a second embodiment of a
device to aid in determining tenderness of meat;
Flgure 3 ~s a schematic sectional view of an end of the probe of
the devlces of Figures 1 and 2;
Figure 4 ls a perspective view of the device of Figure 2 wlth
sl~ght modif~cations performing a fat measurement;
F19ure 5 is a schematic sectional view of a modification of the
device of Figure 2;
F~gure 6 is a schematic part sectioned side elevation of the probe
15 employed ln the devlce of Figure 5 w1th an N-cap removed;
Figure 7 is a schematic end elevation of the probe of Flgure 6; and
F1gure 8 is a schematlc sectioned s~de view of a leadlng portion of
the dev~ce of F1gure 5.
BEST MODE_AND OTHER EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION
In the aceompany~ng drawings there is schematically dep~cted a
dev~ce 1 to aid ln the classification of meat (in the form of whole
carcasses) in respect of eating qual~ty. That ls to rank carcasses in
order of the1r toughness.
The device 1 of Figure 1 performs two tests. The first of these
25 tests determlnes the force required to have the tip 5 of probe member 4
penetrate the connective tissue (not shown) extending between a pair of
ribs of a carcass. Preferably the connective tissue tested would be
that extendlng between the twelfth and thirteenth rib. The second test
determines the force exerted while penetratlng the probe 4 a
30 predetermined distance into the eye (not shown) behind the connective
tissue.
The device 1 includes a body 2 of generally cylindrical
configuration having an internal bore 18. Slidably mounted within the
bore 1~ is piston 3. The probe 4 is riyidly affixed to the body through
35 its attachment to a load cell 6. Piston 3 terminates at its forwe~d end
with cap member 17 through which the probe 4 extends. The extrem~ty 117
extending forward of the cap member 17 is tapered to a diameter which is
smaller than the tip 5 diameter.
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WO 91/19976 PCI`/AU91/00263
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Formed lntegrally wlth or attached to cap member 17 are prongs 8.
The forward end of probe 4 includes ~our pins 16 which extend forward and
are covered by pin cover 24 (Flgure 3). Pin cover 25 may be flxed to 4
50 as to completely cover pins 16 or leave pins 16 partially projecting
outwardly therefrom. Alternatively pin cover 24 could be slidable so as
to selectlvely cover or uncover the pins. The cover Z5 also serves to
clean the pins 16 when urged forward over the pins.
In the embodiment of Figure l the body 2 is provided wlth a
p~voting catch member 7 the purpose of wh1ch is to selectively engage
10 and detach the piston 3 from body 2. Piston 3 is provided with an
annular groove 15 lnto whlch catch member 7 normally extends to axlally
fix the body 2 to the piston 3.
FixPd wlthin the body 2 is guide member ll having radlal ttp
projectlons lll through which a rear extension 4 of probe 4 ex~ends.
15 Extension 4 ls attached to the load cell 6 which in turn is attached to
body 2 by means of a rigid attachment member l9 secured in position by a
screw l9.
Fixed to the lnside of piston 3 is retaining ring 10 onto which
abùts one end of the spring 20. The other end of the spr~ng 20 abuts a
20 terminal recess 21 of guide ll.
Withln the piston 3 there are ~rooves or tracks 9 in whlch the
projectlons lll formed on the guide member ll ride. ~racks 9 are
provided w1th an optio~al helical portion 9 and angularly offset portion
9 whereby guide member ll and hence body 2 must rotate with respect to
25 piston 3 as the projections lll traverse the helical portion 9 . The
need for the helical portion 9 and offset portion g depend entirely on
the characteristics of the load cell as will be explained.
At the rear end of body 2 is attached a threaded adjustment cap 13
the purpose of which is to adjust the force on and position of the load
30 cell 6 and thus establish a datum.
A computer or other recording means is connected to load cell 6 to
record the force readings.
In use catch 7 is initially engaged with the annular groove 15.
The device is then grasped by body 2 and the prongs 8 are pierced into
~5 the carcass to locate and avoid ribs. Once a rib-free area is loclted
and face 23 of piston cap 17 is flush with the carcass catch 7 is
pressed so as to render body 2 and piston 3 axially relatively movable.
~ith pins 16 now extending from the retractable pin cover 25 the body 2
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WO 9Itl9976 PCI`/AU91/01)263
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and probe 4 are pushed forward relative to the piston 3. At the same
time, the load cell 6 experlences the force exerted on the probe tlp pins
16. As the probe moves lnto the carcass, pins 16 surround at least one
strand of connective tissue to ensure that the strands are not spread
apart or radially displaced as probe 4 ~s advanced. The body 2 ls
advanced until slots 22 encounter the hellcal portion 9 of track 9, by
which point the connectlve tissue has been punctured or torn. Body 2 is
then rotated while stlll being advanced so that slots 22 are now rlding
on track portions 9 . As force is still be~ng applled, probe member 4
10 continues further into the eye of the meat.
As this occurs the reading transmitted from the load cell 6 to the
computer conveys the tenderness of the meat belng tested. It should be
noted that it is envlsaged that pins 16 may optionally be retracted into
cover 5 during the meat tenderness reading (l.e. after the connective
15 tlssue is punctured). It is also envisaged that thls two step procedure
may be replaced by a one step procedure whereby helical portion 9 and
offset portlon 9 of track 9 may not be necessary, i.e. track 9 could be
a continuous straight section or done away wlth altogether.
Convent10nal, present load cell and computer technology require a pause
20 between the puncture of the connective tissue and the tenderness reading
pr~marily to allow the load cell to reset. It ls for this reason that
helical portion 9 forms part of this preferred embodiment.
Upon completion of the above proeedure, probe 4 is extracted from
the meat and spring 20 acts to return piston 3 to the posit10n depicted
25 in Figure l.
As shown in Figure 2 an alternate embodiment of the dev1ce includes
a coil or double wound coil 21 located within and retained by the bore
18. When energ ked, the coll produces a magnetic field. As the spring
20 is compressed by the retracting piston 3, the variation in the coil
30 voltage ts observed, because the amount of metal in the coil s field
increases as the spring 20 compresses. This allows a distance or
penetration measurement to be made with the combination of coil 21 and
` spring 20.
; To take a tenderness measurement with the device shown in Figure 2,
35 a user would typically enter a personal I.D. number and other relevant
information including carcass I.D. number into a keypad which is
associated wlth the computer which monitors the load cell output and coil
~oltage. The operator then locates a bone free area of meat using the
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W O 9I/19976 PCTtAU91/00263
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prongs 8 then pushes the probe tip 5 and cap tlp 117 lnto the meat until
the cap 23 is flush wlth the sample area. The release mechanlsm 7 is
then released ~hereupon further advancement of the body 2 drives the
probe 4 but not the piston 3 into the sample. As the probe tip pins 16
enter the carcass or sample frictional reslstance against the tlp 5
allows the p1ns 16 to become unsheathed as the cap 25 retracts.
51multaneously the spring 20 begins to compress whlch results in a coil
voltage change. The instant the forward movement of the plns 16 is
detected by the coil arrangement 21 a force reading is obtained from
lO the load cell 6. A force reading is then obtained at regular pre-set
intervals (e.g. every 0.5 mm) until a maximum penetration is detected or
the devlce is wlthdrawn.
By ~easuring the force on the load cell 6 at f~xed intervals the
CPU of the computer (through programmed instructions) can calculate the
15 mean of the total force curve over distance curve. As an alternatlve the
CPU could be programmed to calculate the mean of the force peaks. Once
the mean of the force curve or peak has been stored preferably in
nonvolatile memory the CPU may then calculate the tenderness of the
sample using a linear equation. The result of the interpretatlon of the
20 force curve or peak mean is preferably expressed as a value on a scale of
l to S with l being very tender and 5 being very tough. Stored data may
be easily transferred to a storage device printer or personal computer
either for further analysis or printing labels etc.
As shown by Figure 4 the device described w~th reference to Figure
25 2 can measure the amount of fat on a dressed carcass. The device l must
f1rst be modified by locatlng tubes 40 over the prongs 8. The tubes may
be retained by set screws 41. In the alternative the prongs 8 may be
provided w~th an enlarged dlameter rear portion. Either variant forms a
step 42 ~n the effective prong diameter whlch resists penetratlon into a
30 layer of connective tissue.
To perform the fat depth measurement the operator pushes the
prongs 8 through the layer of external fat 43 of a sample until the step
or tube ends 4Z contact the layer of connective tissue 44 under the fat
layer 43. The operator can sense the resistance offered by the
35 connective tissue 44. The operator then depresses the release or catch 7
and advances the body 2 and probe. ~hen the probe tip 5 comes into
contact wlth the external fat 43 the load cell 6 registers a rise in the
applied force. At this moment the force reading causes the CPU to .ake
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WO 91/19976 PCI`/AU91/00263
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a readlng from the co~l posltion sensor Zl . This positton of the probe
relative to the plston 3 is referred to as the start distance. As the
plns and tip of the probe penetrate the fat layer 43 the force over
dlstance curve remains relatively flat. When the probe reaches the
connectlve tissue 44 the force over distance curve rises sharply. This
is 1nterpreted by the CPU as a cue to take a reading from the position
sensor 21 . This dlstance measurement is referred to as the end
dlstance. The dlfference between the start and end distance measurements
represents the depth or thlckness of the fat.
While the device and method of the present inventlon have been
descr1bed with reference to particular constructlon details and
operatlons these should be understood as having been provlded by way of
example and not as limltations to the scope or spirit of the lnventton.
In particular a range or probes 4 and ttps 5 may be provlded being
15 sultable for various dlfferent quallty and types of meat. Further a wide
array o~ signal processing devices and computational tools such as CPU s
input devlces and output devices may be employed for the purpose of
accompllshing the beneftclal results of the instant apparatus and method.
In Figure 5 there ls schematically depicted a modlflcatlon of the
20 devlce l of Figure 2. In this embodiment the load cell 6 ls supported
by the rlgld member 19 by two or more bolts l9 . The bolts l9 extend
throùgh passages ln the body 2 and are covered by means of a cap 13. At
the leading portion of the devlce l the extremlty 117 is modlfied so as
to conslst of a body 118 which threadab~y engages an end wall ll9 of the
25 body l and a nut 120. This arrangement of the extremity 117 allows for
adjustment of the start load to be applied to the cell 16 and to provide
a datum.
In Figure 6 the tip 5 of the above discussed embodiments i5
shown. The tip 5 includes a cap consisting of a cap body ~not shown) and
30 a cap body retainer 26. The cap body retainer 26 threadably engages the
cap body to retain it in position. The total assembly of cap body and
- cap retaining member 26 are slidable along the body of the probe 4 to
expose the pins 16.
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