System for content analysis of comestible products using volumetric determination

Abstract

A system that performs content analysis on comestible products using volumetric determination with a single-chamber technique in a mass production environment. The content value determination system includes a conveyor system, a system for weighing the comestible products interposed along the path of the conveyor, a volumetric determination station that consists of a plurality of receiving chambers, and a control module. In this embodiment, each receiving chamber is equipped with a pressure sensor and a mechanical system for modifying the volume of the chamber. In addition, both the pressure sensors and the volume modification system of each receiving chamber are operably connected to the control module.

1 - 3 . Canceled.  
   
   
       4 . An automated method for determining percentage bone content in a meat product for use in a content value analysis, the method comprising the steps of: 
 subjecting the meat product to non-visible radiation;    detecting an amount of absorbed non-visible radiation by the meat product;    constructing an internal image of at least one bone structure of the meat product based upon the detected absorbed radiation;    transmitting the image to a control module; and    using tile control module to calculate a percentage of bone material in the meat product based upon the internal image of the at least one bone structure.    
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the percentage of bone material (K B ) is determined as a ratio of a volume of bone material (V B ) derived from the internal image of the at least one bone structure to an overall volume of the meat product (V O ) derived from an overall volume of the meat product.  
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the overall volume of the meat product is derived by: 
 enclosing the meat product in a single volumetric measurement chamber;    determining an initial pressure inside the volumetric chamber,    changing the volume of the volumetric chamber by a known volume;    determining a final pressure inside the volumetric chamber after the volume has been changed; and    determining the overall volume of the meat product based upon the known change in volume of the chamber, the initial pressure of the chamber and the final pressure of the chamber.    
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the percentage of bone material (K B ) is determined based on an animal type for the meat product, a cut type for the meat product and a bone size value that is determined at least in part based on the internal image of at least one bone structure.  
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the percentage of bone material (K B ) is determined by a process selected from the set consisting of: a solution to an algebraic formula, a value from a lookup table, an extraction of empirical data, or any combination thereof.  
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the process is automated and repeatedly performed for a series of similar meat products.  
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising the steps of: 
 subjecting the meat product to visible spectrum analysis to determine an external image of at least one bone structure;    transmitting the external image of the at least one bone structure to a control module; and    utilizing the external image of the at least one bone structure as part of the determination of the percentage of bone material.    
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising a determination of missing pieces of the meat product by: 
 subjecting the meat product to visible spectrum analysis to determine a surface image of the meat product;    transmitting the surface image of the meat product to the control module; and    utilizing the surface image of the meat product to provide the determination of missing pieces of the meat product that is used as part of the determination of the percentage of bone material.    
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising the steps of: 
 automatically determining a weight of the meat product;    transmitting the weight to the control module; and    using the control module to calculate the percentage of bone material in the meat product as a function of the weight of the meat product.