• 专利附录
  • 专利说明
  • 权利要求
  • 类似技术
  • 同族专利
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    • 专利摘要:
    A method for facilitating the removal of pinbones by submitting a fish fillet to a focused ultrasound field,resulting in localized heating of pinbones and surrounding tissues.
    公开号:DK201770270A1
    申请号:DKP201770270
    申请日:2017-04-19
    公开日:2017-04-24
    发明作者:Kristin Anna Thorarinsdottir；Martin Hansen Skjelvareid；Karsten Heia
    申请人:Marel Iceland Ehf；
    IPC主号:
    专利说明:

    Title of Invention A method and an apparatus for loosening pinbones from fish.
    Field of invention
    The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for loosening pinbones from a fish fillet.
    This invention concerns a method and an apparatus for facilitating the removal of pinbones in fish fillets. It relates to a method by focusing ultrasound on pinbones and tissues capsuling the bone, which attach the bones to the muscle within fish fillets. Thereby, the bone attachments are made weaker and less force is needed to pull out the bones. This is particularly important for pre-rigor fish were bone attachments are strong whereas partially degraded in post-rigor fish. Thus, the method will facilitate pinbone removal early post-mortem, instead of waiting until rigor mortis has resolved (at least 48 hours).
    Background of the invention
    The pinbones remain in the fish flesh after filleting and have to be removed by other means, such as cutting or pulling. Processing yields and value of products can vary significantly with the procedures (cutting/pulling) used for removing the bones. Pinbone removal by pulling increases the portion of fillets used for high-value products. Especially, in salmon where the bones are located in the loin. Furthermore, the form of the fillet remains intact whereas removal by cutting affects possible ways in portioning of the fillet. The portion of muscle that removed with bones by cutting, e.g. V-cut, can only be used for lower value products such as mince. The ratio of the V-cut part varies with species, the condition of the raw material, the degree of skill, and experience of employees. It ranges from 4% to 15% (relative to the weight of the fillet) for groundfish such as cod and haddock. Usually, cutting results in 100% bone removal whereas pinbone pulling from post-rigor fish results in 80-90% bone removal success. The success rate can also vary significantly (20-90%), depending on factors such as fish species and position of pinbones within the fish body, post-mortem age and handling of the raw material and processing methods before pinbone removal.
    Currently, the process of removing pinbones by pulling is performed in the post-rigor state, since the pinbones are firmly bonded in the tissue of the fish after slaughtering. Therefore, it is commonly accepted that pre-rigor pinboning as well as removal pin bones during-rigor mortis of e.g. salmon is not possible, e.g. because the pinbones tend to break or, if removed, will extract some of the fish meat, thereby reducing the yield and the quality of the fish meat.
    The weakening of pinbone attachments is a relevant issue in pinbone removal, particularly in pre-rigor fish where the attachments holding the bones are strong, and post-mortem aging is still limited. Procedures that accelerate post-mortem aging of fish muscle are not fast enough, i.e. do not cause immediate effects, to enable pinbone removal when the fish is processed directly after slaughtering. Furthermore, if the methods are applied to the whole fish/fillet, they will influence the whole carcass negatively. Increased gaping can be expected since mechanisms that weaken bone attachments affect the connective tissue in general.
    The object of the present invention is to provide a method, by means of which the problems related to the removal of pinbones are relieved and in particular whereby it is made possible to remove pinbones at a relatively early stage. Further, it is an object to provide such a method, by means of which the pinbones can be satisfactorily removed, thus providing fish products having a desired quality. Thus, it is also an object of the invention to provide such a method, by means of which the pinbones can be removed without breaking and by means of which it can be avoided to remove an intolerable amount of meat from the fish together with the pinbones. Even further, it is an object to provide such a method, by means of which fish products with a desired freshness, can be provided to the customers.
    Summary of the invention
    Based on the above background it is an object of embodiments of the invention to provide such a method and an apparatus, by means of which the problems related to the removal of pinbones are relieved and in particular whereby it is made possible to remove pinbones at a relatively early stage. Generally, pinbones are relatively thin and fine bones, which are located intramuscularly, with a hard part connected to the dorsal vertebra, sticking approximately horizontally to either side with a softer part terminating near the skin of the fish. Thus, these bones remain in the fish meat after filleting.
    It is a further object of embodiments of the invention to provide such a method and an apparatus, by means of which the pinbones can be satisfactorily removed, thus providing fish products having a desired quality.
    It is a still further object of embodiments of the invention to provide such a method and an apparatus, by means of which the pinbones can be removed without breaking them and by means of which it can be avoided to remove an intolerable amount of meat from the fish together with the pinbones.
    It is a yet a further object of embodiments of the invention to provide such a method and an apparatus, by means of which fish products can be provided to the customers with a desired freshness.
    Embodiments of the invention preferably seek to mitigate, alleviate or eliminate one or more of the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art singly or in any combination. In particular, it may be seen as an object of embodiments of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a method that solves the above-mentioned problems.
    To better address one or more of these concerns, in a first aspect of the invention is a method where a localized energy is applied on the fish fillet within the area of the pinbones positions. Thus, the bone attachment around the pinbones may be weakened without affecting the rest of the fillet. Thus, the pinbones may be pulled out during the pre-rigor state without breaking, i.e. it is no longer necessary to wait up to at least 48 hours before pinbones can be securely removed until the post-rigor condition has set in. The freshness of the fish is thus secured satisfactorily which will obviously increase the value of the fish fillet.
    Results have shown that weakening of the pinbones attachments is permanent, meaning that the pin bone removal process may be performed later on, e.g. few minutes or hours later. As an example, the apparatus may be a separate apparatus from the pinbone removal apparatus, or, as will be discussed in more details later, the pinbone removal apparatus may be a part or an integral part of this apparatus.
    In a second aspect of the invention an apparatus is provided for loosening pinbones from a fish fillet, comprising: • a pinbone detection unit adapted to provide data indicating the position and alignment of pinbones in a fish fillet, • a localized energy source unit adapted to supply localized energy on the fish fillet, and • a control unit for controlling the localized energy source unit based on the data provided by the pinbone detection unit so as to supply localized energy within the area of the detected pinbones positions and under right angle according to bone alignment. Furthermore for adjusting the distance between transducer and fillet according to the size and thickness of the fillet.
    By the term fish fillet may according to the present invention mean a single fish fillet, i.e. one side of the fish, or the fish may also be in the form of a "butterfly" where the two fish fillet sides are attached, e.g. shortly after a whole fish has been gutted. Also, the fish fillet may be processed from any species of fish, e.g. salmon, white fish, and so forth.
    In one embodiment, the fish fillet is conveyed by conveyors means while the loosening pinbones from the fish fillet is performed. The conveyor means may in as an example comprise belt conveyors comprising conveyor belts.
    In one embodiment, the pinbone detection unit may comprise an X-ray apparatus and where the data indicating the position of pinbones in a fish fillet comprises X-ray data. In that way, it is possible to accurately determine the position of the pinbones in the fish fillet and also the alignment of the pinbones in the fish fillet, e.g. the X-ray data may be processed so as to determine the angle of each of the pinbones.
    In one embodiment, the localized energy source unit comprises a localized heat source unit. The localized heat source unit comprises a High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU). When ultrasound propagates through tissue, in this case, the fish fillet, the wave energy becomes absorbed and converted to heat. Bones absorb more energy than the surrounding muscle. Thus, the bones and their attachments become more strongly heated.
    The HIFU may comprise one or more focused ultrasound transducers where the focal point of the HIFI may have an ultrasonic intensity that is adapted to the localized energy or heat required. As an example, the localized heat at the pinbone locations may be selected to be but is not limited to, between 20-45°C, such as round 30°C.
    In one embodiment, the area of the detected pinbones positions includes a single area within which all the detected pinbones are positioned. In that way, the localized energy source unit may, e.g. via relative narrow energy beam, heat up a local area the covers all the pinbones.
    The localized energy source may be in the form of focused energy beam, which may have a "width" of a fraction of millimeters to several millimeters and that is emitted onto the surface of the fish fillet. As an example but not limited to, between 0.3 mm to 36 mm, such as around 3 mm. The localized energy beam may be utilized to treat the detected pinbones, while the fillet is transferred by conveyor belts.
    The following equation can be used to describe the relationship between the parameters of the transducer and the focal width (w): w = 2.44 (lf D ) λ where lf is the focal length (radius of curvature), D is the diameter (mm), and λ is the wavelength (nm) of the ultrasound beam. For instance, a 3 MHz transducer with a diameter of 3 cm and a focal length of 3 cm would have a theoretical focal width of 1.2 mm. By decreasing the frequency or increasing the ratio of the focal length to the diameter (F-number) or by, the focal width will increase. A 1 MHz transducer with the same F-number would have a theoretical focal width of 3.7 mm. It is important to note that theoretical values are typically larger than actual measured values. The most accurate values are those measured from the pressure field of the HIFU beam. However theoretical values must be used for the initial construction of the device (Joley and others, 2012).
    In one embodiment, the localized energy source unit may be attached to a moving mechanism for moving the localized energy source unit in accordance with the data indicating the position of the pinbones in the fish fillet. The moving mechanism may in one embodiment comprise a robotic arm control by the control unit that may have two or more degrees of freedom. The moving mechanism may in another embodiment comprise sliding track extending across the conveying direction of the fish fillet, and a mounting means slideable mounted to the sliding track to which the localized energy source unit is mounted to, where controlling the localized energy source unit based on the data provided by the pinbone detection unit may include moving the localized energy source unit along the sliding track. The sliding track may in one embodiment be a part of a frame structure that is slideable connected to another sliding track extending perpendicular to the previous sliding track and parallel to the conveying direction of the fish fillet, and where the controlling further includes movement along the other sliding track.
    In one embodiment, the moving mechanism comprises a tilting mechanism and where the data indicating the orientation of the pinbones in the fish fillet comprise angularly related data indicating the angle of the pins bones in the fish fillet, and where the angularly related data are used as input data in operating the tilting mechanism such that the localized energy supplied is adapted to the angular position of the pinbones in the fish fillet.
    In one embodiment, the moving mechanism may comprise height adjustment of the localized energy source, according to the size and thickness of the fillet.
    In one embodiment, the apparatus further comprises a pinbone removal apparatus for removing the pinbones of the fish fillet subsequent to supply localized energy within the area of the detected pinbone locations. Accordingly, a complete fish apparatus is provided for removing the pinbones from the fish fillet in a fully automatic way. The pinbone removal apparatus may comprise any type of pinbone removal apparatus known in the art.
    In one embodiment, the focused sound field applied to the part of the fish fillet containing pinbones comprises: a. a frequency, preferably within the interval of 0.2 MHz to 2MHz, b. a focal length preferably within the interval of 2 mm to 120 mm, c. a focal diameter preferably within the interval of 0.3 mm to 36 mm. d. a transducer-sample distance within the interval of 20 mm to 170 mm and e. a drive power preferably within the interval of 50 W to 500 W.
    The method can be applied, for example by using transducers emitting ultrasound beam with a frequency of 1 MHz, with a focal length of 75 mm, width of a focal zone (measured at -6 dB) 2.8 mm, with a transducer-sample distance of 60 mm and a drive power of 100 W.
    In general, the various aspects of the invention may be combined and coupled in any way possible within the scope of the invention. These and other aspects, features and/or advantages of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described from now on.
    Figures
    Fig. 1 shown a simulated temperature distribution close to transducer focal point, after 10 s exposure. The simulated transducer is 35 mm in diameter, has a focal length of 55 mm, and operates at 2 MHz, with 60 W of acoustic power. Image taken from Bailey and others (2003).
    Fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a first embodiment of a method according to the invention.
    Fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a modification of the first embodiment as shown in fig. 1, wherein further an x-ray inspection step in included.
    Fig. 4 shows a drawing of cross sections of backbone in cod and salmon, with ribs (ribbein) and pinbones (tykkfiskbein/pinnebein) (Buljoand others, 1999; Lynum, 1997).
    Fig. 5 is an image captured after slicing along pinbone row in cod fillet, showing the loin side of the fillet where pinbones are located. Brackets (in red font) indicate the distance between bone end and skin.
    Fig. 6 is an image captured after slicing along pinbone row in salmon fillet and after dissecting the bones from the fillet. Brackets (in red font) indicate the distance between bone end and skin.
    Fig. 7 shows image were the amount of muscle tissues removed with pinbones when pulled out from pre-rigor cod fillet is visually compared for control fillets which were at 4 °C (COD 2-4) and fillets treated with mild heating (27 °C) (COD-FI 2-4).
    Fig. 8 shows quantitative test results for the force needed to pull out pinpones from cod and salmon fillets after mild heat treatment, compared to untreated fillets (4°C). The legend demonstrates the temperature in fillets after heating.
    Fig. 9 shows quantitative test results for the force needed to pull out pinpones from cod and salmon fillets at different post-mortem age.
    Fig. 10 explains the terms transducer-sample distance and focal distance.
    Fig. 11 shows a method of applying ΗIFU in connection with conveyors.
    Fig. 12 shows the setup of a signal generator, an amplifier and a transducer needed to apply HIFU.
    Fig. 13 shows a fish fillet which has been sliced along the row of pinbones after HIFU treatment with a 3.5 MFIz transducer. Each bone was treated for 30 seconds with 45 W input power. The treatment resulted in denaturing of the fish muscle along the bones, seen here as localized white areas.
    Fig. 14 shows thermal images of fish fillets treated with a 3.5 MFIz transducer with 45 W driving power for 5 and 30 seconds.
    Fig. 15 shows quantitative test results for the force needed to pull out pinpones from cod and salmon fillets. The left column shows mean values for the treated and control samples, and the right column shows the mean difference between sample pairs. In both plots, the standard error of the mean is indicated by error bars.
    Detailed description A particular embodiment of a method according to the invention will be described in the following, where the process for submitting fish fillets to high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) field will be explained.
    The HIFU technique was initially developed for medical use. The ultrasound transducer creates a focused sound field with a very high intensity, and when the sound is directed into biological tissue, viscous losses cause part of the ultrasonic energy to be converted into heat. Since the sound field can be focused into a very narrow beam, the technique enables localized heat treatment inside the tissue. This can, for example, be used to treat tumors inside the human body without damaging the intervening tissue. The focal point of a HIFU transducer has an ultrasonic intensity in the order of 1000 W/cm3, and tissue can be heated to >70°C in 1-3 seconds (Bailey and others, 2003). The region of high temperature around the focal point of the transducer typically has a "cigar" shape, as shown in Fig. 1.
    The drive power of the transducer used influences the rate of heat dissipation in tissues. When transducers are operated at low powers, the HIFU heating effect is low compared to the rate of heat dissipation into the rest of the sample, and thus the temperature never rises above a relatively low level. Another parameter to consider is the conversion of energy from sound waves to heat which is generally more efficient at higher frequencies (Bailey and others, 2003). Differences in these parameters can partially cancel each other out. For example, when using a 680 kHz transducer is operated at a higher power (120W) and a 1 MHz transducer (100 W), one can expect approximately the same heating effect from both transducers.
    Different types of tissue have different sensitivities with regard to absorption of ultrasonic energy. Absorption in bone is several times higher than in internal soft tissue (Bailey and others, 2003). This is advantageous for the method discussed here. Thus it may be possible to effectively heat the fish bones and the connective tissues surrounding the bone, with minimum effects on the muscle tissue in the fillet. Thus, reducing the strength of bone attachments to the muscle.
    As illustrated in fig. 2 and fig. 3, fillets are provided, which fish fillets may be with or without skin when submitted to a focused ultrasound field. Furthermore, the fillets might be trimmed before or after the treatment depending on e.g. the species and/or other parameters. The fillets may have been processed from wild fish or cultered fish that are caught or otherwise provided. The fillets may by varying in post-mortem age when subjected to the ultrasound treatment. The fillets may be submitted to the ultrasound field one by one.
    The application of HIFU to fish fillet results in mild heating of localized areas in the fillet, i.e. at or around the pinbones. The pinbones are located in the connective tissue (myosepta) which segmentally separate adjacent muscle blocks (myomeres). In cod, the bones are aligned within the horizontal septum, where the belly flap and loin meet, whereas as in salmon, the bones are aligned approximately in the middle of the loin part of the fillet (fig. 4) (Buljo and others, 1999; Lynum, 1997). The distance from bone end to the skin is less in cod compared to salmon (fig. 5 and fig. 6, respectively). In salmon, the pinbones extend from the backbone in direction towards skin, but only 50-70% of the fillet thickness. The distance from bone end tends to increase from head to tail (30-50%). The tendons capsuling the bone, run from bone end to skin.
    The effect of mild heating (in the range of 25 °C to 45 °C) on fish proteins has been explained by the low heat stability of fish collagen which is an important component of the connective tissue capsuling the pinbones and attaching them to the muscle cells. For example, denaturation of cod collagen starts already at approximately 27 °C (Hastings and others, 1985; Savitri 2011). As a result, the amount of muscle tissue removed with the bone is reduced as seen in fig. 7, where control fillets (COD 2-4) were at 4 °C and fillets treated with mild heating (COD-H 2-4) at 27 °C when the pinbones were removed. Thus, mild heating can be used weaken the connective tissue which attaches bones to muscle tissue in fish. The weakening of pinbone attachments is reflected lower forces needed to pull the bones out of the fillets. The effects of mild heating (within the range of 25 °C to 45 °C) has shown to result in reduced pulling forces both in pre-and post-rigor fish (fig. 8). The measured pulling force after heating was approximately 1 kg for both cod and salmon, which was similar as to what has been observed after-rigor resolution (at least 48 hours post-mortem) for these species (fig. 9). In general, the degree of reduction may depend on e.g. fish species, post-mortem age, the season of year, catching/slaughtering methods, post-mortem handling, bone position and temperature in fillet after heating.
    As shown in fig. 2 and 3 a number of processing steps may be performed as under normal circumstances before and/or after the ultrasound treatment, for example, but not limited to, trimming of the fillets, bone detection (e.g. by x-rays), height of fillet (e.g. by) laser vision technology), which is performed before submitting the fillets to the ultrasound field, where after the pinboning process can expediently be performed. Subsequent to this, inspection for remaining bones, portioning, packaging, transport, etc. of the fish product can be performed.
    The ultrasonic treatment can be performed in numerous manners, e.g. by using transducers of different sizes, focal length (fig. 10), frequency and drive power, e.g. by altering the transducer-fillet distance (fig. 9), e.g. by operating the transducers at different power and at treatment time varying with fish species and fillet thickness.
    As shown in fig. 11, wherein fillets are shown in a schematic manner, the HIFU can be applied by means of at least one ultrasonic transducers. The ultrasonic transducer is connected to a suitable signal generator to create an electrical sine wave signal at a given frequency and an amplifier to amplify the signal (fig. 12). This device will generate the frequency needed for emitting focused ultrasound beam at or around the pinbones in the fillet.
    The technique requires a medium between the transducer and the fillet which ensures a good acoustic coupling. The simplest way to achieve this is to submerge the transducer in a water tank, e.g. which is closed with a plastic layer, with e.g. water running in slit between the layer and the fillet.
    The apparatus comprises a control unit which tilts each transducer used according to bone alignment and adjusts the transducer-fillet distance according to fillet thickness.
    In fig. 11 an arrangement for applying HIFU to a plurality offish fillets is shown in a schematic manner seen from above and from the side, where conveyors are used for transporting the fish. Thus, the conveyors, e.g. conveyor belts or the like, may be conveyors that transports the fillets from one process to another, while the focused ultrasound beam is emitted at or around the pinbones in the fillet. The application can be integrated into a normally used fish processing plant without extensive modifications. Thus, the conveyors may transport fish from the filleting, skinning (optional), e.g. laser vision device, x-ray bone detection to the pinbone removal process, or another process, or another suitable configuration may be used. The size of the slit for focusing the HIFU beam through, in combination with the conveying speed, will determine the total treatment time for each fillet.
    The HIFU stimulation can be applied to the fish in various manners, of which a few examples shall be demonstrated in the following.
    When the fish fillet is subjected to a high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), for example with a 3.5 MhZ transducer, with 45 W drive power, with a focal length of 35 mm, transducer-sample distance of 60 mm, for 30 seconds, the proteins in the tissues surrounding each bone are partly denaturated, as indicated by localized whiter strips in that part of the myosepta (fig.13 . This can be seen in fig. 6, where the fillet was sliced along the row of pinbones in the fillet after treatment. It was shown that the HIFU treatment results in localized heating of a narrow area, i.e. are limited to the focus path of the ultrasound beam (fig. 14), was shown be images from a thermal camera. Furthermore, it was shown that the bone absorb more energy than the surrounding muscle.
    Another example is the use of a 1 MHz HIFU transducer, with a 75 mm focal length, and 100 W driving power. It was shown that the localized heating by HIFU of the tissues at and around pinbones in pre-rigor cod, resulted in approximately 20-30 % reduction in the pulling forces. The effects were affected by the position of the bones in fillet, i.e. whether positioned close to head (H) or closer to the middle (H) of the fillet. The pulling force was measured using Stable Micro Systems TA-HDi texture analyzer with a 25 kg load cell. The bones were gripped with an artery forceps and were pulled vertically upwards at 10 mm/s. Pinbone pulling forces were reduced by approximately 10 % to 35 % for salmon fillets and by approximately 20 % to 30 % for cod fillets (fig. 15). For both species, the reduction varied with-rigor status (in-rigor: > 4 hours postmortem; post-rigor: 4 days post-mortem)) and pinbone location.
    The method according to the invention can as mentioned be used in connection with salmon but can be applied to other fish species as well, e.g. trout and char, which are related species to salmon. Further, the method can be used in connection with wild whitefish species such as cod, haddock, saithe and more, which also comprise pinbones, which are stuck inside the flesh most of the time even though the fish is through rigor. Furthermore, the method can be used in connection with farmed whitefish such astilapia, pangangius, catfish, seabass, seabream, etc.
    References
    Bailey MR, Khokhlova VA, Sapozhnikov OA, Crum LA. 2003. Physical mechanisms of the therapeutic effect of ultrasound (a review). Acoustical Physics, 49(4): 369-388. doi:10.1134/1.1591291 Buljo A, Erikson U, Gjerstad TB, Skjetne T, Hveding A. 1999. Teknologisok for deteksjon og fjerning av tykkfiskbein i fiskfilét. Sintef Rapport. Trondheim: Sintef. p. 34.
    Hastings RJ, Rodger GW, Park R, Matthews AD, Anderson EM. 1985. Differential scanning calorimetry of fish muscle: the effect of processing and species variation. Journal of Food Science, 50(2):503-6, 10.
    Foley JL, Vaezy S, Little JW. 2012. Image guided high intensity focused ultrasound treatment of nerves. US 8206299 B2. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/patents/US8206299,11.4.2017. Lynum L. 1997. Fisk som råstoff (2 utg.). Trondheim: Sintef.
    Savitri S. 2011. Heat Denaturation of Proteins from Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar). M.Sc. thesis. University of Stavanger 60. P
    权利要求:
    Claims (14)
    [1] 1. A method for facilitating the removal of pinbones by submitting a fish fillet to a focused ultrasound field, resulting in localized heating of pinbones and surrounding tissues.
    [2] 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one ultrasound source is placed in a material having an acoustic impedance similar or identical to the acoustic impedance of the fish fillet.
    [3] 3. Method according to any of claims 1 to 2 wherein said step of subjecting the fish to a focused ultrasound field comprises at least one localized energy source unit such as a transducer adapted to emit an ultrasound beam at or around the pinbones of the fish fillet, said one or more sources preferably being arranged in connection with a pinbone removal device.
    [4] 4. The method according to claim 1 to 4, further comprises a support on which the fish fillet is resting, the support comprises at least one opening for exposing areas of the fish fillet to the emitted ultrasound beam, wherein the fillet may be treated with skin side down or skin side up depending for example on fish species (anatomy) and whether fillets are with skin on are have been skinned.
    [5] 5. The method according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein said method further comprises the step of performing a bone detection process, for example, an X-ray detection process, which is performed subsequent to or simultaneously with the step of emitting ultrasound beam at or around the pinbones in the fish fillet.
    [6] 6. The method according to claims 1 to 5 further comprises a step of detecting the thickness (height profile) of the fillet, for example, a laser vision system performed subsequent to or simultaneously with the step of emitting ultrasound beam at or around the pinbones in the fish fillet.
    [7] 7. The method according to claim 1 to 6, comprises controlling, by a control unit, the localized energy source unit based on the data provided by the pinbone detection unit so as to supply localized energy within the area of the detected pinbones positions and under right angle.
    [8] 8. The method according to claim 1 to 7 comprises controlling by a control unit the adjustment distance between transducer and fillet according to the size and thickness of the fillet, where e.g. it may be used to move the focal zone along the bone with in the fillet.
    [9] 9. Method according to any of claims 1 to 8, wherein said step of subjecting the fish or part of the fish to an ultrasound field, for example by use a high-intensity ultrasound (HIFU) device having a predetermined frequency (MHz), focal length (mm) and drive power (W) and treatment time (s).
    [10] 10. System for processing offish, said system being configured for performing a method according to any of claims 1-10, said system comprising - means for filleting gutted fish, - means for subjecting the part of the fillet to a focused ultrasound field, - means for performing at least one further processing step of the fillet, wherein said at least one further processing step comprises the step of removing pinbones from the fillet or part of the fillet the fish, which is performed subsequent to the step of subjecting the fish or part of the fish to a focused ultrasound field, and wherein said means for performing at least one further processing step comprises means for removing pinbones.
    [11] 11. System according to claim 11, wherein said means for for subjecting part of a fillet to a focused ultrasound field comprises an transducers arrangement, arranged in connection with a fish processing plant, and comprising a signal generator to create an electrical sine wave signal at a given frequency, an amplifier to amplify the signal, and the ultrasonic transducer itself (Figure 1) for emitting focused ultrasound beam at or around the pinbones in the fillet.
    [12] 12. The system according to claim 11, 12 or 13, wherein said means for removing pinbones comprises a pinbone extracting unit.
    [13] 13. The system according to claim 14, wherein said pinbone extracting unit is a power operated device.
    [14] 14. The system according to claim 13, wherein said pinbone extracting unit is a manually operated device.
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    同族专利:
    公开号 | 公开日
    DK180080B1|2020-03-31|
    引用文献:
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    法律状态:
    2020-03-31| PME| Patent granted|Effective date: 20200331 |
    优先权:
    申请号 | 申请日 | 专利标题
    DKPA201770270A|DK180080B1|2017-04-19|2017-04-19|A method and an apparatus for loosening pinbones from fish|DKPA201770270A| DK180080B1|2017-04-19|2017-04-19|A method and an apparatus for loosening pinbones from fish|
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