US 12,274,271 B2
System and method for automatically suspending poultry from a carrier of a conveyor
Aloysius Christianus Van Steijn, Oostzaan (NL); Rick Sebastiaan Van Stralen, Oostzaan (NL); and René Gerardus Hendricus Ai, Oostzaan (NL)
Assigned to Meyn Food Processing Technology B.V., Oostzaan (NL)
Filed by Meyn Food Processing Technology B.V., Oostzaan (NL)
Filed on Apr. 21, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/137,497.
Claims priority of application No. 2031671 (NL), filed on Apr. 22, 2022.
Prior Publication US 2023/0337687 A1, Oct. 26, 2023
Int. Cl. A22C 21/00 (2006.01)
CPC A22C 21/0046 (2013.01) [A22C 21/0053 (2013.01)] 19 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A system for automatically suspending poultry from a carrier of a carrier conveyor, the poultry having a breast and legs, the system comprising:
an imaging device;
a decision-making tool to which the imaging device is connected, wherein the decision-making tool processes images of the poultry suspended on a feedline that are received from the imaging device; and
a vision-guided robot for picking up the poultry from the feedline and suspending the poultry by the legs from the carrier of the carrier conveyor;
wherein the decision-making tool is arranged to detect and select the poultry and, when the breast of the selected poultry is engaging the feed-line, to control the vision guided robot to pick up such selected poultry from the feedline by engaging the poultry at the legs and subsequently suspending the poultry by the legs from the carrier of the carrier conveyor.