Butchering – Carcass subdivision – While internally supported on a mandrel
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-04
2001-06-26
Little, Willis (Department: 3643)
Butchering
Carcass subdivision
While internally supported on a mandrel
C452S166000, C452S151000, C452S156000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06251004
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an apparatus for automatically cutting a poultry carcass into a suitable number of pieces. The preferred form of the invention cuts a carcass into eight pieces.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Apparatus for automatically cutting poultry carcasses into pieces is known for example from U.S. Pat. No. 2,807,046 which issued Sep. 24, 1957 to Hebenheimer, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,639,945 which issued Feb. 8, 1972 to Duncan, Dapec and Johnson. These machines use relatively complicated conveying means including a conveying chain and rotating bird holding modules for the poultry. Another automatic machine for the cutting of poultry carcasses into pieces is known for example from U.S. Pat. No. 4,019,223 which issued Apr. 26, 1977 to Baker and was never fully operable in a production setting because its air logic, poor cutting accuracy, and safety concerns.
Hand-operated devices are also used for slitting the carcasses of poultry. These devices include a bar which projects into the central cavity of the carcass during the cutting operation as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,941,238 which issued Jun. 21, 1960, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,284,846, which issued Nov. 15, 1966, both to Reeves, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,957,198 which issued Oct. 25, 1960 to Cianciolo.
The present invention provides an apparatus which is compact, accurately cuts a poultry carcass into as many as twelve pieces, substantially automatically, and which does not require the use of a conveyor of the chain type and does not need any rotating modules.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present intention, apparatus for cutting poultry comprises support means including a guide bar having a projecting end suitable for being inserted through the central cavity of a poultry carcass and a power driven feeding mechanism controlled by a programmable logic controller for moving the carcass along the support means, this feeding mechanism including power cylinder means arranged to cause reciprocating movement of claw means along the support means. The claws means are arranged to engage the poultry carcass when the two-hand controlled sensors are covered simultaneously and the poultry carcass sensor detects a carcass in the loading means on the support means, and to cause movement of the carcass through cutting blade means mounted adjacent said support means on operation of said cylinder means.
The claw means preferably includes a holder carrying two hingedly movable elements having curved shaped end portions, these elements can admit between them a carcass on the bar, to an engaged position in which the elements extend generally towards each other to grip the carcass between them. The elements move from the disengaged position to the engaged position when the two-hand sensors are covered simultaneously and the bird sensor detects a poultry carcass in the loading means so as to grip the carcass and move it relative to the blade means when the claw means move in the feeding direction. The hinged elements may be biased into the engaged position by the rod means which are moved by the cylinder means. The hinged elements can move into the disengaged position once a complete cycle of the apparatus is completed and at the ready position to receive another carcass with the claw means biased in the disengaged position.
Once a poultry carcass is placed on the bar that projects forward from the bird support mandrel and the two-hand sensors are covered simultaneously and the bird sensor detects a poultry carcass in the loading means on the bar, the claw means will obtain the carcass by both sides of the carcasses thigh portion and pull the carcass rearward through a series of operations which will cut the carcass into the required configuration. Under the bar is the breast guide means. The breast guide means is a V-grooved incline with angular rods projecting rearward from the aft top portion of the breast guide mandrel extending horizontally and inward towards the breast-cut blade. The breast guide mandrel allows for the precise positioning of the breast portion of the carcass and also centers the whole poultry carcass. The carcass is moved past the breast guide mandrel and the drumstick aligning means will obtain the drumstick portions of the carcass and guide the drumsticks through a band saw that severs the drumsticks from the carcass. The next operation after the drumstick removal is the breast splitting. The breast splitting operation is very dependent on the breast guide means which centers the breast for an exact cut down the middle of the breast portion of the carcass. As the claw means continue to progress rearward after the drumstick removal means the carcass will pass over a gap in between the breast guide means and the bird support means. In the aforementioned gap sits the circular rotating breast splitting blade which splits the breast precisely down the middle producing two equal halves so that the carcass can continue rearward still under the power of the claw means and transfer from the bar to the bird support mandrel. The bird support mandrel means has side surfaces which slope away from a central ridge area and is suitable for supporting the sides of the carcass and may set up the wing removal operation if wing removal is necessary.
Wing removal is accomplished by first having the wings of the carcass obtained by the wing extractor means. The wing extractor means consists of a pair of vertical bars on which is mounted a device so designed as to position and hold the wings in position during the wing cutting process (by the wing cutting means) and to extract the wing upon completion of the wing cut. The movement of the wing extractor means is fore and aft and is mechanically linked to the wing cutting means. In addition to the wing extractor means is the wing joint locating the support means. The wing joint locating the support means are 2 horizontal rods mounted vertically to each other as to create enough of a space to allow the wings of the carcass to pass through. The top rod is allowed to flex upwards by spring action as not to stop the machine process due to non-passage of the wing at this point of the operation. Once the wings are in the grasp of the wing extractor and the wing joint locating and supporting means are holding the wings secure for their removal, the wing cutting means is moved into place by power cylinder means and the wings may be removed from the poultry carcass.
The ridge area of the supporting bird support mandrel preferably includes a grooved portion into which projects a back bone splitting blade which slits the back bone of the carcass as it moves along the bird support mandrel. The back bone is located prior to the splitting blade by a spring loaded back locating means which centers the back bone for the slitting process. Also, transverse blade means are provided and carried by a movable mounting arranged to move the blade means from a position spaced away from the bird support mandrel into a transverse slot in the bird support mandrel to cut the carcass into longitudinal portions.
The apparatus also includes deflecting plates which direct cut pieces of the carcass onto a conveyor belt below the apparatus. The conveyor belt is driven in step by step manner by electric means, so as to be stationary while receiving the pieces of one or two carcasses, and then moved to expose a fresh area of the belt.
The power cylinder means are preferably mounted rearwardly of the bird support mandrel and extend parallel rearwardly of the bird support mandrel and extend parallel to the bar and the bird support mandrel, the piston rod means thereof projecting forwardly beyond the bird support mandrel when fully extended so that the claw means can grip a carcass on the bar and move this by retraction of the cylinder means, rearwardly along the bar and along the bird support mandrel.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2807046 (1957-09-01), Hebenheimer
patent: 2941238 (1960-06-01), Reeves
patent: 2957198 (1960-10-01), Cianciolo et al.
patent: 3284846 (1966-11-01), Reeves
patent: 3639945 (1972-02-
Bartz Richard O.
Little Willis
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