Butchering – Modelling – Visceral cavity closure
Patent
1996-12-06
1998-04-07
Little, Willis
Butchering
Modelling
Visceral cavity closure
452174, A22C 2100
Patent
active
057357366
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates in general to a retainer or truss for poultry or fowl and pertains, more specifically, to a retainer for securing hocks of small fowl during processing, shipping and cooking.
Whole bodies of eviscerated poultry such as chicken are currently packed and shipped for retail to the consumer. In some instances, the eviscerated chicken are flavorized prior to shipping and cooked by the retailer prior to sale. Cooking of the chickens is often accomplished by skewering the chickens and mounting them on a rotisserie for baking in an oven. Since chicken legs tend to loosen during cooking, it is usually the practice to secure the legs to the body during cooking. In one common method of securement, the skin is slit and the leg tucked beneath the skin. This method of securing chicken legs during cooking suffers from a number of disadvantages, including possible contamination of the chicken and difficulties in cooking if the leg comes out of the slit due to improper formation of the slit.
Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a retainer for use with a body of eviscerated poultry to secure the hocks of the fowl close to the body during shipping and cooking.
Another object of the invention is to provide a retainer of the above character which is suitable for use with small poultry such as chicken.
Another object of the invention is to provide a retainer of the above character which can be easily attached to the chicken body.
Another object of the invention is to provide a retainer of the above character which is suitable for an automated installation process.
Another object of the invention is to provide a retainer of the above character which can be utilized to indicate characteristics of the chicken such as flavor.
In general, the invention consists of a retainer for use with a body of eviscerated fowl having first and second legs with respective hocks. The retainer includes a unitary substantially planar thin plastic member which mounts about the hocks. The thin plastic member has an outer portion defining an opening which is elongated and of sufficient size to receive the legs. A plurality of protuberances integral with the outer portion extend inwardly into the opening for engaging the legs so as to hold the legs in a position extending perpendicular to the thin plastic member substantially parallel to each other when the thin plastic member is mounted about the hocks.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of this specification, illustrate several embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
FIG. 1 is top plan view of the retainer of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the retainer of FIG. 1 taken along the line 2--2 of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the retainer of FIG. 1 taken along the line 3--3 of FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a chicken with the retainer of FIG. 1 in position thereon.
FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the chicken of FIG. 4 skewered for mounting in a rotisserie.
FIG. 6 is top plan view of another embodiment of the retainer of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is top plan view of another embodiment of the retainer of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a top plan view of a chicken with the retainer of FIG. 7 in position thereon.
FIG. 9 is a rear elevational view taken along the line 9--9 of FIG. 8 of the retainer of FIG. 7.
Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. While the invention will be described in conjunction with the preferred embodiments, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to those embodiments. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover alternatives, modifications and equivalents, which may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
Turning now to the drawings, wherein like components are designated by like referenc
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Little Willis
Volk Enterprises Inc.
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