Butchering – Slaughtering – Stunning
Patent
1994-04-12
1996-01-30
Little, Willis
Butchering
Slaughtering
Stunning
452 59, A22B 306
Patent
active
054876982
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the sequential passage of a known electrical current through a series of items of varying electrical resistance, and in particular to the passage of current through fowl with the purpose of killing or of stunning the fowl.
2. Related Background Art
There are various regulations aimed at minimizing pain or distress of fowl being slaughtered for human consumption. One method of meeting the regulations involves the use of electric shocks for killing the fowl or for stunning the fowl prior to slaughter. Although this specification relates to apparatus which might be used for killing fowl as well as to apparatus for stunning fowl, for convenience only the latter will be referred to hereafter. The conventional method of effecting this uses a moving shackle train from which the fowl are suspended head down so that the heads are passed through a water bath, the train and water bath having electrical connections such that an electrical current passes through the fowl and stuns them. Conventionally the train and water bath have a constant voltage applied across them. However it has been found in practice that the resistance of individual fowl varies considerably. Also the effective resistance can be affected by adjacent fowl coming into contact. As a result the current passing through the fowl varies considerably, and it appears that a significant number of fowl are only partially stunned.
Whilst one method of ensuring proper stunning of all fowl is to apply a voltage high enough to ensure a sufficient current through the most resistive fowl this results in unnecessary expense and also to high currents through less resistive fowl which can, in some circumstances, have deleterious effects.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention an apparatus for passing an electrical current through each of a series of items of varying electrical resistance, includes a continuous shackle train having shackles evenly spaced along its length, a water bath, electrical circuitry having a connection to the bath and means for connecting the circuitry to the shackles, characterised in that any item bridging a shackle and the water bath completes an individual electrical circuit which is adapted to supply a predetermined current to each item and to maintain the predetermined current for a predetermined time, the predetermined current being the same for each item.
The predetermined time may be set by the dimensions of the components and the speed at which the shackles are moved.
In one form of the invention the apparatus has a plurality of rails, each rail having an electrically conducting portion, each shackle having an electrical contact with one of the rails, adjacent shackles contacting different rails, the spacing of the shackles, the dimensions of the water bath, the number of rails, and the circuitry being such that when articles depend from the shackles so as to bridge shackles and the water bath, each rail is involved in no more than one circuit.
The shackles are preferrably carried on plastic trolleys hanging from nylon wheels which run on a track.
The electrical contacts may conveniently be sprung carbon brushes.
The electrical circuitry preferrably incorporates means for switching on and off an electrical supply to an inductor such that the current passing through each item is dependant on the ratio between the time when a voltage is applied across the inductor to the time when there is zero voltage.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
One embodiment of the present invention, for use in stunning fowl prior to slaughter, will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, of which:
FIG. 1 is an elevation of one embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 2 is a block circuit diagram of electrical circuitry suitable for use with the embodiment of FIG. 1, and
FIGS. 3 and 4 are detailed circuit diagrams corresponding to parts of the block circuit of FIG. 2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF
REFERENCES:
patent: 2621362 (1952-12-01), Cosden
patent: 2879539 (1959-03-01), Cervin
patent: 3555594 (1971-01-01), Groover et al.
patent: 3828397 (1974-08-01), Harben
patent: 4751767 (1988-06-01), Walther
patent: 5306200 (1994-04-01), Ripol et al.
patent: 5433658 (1995-07-01), Kettlewell et al.
Kettlewell Peter J.
Paice Mark E. R.
Sparrey Julian M.
Whetlor William C.
British Technology Group Ltd.
Little Willis
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