AU627117B2 - Automatic animal head removal - Google Patents

Automatic animal head removal Download PDF

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Publication number
AU627117B2
AU627117B2 AU76207/91A AU7620791A AU627117B2 AU 627117 B2 AU627117 B2 AU 627117B2 AU 76207/91 A AU76207/91 A AU 76207/91A AU 7620791 A AU7620791 A AU 7620791A AU 627117 B2 AU627117 B2 AU 627117B2
Authority
AU
Australia
Prior art keywords
head
carcass
stretching
blade
reaction
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Ceased
Application number
AU76207/91A
Other versions
AU7620791A (en
Inventor
Phillip Rodney Boyce
John William Buhot
David John De Chastel
David Teal Kerr
Russel James Rankin
Robert William Tritchler
Graeme Leslie Wescombe
Raymond Malcolm White
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization CSIRO
Australian Meat and Live Stock Research and Development Corp
Original Assignee
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization CSIRO
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization CSIRO filed Critical Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization CSIRO
Priority to AU76207/91A priority Critical patent/AU627117B2/en
Publication of AU7620791A publication Critical patent/AU7620791A/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of AU627117B2 publication Critical patent/AU627117B2/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Ceased legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • AHUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A22BUTCHERING; MEAT TREATMENT; PROCESSING POULTRY OR FISH
    • A22BSLAUGHTERING
    • A22B5/00Accessories for use during or after slaughtering
    • A22B5/0017Apparatus for cutting, dividing or deboning carcasses
    • A22B5/0052Severing the head or the jaw of a carcass, slaughterhouse operations on animal heads
    • AHUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A22BUTCHERING; MEAT TREATMENT; PROCESSING POULTRY OR FISH
    • A22BSLAUGHTERING
    • A22B5/00Accessories for use during or after slaughtering
    • A22B5/0005Eviscerating devices, e.g. removing rectum, anus, intestines, brain tissue, hypophysis
    • AHUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A22BUTCHERING; MEAT TREATMENT; PROCESSING POULTRY OR FISH
    • A22BSLAUGHTERING
    • A22B5/00Accessories for use during or after slaughtering
    • A22B5/20Splitting instruments
    • A22B5/202Guides or devices for holding the carcass during the splitting operation
    • AHUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A22BUTCHERING; MEAT TREATMENT; PROCESSING POULTRY OR FISH
    • A22BSLAUGHTERING
    • A22B5/00Accessories for use during or after slaughtering
    • A22B5/20Splitting instruments
    • A22B5/203Meat or bone saws for splitting carcasses
    • A22B5/205Manual saws

Landscapes

  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Food Science & Technology (AREA)
  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Neurosurgery (AREA)
  • Processing Of Meat And Fish (AREA)

Description

7 ~Lodged2 I PF-1-1
A-
AU ST R AL IA PATENTS ACT COMPLETE SPECIFICATION 71177 OR I G I NAL (FOR OFFICE USE) C Ila SS Int Class Application Number: Lodged: Complete Specification Lodged: Accepted: Pub]lished: P r io rit y: Related Art: I I Name of Applicant *COMMONWEALTH SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL RESACHi ORGANI~SAION .ar AUSTALAN MEAT AND.IVE-TC REEAC A1ND DEVELOPMENT C9OPORAT ION Address of App]i cant Limestone Avenue,..Cam'ripbell. ACT,. 261 ad Cnr.
Actual Inventor(s) IRus sel James Rankin, David John De Chastel, Graeme LeleWso ~i .Teal1- Kerr Phil lip.Rde oc, ymid*acl WhtRober William Tritchier and John William Buhot Address for Service: PATENT ATTORNEY SERVICES 26 Ellingworth Parade, Box Hill, Victoria 3128 Complete specification for t,'e invention entitled: AUTOMATIC ANIMAL HrAD REM0V./ L The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best; method of performing it known to us..
This invention relates to the handling of animals and, in particular, to apparatus for automatic processing of animals as in :1 abattoirs, boning plants, etc.
In Australian Patent Specification Nos. 35,992/84 and 19,034/88, an animal processing line is described which includes an animal lead up race, capture and stun assembly, and hock and horn removal stations located after the animal has been stuck. The carcass is then ready for manual or automatic dressing and boning I operations.
10 An operation usually carried out manually in processing of an animal carcass is removal of the head. The carrying out of this process manually requireq substantial skill and strength and also requires a process operator thereby adding to the processing cost.
0 0 In Australian Patent Specification No. 57,413/86 there is describi~d an apparatus for automatically breaking or dislocating the ne' k of a asuspended carcass, particularly a sheep carcass. However even if .0:0this apparatus were to be adapted for use with removing the head, there would be substantial loss or downgrading of saleable meat from 0 e the neck of the carcass as a result of a substantial part of !he neck being removed with the head. Also, the head is relatively unrestrained leading to poor repeatability of the precise cut. Also the head would fall away from the apparatus so that further 0 processing of the head may need to rectify potential problems with *handling to achieve the required orientation and dealing with contamination of the fallen head.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic carcass processing apparatus capable of automatically locating and removing an animal head f rom a carcass with accuracy and minimal loss or downgrading of saleable meat, According to the present invention there is provided an apparatus for automatically processing an animal c,.rcass so as to remove the animal head from the remainder of the carcass, the apparatus including head holding means, the head holding means comprising locating means for locating in use the animal head in a generally desired position, and clamping means for clamping the head against movement, the *apparatus furthei including stretching means fur stretching the neck of the carcass so as to spread the atlas joint, and cutting means comprising a cutting blade which is 2 ii selectively movable along a cut line located below and generally along the line of the jaw and through the atlas joint so as to sever the head from the remainder of the carcass.
The locating means preferably comprises a cradle engageable with the head, the cradle being movable generally along the longitudinal direction of the head so as to 'position the cradle in the desired relative longitudinal position before clamping.. The carcass is supported preferably in an inverted position with the spine located beneath the carcass and the head hanging downwardly, the locating means being operative to relatively engage with the back of the hanging head, the locating means including sensing means for sensing the presence of the back of the head upon contact being made with the back of the head. The clamping means is preferably S 1 operative to clamp the head above the cut line, the clamping means Soar oOl 15 including a jaw clamp for urging the head into the cradle to locate and clamp the head against movement.
"oThe stretching means is preferably operative to move the head *oo holding means relatively away from the remainder of the carcass until o o there is a predetermined reaction against further stretching of the head away from the carcass. The stretching mratans may include a reaction sensor mounted to the head holding means, the reaction sensor being located so as to be contacted by the crown of the head ooowhereby upon stretching of the neck the crown of the head acts against the reaction sensor with a force sensed by the reaction 25 sensor.
The cutting blade preferably comprises a shear blade movable from the throat region generally along the jaw line, the shear blade being operatively associated with a shear reaction blade carried by 0000 °o o the head holding means, the shear reaction blade being located during 30 the cutting operation adjacent the crown of the head and behind the spread atlas joint.
At the head removal station, the equipment can be thoroughly cleaned and/or sterilized for reuse so as to prevent cross contamination of carcasses, To this end, the design of such equipment takes into account the need for thorough cleaning.
Possible and preferred features of the present invention will now be described with particular reference to the accompanying drawings. However it is to be understood that the features 3 ir t illustrated in and described with reference to the drawings are not to be construed as limiting on the scope of the invention. In the drawings: FIGS. 1 and 2 show an apparatus whereby the head of a carcass may be automaticaly removed.
In an abattoir live animals are brought from holding yards, separated and isolated, immobilized, stunned and stuck. After bleeding and removal of hocks and horns, manual hide prearation may take place. While the carcass is inverted, hide is released from the legs and under body to depend at the carcass sides in preparation for further removal automatically at a later stage along the line as is described in Australian Patent Specification No. 29,199/89. The legs o o are then shackled and the shackles are engaged with overhead rails so that, with a suitable drive, which may be similar to existing chains, o 15 the carcass is drawn upwardly to an elevated position for further processing. Manual operations continue to prepare the carcass for head removal, hide removal and evisceration. This may include severing the head hide; removal of the muzzle; recordal of tooth number; removal of the tongue; and complete tne clearing of the oesophagus, trachea and arteries from the thoracic cavity. The tongue and then the head may be passed to a separate conveyor to be o" separately processed. Head removal may be an automatic operation o o utilising apparatus as is described in Specification No. 29,199/89.
Also at the rear end of the carcass, a series of manual 25 operations may be carried out to prepare for aitchbone cutting, hide removal, evisceration and splitting. This may include rumping; mark and strip the tail; remove tail bush; remove the pizzle and erector o muscles; clear and pull the rectum and bung (sphincter); and bag the o anus.
Automatic operations may begin after the manual preparation steps and stations enabling this are described below. After most processes, the carcass is split by a suitable means such as a band saw o: rotary saw. Inspection may be undertaken at various stages withi condemned carcasses ejected from the line. Trimming may proceed with further inspection after carcass splitting. Carcasses requiring further trimming may be ejected from the line to enable further processing. Finished carcasses may be fed off onto a storage line 1 when carcasses are washed, inspected, etc. on their way to chiller 4 rooms of the usual character. Inspection is undertaken as usual with those carcasses that require it being ejected for a rewash.
Decontamination may be undertaken with grading being performed when necessary. The front leg may be released to allow the carcass half to hang from its bacc leg. The removed shackle might be fed back to the head of the line automatically.
In the following description, there is set out a particular preferred structure for a processing station where heads are removed. The actual placement of this station along a processing line of the above described character may be varied according to particular objectives.
To improve the hide pulling cycle time and reduce the forces generated on the forequarter of the carcass by pulling the hide over the head, it is advantageous to remove the head before hide removal 19 and head skin at a separate station. For head removal, the carcass is preferably suspended by the four legs, inclined head down approximately to the horizontal in order to reduce the effect of 0 the bulging of the hump behind the neck on some animals. The inclined aigle of carcass may be set at 30' to maintain uniformity iLirough prccessing stages.
In' its operation, the carcass is located centrally over the 0~00 0~head removal mechanism, which is described below and the cutting o cycle is triggered. FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate the features of such a mechanism.
The f irst operation of the auto cycle is to operate head holding mans 12 to locate ard hold the head and position the cutting Imeans 151. This is achieved by the activation of two limit switches 0~~0 o152 and 153 mounted an the cutting means 151. When the auto cycle 0 begins the cutting means~ 151 swings up through an arc until the back of the head 1C is sensed by switch 152. This ensures that the head is in contact with the head locating means 13 shown as head cradle 154. The unit then Uises vertically until the backbone is sensed by switch 153, positioning the crown of the head 10 in front of the shear reaction blade 155.
It is essential -to0 clamp the head firmly by clamping means 14 t- ensure a successful cut. If the head 10 is allowed to roll as the shear blade 156 passes through, then the cutting efficiency is reduced as the drawing action of the blade 156 relative to the head is negated, causing the blade 156 to stall.
The clamping means 14 may operate in two stages: When the head 10 is in position relative to the cutting means 151, the neck bails 157 swing by any convenient means in the direction of arrows A through 90° to ensure the neck 11 is contained centrally. Simultaneously the jaw clamp 158 swings down onto the head 10 by action of any suitable means (not shown), pushing the head firmly into the vee shaped cradle 154.
When neck bails 157 and jaw clamps 158 are in position, the cutting means 151 pulls down by operation of stretching means until the crown 16 of the head 10 pulls back up hard against the shear reaction blade 155. This action, while ensuring that the crown 16 of the head 10 is located against the reaction blade 155, also puts the neck 11 i.n tension to spread the atlas joint to aid the 0o o cutting action of the blade 156. Proof of the neck stretching is 15 provided by a reaction sensor 17 such as a pressure switch or limit o o switch mounted on the reaction blade face.
Then when the neck 11 of the carcass has been stretched, the head transfer clamps 159 lock onto the side of the head 10 to prevent a 000 any rocking motion of the head during cutting.
The cutting blade 156 and reaction blade 155 co-operate to describe a scissor action with the cutting blade following the line of the jaw 9 to shear the head through the atlas joint. Any suitable 0000o o' o means may be used to actuate the blade 156. The aim of cutting close 0900 0 to the jaw 9 is to leave as much saleable meat on the carcass as possible, and minimise the amount of trimming from the head 10 on the head processing line. Following the removal of the head 10, the head transfer clamps 159 swing the severed head out to transfer it to the head processing line. The mechanism then resets for the next o o carcass.
0. J 30 The head cradle 154 centralises the head 10 for clamping and ensures that the jaw line is approximately parallel with the cutting blade 156. The gap 160 between the guides 161 and 162 prevents the bridge of the muzzle from rotating. Ram 163 operates to raise the unit on arm 166 up guide rails 164 and 165. The cutting means 151 is pivotally mounted on arm 166 at 167 whereby the angle of cutting means 151 is adjustable. -A stretching means 15 comprises a ram 168 enabling the captured head 10 to be drawn downwardly so as to stretch the neck 11. Additional rams (not shown) operate the clamps and cutting blade.
It is to be understood that various alterations, modifications and/or additions may be made to the features of the possible and preferred embodiment(s) of the invention as herein described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
o ao S00 too Q o S OQo 0 0 4 o a 0 0 9 «0 0 4 0B a 94 7 I g

Claims (8)

1. An apparatus for automatically processing an animal carcass so as to remove the animal head from the remainder of the carcass, the apparatus including head holding means, the head holding means comprising locating means for locating in use the animal head in a generally desired positionL, and clamping means for clamping the head against movement, the apparatus further including stretching means for stretching the neck of the carcass so as to spread the atlas joint, and cutting means comprising a cutting blade which is selectively movable along a cut line located below and generally along the line of the jaw and through the atlas joint so as to sever the head from the remainder of the carcass.
2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the locating means comprises a cradle engageable with the head, the cradle being movable generally along the longitudinal direction of the head so as to position the cradle in the desired relative longitudinal position before clamping.
3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein the carcass is in an inverted position with the spine located beneath the carcass and the head hanging downwardly, the locating means being operative to relatively engage with the back of the hanging head, the locating means including sensing means for sensing the presence of the back of the head upon contact being made with the back of the head.
4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2 or 3 wherein the clamping means is operative to clamp the head above the cut line, the clamping means including a jaw clamp for urging the head into the cradle to locate and clamp the head against movement.
An apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the o .stretching means is operative to move the head holding means relatively away from the remainder of the carcass until there is a predetermined reaction against further stretching of the head away from the carcass.
6. An apparatus as claimed in 5 wherein the stretching means includes a reaction sensor mounted to the head holding means, the reaction sensor being located so as to be contacted by the crown of the head whereby upon stretching of the neck the crown of the head acts against the reaction sensor with a force sensed by the reaction sensor. 8 -e L- -e ICL I J ~s r
7. An apparatus as claimed in any one of claims in 1 to 6 wherein the cutting blade comprises a shear blade movable from the throat region generally along the jaw line, the shear blade being operatively associated with a shear reaction blade carried by the head holding means, the shear reaction blade being located during the cutting operation adjacent the crown of the head and behind the spread atlas joint.
8. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 and substantially as herein before described with particular reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this 26th day of ^pril 1991 PATENT ATTORNEY SERVICES Attorneys for COMMONWEALTH SCIENTIFIC INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH ORGANISATION and AUSTRALIAN MEAT LIVE-STOCK RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION O4 6 0 0 &t o 41 t ^r o I4 9
AU76207/91A 1987-12-23 1991-04-29 Automatic animal head removal Ceased AU627117B2 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AU76207/91A AU627117B2 (en) 1987-12-23 1991-04-29 Automatic animal head removal

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AUPI604587 1987-12-23
AUPI6045 1987-12-23
AU76207/91A AU627117B2 (en) 1987-12-23 1991-04-29 Automatic animal head removal

Related Parent Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
AU29199/89A Division AU615024B2 (en) 1987-12-23 1988-12-22 Automatic animal processing

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
AU7620791A AU7620791A (en) 1991-08-01
AU627117B2 true AU627117B2 (en) 1992-08-13

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AU76207/91A Ceased AU627117B2 (en) 1987-12-23 1991-04-29 Automatic animal head removal

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Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
AU705999B2 (en) * 1994-07-20 1999-06-03 New Zealand Meat Research & Development Council A method of dressing a carcass

Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2994908A (en) * 1959-09-08 1961-08-08 Canada Packers Ltd Head puller for hogs and the like

Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2994908A (en) * 1959-09-08 1961-08-08 Canada Packers Ltd Head puller for hogs and the like

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AU7620791A (en) 1991-08-01

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