GB2154530A

GB2154530A - Fish conveyor

Info

Publication number: GB2154530A
Application number: GB08502415A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Horst Braeger
Original assignee: Nordischer Maschinenbau Rud Baader GmbH and Co KG
Current assignee: Nordischer Maschinenbau Rud Baader GmbH and Co KG
Priority date: 1984-02-03
Filing date: 1985-01-31
Publication date: 1985-09-11
Also published as: SE8405287L; NO850415L; CA1241160A; IS2954A7; GB8502415D0; GB2154530B; IS1320B6; DE3403771C1; FR2559032A1; FR2559032B1; SE8405287D0

Abstract

A fish conveyor comprises saddle-shaped support elements (1) for receiving fish (7) in their belly cavities (9) and for conveying the same past filleting tools. The part of each support element (1) coming into contact with the fish skeleton is formed in such a way that a well-defined alignment is possible so that filleting tools for severing belly and back spokes can be adjusted more closely to achieve a higher yield. The contact part of each element (1) comprises, for this purpose, two upwardly projecting spaced side walls (4) with toothed upper edges and defining therebetween a channel having a width less than a pre-determined minimum diameter of the belly cavity portion of the backbone of fish (7) to be conveyed by the conveyor. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Fish conveyor The present invention relates to a fish conveyor and has particular reference to a conveyor in a fish filleting, especially for fish of the Gadidae family.

With the mechanical processing of fish, in particular with the aim of producing muscle flesh in the form of fillets, it is of essential interest to achieve as high a yield as possible in the form of this product by high throughput, it being desirable at the same time that the fillets are produced boneless.

Furthermore, these demands should be obtainable with as little expense as possible. In particular, in view of the two last-mentioned requirements, for conveying purposes conveying means of the type called pushing saddles have been found favourable in the processing of fish of medium size or larger.

This is based on the fact that an alignment of the saddles fish according to the position of the lower edge of the backbone (vertebral column) takes place by these conveying means and simultaneously the position of the belly cavity end is definitely determined by the end of the pushing saddle. The latter function in partiucíar has the advantage that a reference point is fixed for the operation of filleting tools, which point can be detected by the conveyor in a simple manner by monitoring the respective position of the pushing saddle during its passage. As this association is independent of the respective fish size, the controlling of such machines is very simple. In this way it is guaranteed that, for example, the flank cut to sever the ribs with the effect of high yield with simultaneous bone freedom can be made at exactly the right place.The definite alignment of the fish with regard to the position of its symmetrical plane cannot be safeguarded, however, with the known design of the pushing saddle. This becomes obvious from German (Fed. Rep) Patent specification No. 12 39 827, which shows a machine with a conveying means of such kind. The pushing saddle, termed a trough-shaped support element, here has supporting edges with teeth, which supporting edges with regard to the width of the trough are formed to support the fish skeleton next to the backbone i.e. on the lateral vertebral appendages.

Since fish of non-uniform sizes are processed, this means that correct lateral guidance is provided of only those fish whose backbones have a diameter which corresponds to the clear inside dimension of the trough. Furthermore, it has proved difficult to process "distorted" fish satisfactorily since such a support can lead to the symmetrical plane of the fish not always corresponding with the deflection plane of the conveyor. Such an imperfect position cannot be compensated for with certainty by external guide means. As a result of this, the knives of the filleting tools, for example knives severing the belly and back spokes, cannot be adjusted as narrowly as would be possible according to the anatomy of the fish without the danger of cutting into the bones.

It would thus be desirable to provide a support element which ensures a lateral alignment of the fish skeleton and leaves freedom for the alignment of the fish symmetrical plane in the deflection plane of the conveyor through external guide means.

According to the present invention there is provided a fish conveyor comprising a plurality of saddle conveying devices which each comprise a support element for supporting and conveyingly engaging a fish in its belly cavity, the support element being provided with spaced side walls defining an upwardly open channel therebtween and having toothed supporting edges and the clear spacing of the side walls in the region of the supporting edges being smaller than a predetermined minimum diameter of the vertebrae, in the belly cavity, of fish to be conveyed by the conveyor.

The conveyor, which may be part of a fish filleting device, preferably comprises saddle-shaped conveying devices for the fish, each device including a support element, formed with a groove, for supporting and conveyingly engaging a fish in its belly cavity and for conveying the fish along filleting tools, the groove being bounded by side walls with supporting edges provided with teeth. The clear distance of the side walls of the groove in the region of the supporting edges is smaller than the diameter of the vertebrae of that part of the backbone, of the smallest fish coming to be processed, which extends along the belly cavity.Such a conveyor may have the advantage that belly and back filleting knives can be adjusted in the region of about half a millimeter narrower, which amounts to an increase in yield of fillet flesh of up to about 1.5 percent, for example with cod of about 40 centimetres in length. It is further to be observed in the use of scraping knives for scraping off the fillet flesh from the ribs or vertebral appendages that the flesh positioned in the bend between the projections of the vertebral appendages on the backbone and the back spokes is scraped out cleaner so that the fillets appear to be of better visual quality.

Preferably, the side walls extend in a converging manner with respect to each other towards the end of the support element which is directed to the belly cavity end of the fish, so as to take into account the fact that the diameter of the vertebrae decreases towards the end of the belly cavity.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be more particularly described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure I is a side view of a support element of a conveyor embodying the invention, together with a transparently depicted fish rump on the support element; Figure 2 is a plan top view of the support element; and Figure 3 is a cross section of a fish skeleton in the region of the belly cavity and of the support element.

Referring now to the drawings there is shown a support element 1 of a conveyor driven in a suitable way to rotate continuously, which conveyor is part of a fish filleting machine and is not shown in detail. The conveyor is equipped with further such support elements arranged at equal pitch. Each support element 1 comprises a carrying web 2 of relatively small thickness, which is provided at its upper edge with a groove 3 running in the longitudinal direction of the web 2 in such a manner that their spacing from each other diminishes in the conveying direction so that the groove 3 ends in a horn 6.

In use, a fish rump 7 opened at its belly and gutted is held ready with its tail end 8 in the conveying direction (indicated by the arrow in Figure 1) and with its belly pointing downwardly over the path of the support elements 1. On the approach of a support element 1, the fish rump 7 is lowered first of all at the tail end 8 and is moved together with the element 1 so that the element penetrates the belly cavity 9 of the fish and finally comes to rest on the backbone 11 in the region of the belly cavity end 10. By reduction of the co-movement speed, the horn 6 of the element 1 is brought to rest at the end 10 of the belly cavity 9. At this moment the fish rump 7 is released so that the whole length of the belly cavity 9 comes to rest on the element 1, the support being achieved in such a way that the upper edges of the side walls 4 engage the individual vertebrae 13 beneath the starting points of the lateral vertebral appendages 12.

In this way, on the one hand, it is achieved that the axis of the vertebral column 11 lies centrally over the groove 3 under positive lateral guidance and, on the other hand, freedom exists for the alignment of the symmetrical plane of the skeleton by pairs of outer, centrally symmetrical synchronised guides.

Claims

1. A fish conveyor comprising a plurality of saddle conveying devices which each comprise a support element for supporting and conveyingly engaging a fish in its belly cavity, the support element being provided with spaced side walls defining an upwardly open channel therebetween and having toothed supporting edges and the clear spacing of the side walls in the region of the supporting edges being smaller than a predetermined minimum diameter of the vertebrae, in the belly cavity, of fish to be conveyed by the conveyor.

2. A conveyor as claimed in claim 1, wherein said side walls of each support element extend convergently in direction towards an end of the element which, in use, faces the tail end of the fish belly cavity.

3. A fish conveyor substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.