IE41518B1 - A method and an apparatus for packing poultry in bags - Google Patents

Abstract

1525559 Packaging poultry BRDR SCHUR INTERNATIONAL AS 26 Aug 1975 [27 Aug 1974] 37395/74 Heading B8C Apparatus for packaging slaughtered chickens and similar poultry comprises a leg-engaging pusher 241 for moving a chicken along a shoot having opposed wall portions 46, 50 to compress the chicken, and into a bag held on the end of the shoot. The chickens may be fed along the start of the shoot by pushers 201, on an endless chain. There is a slot between the front and rear portion of the shoot to permit withdrawal of the pushers from the shoot. The slot is normally closed by reciprocation of the front portion 61. The opposed walls 46, and the walls 50 and plates 141 which are moved respectively inwardly and downwardly by cylinders 52, 54, press the legs against the body of the chicken. The pusher 241, one of several on an endless chain 60 urges the legs forwardly us the chicken is pushed along the converging walls of the front shoot portion 61. At the front of the shoot is a spout member 161 composed of an upper half pivoted to a lower half. The member 161 is movable forwardly into the top bag of a stack (68) mounted on a pin (74), the bag being opened by air from a nozzle 66 secured to the upper half. A bag clamp (72) is secured to the upper half. In a simplified version (Fig. 3, not shown) there are pushers (20, 24) which are reciprocated, stationary plates (14), and a one-piece fixed spout member (16). The shoot walls may alternatively be formed by belts.

Description

The present invention relates to a method of packing slaughtered, oven-ready chickens and similar poultry into bags.

In the poultry slaughter-houses the chickens are 5 normally put into individual plastics bags,this being the preferred manner of packing the chickens to be frozen in the general freezing line and distributed to the retailer's shop, and to restaurants etc. The chickens would be rather easy to put into the bags in an automatic manner, if it was not a demand that the packings should be as compact as possible, this involving that the legs of the chickens should be pressed forwardly in the bag partly for making the packing as short as possible, and partly for causing the thighs to be laid against the body of the chicken for making the packing bulky but compact. Various attempts have been made to carry out the packing in an automatic manner, but no successful attempt has been reported so far, and generally all over the world the packing of the vast amount of chickens produced every day is done purely manually by a high number of experienced workers who put the chickens into the bags and press the legs of the chickens as required for obtaining the desired result.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of packing a slaughtered chicken or other poultry into a bag, comprising the steps of placing the chicken on its back in a receiver portion of a chute which portion has upwardly and outwardly inclined side walls, pushing the chicken along the chute to a constriction zone in the chute in which zone the chicken is transversely compressed by an inwardly directed pressure acting on the opposite thighs of the chicken to move the free ends of the legs inwardly towards each other, and applying a pushing force to the chicken while the chicken is held compressed to move the chicken into a bag arranged at the end of the constriction zone.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided an apparatus for packing slaughtered chickens or other poultry, comprising a chute, a receiver portion of which has upwardly and outwardly inclined side walls, means for moving the chicken therealong, said chute having a constriction zone at which means are provided for laterally compressing a chicken which is present at or passing through said zone so that the free ends of the legs move relatively towards each other, ano pusher means operable to engage the free ends of the legs when the chicken is in its compressed state and to push the chicken into a bag downstream of the constriction zone.

Two forms of packing apparatus according to the invention will now be described, by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which :Figure 1 is a schematic top elevation of one form of packing apparatus, Figure 2 is a side elevation thereof, Figure 3 is a perspective view thereof, Figure 4 is a perspective view of another form of packing apparatus, and 41518 - 4 Figures 5-7 are sectional side elevations of the apparatus of Figure 4 illustrating the different operational functions thereof.

As shown in the schematic views of Figures 1-3 5 the packing apparatus comprises a chute 2 having a first portion 4 with vertically tapering side walls,a portion 6 having upright side walls 8 which taper slightly towards the front or delivery end of the chute located at the left hand end thereof, and an intermediate portion 10 having side walls 12 which interconnect the tapering side walls of the first portion 4 with the upright walls of the portion 6 so as to generally taper or narrow towards the left. The portions 10 and 6 provide a compaction zone of the chute. Overhead the intermediate portion is mounted a pair of opposed, parallel guiding, plate strips 14 which are downwardly inclined towards the left. The outlet end of the chute communicates with a slightly funnel shaped outlet spout member 16, the free end of which is operable to receive and temporarily hold the mouth portion of an open bag 18.

In the first chute portion 4 is located a pusher block 20 which is driven by a cylinder 22 and is reciprooable along the bottom of the chute portion between a rear position as shown and an advanced position adjacent the intermediate chute portion 10. Above the pusher block 20 is located a pusher member 24 shaped as a forwardly concave bowl member which is mounted on a piston rod 26 of a cylinder 28, the outer end of the piston rod being bent so as to have an offset portion 30 extending rearwardly from the pusher member 24. The cylinder 28 is long enough to cause the pusher member 24 to be reciprocated along the entire chute 2 parallel with, but spaced above, the bottom thereof, and through the spout member 16 to a foremost position beyond the front end of the spout member 16. - 5 As shown in Figures 1 and 2 a chicken to be packed is placed on its back on the bottom of the rear chute portion 4, oriented with its legs 32 pointing rearwardly towards the right. The wings 34 of the chicken are spread naturally, and the thighs and legs, are both spread and generally extend upwardly and rearwardly beyond the rump end of the chicken. The cylinder 22 is now actuated so as to move the pusher block 20 towards the left, whereby the pusher block engages with the rump portion 36 of the chicken and pushes the chicken along the chute into the intermediate chute portion 10. The chicken being brought into this tapering chute portion its wings will be folded inwardly against the body of the chicken and also the thighs and legs will be forced inwardly. Moreover, due to the inclined top plate strips 14, the legs 32 will be folded downwardly to a lower, well defined position.

Thereafter the cylinder 28 is actuated so as to move the pusher member 24 towards the left. The pusher member is located in a level corresponding to the level into which the outer leg ends are brought by the plate strips 14, and since the leg ends are now situated in this level and relatively close to each other they will be engaged by the pusher member as shown in the middle position of both Figure 1 and 2. Thereafter the pusher member takes over the further pushing of the chicken along the chute. At this stage the chicken is gently clamped or compressed between the side walls 8 of the front chute portion 6 and this clamping will cause a certain frictional resistance to movement of the chicken. Consequently the pushing force of the pusher member 24 will cause the thighs to be bent forwardly, just as desired, until the friction is overcome by the pushing force. Due to the narrowing configuration of the front chute portion 6 and spout member 16 the bending or folding force acting on 41S18 the thighs and legs will increase steadily, until the chicken is pushed into the bag 18. The pushing is continued a short distance thereafter, until the chicken has reached the bottom of the bag, and then causes the bag to be pulled off from its engagement with the spout 16, whereafter the filled bag falls down (shown in dotted lined in Figure 2) onto a conveyor or a suitable receptacle from which the bag proceeds to a closing operation. Of course, an automatic closing of the bag may be effected immediately upon release of ...e bag from the spout 16, but the closing operation does not form part of the present invention. It is not essential that the closing of the bag takes place immediately upon its release from the spout 16, but the automatic introduction of the chickens into the bags is of utmost importance and results in a saving of more than half the manual work normally connected with filling and closing the bags. Moreover, by the automatic filling it is possible to use relatively narrow bags, whereby the packings, irres20 pective of how they are closed, will have a more attractive appearance.

It will be appreciated that the bowl-shaped pusher member 24 is used not only for exerting a pushing force on a non sensible portion of the chicken,.-such as the leg ends,but also for holding together the outer portion of the legs 32 in such a manner that the chicken can readily be pushed into a narrow bag. Thus, this pusher and holding member can be used with advantage even if it is not primarily serving to push the chicken forwardly and this pushing could be effected by other means.

The form of packing apparatus shown in Figures 4-7 operates according to the same main principles as already described, though in a continuous manner, so it will only be briefly described.

The lower pusher block 20 of Figures 1-3 is substi41518 - 7 tuted by a row of such blocks 20' each mounted on an endless chain 40 by means of a connector shaft 42 which projects through a central slot 44 in the bottom of the rear chute portion 4'. The chain 40 is driven continuously, thus bringing along the chickens consecutively laid down onto the chute bottom; preferably the chute portion 4' is long enough to be able to receive two or more chickens at the same time.

The said intermediate chute portion 10 is divided into a portion 46 rigidly connected to the chute portion 4' and a following portion 48 at the rear end of the front chute portion 6'. In the chute portion 48 there are provided upright chute wall elements 50 operable to be swung inwardly from the positions shown in full lines to the positions shown in dotted lines by means of cylinders 52. The inclined leg guiding plate strips 14 of Figures 1-3 are substituted by non-inclined plate strips 14' which are lowerable from the positions shown, by means of cylinders 54, into their lower, leg-clamping positions; it is ensured thereby that the legs are pressed down without having to scrape along a stationary inclined guiding plate.

The front chute portion 6' is mounted so as to be reciprocable in its longitudinal direction by means of a cylinder 56. The pusher blocks 20' bring the chickens consecutively into a position in the intermediate chute portion 48 (or combined 48 and 46) and are moved downwardly from this position, as illustrated in Figure 6, into the lower run of the chain 40. For enabling the blocks 20' to pass down in this manner the bottom of the intermediate chute portion should have a transverse slot 58, but a permanent broad slot at this place would be disadvantageous when tho chickens are pushed across the slot. However,since the front chute portion is reciprocable by means of the cylinder 56 it is possible to control the cylinder in such a manner that the slot 58 is normally closed (Figure 5) but opens each time a block 20' requires to pass down through the chute bottom.

When the chicken has been brought into the inter5 mediate chute portion the cylinders 52 and 54 are actuated so as to press the wall elements 50 inwardly and the plate strips 14' downwardly, respectively, whereby the thighs and legs of the chicken are actively forced into their desired positions while the chicken is stationary on the chute.

Thereafter the outer leg ends are engaged by the pusher member 24 * which is mounted on an overhead chain structure 60 (Figure 5) together with a number of similar pusher members arranged with suitable mutual spacing. The chain 60 is driven continuously, and the pusher member 24* brings the chicken further along the front chute portion 61 and into and through the spout member 161. The wall portions 50 and plate strips 14’ are retracted when the leg ends have been engaged by the pusher member 24' so as to be ready to receive the next chicken.

In a manner known per se from other packing devices in which articles are pushed into bags the pusher members 24' are each mounted on a rod 62 which depends from the chain 60 and is guided along a rail 64 so as to re25 main depending from the chain, also when being returned along the upper run of the chain. The right hand end of the chain structure is located so as to make the pusher members 24' and rods 62 non-interfering with the chickens moving in the chute portion 4'.

The top side of the spout member 16 * is slotted for allowing the passage of the pusher rods 62. Generally, the spout end of the apparatus is made according to principles known per se, so it will be only briefly described. The spout is made of a lower, stationary half and an upper half which is pivotally suspended so as to be able to be swung into a position in which the outer inouth of the spout is narrow enough to be introduceable into the inouth of an open bag 18', whereafter the spout is expanded so as to fully open the bag. The spout is provided with an air nozzle 66 serving to blow up a flat bag situated at the top of a bag pile 68 in front of the spout end, and with the bag thus temporarily opened the entire spout is moved towards the left into the bag mouth by means of a cylinder 70, and then expanded. An upper clamping member 72 is actuated for holding the top side of the bag against the top surface of the spout, whereby the bag can withstand the force resulting from the chicken being pressed into the bag. When the chicken has reached the bottom of the bag it is pressed further forwardly by the pusher member 24', and the filled bag will be pushed off the spout, just as described in connection with Figures 1-3. As well known the rail 64 may have a portion 65 causing the pusher rod 62 to be swung rearwardly when the pusher member 24' has caused the bag to be pushed off from the spout 16, whereby the pusher member 24' is rapidly retracted from the bag. The reference numeral 74 designates a holding pin cooperating with a hole in an extended top portion of one side of each of the bags in the pile 68, the bags being consecutively torn off from this pin when being pushed forwardly by the action of the pusher members 24'.

It will be understood that numerous modifications will be possible within the scope of the invention, e.g. it is not considered to be important how the driving arrangements of the moved parts are designed. The rigid chute walls may be substituted by moving belt walls at least along a partial length of the chute.

The above-described method and apparatus permit the packaging of chickens to be achieved in a reliable and efficient manner.

Claims (14)

1. CLAIMS: 1. A method of packing a slaughtered chicken or other poultry into a bag, comprising the steps of. placing the chicken on its back in a receiver portion 5 of a chute which portion has upwardly and outwardly inclined side walls, pushing the-chicken along t'he chute ? to a constriction zone in the chute in which zone the chicken is transversely compressed by an inwardly directed pressure acting on the opposite thighs of the 10 chicken to move the free ends of the legs inwardly towards each other, and applying a pushing force to the chicken while the chicken is held compressed to move the chicken into a bag arranged at the end of the constriction zone. 15

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein at the constriction zone the legs are also urged downwardly towards the bottom of the chute.

3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, the chicken is pushed into the bag by a pusher memb'ef/ 20 which engages the free ends of the legs of the chicken’.

4. A method according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the chicken is held compressed by its engage- . ment with the side walls of the chute.

5. An apparatus for packing slaughtered chickens 25 or other poultry, comprising a chute, a receiver portion of which has upwardly and outwardly inclined side Walls, means for moving the chicken - therealong, said, chute having a constriction zone at which means are provided for laterally compressing a chicken which is present, at 30 or passing through said zone so that the free ends of the legs move relatively towards each other, and pusher means operable to engage the free ends of the legs when the chicken is in its compressed state and to push the chicken into a bag downstream of the constriction zone.

6. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the constriction zone of the chute has a portion with side walls spaced corresponding to the width of the compressed chicken.

7. An apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the means for moving the chicken comprises a pusher element moving along the bottom of the chute and arranged to engage the rump of the chicken.

8. An apparatus according to any of claims 5 to 7, wherein the ( means for compressing the chicken comprise pressure wall elements operable to be laterally displaced towards each other.

9. An apparatus according to any of claims 5 to 7, wherein the means for compressing the chicken include means for forcing down the thigh and leg portions of the chicken towards the chute bottom so as to make the free leg ends assume a predetermined position above the chute bottom.

10. An apparatus according to any of claims 5 to 9, wherein the pusher means for engaging the free leg ends of the chicken is a generally bowl-shaped member operable to engage both leg ends and hold them engaged by the pushing force applied thereto.

11. An apparatus according to any of claims 5 to 10, wherein the means for moving the chicken comprises a conveyor arrangement which extends along the bottom of the receiver portion of the chute and is operable continually to move chickens along the chute to the constriction zone, the conveyor arrangement including a plurality of pusher elements engageable with the rumps of chickens in the chute.

12. An apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the receiver portion of the chute has a length suitable for receiving more than one chicken.

13. A method of packing slaughtered chickens or other poultry according to claim 1 and substantially as 5 herein described.

14. An apparatus for packing slaughtered chickens or other poultry into bags, constructed and arranged substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 1 to 3, or Figures 4 to 7 of the accompanying 10 drawings.