JPH05219882A - Spoon for removing internal organs - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a titled spoon for removing viscera without damaging it by providing at least two long side arms for forming a thin and long loop and making at least one of the side arms turnable to the other. CONSTITUTION: At least two thin and long side arms 41 are provided and the thin and long loop is formed at a tail-like part 43. One or both of the side arms are mounted turnably to the other, relative movement between the side arms is made possible when this spoon 40 is pulled out from a fowl and the damages to a rib or the like are minimized.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention is used to remove intestines or other masses or intestinal packs from animals, and more particularly poultry, such as chickens, which have been previously prepared for offal removal. Concerning the spoon without internal organs.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Intestinal packs for poultry such as chickens include edible offal such as gizzards, livers and hearts, and intestines, gall bladder
Contains inedible organs such as calyx. On an industrial scale, it is known to remove intestinal packs from chickens that have already been prepared for offal removal. The work of removing such intestinal packs generally requires the use of a mechanical device that receives the body with the head and legs removed and the feathers removed. In addition, the carcass forms a notch or slit (eg, a circular slit) around the poultry's total emptying cavity (anus) and extends through the skin of the poultry, usually at the back, between its sternum and spine. It is prepared by cutting or forming an opening. Such a fuselage is held on a machine or mounting device with its legs facing, for example, the outside of a rotating drum whose axis is vertical. Such drums are provided with a mechanism or means for positioning the poultry for removal of the viscera by removal of the intestinal pack.

[0003] Such known devices or machinery usually comprise means for actuating a spoon-removing spoon associated with the drum, which spoon is inserted through the cut opening in the poultry. Scoop the intestinal pack from the internal cavity of the intestine and then move the intestinal pack from inside the torso, leaving the intestinal pack hanging from the torso for inspection to ensure that the poultry is suitable for human consumption. So that

Such known arrangements are described, for example, in Australian Patent No. 585,887 and European Patent No. 85,850,275.0. No. specification.

In configurations requiring the use of a visceral extraction spoon, it is important that the components of the intestinal pack are not damaged or ruptured during the extraction process.
Strict inspection procedures are carried out (often by government agencies) that can lead to the rejection of the torso associated with a damaged or torn intestinal pack.

Although edible offal has great market value, its constituent parts, especially the liver, are easily damaged and lose their value. In addition, perforation or damage to certain components of the intestinal pack (eg, the gallbladder) results in unpleasant discoloration and unpleasant bile flowing over the body. This can result in rejection of the body and intestinal pack. Further damage to the torso may rupture the capsule (eg during removal of internal organs).
It can happen.

To date, various forms of visceral extraction spoons have been developed, some of which have attempted, in part, to solve or reduce the problems outlined above. I tried. An example of such a gut spoon is described in Australian Patent No. 585,887 and European Patent No. 85850275.0, which disclose the use of a substantially integral gut extraction spoon, The parts of the spoon are formed in a substantially fixed manner, i.e. attached to each other. While such an arrangement has certain advantages, it also has many drawbacks associated therewith.

By way of example, such a gut spoon is in the form of a fixed long loop having outwardly extending fingers spaced apart at one end thereof, the fingers being those. In between, a deep notch is formed that is used to engage and capture the lung and esophagus during the visceral extraction procedure.

[0009]

It has been discovered in the use of such known visceral extraction spoons that the liver can be damaged after being released and then pulled back through the hole in the loop. Moreover, since the gizzard and liver are located outside the loop during use and some force is needed to pull them back through the loop (in terms of their size being larger than the hole in the loop), the gut pack is , The tendency to act like an elastic band as if a sudden retreat through the gizzard and liver loops causes the entire intestinal pack to retract into the body. This is known as reverse fall or fallback, which has the obvious serious drawback in that it diminishes the proper condition of the intestinal pack, which is usually hanging from the carcass. Under such a condition, for example, the state of the intestinal pack suspended from the body may be different for each body, which may make the inspection process more difficult.

Furthermore, in the use of known internal organ extraction spoons, the intestinal pack can sometimes be torn before the spoon is released from the body, causing the liver and gizzard and / or a portion of the intestinal pack to fall onto the floor. Or it was discovered that it could stay with the spoon. It is possible that such things will not be properly washed in subsequent washing steps and will stay with the spoon as it enters the next carcass. This may result in cross-contamination. It is also known that the bowel pack is tightly wrapped around the bottom of the loop of the spoon and subsequent work increases the amount of deposits on the spoon. If, during work, the gallbladder entangles with the spoons known and used to date, it may be squeezed and squished while trying to remove it, which causes stains and stains the body.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a visceral withdrawal spoon that overcomes or at least reduces one or more of the above problems and drawbacks. Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description below.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, at least two long side arms are laterally spaced at least halfway along their length to form elongated loops. There is provided a viscera withdrawal spoon, which comprises at least one of its side arms pivotable with respect to the other.

According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided at least two long side arms that are laterally spaced at least halfway along their length and are adapted to form elongated loops, the side arms being mutually adjacent. Pivotable with respect to the other, the distal ends of the side arms extend inwardly toward each other, each of the distal ends having at least one outwardly extending finger, In one mode, the inwardly extending ends of the side arms abut each other to form a closed loop, with notches or notches formed between the outwardly extending fingers, while in the second mode. There is provided a visceral withdrawal spoon configured to pivot the side arms away from each other and at least partially open the loop.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it should be understood that modifications and improvements can be made to the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention defined by the description of the claims. Referring initially to FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings, this figure shows a viscera extractor that has been used for chicken viscera extraction, such an arrangement being made, for example, by Lindhorst & Co. AS of Denmark. Such an arrangement is also referred to and outlined in Australian Patent 585,887 and European Patent 85850275.0.

In the configuration of the viscera extractor shown in FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings, an axially vertical drum 1 is rotated about its vertical axis, the drum comprising a series of chicken carcasses 3, rails 6. It carries a series of arcuate chicken bodies supported upside down by respective stirrup fittings 4 suspended from runners or rollers 5 moving around. The torsos are supported on their drums with their sternums covered by plates 7 and are therefore immovable, i.e. they are restricted in movement during visceral extraction.

As mentioned before, such a device is
It receives the body with its head and legs removed and its feathers removed, which forms a circular notch or slit cut around the poultry's total emptying cavity (anus) and its back at the poultry. The viscera is prepared for removal by cutting or forming an opening that penetrates the skin and typically extends between the sternum and the spine. The device of Figure 1 holds the legs towards the outside of the rotating drum.

In the structure shown in FIG. 1, the drum 1 is provided with a visceral extraction spoon 8 above the body, and the spoon is guided by a cam (not shown) to move along an arcuate path. As shown by way of example, the lower end of the spoon is gradually penetrated behind the sternum and into the interior of the torso.

A known fixed spoon 8 is shown in FIG. 2 of the accompanying drawings.
, The spoon is a unitary spoon, preferably in the form of a crank, the components of which are joined together in a unitary construction. Spoon 8 is preferably
Having spaced apart side arms 33 forming an elongated annulus or loop with a base 34 from which extends a finger 35 with a rounded end, the fingers 35 being spaced apart to accommodate the fingers. Deep notches or notches are formed between them. The notch helps engage the components of the bowel pack.

Referring to FIG. 3, in use, the spoon 8 gradually penetrates into the interior of the body behind the sternum as shown in FIG. Illustratively and as shown in FIG. 3 for convenience, the intestinal pack is shown in dotted lines. It is the sacs 14, esophagus 15, lungs 16, heart 17, glandular stomach 18, gizzard or muscle stomach 19, liver 20, gallbladder 21,
It then consists of components such as a spiraled intestine 22. The positions of these elements inside the torso are as schematically shown in FIG. 3 except that the lungs are on the left or right side of the torso.
The spine of the torso is shown at 23, and the opening through which the intestinal pack is lifted by the spoon 8 is shown at 24. One thigh of the bird is shown at 25.

As can be seen from FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the upside down chicken body prepared for evisceration is
It is carried around the drum 4 with its sternum outside. They are received by the plate 7 over the drum and are positioned one after the other for removal of the internal organs. The viscera extraction spoon 8 is moved downwards and penetrates into the body along a curved operating path. This movement causes the lower end of each spoon 8 to move downwards,
The fingers 35 first enter the inverted top apex opening of the torso and then move around the inside of the sternum down to the position shown in FIG. The movement of the spoon 8 then continues across the interior of the torso, with the fingers gathering the esophagus in the notches between them. The fingers then move up the spine of the torso so that the intestinal pack 13 is centered over the center of the spoon and withdrawn from the top of the torso. During the upward movement of the spoon 8, the lungs 16 are removed from the carcass by the spoon and lifted with the rest of the intestinal pack, or released, so that, for example, the capsule 14 may be removed later in the lifting process. It is pulled out when it is pulled.

By withdrawing the spoon 8 from the barrel, the intestinal pack is placed over the edge of the spoon with the intestinal pack 13 tending to be crushed and damaged between the sides of the spoon and the inner wall of the barrel cavity. Instead of depositing on, it hangs through a spoon. When the drawer is finished and the spoon 8 reaches the end of its working movement, the movement of the cam associated with the device shown in FIG. 1 pushes the spoon 8 away from the body and the intestinal pack is released from the end of the spoon. And remain suspended over the sides of the fuselage for quality inspection.

As mentioned above, the known configuration outlined with reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 has a number of drawbacks associated therewith. The present invention comprises long side arms that form an elongated loop, but one or both side arms (rather than a one-piece construction in which the components are fixed and integrally formed) are pivotable relative to the other. It is made to solve or at least mitigate these drawbacks by providing an on-board extraction spoon. It has been discovered that this represents a considerable advance over known spoons as described above with reference to FIGS. In particular, in using the spoon of the present invention (as described below with reference to FIGS. 4, 5, 6),
At the position where the spoon is to release the intestinal pack, the loop can be opened, which allows the intestinal pack to be lowered behind the torso without any of the disadvantages associated with the known spoons above. It is possible. further,
One or both of the side arms are pivotally mounted relative to the other and associated with suitable spring means to allow relative movement between the side arms when the spoon of the present invention is withdrawn from the bird. , Compared to the spoons known and used to date. This allows the pivoted arm to move when the loop is pulled out of the bird, thus minimizing rib breaks (which can occur with fixed spoons) and the problems and drawbacks mentioned above. Solve or minimize.

Referring to FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 of the accompanying drawings, these show one form of a visceral extraction spoon according to the present invention. However, it should be understood that such a visceral extraction spoon is used in one form of the invention with a visceral extraction device such as that shown in FIG. 1 and described generally with reference thereto. Furthermore, the operation of the internal organ extraction spoon 40 of the present invention is illustrated except that the spoon 40 used is according to the present invention rather than the known internal organ extraction spoon 8 described with reference to FIG. 3 is almost the same as that described with reference to FIG.

The visceral extraction spoon 40 shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 has at least two elongate side arms 41 which are formed integrally with a head 42 and extend outwardly. 43, each caudal portion 43 is bent, ie approximately inwardly near its distal end, and the caudal distal end 44 of its arm has a head and caudal portion 4.
It extends inwardly at an angle to the longitudinal axis of 2, 43. Further, the caudal portion 43 of the side arm 41 is angled with respect to the head 42 and extends obliquely with respect to the head 42.

Since the side arms 41 are so formed, their tail portions 43 are laterally spaced from each other along their length in some states, forming elongated loops.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, when the visceral withdrawal spoon 40 is in the first mode forming a substantially closed, elongated loop, the side arm caudal portion 43 is shown.
The inwardly extending ends 44 abut, or engage, one another so that the elongated closed loop is closed.
A spring biasing means is provided (discussed below) that causes the side arm 43 to form a closed loop with the inwardly extending end 44 of the side arm 43 abutting in the first mode. Is urged to. Adjacent end portions of the inwardly extending ends 44 of the side arms 41 may be angled and / or beveled to engage one another, or one or both ends may be one. Alternatively, there may be more than one recess and / or pin, the ends of which engage one another.

The inner surface 44a of the angled end 44 has an outwardly extending finger 45 formed integrally therewith, with the side arms 43 juxtaposed to one another as shown in FIGS. Thus, when forming a substantially closed loop, a notch or recess is formed therebetween, which serves when the visceral extraction spoon 40 is extracting the intestinal pack from the body.

The side arms 41 are preferably pivotally mounted at their respective upper ends 46 of their heads 42, the pivotal mountings being connected to elongated rods 47, which are connected by suitable spring means 48. It is biased, normally biasing the side arms 41 to the position where they form a closed loop (the position shown in FIG. 4). The spring biasing rod 47 is connected to the upper end of the side arm 41 by any suitable means or leaf member 49 and is also associated with a suitable cam or actuation trigger 50 to rotate the drum 1 (see FIG. 1). When the visceral withdrawal spoon 40 is withdrawn from the body (as described with reference), the rod 47 is pushed against the spring bias of the spring means 48, opening the side arms 41 so that they rotate relative to each other. Move and open the loop to bring the benefits mentioned above. Further, by providing a suitable spring adjusting means, the tension between the side arms can be adjusted. This therefore allows some movement or play between the side arms when the visceral extraction spoon is withdrawn from the torso, allowing the arm 41 to move or flex slightly. It is possible to prevent or minimize the damage of the rib and the destruction of the components of the intestine pack.

FIG. 6 shows, by way of example only (in broken lines) the side arm 41.
FIG. 4 shows the positioning of the side arm 41 in the second mode of FIG. 6 and moves the side arm 41 from the first mode (shown in solid lines in FIGS. 6 and 4) to the second mode (shown in broken lines in FIG. 6) Arm 4 following the actuation of the shaft
1 are pivoted away from each other to form an open loop, allowing release of the intestinal pack. This allows the intestinal pack to be released. With further movement of the drum 1, as explained with reference to FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings, and as also shown in FIG. 5, the pressure on the spring biased rod and lever is When released, the spring bias allows the side arm 41 to return to its first mode through the chain, the end portions of the arms abut and form a substantially closed elongated loop.

With reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 of the accompanying drawings, suitable and / or known mounting means 65 are provided for mounting a visceral extraction spoon relative to the drum 1 and covering the upper end of the side arm. A housing cover 70 may be provided that extends over and covers their pivotal engagements or attachments to each other.

Although the invention has been described by way of example with reference to side arms pivotally mounted relative to each other, in a further aspect of the invention (not shown in the drawings),
It is also apparent that only one side arm is pivotally mounted with respect to the other so that the loop can be opened and closed.

It will be appreciated that any suitable means for activating the pivotal movements of the side arms relative to each other may be employed.

It will be apparent that improvements and modifications can be made to the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a viscera removing device that is conventionally known and used.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a substantially integrally fixed viscera removal spoon as conventionally known.

FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view through the body of a chicken, as conventionally known and used, which has been eviscerated by a spoon as shown by way of example in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a viscera removing spoon according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a spoon for removing internal organs according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the spoon for removing internal organs according to an embodiment of the present invention, as viewed in the direction of arrow A in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols] 1 drum 40 spoon 41 side arm 42 head 43 caudal portion 44 end portion 48 spring

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. At least two longitudinal side arms spaced laterally along their length and adapted to form elongated loops, at least one of said side arms being rotatable relative to the other. A moving spoon that can be moved. 2. At least two long side arms spaced laterally along their length and adapted to form an elongated loop, said side arms being pivotable relative to one another. And the end portions of the side arms extend inwardly toward each other, and in the first mode, the inwardly extending end portions of the side arms abut each other to form a closed loop. Formed, while in the second mode the side arms are configured to be pivoted away from each other to at least partially open the loop. 3. Each of the side arms is rotatably mounted with respect to each other, each arm comprising a head portion and a caudal portion integrally formed and extending outwardly, The portions form an oblique angle with respect to the head portion, the caudal portions are laterally spaced from each other substantially along their length, and the distal ends of the caudal portions are toward each other. Inward, first
3. The visceral withdrawal spoon according to claim 1 or 2, wherein in the mode, they abut one another to form a closed loop. 4. The inner surface of each end of the distal end of the caudal portion includes inwardly extending fingers, the ends abutting and closing each other in the first mode. 4. The viscera-draining spoon of claim 3, wherein the fingers form adjacent loops, the fingers being adjacent to one another but spaced apart from each other to form a notch or recess therebetween. 5. A spring bias which rotatably mounts each of the side arms and biases the side arms into a first mode in which the side arms form an elongated closed loop. The internal organs withdrawal spoon according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: 6. A visceral withdrawal spoon according to claim 5, comprising means for allowing adjustment of the pressure of the spring bias. 7. All of the side arms are pivotable relative to one another and are normally spring biased to a state in which they form a closed loop, comprising actuating means, By actuating the actuating means, the side arms are moved outwardly away from each other, moving against the spring bias to open the loop, and deactivating the actuating means causes the spring-biased arms to move. 7. A visceral withdrawal spoon according to any of claims 1 to 6 adapted to return to a closed loop forming state.