NL8204221A - Chicken carcass breast cutting appts. - with heads operated by cams on turret rotated by carcass conveyor - Google Patents

Abstract

The carcasses are suspended by their legs from an overhead conveyor which passes round a reversing sheave. Mounted below the sheave is a turret carrying breast cutting heads which are synchronised with the carcasses on the conveyor. The heads are manipulated by cam followers which ride in stationary tracks. Each head includes a blade which enters the carcass cavity to cut the breast while a support plate displaces the carcass to maintain it in contact with the blade. The appts. pref. cuts the breast but may also be used as a back stripper, or for cutting the breast meat.

Description

,,, 2 kir / a

Heinrich / Willy Markert - · -r

Method and device for cutting slaughtered chicks into parts.

5

The invention relates to an apparatus for cutting slaughtered chicks into parts, wherein they are suspended from the legs on a transport system and are transported along an endless track formed by a drive station, turning wheels and processing stations.

In the known devices for cutting slaughtered animals into parts, the Cutting or cutting at the various processing stations is carried out by butchers, who cut off parts of the animals by hand. Since this known method, because it is largely carried out by hand, is expensive, it has been sought to perform at least part of the method with machines. To this end, devices have been proposed in which parts of the animals are cut off by means of blades driven by motors.

Because bone parts are damaged during cutting in the known method, bone parts remain in the meat, which is undesirable. Moreover, the known method has the drawback that only a limited processing speed of the animals is possible. .

The object of the invention is to overcome these drawbacks by removing parts of the slaughtered animals with cutting means during the suspended transport. In principle this means that cutting means follow a certain movement with respect to the bone and also keep track of the movement of the transponder means. In addition, the cutting requires that the animal experiences a reaction force, which means that it is fixed in a certain position during the cutting phase. All this will result in a rather complicated, space-consuming device with separate drive means.

The present invention provides a less complicated device of the type referred to in the preamble.

8204221 b - / - '-2-This is achieved because: a. The means for cutting, or fixing the animal, turn with the turning wheels and can describe a fixed path with respect to the axis of the relevant turning wheel 5; b. the suspension means are spaced at such a distance from the endless conveying system and the return wheel can move in such a way that slaughtered animals hanging thereon will always be in the path of the fixing means; c. one or more fixed guides are provided around the axis. roles; > d. the means for cutting or fixing are connected to rollers which can follow the path of the fixed guides during rotation of the wheel; e. movement and path of the means for cutting or fixing is determined by the shape of the path following the fixed guide (s) during movement. .

20 - Preferably the wheels reverse the conveyor track by 180 ° cm. The means for cutting or fixing can be provided in multiples over the circumference of 360 °. This depends on the constructive freedom. .The requirement that the conveyor track transports the slaughtered chickens at the correct distance and place must always be met. The examples of this application are based on two sets of means, but in practice are by no means limited thereto.

The movement made by the means for cutting or fixing respectively is effected by the fixed guide (s) and the associated roller (s), the drive being effected by the return wheel passing through the conveyor track and the associated drive station is powered. Incidentally, a respective reversing wheel can also function as a drive station.

The animals are preferably pre-divided into weight classes of + 4-00 gram difference.

8204221, '1 ^ __ J 4 j' ’" -3-

This means that they are divided in size. Because animals of different sizes are thus treated, the distance from the conveyor track to the fixing means must be adjustable.

The invention is further elucidated by two embodiments and a drawing without being limited thereto. The drawing should:

Figure 1. a side view of a device for dividing a slaughtered chick across the breast (breast splitter);

Figure 2. a side view of a breast meat cutter.

In figure t. 1 is a turning wheel to guide the transport system which also drives this wheel and on which chickens slaughtered with hooks hang. All this is arranged such that, during operation, a chick to be divided comes before a fixing holder 2. During further rotation the fixing holder 2 moves outwardly about an axis 3 whereby the movement is effected by cooperation of a guide 4 with a roller 5 which is connected via an axis 20 to the fixing holder 3

After a 90 ° rotation, a knife 6 moves downwards along a guide 7. This movement is effected by the coercion of a roller 8 which cooperates with a fixed guide 9.

The carcass of the chick is thus cut from the inside. The fixing holder 3 must of course be divided for this purpose in order to allow the knife 6 to pass through, in the end the position arises as is indicated on the left in figure 1 with corresponding reference numbers (a). Because the second cutting device is 180 ° opposite to the first, this final condition again corresponds to the initial condition.

In Conorsto, the "breast splitter" can be briefly described as follows, on the basis of the qualities already generally indicated: the wheel 1 teaches the conveyor track up to 180 ° and is connected 35 with a number of rotating vertical guides 7 for vertically movable blades # n 6 , the cutting edges of which are directed towards the axis of rotation.

8204211. v

-: - ··· Mr ·· '1':. · ". - · - · - '..". L

J. ISII. · Ϊ ·,;. Ϊ́ · ΐ «ίι &, · Γ. , 1.¾

ί V.

-4-

During rotation through an angle of 180 °, a knife 6 is moved downwards - and upwards again »to which the rollers capable of effecting the vertical movement are guided along a path 9 which is constant 5 from the rotations and over 180 ° has an approximately sinusoidal gradient and again about 180 ° a horizontal gradient (not visible). The fixing means 2 are divided into two halves in such a way that the knives 6 can move between them and during rotation are moved in the direction of the axis because the guide 4 for the associated rollers 5 is placed horizontally eccentrically with respect to the axis of rotation, alternately such that the movement towards the shaft takes place during the up and down movement of the corresponding knife 6.

The knives 6 preferably have a serrated cutting edge.

The embodiment according to figure 2 comprises a breast meat cutter, wherein the ribs are cut along. And the figure 11 is a return wheel for guiding the transport system which also drives this wheel and on which chickens slaughtered with hooks hang. Eln and other is arranged such that during operation a chick comes before a fixing holder 12. The wheel 11 is connected to the actual rotary cutting device with an extendable cardan shaft 11. During rotation of the wheel 11, the fixing holder 12 moves inwardly about an axis 13, the movement being effected by cooperation of a fixed guide 14 with a roller 15 which is connected via an axis to the arm of the fixing holder 12 The holder 12 cooperates with a back support 12 ', so that the chick is clamped firmly.

During rotation and after clamping, a knife 16 (for example a so-called "Stanley knife") is moved downwards with the cutting edge along a certain path. This movement is brought about by the coercion of a roller 18 which cooperates with a fixed guide 19 · The basically arcuate downward movement of the knife 16 is corrected to a more rectilinear movement by the movement 8204221. 5- rotereade lemmsifiint 17 mn roll axis and knife arm to move away from the axis of rotation along a fixed eccentric 20 (so also a conductor).

Because the second cutting device is 180 ° opposite to the first, the final state again corresponds to the initial position.

1.

In concrete terms, the breast-meat cutter, based on the qualities generally indicated, can be briefly described as follows: the wheel turns the conveyor track up to 180 ° and is movably connected to a number of rotating blades and associated fixing holders. Each May, the cutting edge is moved downward during rotation by co-operating a roller with a fixed # guide, with the movement corrected by a second guide (eccentric) moving the pivot of 'roia® @n mesara off the axis of rotation . A fixing holder is moved inwardly during rotation about an axis, for which purpose a fixed guide cooperates with a roller, the roller of which the shaft of which is connected via a pivot point to the fixing holder, which cooperates with a back support. The conductors. are shaped in such a way that the fixing takes place before the knife cuts.

Of course, also with this device the distance between the transport system and the fixing holder is adjustable to the size of the slaughtered animals.

8204221

Claims (7)

1. Device for cutting slaughtered chicks * into parts, suspended on the legs from an endless transport system comprising, inter alia, a drive station, turning wheels and processing stations, characterized in that: a. The means for cutting, respectively to fix the animal with the turning wheels turning and being able to describe a fixed path relative to the axis of the relevant turning wheel; b. the suspension means are arranged at such a distance and location from the endless conveying system and the turning wheel can move in such a way that slaughtered animals hanging thereon will always be in the path of the fixing means; c. there are one or more fixed guides for rollers about the axis; : = d. the means for cutting or fixing are connected to rollers which can follow the path of the fixed guides during rotation of the wheel; e. movement and path of the means for cutting or fixing is determined by the shape of the path following the fixed guide (s) during movement. 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the web is turned over an angle, which is divisible in whole number at 360 ° and in that the device is provided with a number of cutting and fixing means corresponding to this number. 3. Device according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the distance between conveyor track and fixing means is adjustable. 35%% U · Breast splitter according to the construction of the preceding claims, characterized in that: • a. The wheel (1) turns the conveyor track up to 180 °; 8204221 e. _7_ b. connected to the wheel (1) are a number of rotating vertical guides (7) for vertically movable knives (6), the cutting edges of which point towards the axis of rotation; 5 c. the guide (9) for the rollers (8) which effect the vertical movement of the knives has a constant distance from the axis of rotation and has an approximately sinusoidal course over 180 ° and a horizontal course over another 180 °; 10 d. the fixing means (2) corresponding to the knives (6) are divided such that the knives (6) move between the parts, and these means (2) are movable towards the axis of rotation; e. the guides (4-5 for the rollers (5) effecting the movement towards the axis are placed horizontally eccentrically with respect to the axis of rotation; f. the two guides (4 and 9) such with respect to each other positioned and each time a fixative (2) is moved off the shaft during the downward and upward movement of the corresponding blade (6). Chest slits according to claims 1-3 *, characterized in that the knives (6) have a serrated cutting edge. 6. Breast meat slicer according to the construction according to claims 1-3 », characterized in that: a. The wheel (11) turns the conveyor track to 180 °; b. a number of rotating knives (6) and associated fixing holders '' (12) are movably connected to the wheel (11); C. each blade (16) 'to move a pivot (17) downwardly and thereto connected to a roller (18) which cooperates with a fixed guide (19), while the pivot (17) also cooperates with a guide ( eccentric) (20); 35 d. a fixing holder (12) is movable inwardly about an axis (13) by cooperation of a fixed guide (H) with a roller (15) which roller is connected via an axle 8204221; '' * -β ίε with the fixation holder (12), which in turn works together with a backrest (12 ') e. the guides (H »19» 20) are positioned relative to each other and shaped such that one fixing holder (12) is moved towards the shaft each time before the blade (16) begins its cutting task, the eccentric ( 20) corrects the downward movement of the blade (16). 7. Device as described and explained with examples and drawing 10. Parts of chicks obtained by means of a device according to one or more of claims 1-7. 8204221