US788837A - Fish-cleaning machine. - Google Patents

Description

PATENTED MAY 2, 1905.

(I. KELLINGTON.

FISH CLEANING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 24, 1904.

4SHEETS-SHEET 1.

witnesses No. 788.887. PATENTED MAY 2, 1905. J. KELLINGTON.

FISH CLEANING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 24,1904.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

l'llllllllll lll PATENTED MAY 2, 1905.

J. KELLINGTON.

FISH CLEANING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 24,1904.

4 SHEBTSBHIBET 3.

Inventor Mai/r7 attorney PATENTED MAY 2, 1905.

J. KELLINGTON.

FISH CLEANING MACHINE.

APPLIGATION FILED AUG. 24.1904.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

QIIOIREQ I 'Umttnessea WWW Iti'o. 788,837.

UNITED STATES Patented May 2, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN KELLING-TON, OF NEW VVESTMINSTE'R, CANADA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO DANIEL J. MUN N AND ALEXANDER EWEN, OF NE WESTMINSTER, CANADA.

FISH-CLEANING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 788,837, dated May 2, 1905. li i fil d August 24, 1904. Serial No. 221,999.

To all, whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN KELLINeToN, a citizen of the Dominion of Canada, residing at New Westminster, in the Province of British Columbia, Canada, have invented new and useful Improvements in Fish-Cleaning Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to certain improvements in fish-cleaning machines, and applies particularly to the machine invented by me on which an application was filed on the 28th day of March, 1903, under Serial No. 150,060, which application was patented on the 8th day of November, 1904, and bears the number 77 4, 67 4:.

The improvements herein referred to are directed to the means for scraping the visceral cavity, for removing the skin lining of the cavity, and also an improved mechanism for removing the tail. The means by which these operations are performed are fully set forth in the following specification, reference being made to the drawings which aocom pany it.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the scraping and skin-removing mechanism; Fig. 2, a crosssection of the same on the line A A in Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a sectional elevation on the line B B in Fig. 1; Fig. 4, a cross-section on the line C C in Fig. 1.. Fig. 4 is a detail view of the counterweight device 22 hereinafter referred to; Figs. 5 and 6, side and end elevations of the tail-cutting device; Fig. 7, a plan of the same, showing also top and lateral brushes; and Fig. 8, a general elevation of the machine.

The frame 2, the general mechanism, and the means for operating the machine are the same as that revealed in my previous applica* tion above referred to; but instead of the reciprocating scraper there providedrover which the fish was drawn after the splitting and gutting operations had been performed 1 provide a hollow saddle member 3, secured to the side frames 2 of the machine and adapted to spread the sides of the split fish as it passes over it. Slightly recessed into the sides of this saddle area series of scraping-disks 4, having a slight outward convexity and provided with ridges 5, which willscrape the intestinal cavity. The disks are mounted on spherical enlargements 6 on short shafts 7, which may be rotated by suitable mechanism, and a small pin 8 through the capped bearing 9 engages in a meridian groove 10 in the spherical enlargement, by which engagement the disk is rotated, while allowed to maintain the slope of the sides of the saddle, to which slope it is kept by the small rollers 11, mounted on a light frame 12 along the under side of the saddle member 3.

In one or more recesses in the upper side of the saddle member 3 are inserted scrapers 13, formed of thin flat spring and having upwardly-turned ends designed to scrape the blood-vein which runs alongside the backbone within the visceral cavity.

Above the saddle member 3 and its scrapers a series of rollers 15, shaped to conform approximately to the cross-section of the fishbody, are mounted on' short shafts which are connected to the shafts 14:, and the rollers 15 are lifted in advance of an approaching fish by the passage under them of the tail-grip member 16, by which the fish is drawn through the machine. Extending along each side of the saddle member 3 is an elongated plate 17 shaped to conform to the outer sides of the fish and secured at its lower edge to pins 18, so as to be slidable backward in its supports against the resistance of the springs 19 and to yield to variations in the form of a fish passing through and press the flaps of the split lish against the scraping-disks. After passing the scraping-disks a pair of brushes 20 are fixed on pivotal levers or arms 22, so that they may be lifted by a tail-grip member 16 as it passes under the lever 23, secured to the same shaft, and will be lowered upon the body of a fish as it moves under. The brushes 20, which are fixed on pivotal levers or arms 22, have adjustable counterweights 22 similar to those of the roller 15, before mentioned. (See Fig. 1 Supplementary side brushes 21 are placed on the side frames at about the same position and are secured to guide-stems 24, which are slidable in brackets 32, inclined at an angle, as drawn, (see Fig. 7,) and furnished with a coil-spring, so that the brushes may yield to the passage of a fish.

Vertically slidable endwise over the after part of the saddle member 3 in guides 25, secured to the standards 26, which carry the return-chain sprocket 27, is a flat stem 28, having at its lower end a forked member 29, the inner square edges of which when at the lower position fit into a recess 30 in the upper sides of the saddle member 3, and this fork member is raised on the approach of andlowered onto the body of a fish passing over the saddle by a curved lever 31, which passes through a slot in the stem 28 of the fork. This lever 31 is mounted on a short shaft similar to those which carry the rollers 15, before referred to, and is operated in a similar manner by the passage of a tail-grip, which engages a bent lever 33, secured to the same shaft. Pivotally mounted toward the upper end of the guide-frame 25 of the fork-stem 28 are levers 35 and 36, set at different angles on one shaft. Each of these levers carry weights 37 and 38, one of which, 37, bears on the end of the fork-stem through the medium of a small roller 39 and is so placed that when the stem 28 is at the lowest part of its movement the two weights hold it down with the fork in the recess of the saddle. The lever 36 is so set on its shaft in relation to the lever 35 that its weight 38 will be exerted to pull the firstnamed lever from the vertical position. The weights are lifted and prevented from exerting their effort on the stem 28 by the following means:. Secured to the weight 38 is an eyepiece 40, through which a light stem 41 passes, having a collar 46 secured to it below the eye, and the upper end of this stem 41 is loosely supported by an elongated eye on the shaft 42, which carries the return chain sprocket 27. The length of the stem 41 is such that it will allow the levers to fall and the weights to exercise their combined efiort to hold the stem down, and the stem is lifted by a cam projection 44, secured to the edge of a disk 43, fixed on the shaft 42, which projection engages a roller 45, laterally projecting toward it from the stem 41, so that as the shaft 42 is rotated by the movement of the tail-grip chain 34 returning over the sprocket 27 the cam projection 44 will engage the roller 45 and by means of the stem 41 will lift the weights clear of the fork-stem 28.

The operation of this mechanism is as follows: As a tail-grip 16 approaches the fork the upper side of the grip will engage the bent lever 33, and by means of the curved lever 31, secured on the same pivot and which passes through the slot of the stem 28, the fork will be lifted clear of the body of a fish the tail of which is in the grip, and immediately thereafter, the cam projections having moved clear of the roller, the stem will be lowered, by means of the upwardly-bent portion of the lever 33, onto the body of the fish; but as the weight of 38 and 37 is not exerted directly over the end of the stem 28 the pressure of the fork on the fish will be light. As, however, the fish moves forward and the square shoulder of it from which the head has been removed passes under the fork the fork will drop, and the combined efforts of both weights 37 and 38 will be exerted to hold it tightly in the recess 30 of the saddle member 3, and the lining skin of the visceral cavity, which usually trails behind the fish during the cleaning operation and is otherwise difficult to remove, will be held while the fish moves forward and will be torn away from its attachment to the body of the fish. During the several operations of gutting, scraping, and brushing water is liberally sprayed on the device to assist in cleansing and to prevent the brushes or other parts being clogged or hindered by the removed parts. This water service is not only delivered externally by the pipes 47, but is also delivered to the cavity of the fish through the perforated pipe 48, which discharges through apertures 49 in the saddle member 3. The cleansing and scrubbing operations having been performed, the tail of the fish is cut by a circular knife 50, pivotally mounted on a spindle 51 in a frame 52 so as to be susceptible of approximately vertical movement over the path of the fish. The knife is operated by a chain 53 over a shaft 54 on the axis in which the frame is mounted, which shaft also drives the head-cutting mechanism. The lowest position of the knife is the one which it normally occupies and in which it may rest against a cushioned stop 55. Secured to the outer end of the radial frame 52 and in the path of the tail-grip member 16 is an inclined bar 56, which as the tailgrip advances raises the pivotally-mounted frame 52, so that the knife 50 is well clear of the tail-grip and its chain 34, and as the tailgrip 16 reaches the lower end of this inclined bar 56 the bar and frame drop and the fish is severed from its attachment to the tail-grip 16 and falls into a chute beneath, while the tail-grip is released and the tail itself removed from the grip by a suitable mechanism, such as that described in the previous application referred to.

Having now particularly described the nature of my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to be protected in by Letters Patent,

1. In a fish-cleaning machine, the combina tion with head-cutting, belly-splitting and viscera-removing devices, of means for scraping the interior of the fish, said means comprising a series of ridged disks, shafts located across the direction of movement of the fish, said shaft's each having a pair of spherical bearings, said disks being mounted in pairs on said spherical bearings of the shaft and arranged to be angled outward toward the lower edges,

and means for pressing the fish against the scraping devices.

2. In a fish-cleaning machine, the combination with head-cutting devices, a splittingknife, and visceraremoving devices, of means for scrubbing the visceral cavity, said scrubbing means comprising a saddle member over which the fish are drawn, said saddle member being provided with recesses on its outer sides, scraping-disks rotatable in the recesses of the saddle member, means for rotating said scraping-disks, means for scrubbing the exterior of the fish, and means for severing the fish from its tail.

3. In a fish-cleaning machine, the combination with head-cutting, belly-splitting and viscera-removing devices, of means for scraping the visceral cavity, said scraping means comprising a saddle member, said saddle member being provided with recesses on its outer sides, ridged disks rotatable in said saddle-recesses, spring-operated side plates for pressing the sides of the split fish against the rotatable scraping-disks, rollers for holding the fish down on the scraping devices, means for scrubbing and cleaning the exterior of the fish, and means for cutting the fish from its tail.

4. In a fish-cleaning machine, the combination with head-cutting, belly-splitting, viscera-removing and tail-cutting devices, of an endless chain for drawing the fish over said head-cutting, belly-splitting, viscera-removing and tail-cutting devices, means for scrubbing the visceral cavity, said means comprising a fish-su pporting member having recesses in its sides, a series of rotatable disks having ridges or ribs on the outer surface, said disks operatable in the recesses of the supporting member, shafts for said disks, said shafts including spherical bearings for said disks, said spherical bearings each having a meridian groove, a pin carried by each of said disks for 1 entering said meridian grooves, rollers against which the lower edge of the disks may rotate, bearing members for said rollers, said rollers serving to constrain the disks to maintain the slope of the fish-supporting member, lateral plates, bearings for said plates, said plates being movable outward, a spring for moving said plates inward to press the flaps of the split fish against the scraping-disks, and means for maintaining a downward pressure on the fish over the scrubbing devices.

5. In a fish-cleaning machine, incombination with head-cutting, belly-splitting,visceraremoving devices, a saddle for supporting the fish, of means for scrubbing the visceral cavity and scrubbing the exterior of the fish, means for severing any portion of the viscera which may trail behind the fish, said means comprising a stem vertically slidable over the saddle which supports the fish during the scraping and scrubbing operations, a bearing for said stem, said stem having a forked lower end, said supporting-saddle having recesses to receive said forked lower end, a tail-grip by which the fish is drawn through the machine, means for lifting said stem clear of the tailgrip, means for lowering the forked stem and for pressing it lightly on the body of a passing fish, means for increasing the downward pressure on the stem when the forked end drops over the shoulder end of a fish as it passes, and means for severing the fish from its tail in the grip.

6. In a fish-cleaning machine, a fish-supporting member extending lengthwise in the line of movement, said fish-supporting member having its upper sides downwardly angled apart and outwardly convexed in crosssection, said fish-supporting member including a recessed ridge, spring-scrapers each secured at one end in said ridge-recesses of the supporting member and having an upwardlyturned and rounded scraping edge at the free end, and means for moving a fish lengthwise over the supporting member and means for pressing the fish downwardly upon the scraping devices.

7. In a fish-cleaning machine, the combination with a fish-supporting member of the character described, said supporting member having a shallow rectangular groove extending vertically over the top and down each side of the supporting member toward the forward end thereof for holding any portion of the viscera which may trail behind a passing fish, a stem having a forked lower end, the inner side of the fork adapted to [it into the supporting-member groove, guides attached to the frameworkof the machine, said stem being vertically slidable in said guides, a tail-gripping and fish-moving means for drawing the fish through the machine, means cooperating with said tail-gripping and moving means for lifting the forked end of the stem clear of such tail-grip, means :for lowering said forked end immediately after the passage of the grip, to rest on the body of the passing fish thereunder, means for increasing the downward pressure on the stem when the forked lower end drops over the shoulder end of a fish as it passes, substantially as shown and described.

8. In a fish-cleaning machine, means for severing any portion of the viscera which may trail behind the fish, said means comprising the combination with a fish-su )porting member of the character described, and means for drawing the fish over said supporting memher, said fish-drawing means including a grip, Said supporting member having a rectangular groove extending vertically down each side thereof, of a stem vertically movable over the fish, guides attached to the frame of the machine in which said stem is slidable, said stem having a forked lower end shaped to fit into the grooves in the fish-supporting member,

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means for lifting the stem clear of said grip, said lifting means comprising a curved lever, a short shaft to which said lever is secured, bearings on the frame of the machine for said short shaft, 'said lever having its under side projectingdownward into the pathof the said grip, a second lever secured to the same shaft, said vertically movable stem having a slot through which said second lever passes, means for pressing the vertical stem downward,'said means comprising "a shaft mounted in bearings on the frame of the machine, a short arm secured to said shaft and a'weight adjustably secured to said short'arm.

9. In a fish-cleaning machine, the combina-' tion with head-cutting, belly-splitting'and viscera-removing devices, and means for scrubbing and cleaning the exterior and interior of the fish, and means forconveying said fish through said head-cutting, bell y-splitting, viscera-removing devices and saidscrubbing and cleaning means, said conveying means including a tail-grip, of a tail-cutting device, said tail-cutting device comprising a driveshaft, bearings for said drive-shaft, a swinging frame mounted on said drive-shaft, a revoluble knife mounted in said swinging frame, an inclined bar secured to the free end of the knife carrying frame for engagement by the tail-grip to raise the knife on the approach of the grip and permit it to drop as soon as the grip passes to sever the fish from its tail, substantially as shown and described.

10. In a fish-cleaning machine, in combination with a supporting member and means for conveying the fish through the machine, said conveying means including -a tail grip, of means for severing the fish from its tail, said means comprising a circular knife, a short shaft mounted parallel to the line of motion of the fish, said circular knife mounted on said short shaft and projecting in the path of movement of the fish, a drive-shaft mounted on the frame of the machine, a pivotally-supported frame mounted on the drive-shaft, said shaft upon which the circular knife is mounted being revolubly mounted in the free end of the pivotally-supported frame, said knife-shaft and said (1 rive-Shaftbeing cooperatively connected, abar secured to the free end of the pivotallysupported frame and extending backward toward the direction of approach of the fish, said bar having its lower end projecting in the path of the tail-grip and angled upward toward the line of approach to be engaged by the tailgrip to lift the pivotally-supported frame clear of the grip and permit the knife to fall when the grip has passed the knife, all being arranged substantially as shown and described.

11. In a fish-cleaning machine,the combination with head-cutting, belly-splitting and viscera-removing'devices, and means for scrubbing the exterior and interior of the fish, and means for drawing the fish through the machine, of devices for scraping the visceral cavity, said devices comprising a supporting-saddle 3 having apertures 49 in its upper portion, a water-service pipe 38 mounted within the saddle to discharge through the apertures 49, resilient scrapers 13 mounted on the saddle 3, a series of ridgeddisks 4, shafts 7 mounted on bearings on the frame of the machine, spherical bearings 6 on said shaft 7 ,said spherical bearings having meridian grooves 10,pins Scarried by the ridged disks andpassing'into the meridian grooves to cooperatively connect said disks with said shaft, aframe 12 secured below said disks 4, rollers 11 mounted on said frame 12, bearings secured to the frame-of the machine, stems 18 slidable in said bearings, side plates 17 secured to said stems 18, resistance-springs 19 mounted'on said stems 18, means for rotatingthe shafts 7, and means for pressing thefishdownwardly on the supporting-saddle as it'passes thereover substantially as shown and described.

12. In a fish-cleaning machine, the combination with head-removingdevices, belly-splitting devices, visceraremoving devices and means for scrubbing the exterior and interior of the fish, of means for conveying said fish through the machine, means for retaining any .trailing portion of the viscera, said means comprising a supporting-saddle, a verticallymounted stem 28 having a forked lower end 29 mounted over said supporting-saddle, guides mounted on the frame of the machine to receive said stem 28, a lever 33 mounted above said supporting-saddle and projecting into the path of the fish-conveying means, said fishconveying means including a tail-grip for engaging said lever 33 to lift the same, a lever 31 passing through the stem 28 and cooperati've'ly connected with the lever 33, a lever 35 mounted above the stem 28, aweight 37 carried bysaid lever 35, a roller 39 carried by said weight 37 for engaging the top face of the stem 28, a shaft mounted on the frame of the machine on which the lever 35 is mounted, a lever 36 secured to the same shaft'as the lever 35, an auxiliary weight 38 carried by the lever 36, an eye 40 secured to the weight 38,

a carrying-shaft 42 mounted in bearings on the frame of the machine, a stem 41 loosely mounted on the carrying-shaft 42, a collar 46 on the stem 41 for engaging the eye 40, a disk 43 havinga cam 44 fixedly secured to the shaft 42, a roller 45 carried by the stem 41 for engaging with the cam portion 44 of the disk 43, means for rotating said shaft 42 all being ar ranged substantially as shown and described.

13. In a fish-cleaning machine, the combination with head-cutting devices, belly-split-' ting devices, viscera-removing devices, means for scraping the exterior and interior of the fish,-and meansfor conveying the fish through said head-cutting, belly-splitting, viscera-removing devices and said scrubbing means, said conveying means including a tail-grip, of

means for removing the fish from the tail, said I last-named means comprising a knife 50, a spindle 51 upon which said knife is mounted, a shaft 54 mounted in bearings on the machine-frame, a frame 52 pivotally mounted on the shaft 54:, a spindle 51 rotatably mounted in the free end of the frame 52, sprockets on the shafts 54:, and the spindle 51, a chain passing over said sprockets, an inclined bar 56 secured to the free end of the frame 52, and projecting into the path of the fish-conveying means for engagement by the tail-grip to lift the free end of the frame and knife 50 clear of the tail-grip and allow it to drop as the tailgrip passes to sever the body of the fish from its tail in the grip substantially as shown and described.

14. The combination with a conveying means including a tail-grip, of means for severing the fish from the tail in the grip, said means comprising a revoluble knife supported in the path of the fishs movement, in a vertical plane transverse to the path of movement of the fish on an axis parallel therewith and adjacent thereto, means for rotating said knife and meansfor lifting it clear of the tail-grip as the grip approaches and dropping it when the grip is passed.

15. In a fish-cleaning machine, means for scrubbing the upper side of the fish, said means comprising a cross-shaft rockable in bearings in the fixed frame of the machine, an arm mounted on said shaft, brushes secured to the free end of said arm, a second arm secured to said cross-shaft, weights adj ustably mounted on said second arm to move the brushes downward toward the path of a fish, means for conveying a fish through the machine, said means including a tail-grip, a lever secured to said cross-shaft and bent outwardly to project into the path of the tailgrip to be engaged thereby to lift the brushes clear of the grip and lower it onto the body of the fish after the grip has passed, and

means for supporting the fish, all being arranged substantially as shown and described.

16. In a fish-cleaning machine, means for scrubbing the sides of a fish, said means comprising brushes projecting loosely into the path of a fish, said brushes including spindles mounted in bearings on the frame of the machine and slidable outward toward each side at an acute angle to the path of movement of the fish, a resilient spring carried by each spindle for cooperating with said brushes to move the same inwardly, said brushes being mounted to move ina horizontal line inclined forward from the middle line of the fishs movement through the machine, means for supporting the fish and means for moving it through the brushes.

17. In a fish-cleaning machine, means for scrubbing the visceral cavity, said means comprising an elongated supporting member extending in the direction of movement of a fish, the upper sides of said member being in cross-section convexedly curved downwardly and outwardly from the ridge, said supporting member having circular recesses in the opposite outer sides thereof, scraping-disks rotatable in said recesses, means for rotating the scraping-disks, means for moving a fish over the supporting member, and means for scrubbing the exterior of the fish and pressing it upon the supporting member and rotatable disks substantially as shown and described.

18. In a fish-cleaning machine, means for scrubbing the visceral cavity, said means comprising a fish-supporting member secured to theframe of the machine and extending lengthwise in the direction of movement of a fish, said supporting member in cross-section having its upper sides convexed to conform to the shape of the inside of the split fish, said supporting member having circular recesses, ridged disks supported to rotate in said recesses, side plates extending lengthwise along the sides of the supporting member, said side plates being supported on the said frame of the machine to slide outwardly from the middle line of the machine, a resistance-spring for pressing said plates inwardly, rollers yieldingly supported on the frame of the machine over the supporting member for holding the fish downward on the supporting member, means for scrubbing and cleaning the exterior of a fish and means for moving a fish through the machine.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN KELLINGTON.

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