Foodcraft Equipment Co., Inc.

Other

Duane E Newswanger

Eugene G Martin

Scott A Cook

Sheldon Lynn Horst

Michael J Curtis

Michael E Lease

Thomas M McCarty

Steven P Sorensen

A poultry processing machine is provided which automatically vents and opens the poultry, eviscerates the poultry, displays the poultry for inspection, and either provides a normal or radical clean out procedure to the poultry. When the poultry is being physically processed, it is maintained in a generally stationary position with respect to the surface supporting the poultry processor to provide for uniform positioning of the poultry on the conveyor. Further, the poultry is positioned in a generally horizontal position during the venting and opening, eviscerating and cleaning procedures, to facilitate removing the unwanted materials from the poultry without increasing the risk of contamination. The eviscerating station uses an eviscerating tool which includes an opening sized to receive the viscera package therethrough during the eviscerating process to prevent damage to the viscera package. The clean out station automatically recognizes whether a particular poultry is to receive the normal or radical clean out procedure, thereby reducing processing time.

Eviscerating tool

Method and apparatus for venting/opening, eviscerating/cropping, inspecting and cleaning of poultry

An apparatus for eviscerating poultry includes plural groups of cars driven around a monorail track by variable pitch augers which produce combined continuous and intermittent car movement. The groups of cars are brought to rest momentarily in front of machinery for performing various operations. At a first station, slaughtered birds are clamped at the shoulders, and brought to a supine position. At a second, the vent of the bird is opened. At a third, the viscera are removed by spoon. Inspectors then examine each bird at a fourth station, and final preparation is performed at a fifth before the birds are unloaded from the apparatus.

Machine for eviscerating and displaying poultry for inspection

A poultry slaughtering machine includes a shackle conveyor for carrying a series of birds, suspended by their feet in a predetermined orientation with their breast facing to one side, along a first path, and a head capturing device disposed generally below the shackle conveyor and offset away from the breast side. The capturing device includes a flexible carrier constrained to follow an endless second path, a series of pairs of relatively movable jaws affixed to the endless carrier, and a cam rail for closing each pair of jaws about the neck of a bird. A rotary blade incises major blood vessels of tile neck, but is prevented from cutting the trachea or the spinal cord, and the jaws are opened to release the neck as soon as the cut has been made.

Poultry slaughtering machine

A chicken leg processor includes a transfer device for removing the lower portion of halved birds from a shackle conveyor, and delivering them to the conveyor chain of a cutting apparatus. The transfer device includes a segmented transfer disc which lifts the hocks from the shackles and deposits them in pockets on a horizontal gathering wheel. Subsequently, the hocks are driven out of the pockets by a paddle, and are captured between respective pairs of guide rails entering the cutting apparatus. At this point, the saddles are inverted by an overhead chain which rolls them forward into proper orientation for the cutting devices.

Growing community of inventors

Conestoga, PA, United States of America

Duane E Newswanger