Foodcraft Equipment Co., Inc.

Victor F. Weaver, Inc.

Favorite Manufacturing, Inc.

Other

Victor F. Weaver Holding Co., Inc.

Eugene G Martin

Dale M Risser

Scott A Cook

Michael E Lease

Duane E Newswanger

Harold C Martin

Sheldon Lynn Horst

Michael J Curtis

Thomas M McCarty

Steven P Sorensen

An air knife module assembly and a replaceable wear plate member are provided for a cyclonic comminuting and dehydrating machine. The air knife and wear plate can be formed in a modular configuration with the wear plate being mountable into an opening formed in the side wall of the cylindrical chamber of the cyclonic comminuter. The air knife module can be formed separately of the wear plate member and mounted into an opening formed in the wear plate module. The wear plate module can be secured to the side wall of the cylindrical chamber by removable fasteners while the air knife module can be secured by clamping members mounted on the wear plate module. Sensors in the air discharge detecting hazardous material above a predetermined threshold are operable to affect a de-naturing of the ground material discharge for removal thereof from the discharged stream of material.

Modular air knife and wear plate for cyclonic comminuter

A big game fishing chair provides a rocking action to enhance the rod movement while fighting big game fish. The rocking action is controlled by the legs of the operator, which lessens fatigue. The rocking mechanism includes a casting that is supported on the rotational mount of a standard pedestal. The chair is supported on the casting by two pairs of front and rear pivot links that are angled toward one another to provide the desired pivotal action for the chair relative to the pedestal which is fixed to the boat deck. The rocking action supplied by the rocking mechanism, between a full rearward position and a full forward position, provides arcuate movement to the fishing rod with requiring any traditional movement supplied to the fishing rod through the pivotal movement of the rod holder. A locking mechanism is operable to fix the rocker mechanism in a non-pivoting configuration to prevent the rocking mechanism from being operable, thus disabling the rocking action while the chair is not in use.

Big game fishing chair

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.

Method and apparatus for venting/opening, of poultry

Eviscerating tool

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

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

Method and apparatus for venting/opening, eviscerating/cropping,

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

Poultry carcasses, having open abdominal cavities, are suspended from a foot shackle conveyor. As each carcass approaches a knife for severing the upper and lower portions of the carcass, the top portion is transferred onto an approaching tine which enters the cavity, dipping downward as it does so. After the carcass is halved, the lower portion remains suspended in the foot shackle conveyor, and the top portion is carried away by the tine for further processing.

Loader for breast processor

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 method of making a food product from a wing of a bird comprising a middle section having a tip section attached to one end and a drumette section attached to the other end comprises cutting the wing to separate the middle section from the drumette section. The middle section is then cut along a line extending generally parallel to the middle section axis and spaced from the joint shared by the middle section and the drumette by a predetermined distance to remove the joint from the middle section. The tip section is then bent with respect to the middle section to expose at least a portion of both of the middle section bones proximate to the joint of the middle section and the tip section. A score line may be used to facilitate exposure of the two bones. The exposed portions of both of the middle section bones are then pulled to remove the two bones from the middle section to thereby provide a food product comprising a boneless middle section attached to the tip section, the tip section functioning as a convenient handle.

Method of making a food product from a bird wing and food product made

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.

Automatic saddle loader for poultry leg processor

A method and apparatus for producing boneless chicken breasts maximizes the amount of meat retained by the breast when the wing is removed from the breast, by permitting the wing to rotate with respect to the breast as the final wing cut is made while the breast and wing are maintained in tension. The apparatus automatically debones the breasts and performs the wings cuts, on a continuous series of chicken front halves.

Inline breast deboner

A method and apparatus for processing gizzards uses a gizzard splitter, a gizzard defatter and a gizzard peeler. The splitter includes upper and lower conveyors which define pockets for receiving an individual poultry gizzard. The pockets retain the gizzard as it is pushed over a rotating probe. The rotating probe includes a nipple-shaped head which washes foreign matter from the gizzard. The conveyor pockets also pass the gizzard by a rotating knife which slits the gizzard. The splitter includes a spray system for cleaning the upper and lower conveyor assemblies. The gizzard defatter includes a plurality of stationary picker fingers and a rotating frame having picking fingers mounted thereon. The picking fingers engage the gizzards removing fat and other debris. The peeler includes a plurality of sets of helically cut intermeshing gizzard peeler rolls or rollers and a rotating auger. A plurality of pins are positioned on the auger. The pins contact the gizzards and flip them on the gizzard peeler rollers.

Method and apparatus for processing turkey gizzards

A chicken thigh skinner includes a table having a feed end and a discharge end. A skinning portion of the table is adjustable along the longitudinal axis of the table to accommodate different size poultry parts. The skinning portion defines an elongated slot which is generally Y-shaped in plan. The arms of the Y define a generally triangular-shaped spear. A pair of counter-rotating spiral cut skinning rolls extend along and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the table. The skinning rolls define a nip which is positioned below the slot of the skinning portion of the table. A conveyor is supported by the table above the nip of the skinning rolls and the slot of the skinning portion of the table.

Growing community of inventors

New Holland, PA, United States of America

Eugene G Martin