Gordon Johnson Company

Henry E Frederick

Donald J Scheier

J D Hawthorn

Homer Augusta Haynes

A knife is carried in a protective holder that permits only limited exposure of the cutting edge. Initially, the knife swings through an arc with its cutting edge trailing as the bird is simultaneously swung in a direction to cause a previously prepared hole at the vent of the bird to intersect and receive the knife during the latter's movement. With the knife thus inserted into the hole, the bird is then held against further movement with the knife and the latter is suddenly flipped outwardly and upwardly so as to slit the skin between the hole and the keel bone, thereby preparing an enlarged opening to the body cavity that will permit the subsequent entry of an eviscerating tool.

Method and apparatus for opening the body cavity of poultry

The digestive tract of a poultry carcass is removed for inspection without stretching the weak section of the esophagus beyond its breaking point by simultaneously pulling on the gizzard and proventriculus at opposite ends of the weak section using two separate tools. The tool which hooks beneath the proventriculus is withdrawn from the carcass at substantially the same or slightly faster rate than the tool which pulls on the gizzard and the remainder of the organs in the tract, thereby transferring stress from the weak section of the esophagus to the stronger section below the proventriculus. The tool for the gizzard comprises a generally U-shaped, open loop, while the tool for the proventriculus comprises a tongue having a bifurcated tip which can be cocked into a position for hooking beneath the proventriculus after the tongue has been fully inserted.

Poultry eviscerating method and apparatus

Poultry carcasses are suspended by their legs and advanced by an overhead conveyor to a machine which automatically severs the vent from each carcass in succession as advancement continues and then partially withdraws each severed vent from its carcass to drape the same over the outside of the carcass for inspection. Each carcass is initially positioned angularly against a support so that the cutter begins severance generally toward the backbone of the carcass, whereupon the carcass is rocked inwardly toward the support and relative to the cutter to position the backbone flatly against the support and generally in line with the cutter. This motion causes the cutter to move along rather than toward the backbone during the short period of further severance so that membranes attaching urinary organs and muscular tissues to the backbone are fully severed. A short segment of helical flighting around the outside of the cutter engages fatty tissues surrounding the vent during entry of the cutter and causes such tissues to climb up the cutter so as to assure complete severance without requiring entry of the cutter to such an extent that entrails might be severed to spill fecal contaminants throughout the carcass. Vacuum pressure applied through the cutterhead adheres the severed vent to the cutter such that when the latter is retracted from the carcass, the vent is pulled partially therefrom until the vacuum pressure is discontinued to release the vent.

Growing community of inventors

Parkville, MO, United States of America

Henry E Frederick