Gordon Johnson Company

J D Hawthorn

Donald J Scheier

Henry E Frederick

Homer Augusta Haynes

James A Bonuchi

A chilling system advances products through a conveying tube and simultaneously chills the products using the fluid-conveying medium itself. Conveyance is effected through hydraulic pressure without the application of direct mechanical forces to the products whereby to minimize the instances of damage thereto, and product advancement is carried out on a continuous, first-in, first-out basis with a uniform, readily predictable rate of discharge. One embodiment passes the conveying tube through a chilling tank containing a coolant within which the tube is immersed; another embodiment employs a plurality of separate conveying tubes passing through a common chilling tank to prevent comingling of different product types that may be advanced through the respective tubes; and a further embodiment precools the conveying fluid before its introduction to the conveying tube with the products so that the products are chilled without the necessity of passing the conveying tube through a chilling tank, the option being provided to convey the products with a slurry of ice and liquid.

Product chilling in a fluid conveyor

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

Independence, MO, United States of America

J D Hawthorn