The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 30, 2004
Filed:
Feb. 26, 2003
William D. Young, Owatonna, MN (US);
Kent L. Simonson, Austin, MN (US);
Hormel Foods, LLC, Austin, MN (US);
Abstract
An apparatus for removing skin from a torso of an animal using a rotatable drum having a circumference. A gripper is positioned at a point on the circumference of the rotatable drum adapted to engage a portion of the skin causing the torso of the animal to rotate as the rotatable drum rotates. A sharp blade is positioned near the point on the circumference of the rotatable drum for cutting the skin from the animal. A dull blade is spaced a dull blade gap distance away from the circumference of the rotatable drum and a setback distance away from the sharp blade opposite from the gripper, the dull blade adapted to contact the skin of the animal as the animal rotates. An adjustment arm is coupled to the dull blade for controlling the dull blade gap distance. A controller is coupled to the adjustment arm for automatically adjusting dull blade gap distance in accordance with a predetermined profile for the dull blade gap distance which varies around the torso of the animal.