Abstract:
A washer cabinet has a bottom floor, a top wall, and a pair of upstanding sidewalls to define a channel that extends the length of the cabinet. The channel has an entry end and an exit end. An overhead track suspends animal carcasses in alignment with the channel. A plurality of rotating appendages and a plurality of fluid nozzles are positioned within the cabinet. An animal carcass suspended from the overhead track is moved into the cabinet through the entry end. The carcass comes into contact with the rotating appendages and is washed by fluid emitted from the fluid nozzles as it traverses the length of the cabinet before exiting at the exit end.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to a low-water, high-efficiency system for removing contaminants from variable size animal carcasses. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service requires the beef industry to use high pressure (750 psi) fluids to remove contaminates from carcasses. The use of high pressure fluids has a number of drawbacks including high water consumption and high energy requirements needed for pressurizing the water. Water usage can exceed three hundred gallons per minute (300 gpm). 
     Thus there is a need for a method of removing contaminants from variable size animal carcasses such as cattle while materially enhancing the quality of the environment by restoration and maintenance of water resources. 
     Pressurizing a large volume of water consumes substantial electrical energy. 
     Thus there is a need for reduction of energy consumption by the industrial equipment used to remove contaminants. 
     However, in view of the prior art taken as a whole at the time the present invention was made, it was not obvious to those of ordinary skill how the identified needs could be fulfilled. 
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     The novel structure removes contaminates from beef and other variable size animal products by physical contact using varying lengths and types of appendages attached to rotating devices. 
     The location and inclination of the rotating devices is not necessarily fixed as in poultry wherein carcass size is substantially uniform, although fixed rotating devices are within the scope of this invention. The rotating devices require repositioning along the vertical and horizontal axis during cleaning and processing. 
     Increased speed of the rotating devices, relative to devices used in poultry processing, is required to remove hundreds of pounds of contaminates, as distinguished from milligrams of contaminates in poultry. 
     The inside and outside of the product is cleaned by having physical contact with the rotating devices. The fluid pressure is reduced considerably (below 300 PSI as distinguished from 750 PSI in current beef-cleaning devices), thus reducing the consumption of fluids and electrical power required by prior art devices to perform the cleaning and processing. Because of the increased size of the product being cleaned and processed, the rotating devices are increased in overall diameter relative to poultry-dedicated devices. 
     The novel method also includes the removal of meat from bones, commonly referred to as mechanical deboning, as well as cleaning the carcass and individual parts of the carcass. 
     The length and diameter of the rotating device is determined by the product to be cleaned and processed. The appendages attached to the rotating device may be made of any food grade USDA approved material and attached to a core. The appendages and core may also be a one piece molded unit. The core may be bored through the center with a hole sized to accommodate the drive shaft. The core may also be machined to be driven acting as its own drive shaft. 
     The novel method includes the following steps. 
     The product to be cleaned and processed is introduced into the washer cabinet via an over head track system by specially designed carriers attached and suspended below the track. 
     The product enters through an opening on the entrance end of the cabinet and passes through the cabinet below the first of several fluid dispensing headers. The headers dispense fluids via spray nozzles of varying spray angles and flow rates. These headers are placed along the carrier path in strategic locations and allow fluids to be projected three hundred sixty degrees around the product. 
     As the product continues through the cabinet it encounters the first of several sets of rotating devices. The rotating devices are supported by shafts and are positioned on the shafts to best accomplish cleaning and processing of the product. The rotating devices rotate clockwise and counter-clockwise and descend below the horizontal plane. These rotating devices help to remove unwanted material from the product. As the product continues through the cabinet it encounters additional rotating devices and headers. 
     Additional headers have been specifically designed for each set of rotating devices and positioned to project fluids onto them during operation to help prevent cross contamination. 
     The rotating devices are turned via rotating shafts by external mechanical power devices. They are held in place by the mechanical power devices and encased ball bearings. Each rotating device set has its own mechanical power devices and encased ball bearings. 
     The product passes through a yoke type header before exiting the cabinet. This header flushes any loose unwanted material from the product. It is designed to flush from the top to the bottom. 
     A stainless steel cabinet encloses all headers and rotating devices. Access ports are provided for cleaning and maintenance. The cabinet bottom is fitted with drains to evacuate fluids. All materials are USDA approved for use in the food industry. 
     The use of the novel washer reduces by approximately sixty five percent (65%) the amount of water necessary to meet current cleaning standards. Electrical power consumption is also reduced due to the lower horsepower requirements needed to produce sufficient fluid pressures. 
     The physical size, shape, and method of presentation of the product being cleaned and processed necessitates a completely new approach to removal and processing of same. An exemplary embodiment of the invention includes a washer cabinet having a bottom, sides, an entry end, an exit end, a top, a channel extending along the length of the cabinet, an overhead track disposed above the cabinet for suspending animal carcasses in alignment with the channel, a plurality of rotating appendages within the cabinet, and a plurality of fluid nozzles within the cabinet, whereby an animal carcass suspended from the overhead track is moved into the cabinet through the entry end where it comes into contact with the rotating appendages and is washed by fluid emitted from the fluid nozzles as it traverses the length of the cabinet before coming out the exit end of the cabinet. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       For a fuller understanding of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is an isometric view of an illustrative embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is an isometric view like  FIG. 1 , showing hidden parts in broken lines; 
         FIG. 3  is a top plan view of said illustrative embodiment; 
         FIG. 4  is a longitudinal sectional view of said embodiment; and 
         FIG. 5  is a side elevational view of said embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , it will there be seen that an illustrative embodiment of the invention is denoted as a whole by the reference numeral  10 . 
     Cabinet  10  includes an imperforate bottom wall or floor  12 , a pair of opposed, upstanding side walls  14 ,  16 , and a top wall  18  having a longitudinally-extending slot  20  formed therein. Viewing windows, collectively denoted  22 , are formed in the side walls. 
     Cabinet  10  further includes end walls  24 ,  26 . End wall  24  has access or entry opening  28  formed therein. Note that said access opening is in open communication with slot  20  formed in top wall  18 . End wall  26  has a similar exit opening that is also in open communication with said slot. 
     A plurality of upstanding posts, collectively denoted  30 , elevate bottom wall  12  and thus washer cabinet  10  above support surface  31 . More particularly, each post  30  has a bracket  32  secured thereto and each bracket is secured to a plate  34  that is secured to cabinet  10 . Each bracket is securable to its associated post at any height along the extent thereof. The position of each bracket relative to its post therefore determines the distance between said bottom wall and said support surface. The brackets are positioned at a common height so that bottom wall  12  and washer cabinet  10  are substantially level. This ability to raise and lower washer cabinet  10  accommodates carcasses of differing lengths. Large carcasses, for example, may require lowering of washer cabinet  10  and smaller carcasses may require raising of said washer cabinet. 
     In this embodiment, a first pair of motors, denoted  36   a ,  36   b  is secured to entry end wall  24  at a lower end thereof and a second pair of motors, collectively denoted  36   c ,  36   d  ( FIG. 3 ), is secured to exit end wall  26  at a lower end thereof. 
     More particularly, each motor has an output shaft and a gear box  38   a ,  38   b ,  38   c , and  38   d  that translates the rotation of the output shaft into rotation of an elongate driven shaft having an axis of rotation that is disposed ninety degrees from the axis of rotation of the output shaft. 
     There are four (4) of said motors and therefore four (4) of said elongate driven shafts. Said shafts are denoted  40   a ,  40   b ,  40   c , and  40   d  in the Figs. 
     A “V”-shaped indentation is formed in top wall  18  about mid-length thereof. The indentation is transverse to the longitudinal axis of cabinet  10  and is bisected by channel  20  so that it has four parts, each of said parts being a sloped wall. The indentation includes a first sloped wall  18   a  and a second sloped wall  18   b  on opposite sides of said channel on the access end of the washer cabinet, and a third sloped wall  18   c  and a fourth sloped wall on opposite sides of said channel on the egress end of the washer cabinet. An unnumbered flat wall is between the sloped walls of the access and egress ends. Apertures  19   a ,  19   b  formed in sloped walls  18   a ,  18   b , respectively, receive the upper ends of driven shafts  40   a ,  40   b , respectively. Apertures  19   c ,  19   d  formed in sloped walls  18   c ,  18   d  receive the upper ends of driven shafts  40   c ,  40   d , respectively. Thus it is understood that the indentation in said top wall facilitates maintenance of the driven shafts. The fluid headers are held in place by “U” bolts. One end of each fluid header protrudes through an opening formed in the cabinet wall, thereby holding that end from movement. 
     A plurality of appendages  42   a ,  42   b ,  42   c ,  42   d  is respectively secured to each driven shaft  40   a ,  40   b ,  40   c ,  40   d  so that said appendages extend in radial relation to the axis of rotation of their associated shaft. Appendages  42   a - d  may be aligned with one another to form distinct rows along a substantial part of their associated driven shafts. In the embodiment of  FIG. 1 , there are four (4) distinct rows of appendages  42   a  spaced ninety degrees from one another. However, this invention includes a larger number and a lesser number of rows. This invention also includes radially-mounted appendages that are not aligned in rows along the length of the driven shaft. 
     As best depicted in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , driven shafts  40   a  and  40   b  at the entry end of cabinet  10  are positioned approximately at a thirty five degree angle relative to floor  12 . Driven shafts  40   c  and  40   d  at the exit end of cabinet  10  are positioned approximately at a forty five degree angle relative to floor  12 . The angles may be changed to facilitate better contact with the carcass, thereby resulting in a cleaner product. 
     Accordingly, motors  36   a ,  36   b  are secured to entry end wall  24  by brackets  37   a ,  37   b  and motors  36   c ,  36   d  are secured to exit end wall  26  by brackets  37   c ,  37   d . Each of said brackets has a first flat part secured to its associated end wall and three additional flat parts formed integrally therewith that are bent as depicted to hold their associated motors at the preselected angle. Said parts of the brackets are not numbered to avoid cluttering of the drawings but their structure is clearly depicted in  FIG. 1 . There are of course numerous other mechanical means for mounting the motors in the desired position that do not require brackets  37   a - d  and all of such brackets are within the scope of this invention. 
     There are two (2) elongate fluid headers disposed in parallel relation to each of the four (4) driven shafts. Nozzles are equidistantly spaced along the length of each fluid header. More particularly, for each driven shaft there is one (1) header positioned directly above it, i.e., in the same vertical plane and one (1) header positioned beside it, i.e., in the same horizontal plane. 
     In  FIG. 2 , the fluid header positioned above driven shaft  40   a  is denoted  44   a  and the fluid header positioned beside it is denoted  45   a . The fluid header positioned above driven shaft  40   b  is denoted  44   b  and the fluid header positioned beside it is denoted  45   b . The fluid header positioned above driven shaft  40   c  is denoted  44   c  and the fluid header positioned beside it is denoted  45   c . The fluid header positioned above driven shaft  40   d  is denoted  44   d  and the fluid header positioned beside it is denoted  45   d . First fluid header  44   d  sprays on the brushes to help prevent cross contamination and second fluid header  45   d  sprays on the product being washed. 
     It will be seen that the advantages set forth above, and those made apparent from the foregoing description, are efficiently attained and since certain changes may be made in the above construction without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matters contained in the foregoing description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. 
     It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween. Now that the invention has been described,