Device and method for processing a slaughtered animal

In a device and method for processing a slaughtered animal or a part thereof, the slaughtered animal or the part thereof is conveyed on a holding support of a carrier connected to an overhead conveyor. The holding support is provided with devices for fixing the slaughtered animal or part thereof. The carrier is conveyed past filleting tools disposed in an essentially fixed orientation, while the holding support of the carrier provided with a swivelling device can be swivelled by means of a control device which controls the swivelling device during the passage past the filleting tools, in order to carry out the filleting operations with the filleting tools.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to a device and method for processing a slaughtered 
animal, which device consists of a carrier which is connected to an 
overhead conveyor and has a holding support for conveying at least part of 
a slaughtered animal, in particular a front half or a part thereof of a 
slaughtered bird, which holding support is provided with means for fixing 
the slaughtered animal or the part thereof on the holding support. 
DISCUSSION OF THE PRIOR ART 
Such a carrier is known from German Patent Application No. 4,008,719. A 
front half of a bird is clamped by means of a clamping mechanism (not 
shown in any further detail) on said carrier, which has an essentially 
cone-shaped holding support immovably connected to the overhead conveyor, 
following which, for filleting thereof, the forehalf is conveyed breast 
side down on the holding support past a number of processing stations for 
skinning and detaching and removing meat from the front half. For this 
purpose, the various processing stations are equipped with skinning and 
filleting tools, such as cutters and scrapers, which are moved relative to 
the front half in synchronism (in a manner not shown in any further 
detail) with the movement of the holding supports. 
A disadvantage of the prior art described above is the complexity of the 
control system for the movement of the filleting tools, which leads to a 
filleting device which is susceptible to faults and requires frequent 
maintenance. Moreover, a cost-increasing accurate position detection of a 
holding support moving through a processing station is necessary for the 
correct timing of the movement of the filleting tools. On the other hand, 
for tools disposed in a fixed position along the path of the holding 
support, for example rollers for skinning the front half, the processing 
cannot be carried out in the optimum manner. Another disadvantage is the 
rigid arrangement of the overhead conveyor and the processing stations, 
which arrangement allows little flexibility in the routing of the 
filleting device. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The object of the invention is to eliminate the abovementioned 
disadvantages. 
To attain this object, the device according to the invention is 
characterized in that the carrier comprises a swivelling device which can 
interact with a control device disposed along the track of the overhead 
conveyor, in order to swivel the holding support. With such a design of 
the carrier, filleting tools and a skinning device can be disposed in an 
essentially stationary manner, and the holding support with the 
slaughtered animal or a part thereof situated thereon on the contrary can 
be moved not only on the usual path running essentially parallel to the 
overhead conveyor, but also relative to the skinning and filleting tools, 
in such a way that the desired processing operation is obtained in the 
optimum manner. 
In the prior art, with processing devices disposed in a fixed position 
along the holding supports moving in a fixed path, it was often not 
possible to make such devices of the optimum technical design, since it 
was not permissible for some components, such as drive components, to go 
in the path of the slaughtered animal. An example of this is a skinning 
device which is shown in the abovementioned German Patent Application No. 
4,008,719, the drive components of which had to be made too light. Owing 
to the fact that the holding support of the carrier according to the 
invention can swivel, it can be ensured in a simple manner that the 
slaughtered animal does not come into contact with components of 
processing devices, so that processing devices can be of the optimum 
construction. 
In a preferred embodiment, the swivelling device is adapted for swivelling 
the holding support in a vertical plane. In practice, it is found that 
such a swivelling movement is not only easily possible, but also adequate 
for carrying out the filleting operations. However, it is also possible to 
design the swivelling device in such a way that the holding support can be 
swivelled in a horizontal plane, or can perform a combination of a 
horizontal and vertical swivelling movement, with the result that a 
filleting operation can be carried out in the optimum manner. 
The carrier advantageously comprises at least one roller or pin with an 
axis extending essentially at right angles to the direction of conveyance 
of the overhead conveyor. Such rollers or pins can easily be operated or 
guided along the path of the overhead conveyor, in order to drive the 
swivelling device or to stabilize the carrier which is moving along. For 
the former application, the at least one roller or pin forms part of the 
swivelling device, and the at least one pin or roller can be moved 
essentially at right angles to the direction of the axis thereof by the 
control device for swivelling the holding support, while the carrier can 
interact with a control device which is provided with a curved slot for 
accommodating and operating the roller or pin. For the latter application, 
the carrier preferably comprises at least two rollers or pins fixedly 
bearing-mounted or fixed thereon, respectively, while the control device 
is provided with at least one slot for accommodating the rollers or pins, 
in order to stabilize the carrier. 
In an expedient and cheap embodiment, the holding support is connected such 
that it can pivot at a first point to the carrier, and the roller or pin 
of the swivelling device is connected to a lever which at a second point 
is connected such that it can pivot to the holding support, which second 
point differs from the first point. This embodiment is particularly 
suitable for swivelling the holding support in a vertical plane, in which 
case the hinge axes are directed essentially horizontally and at right 
angles to the direction of conveyance of the overhead conveyor. 
In a preferred embodiment, the holding support is essentially elongated, 
while one end of the holding support can be directed in, or at an acute 
angle to, the direction of conveyance of the overhead conveyor. Said end 
can thus be swivelled both upwards and downwards. 
In order to fix the slaughtered animal or the part thereof on the holding 
support, the latter is provided with at least one toothed cam which is 
movable relative to the surface of the holding support and is designed in 
such a way that under a biassing force, for example produced by a 
compression or tension spring, it can grip the inside of the slaughtered 
animal or part thereof, in particular in the region of the breastbone or 
the spinal column. The teeth are preferably barbed, so that, once a 
slaughtered animal or part thereof has been placed on the holding support, 
it can no longer be removed therefrom. 
For a particularly reliable fixing of the slaughtered animal or the part 
thereof on the holding support, the carrier is designed in such a way that 
it can interact with pressing means disposed along the path of the 
carrier, in order to press the slaughtered animal or the part thereof onto 
the holding support. Such pressing means preferably comprise stops which 
are disposed along the path of the holding support and can be taken 
briefly into the path of the slaughtered animal or the part thereof. 
After a filleting operation, the carcasses of the slaughtered animals are 
simple to remove from the holding supports, owing to the fact that the 
latter are provided on either side with slots extending essentially in the 
direction of conveyance when the holding support is in a particular swivel 
position, while the carrier can interact with cutting means which are 
disposed along the path of the carrier and extend almost to or into said 
slots, for severing a carcass situated on the holding support. 
In another preferred embodiment, which is intended in particular for 
placing a breast part on a holding support, the fixing means of the 
carrier comprise a supporting element directed parallel to or forming an 
acute angle with the surface of the holding support, while the holding 
support contains a pin which is movable in its lengthwise direction, and 
one end of which can project under a biassing force, for example from a 
compression or tension spring, at an angle to the surface of the holding 
support against the side of the supporting element facing the surface. 
Such a holding support is known per se, but according to the invention it 
can now be swivelled and is of a design which is suspended from an 
overhead conveyor. In order to facilitate the placing of the breast part, 
the holding support can be designed in such a way that the pin is moved by 
the swivelling movement of the holding support, so that in a first swivel 
position the pin is situated below the surface of the holding support, and 
in a second swivel position, differing from the first swivel position, 
projects from said surface. 
The carrier can be suspended at one or more points in the overhead 
conveyor. From the point of view of an advantageous load distribution on 
the overhead conveyor--which is important in particular in the case of 
heavy slaughtered animals, such as turkeys--and from the point of view of 
a certain basic stability of the carrier, the latter is suspended flexibly 
from the overhead conveyor, at at least two points, in particular from 
trolleys which are movable along a rail and are interconnected by means of 
a chain, belt, cable, cord or the like. Said suspension of the carrier 
from the overhead conveyor permits very flexible routing, so that the 
filleting device of which the carrier forms a part can be adapted in the 
optimum manner to a desired or already existing filleting route in a 
slaughterhouse. 
The design of the carrier with fixing means in the form of a cam or the 
like is particularly suitable for use in a device for automatic placing of 
front halves of slaughtered animals on such carriers with holding 
supports, which to that end comprise a conveyor for moving along the front 
halves with the abdominal cavity opening thereof directed essentially at 
right angles to the direction of movement of the conveyor, which conveyor 
is adapted to interact with an overhead conveyor with the carriers, the 
direction of movement of which is essentially at right angles to the 
direction of movement of the conveyor, while the holding supports of the 
carriers go into the abdominal cavity opening of the front halves. This 
means that the carrier on the overhead conveyor can automatically receive 
on the holding support of the carrier a front half which is on the 
conveyor moving essentially at right angles to said overhead conveyor. It 
is also possible to design the carrier with a holding support which is 
detachable therefrom and can be automatically attached thereto, and which 
has already been placed beforehand in the abdominal cavity opening of a 
front half, and in which the holding support is coupled to the remaining 
part of the carrier during the passage of this remaining part over the 
conveyor, which moves along the front halves with the holding supports 
placed therein. In this embodiment the holding supports are automatically 
caught by the remaining part of the carrier. 
According to the invention, a filleting operation carried out on a front 
half of slaughtered poultry, in particular a turkey, in a filleting device 
according to the invention is characterized by the following steps: prior 
to the filleting of the front half, at least two incisions are made, 
extending almost to or into the ribs, and each extending from the region 
of a shoulder in the direction of the position of the hip at the same side 
of the front half; detaching the breast meat from the carcass in the 
direction of the breastbone; and separating the breast meat from the 
carcass. 
For this processing, the front half to be filleted can have been separated 
from the remainder of the carcass, and the wings can have been removed 
from it, but the filleting method described can also be carried out on a 
carcass which still comprises front half and back half and the wings. 
In a preferred embodiment, at least the breast side of the front half is 
skinned prior to scraping off the breast meat, by making a breast skin 
incision in the lengthwise direction of and along the breastbone of the 
carcass, and then pulling away the breast skin from the front half on 
either side of the breast skin incision. In the prior art, it was usual 
not to make said breast skin incision, and to pull the skin away from the 
front half at the position of the breastbone, with the result that skin 
residues remained behind, particularly at the sides of the front half, 
after the skinning operation. This disadvantage is avoided by the skinning 
method described above. 
If the front half of the slaughtered poultry still comprises at least part 
of a wing, the filleting method described earlier is preferably carried 
out in such a way that, prior to the step of scraping off the breast meat, 
the shoulder joint is severed at least partially at the back of the 
carcass, and by means of the wing the meat is detached from the carcass in 
the region of the shoulder joints, for example by pressing, for example 
with stops, against the wings, or by pulling, for example with a gripper, 
on the wings. 
For the removal of the back meat from the front half after an incision has 
been made in the front half between the region of the shoulder and the 
region of the hip position along the breast side of the shoulder joint, an 
incision is made at the back side of the front half along the spinal 
column, and the back meat is then pulled or scraped off the carcass. This 
is how the so-called oyster pieces are obtained from the poultry. 
In a preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention, 
undesired tissue is removed from the neck region and/or the back region of 
the poultry prior to scraping off the breast meat. Such tissue consists of 
fat, glands or the like, and can be removed easily by means of skinning 
rollers which are known per se, in particular using the carrier provided 
with a swivelling device according to the invention. 
The breast side of the carcass preferably faces essentially downwards 
during the filleting operation, as a result of which the detachment of the 
breast meat from the carcass is supported by gravity. 
According to the invention, a breast part of slaughtered poultry is 
filleted in a device according to the invention by carrying out the 
following steps: scraping away the outer fillet from the flank of the 
carcass in the region from the collarbone to beyond the processus 
thoracicus and up to the inner fillet; detaching the membrane connection 
between the inner fillet and the carcass; and detaching outer and inner 
fillets from the carcass, if desired the step of removing the wishbone 
from the carcass can be added to the above mentioned steps. This can be 
advantegeous for instance for chicken. Making the incision over the 
collarbone up to the processus thoracicus means that in the step where the 
outer and inner fillets are pulled away from the carcass the fat on the 
belly side of the breast cut is also obtained. However, if the 
abovementioned incision is extended beyond the processus thoracicus, the 
abovementioned fat is not obtained, which in terms of weight is, of 
course, a disadvantage but, on the other hand, is welcomed by certain 
groups of consumers. 
It should be pointed out that the measures according to the claims can also 
be applied in conjunction with any type of conveyor other than an overhead 
conveyor. 
The claims and advantages will be more readily appreciated as the same 
becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed 
description and considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in 
which like reference symbols designate like parts or parts with the same 
function.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
FIGS. 1a, 1b and 1c show an overhead conveyor 2, comprising a rail 4 with 
an inverted T-shaped cross-section, and a number of trolleys in the form 
of forks 8 interconnected by means of a chain 6, which forks bear at the 
ends of their legs rotatably mounted wheels 10, by means of which the 
forks 8 can be moved along the rail 4 in the direction of arrow 12 by 
exerting a pulling force on the chain 6. The overhead conveyor 2 described 
is standard equipment in many slaughterhouses, and is intended for the 
conveyance of slaughtered animals or parts thereof by means of carriers 
fixed on the forks 8. 
The carrier according to the invention comprises a swivelling device 14 and 
a holding support 16. The swivelling device 14 comprises a rectangular 
hollow plate 18, which at its top side is connected flexibly to forks 8 at 
two points. In this case the connecting mechanism 20 which is fitted in 
the plate 18, and is indicated at the righthand side of FIG. 1a, permits 
both rotation of the corresponding fork 8 about a vertical axis and 
movement of the fork 8 along the top side of the plate 18 in the direction 
of conveyance 12 or in the opposite direction. The connection 20a between 
the plate 18 and the fork 8, shown at the lefthand side of FIG. 1a, 
permits only rotation of the fork 8 about a vertical axis relative to the 
plate 18. This means that the carrier can follow any curvature of the rail 
4 which occurs, without any problems. 
An arm 22 is fixed to the plate 18, which arm 22 is connected at its bottom 
end to the holding support 16 in such a way that said arm pivots about a 
shaft 24. The holding support 16 is connected to a lever 28 in such a way 
that it pivots about a shaft 26, the top end of which lever is guided 
along a slot 30 in the plate 18. The top end of the lever 28 is connected 
to rollers 32, rotatably bearing-mounted and projecting laterally from the 
plate 18. Moving the rollers 32 up and down in the slot 30 results in a 
corresponding swivelling movement of the holding support 16 about the 
shaft 24, as shown by dashed lines in FIG. 1a. Near the point where it is 
connected to the forks 8, the plate 18 is also provided with two pairs of 
rollers 34 which project laterally from the plate 18 and are fixedly 
bearing-mounted on the plate 18. As can be seen from FIG. 1c in 
particular, the rollers 32 and 34 can be guided by means of a control 
device consisting of plates 40 provided with grooves or curved tracks 36 
and 38 disposed along the track of the overhead conveyor. The curved 
tracks 38, which are intended for stabilization of the plate 18, in this 
case run essentially parallel to the rail 4, while the rollers 32 can be 
moved by means of the curved tracks 36 relative to the rollers 34 (in the 
direction of slot 30). A controllable swivelling movement of the holding 
support 16 in a vertical plane is obtained in this way. In order to 
facilitate the cleaning of the overhead conveyor 2 the plates 40 can be 
made movable, for instance pivotable around an axis parallel to the 
direction of conveyance which axis is positioned between and above the 
plates itself. 
The holding support 16 is shown in greater detail in FIG. 1b and is 
essentially elongated and cone-shaped, the transverse dimensions of the 
holding support 16 being adapted as far as possible to the contour of the 
part of the slaughtered animal or the part thereof which will be facing it 
when placed on the holding support. The holding support 16 comprises a 
partially recessed cam 42 with two lobes, which cam 42 is pivotable about 
a shaft 48 against the spring biassing force supplied by a spring 46 
confined by means of a screw 44 in the holding support 16. The cam 42 is 
provided with barbed teeth 50, which ensure that a slaughtered animal or 
part thereof which has been pushed sufficiently far onto the holding 
support 16 can no longer be removed from the holding support 16 in the 
opposite direction. 
The embodiment of the carrier shown in FIGS. 2a and 2b corresponds largely 
to the embodiment according to FIGS. 1a, 1b and 1c, with the exception of 
the cam 42, which has been replaced by a cam 52. The cam 52 is also 
partially recessed in the holding support 16, is pivotable about a shaft 
48, is under an outward directed biassing force which is generated by a 
spring 54, is provided with barbed teeth 56, and has the effect of the cam 
42 described above. 
FIG. 3 illustrates how a front half 58 of slaughtered poultry is placed by 
hand on the holding support 16. The holding support 16 can be provided 
with either a cam 42 or a cam 52. In the case shown, the wings have 
already been removed from the front half 58, and a part of the shoulder 
joints remains at the point indicated by 60. The back of the front half 58 
is facing upwards, so that the breast fillets are situated at the 
underside. The rollers 32 are guided into the position shown relative to 
the roller 34, so that the holding support 16 is in an approximately 
horizontal orientation. The placing can be carried out while the carrier 
suspended from the overhead conveyor 2 is being moved along in the 
direction of the arrow 12. 
FIG. 3a shows diagrammatically an endless conveyor belt 100 which runs in 
the direction of arrow 101 over rollers 102, at least one of which is 
driven. A number of pairs of partitions 104a, 104b are fixed flexibly on 
the belt 100. The distance between two adjacent pairs of partitions 104a, 
104b is selected in such a way that there is space for the accommodation 
of a front half 58. Such front halves 58 are placed at the point indicated 
by arrow 106 between two adjacent pairs of partitions 104a, 104b, with the 
abdominal cavity opening of the front halves 58 facing away from the side 
shown in FIG. 3a; FIG. 3a therefore shows the side of the neck opening 108 
of the front half 58. The rail 4 of an overhead conveyor with carriers 
according to FIG. 1c is directed at right angles to the direction of 
movement 101 of the conveyor belt 100. With suitable control of the 
passage of a holding support 16 over the conveyor belt 100, the holding 
support 16 passes by way of the abdominal cavity opening into a front half 
58, and the holding support 16 takes the front half 58 with it from the 
conveyor belt 100. The manual placing of a front half 58 on a holding 
support 16 shown in FIG. 3 can therefore be automated. 
Another method of mechanized placing of a front half on a carrier is 
illustrated in FIG. 3b. The front halves 58 situated on the conveyor belt 
100 have already been provided with a holding support 16. The holding 
supports 16 are automatically connected (in a manner not shown in any 
further detail) to arm 22 and lever 28 of the swivelling device 14 during 
a passage of the carrier over the conveyor belt 100. 
In a subsequent processing stage, which is illustrated in FIGS. 4a and 4b, 
the front half 58, which until then has been fixed only to a slight degree 
on the holding support 16, is pressed into a completely fixed position on 
the holding support 16 by a diagrammatically shown pressing device 62 
fitted near the path of the front half 58 moving along in the direction of 
the arrow 12. The pressing device 62 comprises two plates 68 which can be 
swung down in synchronism on either side of the holding support 16 in the 
direction of arrow 64 about a shaft 66, the drives and controls of which 
plates are not shown in any further detail, but can be, for example, 
pneumatic or electric. The plates 68 of the pressing device 62, which is 
disposed in a fixed position along the track of the overhead conveyor 2, 
are held in the swung-down position shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b until the 
front half 58 has been forced sufficiently far into a fixed position on 
the holding support 16 by the movement of the holding support 16 in the 
direction of the arrow 12, as shown in FIG. 5. The plates then spring back 
to their initial position shown by dashed lines in FIG. 4a. 
FIG. 5a illustrates the way in which a suitable shape of the rail 4 of the 
overhead conveyor 2 can be selected to ensure that in a particular part of 
a filleting line the distance between holding supports 16 of successive 
carriers, moving along in the direction of the arrow 12, can be increased 
in order to facilitate the carrying out of filleting operations on the 
front half 58 or the placing or removal of a front half. The connections 
20 and 20a of the carrier, combines with the flexibility of the chain 6, 
permit movement along the rail 4 without any problems. 
As FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate, in a horizontal orientation of the holding 
support 16, obtained by guiding the rollers 32 and 34 in curved tracks 36 
and 38 respectively, the front half 58 has incisions made on three sides, 
i.e. incisions 71 below the shoulder joints at the level of the axillae by 
means of cutters 70, and an incision 73 through the skin at the level of 
the breastbone beneath it, by means of a cutter 72, and has elongated 
guides 75 for determining the incision depth. The cutters 70 and 72 are 
shown in FIG. 6 as circular cutters driven by motors 74, 76 respectively, 
but they can also be stationary cutters. The cutting devices 70, 74 and 
72, 76 are disposed in a fixed position along the path of the holding 
support 16, so that the incisions made by them occur through the movement 
of the carrier in the direction of the arrow 12. 
In order to prepare for the subsequent skinning operation, the holding 
support 16 is swivelled upwards relative to the rollers 34 by movement of 
the rollers 32 in the slot 30, as illustrated in FIG. 8. 
As FIGS. 9a and 9b illustrate further, the front half 58 is taken from the 
upward directed position illustrated in FIG. 8, on a number of rotating 
helical rollers 78a, 78b, 78c and 78d (in this case four) provided with 
helical ribs, by swivelling the holding support 16 in the direction of 
arrow 79 to its lowest position. In this case the rollers 32 are situated 
entirely in the bottom of the slot 30. A special control system for 
reaching this position of the holding support 16 is in fact not necessary, 
since this position is reached automatically through the action of the 
force of gravity, even in the absence of a control device 40. The rotating 
helical rollers 78a and 78b, rotating in opposite directions to each 
other, remove the skin at the righthand side of the front half 58, while 
the helical rollers 78c and 78d, rotating in opposite directions to each 
other, remove the skin at the lefthand side of the front half 58. 
A similar device is shown in FIG. 9c, where the front half 58 on the 
holding support 16 is placed in a downward directed orientation on two 
helical rollers 77a and 77b, provided with helical ribs and rotating in 
opposite directions to each other, for the removal of fat, glands or the 
like from the neck region of the front half. The tissue to be removed is 
pulled into the nip between the rollers 77a, 77b. 
After the skinning and possibly cleaning of the neck region, the front half 
58 remains in the downward swivelled position according to FIG. 9a, as 
shown in FIG. 10. 
As illustrated in FIG. 11, stationary scrapers 80 are then disposed in a 
fixed or slightly resilient position along the track of the overhead 
conveyor 2. By means of a suitable curved track control of the rollers 32 
relative to the rollers 34, the holding support 16 with the front half 58 
is swivelled in the direction of arrow 81 to the position shown in FIG. 11 
at the moment that the shoulder joints 60 of the front half 58 moving in 
the direction of the arrow 12 have passed the scrapers 80. As a result of 
this, the scrapers 80 move between the coracobrachialis externus and 
coracobrachialis internus muscles of the front half 58 and scrape the 
breast meat away up to the line 82 and up to the processus thoracicus of 
the carcass, so that the meat hangs down laterally through the effect of 
gravity, as illustrated in FIG. 12. 
The holding support 16 is then tilted downwards to the position shown in 
FIG. 13 and guided along one or more scrapers 84 extending essentially 
parallel to the track of the overhead conveyor, as shown in FIGS. 13, 14 
and 15, while the holding support 16 is gradually swivelled upwards by 
suitable control of the position of the rollers 32 relative to that of the 
rollers 34, with the result that the meat along the bones of the carcass 
is scraped away up to the breastbone of the carcass 86, apart from a 
connection at the breastbone, as illustrated in FIG. 16. 
As illustrated further in FIG. 16, the breast meat 88 hanging from the 
breastbone of the carcass 86 is separated from the carcass 86 by means of 
a stationary or rotating cutting element 90 disposed in a fixed or 
resilient manner along the path of the carcass, through the movement of 
the carrier in the direction of the arrow 12. 
As FIG. 17 illustrates, the breast meat 88 can be collected on an endless 
conveyor belt 92 and discharged for further processing. 
After the previous operation, the carcass of the front half still contains 
back meat, which is indicated by 85 in FIG. 17a, and forms the so-called 
oyster pieces of the front half. The back meat 85 is removed from the 
carcass by means of scraping or cutting elements 87 disposed in a fixed or 
resilient manner along the track of the overhead conveyor 2 and is skinned 
separately. 
FIGS. 18 and 19 illustrate the removal from the holding support 16 of the 
carcass 86, with the meat removed therefrom and gripped by the cam 42, and 
for the sake of clarity the carcass is not shown in FIG. 19. The holding 
support 16 with the carcass 86 of the front half is conveyed in the 
direction of the arrow 12 past a set of circular cutters 96 driven by 
motors 94. The carcass of the front half is separated by said knives into 
a back half and a breast half. The breast half falls down by gravity from 
the holding support 16, while the back half lies loose on the top side of 
the holding support 16 and can be swept away in a simple manner. The 
holding support 16 is then suitable for reuse as shown in FIGS. 3 et seq. 
The operations which are carried out according to FIGS. 20 and 21 on a 
front half 58a in principle correspond entirely to the operations which 
are carried out according to FIG. 6. However, the front half 58a according 
to FIGS. 20 and 21, unlike the front half 58 shown in FIG. 6, still 
comprises wings 58b, which are held outside the range of the cutters 70 by 
means of elongated guides 75a. 
FIG. 22 illustrates the severing of at least part of the shoulder joints of 
a front half 58a with wings 58b, by means of rotating cutters 100 which 
are disposed in a fixed or resilient manner along the path of the front 
half 58a moving along in the direction of the arrow 12, and which are 
driven by motors 102. The incisions in the shoulder joints can also be 
made by means of stationary cutters. 
As FIGS. 23, 24 and 25 illustrate, after the shoulder incisions according 
to FIG. 22 have been made, the breast meat of the front half 58a is 
pressed away from the carcass 86 by placing two stops 104, disposed in a 
fixed or resilient manner, in the path of the front half 58a moving along 
in the direction of the arrow 12. The stops 104 each comprise a horizontal 
stop part 104a and a vertical stop part 104b, which are disposed at the 
level of the wing part of the shoulder joint of the front half 58a. 
Swivelling the holding support 16 upwards after contact between the stops 
104 and the front half 58a, by moving the rollers 32 relative to the 
rollers 34, as FIG. 25 illustrates in particular, causes the breast meat 
to be pressed away from the carcass 86 by means of the wings 58b. Of 
course, it is also possible to grip the wings for such an operation, and 
to allow the movement of the carrier in the direction of the arrow 12 to 
detach the breast meat from the carcass 86. Both cases produce a 
processing situation which is illustrated in FIG. 26, in which the holding 
support 16 has been returned again to an essentially horizontally directed 
orientation by movement of the rollers 32 relative to the rollers 34, and 
the breast meat hangs from the breastbone. 
FIG. 26 illustrates an operation corresponding essentially to the operation 
according to FIG. 16, for detaching the breast meat and the wings 58b from 
the carcass 86 by conveying said carcass in the direction of the arrow 12 
past a cutting device 106 disposed in a stationary or resilient manner. 
FIG. 27 shows a carrier whose swivelling device 14 in principle corresponds 
entirely to the swivelling device described earlier with reference to FIG. 
1a. However, the holding support 16 according to FIG. 27 comprises fixing 
means which consist of an elongated supporting element 110 which is 
directed at an acute angle to the surface of the holding support 16, a pin 
114 which is movable in the directions of the double arrow 112, and a 
spring 116. One end of the pin 114 rests under a biasing force of the 
spring 116 against the supporting element 110. Pulling on the end of the 
pin 114 situated below the arm 22 causes the end of the pin 114 facing the 
supporting element 110 to move until it is below the surface of the 
holding support 16. It is then simple to slide a breast part of 
slaughtered poultry below the supporting element 110, following which the 
breast part is secured on the holding support 16 by releasing the pin 114. 
The supporting element, together with the surface of the holding support 
16 facing the supporting element 110, grips around the breast-bone of the 
breast part. 
In the variant of the carrier of FIG. 27 shown in FIGS. 28a, 28b and 28c, 
provision is made for a control mechanism for the pin 114, the pin 114 
being slid or not slid depending on the swivel position of the holding 
support 16. For this purpose, the arm 22 of the swivelling device 14 is 
extended to beyond the shaft 24, and is provided with an elongated slot 
118 through which the pin 114 projects. A collar 120 is fixed on the pin 
near the end of the pin 114 facing away from the supporting element 110. 
As FIG. 28b illustrates, when the holding support 16 is swung upwards as a 
result of the rollers 32 being moved upwards in the slot 30 relative to 
the rollers 34, the end of the pin 114 which was resting against the 
supporting element 110 is withdrawn until it is below the surface of the 
holding support 16, so that in this orientation of the holding support a 
breast part of poultry is simple to place on the holding support 16. 
Tilting back of the holding support to the orientation shown in FIG. 28a 
then leads to securing of the breast part on the holding support 16. The 
breast part is taken into position for the operations to be illustrated 
below with reference to FIGS. 29a-29f, by swivelling the holding support 
16 downwards, as illustrated in FIG. 28c, in which case the securing of 
the breast part by means of the pin 114 is retained. 
According to FIG. 29a, a breast part 111 of poul try fixed on the carrier 
according to FIG. 28c is guided between two elongated bearing parts 122a, 
122b of a frame (not shown in any further detail) of a filleting device. 
The wishbone has already been removed from the breast part, and incisions 
have also already been made on either side of the breastbone. As FIGS. 29a 
and 29b illustrate, the breast part 111 is guided first on guide plates 
124 provided with a run-on edge 124a, against which plates the inside of 
the ribs of the breast part 111 come to rest. The breast part 111 then 
comes to a set of scraper plates 126, a set of movable shoulder 
positioning elements 128 being disposed just before the scraper plates 
126. As soon as the shoulder joints of the breast part 111 are situated 
below the shoulder positioning elements 128, the latter go briefly into 
action in order to press the shoulder joints of the breast part 111 under 
the scraper plates 126, as illustrated in FIG. 29b. Immediately 
afterwards, the shoulder positioning elements 128 are removed again from 
the breast part 111, with the result that the meat of the breast part 111 
will pass the scraper plates 126 at the side facing away from the guide 
plates 124. The result of this operation is shown in FIG. 29c, in which 
the outer fillet has been scraped away from the flank of the carcass in 
the region from the collarbone to beyond the processus thoracicus and up 
to the connection between the inner fillet and the breast part, as shown 
by dashed lines. The breast part 111 (see FIG. 29c) then encounters a 
second movable shoulder positioning element 130 and a set of guides 132, 
followed by a set of cutters 134. The shoulder positioning element 130 
ensures that the shoulder joints of the breast part come to rest at the 
side of the guides 132 facing away from the side shown in the drawing, by 
exerting brief pressure on the shoulder joints directly before they reach 
the guides 132. The part of the breast meat already scraped away from the 
breast part 111 is then situated at the other side of the guides 132. The 
cutters 134 directly adjoin the guides 132 and ensure that an incision is 
made over the collarbone of the breast part up to the processus 
thoracicus, in order to cut away meat around the collarbone and sever the 
membrane between the fillet and the carcass. To this end, the cutters 134 
are controlled in such a way that on reaching the processus thoracicus 
they swivel away in the direction of arrows 136 about shafts 138 (see FIG. 
29d). If the cutters 134 are disposed in a fixed position, the latter 
incision, of course, runs almost to the belly side of the breast part 111. 
As FIG. 29e illustrates, the fillets 140 of the breast part 111 are then 
gripped by means of only diagrammatically shown gripping elements 142, so 
that the fillets 140 are pulled away entirely--or partially if the 
gripping elements 142 in time release the grip--from the carcass 111a by 
the movement of the breast part fixed on the carrier in the direction of 
the arrow 12. If the cutters 134 are designed so that they can swivel, as 
described with reference to FIG. 29d, the fillets obtained comprise fat at 
the belly side. On the other hand, if the cutters 134 are disposed in a 
fixed position, the above fat at the belly side remains behind on the 
carcass 111a. 
FIG. 29f illustrates the ejection of a carcass from which fillets have been 
removed, by means of guides 144 which follow the path of an upward 
swivelling holding support according to FIG. 28b and are provided with 
stops 146. When the holding support 16 is swivelled upwards, the securing 
by pin 114 of the carcass 111a of the breast part will be undone, 
following which the carcass 111a is retained relative to the holding 
support 16 by the stops 146 and falls down from the guides 144, and can be 
discharged. 
While the invention has been described and illustrated in its preferred 
embodiments, it should be understood that departures may be made therefrom 
within the scope of the invention, which is not limited to the details 
disclosed herein.