Crab holder for processing machine

A two-part crab holder is provided with specifically contoured surfaces for supporting a crab through various processing means.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
A device is provided for holding a cooked crab as it is moved through the 
work stations of a machine which removes the carapace, claws, flippers and 
walking legs and cleans the remaining crab body. The holder is specially 
shaped to receive remaining crab body. The holder is specially shaped to 
receive and hold the body of each of various species of crabs.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
A machine utilizing the holders provided by the invention comprises means 
for individually moving cooked crabs to and through successive work 
stations at which different operations are performed, resulting in the 
production of a crab body from which the carapace, claws, walking legs, 
swimming legs and viscera have been removed and which has been washed and 
scrubbed, leaving a body from which only the removal of the meat remains 
to be performed. 
The basic parts of the machine are illustrated in FIG. 1 and comprise an 
elongated supporting frame 2 having a plurality of work stations spaced 
along its length, an endless chain 4 continuously traveling throughout the 
length of the frame to successive work stations, and operating means at 
each work station to perform one or more operations on the crab supported 
on each holder. 
A plurality of crab holders 10 are mounted on the endless chain 4 and are 
suitably spaced along its length, each crab holder being constructed and 
intended to support one crab throughout its passage through the successive 
work stations of the machine. 
A preferred form of the holder, which is particularly adapted to hold the 
Collinectes and similar species of crabs, is disclosed in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 
and comprises an upstream part 22 and a downstream part 24 which may be 
separately connected in upstream-downstream relation to the chain 4. The 
part 22 has a flat vertical upright upstream wall 26 which preferably 
extends laterally beyond the sides of the chain, end walls 28, 30, a flat 
upper surface comprising parts 32, 34 which are separated by a centrally 
located open end cut-out part 36, and a flat bottom wall 38 which extends 
in a downstream direction beyond the downstream edge of the upper wall 
parts 32, 34, thus forming an inclined downstream facing surface 40. The 
downstream edges 36 of the upper surfaces and the downstream edge 38 of 
the bottom are arcuately and concavely curved about an arc the center of 
which is downstream, and these two edges are connected by the inclined 
downstream facing surface 40 which is concavely curved transversely and 
also concavely curved between the upper surface and the bottom. 
The downstream part 24 of the holder is right-triangular in 
upstream-downstream section, having flat bottom 42, flat wall 44 at the 
downstream end of the bottom wall, an inclined generally flat surface 46 
which faces upstream opposite the compound curved wall 40 of part 22, and 
side walls 48, 50 which are aligned with side walls 28, 30 of the upstream 
holder part 22. The inclined surface 46 has formed in it a generally oval 
depression 52 which is centrally located in surface 46, and this 
depression intersects the upstream edge 54 of bottom 42, thereby producing 
at and adjacent the center of edge 54 an inwardly arcuately edge 56 which 
faces the arcuately concavely curved downstream facing edge 38 of the 
bottom of part 22. 
A second form which the crab holder according to the invention may take is 
disclosed in FIGS. 5 to 9 of the drawings, in which FIGS. 6 and 7 
illustrate the upstream part and FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate the downstream 
part of the holder. This holder is found to be particularly useful in 
holding the Cancer i.e. the Rock, Sand and Jonah crabs, and with the same 
shape but larger in size is particularly useful in holding the Dunganess 
(Cancer Magester) crab as well as the Stone crab (Menippe Merceneria) and 
other crustanceans too numerous to mention. 
This second form of the invention comprises an upstream part 60 and a 
downstream part 62 which are separately connected in upstream-downstream 
relation to the chain 4. The part 60 has a flat vertical upright upstream 
wall 64 which preferably extends laterally beyond the sides of the chain, 
end walls 66, 68, a flat upper surface comprising parts 70, 72 which are 
separated by a centrally located open end cut-out part 74, and a flat 
bottom wall 76 which extends in a downstream direction beyond the 
downstream edge of the upper wall parts 70, 72 thus forming an inclined 
downstream facing surface 78. The downstream edges of the upper surface 
70, 72 are arcuately and concavely curved on their downstream facing edges 
about an arc the center of which is downstream, and these two edges are 
connected by the inclined downstream facing surface 78 which is not only 
concavely curved transversely but is also concavely curved between the 
upper surface and the bottom, and terminates at a level above the bottom, 
thereby forming a downstream facing wall 82 of low height extending 
upwardly from the bottom and forming a downstream facing edge at the 
bottom of this part. The inclined surface 78 has formed in it a generally 
oval depression 84 which is centrally located in the surface, and this 
depression intersects the edge wall 82 as most clearly shown in FIG. 7. 
The downstream part of this form of the invention is of generally right 
triangular shape in the upstream-downstream direction, having a flat 
bottom 100, a flat wall 102 at the downstream edge of the bottom, a flat 
wall 104 at the upstream edge of the bottom, and an upper surface 106 
which is parallel to the bottom and extends upstream from the upper end of 
downstream wall 102, and which is very short in the upstream direction. 
Almost the entire upstream facing surface 110 is formed as an oval 
depression which is located centrally of the surface, leaving only corners 
112, 114 at its upper edge as remnants of the upper surface 106 and 
corners 116, 118 as remnants of the upstream facing wall 104. 
The relations and sizes of the two crab holder parts, and the configuration 
of their facing crab body supporting surfaces are such that a holder 
provided by the invention will receive any of a large number of species of 
crabs with the upper surface of the two parts of the holder closely 
conforming to the lower surface of the body of the crab. 
In order to permit proper and intended operation of the machine apparatus 
at the successive work stations each crab is placed in the holder with the 
carapace facing upwardly as shown in FIG. 10, and with the flippers, legs 
and claws outside the side walls of the two parts of the holder as shown 
in FIG. 11. It will be understood that the parts of the crab holder will 
be made of such size that any legal size crab, including those referred to 
above, will be received and held in this relation of parts. 
The crab holders provided by our invention may be made as two separate 
parts which will be separately connected to the endless chain by which the 
holders and crabs are moved through the machine. However, the holders may 
be made as one unitary member formed by uniting the two parts described in 
this specification, within the scope of the claims.