Fish processing unit

A fish processing unit for longitudinally quartering a fish during a single pass through the unit. A fish is laid on its side and longitudinally oriented in alignment with the direction of travel of a conveyor belt. The conveyor belt passes over the top surface of a front table assembly, then into a fish quartering assembly, and then on to the top surface of a rear table assembly. Within the interior of the fish quartering assembly are mounted a plurality of circular blades that are driven by hydraulic motors. Two of the circular blades are vertically oriented in the same plane with one spaced above the other a predetermined height H1. Two other pairs of horizontally oriented circular blades have their inner edges aligned with each other and they are positioned to the respective sides of the vertically oriented circular blades. What starts out as a whole fish exits the fish quartering assembly in four quarter pieces and a throw portion that includes the backbone of the fish. The quarter pieces of fish are then passed over the top surface of the fish skinner unit with the fish skin positioned on its bottom surface. A single pass removes the skin.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The invention relates to fish processing and more specifically to a method 
and apparatus for cleaning fish. 
Presently commercial fishermen when fishing with purse nets gather the nets 
close to their ship and empty the catch onto the deck of the ship. The 
fish are then sorted and stored in refrigerated storage areas until the 
ship goes into port. In port the frozen fish are unloaded and processed 
for sale. The fish are sometimes skinned and filleted before they are 
sold. 
Often a substantial portion of the fish, such as the head, tail, skin, and 
backbone are not commercially marketable. Therefore when a fish is stored 
in an unprocessed state, the unuseable parts are a costly waste of space 
in the refrigerated chamber. 
It is an object of the invention to provide a novel fish processing unit on 
a commercial fishing boat that processes the fish immediately after they 
are caught and then discards unusable parts and freezing the saleable 
portions. 
It is also an object of the invention to provide a novel fish processing 
unit that receives a whole fish at one end and it exits the other end in 
four quarters, including the backbone as waste or a discard portion. 
It another object of the invention to provide a novel method of processing 
a whole fish that utilizes a fish skinner unit that allows a quarter 
portion of a fish with skin on its outer surface to be transported across 
the top of the fish skinner unit in a single pass to remove the skin. 
It is an additional object of the invention to provide a novel fish 
processing unit for longitudinally quartering a fish during a single pass 
through the unit that is economical to manufacture and market. 
It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel fish skinner 
unit that is economical to manufacture and market. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Applicant's new method for commercial fisherman to process a whole fish 
involves two novel units. One of these is a fish processing unit for 
longitudinally quartering a fish during a single pass through the unit. 
The second unit is a fish skinner unit for removing the skin from each of 
the quarters of the fish. 
The fish processing unit for quartering a fish has been designed to be used 
with fish weighing approximately twenty pounds to one hundred forty 
pounds. Immediately after the fish are hauled onto the commercial ship 
deck, they are laid head first on one of their sides so they 
longitudinally align with the conveyor belt of the fish processing unit. 
The rear or tail of the fish is placed upon a tray having a forward 
downward tilt to keep the backbone of the fish in a horizontal 
orientation. Once the power source for the conveyor belt is actuated, the 
whole fish travels forward across the front table assembly and into the 
entry port of the fish quartering assembly. Within the fish quartering 
assembly are six circular blades oriented in such a manner that as the 
fish is transported therethrough, the fish will be cut into four quarters 
and a throwaway portion that includes the backbone of the fish. The fish 
quartering assembly has structure for vertically raising and lowering it 
so that the respective circular blades are oriented at a proper height for 
the size of fish being processed. Alignment rods adjacent the front wall 
of the fish quartering assembly also aid in centering the fish as it 
travels into the fish quartering assembly. 
The source of power for operating the fish processing unit is a water proof 
motor that drives a hydraulic pump. The pump would connected to various 
hydraulic motors that would be used to power the respective circular 
blades, drive the conveyor, and raise and lower the fish quartering 
assembly. The table assemblies and the housing of the fish quartering 
assembly are all made of stainless steel due to the nature of the 
environment in which the unit is used. 
The fish skinner unit has a top panel having a pair of cutout slots formed 
therein. A pair of planar blades have their top edges extending upwardly 
through these respective cutout slots so that a quarter piece of a fish 
being transported thereover will have the skin removed in a single pass. 
The metal frame members and the panels would also be preferrably made of 
stainless steel.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Applicant's novel method of processing a whole fish and the structure of 
his fish processing unit and his fish skinner unit will now be described 
by referring to FIGS. 1-8 of the drawings. 
Fish processing unit 10 is formed from a front table assembly 12, a fish 
quartering assembly 14, and a rear table assembly 16. Fish skinner unit 18 
would be positioned in a location adjacent the fish processing unit 10. 
Front table assembly 12 has a plurality of vertical legs 20 connected 
together by cross members 22 and frame members 23. A support panel 25 has 
a water proof motor 26 and a hydraulic fluid reservoir 28 mounted thereon. 
A hydraulic fluid pump 30 is connected to reservoir 28 and also to a 
multiple number of hydraulic motors in a conventional manner (not shown). 
Top panel 30 has a pair of closed loop conveyor belts 32 mounted thereon. 
A safety cover 33 protects the front end of the conveyor belts. Guide 
channels 35 are positioned adjacent the outside edges of the respective 
conveyor belts. A tray 37 has a top panel 38 inclined to support the tail 
of the fish so that the backbone of the fish will remain in a 
substantially horizontal position. Support legs 40 of tray 37 travel in 
channels 35. Cross member 41 rests on conveyor belts 32 to cause the tray 
to travel therealong. A handle 43 is connected to cross member 41. The 
forward travel of tray 37 is limited by stop members located at the rear 
end of front table assembly 12. A hood 45 is attached to top panel 30 and 
its purpose is to prevent a worker from inadvertantly reaching into the 
fish quartering assembly and severing a hand or finger. 
Rear table assembly 16 has a plurality of vertical legs 47. They are 
connected together by cross members 48 and frame members 49. A top panel 
50 has a cover 52 mounted thereon for hiding the end of conveyor belt 32. 
Frame members 53 connects front table assembly 12 to rear table assembly 
16. 
Fish quartering assembly 14 has a front wall 55, a rear wall 56, a top wall 
57, and removable side walls 58 and 59. An entry port 60 is formed in 
front wall 55 and an exit port 62 is formed in rear wall 56. A hydraulic 
pressure gage 63 is mounted on front wall 55. Handles 68 are mounted on 
the respective side walls 51 and 59 for lifting and removing the housing 
in order to wash and clean the blades. 
The structure of fish quartering assembly 14 is formed from a plurality of 
vertical frame members 64 and cross members 65. Upper support panel 67 and 
lower support panel 69 are supported between vertical frame members 64. 
Circular blades 70 are mounted on a shaft 71 whose bottom end is supported 
in bearing blocks 72 and whose top end is connected to hydraulic motor 73. 
Circular blades 75 are mounted on a shaft 76 whose bottom end is captured 
in bearing block 77 and whose top end is attached to hydraulic motor 78. 
Circular blade 80 is mounted on a shaft extending from hydraulic motor 81. 
Circular blade 83 is mounted on a shaft extending from hydraulic motor 85. 
The respective hydraulic motors are connected by hose to pump 30 in a 
conventional manner. Control handles 88 and 89 are used to control the 
direction of rotation of the respective blades. Control handle 91 is very 
important as it controls the speed of all the blades. 
Control handle 90 is used to raise and lower fish quartering assembly 14. 
This is accomplished by bearing blocks 93 that ride up and down rods 92. 
The driving force is a hydraulic jack 95 having a shaft 96 and a top 
support member 97. Jack 95 would be connected to hydraulic pump 30 in a 
conventional manner. Alignment rods 100 have curved gripping members on 
their forward ends for centering the fish on the conveyor belt 32. The 
alignment rods pass through and are mounted in brackets 102. 
In FIG. 5, a schematic illustration shows how a fish 105 is cut into 
quarter pieces 106 and a throwaway portion 107 having a backbone 108. 
Fish skinner unit 18 has a plurality of vertical legs 110 connected 
together by lower frame members 111 and upper frame members 112. Top panel 
14 has a pair of cutout slots 116 formed therein. The top edge of a planar 
blade 118 extends a predetermined height above cutout slot 116. It is 
driven by a belt 120 and motor 122. Guides 124 and 125 are mounted on top 
panel 118. A safety arm panel 128 is also pivotally mounted on pins 130.