Method and device for processing a cluster of organs from a slaughtered animal

Abstract: Method and device for removing and processing a number of interconnected internal organs from a slaughtered animal, using a fixing element which is moved through an evisceration opening in the body of the slaughtered animal, in which method at least one organ or a part thereof is fixed with the aid of and relative to the fixing means, the connection between the organs and the body is broken, and the organs are taken out of the body. The fixing is maintained after the organs have been taken out of the body and until a separating operation has been carried out on the organs in a mutual spatial orientation determined by the fixing. The fixing is achieved by clamping one or more organs or a part thereof. During the fixing, organs can be separated from the cluster of organs with the aid of guides, stripping elements and separating rollers.

Description: The invention relates to a method for mechanically processing a cluster of organs according to the preamble of claim 1. The invention further relates to a device for carrying out said method. "Slaughtered animals" should be understood hereinafter as meaning both, for example, poultry and other (large and small) livestock. US-A-4 382 313 and EP-A-0 141 432 disclose gizzard harvesting devices, in which a cluster of organs comprising a gizzard with attached entrails is put on rotating helical rollers, the rollers pulling the attached entrails into and through a nip of the rollers, whereas the gizzard remains on the rollers since it cannot pass through the nip. Thus the gizzard is fixed by the rollers against movement in any direction with the exception of the forward direction in which the rollers convey the gizzard with fixed speed. The fixing of the gizzard is maintained while breaking tissue connections, separating the proventriculus and other entrails attached to the gizzard at the point of fixing on the basis of the spatial orientation as determined by the fixing. GB-A-2 004 175 discloses an apparatus for separating the intestine and gall-bladder from the liver and the heart of slaughtered poultry by fixing and conveying the cluster of organs on parallel plates defining a slit, and cutting the connection between said organs. The article "Hands-Off Inspection Proving Processors' Utopia" by David Amey, Poultry Processing & Marketing, January 1978, pages 28-33, discloses a method for manually harvesting organs from clusters of organs hanging from shackles. A major drawback of the prior art is that, after the cluster of organs is removed completely from the slaughtered animal, said cluster is discharged in an unordered way. The fact that various organs of value, for example the stomach, the heart and the liver, usually still have to be separated from the cluster, and the fact that this is preferably carried out mechanically are the very reason why it is necessary to have a certain ordering or orientation of the cluster of organs or individual organs thereof before organs can be separated mechanically from them. The object of the present invention is to provide a method for processing a cluster of organs following an evisceration operation, during which processing at least one of the organs, a part thereof or a connection between the organs is fixed. To attain this object, the method according to the invention is characterized according to claim 1. Here, the term "strong" refers to gullet, stomach (in the case of poultry: glandular stomach and gizzard), heart and kidneys. It has been found from experiments that in this way organs can be separated selectively from the remaining organs of a cluster, or can be moved without separating the organs completely from the remaining organs. This last possibility in particular is important, since organs can be positioned in this way relative to the point or points of fixing, and can subsequently be fed automatically with the aid of simple guides to organ cluster dividing devices or organ processing devices. The fixing produced by a fixing means is used when the cluster has already been taken out of the body of the slaughtered animal, and is put to good use here for positioning the organs for subsequent operations. Here, either a specific organ, such as the heart, the liver or the stomach, can be used by the fixing means as a basis for the fixing, following which said organ or a part thereof can easily be separated (e.g. torn or cut off) from the rest of the cluster, on account of its known position relative to the fixing means, or the organ, for example the gullet, which is selected from the interconnected organs for fixing is such that connecting tissue in or between the organs can be broken leaving the remaining part of the cluster intact. It will be clear from the above that there is no need for an intermediate manual operation for an orientation of the organs for the purpose of a separating operation. This saves time and costs, and is beneficial for hygiene in the processing of slaughtered animals in the slaughterhouse. In the method according to the invention a fixing of a part of a cluster is maintained until a separating operation has been carried out on the organs on the basis of a spatial orientation determined by the fixing. The fixing according to the invention, once it is effected, is preferably used as long as possible. However, from the point of view of flexible running of the organ processing, it is advantageous to maintain the fixing by further fixing at least one of the organs, a part thereof or a connection between the organs which is in a predetermined position relative to the point or points of the first fixing, following which the first fixing is undone. The latter method can be used in particular when a separate evisceration device and separate devices for control, cleaning and separating operations are present, in all of which a cluster of organs is moved and positioned with the aid of a fixing means. If the cluster is fixed at at least two points lying at a distance from each other, this not only improves the stability of the fixing compared with the situation in which the fixing is effected at only one point, but also provides an adequate reference of the fixed organ or organs or a part thereof, particularly during the transfer of the cluster of organs from a first fixing means to a second fixing means, in order to ensure a faultless mechanical transfer of the cluster. In a preferred embodiment of the inventive method the cluster is allowed to hang free from the point or points of fixing. Hereby the cluster partially unfolds, improving the access to the organs for the separating processing. The fixing is preferably achieved by clamping the cluster part in question, but it is also possible to fix the cluster part in question by suction, or by accommodating the cluster part in question in an appropriate bounded space. With a view to a separating operation to be carried out after an evisceration operation, the gullet, heart, liver, stomach and/or intestines are preferably fixed. These organs are not only easy to reach in the body of a slaughtered animal - the gullet, for example, in a manner which is known from the prior art, the stomach (where the slaughtered animal is a bird, the glandular stomach or the gizzard) and the liver, for example, by holding them by suction against the suction aperture of a suction nozzle by means of which the intestines or the intestines and the stomach of the slaughtered animal are sucked away previously, and the intestines, for example, by accommodating the vent in a bounded space - but also play a crucial role in the organ position determination in conventional organ cluster dividing devices. Once a part of a cluster has been fixed according to the invention, the organs of the cluster, thereby assuming a defined spatial orientation, preferably are conveyed along a predetermined path to one or more processing stations for separating one or more organs or a part thereof from the cluster. A number of such processing stations is known per se, which stations can be easily adapted to receive an organ cluster fixed according to the invention. A particularly simple separating operation results if the cluster is supported at least at one side, a pressure force is exerted opposite to the direction of support on tissue situated adjacent to an organ or organ part to be separated for causing the latter to bulge out, and the organ or organ part to be separated is separated from the remaining organs. This method is advantageous in particular if the organ to be separated is harder than the adjacent organs. The organ to be separated will project relative to the other organs when the method is being carried out, which makes the separating operation very easy. An example of an organ to be extracted in this way from a cluster of organs of the slaughtered animal is the heart. Preferably, from a cluster of organs comprising stomach, heart, lungs, liver, gall-bladder and intestines, first the intestines and the gall-bladder are separated, and then at least one of the other organs is separated. Consequently, the intestines and the gall-bladder, giving rise to the greatest risk of undesired contamination of the much more valuable organs like the heart and liver, are separated from the cluster as soon as possible. A device according to the invention which is intended to carry out the method according to the invention comprises fixing means which are part of a conveyor system to feed the organs of the cluster along a predetermined path and in a certain spatial orientation to a processing station for breaking tissue connections in the cluster according to claim 11. The fixing means are, for example, moved in synchronism with the body of the slaughtered animal along a guide in a conveyor, the path of the body and the path of the fixing means diverging from each other following the removal of the cluster of organs from the slaughtered animal. The fixing means with the cluster of organs move to a processing station for a separating operation. The fixing means can be designed in a conventional way, but it is preferably of a design such as that described in greater detail below. In a preferred embodiment, one or more stripping means which at least partially bound one or more passage areas, are adapted to move jointly relative to a part of the cluster while exerting a force on organs for breaking tissue connections in the cluster in a fixed condition, the stripping means comprising stripping elements which are movable relative to each other, and the edges of which facing each other are adapted to bound at least one passage area. The edges of the stripping elements defining a passage area are adapted in size, shape and finish to the organs to be allowed through, while other organs are conveyed along by the stripping elements, and tissue connections between organs are broken near the edges of the stripping elements. The stripping elements are advantageously plate-shaped, but may also be elongated and bent in such a zigzag shape that in a position overlapping each other, the elements determine apertures of different dimensions. The stripping means may be adapted to move jointly relative to means for fixing or other means for retaining part of the cluster. When the fixing means e.g. fixes the gullet of a cluster of organs, and suitably shaped stripping means are moved from the gullet along the cluster of organs, this will result in the stomach or stomachs passing the passage areas of the stripping means, but also in the organs surrounding the stomach or stomachs, such as heart, liver, lungs etc., being separated at least partially from the cluster of organs. When such a method is applied to the cluster of organs of a bird, and the stripping means are moved at least so far over the cluster of organs that the tissue connections between the interconnected glandular stomach and gizzard, on the one hand, and the other organs, on the other, are broken, except for a single connection by means of the part of the intestines which connects to the stomach (and in addition possibly by means of the pancreas and membranes), the cluster of organs hanging by the gullet can, with the aid of simple guides, fully automatically by the fixing means be fed to and processed in a device for separating liver, heart and lungs from the cluster of organs. Such a device is known, for example, from NL-A-9002287. In another preferred embodiment, means for fixing are adapted to be conveyed along a path, and the stripping means comprise two elongated parallel elements, the edges of which face each other, and partially bound a passage area in the form of a guide slit extending at an angle to the path of the fixing means. Such stripping means, the guide elements e.g. being plate-shaped, can perform their function completely without any moving parts. It is advantageous if the stripping means are designed in such a way that the stripping elements or guide elements are driven towards each other under pre-tension, for example produced by a mechanical or pneumatic spring. This means that, with a suitable choice of the spring pretensioning, the stripping means can to a certain extent automatically follow the contours of the organs to be allowed through, so that maximum effect is achieved without the risk of organ damage. The risk of damage can be reduced even further by making the stripping elements or guide elements from a flexible and resilient material. If desired, for the purpose of maintaining the fixing of the cluster of organs along the path, the fixing means comprise a first and a second fixing means, the second fixing means being provided along the path of the first fixing means, and being designed to take over the cluster from the first fixing means. In a preferred embodiment, the second fixing means comprises two jaw parts which are movable in a controllable way relative to each other for clamping a part of the cluster between them, the jaw parts preferably being biased towards each other. A very simple and efficient second fixing means is obtained if the jaw parts are disposed at the end of the legs of an essentially U-shaped spring bracket interacting with a spreader for moving the jaw parts apart. A suitable choice of the pre-tension in the spring bracket ensures that the organ or organ part to be clamped is always clamped tightly between the jaw parts with the necessary clamping force, so that, on the one hand, adequate fixing is produced and, on the other hand, little or no damage to the fixed organs occurs. The organs thus can be conveyed by a conveyor to a processing station. If the jaw parts of the second fixing means are designed in such a way that one jaw part is provided with an elongated narrow side at the side facing the other jaw part, and the other jaw part is provided with an elongated narrow slit for accommodating the narrow side of the first jaw part, loss of fixing of an organ is effectively prevented. It should be pointed out that the fixing means can also be designed to hold the organs in question or a part thereof against it by suction, although this is considered a less reliable option than mechanically fixing a cluster. The fixing means in the case of suction preferably is hollow and comprises one or more apertures, and can be placed under vacuum in a controllable way, for the purpose of holding one or more organs in or against an aperture by suction. Such a fixing means is described in, for example, NL-A-9002551, in which a selected organ, for example the stomach or the liver, can be fixed relative to the fixing means in the body of a slaughtered animal by holding by suction. However, this prior art device acts on organs taken one by one from the belly cavity of a slaughtered animal, whereas the device according to the invention acts on a cluster of organs, which facilitates separation operations. In addition, according to the invention organs free from any connecting tissue can be obtained. The fixing means can also be designed to accommodate the organs in question or a part thereof in a space determined by the fixing means. In this case the fixing means used is, for example, a device for cutting out the vent of the slaughtered animal, of the type described in NL-A-9000782. An advantageous embodiment of the device for carrying out the method according to the invention comprises fixing means are adapted to be conveyed along a path, and separating means having a support guide extending essentially parallel to the path of the fixing means, at a distance from which and parallel to which two guide elements bounding a guide slit extend, the guide elements and the support guide being situated for guiding the cluster at opposite sides, while a separating element is designed for operation across the guide slit. In the first place, the support guide, which may be a surface, which can be either vertical or at an angle to a vertical, produces a certain orientation of the cluster of organs, which orientation, with a suitable choice of run-in parts of the support guide and the guide elements interacting therewith, ensures that an organ to be separated finishes up at the side of the guide slit facing away from the support guide by the conveyance of the cluster by the fixing means, the remaining organs finishing up at the other side of the guide slit. If provision is made for the width of the guide slit to be at least locally smaller than the corresponding dimensions of the organ to be separated, said organ will not be able to pass through the guide slit. Moreover, the distance between the support guide and the guide elements can be selected in such a way that the organs lying between them are compressed to a certain extent. This is advantageous in particular if the organ to be separated is harder than the adjacent organs, since this means that the organ to be separated projects and can consequently be conveyed easily by the guide elements to the correct side of the guide slit. When this has been achieved, the organ is separated from the remainder of the organs by the conveyance of the cluster along the separating element extending across the guide slit. According to the invention, a device for separating intestines from a cluster of interconnected intestines, gall-bladder and other internal organs, the cluster being fixed at at least one of the other organs, a part thereof or a connection between the organs, comprises separating means for breaking one or more tissue connections in the cluster, and having at least one pair of elongated, essentially parallel rollers which are adapted to be rotated in opposite directions to each other, and which rollers are each provided on the outside surface thereof with means for exerting a pulling force on the intestines away from the rest of the cluster. If the pulling force exerted by the rollers is great enough, the rectum and the intestines connected thereto will break off from the rest of the cluster. The intestines can, however, also be separated by cutting off or pinching off the intestines at a predetermined place. In this way, the unusable intestines can already be separated at an early stage, preferably prior to any processing operation with the afore-mentioned stripping means, from the remaining, generally usable and valuable organs. The gall-bladder can be separated from the cluster of organs at the same time as the intestines if organ guide means are fitted at the side of the separating means facing the point or points of fixing of the cluster, which organ guide means are adapted to orientate the cluster and partially bound a passage area which is large enough to allow the intestines and the gall-bladder through, but is too small to allow adjacent organs to pass. In experiments it was found that when a pulling force is exerted on the intestines, the gall-bladder together with the intestines is displaced, and can thus be taken into a predetermined position relative to the organ guide means. Both intestines and gall-bladder can then be separated from the other organs. A separating element for breaking the tissue connection between the gall-bladder and the cluster is designed for operation across the guide slit. In a preferred embodiment, adjacent to the separating element a vacuum tube is provided, having a suction aperture positioned and adapted to remove the gall-bladder separated by the separating element. For pulling the intestines through the guide slit leading to the rollers, one of the rollers of a pair may be provided with a helical rib, and the other roller is provided with a groove formed complementarily to the rib, and the rollers are rotatably connected to each other in such a way that the rib falls into the groove between the rollers. It is, however, also possible to provide both rollers of a pair with interacting helical or other elongated, preferably flexible ribs. In a cluster of organs removed from the body of a slaughtered animal, the intestines form a rather compact bundle. To process such a bundle with the rollers of the device according to the invention under circumstances may cause difficulties in pulling the intestines in the nip between the rollers. Such difficulties can be avoided effectively, when the bundle of intestines is unfolded first before being fed to the rollers. For this purpose, a pair of rollers is provided each having along a part of its length axially and radially extending flaps made of a resilient material, which flaps are capable of stretching the intestines and thereby reducing the dimension of the bundle of intestines. The invention will be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1a shows a side view, partially in cross-section, of a part of a preferred embodiment of a stripping means according to the invention; Fig. 1b shows a front view of the stripping means of Fig. 1a; Fig. 1c shows a top view, partially in cross-section along the line Ic-Ic in Fig. 1b, of a part of the stripping means shown in Fig. 1a, in a closed position; Fig. 1d in a view similar to that of Fig. 1c shows the stripping means in an open position; Figs. 2a - 2c show views corresponding to Figs. 1a-1c of a second embodiment of a stripping means according to the invention; Figs. 3a - 3c illustrate diagrammatically the separating of organs from a cluster of organs with the aid of a stripping means; Figs. 3d - 3f illustrate diagrammatically the transfer of a cluster of organs from an evisceration and fixing means to a second fixing means; Fig. 4a shows a side view, partially in cross-section, of a fixing means; Fig. 4b shows a front view of the fixing means of Fig. 4a; Fig. 4c shows a top view of a clamping means in the closed position of the fixing means according to Figs. 4a and 4b, partially in cross-section along the line IVc-IVc in Fig. 4b; Fig. 4d shows the clamping means of Fig. 4c in the open position; Fig. 5a shows a cluster of organs of a bird fixyed with the aid of the fixing means according to Figs. 4a - 4d; Fig. 5b shows the cluster of organs of Fig. 5a in a subsequent processing position, in which a stripping means is shown diagrammatically; Fig. 5c shows on a slightly reduced scale the cluster of organs according to Figs. 5a and 5b, in a subsequent stage of processing; Fig. 5d illustrates diagrammatically the separating an organ from a cluster of organs; Fig. 5e shows a view in the direction of arrow Ve of the separating means of Fig. 5d; Fig. 5f illustrates diagrammatically another way of separating an organ from a cluster of organs; Fig. 5g shows a view in the direction of arrow Vg of the separating means of Fig. 5f; Fig. 6a shows a top view of a separating means according to the invention; Fig. 6b illustrates an operation to be carried out on a cluster of organs with the separating means of Fig. 6a; Fig. 6c illustrates an operation to be carried out on a cluster of organs with another separating means; Fig. 6d is a perspective view showing in more detail a part of the separating means of Fig. 6c; and Fig. 7 shows a diagrammatic top view of an organ processing line designed according to the invention. In the figures, like reference numerals relate to like elements or elements with similar functions. Figs. 1a - 1d show views of a stripping means which is suitable for moving both along a straight (vertical) line and along a curved, for example circular, path. The stripping means comprises a top supporting plate 40 and a bottom supporting plate 42, between which a number of pairs of essentially vertically directed, mutually parallel guide rods 44 are fixed by.means of bolts 46. A bearing block 48 can slide along the guide rods 44 through being provided with holes and bearings on the guide rods 44. The bearing block 48 is provided with a laterally projecting cam 50, on which a guide wheel 52 is mounted in such a way that it rotates about an axis 54. Said guide wheel 52 is guided in a curved track 56 in a control part 58, in such a way that on displacement of the combination of the top supporting plate 40, the bottom supporting plate 42 and the guide rods 44 the bearing block 48 carries out a desired movement along the guide rods 44. As can be seen most clearly from Figs. 1c and 1d, two elongated stripping elements 60 and 62 are provided on the bearing block 48 in such a way that at one end thereof they pivot about bushes 64 and 66 respectively. The stripping elements 60 and 62 are a special curved shape and can assume either a position relative to each other in which they partially overlap - a so-called closed position shown in Fig. 1c - or a position in which a certain space exists between the two elements - a so-called open position shown in Fig. 1d. For this purpose, the bushes 64 and 66 of the stripping elements 60 and 62 are each mechanically connected to a control element 68, which can be moved relative to the bearing block 48 in a plane at right angles to the bushes 64 and 66. When the control element 68 is forced against the action of a compression spring 70 out of the position shown in Fig. 1c by a force in the direction of the bearing block 48, the bushes 64 and 66 pivot through a small angle in opposite directions to each other, with the result that the stripping elements go into the open position shown in Fig. 1d. When the abovementioned force is removed, the stripping elements assume the closed position again through the action of the compression spring 70. In the position of the stripping elements 60 and 62 shown in Fig. 1c a stripping aperture 72 is determined through the shape of said elements. Said aperture 72 can be set by means of set screws 73, the head of which serves as a stop for the stripping elements 60 and 62. The stripping elements in their closed position, in which they enclose a part of a cluster of organs in the stripping aperture 72, can sweep along the cluster of organs if the cluster of organs is set up in a fixed position relative to the guide rods 44 and the stripping elements 60, 62 are moved along the guide rods 44 by means of the earlier discussed curved track control. The stripping means shown in Figs. 2a - 2c differs from the stripping means shown in Figs. 1a - 1d only in the shape and the control of the stripping elements. The description of the stripping means according to Figs. 2a - 2c will therefore be limited here to the stripping elements and the way in which they are operated. Two pins 90 and 92 are fixed on the bearing block 48 which is slidable-along the guide rods 44, near the lower corner points thereof, on which pins bushes 94 and 96 respectively are rotatably mounted. An arm 98 and a control lever 100 are immovably connected to bush 94. An arm 102 and a control lever 104 are rigidly connected to the bush 96. A stripping element 106 is fixed at the end of the arm 98 facing away from the bush 94, while a stripping element 108 is fixed at the end of the arm 102 facing away from the bush 96. The arms 98 and 102 are interconnected by means of a pre-tensioned tension spring 110. The control lever 100 is rigidly connected to an elongated control pin 112, which extends into a curved track 114 of the control part 58. At the position of the control pin, the bearing block 48 is provided with a slit 116, by means of which the control pin 112 can move up and down while following the curved track 114. In this case the control lever 100 rigidly connected to the control pin 112 will ensure that the stripping element 106 moves essentially in the plane thereof. The control lever 104 is provided at the end thereof facing away from the bush 96 with an elongated slit 118, which serves to accommodate the control pin 112. A movement of the control pin 112 in the slit 116 thus produces a movement of both the control lever 100 and the control lever 104, with the result that the stripping elements 106 and 108 will move away from or towards each other and thereby assume an open or closed position. Fig. 2c shows the closed position of the stripping elements 106 and 108, a passage 120 determined by recesses in the stripping elements 106 and 108 being clearly visible. Figs. 3a and 3b illustrate a stripping operation, in which, by way of example, the stripping elements 60 and 62 are shown only diagrammatically. The plate-shaped stripping elements 106 and 108 can also be used. The cluster of organs 38 is fixed at the gullet 38a thereof by clamping between two clamping elements 74 and 76. As Fig. 3a shows, the stripping elements 60 and 62 are taken into the closed position first of all. The stripping elements are then (see Fig. 3b) moved jointly down in a direction away from the clamping elements 74 and 76, the clamping elements not being moved. Consequently, a force is exerted on organs in the cluster 38, by which force tissue connections are broken. The organs 77, such as the lungs, the heart or the like, stripped away from the cluster of organs as a result of this stripping operation, are collected on conveyor belts 78 and discharged for further processing. On completion of the stripping operation, the clamping elements 74 and 76 are moved apart, as a result of which the fixing of the cluster of organs 38 stripped away is lost. The remainder of the cluster of organs 38 is collected on a conveyor belt 79 and discharged for further processing. This is illustrated in Fig. 3c. If the device 1 for carrying out evisceration and fixing is different from the device for carrying out the stripping of organs shown in Figs. 3a - 3c, a mechanical transfer operation between the first-mentioned and last-mentioned operations is necessary. This transfer operation is illustrated in Figs. 3d - 3f. It can be seen in Fig. 3d that a part of the gullet 38a is clamped between clamping parts 16 and 20. This precise positioning means that the part of the gullet in question can be fixed securely and reliably between the clamping elements 74 and 76, as Fig. 3e shows. After this, the fixing by the evisceration and fixing element 1 is no longer necessary, as Fig. 3f illustrates. The function of the clamping elements 74 and 76 shown in Figs. 3a-3c, 3e and 3f can be carried out by a fixing means shown in detail in Figs. 4a - 4d. This fixing means comprises an essentially U-shaped bracket 130, which is provided with an integral suspension eye 132. The bracket 130 is fixed by the eye 132 by means of a screw in a forked end 134 of an essentially Y-shaped conveyor element 136, two legs of which are provided with runners 138. The runners 138 make a movement of the fixing means along the laterally projecting flanges of an inverted T-shaped rail 140 possible, for example by means of a chain (not shown). The free ends of the bracket 130 are fixed in essentially plate-shaped clamping elements 144 and 146 which are interconnected and are pivoted about a shaft 142. The clamping element 144 bears a clamping part 148, which at the side facing the clamping element 146 is provided with a longitudinal groove whose width is approximately the same as the thickness of the clamping element 146. The fixing means can be moved from a closed position, shown in Fig. 4c, to an open position, shown in Fig. 4d, by pushing the legs of the bracket 130 apart, as will be described with reference to Figs. 4a and 4b. A control lever 150 disposed along the rail 140 and movable along with the fixing means at least over a certain distance can pivot about a shaft 152, as indicated by means of the double arrow 154. The end of the control lever 150 is provided with a wearproof and friction-reducing covering 156 and has a width which is greater than the distance between the legs of the bracket 130 in the vicinity of the clamping elements 144 and 146 in the closed position of the fixing means. When the control lever 150 is tilted between the legs of the bracket 130, the legs will be pressed apart, with the result that the clamping elements 144 and 146 will assume the open position shown in Fig. 4d. In this open position an organ can be inserted between the clamping part 148 and the clamping element 146. The control lever 150 is then tilted from there between the legs 130, as a result of which the spring force in the bracket 130 causes the clamping elements 144 and 146 to move towards each other, while the abovementioned organ is clamped with a force which is determined by the elasticity properties of the bracket 130. Fig. 5a shows how a cluster of organs 38 from a bird is fixed at the gullet 160 thereof relative to the fixing means which is described with reference to Figs. 4a - 4d, and only a part of which is shown. The cluster of organs comprises lungs 162, glandular stomach 164, gizzard 166, heart 168, liver 170, intestines 172 and cloaca 174. Fig. 5b shows the result of a stripping operation carried out with the stripping means described before with reference to Figs. 2a - 2c. Only the stripping elements 106 and 108 of this stripping means are shown in Fig. 5b. Starting from the situation shown in Fig. 5a and the placing of the gullet 160 in the passage area 120 of the stripping elements 106 and 108, after the stripping elements 106 and 108 have passed through the path beginning at the position of the stripping elements indicated by dashed lines and ending at the position indicated by solid lines, in the direction of the arrows 176, the glandular stomach 164 and the gizzard 166 have been exposed completely, and the organs originally lying alongside them have been stripped off by the stripping elements 106 and 108, but they are still connected to the cluster of organs, so that their interconnection is not completely lost. Fig. 5c shows the situation which arises when the stripping elements 106 and 108 are moved even further away from the fixing point of the cluster of organs (in this case the gullet 160). The useful organs, such as heart, liver 170 and lungs 162, come under the stripping elements 106 and 108 here, hanging at a certain point from the cluster of intestines 172. In particular, the part of the intestines adjoining the gizzard 166, comprising the duodenum 173, plays an important role here. From the position shown in Fig. 5c, it is particularly simple to feed heart, liver and lungs automatically with the aid of the fixing means and suitable guides to a device known per se for separating said organs. The cluster of organs 161 shown diagrammatically in Figs. 5d and 5e is fixed at the gullet 160 in the fixing means already shown in Figs. 4a - 4d, and is moved along in the direction of the arrow 200. Going from right to left in Fig. 5d, the cluster of organs 161 first meets an inlet side 177a of a guide plate 177 which extends essentially parallel to the direction of conveyance 200, and is disposed in a manner not shown in any further detail in a frame. The arrangement of the guide plate 177 at an angle with the vertical ensures that the cluster of organs 161 is oriented in such a way that an organ 179 to be separated finishes up at the side of the cluster of organs 161 facing away from the guide plate 177 between guide rods 181a and 181b, the major part of which extends parallel to the guide plate 177 and in the direction of conveyance 200. The guide rods 181a and 181b, disposed in a manner not shown in any further detail in the abovementioned frame, define between them a guide slit which in an inlet part converges in the direction of conveyance 200. The organ 179 thus finishes up at one side of the guide slit, while the remaining organs finish up at the other side of the guide slit. The width of the guide slit is selected so that it is small enough to prevent the organ 179 from passing through the slit in the direction of the guide plate 177. The distance of the guide rods 181a and 181b from the guide plate 177 is so small that the cluster of organs 161 is compressed locally. This helps to make the organ 179 bulge out from the cluster of organs and promotes correct positioning of the organ relative to the guide slit. Going further to the left in Fig. 5d, a rotary cutter 185 driven by a motor 183 is set up, by means of which the connection between the organ 179 and the remainder of the cluster of organs 161 is broken automatically during conveyance in the direction of the arrow 200. The organ 179, for example a heart from a cluster of organs of a bird, is then discharged for further processing. Yet other organs can be separated from the cluster of organs 161 in a similar way. Figs. 5f and 5g show a cluster of organs 161 fixed at the gullet 160 in the fixing means according to Fig. 4a - 4d, and moving in the direction of arrow 200. In the path of the cluster of organs 161 three guide rods 181c, 181d, and 181g extend essentially parallel to the direction of conveyance 200. Two parallel stripping plates 181e and 181f extend below the guide rods 181c and 181d. The guide rods 181c, 181d, 181g, and the stripping plates 181e, 181f are disposed in a manner not shown in any further detail in a frame and are each provided with suitable feed-in parts. The guide rods 181c and 181d cross, when seen from the fixing means. The stripping plates 181e and 181f, as seen in the direction of conveyance 200, diverge from the guide rods 181c, 181d, defining a guide slit between them. In operation, by the movement of the fixing means, the cluster of organs 161 is caught between the guide rods 181c, 181d, and 181g, which are disposed such that a predetermined organ 179a or organs is/are brought at a distance from the other organs of the cluster 161, and the tissue connection between the organ(s) 179a and the rest of the cluster is caught between the guide rods 181d and 181g. Next, the other organs are caught in and under the guide slit between the stripping plates 181e, 181f. Further conveyance of the cluster 161 in the direction 200 causes one or more organs to be stripped off partially or completely from the cluster, the stripping plates 181e, 181f bringing the organs below them down relative to the point of fixing of the cluster for breaking tissue connections. When the cluster is conveyed further in the direction of arrow 200, the point of fixing diverges from the guide bars 181d and 181g. This causes the tissue connection adjacent to the slit defined by the guide bars 181d and 181g to break. It is to be noted that the stripping plates may be made from rigid or flexible, resilient material. The width of the guide slit between the stripping plates may be varied along its length to provide a suitable passage for certain organs in the cluster. Figs. 6a and 6b illustrate the design and mode of operation of separating means, which are used for separating intestines, and possibly gall-bladder from a cluster of organs of a bird, which cluster of organs is clamped e.g. at the position of the gullet 160 by means of clamping elements 144 and 146. The separating means comprise a container 180 which is provided with an outlet, and above which two elongated, parallel rollers 182, 184 which are rotatable in opposite directions relative to each other are mounted. The rollers are driven by a motor 186 by way of a reducer 188 and a belt transmission 190, the belt of the belt transmission 190 being coupled directly to a drive wheel of the roller 184, which roller is provided at one end thereof with a gear wheel 192 which meshes with a gear wheel 194 of the roller 182. The rollers 182 and 184 will thus rotate in opposite directions when driven, as indicated by the arrows 196 and 197. First, the roller 184 is provided with a helical conveyor rib 198 on the outside surface thereof, with a pitch which is considerably smaller than the length of the roller 184. In a known manner, the conveyor rib 198 brings about conveyance of the organs present between the rollers 182 and 184, in the direction indicated by the arrow 200 in the case of the directions of rotation 196 and 197 of the rollers 182, 184. The roller 184 is also provided on its external surface with three helical separating ribs 202, the pitch of which is considerably greater than the length of the roller 184. The roller 182 is provided on its external surface with three grooves 204, which are shaped in a complementary way to the ribs 202 of the roller 184, and at least partially accommodate said ribs 202 when a part of a rib 202 is lying in the nip of the rollers 182 and 184. The combination of the ribs 202 and the grooves 204 causes a downward directed force upon the organs, such as intestines, lying between the rollers. The separating means in Fig. 6a are shown only in a very rough diagram in Fig. 6b. Above the separating means shown in the central part of the figure is a conveyor, along which fixing means such as those shown in Fig. 4a are moved in the direction of the arrow 200. The clusters of organs 210 of a bird conveyed by the fixing means are guided by one or more diagrammatically shown guide rods 212 between the rollers 182 and 184, only the latter of which is shown in Fig. 6b. The downward force exerted by the rollers 182 and 184 on the intestines means that the intestines are pulled completely below the rollers, in which case the action of the ribs 202 and grooves 204 causes the connection between the gizzard 166 and the cluster of intestines 172 to be broken. The cluster of internal organs 210' is then conveyed further along the conveyor, hanging from the fixing means, while the intestines fall from the separating means into the container 180 and are discharged from there. An embodiment of organ blocking means in the form of two vertical strips 201, disposed on either side of the nip of the rollers 182 and 184, is shown by dashed lines in Fig. 6b. The distance between the strips 201 is selected in such a way that the intestines 172 can move through between the strips 201, and can also take the gall-bladder 203 along with them until it is between the strips 201. The organs higher up, such as the gizzard 166, cannot pass the strips 201, and rest on the top edge of the strips 201. When the cluster of organs 210 moves along in the direction of conveyance 200, a cutter 205, extending between the strips 201, the sharp edge of which faces in the opposite direction to that of the arrow 200, separates the intestines 172 and gall-bladder 203, on the one hand, from the remaining organs, on the other. Fig. 6c and 6d shows in a rough diagram similar to Fig. 6b the processing steps and devices used for separating intestines and gall-bladder from a cluster of organs 210, fixed by fixing means such as those shown in Fig. 4a, and moving in the direction of arrow 200. It is remarked that all structural elements of devices are connected to and supported by a frame (not shown for the sake of clarity). Describing subsequent processing steps when the cluster of organs 210 is conveyed from the left side of Fig. 6c in the direction of conveyance 200, the cluster of organs 210 is first fed to one or more stretching rollers 250, which are rotated in the direction of arrow 252 and are provided on its outer surface with radially and axially extending flaps made of a resilient material, such as a rubber compound. The flaps 254 stroke the cluster of organs 210 at the height where the bundle of intestines 172 is situated, thereby breaking tissue connections between parts of the intestines and unfolding the bundle to an extent which is illustrated in Fig. 6c. Next, as shown at the right hand side of Fig. 6c and in Fig. 6d, the intestines 172 and gall-bladder 203 are separated from the remaining organs of the cluster 210 by a separating device 256. The separating device 256 contains a guide slit 258 into which the intestines 172, stretched by one or more stretching rollers 250, are fed by conveying the fixing means in the direction of the arrow 200. At the same time, the cluster of organs above the guide slit 258 is led to one side thereof by guide rod 260. When brought to this side, the cluster 210 is guided by a guide plate 262 and held away from the guide slit 258, while the intestines 172 are caught in the guide slit 258 and between rollers 182, 184, of which only the latter is visible. When conveyed along, the cluster is pulled over sloping part 264 which orientates the cluster such that the liver is brought down. The part of the separating means 256 to which the cluster is next conveyed, contains two walls 266, 268 extending upwards from the edges of the guide slit 258 facing each other. The wall 266 is part of a guide structure 270 containing a duct 272 for providing a water knife across the upper part of the guide slit defined by walls 266, 268. A water jet from duct 272 is directed into an opening of a vacuum tube 274 connected to wall 268. In the wall 268, the vacuum tube 274 also has an aperture of which the dimensions are such that the gall-bladder 203 can pass therethrough. In the guide slit 258 adjacent to the vacuum tube 274, a guide slit blocking element 276 is provided. When the cluster of organs 210 is moved in the direction of arrow 200 in the region of the walls 266, 268, the water jet from duct 272 cuts off the gall-bladder 203 and any remaining parts of the intestines 172 from the cluster 210, and the gall-bladder 203 and intestine parts are removed through the vacuum tube 274. Instead of a water jet for cutting off the gall-bladder 203, a stationary or moving knife can be used for the same purpose. In particular, in the guide slit defined between the walls 266 and 268 a rotary cylindrical hollow knife may be provided, the end of which pointing opposite to the direction of conveyance 200 having an axial knife edge and an inner diameter which is sufficiently large to let a gall-bladder pass. The interior of the rotating cylindrical knife is part of a vacuum system. In this way, the gall-bladder is drawn into the hollow knife at the knife edge end thereof by the partial pressure in the knife, and then the gall-bladder is separated from the cluster by a cutting operation of the knife edge of the hollow rotary knife. Fig. 7 shows how a slaughtered animal 222 is fed on a conveyor 220a to an evisceration device 224 of a carrousel type known per se. The eviscerated carcass is then discharged on conveyor 220b by way of an inspection station 226 with a veterinary inspector 227, who may if desired be replaced by a computer vision inspection system. At the position of the evisceration device 224, which is equipped with evisceration means, the cluster of organs which has been removed, the cluster comprising gullet, stomach (in the case of poultry: glandular stomach and gizzard), heart, lungs, liver, gall-bladder and intestines, is transferred to a conveyor 228a with fixing means of the type shown in Figs. 4a - 4d. The conveyors 220b and 228a run parallel and in synchronism along of the inspection station 226, it being ensured that a cluster of organs passes the inspection station 226 at the same time as the carcass to which it belongs, so that the relation between the cluster of organs and the carcass is directly apparent. However, if this relation is established in a different way, carcasses can also be inspected separately from their clusters of organs, as illustrated by dashed lines in the figure with conveyor part 220c and inspection station 228. Along conveyor 228a, after the inspection station 226 has been passed, the heart can be removed from the cluster of organs in a processing station 230 (for example, in the manner shown in Figs. 5d and 5e), and the intestines and the gall-bladder can be removed from the cluster of organs in a processing station 232 (for example, in the manner shown in Fig. 6b). However, the sequence of the processing stations 230 and 232 along the conveyor belt 228a can also be reversed, while they can also be left out entirely in the organ separating line shown in Fig. 7. The cluster of remaining organs is then fed to a stripping device 234, for example of the type shown in Figs. 1a - 1d or 2a - 2c. If the cluster of organs has already undergone a processing operation in processing station 232, the stripping operation in stripping device 234 will result in at least the organs liver, heart and lungs being separated completely from the remainder of the cluster of organs. Said organs can then be processed further, possibly partially by hand, along a conveyor belt 236. It will be clear that the heart will not be present on the conveyor belt 236 if the cluster has already undergone an operation in processing station 230. If the processing stations 230 and 232 are not present along the conveyor 228a, the stripping operation in stripping device 234 will generally be carried out only until the processing stage shown in Fig. 5b or Fig. 5c has been reached. The cluster of organs can be supplied in this state by way of a conveyor 220d to a device 238 which is known per se for separating liver, heart and lungs. Finally, the stomachs remaining from the cluster of organs are separated and processed in a stomach machine 240. It will be clear from the above that, by maintaining a fixing of organs which may have been achieved already during an evisceration operation, an important further mechanisation of the activities in a slaughterhouse is possible, in order to raise the quality of the products supplied and to reduce the production costs.

Claims: Method for mechanically processing a cluster (38; 161; 210) of organs consisting of a strong organ and other interconnected internal organs from the body of a slaughtered animal (80), in particular a slaughtered bird, the method comprising: taking the cluster out of the body of the slaughtered animal; fixing the strong organ at a point of fixing when the cluster of organs has already been taken out of and separated from the body of the slaughtered animal, for bringing the cluster (38; 161; 210) in a spatial orientation which is determined by the way of fixing; and conveying the cluster along a predetermined path and breaking tissue connections in the cluster on the basis of the spatial orientation of the cluster in the maintained condition of fixing, characterized in that for breaking the tissue connections a force is exerted in a direction away from the point of fixing on one or more organs of the cluster, the force engaging the one or more organs at a distance from the point of fixing for moving the one or more organs away from the point of fixing. Method according to claim 1, wherein the tissue connections between the interconnected glandular stomach and gizzard, on the one hand, and other organs, on the other hand, are broken. Method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the fixing is achieved at the gullet. Method according any of claims 1-3, wherein the fixing is achieved by clamping the strong organ (38a). Method according to any of claims 1-4, wherein the fixing is maintained by further fixing at least one of the organs, a part thereof or a connection between the organs, following which the first fixing is undone. Method according to any of claims 1-5, wherein the cluster (38; 161; 210) is allowed to hang free from the point of fixing. Method according to any of claims 1-6, wherein the cluster comprises intestines, and the intestines are separated from the cluster before the fixing is terminated. Method according to any of claims 1-7, wherein from a cluster (210) of organs comprising stomach (166), heart, lungs, liver, gall-bladder (203) and intestines (172), first the intestines (172), or the intestines (172) and the gall-bladder (203) are separated, and then at least one of the other organs is separated. Method according to any of claims 1-8, wherein at least one of the organs, a part thereof or a connection between the organs is diverged from the cluster prior to separating said at least one of the organs or said part thereof from the cluster. Method according to any of claims 1-9, wherein for breaking the tissue connections the cluster (161) is supported at at least one side, a pressure force is exerted opposite to the direction of support on tissue situated adjacent to an organ (179) or organ part to be separated for causing the latter to bulge out, and the organ (179) or organ part to be separated is separated from the remaining organs. Device for mechanically processing a cluster (38; 161; 210) of organs consisting of a strong organ and other interconnected internal organs taken out of and separated from the body of a slaughtered animal (80), in particular a slaughtered bird, the device comprising: means for fixing (144, 146) the strong organ at a point of fixing, which means for fixing are part of a conveyor system (138, 140) to feed the organs of the cluster (161, 210) along a predetermined path (200) in a certain spatial orientation which is determined by the way of fixing to a processing station (230, 232, 234, 238) for breaking tissue connections in the cluster on the basis of the spatial orientation of the cluster in the maintained condition of fixing thereof, characterized in that the device comprises one or more stripping means for exerting a force in a direction away from the point of fixing on one or more organs of the cluster, the force engaging the one or more organs at a distance from the point of fixing for moving the one or more organs away from the point of fixing. Device according to claim 11, wherein the stripping means comprise stripping elements (60, 62; 106, 108) which are movable relative to each other, and the edges of which facing each other are adapted to bound at least one passage area (72; 120). Device according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the stripping means have two elongated parallel elements (181e, 181f), the edges of which face each other, and partially bound a passage area in the form of a guide slit extending at an angle to the path (200) of the fixing means. Device according any of claims 11-13, wherein the means for fixing are adapted to fix the gullet. Device according to any of claims 11-14, wherein the means for fixing are adapted to clamp the strong organ. Device according to any of claims 11-15, comprising means for fixing having a first (16, 20) and a second (74, 76) fixing means, the second fixing means (74, 76) being provided along the path of the first fixing means (16, 20), and being designed to take over the cluster (38) from the first fixing means. Device according to any of claims 11-16, wherein the means for fixing comprise two jaw parts (144, 146) which are movable in a controllable way relative to each other for clamping the strong organ between them. Device according to claim 17, wherein the jaw parts (144, 146) are biased towards each other. Device according to claim 18, wherein the jaw parts (144, 146) are disposed at the end of the legs of an essentially U-shaped spring bracket (130) interacting with a spreader (150) for moving the jaw parts apart. Device according to any of claims 17-19, wherein one jaw part (146) is provided with an elongated narrow side at the side facing the other jaw part (144), and the other jaw part (144) is provided with an elongated narrow slit for accommodating the narrow side of the first jaw part (146). Device according to any of claims 11-20, the cluster comprising intestines, and the device comprising means for separating the intestines from the cluster before terminating the fixing. Device according to any of claims 11-21, comprising means for diverging at least one of the organs, a part thereof or a connection between the organs away from the cluster for separating said at least one of the organs or said part thereof from the cluster. Device according to any of claims 11-22, comprising means for diverging at least one of the organs, a part thereof or a connection between the organs away from the cluster for moving said at least one of the organs, said part thereof or said connection between the organs to separating means for separating said at least one of the organs or said part thereof from the cluster. Device according to any of claims 11-23, comprising separating means having a support guide (177) extending essentially parallel to the path of the fixing means, at a distance from which and parallel to which two guide elements (181a, 181b) bounding a guide slit extend, the guide elements (181a, 181b) and the support guide (177) being situated for guiding the cluster (161) at opposite sides, while a separating element (185) is designed for operation across the guide slit. Device according to any of claims 11-24 for processing intestines (172) from a cluster (210) of interconnected intestines (172), gallbladder (203) and other internal organs, having at least one pair of elongated, essentially parallel rollers (182, 184; 250) which are adapted to be rotated in opposite directions (196, 197; 252) to each other, and which rollers are each provided on the outside surface thereof with means (198, 202, 204; 254) for exerting a pulling force on the intestines (172) away from the rest of the cluster. Device according to claim 25, comprising at least one roller (250) having along a part of its length axially and radially extending flaps (254) made of a resilient material.

Inventors: DRABBELS BASTIAAN WILHELMINA J, JANSSEN PETRUS CHRISTIANUS MAR, TEURLINX ENGELBERT JOHANNES JA, VAN DEN NIEUWELAAR ADRIANUS JO, VAN HARSKAMP CORNELIS DIRK, DRABBELS, BASTIAAN WILHELMINA JOHANNES ELIZEUS J., JANSSEN, PETRUS CHRISTIANUS MARIUS, TEURLINX, ENGELBERT JOHANNES JACOBUS, VAN DEN NIEUWELAAR, ADRIANUS JOSEPHES, VAN HARSKAMP, CORNELIS DIRK
Applicants: STORK PMT, STORK PMT B.V.
Application year: 1993
Main classification: A22C21
IPC codes: A22C17, A22C21