Patent GB-676814-A (GB)
Title: Improvements relating to the mechanical dressing of fish
IPC: A22C25/00
Filed: 1950-01-18
Abstract: 676,814. Fish dressing. FISADCO, Ltd. Jan. 18, 1951 [Jan. 18, 1950], No. 1355/50. Class 28 (ii). In a machine in which a fish is dragged round tail first to contact various cutting, gutting and filleting knives or tools which are automatically moved into the fish and out again by cam motions the tools which operate on the length of the belly only are moved in and out by one cam surface 90 and the tools which cut along the whole length of the fish are moved in and out by another cam surface 92 of different contour, both these cam surfaces being on a common cam carrier 78 which itself is automatically adjusted in position through a feeler 116 bearing on the fish, so that the length of the various cuts is right for the particular length of the fish. There are three cam carriers 78 around the periphery of the disc 80. These tools operate in timed relation when the feeler 116 drops down the bony step near the eye of the fish. The fish is drawn round tail first with its back held up by guides in the groove 14 of a rotated horizontal drum 2. A V-shaped spring pressed feeler shoe 75 bears on the belly side of the fish and so varies the position of a pair of rotated disc knives 26, Fig. 1, so that they cut off a thin strip 30, Fig. 7, of flesh (and fins) from the tip of the belly only. Continuing the drum rotation the fish head is cut off by a knife 18 which is swung in about an axis 22 to contact the fish, the swing being controlled by a cam groove 70 through bell crank 72 and geared segment 76. This control cam causes a curved cut 24, Fig. 5, to be made just behind the curve of the gills. This knife 18, &c., is more fully described in Specification 676,036. A rotating disc knife 32, Figs. 1 and 8, then moves in to cut through the belly to underneath the backbone 36, the belly being canted upwards by a fixed guide 35 as it slides along. The guts and roes are then swept out by a rotated disc 38 having radial ribs 40. A plate 48, Fig. 10, enters the first filleting cut below the backbone and, along with a disc knife 47, which moves in to cut above the backbone, the fish being distorted as it slides between top and bottom fixed guides, as in Specification 616,813, 47 and 48 then co-cperate to pull out the backbone. The belly ribs, Fig. 11, are then cut out by a pair of converging disc knives 52 which cut off a thin slice 54 from each inside of the belly as described in Specification 676,815. A knife 60, Fig. 12, then moves in to continue the previous cuts right through to the back of the fish thus splitting it into two fillets, 64, 66, attached at the tail only. The in and out movement of these various knives or tools is controlled by a cam wheel 80 carrying three cams 78, Fig. 2, each with two cam surfaces 90 and 92. The cam surface 90 moves in the tools 18, 38 and 52 for such a time that they operate on the belly only along the line 46, Fig. 5 The cam surface 92 moves in the other tools 32, 47 and 60 which operate along the whole length of the fish along the line 37, Fig. 5. These various tool movements are communicated from the cams 90 and 92 through bell crank levers such as 83 and links 85 with retracting springs 61. To compensate for longer fish as in Specification 676,036, where the distance between the bony ridge at the eye (which is the actuating point) and the beheading cut to be made just behind the gills, is correspondingly longer, the cut is accelerated automatically by drawing the feeler 116, Fig. 4, towards the nose. This is done by a continuously rotating cam 169 depressing cam roller 168 whereby 170 is rocked to the right of shaft 172 whereby 120, 118 and the feeler 116 is moved to the right. In another form (Figs. 15 to 20, not shown) the controlling cams have the necessary different cam surfaces in steps to control the different tools and with adjustment by a feeler shoe (245) bearing on the fish. Such stepped cams 208 and 210, Fig. 21, are at each end of a cam plate, the set 208 to operate the belly tools, the set 210 to operate the full length cutting, &c., tools. This cam plate is rocked about a horizontal axis through mechanism connected to the feeler shoe. In this case an abrasive disc (192) removes the inside skin of the belly flaps and loosens the ribs. The belly flaps are pressed against this wheel by spring loaded fingers. The backbone and loosened ribs are removed by radial spikes spaced to engage both sides of the backbone.