Patent GB-417887-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in devices for pickling meat with the aid of pickling brine to be introduced into the latter
IPC: A23B4/28
Filed: 1933-07-03
Abstract: 417,887. Preserving meat. BEISSER, C., 68, Ahrensburgerstrasse, Rahlstedt, Hamburg, Germany. July 3, 1933, No. 18790. [Class 49.] In apparatus for pickling meat by injecting brine thereinto, means are provided whereby the brine introduced into the piece of meat is automatically measured off so that the amount added is a known percentage of the weight of the meat, the percentage being sufficient for preservation of the meat. The piece of meat which may be a ham 11<a> is placed on a holder 11 which is suspended from one end 9<b> of a lever 9 which is supported on knife edges 8. The other end 9<a> of lever 9 has an adjustable counter weight 10 and is detachably secured between a stop 22 and a detent lever 23 to an arcshaped member 21 on a lever 18 which is pivotally mounted on ball bearings 16 and an axle 17. The other end 18<a> of lever 18 is sector shaped and has a counterweight 19 which is adjustable in the direction of rotation. The pickling nozzle 72 is inserted in the ham 11<a> and, by operating a handle 74, a hook 73 is released to free the lever 9 which swings free together with the lever 18 to which it is coupled. When the levers have reached equilibrium which is assisted by a brake 55, a handle 43 is pushed in and opens through linkwork a valve 59 causing brine under pressure to be supplied to the ham through conduits 56, 71. The handle 43 simultaneously operates through link work to hold a brake 50 against the member 21, which is thus retained in position, and to move detent lever 23 out of reach of arm 9<a>, thus disengaging lever 9 from lever 18. As brine is added to the ham, the lever 9 is moved in a clockwise direction and a contact finger 13 which is pivoted thereon and has a forked end 14 engaging a pin 15 on the now fixed member 21 is thereby moved so that a contact spring 13<a> on it is approached to an electrical contact 29<a> and engages therewith when the required amount of brine is added to the ham. Thereupon an electric circuit is completed from main 67 through an electromagnet 58, which is energized and closes a valve 57 shutting off the brine supply, a lamp 66, which lights to indicate that the required amount of brine has been added to the ham, a lead 65, contacts 29<a>, 13<a>, back to the main 63. As brine is lost by drainage from the ham, the contact 13<a> is withdrawn from contact 29<a> by the arm 9<b> rising and the valve 57 is opened to supply further brine, this operation being repeated until the ham retains the necessary amount of brine and the indicating lamp 66 remains permanently lit. To obtain automatic regulation of the weight of brine added proportional to the weight of the piece of meat, the contact 29<a> is formed as an Archimedean spiral and is carried on a disc 29 rotatably mounted on an arm 20 extending between member 21 and lever 18. A toothed wheel 30 is carried on the same shaft as disc 29 and engages with a fixed toothed rack 31, the position of the contact 29<a> being thereby varied according to the point at which the levers 9, 18 reach equilibrium after placing the ham 11<a> on to the holder 11 and being retained in this position by the locking of lever 18 by brake 50. To enable the degree of pickling to be varied the contact 29<a> may be exchangeable, or several such contacts may be arranged side by side on the same axis to co-operate with a displaceable contact finger 13 or with a series of contact fingers. The nozzle 72 contains a valve which opens automatically when brine supply is started and shuts when it is cut off. A squeezing tool 69 is provided for closing large open vessels in the meat.