Patent GB-356442-A (GB)
Title: Improvements relating to the dressing of fowls
IPC: A22C21/06
Filed: 1930-08-19
Abstract: 356,442. Dressing poultry. WHITE, A. E., 5, Quality Court, Chancery Lane, London.-(Draw-Trim Corporation of America ; 589, River Street, Troy, New York, U.S.A.). Aug. 19, 1930, No. 24792. [Class 28 (ii).] The bird is laid, back downwards, on a seatplate d<1>, as shown in Figs. 15 .. 19, the legs being received in hooked members d<18> associated with leg-severing means, and the neck is held adjacent to the body by spring-pressed rocking blocks d<4>, Fig. 2, and is allowed to hang so that the head is engaged by severing means d<13>. The seat d<1> is adjustable to accommodate birds of various sizes, and has an inclined portion facing towards the reciprocating knife e<11> which is thereby directed to the correct point between the tail and the vent so that it may enter the body of the fowl and, by passing along the backbone, sever the ligaments which hold the viscera to the backbone. A bar e<3> carrying a "hand" e<2>, moves with the knife e<11>, and oscillating knives e<7>, e<8>, Fig. 8, enlarge the hole in the body of the bird to permit the withdrawal of the viscera. The skin is supported during the cutting by the knives e<7>, e<8> by a bodkin e<6>. When the knife e<11> has completed the severing of the ligaments, the hand e<2> is swung up and, on the reverse motion of the bar e<3>, the entrails are pushed out. The hand e<2> has a U-shaped slot in its outer edge to grip the windpipe and esophagus and peel it out of the bird's neck, the head having been severed. The mechanism for carrying and actuating the knives and hand comprises a main frame el slidable on guides and carrying at each side a pusher bar e<10> having inturned ends which engage rollers on the ends of levers connected to the knives d<13> which are thus actuated to sever the neck on the forward stroke of the frame e<1> and are returned to their original position on its backward stroke. The bars e<10> also actuate the leg-severing knives which, as shown in Fig. 2, consist of a stationary knife d<19> in each hook d<18> and a vertically sliding knife d<20> connected to levers d<21>, d<27> the latter having rollers d<22>, d23 which are engaged by the bars e<10>. A spring d<25> tends to move the knife d<20> upwards, and to insert the leg in the hook d<18> it is pressed against the sloping fin d<24> which depresses the knife sufficiently to permit insertion. The frame e<1> is reciprocated by a lever c<1> which is oscillated by the motor B through worm and other gearing and a toothed clutch. The lever c<1> is connected by a line e<14> to a frame e<40> which is slidable in the frame el but is locked thereto in either of two positions by the pins e<45>, e<46>, Fig. 3, which are controlled by sliding members spaced by a spring e<53> and actuated by sliding stops e<36>, e<37> which contact with stationary parts of the machine at the limits of the stroke of the frame e<40>. When the frame e<1> is thus arrested, the frame e<40> continues its forward movement so that, by means of the levers e4, e<18>, Fig. 2, the latter of which engages a notch in a block e<20> secured to the frame e<40>, the hand is raised and as the frames e<1>, e<40> are then locked together by the pin e<46>, the hand is kept raised until, on the backward motion, the stop e<37> is pushed in, so that the frame e<40> moves relative to the frame el in the reverse direction, until it is again locked, for a new cycle of operations, by the pin e<45>. The knives e<7>, e<8> are carried on shafts e<29>, Figs. 7 and 8, journalled in a top frame e<35> slidable on the frame el, the frame e<35> being driven by a spring-returned lever c<2>, Fig. 3, which strikes a fixed stop and moves the frame e<35> towards the bird at a greater rate than the frame e<1> until it is locked thereto by spring-pressed pins dropping into holes e<54>. The knives e<7>, e<8> then make their cuts 270, 280, Fig. 8, which are effected in succession by rollers e<32> en. gaging cam grooves in a frame e<30> which is arrested by stops e<33> engaging the seat d<1>. The final movement of the frame e<30> frees the pins from the holes e<54> and allows the spring c<4> to return the frame e<35> to its original position relative to the frame e<1>. The blade e<11> is bevelled on the underside to ride on the inclined portion of the seat d<1>, the blade being positioned beneath the bar e<3> by a pin e<22> and its rear end is pressed upwardly by a spring e<23>, so that the front end of the blade may be depressed sufficiently to pass a cleaning cloth over it. The lever c<1> is slotted and is oscillated by a crankpin c<9> on a crank c<16> carried by a shaft which is clutched to the drive from the motor by a toothed clutch operated by a fork c<21>, Fig. 9. The fork is carried on a shaft c<24> fast with an arm c<22>, connected to a spring c<23> which maintains the arm on either side of its deadcentre. The fork engages the clutch when it is depressed, and disengages it when it is raised. The arm c<22> has two pins c<25>, c<28> between which is positioned the end of a crank lever c<20> which is pivoted to a rod c<17> having an end knob c<18>, and carries a spring-pressed plunger c<27> at the end of its long limb. When the knob c<18> is pulled out, the lever c<20> engages the pin c<28> and depresses the fork c<21>. The lever c<1> makes one complete oscillation, to effect a cycle of operations in the machine, and then its operating crank c<16> contacts with the plunger c<27> and disengages the clutch.