Patent Publication Number: US-10779548-B1

Title: Handheld meat skinner with pinned hybrid tooth roll

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to the meat processing industry, and particularly to a handheld skinner to manually remove skin, hair, and fat from meat. The skinner has improved tooth rolls with a hybrid tooth configuration, and which are fixed on the arbor or insert by pins, keys, or splines. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Handheld, powered meat skinners have been used for decades in the meat packing industry to remove skin, hair and fat from the carcass and head. One example of a prior art skinner device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,631,780. These prior art skinner devices include a roller with teeth to grip the skin as an operator manually moves the device so that a blade separates the skin from the meat. The roller is driven with worm gears. 
     A typical packing plant will skin thousands of hogs by each operator during their work shift. Regulations require that the skinner be sanitized after each hog so as to avoid cross contamination. The operator will dip the head of the skinning device in to a scald tank having water at least 180° F. The conventional roller is constructed of a plastic insert or arbor, with metal tooth rings thereon. The repetitious sanitation process causes the plastic arbor to expand and contract. Eventually, the tooth rings loosen on the arbor, and may be come misaligned. The normal life expectancy for the conventional roller is approximately one week, after which the plastic insert is removed and replaced, with the metal teeth rings re-installed on a new plastic arbor. Also, since teeth rings are manually pressed onto the arbor, there is human error which leads to misalignment of the teeth on each end of arbor. Misalignment of the teeth rings causes excessive side loading on the roller, and there by decreases life of the roller. 
     These problems of short roller life and teeth misalignment have been present in the industry for at least 30 years. Satisfactory solutions have not been developed, such that there is long felt need for an improved roller for these handheld skinners. 
     Accordingly, a primary objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved roller having an extended life expectancy for use in handheld meat skinners. 
     Another objective of the present invention is the provision of a skinning tool for skinning meat carcasses and having a hybrid tooth roller with multiple teeth configurations. 
     A further objective of the present invention is the provision of a hand tool for skinning an animal carcass or head, wherein the teeth rings are mounted on the insert arbor using a male and female connection, thereby eliminating a friction fit connection. 
     Still another objective of the present invention is the provision of the improved power tool for removing skin from animal carcass and heads having a tooth roller with different teeth rings having different teeth designs. 
     Another objective of the present invention is the provision of a handheld meat skinner having improved maneuverability to allow the operator to complete the skinning process with less passes so as to save time and improve productivity. 
     Still another objective of the present invention is the provision of a meat skinning tool that is economical to manufacture, and safe and durable in use. 
     These and other objectives will become apparent from the following description of the invention. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The handheld, powered skinning tool includes a body with a handle, a skinning blade on the body, and a toothed roll with multiple teeth designs mounted on the body. The teeth rings are mounted on the plastic insert or arbor using pins, keys, or splines, to prevent rotation of the rings relative to the arbor. This connection increases the life of the roller, while the hybrid teeth allow for improved maneuverability for decreased skinning time and increased productivity. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the handheld skinning tool according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the skinning tool. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the hybrid tooth roll of the skinning tool. 
         FIG. 4  is a side elevation view of the hybrid tooth roll. 
         FIG. 5  is an elevation view of the hybrid tooth roll. 
         FIG. 6  is an exploded perspective view of the hybrid tooth roll. 
         FIG. 7  is a sectional view of the tooth roll along line  7 - 7  of  FIG. 5 . 
         FIG. 8  is another sectional view of the tooth roll taken along line  8 - 8  of  FIG. 5 . 
         FIG. 9  is an end view of a first teeth ring with pointed teeth, according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 10  is an end view of a second teeth ring with square teeth, according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 11  is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a non-hybrid roller, according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 12  is a perspective view of the roller of  FIG. 11 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     A handheld, powered meat skinner tool or device  10 , includes a head assembly  12  with a handle  14 . The head assembly  12  includes a body  16 , with left and the right shoes  18 , with a skinner blade  20 , a stripper  22 , and front guard plate or cover  24 . The head assembly  12  also drivingly supports a worm gear  26 , which is powered by an air motor (not shown) or other power source. 
     The above components of the skinner  10  are conventional, and do not constitute part of the present convention. 
     The invention is directed toward an improved toothed roller  30  for the skinner  10 . The roller  30  is mounted to the body  16  using a shaft  32 . The ends of the shaft  32  are supported by the opposite sides of the body  16 , as is the known in the art. 
     The roller  30  includes a plastic insert or arbor shaft  34  having a longitudinal bore  36  for receiving the mounting shaft pin  32 . The arbor  34  includes a gear  38  for meshing engagement with the worm gear  26 . In a preferred embodiment, the arbor  34  and the gear  38  are plastic molded as one piece, as seen in  FIG. 7 . Teeth rings  40  are mounted on the arbor  34  for rotation therewith. The teeth rings  40  are mounted on the insert arbor  34  on opposite sides of the gear  38 , as seen in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . 
     In the preferred embodiment, shown in  FIG. 3 , there are multiple sets or pairs of teeth rings, with different sets having different teeth designs or configurations. As seen in  FIG. 9 , one design is for a ring  40 A having pointed teeth  42 . As shown in  FIG. 10 , another design is a ring  40 B having square teeth  44 . As shown in  FIG. 6 , the rings  40 A are mounted adjacent to the gear  38 , and the rings  40 B are mounted laterally outside the rings  40 A. It is understood that this orientation of the rings  40 A,  40 B can be reversed, if desired. 
     The pointed teeth  42  are more aggressive and grip the skin more firmly, compared to the square teeth  44 . The square teeth  44 , which engage but don&#39;t penetrate the skin, allow the operator to maneuver the skinner  10  in tighter or narrower paths along the carcass or head being skinned. For example, as the skinner  10  approaches the end of the carcass, the operator can maneuver the skinner to make a faster 180° turn and continue skinning in the opposite direction. This improved maneuverability minimizes the number of passes required to complete the skinning operation, thereby saving time and increasing productivity. 
     The rings  40 A,  40 B are not press or friction fit onto the insert arbor  34 , as in the prior art, but rather are fixed on the arbor  34  using a mechanical connection. For example, the arbor  34  includes slots  46 , and the rings  40 A,  40 B includes slots  48 . Pins  50  are inserted into the aligned slots  46 ,  48  so as to prevent rotation of the rings relative to the arbor. While the slots  46 ,  48  are shown to be curved, and the pins  50  are shown to be round, it is understood that the slots can have a square profile, with a square key used in place of the pins  50 . 
     An alternative connection for mounting the rings on the arbor  34  includes splines  52  ( FIGS. 11 &amp; 12 ) which are received in the slots  48  of the rings  40 A,  40 B. As a further alternative, the splines and slot can be reversed, with the splines (not shown) extending inwardly from the inner circumference of the rings  40  for receipt in the slots  46  on the arbor  34 . 
     The male pins  50 , keys, or splines  52  and the female slots  46 ,  48  overcome the prior art problem of teeth misalignment, both at the initial assembly of the rings  40  on the arbor  34  and after repeated sanitation sequences. By maintaining proper alignment of the teeth of the rings  40 A,  40 B, excess side loading is eliminated, thereby increasing life of the roller  30 . For example, in tests of the improved roller  30 , the life expectancy was increased four times, as compared to current and conventional prior art rollers on skinning tools. Such an extended life of the roller  30  provides significant cost savings, both in terms of the replacement cost of new arbors, and the labor cost for the assembly time. 
     It is understood that the teeth rings  40 A,  40 B can be used together for a hybrid roller  30 , as seen in  FIG. 1-8 , or alternatively only one tooth design can be used on the arbor  34 , as seen in  FIGS. 11 &amp; 12 . Other tooth designs, beyond those shown in the drawings, can also utilized alone or in combination for the present invention. Thus, the invention provides multiple combinations of interchangeable teeth rings on the arbor  34 , depending on the task at hand. The tooth roller  30  also allows quick and easy exchange of the teeth rings  40 , due to the minimal friction between the rings  40  and the arbor  34 , and without risk of misalignment during assembly or use. 
     The invention has been shown and described above with the preferred embodiments, and it is understood that many modifications, substitutions, and additions may be made which are within the intended spirit and scope of the invention. From the foregoing, it can be seen that the present invention accomplishes at least all of its stated objectives.