Patent Abstract:
Deboning machines and methods of operating deboning machines are provided. In one aspect, a deboning machine includes a housing, a bearing supported by the housing, a separation chamber supported by the housing and including perforations defined through the separation chamber from an interior surface to an exterior surface, an auger including a shaft and a flute formed about the shaft with the auger extending through the separation chamber and the flute adapted to be positioned a working distance from the interior surface of the separation chamber. The deboning machine also includes a retainer rotatably supported by the bearing with the auger extending through the retainer, a nut rotatably coupled to a threaded portion of the auger and rotation of the moves the flute relative to the separation chamber to establish the working distance between the flute and the interior surface of the separation chamber.

Full Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The present application claims the benefit of co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/598,006, filed Feb. 13, 2012, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present disclosure relates generally to machines for deboning or separating meats, such as red meat, pork, poultry and fish, from bone, cartilage or sinew. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to an auger mount assembly and method for attaining a desired separation or working spacing between an outer radial surface of an auger and a radially interior facing surface of a separation chamber that is concentrically oriented about the auger. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Conventional deboning machines are disclosed in Applicant&#39;s U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,189,104 and 5,813,909; the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. Conventional deboning machines may have difficulty establishing and maintaining acceptable working space between an auger and an interior surface of a separation chamber. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0004]    In one aspect, a deboning machine is provided and includes a housing, a bearing supported by the housing, a separation chamber supported by the housing and including a plurality of perforations defined through the separation chamber from an interior surface to an exterior surface, an auger including a shaft and a flute formed about the shaft, wherein the auger extends through the separation chamber and the flute is adapted to be positioned a working distance from the interior surface of the separation chamber, a retainer rotatably supported by the bearing, wherein the auger extends through the retainer, a nut rotatably coupled to a threaded portion of the auger, wherein rotation of the nut moves the flute relative to the separation chamber to establish the working distance between the flute and the interior surface of the separation chamber, and at least one fastener coupling the nut to the retainer. 
         [0005]    In another aspect, a method of setting a working spacing between an auger and a separation chamber in a deboning machine is provided. The method includes passing a threaded portion of the auger through a retainer that rotationally cooperates with a bearing, engaging a nut with the threaded portion of the auger, coupling the nut to the retainer, rotating the nut and the retainer to move the auger relative to the retainer in a first longitudinal direction until the auger engages the separation chamber, and moving the auger in a second longitudinal direction opposite the first longitudinal direction relative to the retainer to attain the working spacing between the auger and the separation chamber. 
         [0006]    The scope of the present invention is defined solely by the appended claims and is not affected by the statements within this summary. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]    The disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawings and description. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. 
           [0008]      FIG. 1  is a top, front perspective view of an exemplary deboning machine. 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is a bottom, rear perspective view of the deboning machine illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is an exploded view of the deboning machine illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  4 - 4  in  FIG. 2   
           [0012]      FIG. 5  is an enlarged view of a portion of the cross-sectional view of the deboning machine illustrated in  FIG. 4 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  is an enlarged view of another portion of the cross-sectional view of the deboning machine illustrated in  FIG. 4 , this view shows a working space or gap between a flight of an auger and an interior surface of a separation chamber. 
           [0014]      FIG. 7  illustrates an exemplary operation or process of the deboning machine illustrated in  FIG. 1 , this illustration may also be a graphical depiction or indicia on a tool utilized with the deboning machine. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0015]    As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , an exemplary deboning machine  20  is illustrated and includes a compression type conveyor screw or auger  22  that operates in close proximity to a perforated frusto-conical body  24  defined as a separation chamber  25 . Bone connected meat is communicated from a feed end  26  of the machine  20  to a bone discharge end  28  of the machine  20 . Separation chamber  25  includes a number of perforations  30  defined in a circumferential wall of the body  24 . As rotation of auger  22  moves meat and bone material through body  24  toward discharge end  28 , meat separated from the bone material passes radially through the perforations  30  in body  24  and the remaining bone material is dispelled from machine  20  proximate bone discharge end  28  of machine  20 . A valve ring may surround the auger  22  and engage a threaded surface  32  ( FIGS. 1 ,  3 , and  4 ) defined by a head frame member  34 . The valve ring creates a back pressure to provide a choke for controlling pressure within the separation chamber  25 , thereby controlling extrusion through the perforations  30  of the chamber  25  of the separated meat. It is further appreciated that the perforations  30  associated with the separation chamber  25  can be manipulated to be provided in different patterns, sizes, shapes, and/or frequency to provide variable operating pressures along a longitudinal length of the separation chamber  25  and to alter the separation performance of machine  20 . 
         [0016]    The separation chamber  25  is typically of machined heavy duty steel for withstanding the high pressures associated with the deboning operation. The perforations  30  extend between radial inner and outer surfaces of the chamber wall, and present a plurality of sharp arcuate edges which, in cooperation with the fluted turns of the auger  22 , function to strip the meat from its bone as the bone connected meat is moved progressively by the turns of the auger  22  from the feed end  26  to the bone discharge end  28 . Accurate and controllable spacing between the auger  22  and the separation chamber  25  is necessary to attain proper or desired processing of the raw materials to attain a desired finish material content and consistency. Accurate and controllable spacing also reduces premature and/or undesired wear of the auger  22  and/or the separation chamber  25 , with such wear being attributable to improper spacing between the auger  22  and the separation chamber  25 . 
         [0017]    Commonly, during the service life of the auger  22  and/or the separation chamber  25 , it is periodically necessary to adjust the spacing between the auger  22  and the separation chamber  25  to maintain the desired characteristics of the finished product. As the auger  22  and the separation chamber  25  are commonly provided in concentrically oriented frusto-conical shapes, lateral translation of the auger  22 , or translation of the auger  22  in a direction aligned with a longitudinal axis  48  (see  FIG. 4 ) of the auger  22 , relative to the concentrically positioned separation chamber  25  provides a uniform spacing along the longitudinal interface between the auger  22  and the separation chamber  25 . There is presently a demand for an adjustment assembly for manipulating the position of the auger  22  relative to the separation chamber  25  that is convenient to use, easy to adjust, and provides repeatable positioning of the auger  22  relative to the separation chamber  25 . 
         [0018]    Referring to  FIGS. 1-6 , machine  20  includes an auger mount assembly  40  that supports one end  44  of auger  22  relative to a support housing or head  46  of machine  20 . Mount assembly  40  includes one or more bearings  50 ,  52  that cooperate with an opening  54  formed in head  46 . A retainer  56  extends longitudinally through and is supported by bearings  50 ,  52  and cooperates with the opening  54  so as to fix the longitudinal position of retainer  56  relative to head  46 . A longitudinal opening  58  is formed through retainer  56  and shaped to slidably cooperate with a shaft portion  60  of auger  22 . A threaded section  62  is formed along shaft portion  60  of auger  22  near end  44 . Shaft portion  60  of auger  22  extends beyond an outboard directed end face  64  of retainer  56  and operatively cooperates with a nut  66  that can be engaged therewith. 
         [0019]    A number of fasteners or bolts  70 ,  72 ,  74  ( FIG. 2 ) cooperate with nut  66 . Fasteners  70 ,  72  pass through respective openings  76 ,  78  defined in nut  66  and engage respective corresponding cavities  80 ,  82  defined in an outboard directed end face  64  of retainer  56 . Fastener  74  is oriented in a transverse direction relative to the longitudinal axis  48  of the auger  22  and longitudinal axes of fasteners  70 ,  72 , and cooperates with nut  66 , but does not otherwise interfere with or engage retainer  54 . As explained further below, fastener  74  provides a first manner of temporarily fixing the orientation of nut  66  such that nut  66  cannot rotate relative to auger  22 . 
         [0020]    A thrust plate  84  is secured to head  46  and fixes the lateral orientation of retainer  56  relative to head  46 . Retainer  56  is allowed to rotate relative to head  46 , but, with respect to the direction of the longitudinal axis  48  of auger  22 , the retainer  56  is positionally fixed with respect to head  46 . Retainer  56  includes a tool lip  86  that extends beyond an outboard facing sidewall  88  of thrust plate  84 . Tool lip  86  is constructed to operationally cooperate with a tool such as a wrench  90 . As explained further below, the cooperation of a wrench  90  with retainer  56 , nut  66  with retainer  56 , and shaft  60  of auger  22  allows a user to repeatedly and conveniently establish a working distance or spacing, indicated by arrow  96  ( FIGS. 4 and 6 ) between flutes  100  of auger  22  and a radially internal facing surface  102  of separator chamber  25 . Preferably, working distance  96  is provided as approximately  1 / 8  inch although other working dimensions are envisioned. 
         [0021]    With continued reference to  FIGS. 1-6 , wrench  90  is adapted to engage tool lip  86  of retainer  56  and rotate the retainer  56  relative to the head  46 . The nut  66  is coupled to the retainer  56  via fasteners  70 ,  72  and rotates with the retainer  56 . The nut  66  threads onto the threaded portion  62  of the auger  22  until the nut  66  engages the wrench  90 . A space  95  is provided by a width  94  of the wrench  90  and the space  95  is between the nut  66  and the outboard facing sidewall  88  of the thrust plate  84 . The wrench  90  is then removed from the tool lip  86  and the nut  66  can be further advanced onto the auger  22  an amount equal to the space  95 . As explained further below, when fully assembled and configured for operation, the distance associated with space  95  allows translation of auger  22  in a lateral direction out of contact engagement with internal facing surface  102  of separation chamber  25 . Said in another way, space  95  defines working distance  96  associated with the position of auger  22  relative to separation chamber  25 . 
         [0022]    During assembly of machine  20 , auger  22  is introduced into separation chamber  25  from the left-hand side (as viewed in  FIG. 4 ) such that shaft  60  passes through retainer  56 , the threaded portion  62  of auger  22  extends beyond retainer  56 , and the nut  66  can be engaged with the threaded portion  62  at a location outboard of thrust plate  84 . Auger  22  is laterally translatable along the longitudinal axis  48  with respect to retainer  56 , but is rotationally supported by the retainer  56 . Retainer  56  is rotatable relative to head  46  and auger  22  via manipulation of wrench  90  so as to align nut  66  for engagement of bolts  70 ,  72  with openings  80 ,  82  of retainer  56 . As mentioned above, wrench  90  has a thickness, indicated by arrow  94  ( FIGS. 4 and 5 ) such that wrench  90  extends in an outboard direction, or a direction toward nut  66 , beyond the end face  64  of retainer  56  so as to maintain space  95  between nut  66  and retainer  56  when nut  66  is loosely engaged with auger  22 . As explained further below, when fully assembled, space  95  defines the working distance  96  between auger  22  and separation chamber  25 . 
         [0023]    With nut  66  loosely engaged with threaded portion  62  of auger  22 , fasteners  70 ,  72  may be loosely engaged with retainer  56 . Nut  66  may be rotated to capture wrench  90  between nut  66  and outboard facing sidewall  88  of thrust plate  84 . Rotation of wrench  90 , and thereby retainer  56 , facilitates the alignment of fasteners  70 ,  72  with the respective openings  76 ,  78  in nut  66  and cavities  80 ,  82  in retainer  56 . With fasteners  70 ,  72  loosely engaged between nut  66  and retainer  56 , rotation of wrench  90  in a tightening direction, associated with arrow  104 , advances nut  66  along the threads  62  of auger shaft  60  to translate auger  22  in a lateral direction, indicated by arrow  106 , relative to retainer  56 . Said another way, rotating the wrench  90  in the direction associated with arrow  104  rotates retainer  56  and nut  66 , thereby moving the auger  22  in the direction associated with arrow  106  and into abutting engagement with surface  102  of separation chamber  25 . This abutting engagement is commonly termed “bottoming out” of the auger  22  relative to the separation chamber  25 . 
         [0024]    When rotation of wrench  90  can no longer advance auger  22  in the lateral direction  106  toward surface  102  due to the contact between the auger  22  and the surface  102 , machine  20  is not configured for operation as auger  22  must be backed off a desired distance from surface  102  to attain the desired working spacing  96  between the auger  22  and the surface  102  of the separation chamber  25 . Operation of machine  20  requires removal of wrench  90  and the final securing of nut  66  relative to shaft  60  of auger  22  and retainer  56 , and thereby the final positioning of auger  22  relative to separation chamber  25 . Slight counter-directional rotation of wrench  90  from the bottomed out orientation allows wrench  90  to be disengaged from retainer  56 . Once wrench  90  has been removed, tightening of bolt  74  manipulates an internal circumference of nut  66  such that nut  66  circumferentially compresses about threaded portion  62  of shaft  60  and thereby effectively fixes the positional orientation of nut  66  relative to shaft  60 . However, at this stage of assembly, auger  22  has yet to attain the working orientation associated with spacing  96  as gap  95  still exists between nut  66  and retainer  56 . Once nut  66  has been positionally fixed with respect to shaft  60  via tightening of fastener  74 , tightening of fasteners  70 ,  72  moves nut  66  and auger  22  in a left-hand direction (as viewed in  FIGS. 4 and 5 ) toward and into contact with retainer  56  a distance equal to gap  95 . The dimension associated with gap  95  is translated to provide working space  96  between auger  22  and surface  102  of separation chamber  25 . 
         [0025]    Referring to  FIGS. 3-5 , a portion of nut  66  includes a slot  108  that extends in a circumferential direction around the nut  66  and at least one of the openings  76 ,  78  associated with receiving fasteners  70 ,  72  communicates with the slot  108 . Initial tightening of the respective fastener  70 ,  72  translates nut  66  and auger  22  in a direction that moves the auger  22  out of contact engagement with surface  102  of separation chamber  25 . This distance associated with gap  95  translates to the working spacing  96  between the auger  22  and the surface  102 . Once nut  66  abuts retainer  56 , thereby indicating that auger  22  has achieved a desired operational working spacing  96  relative to separation chamber  25 , continued tightening of the respective fastener(s)  70 ,  72  compresses at least an outboard oriented portion of nut  66  on an outboard side of slot  108  to drive threads  120  associated with the outboard portion of the nut  66  proximate slot  108  to a position of interfering engagement with the threads  62  auger  22 . Accordingly, mount assembly  40  provides two manners of resisting movement of auger  22  relative to nut  66  when the mount assembly  40  is fully assembled: (1) The compression of the nut  66  around the threaded portion  62  of the auger by tightening fastener  74 ; and (2) the presence of the slot  108  and the associated interference created by compressing the outboard portion of the nut  66  into the threaded portion  62  of the auger  22 . In one exemplary embodiment, wrench  90  may include a graphical depiction that represents the sequential operation of nut  66 , wrench  90 , and fasteners  70 ,  72 ,  74 . Such graphical representation may be similar to that illustrated in  FIG. 7  and may include just pictures, just text, or both pictures and text. 
         [0026]    In addition to being convenient to operate, mount assembly  40  provides an auger mounting arrangement that allows convenient adjustment of the position of the auger  22  relative to the separation chamber  25  to achieve a desired spacing therebetween. That is, it is envisioned that wrenches of different thicknesses  94  could be provided which may be configured to provide a desired working spacing  96  between the auger  22  and the separation chamber  25 . Any such desired working spacing  96  may be a function of the desired operation, product yield, tolerable yield product quality, material being processed, separation chamber  25  and/or auger shape and/or construction, etc. The auger mounting arrangement provides a convenient and easy to use configuration for creating a repeatable, accurate, and desirable spacing between the auger  22  and separation chamber  25  of compression type deboning machines. 
         [0027]    The Abstract is provided to allow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that various features are grouped together in various embodiments for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separately claimed subject matter. 
         [0028]    While various embodiments of the disclosure have been described, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that other embodiments and implementations are possible within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, the disclosure is not to be restricted except in light of the attached claims and their equivalents.

Technology Classification (CPC): 8