Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US4972549?ie=ISO-8859-1
Timestamp: 2014-03-16 17:11:30
Document Index: 314111007

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 17', 'art 25', 'art 29', 'art 25', 'art 28', 'art 17']

Patent US4972549 - Process for weighing poultry, and conveyor hook for carrying out this process - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsProcess for weighing poultry which is conveyed suspended by the legs from suspension hooks directed in the direction of conveyance through a conveyor suspension track past a weighing station, prior to reaching the weighing position each of the hooks is turned through such an angle that during the weighing...http://www.google.com/patents/US4972549?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US4972549 - Process for weighing poultry, and conveyor hook for carrying out this processAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS4972549 APublication typeGrantApplication numberUS 07/341,721Publication dateNov 27, 1990Filing dateApr 21, 1989Priority dateApr 25, 1988Fee statusPaidAlso published asDE68902356D1, DE68902356T2, EP0343700A1, EP0343700B1, US5037351Publication number07341721, 341721, US 4972549 A, US 4972549A, US-A-4972549, US4972549 A, US4972549AInventorsPetrus C. H. Janssen, Adrianus J. van den NieuwelaarOriginal AssigneeStork Pmt B. V.Export CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (14), Referenced by (9), Classifications (10), Legal Events (4) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetProcess for weighing poultry, and conveyor hook for carrying out this processUS 4972549 AAbstract Process for weighing poultry which is conveyed suspended by the legs from suspension hooks directed in the direction of conveyance through a conveyor suspension track past a weighing station, prior to reaching the weighing position each of the hooks is turned through such an angle that during the weighing no contact between the birds, which would adversely affect weighing, occurs with conveyor hook especially suited for carrying out this process.
What is claimed is: 1. A method of weighing poultry, comprising the steps of:conveying a plurality of birds toward a weighing station, the birds being closely adjacent to each other, the birds being suspended by their legs from suspension hooks, the suspension hooks being suspended from a conveyor suspension track; disentangling the wings of the birds and separating the birds from each other, the step of disentangling the wings and separating the birds from each other including turning the birds; and then, while the wings of the birds are disentangled and while the birds are separated from each other, weighing the birds at the weighing station. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of disentangling the wings and separating the birds from each other further includes individually displacing the birds in a horizontal direction at right angles to the conveyor suspension track.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a process for weighing poultry which is conveyed suspended by the legs from suspension hooks directed in the direction of conveyance through a conveyor suspension track past a weighing station, characterized in that prior to reaching the weighing position each of the hooks is turned through such an angle that during the weighing no contact between the birds, which would adversely affect weighing, occurs. The invention also relates to a conveyor hook for carrying out this process.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART Poultry which is conveyed suspended in the suspension hook of a conveyor belt past different processing stations has to be weighed at various stages of the processing, i.e. between various processing stations. This is not only because the weight of the product in the poultry slaughter business is an important factor for the correct setting of the various processing machines, but also because the weight is an important means of checking the various operations carried out, both as regards the effective removal of parts not fit for consumption and as regards monitoring of the efficiency in operations such as cooling, jointing, boning, etc.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side view of a part of a conveyor suspension track for poultry, in which a weighing station is incorporated and the measures according to the invention are used;
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In FIG. 1 reference numeral 2 shows a conveyor suspension track, known per se, on which poultry is moved along suspended from conveyor hooks, a number of which are shown and indicated by 4a-4i. Each hook hangs from a bearing rod 6 having at the end a bearing roller 8 resting on a guide 10; the rollers are connected to each other by means of the cable 12, and the direction of movement of the whole unit is indicated by the arrow 14.
FIG. 4 shows schematically another solution. The poultry 82 hanging from the conveyor track indicated schematically by the line 80 is here already turned through a specific angle relative to the plane of the track and is being conveyed in the direction of the arrows 84. A first guide wheel 88 rotating in the direction of the arrow 86, whose outer periphery extends close up to the vertical plane of the track 80, presses the birds, such as the bird 82a, in the direction of the arrow 90 out of the plane of the track and when this bird subsequently reaches the position indicated by 82b a second rotary guide wheel 94 driven in the direction of the arrow 92 presses the bird again in the direction of the arrow 96 back towards the plane of the track 80. In this way entangled wings are released from each other with simple means, but in an effective manner. Finally, a fourth solution must be mentioned, which involves subjecting the hooks to turning through a large angle, for example 60 entirely free from each other, and after the subsequent turning back are completely free from each other.
Of course, the turning of the suspension part of the suspension hooks relative to the normal direction can be achieved in various ways. FIGS. 5 to 8 show an embodiment of a suspension hook which is particularly suitable for use in a weighing device of the type shown in FIG. 1, i.e. a hook which is raised while running into the weighing station and during its movement through the weighing station rests on supporting rollers. These supporting rollers 24a and 24b are mounted--see FIGS. 5-8--on the ends of a shaft 11 which is designed with a bore 13 which is at right angles to the axis, and through which the supporting rod 15 goes, said supporting rod being firmly connected by one end to the suspension part 17 and at the other, threaded end bears a locking nut 19. This supporting rod 15 also has a boss 21 projecting at right angles, the function of which will be explained in greater detail below. Around the shaft 11 is a forked supporting piece 23, with the projecting carrier 25 which is connected to the bar 6 of the conveyor track 2 (see FIG. 1). This forked supporting piece 23 is closed at one side by a closing plate 27 in which a guide track 29 is formed. When the part 25 takes up the position indicated by solid lines in FIG. 5 the boss 21 is in the lowest part 29a of the guide track 29 which crosses the shaft 11 at right angles, and the hook is in the position indicated in FIGS. 1 and 5, in which the plane of the hook coincides with a vertical plane through the conveyor track. If, however, the part 25 is turned through 90 degrees to the position 25a shown by dotted lines in FIG. 5--which is the case (see FIG. 1) when the supporting rollers 24a, 24b are raised in the run-up part 28--the boss 21 comes to rest in the top part of the guide track 29 running off at an angle to the right and crossing the shaft 11 at an angle of 45 according to FIG. 6), and the supporting rod 15 with the suspension part 17 is hereby turned out of this plane through an angle which is determined by the shape of the guide track and can be, for example, 45 value which is, of course, only given by way of example). This achieves the envisaged effect: turning of the hook into the weighing position.
Patent CitationsCited PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS3684078 *Mar 31, 1971Aug 15, 1972Nielsen Frank HRotatable load-bearing pendantsUS3686712 *Sep 29, 1970Aug 29, 1972Gainesville Machine Co IncShackle suspension meansUS4228635 *Jan 10, 1979Oct 21, 1980W. F. Altenpohl, Inc.Poultry bagging systemUS4282633 *Nov 13, 1979Aug 11, 1981Graham Kenneth ZLine dividerUS4412620 *Mar 19, 1981Nov 1, 1983Altenpohl W FPlural hook poultry grading carrier systemUS4524488 *Aug 23, 1982Jun 25, 1985Den Bogert Andries J E VanApparatus for dissecting slaughtered animalsUS4627007 *Feb 29, 1984Dec 2, 1986Swift & CompanySystem for processing poultry carcassesDE2828711A1 *Jun 30, 1978Apr 26, 1979Altenpohl W FEinrichtung und verfahren zum einpacken von gefluegel in beutelEP0084918A1 *Jan 25, 1983Aug 3, 1983Heinrich Willy MarkertApparatus for dissecting slaughtered animalsEP0086700A1 *Feb 4, 1983Aug 24, 1983ETABLISSEMENTS J. BOURGOIN Soci�t� AnonymeApparatus cutting animal-carcasses and suspending device for such carcassesFR2484087A1 * Title not availableNL6511938A * Title not availableNL7406087A * Title not availableWO1986006587A1 *May 6, 1986Nov 20, 1986Golden Poultry Farming LtdThe processing of poultry* Cited by examinerReferenced byCiting PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS6796892Nov 1, 2001Sep 28, 2004Excel CorporationMethod and apparatus for processing carcassesUS8002613Sep 21, 2004Aug 23, 2011Cargill, IncorporatedMethod and apparatus for processing carcassesUS8137168 *Aug 16, 2010Mar 20, 2012Johnson Food Equipment, Inc.Shackle with pivot feature & conveyor system thereforUS8157625Jan 21, 2011Apr 17, 2012Foodmate BvMethod and apparatus for collecting meat from an animal partUS8267241Jan 26, 2011Sep 18, 2012Foodmate BvRotationally indexed article support for a conveyor system having an alignment stationUS8274001Dec 31, 2009Sep 25, 2012Mettler-Toledo, LLCWeighing apparatus having opposed wheelsUS8360232Jan 21, 2011Jan 29, 2013Foodmate BvRotatable indexed article support for a conveyorUS8430728Feb 13, 2012Apr 30, 2013Foodmate BvSpecial cut poultry wing cutterUS8632380Jan 24, 2011Jan 21, 2014Foodmate B.V.Method and apparatus for removing a sleeve of meat from an animal part having bone with knuckles on each of its opposite ends* Cited by examinerClassifications U.S. Classification452/178, 452/179International ClassificationA22C21/00, G01G11/00, B65G17/20, G01G17/00Cooperative ClassificationA22C21/00, A22C21/0053European ClassificationA22C21/00G, A22C21/00Legal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionMay 10, 2002FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 12May 4, 1998FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 8May 2, 1994FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 4Apr 21, 1989ASAssignmentOwner name: STORK PMT B.V., NETHERLANDSFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST.;ASSIGNORS:VAN DEN NIEUWELAAR, ADRIANUS J.;JANSSEN, PETRUS C.H.;REEL/FRAME:005066/0578Effective date: 19890323RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services©2012 Google