Abstract:
When a salmon ovary is cut, the salmon ovary is held and transferred and in a whole state, the ovary is locally pushed at predetermined gaps, eggs in a membrane are divided into a plurality of clusters by this pushing operation, and the pushed portions of the membrane are then cut.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Two salmon ovaries (roes) can be obtained from one female salmon. The roe comprises thousands of eggs or berries coated with membrane. A length of the roe is about 20 to 30 cm, a diameter of the center portion is 5 to 8 cm, and opposite ends thereof are tapered. The obtained roe is subjected to a predetermined processing such as kenching or salt down, and is provided as food. This processing method is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5753298, Canadian Patent No. 2178704 and the like. In Japan, the roe is widely used as an ingredient of sushi and the like, and is known as upscale dainty bits. In recent years, the roes are known foods also in U.S., Canada, Norway and the like where Japanese foods became common. 
     In Japan, the roes are valuable as gifts, and when eating the roe, it is cut into bite-size portions, and the roes are eaten little by little. Therefore, the roe is previously cut into small pieces and supplied on the table. However, when the roe is cut into small pieces, not only a membrane of the roe is cut, but also eggs or berries are cut. Therefore, a tasty ingredient liquor (drip) flows out or leaks out of the eggs, and this makes a kitchen dirty and thus, many housewives do not like the cutting operation of the roe. As described above, if the roe is manually cut, the tasty ingredient liquor may flow out and a kitchen may be made dirty. It is also technically difficult to uniformly cut the roe and there is a problem that bacteria may attach to the roe from hands, and it is necessary to take measures in terms of health. 
     OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Thereupon, it is an object of the present invention to overcome the drawbacks of the conventional technique, and to provide a cutting method for cutting a salmon ovary and an apparatus for carrying out the cutting method capable of cutting a roe into a plurality of pieces such that liquor included in eggs or berries is prevent from flowing out as much as possible. 
     It is another object of the invention to provide a cutting method for cutting a salmon ovary and an apparatus for carrying out the cutting method capable of cutting a roe into small pieces as uniform as possible. Another object of the invention is to provide a cutting method for cutting a salmon ovary and an apparatus for carrying out the cutting method suitable for health and capable of minimizing bacteria contamination by cutting the roe mechanically. 
     According to a cutting method for cutting a salmon ovary of the present invention, the salmon ovary is held and transferred and in a whole state, the ovary is locally pushed at predetermined gaps, eggs in a membrane are divided into a plurality of clusters by this pushing operation, and the pushed portions of the membrane are then cut to separate the plurality of clusters. 
     A cutting apparatus for cutting a salmon ovary of the present invention comprises a bucket portion for holding the salmon ovary, transfer means for transferring the bucket portion, and cutter means for cutting the ovary into a plurality of clusters. The bucket portion comprises a plurality of bucket pieces disposed at predetermined gaps from one another. The cutter means includes a pushing means and a blade. The cutter means is located in the gap between the bucket pieces. The pushing portion of the cuter means divides eggs by pushing a membrane of the salmon ovary, and the blade cuts the pushed membrane which exists between the eggs. Each of the bucket pieces includes a receiving plate and a pushing plate. The transfer means comprises driving and follower sprockets, a chain wound around these sprockets, a mounting plate mounted to the chain, and a chopping board secured to the mounting plate. 
     There are various types of the cutter pieces. In a first type, the cutter piece is provided only at its tip end with a blade. In a second type, the cutter piece is provided at its tip end with a bent portion, and the bent portion is formed with the blade. In a third type, the cutter piece comprises a rotating blade and pushing means, and the rotating blade and a pushing face of the pushing means are located on the same plane. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIGS. 1 to  17  show a first embodiment of a cutting apparatus of the present invention, wherein 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an entire structure of the cutting apparatus; 
     FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a driving ratchet in transfer means; 
     FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a mounting state of a bucket portion on the transfer means; 
     FIG. 4 is a front view showing a positional relation between the bucket, cutter means and a state in which the bucket is mounted to a chain of the transfer means; 
     FIG. 5 is an exploded view showing a state in which the bucket piece is mounted to a chain of the transfer means; 
     FIG. 6 is a front view of a cutter piece; 
     FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line a—a in FIG. 6; 
     FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line b—b in FIG. 6; 
     FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a roe which is an ovary of a salmon; 
     FIG. 10 is a front view showing a procedure for cutting the roe with the cutter; 
     FIG. 11 is a front view showing the roe pushed in the procedure for cutting the roe with the cutter; 
     FIG. 12 is a front view showing a state immediately before a membrane of the roe is cut in the procedure for cutting the roe with the cutter; 
     FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the state shown in FIG. 11; 
     FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing the state shown in FIG. 12; 
     FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing a state immediately after the membrane of the roe was cut; 
     FIG. 16 is a plan view showing the entire state immediately after the membrane of the roe was cut; and 
     FIG. 17 is a partially enlarged front view of the state immediately after the membrane of the roe was cut. 
     FIGS. 18 to  26  show a second embodiment of a cutting apparatus of the present invention, wherein 
     FIG. 18 is a front view showing a positional relation between the bucket, cutter means and a state in which the bucket is mounted to a chain of the transfer means; 
     FIG. 19 is an enlarged front view of a cutter; 
     FIG. 20 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line c—c in FIG. 19; 
     FIG. 21 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line d—d in FIG. 19; 
     FIG. 22 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line e—e in FIG. 19; 
     FIG. 23 is a front view showing the roe pushed in the procedure for cutting the roe with the cutter; 
     FIG. 24 is a front view showing a state immediately before a membrane of the roe is cut in the procedure for cutting the roe with the cutter; 
     FIG. 25 is a perspective view showing a state immediately after the membrane of the roe was cut; and 
     FIG. 26 is a partially enlarged plan view showing the pushing state shown in FIG.  23 . 
     FIGS. 27 to  33  show a third embodiment of a cutting apparatus of the present invention, wherein 
     FIG. 27 is a perspective view showing an entire structure of the cutting apparatus; 
     FIG. 28 is a front view showing a positional relation between the bucket, cutter means and a state in which the bucket is mounted to a chain of the transfer means; 
     FIG. 29 is an enlarged plane view showing the positional relation between the bucket portion and the cutter means; 
     FIG. 30 is a front view showing the roe pushed in the procedure for cutting the roe with the cutter; 
     FIG. 31 is a front view showing a state immediately before a membrane of the roe is cut in the procedure for cutting the roe with the cutter; 
     FIG. 32 is a perspective view showing a state immediately after the membrane of the roe was cut; and 
     FIG. 33 is a partially enlarged front view showing the pushing state shown in FIG.  31 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     First, a structure of a cutting apparatus of ovaries, i.e., roes of salmons of the present invention will be explained. A structure of the apparatus according to a first embodiment is as follows. 
     In FIG. 1, a cutting apparatus  1  comprises a frame  2 , transfer means  3  mounted to the frame  2 , a bucket portion  4  mounted to the transfer means  3 , and cutter means  5  for cutting roes transferred by the bucket portion  4 . 
     The frame  2  comprises legs  21  located at four corners, and cross-bars  22  connecting the legs  21  to one another. Upper portions of the legs  21  hold side plates  23  which are opposed to each other. Each of the side plates  23  includes a bottom plate. The side plates  23  respectively support supporting plates  24  which are opposed to each other. 
     The transfer means  3  has the following structure. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, driving sprockets  31  and follower sprockets (not shown) are rotatably provided between the opposed supporting plates  24 . Each driving sprocket  31  is rotated by a driving motor M shown in FIG. 1, and a chain  32  is wound between the driving sprocket  31  and the follower sprocket as shown in FIG.  4 . Therefore, the chain  32  moves as the driving sprockets  31  rotates. 
     Next, a structure of the bucket portion  4  will be explained. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, mounting plates  41  are provided between the left and right chains  32  at predetermined distanced from one another. Ends of each of the mounting plates  41  are connected to mounting plates  321  of the chains  32  by means of screws  42 . A chopping board  43  is placed on an upper face of the mounting plate  41 . As shown in FIG. 2, a bucket portion  4  comprising a plurality of bucket pieces  44  is mounted to an upper face of the chopping board  43  by means of a fixing screw  45 . As shown in FIG. 5, each of the bucket pieces  44  comprises a receiving plate  46   a  and a pushing plate  46   b  and formed into a substantially L-shape. The receiving plate  46   a  is extended rearward (rightward in FIG. 5) from the pushing plate  46   b , and this extended portion is a mounting portion  46   c  for mounting the bucket piece  46  to the chopping board  43 . The receiving plate  46   a  is inclined slightly upward at an angle α from a horizontal direction toward the traveling direction. The plurality of bucket pieces  46  are mounted to the chopping board  43  at predetermined distances D from one another as shown in FIG.  3 . Therefore, a portion  43   a  of the chopping board  43  is exposed from each the distance D. 
     Next, the cutter means  5  will be explained. As shown in FIGS. 1,  4  and  6 , the cutter means  5  comprises a plurality of (seven in FIG. 1) cutter pieces  51 . As shown in FIG. 1, each of the cutter pieces  51  is supported by a portal supporting frame  52  secured to the side plates  23  of the frame  2 . The cutter pieces  51  are inclined and suspended toward the bucket portion  4  at predetermined distances from one another. Each the cutter piece  51  is inserted into the distance D between the receiving plate  46   a  and the pushing plate  46   b , and a tip end of the cutter piece  51  is located at such a height that the tip end can touch the chopping board  43 . As shown in FIG. 6, the entire cutter piece  51  is formed such that the tip end thereof is sharp, the cutter piece  51  comprises a pushing portion  511  and a blade  512  formed on only the tip end portion. The cross section of the pushing portion  511  is of plate-like shape, one end face thereof is a pushing face  511   a , and a tip end of the blade  512  is sharp as shown in FIG.  8 . 
     A cutting operation of the ovaries, i.e., roes of salmons of the present invention will be explained. In FIG. 1, a roe having a length of 30 cm and a diameter of 5 cm is intermittently supplied to the bucket portion  4  from a chute  6 . As can be seen from the sectional view of the roe R in FIG. 9, some thousand eggs Ra are covered with a membrane Rb. As shown in FIG. 10, the supplied roe R is placed on a corner portion at which the receiving plate  46   a  and the pushing plate  46   b  are connected to each other and in this state, the roe R is transferred and approaches a lower portion of the cutter pieces  51 . The roe R is further transferred, as shown in FIG. 11, the roe R is pushed by the pushing faces  511   a  of the cutter pieces  51 . If this pushing state at that time is seen from front, as shown in FIG. 13, the membrane Rb of the roe is gradually pushed at predetermined distances and thus, the eggs are divided into plurality of clusters without being destroyed. If the roe R is further transferred leftward from the position shown in FIG. 11, since each the receiving plate  46   a  has the predetermined inclining angle α as shown in FIG. 12, the blades  512  at the tip ends of the cutter pieces  51  relatively float up from the distance D between the receiving plates  46   a  and the pushing plates  46   b  and only the membranes Rb are cut. FIGS. 14 to  17  show this state clearly. As shown in FIG. 14, the membrane Rb or the roe R is locally pushed by the pushing face  511   a  on the end face of the pushing portion  511  of the cutter piece  51 , thereby separating the eggs Ra in the membrane Rb. At that time, the membrane Rb is not yet cut. Lastly, as shown in FIGS. 15 to  17 , only the membrane Rb is cut by the blade  512  on the tip end of the cutter piece  51 . FIGS. 16 and 17 show the cutting state of the entire roe. The roe is cut and separated into eight pieces. In this manner, according to this cutting method, only the membrane Rb is cut without destroying the eggs Ra and thus, the leaking amount of drip is extremely small. 
     Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIGS. 18 to  22 . The frame  2  and the transfer means  3  are substantially the same as those shown in the first embodiment. A structure of the bucket portion  4  is almost the same as that of the first embodiment, but is different in that the receiving plate  46   a  of the bucket piece  46  of the bucket portion is formed horizontally, and the pushing plate  46   b  is inclined at the angle α toward the traveling direction as shown in FIG.  18 . 
     A structure of cutter means  7  has a biggest difference. As shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, each cutter piece  71  comprises a portion altogether inclining in the traveling direction and downward as in the first embodiment, and a tip end  712  having an inner face bent substantially at 90° in a direction opposite from the traveling direction. A blade  713  is formed on an inner face of the bent portion. This portion will be explained in more detail. The portion  711  of the cutter piece  71  inclining downward is formed as a pushing portion. A cross section of the pushing portion is shown in FIG. 20, and one end face thereof is a first pushing portion  711   a . A cross section of the bent portion is shown in FIG. 21, an inner end face of the bent portion is formed as a blade  713 , and an inner end face of the tip end  712 , which is lower than the bent portion, is formed as a second pushing portion  712 . The tip end  712  of the cutter piece  71  is located slightly higher than an upper face of the chopping board  43 . 
     The cutting operation of roes according to the second embodiment will be explained with reference to FIGS. 23 to  26 . As in the first embodiment, a roe R intermittently supplied from the chute  6  is sent in the bucket portion  4 , and the roe approaches the cutter means  7 . As shown in FIG. 23, the roe R is located on the angle portion between the receiving plate  46   a  and the pushing plate  46   b . The roe R is first pushed by the first pushing portion  711   a  and the second pushing portion  712   a  of each of the cutter piece  71 . FIG. 26 shows this state. The membrane Rb is shrunk and deformed by the pushing portions  711   a  and  712   a , and the eggs Ra in the membrane Rb are divided into a plurality of clusters, but the membrane Rb is not yet cut at that time. If the bucket portion  4  further moves, the membrane Rb of the roe R converges to a front face of the blade  713  of the cutter piece  71 , and only the membrane is cut and the roe is cut into a plurality of clusters. FIG. 25 shows a state thereof after the roe was cut. 
     A third embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIGS. 27 to  33 . The frame  2  and the transfer means  3  are substantially the same as those of the first embodiment, the structure of the bucket portion  4  is almost the same as that of the second embodiment, and the same elements are designated with the same symbols. 
     As shown in FIG. 27, the third embodiment is characterized in structures of a rotation cutter  8  constituting cutter means and pushing means  9 . The rotation cutter  8  comprises a plurality of rotating blades  81  each formed at its outer periphery with a blade edge, and a plurality of pushing plates  91  respectively paired with the rotating blades  81 . Rotation force of a driving motor M of the transfer means  3  is divided, and the rotating cutter  8  is rotated by the divided rotating force. A front face of the pushing plate  91  is of inverted trapezoidal shape as shown in FIG.  28 . The pushing plate  91  is supported coaxially with the rotating blade  81 . As shown in FIG. 29, a front half  91   a  of the pushing plate  91  is in the same plane as the rotating blade  81  in each the gap D between the receiving plate  46   a  and the pushing plate  46   b . A lower face of the pushing plate  9  is located and held such that the lower face slides on an upper face of a portion  43   a  of the chopping board  43 . An inclining face of the front face  91   a  of the pushing plate  91  is formed as a pushing face  91   b.    
     According to the third embodiment, a roe is supplied from the chute  6  and dropped on each bucket piece  46  of the bucket portion  4  and approaches the pushing plate  91 . FIG. 26 shows this state. The roe R is located at the angle portion between the receiving plate  46   a  and the pushing plate  46   b , and as the roe R moves leftward in the drawing, the roe is pushed by the pushing face  91   b  of the inclining face of the front half  91   a  of the pushing plate  91 . FIG. 33 shows this state. The membrane Rb is shrunk and deformed by the pushing portion, and the eggs Ra in the membrane Rb are divided into a plurality of clusters, but the membrane Rb is not yet cut at that time. If the bucket piece  46  further moves leftward, and the membrane Rb is cut by the rotating blade  81  as shown in FIG. 32, and the roe is cut into a plurality of clusters, i.e., into bite-size portions.