Abstract:
Method and apparatus for deheading shrimp wherein are oriented head first in an entrance groove abutting a stop bar so that a head clamping bar can capture the shrimp between the head clamping bar and the bottom of the entrance groove near the sixth thoracic section so that cutting blades can sever the head from the shrimp. The heads of the shrimp are then deposited onto the head exit plate and the tails of the shrimp are then flushed from the entrance groove into an underlying tail exit trough by a stream of water. Thereafter a succeeding shrimp disposed in the entrance groove is then positioned in the entrance groove and the process repeated so that shrimp can be deheaded in an efficient manner.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to shrimp processing equipment and, more particularly, is concerned with a shrimp deheading station. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Shrimp deheaders have been described in the related art, however, none of the related art devices disclose the unique features of the present invention. 
     In U.S. Pat. No. 5,762,547 dated Jun. 9, 1998, Allain disclosed an apparatus for processing shrimp. 
     While these shrimp deheaders may be suitable for the purposes for which they were designed, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as hereinafter described. 
     SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     The present invention discloses a shrimp deheading station wherein the shrimp are oriented in a head first position in an entrance groove wherein the head abuts the stop bar so that a head clamping bar can capture the shrimp between the head clamping bar and the bottom of the entrance groove so that the shrimp is contacted by the head clamping bar in the vicinity of the sixth thoracic section in such a way that a pair of horizontally reciprocating downwardly extending cutting blades can sever the head from the shrimp. The cutting blades are downwardly disposed from the cutting blade plate which are disposed on multiple blocks which are each operated by a push/pull pneumatic cylinder mounted on a pair of parallel bars which bars are attached to a rotatable swing axle so that the cutting blades are rotatable and are rotated by a pneumatic swing air cylinder which rotate the cutting blades away from the body of the shrimp after the cutting blades sever the head of the shrimp. The heads of the shrimp are then deposited onto the head exit plate and the tails of the shrimp are then flushed from the entrance groove into an underlying tail exit trough by a stream of water. Thereafter a succeeding shrimp disposed in the entrance groove is then positioned in the entrance groove and the process repeated so that shrimp can be deheaded in an efficient manner. 
     An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic shrimp deheading station. A further object of the present invention is to provide a shrimp deheading station which is efficient in that a large percentage of the meat on the shrimp is captured by the deheading station and thereby preserved for later processing. A further object of the present invention is to provide a shrimp deheading station which is easy to operate. A further object of the present invention is to provide a shrimp deheading station which is relatively inexpensively manufactured. 
     The foregoing and other objects and advantages will appear from the description to follow. In the description reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments will be described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. In the accompanying drawings, like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views. 
     The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is best defined by the appended claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In order that the invention may be more fully understood, it will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a front elevation view of the present invention with the blades open. 
         FIG. 3  is a front elevation view of the present invention with the blades closed. 
         FIG. 4  is a top view of the present invention with the blades open. 
         FIG. 5  is a top view of the present invention with the blades closed. 
         FIG. 6  is a side view of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is an elevation view of portions of the present invention. 
         FIG. 8  is a side elevation view of portions of the present invention. 
         FIG. 9  is an elevation view of portions of the present invention with the blades open. 
         FIG. 10  is an elevation view of portions of the present invention with the blades closed. 
         FIG. 11  is an elevation view of a typical shrimp suitable for processing in the present invention. 
     
    
    
     LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 
     With regard to reference numerals used, the following numbering is used throughout the drawings.
           10  present invention     12  housing     14  front     16  rear     18  entrance groove     20  stop bar     22  head clamping bar     24  finger     26  tip of finger     28  bottom of groove     30  bottom plate     32  arm     34  air cylinder     36  air supply     38  rack and pinion gear assembly     40  gear     42  rack     44  arm     46  swing axle     48  cutting blade     50  cutting blade     52  notch     54  notch     56  cutting blade plate     58  cutting blade plate     60  parallel bar     62  parallel bar     64  block     66  block     68  nut and bolt     69  nut and bolt     70  head exit plate     72  tail exit trough     74  direction arrow     76  bearing block     77  direction arrow     78  swing cylinder assembly     80  shrimp     82  head of shrimp     83  body meat/picon     84  tail portion of shrimp     85  dorsal side     86  sixth thoracic section of shrimp     88  removed shrimp head     89  removed shrimp tail     90  air cylinder     91  air cylinder     92  rod     93  air cylinder     94  pivot connector     96  arm     98  ridge     100  valley     102  space     104  shrimp queue     106  orientation/singulation equipment     108  bottom     110  groove     112  leg     114  end block     116  cylinder block     118  rod     120  yoke     124  hole     126  hole     128  arm     130  knob     132  arrow     134  nozzle     136  jet of water       

     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The following discussion describes in detail at least one embodiment of the present invention. This discussion should not be construed, however, as limiting the present invention to the particular embodiments described herein since practitioners skilled in the art will recognize numerous other embodiments as well. For a definition of the complete scope of the invention the reader is directed to the appended claims.  FIGS. 1 through 10  illustrate the present invention wherein a shrimp deheading station is disclosed. 
     By way of general explanation, a shrimp processing plant would generally comprise the operations of (1) gathering the shrimp; (2) singulating the shrimp; (3) orienting the shrimp in a selected position; and (4) deheading the shrimp. The present invention relates only to the deheading step of the previously described processing operation. However, the outlet from a portion of the necessary processing equipment immediately preceding the present invention is shown in  FIG. 6  at  106  showing the shrimp  104  queue after they have been singulated and oriented so that they are prepared for entry into the present invention. 
     Turning to  FIG. 1 , therein is shown the present invention  10  comprising a shrimp deheading station which station may be mounted on a framework or housing  12  and the housing may be mounted to the facility in a stationary position or could be portable so that the housing and the deheading station contained therein could be moved about the facility. The front of the deheading station is generally shown at  14  and the rear of the deheading station is generally shown as  16 . On the front of the deheading station is shown a plurality of downwardly sloping, i.e., from front  14  to rear  16 , entrance grooves  18  which grooves would have a plurality of shrimp queried which have already been gathered, singulated and oriented in the selected position (see  FIG. 6 , item  104 ) being positioned head first in the bottom  28  of the substantially V-shaped grooves  18 . The entrance groove  18  would follow some sort of shrimp orientation equipment (not shown) which would position the shrimp so that the head of the shrimp lies in the bottom of the V-shaped groove so that the head is oriented toward the rear of the machine and the tail of the shrimp is oriented toward the front of the machine. The shrimp body is moved downwardly along the groove until the head of the shrimp abuts the head stop bar  20  and thereafter the head clamping bar  22  is moved downwardly so that a plurality of downwardly disposed V-shaped fingers  24  mounted on the bottom side of the head clamping bar capture the shrimp so that the tip  26  of the finger  24  is disposed just in front of the sixth thoracic section of the shrimp and firmly and securely captures the shrimp between the tip  26  of the finger  24  and the bottom  28  of the V-shaped groove  18 . The fingers  24  are complimentarily sized and shaped to conform to the grooves  18  so as to effectively capture the shrimp therein. The head clamping bar  22  is attached to the bottom of a plate  30  or the like mounted on the lower end of arms  32  of an air cylinder  34  so that when the means for moving or air cylinder  34  is activated by the air supplied by line  36  that the arms  32  move up or down in a vertical direction which thereby moves the plate  30 , the head clamping bar  22  and the fingers  24  so as to capture the shrimp between the fingers  24  and the grooves  18 . Air cylinder  34  is the first actuable element which provides means for moving the head clamping bar  22 . The head clamping mechanism comprises the head clamping bar  22 , the entrance grooves  18 , and the adjustable head stop bar  20 . In operation, the head clamping bar  22  is pneumatically operated by air cylinders  34  which move up and down and thereby captures the shrimp in the groove  18  because the shrimp&#39;s head is stopped by the stop bar  20 . The head stop bar  20  is adjustable in the horizontal plane by a manually adjustable rack and pinion gear mechanism  38  so that the head stop bar  20  can be moved from front to rear in order to accommodate different sizes of shrimp by varying the distance between the head stop bar  20  and the rear of the groove  18 . The rack and pinion gear  38  is a conventional unit comprising a gear member portion  40  and a mating rack member portion  42  wherein the gear portion is turned by an arm  128  having a knob or handle  130  thereon for being grasped by the hand of a user so it can be turned as indicated by direction arrow  132  and having the rack portion mounted on the stop bar  20  disposed underneath so that the stop bar  20  can be moved from front to rear of the deheading station as the arm  128  is turned. It can be seen that the gear assembly  38  is downwardly disposed on the left and right arms  44  from a rotatable or swing axle or bar  46  upon which the stop bar  20  and cutting blades  48 ,  50  are mounted so that those components can be swung or rotated (as shown by direction arrow  74 ) away from, i.e., toward the rear  16 , the head clamping bar  22  so as to remove the head from the body of the shrimp. The cutting blades  48 ,  50  each have a generally half-moon shaped notch  52 ,  54  disposed therein so as to capture the head of the shrimp in between the pair of notches. Each cutting or severing blade  48 ,  50  is downwardly disposed from a cutting blade plates  56 ,  58  which are mounted on parallel bars  60 ,  62  by means of blocks  64 ,  66  so that the cutting blades  48 ,  50  can move in a horizontal plane in a reciprocating fashion. Also shown are a plurality of blocks  64 ,  66  mounted on the parallel bars  60 ,  62  as will be later explained. It can be seen that the front cutting arm plate  56  is attached to a lower portion of left and right blocks  64  by mounting nuts  68  on the left and right sides the front cutting arm plate. The rear cutting arm plate  58  is similarly attached on the rear  16  to a lower portion of left and right blocks  66  by mounting nuts (not shown) on the right side and left side of the rear cutting arm plate. Also shown are left and right end blocks  114  which are configured to connect the left and right swing axles  46  to each of the parallel bars  60 ,  62  along with a cylinder block  116  which will be further described hereinafter. Note the plurality of spaces  102  provided between the top surfaces of the front cutting arm plate  56  and the blocks  66 ,  102  and  114  which allow the front cutting arm plate to move left or right without contacting the blocks  66 ,  102  and  114 . Also shown is a head exit plate  70  so that the heads are directed to the rear  16  of the mechanism along with a shrimp tail exit trough  72  so that the tail or edible meat portion of the shrimp can be washed from the entrance groove  18  by an unshown jet of water (see  FIG. 8 ) and deposited into the tail exit trough  72  and carried to a receptacle. 
     Turning to  FIG. 2 , therein is shown the present invention  10  mounted on a framework or housing  12  by one or more legs  112 , the downwardly sloping entrance grooves  18  and the bottom  28  showing the cutting blades  48 ,  50  in the open position. Also shown are the plurality of downwardly disposed V-shaped fingers  24  mounted on the bottom side of the head clamping bar  22  to capture the shrimp so that the tip  26  of the finger  24  captures the shrimp between the tip  26  of the finger  24  and the bottom  28  of the V-shaped groove  18 . The fingers  24  are complimentarily sized and shaped to conform to the grooves  18  so as to effectively capture the shrimp therein. The head clamping bar  22  is attached to the bottom of a plate  30  or the like mounted on the lower end of arms  32  of an air cylinder  34  so that when the air cylinder  34  is activated by the air supply the arms  32  move up or down in a vertical direction which thereby moves the plate  30 , the head clamping bar  22  and the fingers  24  so as to capture the shrimp between the fingers  24  and the grooves  18 . The cutting blades  48 ,  50  each have a generally half-moon shaped notch  52 ,  54  disposed therein so as to capture the head of the shrimp in between the pair of notches. Each blade  48 ,  50  is downwardly disposed from a cutting blade plates  56 ,  58  which are mounted on parallel bars  60 ,  62  (only the front bar  60  is shown) by means of blocks  64 ,  66  so that the cutting blades  48 ,  50  can move in a horizontal plane in a reciprocating fashion. The parallel bars  60 ,  62  are mounted on the rotary swing axle  46  having bearing blocks  76  on each end which are operated by a swing cylinder assembly being generally shown at  78 . As previously shown in  FIG. 1 , the front cutting arm plate  56  is attached to a lower portion of left and right blocks  64 . The rear cutting arm plate  58  is similarly attached on the rear to left and right blocks  66 . Also shown are left and right end blocks  114  which are configured to connect the left and right swing axles  46  to each of the parallel bars  60 ,  62  along with left and right cylinder blocks  116 . Note the plurality of spaces  102  provided between the top surfaces of the front cutting arm plate  56  and the blocks  66 ,  102  and  114  which allow the front cutting arm plate to move left or right without contacting the blocks  66 ,  102  and  114 . Also shown is a tail exit trough  72 . Direction arrows  77  show that blocks  64 ,  66  are moved away from each other on bars  60 ,  62  so that the blades  48 ,  50  move away from each other and thereby open. 
     Turning to  FIG. 3 , therein is shown the present invention  10  just as in  FIG. 2  except that the cutting blades  48 ,  50  are shown closed. Direction arrows  77  show that blocks  64 ,  66  are moved toward each other on bars  60 ,  62  so that the blades  48 ,  50  move toward each other and thereby close. 
     Turning to  FIG. 4 , therein is shown the present invention  10  mounted on a framework or housing  12 . As previously explained, each cutting blade  48 ,  50  (not shown, but see  FIG. 1 ) is downwardly disposed from a cutting blade plates  56 ,  58  (not shown, but see  FIG. 1 ) which are mounted on the front parallel bar  60  and the rear parallel bar  62  by means of blocks  64 ,  66  so that the cutting blades can move in a horizontal plane in a reciprocating fashion. The parallel bars  60 ,  62  are mounted on the rotary swing axle  46  having bearing blocks  76  on each end which are operated by a swing cylinder  78 . Blocks  64 ,  66  operate simultaneously on parallel bars  60 ,  62  using a pair of conventional push-pull pneumatic air cylinders  91 ,  93  having an open position (rod extended) and a closed position (rod retracted) wherein the cutting blades  56 ,  58  (not shown, but see  FIG. 1 ) are normally open, i.e., the air cylinders are normally in the closed or retracted position. Blocks  64 ,  66  are shown moved away from each other on bars  60 ,  62  so that the blades  48 ,  50  (not shown) move away from each other and thereby open. Also shown is the top of air cylinder  34 . The front cutting arm plate  56  (not shown, see  FIG. 1 ) is attached to a lower portion of left and right blocks  64  by mounting nuts  68  on the left and right sides the front cutting arm plate. The rear cutting arm plate  58  (not shown, see  FIG. 1 ) is similarly attached on the rear  16  to a lower portion of left and right blocks  66  by mounting nuts (not shown) on the right side and left side of the rear cutting arm plate. Also shown are left and right end blocks  114  which are configured to connect the left and right swing axles  46  to each of the parallel bars  60 ,  62  along with left and right cylinder blocks  116  which assist in attaching the air cylinders  91 ,  93  to the framework  12 . The right actuator or air cylinder  93  has a rod or arm  118  having a yoke  120  on the end thereof which yoke attached to the right block  64  so that when the air cylinder  93  is actuated the arm or rod  118  is extended so that the right block  64  moves to the right toward the right block  66  so as to move the front cutting blade plate  56  (not shown, see  FIG. 1 ) to the right so as to close the cutting blades  48 ,  50  (not shown, see  FIG. 1 ). The left actuator or air cylinder  91  has a rod or arm  118  having a yoke  120  on the end thereof which yoke attached to the left block  66  so that when the air cylinder  91  is actuated the arm or rod  118  is extended so that the left block  66  moves to the left toward the left block  64  so as to move the rear cutting blade plate  58  (not shown, see  FIG. 1 ) to the left so as to close the cutting blades  48 ,  50  (not shown, see  FIG. 1 ). It should be clear that each of the left and right blocks  64 ,  66  have horizontal holes  124  extending laterally therein so that the parallel bars  60 ,  62  can pass therethrough so that the blocks can move or slide along the parallel bars in response to the movement of the actuators  91 ,  93 . The means for reciprocating the first and second severing blades  48 ,  50  (not shown, see  FIG. 1 ) can be summarized as comprising the following: a) first and second parallel bars  60 ,  62 , wherein each first and second parallel bar is adapted for connection to the rotatable axle  46 ; a first plate  56  (not shown, see  FIG. 6 ) adapted for connection to the first and second parallel bar and a second plate  58  (not shown, see  FIG. 6 ) adapted for connection to the first and second parallel bar; the first severing blade being disposed on the first plate and the second severing blade being disposed on the second plate; wherein the first plate is adapted for connection to a second actuating element  93  and the second plate is adapted for connection to a third actuating element  91 ; wherein the first and second severing blades are reciprocated relative to each other by the second and third actuating elements; and, wherein the rotatable axle is adapted for connection to a fourth actuating element  78  for rotating the rotatable axle. As a matter of clarification, note that the first actuating element, air cylinder  34 , was previously described relative to  FIG. 1 . 
     Turning to  FIG. 5 , therein is shown the present invention  10  just as in  FIG. 4  except that the blocks  64 ,  66  are moved toward each other on bars  60 ,  62  so that the blades  48 ,  50  (not shown) move toward each other and thereby close. 
     Turning to  FIG. 6 , therein is shown the present invention  10  mounted on a framework or housing  12  showing front  14  and rear  16  and entrance grooves  18  showing one of a plurality of shrimp  80  queried in the bottom  28  of the substantially V-shaped grooves  18  so that the head  82  is oriented toward the rear of the machine and the tail  84  of the shrimp is oriented toward the front of the present invention  10 . A plurality of shrimp generally shown at  80  are shown queried at  104  which shrimp have already been gathered, singulated and oriented in the selected head  82  forward, dorsal side  85  up position being shown at  104  in the vicinity of the outlet from a portion of the processing equipment  106  immediately preceding the present invention  10  showing the shrimp disposed on the bottom  108  of groove  110  which groove  110  cooperates with the groove  18  of the present invention showing shrimp which have been singulated and oriented so that they are prepared for entry into the present invention. Shrimp  80  which have been delivered by equipment  106  are positioned head first in the bottom  28  of the substantially V-shaped grooves  18 . The shrimp  80  body is moved downwardly along the groove  18  until the head  82  of the shrimp abuts the head stop bar  20  and thereafter the head clamping bar  22  is moved downwardly so that a plurality of downwardly disposed V-shaped fingers  24  mounted on the bottom side of the head clamping bar capture the shrimp so that the tip  26  of the finger  24  is disposed just in front of the sixth thoracic section  86  of the shrimp and firmly and securely captures the shrimp between the tip  26  of the finger  24  and the bottom  28  of the V-shaped groove  18 . The head clamping bar  22  is attached to the bottom of a plate  30  or the like mounted on the lower end of arms  32  of an air cylinder  34  so that when the air cylinder  34  is activated by the air supplied by a line that the arms  32  move up or down in a vertical direction which thereby moves the plate  30 , the head clamping bar  22  and the fingers  24  so as to capture the shrimp between the fingers  24  and the grooves  18 . The head stop bar  20  is adjustable in the substantially horizontal plane by a manually adjustable rack and pinion gear mechanism  38  so that the head stop bar  20  can be moved from front to rear in order to accommodate different sizes of shrimp by varying the distance between the head stop bar  20  and the rear of the groove  18 . It can be seen that the gear assembly  38  is downwardly disposed on the left and right arms  44  from a rotatable or swing axle or bar  46  upon which the stop bar  20  and cutting blades  48 ,  50  are mounted so that those components can be swung or rotated away from, i.e., toward the rear  16 , the head clamping bar  22  so as to remove the head from the body of the shrimp as shown by the falling removed heads  88 . Each blade  48 ,  50  is downwardly disposed from a cutting blade plates  56 ,  58  which are mounted on parallel bars  60 ,  62  by means of blocks  64 ,  66  so that the cutting blades  48 ,  50  can move in a horizontal plane in a reciprocating fashion. Also shown are a plurality of blocks  64 ,  66  mounted on the parallel bars  60 ,  62  as previously explained. Rear cutting arm plate  58  is attached to a lower portion of block  66  by mounting nuts  68  on the right side and left side of the plate. The parallel bars  60 ,  62  are mounted on the rotary swing axle  46  having bearing blocks  76  on each end which are operated by a swing cylinder assembly  78  which comprises a conventional pneumatically operated cylinder  90 , a reciprocating internal rod  92 , a pivotable connector  94  adapted for connection to an arm  96  the arm having one end adapted for connection to connector  94  and the other end adapted for connection to axle  46 . Also shown is a head exit plate  70  so that the heads  88  are directed to the rear  16  of the mechanism along with a shrimp tail exit trough  72  so that the tail or edible meat portion of the shrimp can be washed from the entrance groove  18  by an unshown jet of water and deposited into the tail exit trough  72  and carried to a receptacle. 
     Turning to  FIG. 7 , therein is shown portions of the present invention  10  showing entrance grooves  18  showing one of a plurality of shrimp  80  queried in the bottom  28  of the substantially V-shaped grooves  18  so that the head  82  is oriented toward the rear of the machine and the tail  84  of the shrimp is oriented toward the front of the present invention  10 . The shrimp  80  body is moved downwardly along the groove  18  until the head  82  of the shrimp abuts the head stop bar  20  and thereafter the head clamping bar  22  is moved downwardly so that a plurality of downwardly disposed V-shaped fingers  24  mounted on the bottom side of the head clamping bar capture the shrimp so that the tip  26  of the finger  24  is disposed just in front of the sixth thoracic section  86  of the shrimp and firmly and securely captures the shrimp between the tip  26  of the finger  24  and the bottom  28  of the V-shaped groove  18 . The head clamping bar  22  is attached to the bottom of a plate  30  or the like mounted on the lower end of arms  32  of an air cylinder  34  so that when the air cylinder  34  is activated by the air supplied by a line that the arms  32  move up or down in a vertical direction which thereby moves the plate  30 , the head clamping bar  22  and the fingers  24  so as to capture the shrimp between the fingers  24  and the grooves  18 . 
     The head stop bar  20  is adjustable in the substantially horizontal plane by a manually adjustable rack and pinion gear mechanism  38  so that the head stop bar  20  can be moved from front to rear in order to accommodate different sizes of shrimp by varying the distance between the head stop bar  20  and the rear of the groove  18 . The rack and pinion gear  38  is a conventional unit comprising a gear member portion  40  and a mating rack member portion  42  having the stop bar  20  disposed underneath so that the stop bar  20  can be moved from front to rear of the deheading station. It can be seen that the gear assembly  38  is downwardly disposed on the left and right arms  44  from a swing axle or bar  46  upon which the stop bar  20  and cutting blades  48 ,  50  are mounted so that those components can be swung or rotated away from, i.e., toward the rear, the head clamping bar  22  so as to remove the head from the body of the shrimp as shown by the falling removed heads  88 . 
     Each blade  48 ,  50  is downwardly disposed from a cutting blade plates  56 ,  58  which are mounted on parallel bars  60 ,  62  by means of blocks  64 ,  66  so that the cutting blades  48 ,  50  can move in a horizontal plane in a reciprocating fashion. Also shown are a plurality of blocks  64 ,  66  mounted on the parallel bars  60 ,  62  as previously explained. Rear cutting arm plate  58  is attached to a lower portion of block  66  by mounting nuts  68  on the right side and left side of the plate. Also shown is arm having one end adapted for connection to connector  94  (not shown, but see  FIG. 6 ) and the other end adapted for connection to axle  46 . Also shown is a head exit plate  70  so that the heads  88  are directed to the rear of the mechanism along with a shrimp tail exit trough  72  so that the tail or edible meat portion of the shrimp can be washed from the entrance groove  18  by an unshown jet of water and deposited into the tail exit trough  72  and carried to a receptacle. 
     Turning to  FIG. 8 , therein is shown the present invention  10  just as in  FIG. 7  except that the swing arm  46  has been rotated to the rear by the means for rotating so that the cutting blades  48 ,  50  move away from the entrance groove  18  so as to remove the head  82  from the shrimp  80  so that the previously removed tail  89  can be washed into the tail exit trough  72 . Also, the arm  32  has been raised upwardly away from the shrimp tail  84  remaining in the groove  18  so that shrimp tail  84  can then be freed to be washed into the trough  72 . Also shown is a portion of a water jet nozzle  134  and the resulting jet  136  for washing the shrimp  80  into the exit trough  72 . 
     Turning to  FIG. 9 , therein is shown the cutting blade  48 ,  50  in an open configuration. The grooves  18  and bottom  28  are shown. It is expected that the grooves  18  will be made of one piece construction similar to a piece of conventional corrugated material having alternating ridges  98  and valleys  100 . Blades  48 ,  50  are downwardly disposed from cutting blade plates  56 ,  58  with  56  being mounted toward the front and  58  being mounted toward the rear, plates  56  is mounted on the front parallel bar  60  by means of block  64  and plate  58  is mounted on the rear parallel bar  62  by means of blocks  66  so that the cutting blades can move in a horizontal plane in a reciprocating fashion. Blocks  64 ,  66  are shown moved away from each other on bars  60 ,  62  so that the blades  48 ,  50  move away from each other and thereby open. Front cutting blade plate  56  is attached to block  64  with nut and bolt  68  and the rear cutting blade plate  58  is attached to block  66  with nut and bolt  69 . Note the space  102  between the top of plate  56  and the bottom of left end block  114  and the bottom of block  66  which allows block  66  to move without touching plate  56 . Blocks  64 ,  66  are similarly shaped and are mounted on the bars  60 ,  62  in a reverse disposition as can also be seen in  FIG. 1 . Also shown is the bearing block  76  on the left side of the present invention as shown in  FIG. 1 . The cutting blades  48 ,  50  each have a generally half-moon shaped notch  52 ,  54  disposed therein so as to capture the head of the shrimp in between the pair of notches. Notches  52 ,  54  are complementarily sized and shaped to conform to the heads of the shrimp and they form a hole  126  that is positioned so as to cooperate with and be aligned with the bottom  28  (not shown, see  FIG. 6 ) of the incoming entrance groove  18  (not shown, see  FIG. 6 ) so as to effectively capture the heads  82  of the incoming shrimp  80  (not shown, see  FIG. 1 ). 
     Turning to  FIG. 10 , therein is shown the present invention  10  just as in  FIG. 9  except that the blocks  64 ,  66  are moved toward each other on bars  60 ,  62  so that the blades  48 ,  50  move toward each other and thereby close. 
     Turning to  FIG. 11 , therein is shown a typical shrimp  80 , shrimp head  82 , extra body meat or picon  83 , tail portion  84 , dorsal side  85  and sixth thoracic section  86 . The tail portion  84  generally refers to everything from the picon  83  back to the actual end of the tail  84  of the shrimp  80 . 
     In operation, the mating cutting blades  48 ,  50  are mounted on the lower ends of mirror image plates  56 ,  58  so that the notch  52 ,  54  of the blades capture the shrimp just in front of the sixth thoracic section to sever the head from the tail portion of the shrimp in such a way as to save and preserve the portion of meat known as the “picon”, shown at  83 ,  FIG. 11 , which saves an additional approximate 10% of meat. The “picon”  83  is a small piece of neck meat which would be located on the front of the sixth thoracic section  86  of the shrimp  80  extending into the rear of the head  82  of the shrimp as shown in  FIG. 11 . The plate  56 ,  58  operate simultaneously on parallel bars  60 ,  62  using a pair of push-pull pneumatic air cylinders (not shown) having an open position and a closed position wherein the bars are normally open. The blades  48 ,  50  are disposed approximately on 3″ centers although it is believed that other size spacing can be used. The parallel bars  60 ,  62  are mounted on the rotary swing axle  46  having bearing blocks  76  on each end which are operated by a swing cylinder. After the shrimp are captured in the head clamping mechanism the plates  56 ,  58  having the blades  48 ,  50  mounted thereon are rotated by the swing axle  46  toward the rear of the deheading assembly so as to remove the heads from the shrimp and then the heads of the shrimp fall into the head exit plate  70  and thereafter into a receptacle for disposal. After the heads are removed, water jets (not shown) spray water into the grooves  18  so as to wash the tails into the tail exit trough  72  and then to the side of the mechanism. 
     In operation, the steps are summarized as follows: (1) the plurality of shrimp are queued in the selected position in groove  18 ; (2) the head clamp bar  22  moves downwardly to capture the shrimp; (3) the cutting or severing blades  48 ,  50  close; (4) the cutting blades  48 ,  50  rotate to the rear to remove or sever the head; (5) the cutting blades  48 ,  50  open; (6) water jets spray water into the grooves  18  to remove tails. The operational cycle of the present invention is approximately three seconds and a plurality of shrimp depending on the number of grooves and number of cutting blades can be deheaded in one cycle. Also, the width of the grooves can be varied depending on the design parameters of the operator. 
     The electrical components of the present invention use 110 volts AC and operate on 24 volt DC. An Allen-Bradley sequential controller having six outputs is used in order to operate the present invention.