Patent ID: 8641487

Claim:
A method of segmenting a poultry wing into segments, a drumette having a shoulder joint, a flat having an elbow joint and a tip joint, and a tip, said method comprising the steps of: providing a poultry segmenter having a plurality of spaced shackles configured to vertically hold the poultry wing suspended by its shoulder joint, a segmented wing wheel configured with a plurality of contoured troughs circumferentially disposed laterally therearound said segmented wing wheel, said segmented wing wheel configured to receive the vertical hung poultry wing from said shackles, and wherein said segmented wheel is configured with one or more annular slots wherein at least one cutting blade is positioned, and wherein said segmented wing wheel is further configured with a pivotable wing tip cup module, at least one guide bar disposed adjacent said segmented wing wheel to bias the at least one segment of the poultry wing against said contoured trough of said segmented wing wheel and to draw said cutting blade through said annular slots to sever the poultry wing into one or more segments; and transferring the poultry wing from said shackle to one of said plurality of contoured troughs by at least one guide bar disposed adjacent said segmented wing wheel.