Poultry carcass upper half discharge chute

Abstract

To provide a chute for carrying out a poultry carcass, which chute has a function of orienting in a constant direction, each upper half of the poultry carcass falling over a conveyor.SOLUTION: A chute for carrying out an upper half of a poultry carcass is disposed below a pair of rotary cutters for cutting a hollow poultry carcass into a lower half part including thigh meat and a portion of a back and an upper half part containing a chest containing a rib and a remaining part of the back, wherein the hollow poultry carcasses are each inclined and suspended from a conveyor through shackles holding both legs, respectively, with a chest oriented facing a traveling direction of the conveyor, The chute has a cross section protruding downward, and, when viewed from above, extending with the conveyor superposed thereon, as well as, extending tilting downward. In the chute, both inner surfaces tilt gradually widening upward, and a horizontal distance between both inner surfaces at the inside surface lower part is narrower than a chest width of the upper half of the poultry carcass.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a chute for conveying the upper half of a poultry carcass that has been cut and separated from the gutted poultry carcass. [Background technology]

[0002] As shown in Figure 1, Patent Document 1 discloses a separating device A that suspends a eviscerated poultry carcass 100 from a conveyor 2 with the breast facing the direction of travel of the conveyor 2 and tilting backward via shackles 1 that grip both legs, and cuts the eviscerated poultry carcass 100 into a lower half 101 including thigh meat and part of the back, and an upper half 102 including the breast including the ribs and the remaining part of the back. As shown in Figure 1, below the cutter 3 is provided a chute 4' which has a downwardly convex cross section, overlaps the conveyor 2 when viewed from above, and extends at a downward incline, for transporting the separated upper half 102 of the poultry carcass to a work area for post-processing. Conventionally, the chute 4' is a simple wide channel-shaped member with a flat inner bottom surface, as shown in FIG. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-223694 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] As shown in Figure 1, the conventional discharge chute 4' was a simple wide channel-shaped member with a flat inner bottom, and therefore had no function for positioning the upper halves 102 of the poultry carcasses that fell from the conveyor 2. As can be seen from Figure 1, the orientation of the upper halves 102 of the poultry carcasses was inconsistent on the inner bottom of the chute 4'. This resulted in a decrease in the efficiency of subsequent processes. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a chute for discharging upper halves of poultry carcasses that has the function of keeping the orientation of the upper halves 102 of poultry carcasses that have fallen from the conveyor 2 constant. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a chute for conveying the upper half of a poultry carcass, which is disposed below a pair of rotary cutters that cut a gutted poultry carcass, which is hung on a conveyor at a backward angle with the breast facing the direction of travel of the conveyor via shackles that grip both legs, into a lower half including thigh meat and part of the back and an upper half including the breast including ribs and the remaining part of the back, and which has a downwardly convex cross section, extends overlapping the conveyor when viewed from above, and extends at an angle downward; and inner surface is flat and both inner surfaces are inclined upward from both edges of the inner bottom surface, widening outwards. The envelope surfaces of the multiple driven rollers and / or drive rollers form the inner surface of the plane, or the belt conveyor forms the inner surface of the plane; To provide a chute for carrying out the upper half of a poultry carcass, characterized in that the horizontal distance between both inner surfaces at the lower part of the inner surfaces is narrower than the lateral width of the breast part of the upper half of the poultry carcass. The eviscerated carcasses of poultry are cut and separated into upper and lower halves using a pair of rotary cutters with the breast facing the direction of travel of the conveyor 2 and tilted backward, and since the chute extends overlapping the conveyor when viewed from above, the upper half that has been released from the conveyor falls onto the chute with the breast facing forward and downward in the direction of travel of the conveyor and the cervical vertebrae facing backward in the direction of travel of the conveyor, with the extension direction of the spine aligned with the extension direction of the chute when viewed from above. and inner surface The chute is flat, with both inner surfaces sloping upward from both side edges of the inner bottom surface, and the horizontal distance between the two inner surfaces at the bottom is narrower than the width of the breast part of the upper half of the poultry carcass, so that both side edges of the breast part of the upper half of the poultry carcass abut on the inner surfaces of the sloping chute and are subjected to a reaction force from the inner surfaces of the sloping chute. As a result, the breast part of the upper half of the poultry carcass is clamped and supported by both inner surfaces of the chute, positioning the upper half of the poultry carcass and ensuring a constant orientation. If the inclined inner surfaces join together, the depth of the chute will be excessive and useless. Therefore, the inner bottom surface of the chute may be made flat to prevent the depth of the chute from becoming excessive. The planar inner surface may be formed by the envelope surfaces of a number of driven rollers and / or drive rollers, or by a belt conveyor.

[0006] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the upper portion of the inner surface of the chute rises at a greater inclination than the other portions. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the upper portion of the inner surface of the chute rises vertically. By raising the upper part of the inner surface of the chute at a greater inclination than the other parts or vertically, it is possible to prevent the upper half of the poultry carcass from escaping outside the chute even if some kind of disturbance occurs. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the chute extends in the same direction as the direction of travel of the conveyor when viewed from above. By having the downwardly sloping chute extend in the same direction as the conveyor when viewed from above, the impact when the upper half of the poultry carcass falls from the conveyor and hits the inside surface of the chute is reduced, improving the positioning function of the chute. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the chute extends in the opposite direction to the direction of travel of the conveyor when viewed from above. Since the gutted poultry carcasses are cut and separated into upper and lower halves while being held by both legs with shackles and suspended from the conveyor at a backward angle, the upper half of the poultry carcass that has been released from the conveyor falls in a downwardly inclined position in the opposite direction to the direction of travel of the conveyor. If the downwardly inclined chute extends in the opposite direction to the direction of travel of the conveyor as viewed from above, the inclination direction of the falling upper half of the poultry carcass and the chute will match, so the contact area between the upper half of the poultry carcass and the inner surface of the chute when they collide will be larger, improving the positioning function of the chute. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the downward slope of the poultry carcass upper half discharge chute is greater near the cutter and decreases with increasing distance from the cutter. To reduce the impact of the upper halves of the poultry carcasses dropping from the conveyor on the inner surface of the chute, it is desirable to make the downward slope of the chute steeper near the cutter, while to reduce the downward slope as the chute moves away from the cutter, in order to allow for easier access to subsequent processes. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the envelope surfaces of the multiple driven rollers and / or drive rollers form a flat inner bottom surface. Or the belt conveyor forms a flat inner bottom surface. do. The flat inner bottom surface may be formed by the envelope surfaces of a number of driven rollers and / or drive rollers, or by a belt conveyor. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a separating device that hangs a gutted poultry carcass on a conveyor and uses a pair of rotary cutters to cut the poultry carcass into a lower half including the thigh meat and part of the back, and an upper half including the breast including the ribs and the remaining part of the back, and a conventional chute for conveying the upper half of the poultry carcass that is attached to the device. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a separating device that suspends a gutted poultry carcass on a conveyor and uses a pair of rotary cutters to cut the poultry carcass into a lower half including the thigh meat and part of the back, and an upper half including the breast including the ribs and the remaining part of the back, and a poultry carcass upper half conveying chute according to an embodiment of the present invention that is attached to the device. [Figure 3] 2 is a cross-sectional view of the chute for conveying the upper half of a poultry carcass according to an embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from the cervical vertebrae side of the upper half of the poultry carcass on the chute in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a chute for discharging upper halves of poultry carcasses according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a chute for discharging upper halves of poultry carcasses according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a chute for discharging upper halves of poultry carcasses according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a chute for discharging upper halves of poultry carcasses according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a chute for discharging upper halves of poultry carcasses according to another embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] An explanation will be given of the chute for discharging the upper half of a poultry carcass according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 2, the separating device A, which cuts a eviscerated poultry carcass 100 into a lower half 101 comprising the thigh meat and part of the back, and an upper half 102 comprising the breast part including the ribs and the remainder of the back, is equipped with the shackles 1 that grip both legs of the eviscerated carcass 100 to suspend it, a conveyor 2 that engages the shackles 1 and transports the eviscerated carcass 100 along a predetermined path, and a pair of rotary cutters 3 disposed directly below the conveyor 2 that cut the eviscerated carcass 100, which is suspended with the breast part facing the direction of travel of the conveyor 2 and tilted backward, into the lower half 101 comprising the thigh meat and part of the back, and the upper half 102 comprising the breast part including the ribs and the remainder of the back. Below the cutter 3 is provided a chute 4 which has a downwardly convex cross section, overlaps the conveyor 2 when viewed from above, and extends at a downward incline, for transporting the separated upper half 102 of the poultry carcass to a work area for post-processing. The chute 4 extends in the same direction as the direction of travel of the conveyor 2 when viewed from above. The downward slope of the chute 4 is large near the cutter 3 and decreases as it moves away from the cutter 3. As shown in Figure 3, both inner surfaces 4a of the chute 4 are inclined to widen upward, and the horizontal distance between the inner surfaces 4a at the lower part of the inner surfaces is set narrower than the breast width L of the upper half 102 of the poultry carcass.

[0009] The eviscerated poultry carcasses 100 are hung upside down with their breast sections facing the direction of travel of the conveyor 2 and tilted backward, and are cut and separated into an upper half 102 and a lower half 101 by a pair of rotary cutters 3, and because the chute 4 extends overlapping the conveyor 2 when viewed from above, the upper half 102 of the poultry carcass falls onto the chute 4 with its breast section facing forward and downward in the direction of travel of the conveyor 2 and its cervical vertebrae facing backward in the direction of travel of the conveyor 2, with the extension direction of its spine aligned with the extension direction of the chute 4 when viewed from above. As shown in Figure 3, both inner surfaces 4a of the chute 4 are inclined to widen upward, and the horizontal distance between both inner surfaces 4a at the lower parts of the inner surfaces is narrower than the width L of the breast of the upper half 102 of the poultry carcass, so that both side edges of the breast of the upper half 102 of the poultry carcass abut against the lower parts of the inclined inner surfaces 4a of the chute and are subjected to a reaction force from the inclined inner surfaces 4a of the chute. As a result, the breast region of the upper half 102 of the poultry carcass is clamped and supported by the lower parts of both inner surfaces 4a of the chute, and the upper half 102 of the poultry carcass is positioned. As a result, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, the orientation of the upper half 102 of the poultry carcass is constant in three dimensions, with both side edges of the breast region abutting against the lower parts of both inner surfaces of the chute 4, the thoracic cavity facing forward in the sliding direction, the cervical vertebrae facing backward in the sliding direction, and the extension direction of the spine aligned with the extension direction of the chute 4 when viewed from above. The upper half 102 of the poultry carcass, now in a constant orientation, is conveyed to the end of the chute 4 aligned in the extension direction of the chute 4, improving the efficiency of subsequent processes.

[0010] If the inclined inner surfaces 4a join together, the depth of the chute 4 will be excessively large, which is wasteful. To prevent such waste, the inner bottom surface 4b of the chute 4 may be made flat as shown in Figure 3, or may be made a downwardly convex curved surface as shown in Figure 4, thereby preventing the depth of the chute 4 from becoming excessively large. The inner surface 4a may be a flat surface as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, or may be a downwardly or upwardly convex curved surface (not shown). As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the outer edges of both inner surfaces 4a may be bent to form raised portions 4a1 that are steeper inclined than both inner surfaces 4a, or as shown in Figures 7 and 8, the outer edges of both inner surfaces 4a may be bent to form vertical raised portions 4a2. By raising the outer edges of both inner surfaces at a steep incline or vertically, it is possible to prevent the upper half 102 of the poultry carcass from escaping from the chute 4 even if some kind of disturbance occurs. As shown in Figure 2, the downwardly sloping chute 4 extends in the same direction as the direction of travel of the conveyor 2 when viewed from above, thereby reducing the impact when the upper half 102 of the poultry carcass that falls from the conveyor 2 hits the chute 4, thereby improving the positioning function of the chute 4. As shown in the chute 4' of Figure 1, the chute 4 may extend in the opposite direction to the direction of travel of the conveyor when viewed from above. The gutted poultry carcass 100 is cut and separated into an upper half 102 and a lower half 101 while both legs are gripped by the shackles 1 and the carcass is suspended from the conveyor 2 at a backward angle, and the upper half 102 of the poultry carcass that has been released from the conveyor 2 falls in a downwardly inclined position in the opposite direction to the direction of travel of the conveyor 2. If the downwardly inclined chute 4 extends in the opposite direction to the direction of travel of the conveyor 2 when viewed from above, the downwardly inclined direction of the falling upper half 102 of the poultry carcass and the chute 4 will coincide, increasing the contact area between the upper half 102 of the poultry carcass and the inner surface 4a of the chute when they collide, thereby improving the positioning function of the chute 4. As shown in Figure 2, the downward slope of the chute 4 is large near the cutter 3, which reduces the impact when the upper half 102 of the poultry carcasses that have fallen from the conveyor 2 collide with the chute 4, improving the positioning function of the chute 4. On the other hand, it is desirable to decrease the downward slope of the chute 4 as it moves away from the cutter 4 in order to allow for subsequent operations. Instead of forming the planar inner surface 4a and the planar inner bottom surface 4b of the chute 4 with the surface of a plate member, the planar inner surface 4a and the planar inner bottom surface 4b of the chute 4 may be formed with the envelope surfaces of a number of driven rollers and / or driving rollers or the belt of a belt conveyor. In the above embodiment, the upper half of the poultry carcass 102 is depicted as a wingless upper half of the poultry carcass in Figures 1 to 8, but it goes without saying that the upper half of the poultry carcass 102 also includes an upper half of the poultry carcass with wings. [Industrial Applicability]

[0011] The present invention can be widely used in a chute for conveying the upper half of a poultry carcass, which is attached to an apparatus for cutting and separating a gutted poultry carcass into an upper half and a lower half. [Explanation of symbols]

[0012] 1 shackle 2 Conveyor 3 pairs of rotary cutters 4, 4' Poultry carcass upper half discharge chute 4a, 4a1, 4a2 inner surface 4b Inner bottom surface 100 eviscerated poultry carcasses 101 Lower half of poultry carcass 102 Upper half of poultry carcass

Claims

1. 1. A chute for conveying the upper half of a poultry carcass, which is disposed below a pair of rotary cutters that cuts a gutted poultry carcass, which is hung on a conveyor at a backward angle with the breast portion facing the direction of travel of the conveyor via shackles that grip both legs, into a lower half including the thigh meat and part of the back, and an upper half including the breast portion including the ribs and the remainder of the back, and which has a downwardly convex cross section and extends overlapping the conveyor when viewed from above and extends at an angle downward, wherein the inner bottom and inner side surfaces are flat, and both inner side surfaces are inclined upward from both side edges of the inner bottom surface, the flat inner surface is formed by the envelope surfaces of a number of driven rollers and / or drive rollers, or the belt conveyor forms the flat inner surface, and the horizontal distance between both inner side surfaces at the lower part of the inner side surface is narrower than the width of the breast portion of the upper half of the poultry carcass.

2. A chute for transporting the upper half of a poultry carcass as described in claim 1, characterized in that the upper part of the inner surface rises at a greater inclination than the other parts.

3. A chute for transporting the upper half of a poultry carcass as described in claim 1, characterized in that the upper part of the inner surface rises vertically.

4. A chute for transporting the upper half of a poultry carcass as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that when viewed from above, it extends in the same direction as the direction of travel of the conveyor.

5. A chute for transporting the upper half of a poultry carcass as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it extends in the opposite direction to the direction of travel of the conveyor when viewed from above.

6. A chute for conveying the upper half of a poultry carcass as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the downward slope of the chute for conveying the upper half of a poultry carcass is large near the cutter and decreases as it moves away from the cutter.

7. A chute for conveying the upper half of a poultry carcass as described in any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the envelope surfaces of a number of driven rollers and / or drive rollers form a flat inner bottom surface, or the belt conveyor forms a flat inner bottom surface.

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