Pig dehairing whip

Abstract

A pig dehairing whip comprises: a) a head configured as a partially hollow slitted cylinder, the slot provided therein being in communication with the internal hollow space, said head being made of an elastic material of a density, tensile strength, and resilience suitable to be deformed by the application of the force of a human finger; b) said head being provided with pressure points allowing a user to create a deformation of said cylinder, which widens its slot, with or without the application of tools; and c) a flexible whip body having a main longitudinal axis perpendicular to said slot, provided with scrapers adapted to remove bristles from a pig carcass.

Description

[0001] - 1 -

[0002] PIG DEHAIRING WHIP

[0003] Field of the Invention

[0004] The present invention generally relates to a pig dehairing whip for a pig dehairing machine that is easily removable and replaceable in the pig dehairing machine.

[0005] Background of the Invention

[0006] In the processing of pig carcasses after slaughter, it is necessary to remove the pig hair before removing the hide from the carcass. Typically, this is done by first placing the carcass in boiling water and then scraping it to remove the remaining hairs. The scraping process can use a set of long, narrow pig dehairing whips mounted on spindles, with the spindle passing through bores at one end of the pig dehairing whips. Typically, each spindle comprises three pig dehairing whips. If a pig dehairing whip becomes damaged or broken, the processing line stops until the pig dehairing whip can be replaced. Typically, replacement requires unbolting of the spindle from its spindle holder and removal of the spindle from its spindle holder. The broken or damaged pig dehairing whip can then be removed. The new pig dehairing whip and the undamaged pig dehairing whips are then placed in position, the spindle is run through the bores of the pig dehairing whips, and the spindle is bolted in position again. This takes time and delays the processing line. Also, the whips must be periodically replaced in the course of regular maintenance, which, when the apparatus employs a plurality of whips, is laborious and time-consuming when employing whips currently known in the art.

[0007] To date, the prior art has failed to provide a pig dehairing whip for a pig dehairing machine that is easily and quickly mounted and dismounted from the machine without the need to apply excessive force or to employ tools or implements, which requires time and effort. - 2 -

[0008] Summary of the Invention

[0009] It is an object of the present invention to provide a pig dehairing whip for a pig dehairing machine that is easily removable and replaceable from a pig dehairing machine without the need to apply substantial force or use tools. It is another object of the invention to provide a pig dehairing whip for a pig dehairing machine comprising a head adapted to be fitted to a spindle of the dehairing machine, which in its operating position envelopes said spindle preventing its detachment from it during operation, and in its fitting position is openable to allow said spindle to easily fit into it or be removed therefrom.

[0010] It is yet another object of the invention to provide a pig dehairing whip for a pig dehairing machine, which does not require the whip head to be made of a material of different hardness than the body of the whip.

[0011] It is a further object of the invention to provide a pig dehairing whip for a pig dehairing machine, which can be made of a single material.

[0012] The invention thus relates to a pig dehairing whip comprising: a) a head configured as a partially hollow slitted cylinder, the slot provided therein being in communication with the internal hollow space, said head being made of an elastic material of a density, tensile strength, and resilience suitable to be deformed by the application of the force of a human finger; b) said head being provided with pressure points allowing a user to create a deformation of said cylinder, which widens its slot, with or without the application of tools; and c) a flexible whip body having a main longitudinal axis perpendicular to said slot, provided with scrapers adapted to remove bristles from a pig carcass. - 3 -

[0013] In one embodiment, the whip of the invention is made of rubber, which is selected from natural rubber and artificial rubber. In other embodiments, alternative plastic materials having properties similar to those of natural rubber can be employed for parts of the whip or for its entirety.

[0014] According to embodiments of the invention, the whip body has a Tensile Strength between 20-25 MPa, and a Tear Strength between ~35-60 kN / m. Furthermore, in embodiments of the invention, the whip has high Abrasion Resistance and high Fatigue Resistance.

[0015] According to the invention, the slot provided in the whip head can be broadened to the extent needed to allow a spindle to access the hollow part of the head or to remove the whip head from the spindle, using only a force of the order of magnitude available to the human fingers. In some embodiments, the force applicable to each pressure point in order to broaden the slot is between 70 - 120 N.

[0016] Brief Description of the Drawings

[0017] In the drawings:

[0018] Fig. 1A shows pig dehairing whips mounted in a pig dehairing machine;

[0019] Fig. IB shows a pig dehairing whip according to the prior art;

[0020] Figs. 2A-C schematically illustrate a pig dehairing whip according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figs. 3A-C schematically illustrate a head of a pig dehairing whip according to one embodiment of the present invention; - 4 -

[0022] Figs. 4 schematically illustrates a pig dehairing whip according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figs. 5A-C schematically illustrates a head of a pig dehairing whip according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Fig. 6 schematically illustrates a head of a pig dehairing whip according to yet another embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figs. 7A-C is a side view illustrating the operation of the head of the whip of Fig. 3A; and

[0026] Figs. 8A-C is a front view illustrating the operation of the whip head of Figs. 3A and 7.

[0027] Detailed Description of Embodiments of the Invention

[0028] While the invention is not limited to the use of natural rubber, and other materials can be employed in the context of the invention, natural rubber is referred to hereinafter for the sake of illustration. Natural rubber, primarily composed of cis-l,4-polyisoprene, exhibits distinct physical, mechanical (strength), and elasticity characteristics. Some such characteristics are listed below:

[0029] Tensile Strength: 20-30 MPa

[0030] Tear Strength: "'35-60 kN / m

[0031] Abrasion Resistance High

[0032] Fatigue Resistance High.

[0033] Due to the mechanical properties of rubber, the aforementioned slot provided in the whip head can be broadened using only the force available to the fingers of a human hand - 5 -

[0034] (although, of course, mechanical arrangements can also be employed in practice for this purpose if desired). For the purpose of illustration, the force applied by human fingers is typically between 100 - 120 N for a thumb, 70 - 100 N for an index finger, and 90 - 110 N for a middle finger.

[0035] In embodiments of the invention, the whip has high Abrasion Resistance and high Fatigue Resistance. Generally speaking, high abrasion resistance is considered when in the DIN Abrasion Test (DIN 53516) a 35-90 mm3loss or less is achieved. A high fatigue resistance is achieved when in the Flex Cracking Resistance (DeMattia Flex Test - ASTM D813), measured as the number of cycles to initiate and grow a crack, the material survives > 1,000,000 cycles before failure in tests. Another test for fatigue resistance is the Tear Strength (ASTM D624), requiring a tear strength of 35-60 kN / m.

[0036] Fig. 1 depicts pig dehairing whips (100) in a typical pig dehairing machine (1000). In a typical machine, a plurality of spindles (200) are bolted onto spindle supports (300). Each spindle (200) holds, in this specific machine, three pig dehairing whips (100), with the spindle (200) passing through bores in the pig dehairing whips (100), the bores not being shown in this figure and indicated at 118 in Fig. 2C with reference to one embodiment of the invention.

[0037] In some prior art apparatus, replacement of a damaged or broken pig dehairing whip (100) requires unbolting of the spindle (200), removal of the spindle (200) from the bore(s) of the pig dehairing whip(s) (100), removal of the broken or damaged pig dehairing whip (100), insertion of the spindle (200) through the bores of the undamaged and new pig dehairing whips (100), and replacement of the bolt holding the spindle (200) in place on the spindle support (300). Other prior art whips, which do not require unbolting the spindle, instead require strong effort and tools to be employed to insert the whip into the machine and to dislodge it from it. One such prior art whip is shown in Fig. IB and generally indicated at 101. - 6 -

[0038] This prior art whip is made of two materials or of similar materials having different rigidity: the head, 102, is made of a rigid material, while the whip body, 103, must be flexible to function. The whip has an open through-bore, which may be slightly deformed under great pressure and thus hook into the spindle. Thus, to place this whip into its operating position in the machine typically requires hammering it into position by applying blows to the top 105 of head 102 until it is deformed enough to allow the spindle to enter it and be captured inside through-bore 104. Similarly, substantial force must be applied when dislodging the head of the whip of Fig. IB from the spindle. The invention obviates all the abovementioned problems.

[0039] Figs. 2A-C schematically illustrate an exemplary embodiment of a pig dehairing whip (100) of the present invention, with Fig. 2A showing a perspective view, Fig. 2B showing a top view and Fig. 2C showing a side view of the pig dehairing whip (100), with top view and side view as seen with pig dehairing whips (100) mounted on a spindle (e.g., see Fig. 1). The pig dehairing whip (100) of the present invention comprises two parts, a whip head (110) configured as a slitted hollow cylinder, with a throughgoing bore (118) (also referred to herein as "hollow space") and a whip body (120); the whip body (120) comprises scraper(s) (119) configured to remove the bristles from the carcass. The shape, size, and number of scrapers (119) on the whip body (120) may vary according to specific machines and use cases. The dimensions shown in the figures are merely indicative and are not part of the invention nor meant to limit in any way.

[0040] Figs. 3A-C schematically illustrate an embodiment of the whip head (110) of the pig dehairing whip (100) of the present invention, with Fig. 3A showing a perspective view, Fig. 3B showing a top view and Fig. 3C showing a side view of the whip head (110) of the pig dehairing whip (100). - 7 -

[0041] The whip head (110) comprises a head main portion (112) with a throughgoing bore (118) in communication with the external surface of the head main portion (112) via a slot (116). In the embodiment shown, the head main portion (112) is substantially cylindrical, with the throughgoing bore (118) perpendicular to the ends (111) of the head main portion (112) and parallel to the side (113) of the head main Portion (112).

[0042] The slot (116), which is in communication with the hollow space (118), enables the whip body (120) to be bent (black arrow) relative to the whip head (110). Bending the whip body (120) in the direction of the black arrow enlarges the slot (116); the material(s) of at least a portion of the whip head (110) have sufficient flexibility to allow the slot to widen sufficiently to pass around the spindle (200) so that the throughgoing bore (118) can surround the spindle (200). Releasing the pressure that widened the slot (116) allows the head to rotate back to its original position, as indicated by the black arrow, thereby narrowing the slot (116), thereby ensuring that the pig dehairing whip (100) does not come off the spindle (200) during use. The whip head (110) further comprises guides (114), each guide (114) in sliding contact with a proximal portion of a side (122) of the whip body (120) to ensure that, both during bending of the whip body (120) relative to the whip head (110) and during use of the pig dehairing whip (100), the main longitudinal axis of the whip body (120) remains perpendicular to the main longitudinal axis of the throughgoing bore (118). As a further means of stabilization of the whip body (120) relative to the whip head (110) during use, the slot (116) is cut back into the head main portion (112), so that the sides of the slot that are parallel to the ends (111) of the whip head (110) rest slidingly against a proximal portion of the sides (122) of the whip body (120).

[0043] In an illustrative embodiment provided for the sake of allowing the skilled person to grasp the dimensions of the device, which are not intended to limit the invention in any way, the width of the whip body (120) at the proximal end of the whip body (120) (the end nearest the whip - 8 - head (110)) is 23 mm, widening to 29.38 mm at the distal end (the free end of the whip body (120)).

[0044] Fig. 4 schematically illustrates another exemplary embodiment of a pig dehairing whip (300) according to an embodiment of the present invention, In this embodiment, the two parts of the pig dehairing whip (300) are a whip head (110) with a throughgoing bore (118) and a whip body (120) comprising two whips (125); the whips (125) comprising scraper(s) (119) configured to remove the bristles from the carcass. The shape, size, and number of scrapers (119) on the whips (125) may vary according to the use case and machine requirements.

[0045] Figs. 5A-C schematically illustrate an exemplary embodiment of the whip head (110) of the pig dehairing whip (300) of the present invention, with Fig. 5A showing a perspective view, Fig. 5B showing a top view, and Fig. 5C showing a side view of the whip head (110) of the pig dehairing whip (300), with top view and side view as seen with pig dehairing whips (300) mounted on a spindle.

[0046] The whip head (110) comprises a head main portion (112) configured as a cylinder, with an internal hollow portion (118) (also referred to herein as "throughgoing bore") in communication with the external surface (113) of the head main portion (112) via a slot (116). In the embodiment shown, the head main portion (112) is substantially cylindrical, with the throughgoing bore (118) perpendicular to the ends (111) of the head main portion (112) and parallel to the side (113) of the head main portion (112).

[0047] The slot (116) enables the whips (125) of the whip body (120) to be bent (black arrow) relative to the whip head (110). Bending the whips (125) in the direction of the black arrow enlarges the slot (116); the material(s) of at least a portion of the whip head (110) have sufficient flexibility to allow the slot to widen sufficiently to pass around the spindle (200) so that the - 9 - throughgoing bore (118) can surround the spindle (200). Releasing the pressure that widened the slot (116) allows the head to rotate back to its original position, as indicated by the black arrow, thereby narrowing the slot (116) and ensuring that the pig dehairing whip (300) does not come off the spindle (200) during use. As a means of stabilization of the whip body (120) relative to the whip head (110) during use, the slot (116) is cut back into the head main portion (112), so that the sides of the slot that are parallel to the ends (111) of the whip head (110) rest slidingly against a proximal 15 portion of the sides (122) of the whip body (120) .

[0048] In the exemplary embodiments of the whip head (110) shown above, the slot (116) has a radial curve; it does not extend from the throughgoing bore (118) to the external surface (113) in a straight line, as can be seen most clearly in Figs. 4A and 5A. Fig. 6 schematically illustrates a whip head (110) in which the slot (116) extends from the throughgoing bore (118) to the external 20 surface (113) in a straight line.

[0049] The embodiment of Fig. 6 also has indentations (129) configured to accept a finger or thumb of a user, to assist the user in widening the slot (116) during removal or replacement of a pig dehairing whip (100, 300) on a spindle (200). As can be seen in Fig. 7A, two teeth (130) are provided, extending inside the throughgoing bore (118), which require a greater expansion of bore (118) once the whip is mounted on a spindle, thus assisting in preventing an accidental removal of the whip from the spindle during operation.

[0050] In some embodiments, one of the long sides of the slot (116) exits from the throughgoing bore (118) at a tangent to the throughgoing bore (118). In other embodiments, one of the long sides of the slot (116) exits from the throughgoing bore (118) at an angle other than a tangent to the throughgoing bore (118). - 10 -

[0051] The whip head (110) and the whip body (120) can be of the same material or different materials, but practicing the invention is particularly advantageous when the same flexible material is used because of the ease of manufacturing. It is most advantageous to manufacture the whip in one piece using rubber as the material. An illustrative diameter of the throughgoing bore (118) is about 10 mm. Preferably, the diameter of the throughgoing bore (118) is approximately 0.5 mm greater than the diameter of the spindle (200) on which it is configured to be mounted. To replace a damaged or broken pig dehairing whip (100, 300), the whip body (120) is bent relatively to the head so as to enlarge the slot (116). When the slot (116) is sufficiently enlarged, the pig dehairing whip (100, 300) is pulled away from the spindle (200) so that the spindle (200) passes through the slot, freeing the pig dehairing whip (100, 300) from the pig dehairing machine (1000) without unbolting the spindle (200) from the spindle supports (300) or removing any other pig dehairing whips (100, 300) from the spindle (200). A new pig dehairing whip (100, 300) can then be mounted on the spindle (200) by bending the new pig dehairing whip (100, 300) so as to enlarge the slot (116) sufficiently to allow the spindle (200) to pass through the slot (116) so that the throughgoing bore (118) surrounds the spindle (200) and, the new pig dehairing whip (100, 300) being mounted on the spindle (200), the processing line can restart.

[0052] The above procedure is illustrated in Figs. 7A-C (side view) and in Figs. 8A-C (front view). Fig. 7A shows a whip head according to the invention before minimal force is applied to it to widen the slot (116) and, as a result, the hollow internal space (118), such that a spindle can be accepted therein. Fig. 7B shows the position in which a user's fingers (or an alternative mechanical instrument) can be placed to expand bore (118), and Fig. 7C illustrates the ease with which the invention allows a user to operate the whip head by applying only minimal finger pressure. - 11 -

[0053] Fig. 8A shows a front view of a whip head of the invention, and Figs. 8B and 8C again illustrate the ease with which the head through-bore is expanded.

[0054] All the above description has been provided to illustrate the invention with reference to some particular embodiments thereof and are not intended to limit the invention in any way. Particularly, the number of whip bodies and scrapers shown in the figures, as well as the dimensions indicated therein, are merely illustrative.

Claims

- 12 -Claims1. A pig dehairing whip comprising: a) a head configured as a partially hollow slitted cylinder, the slot provided therein being in communication with the internal hollow space, said head being made of an elastic material of a density, tensile strength, and resilience suitable to be deformed by the application of the force of a human finger; b) said head being provided with pressure points allowing a user to create a deformation of said cylinder, which widens its slot, with or without the application of tools; and c) a flexible whip body having a main longitudinal axis perpendicular to said slot, provided with scrapers adapted to remove bristles from a pig carcass.

2. The whip of claim 1, which is made of rubber.

3. The whip of claim 2, wherein the rubber is selected from natural rubber and artificial rubber.

4. The whip of claim 1, wherein the whip body has a Tensile Strength between 20-30 MPa, and a Tear Strength between ~35-60 kN / m5. The whip of claim 4, having high Abrasion Resistance and high Fatigue Resistance.

6. The whip of claim 1, wherein the slot provided in the whip head can be broadened to the extent needed to allow a spindle to access the hollow part of the head or to remove the whip head from the spindle, using only of a force of the order of magnitude available to the human fingers.

7. The whip of claim 6, wherein the force applicable to each pressure point in order to broaden the slot is between 70 - 120 N.

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