Bird Leg Spreading Mechanism for Poultry Shackle Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for automating the positioning of birds for suspension in poultry slaughterhouses are either structurally simple but prone to errors due to bird curvature, or require complex and expensive setups, or involve manual handling with high error rates.
Innovation Solution
A method using a spreading mechanism to force the bird's legs apart, allowing the breast side to rest on a contact surface, which causes the body to rotate into a stable position, ensuring correct engagement with the shackle, and an apparatus with spreading and restrictor members to facilitate this process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If birds are arranged on individual trays with legs projecting over the tray edge, then the structural simplicity is maintained, but the bird tends to roll over to one side due to the curvature of the breast and the shackle may not catch the bird correctly
Solution Approach 1:
A spreading member is introduced as an intermediary device between the bird's legs. This spreading member has a contact surface that receives the breast side of at least one leg and forces the legs apart, preventing the bird from rolling over while maintaining structural simplicity. The spreading member acts as a mediator that corrects positioning without requiring complex support structures.
2Ease of operation
If birds are arranged on fit pieces matching the shape of the breast or back side, then positioning support is provided, but at very high processing speeds operators cannot position all birds optimally and some birds are not caught correctly
Solution Approach 1:
The spreading member is designed to automatically spread the bird's legs apart through its own mechanical action. When the spreading member contacts the bird's leg, it forces the legs apart without requiring operator intervention. This self-service mechanism allows the system to maintain high processing speeds while ensuring consistent positioning accuracy.
3Manufacturing precision
If legs are arranged with shanks locked in retainer clips, then precise positioning is provided, but the bird is held too tightly to be released properly from the clips
Solution Approach 1:
The retainer clips are completely removed from the system. Instead of using clips to hold the legs, the invention uses a spreading member that forces the legs apart and maintains positioning through the spreading action itself. This extraction of the problematic component (clips) eliminates the issue of tight holding while preserving positioning precision through the spreading mechanism.
4Extent of automation
If a concave holder is used to arrange birds, then automated positioning is achieved, but the technical complexity is high and the cost is relatively expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The complex concave holder system is replaced by a simple spreading member with a contact surface. This spreading member can be integrated into existing automated conveyor systems without requiring complex mechanical structures. The invention extracts the essential function of automated positioning while eliminating the need for complex concave holders, achieving automation with minimal technical complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method and an apparatus for arranging a bird having a body and two legs in a position for being suspended from a shackle, said method comprising the following sequence of steps: I) placing the body of the bird on a support surface with the breast side facing the support surface, II) inserting at least one spreading member between the legs of the bird, so that the breast side of at least one leg comes to rest on a contact surface of the spreading member, III) forcing the legs away from each other using the spreading mechanism, so that the distance between the hock joints becomes bigger than the distance between the hip joints.