Poultry Paw Cleaning Machine with Adjustable Guide Bar
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for removing skin and ammonia burns from poultry paws in processing plants are inefficient, often resulting in ammonia burns and incomplete skin removal, leading to high paw discard rates.
Innovation Solution
A machine with high-speed brushes and an adjustable guide bar that positions poultry paws horizontally within the machine, allowing for effective scrubbing and removal of skin and ammonia burns before the paws are cut off, utilizing rotating brushes and a unique guide bar design to ensure thorough cleaning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If heating methods and liquids are used to clean poultry paws, then the cleaning process can be performed, but the cleaning solutions leave ammonia burns and fail to effectively remove skin or cuticle from the paw
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces thermal and chemical cleaning methods with a mechanical brushing system. High-speed rotating brushes physically remove skin and ammonia burns from poultry paws through mechanical abrasion, eliminating the harmful effects of heating methods and liquid cleaning solutions that previously caused additional ammonia burns while failing to effectively remove contamination.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the cleaning mechanism from thermal/chemical parameters to mechanical parameters. By adjusting brush speed, brush pressure, and brush configuration, the system achieves effective skin and ammonia burn removal without the harmful side effects of previous methods, achieving an 80% success rate in ammonia burn removal.
2Productivity
If prior art cleaning methods are used, then some cleaning is achieved, but skin removal is incomplete and paw discard rates are high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs dynamically adjustable components including variable brush speeds, adjustable guide bars, and height-adjustable brush positions. These dynamic adjustments allow optimization of the mechanical brushing action to effectively remove skin while preserving healthy tissue, significantly reducing paw discard rates compared to static prior art methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning process is segmented into multiple brushing zones with different brush configurations and speeds. The adjustable guide bar divides the paw treatment area, allowing different mechanical actions on different portions of the paw, achieving thorough skin removal while maintaining paw integrity and reducing discards.
3Reliability
If high-speed brushes are used to mechanically remove skin and ammonia burns, then cleaning effectiveness is improved, but the complexity of the machine increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mechanical brushing system serves multiple functions: removing skin, removing ammonia burns, and cleaning the paw surface. The adjustable guide bar and positioning mechanisms provide multi-functionality in positioning and securing the poultry, reducing the need for separate dedicated components for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The high-speed rotating brushes are designed to self-regulate their contact pressure with the poultry paws through the adjustable guide bar mechanism. The system automatically adapts to different paw positions and sizes, reducing the need for complex control systems and manual adjustments while maintaining effective cleaning.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The machine achieves an 80% success rate in removing ammonia burns and significantly reduces paw discard rates, providing a more efficient and cost-effective solution for poultry processing.
Implementation Method 1
The invention provides a method to allow the brushes to be turned at a high rate of speed... The paw then comes in contact with the bristles of the brushes... to aid in the removal of the skin and ammonia burns at the nail of the paw.
Implementation Method 2
The paw then comes in contact with the bristles of the brushes... The brushes vary in length... but are approximately four and half inches in diameter, and there are numerous bristles that stick out.
Data Source
AI summary
This is a machine for the removal of ammonia burns and skin from the paws of poultry. The machine does this by using two high speed brushes. The paws of poultry are positioned in between the two brushes by using a top guide bar, a bottom guide bar and an adjustable guide bar. The adjustable guide bar is uniquely designed to have a protrusion in approximately the middle of the adjustable guide bar that aids in the process of guiding the poultry paws within the bristles of the high speed brushes. The brushes then clean off the ammonia burns and take away the skin from the paws. This process occurs prior to cutting the paws off the poultry.