# US 11,896,020 B2 · Slit forming device > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,896,020 B2 - Document ID: US11896020B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/608,852 - Filed: 2021-04-27 - Published: 2022-09-29 - Granted: 2024-02-13 - Earliest claimed: 2020-05-12 - Assignees: Mayekawa Mfg. Co., Ltd. - Applicants: Mayekawa Mfg. Co., Ltd. - Inventors: Koji Kido; Keigo Shibama; Hiroyuki Sakurayama; Akira Koizumi; Hajime Akabane; Masaomi Watanabe - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11896020B2 ## CPC - A22C 17/0006: {Cutting or shaping meat} - A22C 21/0076: {Deboning poultry legs and drumsticks} - A22C 17/004: {Devices for deboning meat (deboning poultry A22C21/0069; deboning operations on carcasses A22B5/0035)} - A22C 17/0093: {Handling, transporting or packaging pieces of meat} - A22C: PROCESSING MEAT, POULTRY, OR FISH (preserving A23B; obtaining protein compositions for foodstuffs A23J1/00; fish, meat or poultry preparations A23L; disintegrating, e.g. chopping meat, B02C18/00; preparation of proteins C07K1/00) ## Abstract A slit forming device according to an aspect includes a damper configured to pass through a plurality of stations arranged on a circumference, a slit forming blade disposed on an outer circumference side or an inner circumference side of a slit forming station among the plurality of stations, and a damper rotating part capable of rotating the damper about a vertical line such that a slit forming surface of a work faces the slit forming blade in the slit forming station. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A slit forming device comprising: a clamper configured to pass through a plurality of stations arranged on a circumference; a slit forming blade disposed on an outer circumference side or an inner circumference side of a slit forming station among the plurality of stations; and a clamper rotating part capable of rotating the clamper about a vertical line such that a slit forming surface of a work faces the slit forming blade in the slit forming station, wherein the plurality of stations include a loading station for the work located upstream of the slit forming station, and wherein the clamper rotating part is configured to rotate the clamper such that a difference between a first angle and a second angle is not less than 80 degrees and not greater than 100 degrees, the first angle being formed by the slit forming surface with respect to a tangent direction to the circumference in the loading station, the second angle being formed by the slit forming surface with respect to the tangent direction in the slit forming station. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The slit forming device according to claim 1, wherein the first angle is in a direction orthogonal to the tangent direction to the circumference, and wherein the second angle is in a direction along the tangent direction to the circumference. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The slit forming device according to claim 1, wherein the slit forming blade is disposed on the outer circumference side of the slit forming station among the plurality of stations. ### Claim 4 A slit forming device comprising: a clamper configured to pass through a plurality of stations arranged on a circumference; a slit forming blade disposed on an outer circumference side or an inner circumference side of a slit forming station among the plurality of stations; and a clamper rotating part capable of rotating the clamper about a vertical line such that a slit forming surface of a work faces the slit forming blade in the slit forming station, wherein the plurality of stations include a discharge station for the work located downstream of the slit forming station, and wherein the clamper rotating part is configured to rotate the clamper such that a difference between a first angle and a third angle is not less than 80 degrees and not greater than 100 degrees, the first angle being formed by the slit forming surface with respect to a tangent direction to the circumference in the slit forming station, the third angle being formed by the slit forming surface with respect to the tangent direction in the discharge station. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The slit forming device according to claim 4, wherein the third angle is in a direction orthogonal to the tangent direction to the circumference. ### Claim 6 A slit forming device comprising: a clamper configured to pass through a plurality of stations arranged on a circumference; a slit forming blade disposed on an outer circumference side or an inner circumference side of a slit forming station among the plurality of stations; and a clamper rotating part capable of rotating the clamper about a vertical line such that a slit forming surface of a work faces the slit forming blade in the slit forming station, wherein the clamper rotating part is configured to be able to switch a rotation direction of the clamper. ### Claim 7 A slit forming device comprising: a clamper configured to pass through a plurality of stations arranged on a circumference; a slit forming blade disposed on an outer circumference side or an inner circumference side of a slit forming station among the plurality of stations; and a clamper rotating part capable of rotating the clamper about a vertical line such that a slit forming surface of a work faces the slit forming blade in the slit forming station, wherein two slit forming devices are arranged such that movement trajectories of the clampers are mirror symmetrical. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The slit forming device according to claim 7, wherein the slit forming device is configured such that, in two slit forming devices, rotation directions of the clampers by the clamper rotating parts are mirror symmetrical. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The slit forming device according to claim 7, wherein the slit forming device is configured such that, in the two slit forming devices, rotation directions of the clampers by the clamper rotating parts are the same direction.