Removing feathers from poultry carcasses
AssigneeJBT Marel Corporation
InventorJoseph L. Gasbarro
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system (20) for removing feathers from poultry carcasses (50), including a scalding apparatus (28) that applies the dual cascade of heated water downwardly onto poultry carcasses passing beneath. A quill picking unit (30) follows the dual cascade scalding apparatus (26) to remove the feathers from the carcass after the pores have been enlarged by the dual cascade of scalding water. After the feathers have been pulled from the carcass (50), the carcass is passed through a chiller (40) which applies a dual cascade of cooling water downwardly onto the carcasses passing through the chilling unit.
Claims20
A method for removing feathers from poultry carcasses, comprising:
- (a) scalding the poultry carcasses by passing the carcasses under a dual cascade of heated water, the cascade of heated water passing over and off the poultry carcasses and into a reservoir for collecting the heated water cascading off the poultry carcasses, the poultry carcasses being at an elevation above the water in the reservoir enabling heat transfer from the cascading water to the poultry carcasses before the water is collected in the reservoir;
- (b) after the scalding of the carcasses, passing the carcasses through a quill picking unit to pull the feathers from the heated carcasses;
- (c) after passing the carcasses through the quill picking machine, cooling the carcasses by passing the carcasses under a cascade of chilled water.
A method for removing feathers from poultry carcasses, comprising:
- (a) scalding the poultry carcasses by passing the carcasses under a dual cascade of heated water, the cascade of heated water passing over and off the poultry carcasses and into a reservoir;
- (b) after the scalding of the carcasses, passing the carcasses through a quill picking unit to pull the feathers from the heated carcasses;
- (c) after passing the carcasses through the quill picking machine, cooling the carcasses by passing the carcasses under a cascade of chilled water;
- and
- (d) wherein before the initial dual cascade of heated water is applied to the carcasses, ruffling in the feathers of the carcasses to cause the feathers to stand out from the carcasses.
A method for removing feathers from poultry carcasses, comprising:
- (a) scalding the poultry carcasses by passing the carcasses under a dual cascade of heated water, the cascade of heated water passing over and off the poultry carcasses and into a reservoir;
- (b) after the scalding of the carcasses, passing the carcasses through a quill picking unit to pull the feathers from the heated carcasses;
- (c) after passing the carcasses through the quill picking machine, cooling the carcasses by passing the carcasses under a cascade of chilled water;
- (d) before scalding the carcasses with a dual cascade of heated water, passing the carcasses through a quill picking machine to pull the feathers from the carcasses;
- and
- (e) applying heated water to the carcasses while passing the carcasses through the quill picking machine.
For a system for removing feathers from poultry carcasses, a scalding apparatus for scalding the poultry carcass to open the pores of the carcasses, the scalding apparatus comprising:
- (a) a reservoir for retaining heated water;
- (b) a first plenum located above the reservoir for receiving the heated water from the reservoir;
- (c) a second plenum positioned above the reservoir for receiving the heated water from the reservoir;
- (d) the first and second plenums spaced apart from each other to define a gap therebetween through which the poultry carcasses can travel;
- (e) a circulation pump in communication with the reservoir and at least one of the plenums for pumping the heated water from the reservoir to at least one of the plenums causing the heated water to overflow out of the two plenums and cascade downwardly into the gap and onto the poultry carcasses passing through the gap and then off the poultry carcasses to collect in the reservoir below the level of the poultry carcasses;
- and
- (f) the reservoir having a first end portion and a second end portion, and upwardly open openings formed in the first and second end portions above the level of the heated water in the reservoir and of a sufficient height to allow passage of the poultry carcasses through the openings while the poultry carcasses are positioned below the level of heated water flowing out the two plenums to receive the cascading heated water from the two plenums.
For a system for removing feathers from poultry carcasses, a scalding apparatus for scalding the poultry carcasses to open the pores of the carcasses, the scalding apparatus comprising:
- (a) a reservoir for retaining heated water;
- (b) a first plenum located above the reservoir for receiving the heated water from the reservoir;
- (c) a second plenum positioned above the reservoir for receiving the heated water from the reservoir;
- (d) the first and second plenums spaced apart from each other to define a gap therebetween through which the poultry carcasses can travel;
- (e) a circulation pump in communication with the reservoir and at least one of the plenums for pumping the heated water from the reservoir to at least one of the plenums causing the heated water to overflow out of the two plenums and cascade downwardly into the gap and onto the poultry carcasses passing through the gap and then off the poultry carcasses to collect in the reservoir below the level of the poultry carcasses;
- and
- (f) a brushing unit positioned upstream from the scalding apparatus, the brushing unit operable to ruffle the feathers of the poultry carcasses and for removing debris from the carcasses.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.