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US 2004/0192182 A1Published application
Wing tip feather puller
AssigneeTyson Foods, Inc.
InventorsBrandon C. Haley, Bobby Z. Haley, Marshall Vanderpool, William David Royall, Kelvin D. Lasse, James Allen Ruff
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention is a method and apparatus for removing feathers from a carcass, and more specifically is a method and apparatus for removing feathers from the wing tips of poultry. The method and apparatus comprises at least one wing tip puller which further comprises upper and lower wing guides and a pinch roller adjacent said wing guides where the upper and lower wing guides are designed to receive a wing therebetween and the wing guide is further designed to laterally present the wing tip to the pinch roller.
Claims31
A feather removing apparatus for removing feathers from a poultry carcass comprising:
- a pinch roller having a pair of adjacent roller elements and operably connected to a drive for effecting mutually opposite rotation of the roller elements and said pinch roller adapted to be mounted along and adjacent a poultry conveyor line;
- and
- a first and second elongated wing guide rod immediately adjacent one another and each having a first portion with a length extending substantially parallel to one another along a length of the pinch roller and mounted proximately adjacent said pinch roller and said first and second wing guide rods each having a second portion extending beyond the length of said pinch rollers where the second portions angle away from one another for receiving between said first and second guides an oncoming wing of a poultry carcass being conveyed on the conveyor line for presentation of a wing tip to the pinch roller.
A feather removing apparatus for removing feathers from a poultry carcass comprising:
- a frame having a pinch roller having a pair of adjacent rotatably mounted roller elements and mounted in said frame and where said frame is mounted adjacent a poultry conveyor line;
- a drive mounted on said frame and operably attached to said pinch roller for effecting mutually opposite rotation of the pair of roller elements;
- and
- an upper and lower elongated wing guide rod mounted to said frame and each of said upper and lower wing guide rods having a first portion with a length extending substantially parallel to one another along a length of the pinch roller adjacent said pinch rollers and each of said upper and lower wing guides having a second portion extending beyond the length of the frame where said second portions are angled outward away from one another for receiving between said upper and lower guides an oncoming wing of a poultry carcass being conveyed and for guiding and presenting a wing tip to the pinch roller for removing feathers from the wing tip.
1 more element
A feather removing apparatus for removing feathers from a poultry carcass comprising:
- a frame;
- a first elongated wing guide rod fixedly mounted to said frame and said guide having a first clamping portion and a first guide portion extending beyond the first clamping portion;
- and
- a second elongated wing guide rod immediately adjacent said first guide rod and having a second clamping portion extending substantially parallel said first guide rod first clamping portion and having a second guide portion extending beyond the length of the second clamping portion and angled away from said first guide portion for receiving between said first and second wing guides an oncoming wing of a carcass being conveyed and for presenting a wing tip to a pinch roller.
1 more element
A feather removing apparatus for removing feathers from a poultry carcass comprising:
- first and second guide rods immediately adjacent to one another and mounted along and adjacent a poultry conveyor line and extending substantially parallel with each other and each having multiple coincident bends varying the first and second guide rods angle of extension for varying the orientation of a wing being conveyed between said first and second guide;
- and
- a pinch roller mounted adjacent the guide rods.
A method for removing feathers from a poultry carcass comprising the steps of:
- capturing between an upper and lower wing guide rod a wing of a poultry carcass being conveyed adjacently along the length of the wing guides;
- slidably translating the wing along the length of the wing guide and between the upper and lower wing guides and adjacent pinch rollers as the carcass is conveyed;
- varying the position and orientation of the wing a plurality of times such that the wing tip is presented to the pinch roller with multiple orientations;
- and
- capturing and pulling away from the wing any feathers remaining thereon with the pinch roller.
2 more elements
A method for removing feathers from a poultry carcass comprising the steps of:
- slidably translating a wing of a poultry carcass between a first and a second immediately adjacent wing guide rods along the length of the wing guide rods, and adjacent a pinch roller where the guide rods have a plurality of lateral coincident varying angular bends with respect to the pinch rollers creating coincident segments in the guide rods;
- and
- positioning and orienting a plurality of times the wing of the carcass by translating the wing along the segments of the guide rods between the bends.
A method for removing feathers from a poultry carcass comprising the steps of:
- conveying a carcass hanging from a shackle having left and right wings laterally extending from either side with respect to its path of conveyance;
- receiving the left and right wings between left and right upper and lower immediately adjacent wing guide rod pairs;
- translating the left and right wings along the length of the upper and lower wing guide pairs respectively and adjacent upper and lower mutually opposite rotating pinch rollers respectively;
- and
- capturing and pulling away from the wing any feathers remaining on the left and right wing tips with the upper and lower pinch rollers.
2 more elements
A feather removing apparatus for removing feathers from a poultry carcass comprising:
- a poultry conveyor line having a shackle line chain operable to convey a plurality of shackles hanging therefrom along a conveyance path and said conveyor line having a 90° bend just prior to a pinch roller mounted adjacent said conveyor line;
- a corner sprocket wheel positioned at the 90° bend of the conveyor line, and said corner sprocket wheel operatively connected to said line chain for effecting rotation of said corner sprocket and having at least one rod perpendicularly extending from a side of the sprocket wheel;
- an upper and a lower sprocket wheel having the rod perpendicularly extending therethrough and attached along the perpendicularly extending rod for transferring rotation from the corner sprocket to the upper and lower sprocket wheels and said upper and lower sprocket wheels having a plurality of notches about their circumference and said upper and lower sprocket wheels positioned along the perpendicularly extending rod for receiving therein the plurality of shackles, tilting and turning said shackles;
- and
- said pinch roller having a pair of adjacent roller elements and operably connected to a drive for effecting mutually opposite rotation of the roller elements and said pinch roller adapted to be mounted along and adjacent the poultry conveyor line.
2 more elements
A feather removing apparatus for removing feathers from a poultry carcass comprising:
- a corner sprocket wheel adapted to be mounted at a 90° bend in a conveyor line and connected to a conveyor shackle line chain for effecting rotation of the corner sprocket;
- and
- at least one rod extending perpendicularly from said corner sprocket and extending perpendicularly through an upper and lower sprocket wheel where said upper and lower sprocket wheel is mounted thereto for effecting rotation of the upper and lower sprocket wheel and said upper and lower wheels having a plurality of notches about their circumference for receiving therein the shackles of the conveyor shackle line, tilting and turning said shackles.
A method for removing feathers from a poultry carcass comprising:
- conveying a poultry carcass hanging in a poultry shackle along a conveyor line with a shackle line chain operatively attached to a shank of the shackle around a 90° bend in the conveyor line towards a pinch roller where conveying around a 90° bend further comprises the steps of:
- conveying around a corner sprocket wheel operatively connected to the shackle line chain for effecting rotation of the corner sprocket and operatively connected to an upper and lower sprocket wheel by at least one rod extending perpendicularly from said corner sprocket and extending perpendicularly through the upper and lower sprocket;
- bumping a leading edge of shackle with the lower sprocket wheel and starting rotation;
- establishing a pivot point on the shank of the shackle by receiving the shank in a notch of an upper sprocket wheel having a diameter extending beyond a vertical hang line of the shank causing the shank shackle and carcass to cant outward for effecting rotation of the shackle;
- and
- stopping rotation with a flattened side of a notch in lower wheel.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.