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US 4,361,933 AGranted
Method of shucking scallops and an apparatus therefor
AssigneeCanadian Patents and Development Limited
InventorsWilliam K. Rodman, Peter de St. Denys Prevost
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Scallops are shucked by being placed on scallop cradles moving along an endless flexible member and a hinged portion of the scallop shell and an opposed portion thereto are sawn from the remainder, to expose the interior, while the scallops are held in the cradles by an endless flexible member. The sawn scallops are then held in the cradles by clamping fingers engaging the bottom shells so that when the shells are inverted a high pressure water jet severs the muscle allowing what was the top shell to fall away, then a series of low pressure water jets detach the viscera and roe, followed by a high pressure fan jet which detaches the muscle.
Claims10
A method of shucking scallops, comprising:
- (a) placing unshucked scallops on scallop cradles distributed along the length of, and attached to a moving, endless flexible member, with the hinged portion of the shell of each of the scallops overhanging one side of the cradle on which it is placed and an edge portion of the shell, opposing the hinged portion, overhanging the other side of that cradle,
- (b) clamping a central portion of each unshucked scallop while that scallop passes a saw cutting position,
- (c) making two parallel saw cuts to each of the clamped, unshucked scallops to cut and remove the overhanging portion thereof from the remainder and expose the shell interior, then
- (d) clamping, by fingers entering the exposed shell interior, only the bottom, sawn shell of each scallop to the cradle it is on prior to and while that scallop is inverted, with muscle thereon, on a second side of the loop of the endless flexible member, then
- (e) directing a high pressure, pencil, water jet into the shell interior, and towards what was the hinged side of the scallop, to sever muscle of that scallop from the unclamped, scallop top shell and allow the unclamped, scallop top shell thus detached to fall away and expose the viscera and roe, then
- (f) directing a series of low pressure fan jets of water at the viscera and roe to detach and remove the viscera and roe and expose the muscle, then
- (g) directing a high pressure fan jet of water which substantially conforms to the interior curvature of the shell, to sever and remove the exposed muscle from the shell, then
- (h) unclamping the bottom, sawn shell of the scallop from the cradle to which it was clamped to allow that bottom, sawn shell to fall away from that cradle.
5 more elements
A scallop shucking apparatus, comprising:
- (a) an endless flexible member,
- (b) scallop cradles distributed along the length of the endless flexible member, and attached thereto, for each receiving an unshucked scallop thereon with a hinged portion of the shell thereof overhanging one side of the cradle on which it is placed and an edge portion of the shell, opposing the hinged portion, overhanging the other side of that cradle,
- (c) mounting means around which the endless flexible member is looped so that each of the cradles on a first side of the loop faces upwardly for receiving the scallop thereon,
- (d) driving means for driving the endless flexible member around the mounting means,
- (e) clamping means for clamping a central portion of each unshucked scallop to the cradle therefor only while that scallop passes a saw cutting position,
- (f) two drivable parallel, saw blades at the scallop cutting position for cutting and removing the overhanging portions of each scallop shell from the remainder and exposing the shell interior,
- (g) clamping fingers for entering opposite sides of the scallop and clamping only the bottom, sawn shell of each scallop to the cradle it is on prior to and while that scallop is inverted on a second side of the loop of the endless flexible member, and, in the direction for movement of the endless flexible member,
- (h) a water jet nozzle for connection to a source of high pressure water for directing a pencil jet of high pressure water into the shell interior, and towards what was the hinged side of the scallop, to sever muscle of that scallop from the unclamped, scallop top shell and allow the unclamped, scallop top shell thus detached to fall away and expose the viscera and roe, followed by
- (i) a series of low pressure fan jet nozzles for connection to a source of low pressure water for directing a series of low pressure fan jets for detaching and removing the viscera and row and exposing the muscle and then
- (j) a high pressure fan jet nozzle for connection to a high pressure water source for directing a high pressure fan jet which substantially conforms to the interior curvature of the shell for severing and removing the exposed muscle from the shell.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.