Shrimp processing method and device

A method for processing shrimp comprising the steps of:

• singulating the shrimp to pass ins ingle file by passing the same substantially horizontally through an opening which will pass only one shrimp at a time,
• orienting the singulated shrimp to be positioned in a tail-down direction by means of dropping the shrimp one at a time onto a diverging sloped slot,
• passing the thus-oriented shrimp into a vertical stream of fluid,
• impinging a horizontal faster stream of fluid on the subject shrimp adjacent a fulcrum,
• severing the head from the tail fo the shrimp at the fulcrum by impacting the same with fluid travelling at a greater rate than the shrimp is fed to the fulcrum,
• thereafter shaping the flow with a relieved lower recess to direct the tail upwardly,
• and thereafter separating the heads and tails.

A shrimp processor, comprising, in combination,

• a tank,
• a hydraulic singulator orientor having a feedway portion for feeding shrimp into said tank full of fluid,
• a conical cutaway trap interiorly of the tank in which shrimp can drop down the trap whereupon they will naturally present themselves tail down,
• means for removing the shrimp from the tank in the thus-oriented fashion and for directing the same to a decapitator,
• a decapitator,
• and means for separating the heads from the tails after the shrimp have exited the decapitator.

An hydraulic singulator and orientor for use with a hydraulic decapitator having a velocity head for processing shrimp and equivalent crustation comprising, in combination,

• a central sink chamber of relatively stagnant fluid,
• an outer fluid supply chamber having a head of fluid greater than the head of fluid in the sink chamber and surrounding the sink chamber,
• means for defining said chambers in the form of walls which are imperforate and impervious to leakage of the fluids contained,
• and means defining an annulus at the lower portion of the sink chamber and the outer fluid supply chamber to provide for a narrow band of fluid to pass downwardly into the velocity head of a decapitator.

A shrimp decapitator comprising, in combination

• a hydraulic conduit which receives oriented shrimp oriented tail down and in single file,
• said decapitator having a vertical flow downward of lower velocity fluid and a horizontal flow of higher velocity fluid and the fulcrum at the junction of the pathway of said fluids,
• pneumatic means for controlling the flow of fluid in the feed pipe to the decapitator comprising a connection to the venturi portion of the decapitator at the intersection of the slow fluid and the fast fluid,
• valve means permitting air from zero quantity to maximum acceptable to enter into the venturi portion,
• and a flow shaper relieved section in the horizontal flow pathway beneath the fulcrum to direct the shrimp tail upwardly.

For use with a shrimp processor,

• an indexer/orientor for receiving shrimp one at a time comprising, in combination,
• an indexer pan having a V-shaped slot in its central portion,
• a pair of diverging beams oriented beneath the indexer pan for receiving shrimp that are dropped from the pan,
• said beams being secured in spaced relationship to each other and defining a constantly opening slot therebetween,
• and means for vibrating the combination of the indexer pan and the diverging beams to constantly urge the shrimp toward the end of the beams where the slot is widest.

A shrimp decapitator comprising, in combination

• a hydraulic means for supplying shrimp in a stream of water oriented tail down, and substantially in single file,
• a vertical channel for receiving said oriented shrimp in said stream of water and delivering said oriented shrimp to a fulcrum located at a junction at the outlet of said vertical channel and a horizontal channel having a flow of water therein at a higher velocity than said vertical channel, said vertical channel having a diverging flow cross-sectional area,
• a flow shaper relieved section in the horizontal flow channel to direct the tail of said shrimp upwardly with the entrance of said flow shaper substantially below said fulcrum and the remainder of said flow shaper being located downstream of said fulcrum,
• relief means in said vertical channel for accommodating the feelers of said shrimp passing through said vertical channel so as to maintain the orientation of said shrimp therewithin and as the tail portion of the shrimp rotates around the fulcrum.

A method for processing shrimp comprising the steps of,

• singulating the shrimp to pass essentially single file downwardly in a vertical feed tube,
• passing fluid into the vertical feed tube at a rate sufficient to permit the shrimp to flow downwardly tail first,
• passing a second stream essentially perpendicular to the first stream,
• positioning a fulcrum at the intersection between the vertical stream and the horizontal stream,
• and adjusting the pressure of the horizontal stream to at least 15 psi,
• and optimally increasing said pressure in the range of 2-3 psi to cause the shell on the body of the shrimp to easily separate therefrom.