Shrimp peeling machine and method

A shrimp processing machine comprising:

• a conveyor means for transporting shrimp at a constant speed to a location where shrimp is to be removed from said conveyor means;
• a plurality of processing stations for processing shrimp removed from said conveyor means including shrimp cutting and shrimp meat removal stations;
• four shrimp clamp means for receiving and moving shrimp to be processed to and through said processing stations;
• deflector means disposed between adjacent clamping means for deflecting shrimp being processed from falling into said machine;
• said shrimp meat removal means including a shrimp removal picker;
• means for adjusting said shrimp removal picker including an elliptical shaped pulley fastened to one of two ends of a cam shaft;
• a cam fixed to the remaining cam shaft end;
• a second drive shaft having a second pulley thereon;
• belt means connecting said elliptical pulley and second pulley;
• and,
• adjustment means for adjusting said second pulley relative to said second drive shaft whereby said elliptical pulley, cam and shrimp meat removal means are adjusted to a desired position.

Apparatus for adjusting shrimp meat removal means in a shrimp processing machine which includes a shrimp processing station for cutting said shrimp and shell and a shrimp meat removal station for removing shrimp meat from the shell, said shrimp meat removal station including;

• a shrimp meat removal means;
• means for adjusting said shrimp removal means, including an elliptical shaped pulley fastened to a rotatable cam shaft;
• a cam fixed to said shaft;
• a second drive shaft having a second pulley thereon;
• belt means connecting said elliptical shaped pulley and said second pulley;
• and,
• adjustment means for adjusting said second pulley relative to said second shaft whereby said elliptical shaped pulley, cam and shrimp meat removal means are adjusted to a desired position.

Apparatus in accordance with claim 21 and further including a U-shaped member disposed on said second shaft;

• said U-shaped member having a pair of spaced legs and a plurality of projections;
• said second pulley having a plurality of bores to receive said projections;
• and,
• a fastener means for releasably securing said legs in a locked position for fixing said pulley on said second shaft.

The method of processing a plurality of shrimp to be peeled according to the steps of:

• depositing a plurality of shrimp onto a conveyor means traveling at a constant speed and in a substantially linear path;
• transporting said shrimp on said conveyor means to a shrimp transport assembly comprising a plurality of shrimp clamping means assemblies, each assembly being spaced at least 90.degree. to another assembly, said shrimp clamping means assemblies being rotatable in a circular path where the plane of said circular path is at substantially 90.degree. to said linear path of said shrimp on said conveyor means;
• activating said clamping means whereby said clamping means clamps the tail of a shrimp on said conveyor means;
• and
• removing said shrimp from said conveyor means;
• clamping the tail and the sides of a shrimp in one of said clamping means assemblies prior to cutting the shell of said shrimp;
• and
• transporting said shrimp in said clamping means assemblies past a plurality of stations whereby the shrimp shell is cut and shrimp meat is removed from the shrimp shell.