Dark meat deboner with leg scraper
AssigneesFoodcraft Holdings, Inc., Gordex Corporation
InventorsEugene Martin, Scott Cook
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus for deboning a chicken leg includes a conveyor for holding the leg by the hock, a plunge knife device for severing the knee joint and pulling the femur from the thigh meat, a cutting device for severing the tendons at the hock of the leg, and a scraper for pulling the drumstick meat along the tibia and fibia toward the knee. The scraping mechanism includes a laterally movable carriage supporting at least one pair of jaws having notches along their edges to clear the leg bones, a first air cylinder for closing and opening the jaws, and a second air cylinder for moving the carriage away from the hock-restraining conveyor.
Claims14
An apparatus for removing the bones from a poultry leg which has been prepared by making a lengthwise cut along the inside of the leg, along the femur and tibia, and a transverse cut through only the inside of the knee joint, comprising
- means for holding the drumstick portion of the leg by the hock,
- means for severing the knee joint, and pulling the femur out of the thigh meat through the lengthwise cut,
- means for severing the hock joint tendons above the hock, and
- a scraping mechanism for separating the meat from the bones of a chicken leg drumstick, said scraping mechanism comprising
- a carriage movable toward and away from the hock holding means,
- at least one pair of jaws, supported by said carriage, and movable toward and away from one another,
- means for opening and closing said jaws upon said leg adjacent the hock, and
- means for moving the carriage away from the holding means, to pull the drumstick meat along the bones, away from the hock.
A scraping mechanism for separating the meat from the bones of a chicken leg drumstick, comprising
- a conveyor movable longitudinally in a first direction and having means for holding the hock joint of the leg,
- a carriage movable laterally along a second direction substantially perpendicular to said first direction toward and away from the holding means,
- at least one pair of jaws, supported by said carriage, and movable toward and away from one another,
- means for opening and closing said jaws upon said leg adjacent the hock, and
- mans for moving the carriage away from the holding means, to pull the drumstick meat along said bones, away from the hock.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.