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US 5,178,580 AGranted
Poultry leg boning apparatus
AssigneesGordex Corporation, Foodcraft Equipment Company
InventorMitsuaki Sekiguchi
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A poultry leg boning apparatus for removing meat from the upper and lower leg bones of a poultry leg. The apparatus includes a first, cutting machine for cutting open the meat of the poultry leg alone one side of the upper and lower leg bones, and a second, tendon cutting machine for removing the lower leg bone from the poultry leg. Also disclosed are methods for cutting open the meat of the poultry leg along one side of the upper and lower leg bones, and removing the meat from the lower leg bone.
Claims20
A poultry leg boning apparatus for removing meat from the upper and lower leg bones of a poultry leg, which comprises:
- (a) a cutting machine for cutting open the meat of the poultry leg along one side of the upper leg bone and the lower leg bone, including:
- first clamping means for clamping the ankle of the leg while allowing the leg to rotate around the ankle;
- first supporting means for supporting the leg;
- cutting means for cutting open the meat of the leg, which means includes a first cutting blade having a wedge-shaped cross section and a vertical cutting edge, a second cutting blade abutting against a first side of the cutting edge of the first cutting blade and slightly protruding from the cutting edge of the first cutting blade, and first driving means for vertically reciprocating the second cutting blade relative to the first cutting blade;
- first biasing means for biasing the leg against a second side of the cutting edge of the first cutting blade;
- second driving means for vertically moving the cutting means into and out of engagement with the meat of the leg;
- third driving means for horizontally moving the first clamping means;
- and
- restricting means for restricting rotation of the cutting means around a vertical axis when a force directed to the cutting edge of the first cutting blade is smaller than a predetermined magnitude, and permitting the rotation of the cutting means around the vertical axis when a force directed to the cutting edge of the first cutting blade is larger than the predetermined magnitude;
- (b) a tendon cutting machine for removing the lower leg bone from the poultry leg including:
- a rigid annular cutting blade having an annular cutting edge and a side away from the cutting edge;
- second supporting means for supporting the annular cutting blade rotatably around a central axis;
- fourth driving means for rotating the annular cutting blade around the central axis;
- second clamping means for clamping the ankle of the leg, which clamping means is disposed coaxially with the central axis of the annular cutting blade, and apart from the annular cutting blade toward the side away from the cutting edge;
- fifth driving means for generating a relative movement between the second clamping means and the annular cutting blade in the direction of the central axis of the annular cutting blade;
- and
- second biasing means for biasing the knee joint of the leg against the cutting edge of the annular cutting blade;
- and
- (c) a working table assembly disposed between the cutting machine and the tendon cutting machine including:
- conveying means for conveying the leg;
- and
- a working table.
19 more elements
A cutting machine for cutting open meat of a poultry leg along one side of the upper leg bone and the lower leg bone, which comprises:
- first clamping means for clamping the ankle of the leg while allowing the leg to rotate around the ankle;
- first supporting means for supporting the leg;
- cutting means for cutting open the meat of the leg, which means includes a first cutting blade having a wedge-shaped cross section and a vertical cutting edge, a second cutting blade abutting against a first side of the cutting edge of the first cutting blade and slightly protruding from the cutting edge of the first cutting blade, and first driving means for vertically reciprocating the second cutting blade relative to the first cutting blade;
- first biasing means for biasing the leg against a second side of the cutting edge of the first cutting blade;
- second driving means for vertically moving the cutting means into and out of engagement with the meat of the leg;
- third driving means for horizontally moving the first clamping means;
- and
- restricting means for restricting rotation of the cutting means around a vertical axis when a force directed to the cutting edge of the first cutting blade is smaller than a predetermined magnitude, and permitting the rotation of the cutting means around the vertical axis when a force directed to the cutting edge of the first cutting blade is larger than the predetermined magnitude.
5 more elements
A cutting machine for cutting open meat of a poultry leg along one side of the upper leg bone and the lower leg bone, which comprises:
- first clamping means for clamping the ankle of the leg while allowing the leg to rotate around the ankle;
- first supporting means for supporting the leg;
- cutting means for cutting open the meat of the leg, which means includes a first cutting blade having a wedge-shaped cross section and a vertical cutting edge, a second cutting blade abutting against a first side of the cutting edge of the first cutting blade and slightly protruding from the cutting edge of the first cutting blade, and first driving means for vertically reciprocating the second cutting blade relative to the first cutting blade;
- first biasing means for biasing the leg against a second side of the cutting edge of the first cutting blade;
- second driving means for vertically moving the cutting means into and out of engagement with the meat of the leg;
- third driving means for horizontally moving the cutting means;
- and
- restricting means for restricting rotation of the cutting means around a vertical axis when a force directed to the cutting edge of the first cutting blade is smaller than a predetermined magnitude, and permitting the rotation of the cutting means around the vertical axis when a force directed to the cutting edge of the first cutting blade is larger than the predetermined magnitude.
5 more elements
A method for removing meat from the lower leg bone of a poultry leg, which comprises:
- peeling the meat off the lower leg bone from an ankle thereof toward a knee joint thereof so as to make the meat connected only to the knee joint by meat-to-bone connecting tendon tissues;
- passing the lower leg bone through a rigid annular cutting blade which has a cutting edge extending along one of the annular side surfaces thereof, from said one of the annular side surfaces to the other, the ankle being directed in the direction of the movement of the lower leg bone;
- rotating the annular cutting blade around a central axis;
- and
- biasing the knee joint against the cutting edge of the rotating cutting blade.
2 more elements
A method for removing meat from the lower leg bone of a poultry leg, which comprises:
- peeling the meat off the lower leg bone from an ankle thereof toward a knee joint thereof so as to make the meat connected only to the knee joint by meat-to-bone connecting tendon tissues;
- passing the lower leg bone through a rigid annular cutting blade which has a cutting edge extending along one of the annular side surfaces thereof, from said one of the annular side surfaces to the other, the ankle being directed in the moving direction of the lower leg bone;
- rotating the annular cutting blade around the central axis;
- biasing the knee joint against the cutting edge of the rotating cutting blade;
- and
- reciprocally rotating the lower leg bone around a longitudinal axis thereof while passing through the annular cutting blade.
3 more elements
A method for cutting open meat along the upper and lower leg bones of a poultry leg, which comprises:
- clamping an ankle of the poultry leg while allowing the leg to rotate around its ankle;
- supporting the leg;
- bringing cutting means comprising a first wedge-shaped cutting blade and an adjacent second reciprocating cutting blade in engagement with the meat of the poultry leg, wherein the reciprocating blade protrudes slightly from a cutting edge of the first cutting blade;
- biasing the leg against the cutting edge of the first cutting blade;
- generating a relative movement between the cutting means and clamping means for clamping the leg while reciprocating the second cutting blade;
- and
- restricting the rotation of the cutting means around a vertical axis when a force directed to the cutting edge of the first cutting blade is smaller than a predetermined magnitude, and permitting the rotation of the cutting means around the vertical axis when the force directed to the cutting edge of the first cutting blade is larger than a predetermined magnitude, whereby the meat is cut open adjacent the upper and lower leg bones without chipping the bones.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.