Automatic foot and hoof shear

An automatic hoof shearing device comprising:

• a base adapted for mounting near a carcass rail;
• a frame mounted on the base;
• a shearing assembly mounted on the frame, the shearing assembly including at least one shearing blade movable in a shearing plane between an open and a closed shearing position, the shearing assembly defining a shearing region and the shearing plane being parallel to the carcass rail and tilted at an angle of greater than zero and less than ninety degrees relative to the horizontal;
• a carcass position sensor producing a signal indicating the presence of a carcass with a hoof in the shearing region;
• and
• a shearing blade driver responsively connected to the carcass position sensor for moving the shearing assembly from the open to the closed position to shear the hoof from the carcass.

An automatic hoof shearing device comprising:

• a base adapted for mounting near a carcass rail;
• a frame mounted on the base;
• a shearing assembly mounted on the frame, the shearing assembly including at least one shearing blade movable in a shearing plane between an open and a closed shearing position, the shearing assembly defining a shearing region with a width sufficient to receive two hooves for simultaneous shearing;
• a carcass position sensor producing a signal indicating the presence of a carcass with a hoof in the shearing region;
• and
• a shearing blade driver responsively connected to the carcass position sensor for moving the shearing assembly from the open to the closed position to shear the hoof from the carcass.

An automatic hoof shearing device comprising:

• a base adapted for mounting near a carcass rail;
• a frame mounted on the base;
• a shearing assembly mounted on the frame, the shearing assembly including at least one shearing blade movable in a shearing plane between an open and a closed shearing position, the shearing assembly defining a shearing region between a pair of opposed support plates mounted perpendicular to the shearing plane, each support plate having a cutout defining an open end of the shearing region to form a pass-through shearing region that is substantially unobstructed in a direction parallel to the carcass rail;
• a carcass position sensor producing a signal indicating the presence of a carcass with a hoof in the shearing region;
• and
• a shearing blade driver responsively connected to the carcass position sensor for moving the shearing assembly from the open to the closed position to shear the hoof from the carcass.

An automatic hoof shearing device comprising:

• a base having a set of slide rails, the base being adapted for mounting near a carcass rail;
• a frame slidably mounted on the base slide rails, the frame including a second set of slide rails oriented perpendicular to the base slide rails;
• a shearing assembly including a pair of opposed support plates slidably mounted on the frame slide rails and a pair of opposed shearing blades, at least one of the shearing blades being mounted to slide in a shearing plane perpendicular to the support plates between an open and a closed shearing position, the shearing assembly defining a pass-through shearing region unobstructed by the support plates;
• a frame driver connected between the frame and the base for sliding the frame along the base slide rails;
• a shearing assembly driver connected between the shearing assembly and the frame for sliding the shearing assembly along the frame slide rails;
• a hoof position sensing assembly producing signals indicating the vertical and horizontal position of a hoof on a carcass approaching the shearing region, the frame driver and shearing assembly driver being responsively connected to the hoof position sensing assembly to slide the frame and shearing assembly along the slide rails to position the cutting plane to a desired location relative to the hoof on the approaching carcass;
• a carcass position sensor producing a signal indicating the arrival of a carcass with a hoof in the shearing region;
• a shearing blade driver responsively connected to the carcass position sensor for moving the shearing blades from the open to the closed position to shear the hoof from the carcass.