Automated leg shear with bi-directional cutting arm

An apparatus for automatically shearing a leg from a carcass wherein the carcass leg projects substantially parallel to the carcass rail comprising:

• a support structure adapted for mounting near a carcass rail;
• an arm having a first end and a second end, said first end being swingedly attached to said support structure;
• a shearing assembly attached to said second end of said arm, said shearing assembly including at least one shearing blade movable in a vertically oriented shearing plane between an open shearing position and a closed shearing position, said shearing plane being substantially perpendicular to the carcass rail;
• a shearing blade driver for moving said shearing assembly from an open shearing position to a closed shearing position to shear the leg from the carcass;
• a first arm driver operatively connected to said arm for moving said arm substantially perpendicular to the carcass rail between a first predetermined location and second predetermined location adjacent the carcass rail;
• and
• a second arm driver operatively connected to said arm for moving said arm substantially parallel to the carcass rail and toward the moving carcass on the carcass rail, said second arm driver moving said arm in the same direction of movement of the moving carcass and at a rate of speed greater than the rate of speed of the moving carcass, said second arm driver continually moving said arm toward the carcass as said shearing assembly shears the leg off the carcass, said second arm driver moving said arm substantially parallel to the carcass rail and away from the carcass after the leg is sheared off the carcass.

An apparatus for automatically shearing a leg from a carcass moving on a carcass rail wherein the carcass leg projects substantially parallel to the carcass rail comprising:

• a support structure adapted for mounting near a carcass rail;
• an arm having a first end and a second end, said first end being swingedly attached to said support structure;
• a shearing assembly attached to said second end of said arm, said shearing assembly including at least one shearing blade movable in a vertically oriented shearing plane between an open shearing position and a closed shearing position, said shearing plane being substantially perpendicular to the carcass rail;
• a shearing blade driver for moving said shearing assembly from an open shearing position to a closed shearing position so as to shear the leg from the carcass;
• a first arm driver operatively connected to said arm for moving said arm substantially perpendicular to the carcass rail between a first predetermined location and second predetermined location adjacent the carcass rail;
• a second arm driver operatively connected to said arm for moving said arm substantially parallel to the carcass rail and toward the carcass on the carcass rail, said second arm driver moving said arm at a rate of speed greater than the rate of speed of the carcass moving on the carcass rail, said arm continually moving toward the carcass as the shearing assembly shears the leg off the carcass, said second arm driver moving said arm substantially parallel to the carcass rail and away from the carcass after the leg is sheared off the carcass;
• and
• a control system connected to control said first and second arm drivers and said shearing blade driver to move said arm to a predetermined positions relative to the carcass rail, move said shearing assembly from the open shearing position to the closed shearing position to shear the leg from the carcass, and position said arm to said first predetermined location.

An apparatus for automatically shearing a leg from a carcass moving on a carcass rail wherein the carcass leg projects substantially perpendicular to the carcass rail comprising:

• a support structure adapted for mounting near the carcass rail;
• an arm having a first end and a second end, said first end being pivotally attached to said support structure in a manner such that said arm swings along a first swing axis that is substantially perpendicular to the carcass rail and between a first predetermined location and a second predetermined location adjacent the carcass rail, and a second swing axis that is substantially parallel to the carcass rail and in the direction of the moving carcass;
• a shearing assembly attached to said second end of said arm, said shearing assembly including at least one shearing blade movable in a vertically oriented shearing plane between an open shearing position and a closed shearing position, said shearing plane being substantially parallel to the carcass rail;
• a shearing blade driver for moving said shearing assembly from an open shearing position to a closed shearing position to shear the leg from the carcass;
• an arm driver for moving said arm along said first swing axis, said arm pivoting along said second swing axis if said shearing assembly becomes entangled with the moving carcass;
• a control system to control said shearing blade driver and said arm driver to move said shearing assembly from the open shearing position to the closed shearing position to shear the leg from the carcass, to retract said arm so as to position said arm to said first predetermined location;
• and
• a deactivation sensor connected to said control system for producing a signal which causes the deactivation of said apparatus and said carcass rail when said arm moves a predetermined distance along said second swing axis.