Total bone removal system
OwnerRay G. Wadsworthinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A total bone removal system is disclosed wherein the apparatus and method for a bone removal and filleting process for decapitated fish, including removal of pin bones, is described. The apparatus has a jig and vacuum supports for securing a fish, and a traversable blade assembly for cutting the fish.
Claims17
An apparatus for removing bones from flesh in a fish body comprising a jig for supporting the fish, a stabilizer connected to the jig for stabilizing the fish on the jig, and a blade assembly movable relative to the jig for separating the bones from the flesh, wherein the blade assembly further comprises a cutter body having pin bone blades positioned on the cutter body for penetrating a length of the fish body for separating flesh from pin bones, dorsal blades supported on the cutter body above the pin bone blades for cutting fish along a dorsal fin and dorsal bones, hinged rib bone blades connected to the cutter body for separating rib bones from surrounding flesh without cutting the rib bones, and actuatable drop blades mounted on the cutter body for movement of the drop blades through the fish.
An apparatus for removing bones from a fish comprising a base, a support structure extending vertically upwards from the base, a cantilevered spine support extending in a generally horizontal direction from the support structure, a pair of rib blade guides connected to the support structure, a pair of jaw-toothed blades movably attached to the base, a pair of vacuum supports hingedly connected to the base, a blade assembly comprising a horizontal cutter body having leading edges, a pair of upper pin bone blades connected to the cutter body, a pair of lower pin bone blades connected to upper pin bone blades, tubes connected to ends of the lower pin bone blades and the upper pin bone blades, rotary pin bone ligament cutters extending from the tubes, a pair of upper rib blades hingedly connected to the lower pin bone blades, a pair of lower curved rib blades hingedly connected to upper rib blades, a pair of circular dorsal blades mounted on leading edges of the cutter body and a pair of drop blades mounted near the leading edges of the cutter body, and wherein relatively moving the support structure and the blade assembly blades moves the blades and the fish.
A method of filleting and deboning and separating flesh and bones from a decapitated fish comprising securing a decapitated fish to a support jig, actuating supports and fastening the supports to both sides of the fish, actuating a device for cutting away pelvic fins and bone structure, inserting back-cutting blades on both sides of a dorsal fin and an upper vertical bone array through flesh at a removed head end, inserting pin bone blades immediately above and below pin bone arrays, inserting cutters for severing ligaments at outer skin ends of the pin bone arrays while passing the pin bone blades along the length of the pin bone arrays for cutting the flesh away from the pin bones, inserting upper blades above rib bones, inserting lower blades outside of the rib bones and cutting the flesh away from the rib bones, while moving the upper and lower blades through guides for causing the lower blades to follow a diminishing profile of the rib bones, inserting drop blades to the rear of the pin bone arrays and passing the drop blades diagonally next to the backbone until the drop blades protrude through the lower skin near the anal fins opening and then pass out of a tail of the fish, on completion of the blade insertions actuating the supports and moving the supports apart, pulling fillets away from the backbone, pin bone arrays and rib bones, removing the backbone, pin bone arrays, rib bones and fins from the support jig, removing fillets from supports and folding the fillets together or cutting along a belly flap into two fillets, and packaging the fillets.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.