US 6,146,263 AGranted

Apparatus and method for cleaning poultry

AssigneeRhodia Inc.

InventorsCharles R. Mostoller, Fritz Norbury

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Abstract

An apparatus is provided for cleaning poultry carcasses having a cavity. A plurality of cleaning heads are spaced about a sprayer carousel that is rotatably mounted upon a vertical shaft. The cleaning heads are mounted upon a plurality of vertically oriented guide rails which are spaced about the sprayer carousel. A circumferential cam is fixedly connected to the vertical shaft inside the sprayer carousel. A cam follower connected to each cleaning head follows the profile of the cam, displacing the cleaning head vertically along the guide rails. A conveyor transports the carcasses sequentially into and out of engagement with the sprayer carousel and an indexing member maintains each of the carcasses in alignment with one of the cleaning heads. In response to relative movement between the fixed cam and the rotatable sprayer carousel the cam follower of each cleaning head follows the circumferential profile of the cam. In this way each cleaning head is inserted into the internal cavity of the carcass where the probe is maintained for a dwell period before being withdrawn from the internal cavity.

An apparatus for cleaning a plurality of poultry carcasses, comprising:

(a) a vertical shaft;
(b) a sprayer carousel rotatably mounted upon said shaft, comprising a plurality of vertically-oriented guide rails spaced about said sprayer carousel;
(c) a circumferential cam fixedly connected to said shaft radially spaced from said guide rails, said cam having a circumferential profile including an upper dwell portion extending for at least approximately thirty degrees of the circumference of said cam, an angled insertion portion, a lower dwell portion, and an angled retraction portion;
(d) a conveyor for transporting the carcasses sequentially into and out of engagement with said sprayer carousel;
(e) a plurality of probes in said carousel, each of said probes engaging at least one of said guide rails, and being vertically displaceable along said one guide rail, each of said probes comprising:
(i) a guide block engaging said one guide rail;
(ii) an elongated conduit connected at one end to said guide block and extending parallel to said guide rail for registry with the internal cavity of a carcass;
(iii) a nozzle connected to the distal end of said conduit;
(iv) a cam follower engaging said cam;
(f) an indexing member maintaining the first of the carcasses in alignment with a first of said probes;
(g) a fluid supply providing fluid to said probes;
and
(h) a fluid controller for controlling the flow of cleaning fluid from said fluid supply to said probes so that there is an absence of spray while the cam follower engages the lower dwell portion of the cam;
wherein in response to relative movement between said sprayer carousel and said cam, said follower of each probe follows the circumferential profile of said cam, thereby displacing each probe along said guide rails from an extracted position external of the carcass, to an inserted position within the internal cavity of the carcass, where the probe is maintained for a dwell period before being withdrawn to the extracted position.

11 more elements

Abstract

Claims20