Poultry breast cartilage harvesting system
OwnerAllan Todd Berry, Charles Thomas Pearsoninventors
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Apparatus for harvesting the cartilage connected to the breastbone on the skeletal portion of a poultry carcass including positioning means for positioning the breastbone for movement along a prescribed processing path and separating means for mechanically separating the cartilage from the breastbone as it moves along the processing path.
Claims19
Apparatus for removing the cartilage from the breastbone of the skeletal portion of a poultry carcass from which most of the meat has been removed in a deboning operation comprising:
- a) positioning means for positioning the breastbone of the poultry carcass for movement along a prescribed processing path with a prescribed orientation;
- and
- b) separating means operatively associated with said prescribed processing path for engaging the cartilage connected to the breastbone as the poultry carcass moves along said prescribed processing path with said prescribed orientation and mechanically separating the cartilage from the breastbone as the poultry carcass is moved along said prescribed processing path.
In apparatus for use in deboning poultry carcasses comprising a plurality of base support members interconnected so as to form an endless conveyor, a plurality of upstanding mandrel supports mounted on the support members, a vertically oriented support mandrel adapted to fit inside a poultry carcass to support same mounted on the upper end of each of the mandrel supports so that the support mandrels are moved along a prescribed linear processing path, and guides for stabilizing the base support members in vertical and transverse directions, the improvement comprising:
- cartilage harvesting means operatively associated with said support mandrels for separating the cartilage from the breastbone of the poultry carcass after the deboning operation and while the skeletal portion of the poultry carcasses are still supported on the support mandrels and moving along said prescribed linear processing path.
A method of harvesting the cartilage from the breastbone of the skeletal portion of a poultry carcass after removal of the meat therefrom comprising the step of:
- a) mechanically separating the cartilage from the breastbone along a separation plane located within the cartilage adjacent the juncture between the breastbone and the cartilage.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.