# US 9,775,360 B2 · Meat shredder

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- Number: US 9,775,360 B2
- Document ID: US9775360B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 14/858,454
- Filed: 2015-09-18
- Published: 2017-03-23
- Granted: 2017-10-03
- Earliest claimed: 2015-09-18
- Assignees: Somerset Industries, Inc.
- Applicants: Somerset Industries, Inc.
- Inventors: Andrew D Voyatzakis; George Athanasiadis
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9775360B2

## CPC

- A22C 17/0026: {Mincing and grinding meat (mincing machines B02C18/30)}
- B02C 18/18: Knives; Mountings thereof
- B02C 18/2291: {Feed chute arrangements}
- B02C 18/28: with spiked cylinders
- B02C 2018/147: {of the plural stage type}
- B02C 2018/188: {Stationary counter-knives; Mountings thereof}
- A22C: PROCESSING MEAT, POULTRY, OR FISH (preserving A23B; obtaining protein compositions for foodstuffs A23J1/00; fish, meat or poultry preparations A23L; disintegrating, e.g. chopping meat, B02C18/00; preparation of proteins C07K1/00)
- B02C: CRUSHING, PULVERISING, OR DISINTEGRATING IN GENERAL; MILLING GRAIN ({household tools and machines for pulverising foodstuffs, e.g. coffee and spice mills A47J42/00; pharmaceutical mortars A61J3/02; mechanical processing of refuse and garbage B03B9/06; dressing mould materials by grinding B22C5/04}; obtaining metallic powder by crushing, grinding or milling B22F9/04; {recovery of plastics by disintegrating B29B17/00; crushing raw materials in starch making C08B30/02; beaters for papermaking D21D1/02; crushing devices specially for transport in mines E21F13/002; slag crushing devices F23J1/00; fuel milling devices in combustion apparatus F23K1/00; household devices for crushing coal F24B15/02; ice disintegrating devices F25C5/02})

## Abstract

An apparatus for shredding meat with a hopper and a frame. The hopper has upper and lower rotor assemblies mounted to rotate horizontally within a shredding region. Each rotor assembly is composed of an arbor and fingers arranged in paraxial rows around the arbor. Four rows of pegs extend horizontally into the shredding region. A front row and a back row are each 0.75 inch above and below, respectively, the upper rotor assembly. A back row and a front row are each 0.75 inch above and below, respectively the lower rotor assembly. The hopper is suspended in the frame, which houses the drive mechanism that rotates the rotor assemblies in opposite directions. The upper rotor assembly pushes product dropped into the shredding region into the upper back row to shred the product. The lower rotor assembly pushes the shredded product into the lower front row to further shred the product.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A meat shredder comprising:
(a) a frame having a right stand and a left stand attached together and spaced apart by a plurality of crossbars to form a hopper space between the right stand and the left stand;
(b) a hopper suspended within the hopper space and having a front wall, a back wall, a right side wall, a left side wall, a top opening, and a bottom opening defining a shredding region, the shredding region having a depth that is the distance between the front wall and back wall;
(c) an upper rotor assembly mounted to rotate horizontally within the shredding region between the right side wall and the left side wall, the upper rotor assembly including an upper arbor with an upper rotor assembly axis and a plurality of upper fingers extending radially from the upper arbor and arranged in a plurality of paraxial upper rows spaced around the upper arbor;
(d) a lower rotor assembly mounted to rotate horizontally within the shredding region between the right side wall and the left side wall, the lower rotor assembly including a lower arbor with a lower rotor assembly axis and a plurality of lower fingers extending radially from the lower arbor and arranged in a plurality of paraxial lower rows spaced around the lower arbor, the lower rotor assembly vertically aligned with and spaced from the upper rotor assembly;
(e) an upper back row of pegs extending horizontally from the back wall into the shredding region and vertically spaced below the upper rotor assembly axis by at least 0.25 inch, the pegs being space apart such that the fingers of the upper rotor assembly travel between the pegs as the upper rotor assembly rotates;
(f) a lower front row of pegs extending horizontally from the front wall into the shredding region and vertically spaced below the lower rotor assembly axis by at least 0.25 inch, the pegs being space apart such that the fingers of the lower rotor assembly travel between the pegs as the lower rotor assembly rotates;
(g) a drive mechanism for rotating the upper rotor assembly and the lower rotor assembly in opposite directions;
(h) whereby the upper rotor assembly rotates to push product dropped into the top opening against the upper back row of pegs, thereby shredding the product, the product dropping to the lower rotor assembly that pushes the product against the lower front row of pegs to further shred the product, the product dropping out of the bottom opening.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The meat shredder of claim 1 further comprising:
(a) an upper front row of pegs extending horizontally from the front wall into the shredding region and vertically spaced above the upper rotor assembly axis by at least 0.25 inch, the pegs being space apart such that the fingers of the upper rotor assembly travel between the pegs as the upper rotor assembly rotates; and
(b) a lower back row of pegs extending horizontally from the back wall into the shredding region and vertically spaced above the lower rotor assembly axis by at least 0.25 inch, the pegs being space apart such that the fingers of the lower rotor assembly travel between the pegs as the lower rotor assembly rotates.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The meat shredder of claim 2 wherein the hopper, pegs, and fingers are composed of stainless steel.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The meat shredder of claim 1 wherein the upper rows of fingers are spaced evenly around the upper arbor and the lower rows of fingers are spaced evenly around the lower arbor.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The meat shredded of claim 1 wherein a largest diameter of the upper rotor assembly and a largest diameter of the lower rotor assembly is slightly smaller than a depth of the shredding region.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The meat shredder of claim 1 wherein the hopper is formed by a front shell and a back shell pivotally attached at a pivot point adjacent to the bottom opening, wherein the hopper has an open position wherein the shredding region is accessible and a closed position retained by a shell closure.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The meat shredder of claim 6 wherein the upper rotor assembly and the lower rotor assembly are removable when the hopper is in the open position.

### Claim 8 (depends on 6)

The meat shredder of claim 6 wherein the front shell and back shell are separable when the hopper is in the open position.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The meat shredder of claim 1 wherein the hopper, pegs, and fingers are composed of stainless steel.