WO2000024263A1

WO2000024263A1 - Installation for removing organs, such as lungs and kidneys, by suction from slaughtered chickens or other poultry

Info

Publication number: WO2000024263A1
Application number: PCT/NL1999/000665
Authority: WO
Inventors: Edward Johannes Tieleman
Original assignee: Tieleman Food Equipment BV
Current assignee: Tieleman Food Equipment BV
Priority date: 1998-10-28
Filing date: 1999-10-28
Publication date: 2000-05-04
Anticipated expiration: 2001-04-28
Also published as: AU1188700A; NL1010411C2

Abstract

An installation for removing organs, such as lungs and kidneys, by suction from slaughtered chickens or other poultry comprises suspension brackets (4), arranged some distance apart, from which the chickens can be suspended with their legs upward, conveyor means (6) for moving the suspension brackets, a processing station in the form of a carousel (1), means for rotating the carousel, at least one suction pipe (15, 16), means for moving the suction pipe essentially downwards between a neutral position and a position inside a chicken in which the nozzle of the suction pipe (15, 16) is close to an organ of said chicken which is to be removed, and a push element (19) as well as means (20, 21, 22) for moving said push element between a neutral position and a pushing position in which a chicken is moved by means of pushing in such a way that the organ to be removed is closer to the nozzle of the suction pipe or on said nozzle.

Description

Title: Installation for removing organs, such as lungs and kidneys, by suction from slaughtered chickens or other poultry

The invention relates to an installation for removing organs, such as lungs and kidneys, by suction from slaughtered chickens or other poultry, comprising: suspension brackets, arranged some distance apart, from which the chickens can be suspended with their legs upward, conveyor means for moving the suspension brackets, a processing station in the form of a carousel, means for rotating the carousel, at least one suction pipe and means for moving the suction pipe downwards between a neutral position and a position inside a chicken in which the nozzle of the suction pipe is close to an organ of said chicken which is to be removed.

An installation of this type is disclosed in US-A 3 802 028.

Usually a pack of organs that comprises, inter alia, the heart and the liver is first scooped from the chicken before removing the organs.

With the known installation the suction pipe is brought inside the chicken by a tilting movement. It has been found that there can be so much space between the nozzle of the suction pipe and the organ to be removed that parts of the organ to be removed remain behind in the chicken. These residues then have to be removed by hand. It is true that it is known to fit teeth or pins close to the suction nozzle, but the result leaves something to be desired.

The aim of the invention is essentially to eliminate this disadvantage and to achieve a significant improvement in the removal of the lungs and, optionally, the kidneys.

To this end the installation mentioned in the preamble is characterised by a push element and means for moving said push element between a neutral position and a pushing position in which the chicken is moved by means of pushing in such a way that the organ to be removed is closer to the nozzle of the suction pipe or on said nozzle.

Preferably, the push element comprises a hingeable bracket that is provided with a roller which is pressed against a cam track by spring action, the bracket being able to hinge between the neutral and the pushing position by moving said roller along the cam track.

As a consequence of the push element, the suction pipe can be moved in and out of a chicken using a simpler mechanism. With such a mechanism the suction pipe is attached to a sliding block that is able to slide along at least one straight guide rod connected to the carousel, which sliding block is able, by means of a wheel or roller, to travel in a track having ascending and descending sections.

The said hingeable bracket can then have been mounted on a block at the bottom end of the said guide rod.

The invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to the figures.

Figure 1 shows a view of the installation according to the invention.

Figure 2 shows a perspective view of part of the installation shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 shows a side view of part of the installation according to Figure 1 in a position in which chickens are fed so that the lungs and/or kidneys can be removed therefrom with the aid of a suction pipe.

Figures 4 and 5 show, on a smaller scale, views, which can be compared with Figure 3, in, respectively, a position in which a suction pipe has been introduced into a chicken and a position in which the suction pipe is able to remove the lungs from the chicken.

The installation shown comprises a carousel which can be brought into rotation by drive means which are not shown. Such carousels are generally known and are shown, inter alia, in WO 98/06272. Two arc-shaped tracks 2, 3, which do not co-rotate with the carousel, are mounted around the vertical axis of rotation of the carousel. More tracks can have been fitted for processing operations other than that discussed in the description. The upper track 3 has a limiting surface both on the bottom and on the top.

The tracks 3, 2 shown have a function in, respectively, inserting means for removal of organs, such as lungs and kidneys, into a chicken and bringing arms which lift the hips into the working position.

Each chicken is suspended by its legs from a bracket 4 which is connected by a rod 5 to a conveyor mechanism 6. Pairs of upright guide rods 7, 8 are fixed in the carousel 1 to guide sliding blocks 9, 10, which are able, by means of wheels 11 and 12, respectively, to travel on the respective tracks 3, 2.

A set of arms 13 which lift the hips is attached to each of the lower sliding blocks 10. A positioning bracket 14 is mounted above said arms which lift the hips in a fixed position on each pair of guide rods 7, 8, which positioning bracket 14, in the functional position, extends between the legs of a chicken.

Two suction pipes 15, 16, which are connected to suction means in a manner which is not shown, are fixed in each of the upper sliding blocks 9.

A block 17 is fixed on the guide rods 7, 8 in a position below the lowermost position of the lower sliding block 10, a bracket 19 being mounted on said block 17 via a hinge pin 18. Said bracket 19 is hingeable between a neutral position according to Figures 3 and 4 and a pushing position according to Figure 5. In order to produce this hinging movement, a roller 20 is mounted on the bottom of the bracket, which roller 20 interacts with the outward-facing edge of a cam track 21 that is constructed as part of a circular track arranged around the axis of the carousel.

Said outward-facing edge is provided with sections of larger and sections of smaller diameter (recesses and projections). An extension spring 22 is located between the fixed block 17 and the push bracket 19. The installation functions as follows:

The conveyor mechanism 6 with chickens suspended therefrom moves synchronously with the rotating carousel 1.

At the start of a suction cycle for removal of lungs (and optionally kidneys) a sliding block 9 with suction pipes 15 and 16 is located, as can be seen in Figure 3, on a high section of the track 3. A sliding block 10 with the arms 13 which lift the hips has already arrived on a high section of the track 2. The chickens are fed with their legs upward on either side of the positioning bracket 14.

On further rotation of the carousel, the sliding block 9 moves down because the wheel 11 is moving in a descending section of the track 3. The suction pipes 15, 16 penetrate into the chicken via an opening made or widened in the chicken.

As can be seen in Figure 4, the nozzles of the suction pipes 15, 16 come into a position opposite an organ to be removed, such as the lungs. On further rotation of the carousel, the push bracket hinges as a result of the action of the spring 22 into the pushing position shown in Figure 5, as a result of which the nozzles of the suction pipes 15, 16 come closer to or into contact with the organ to be removed, which in the case under consideration is the lungs 23.

On further rotation of the carousel and further transportation of the chicken concerned, which is synchronous with said rotation, on the one hand the wheel 11 will move a number of times, for example four times, along a number of ascending and descending sections of the track 3, the suction pipes 15, 16 executing an up and down movement, and, on the other hand, the roller 20 will be guided a number of times (for example four times) along a number of projecting and recessed sections of the cam track 21, as a result of which the push bracket 19 hinges to and fro during the up and down movement of the suction pipes. Extensive removal of the organ 23 is achieved by this means. In the case of the removal of lungs, the lung flesh is still broken without the use of pins or teeth at the end of the suction nozzles. The organ removed is fed by the suction pipes 15, 16 to a hose that leads to a waste unit.

Various modifications and additional features are possible within the scope of the invention. For instance, the push element 19 that is able to push the chicken radially outwards could be of different construction. The arms 13 which lift the hips could be subjected to a slight rotation during their upward movement.

Claims

1. Installation for removing organs, such as lungs and kidneys, by suction from slaughtered chickens or other poultry, comprising: suspension brackets (4), arranged some distance apart, from which the chickens can be suspended with their legs upward, conveyor means (6) for moving the suspension brackets (4), a processing station in the form of a carousel (1), means for rotating the carousel, at least one suction pipe (15, 16) and means for moving the suction pipe downwards between a neutral position and a position inside a chicken in which the nozzle of the suction pipe (15, 16) is close to an organ of said chicken which is to be removed, characterised by a push element (19) and means (20, 21, 22) for moving said push element between a neutral position and a pushing position in which the chicken is moved by means of pushing in such a way that the organ to be removed is closer to the nozzle of the suction pipe or on said nozzle.

2. Installation according to Claim 1, characterised in that the push element comprises a hingeable bracket (19) that is provided with a roller (20) which is pressed against a cam track (21) by spring action (22), the bracket (19) being able to hinge between the neutral and the pushing position by moving said roller (20) along the cam track (21).

3. Installation according to Claim 2, characterised in that the suction pipe (15, 16) is attached to a sliding block (9) that is able to slide along at least one straight guide rod (7,

8) connected to the carousel (1), which sliding block (9) is able, by means of a wheel (11), to travel in a track (3) having ascending and descending sections.

4. Installation according to Claim 3, characterised in that the hingeable bracket (19) is mounted on a block (17) at the bottom of the said guide rod (7, 8).