Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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The present invention reL.Ites to a Eish filletin
and skinning machine.
lt is usual l~racticc to arr.lnge one or two ~i-,h
skinning machines behind a fish Eilletiny machine and to
undertake manual feeding of the skinning machine. This is
successful when the fillets are of aclequate si~e and when the
direction of Conveying of fish in the f;illeting machine is
favourable for the skinning operation, the transfer of fillets
from the filleting machine to the skinning machine beiny able
to take p]ace entirely automatically. However, with small,
slender or tender fillets, or particularly in the case of
fillets leaving the filleting machine with their head ends
foremost, neither automatic delivery to nor automatic intro-
duction into a skinning machine is possible.
In theapplicants' German (Fed. Rep.) PatentSpecification
No. 550 185 there is disclosed a process for the production
of skin-free fillets, in which the skin of the fish is cut
through along the dorsal and ventral fins by parallel cuts,
and then is gripped at both sicles of the fish, still with
its backbone, at the root of the tai] of the fish, is freed
from the flesh of the fish, and is drawn off. The withdrawal
of skin from a whole fish as thereby proposed represents
an as yet unsolved problem in the cutting free of the ventral
and dorsal fins, as the severiny of the skin from the
collarbone and the belly flap represents an almost unachiev-
able task. On the other hand, the skeleton of a skinned
fish is not all in a position to accept unaided the pulling
forces arising during filleting.
Furthermore, in the applican~s' German (Fe(3. Rep.)
Patent Specification No. 26 10 ~98 there is disclosed a device
for the skinning of block ~illets, in which the double
fil]ets of a dish are held in a circumEerential groove of
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a pulley by means of an endl.ess rope and are skinned by
circular knives co-operating wi.th the support surface of
the pulley. ~fowever, this device also cloes not represent a
satisfactory solut:ion to the problem o~ procluction o~ skin-
free individual fillets, beca~se both the Fin ho].ders and
the dorsal rins o~ the ~ish interrere with the skinning
operation.
It is one of the main objects of the invention to
provide for a completely automatical skinning of individual
fish fillets produced in a fish filleting machine.
According to the present invent:ion there is prov:ided
a fish filleting and skinning machine comprising conveying
means for conveying fish along a conveying path with their
longitudinal axes extending in the conveying direction, a
plurality of fish filleting tools arranged along the conveyiny
path to provide individual fillets of the fish, and a
respective skinning device so arranged on each side of the
conveying path douwnstream of the last of the filleting tools
as to skin each individual fillet of each fish. .
The advantages to be derived from this arrangement ~.
consist, in particular, in that individual fillets can also
be obtained from small fish in high yield and can be fed in
a careful manner to the skinning devices~ Moreover, operating
personnel for delivery of fillets to the skinning devices
are not required and a greater number of fillets per unit of
time can be fed to these devices than is possible with
manual feeding.
Preferably, each of the skinning devices comprises
a rotatable sk.inning roller for engaying the skin oE each
fish fillet conveyed thereto and a skinning knife co-operable
with the roller to remove the sk;.n frorn each fillet enga-.3ed
by the roller, the skinni.ng rollers pre~erably being rotatable
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about substantially vertical. axes or ahollt axes arranged in
a substantially V-shaped formatioll. For preference, the
skinning knife of each skinn;ny device comprises a cutti.ny
edge arranged at a side of the associated skinning roller
faciny the conveying path.
By this means, the i.ndividual fillets may be fed in
careful manner, and skinned, in the posltion they have after
the filleting process.
Expediently, the conveying means comprises two
~ndless first conveyor be].ts to each engaye the outer skin-
covered side of arespective fil].etofeach fish and convey suc~
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fillet towards an associated one of the skinning devices,
two endless second conveyor belts to each engage the inner
side of a respective fillet of each fish and convey such fillet
from an associated one of the first conveyor belts to the
S skinning device associated therewith, and a respective guide
arranged between each first conveyor belt and the skinning
roller of the associated skinning device to guide the outer
side of each fillet conveyed by the associated second conveyor
belt. Each of the second conveyor belts may be guided around
a plurality of guide rollers rotatable about axes parallel
to an axis of rotation of the skinning roller of the
associated skinning device.
Thereby, reliable and careful transfer of the individual
fillets from the filleting tools to the skinning devices
is made possible.
For preference, each of the second conveyor belts is
a flat belt and at least one of the guide rollers of each
said plurality is arranged to be deflectable against a
resilient blas in a direction away from the associated guide,
said at least one guide roller of each plurality being
arranged upstream of the or each other guide roller of
that plurality with respect to the conveying direction and
adjacent to the associated one of the first conveyor belts.
As a result, the second conveyor belts can adapt themselves
to different thicknesses of the fillets.
Advantageously, one of the guide rollers of each said
plurality is arranged downstream of t'~e or eac~ other guide
roller of that plurality with respect to the conveying
M~ direction and downstream of the skinnln~ roller of the
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associated skinning device by a spacing substantially
equal to the diameter oE said one guide roller or said
skinning roller. By this means, ln the case of uniformly
thin fillets a deflectable arrangement of said downstream
guide roller of each plurality of guide rollers can be
dispensed with.
Preferably, the conveying means further comprises a
respective support extending between the last of the ~illeting
tools and each of the second conveyor belts to support the inner
side of a fish fillet conveyed by the associated one of the
flrst conveyor belts, the supports extending divergently in
the conveying direction. This arrangement permits a secure
transfer of the fillets to the second conveyor belts.
Expediently, the skinning rollers of the skinning devices
are driven to xotate at a given peripheral speed by drive
means and the first conveyor belts at a surface speed lower
than the given speed. Thereby, a possible or virtual slipping
of the skins in the skinning devices is taken into account.
For preference, the apparatus further comprises drive
means to drive the first conveyor belts to circulate at a
first speed, the skinning rollers of the skinning devices
to rotate at a second speed, and the second conveyor belts
to circulate at a third speed intermediate the first and
second speeds. This may avoid any compressing of the fillets
during their transfer from the filleting tools to the skinning
devices.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
An embodiment of the present invention will now be
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more particularly described by way o:E example wi-th re.Eerence
to the accompanying schematic drawlng, which is a cut-away
schematic perspective view of the end part of a fish Eille~ing
machine according to the said embodiment.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
In the drawing, there is shown the end part of a
fish filleting machine with a horizontal conveying path 1, along
which fish are conveyed in the direction indlcated by the
arrow, disposed in a support (not shown), a pair of endlesss
conveyor belts 21, 22 being arranged one on each side of the
conveying path 1 either in a common plane or in planes inclined
relative to each other. The conveyor belt 21 is deflected around
a pulley 23, and the conveyor belt around a pulley 24. Upstream
of the pulleys 23, 24 with respect to the conveying direction
and above the conveying path 1 is arranged a filleting tool 3,
which is the last of a pluralitv of filleting tools arranged
along the conveying path and which can consist of a pair of
circular knives acting as, for example, back filleting knives.
Two rollers 65, which are rotatable about vertical axes 63,
are arranged upstream of or between the pulleys 23, 24 of the
conveyor belts 21, 22 and one on each side of the conveying
path 1, each of the rollers 65 having a respective endless
flat conveyor belt 62 guided therearound for the conveying
of fish fillets and each of the belts 62 being further guided
around and driven by, at a location downstream from the
rollers 65, a roller 66 rotatable about a vertical axis 64.
Two skinning devices 4, 5 are arranged one on each slde
of the filleting machine and each in association with a
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respective one of the conveyor belts 21, 22 and a r~spective
one of the conveyor belts 62. Each of the skinning devices
comprises a skinning roller 42, which ls rotatable about
a vertical axis 41 and which i5 disposed upstream of the
roller 66 of the associated conveyor belt 62 and closely adjacent
to the outer run of that belt. Each skinning roller 42 has a
profiled circumferential surface and is associated with
a skinning knife 43 having a cutting edge 44 faclng the
associated one of the conveyor belts 6~, the cutting edge 44
being arranged at a small spacing from the circumference of
the skinnin~ roller 42. As a result, the part behind the
cutting edge 44 can be constructed as a pressure shoe.
In addition, arranged parallel to and at a small spacing
from the outer run of each conveyor belt 62 is a respective
rigld ~ X~, which extends between the pulley 23 or 24
and the associated one of the skinning rollers 42 and which
is mounted to be stationary in the machine.
. The pulley 23 and the skinning roller 42 of the skinning
device 4 are driven in a suitable manner counter-clockwise
and the roller 66 of the associated conveyor belt 62 is driven
clockwise. Thereby, the peripheral speed of the conveyor belt 21
to that of the conveyor belt 62 to that of the skinning roller 42
can be, for example, 24 to 25 to 28. The directions of rotation
or circulation o~ the pulley 24, the skinning roller 42 of the
skinning device 5, and the roller 66 of the associated conveyor
belt 62 are counter to those of their counterparts mentioned
above, with the speeds thereof having the same relationship
as their counterparts.
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The operation of the filleting machine is as follows:
' A beheaded fish 7 is conveyed, wlth its head end leading
; and its belly lowermost, along the conveying path 1 to the
filleting tool 3, after having been provided with at least
belly filleting cuts and rib cuts by other filleting tools
(not shown). By means of the filleting tool 3, back filleting
cuts and/or severing cuts are made, whereby individual fillets
are severed from the skeleton of the fish. Through the conveyor
belts 21, 22, the.fillets are conveyed along the supports 67
to the conveyor belts 62. On reaching the conveyor belts 62,
the fillets are removed from the conveyor belts 21 and 22
by the guides 61, and are then each conveyed between a
respectlve conveyor belt 62 and guide 61 to the associated
one of the skinning devices 4, 5. During such conveying,
each conveyor belt 62 is deflected away from the associated
guide 61 by an amount determined by the thickness of the
fillet conveyed therebetween, the skin-covered side of
the fillet being in contact with the guide 61. The skin of
the leading end of each fish fillet penetrates between the
cutting edge 44 of the skinning knife 43 and the skinning
roller 42 of the respective skinning device, and is gripped
and entrained by the profiled surface of the skinning roller,
whereby the fillet is skinned. The skinned fillet is then
collected downstream of the skinning device, or else it
can be fed for further processing.
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