Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
3~
Thi~s inyention relates to devices ~or e~iscerating
portions o~ h and i~ p~rticular ~o a de~i~e ~or remo~ing
~lesh such as tongue or ~embraneous tissue from cod ~ish.
Conventionall~, a cod tongue or the flesh on the
vertebrae known as '~cod sound~ is manually removed from each
fis~ and the process ~s a slow and difficult one and is not
without some danger to the operator doing the cutting. In
the process o~ re~cving the tongue, ~or example, the operator
uses one hand to grasp the gills and, in liting them, causes ~ -
the tongue to protrude upward With the other hand, and
using a straight ~lade knife, the operator cuts around the
edge of the cod tongue, removes the other hand holding the
~ills and uses it to further lift the cod tongue now that
it has been severed around both sides. The knife can then
be inserted to cut the flesh holding the forward and rear-
ward part of the ~ongue for its complete removal.
The present ~nvention is adapted to overcome t~e
disadvantages of the manual method mentioned above and to
substantiall~ speed-up the process of removal of cod tongue.
2a The only skill required in using the apparatus of the present
invention is for an operator to place a cod head into a
specific position on a supporting plate where~y the tongue of
the fish is mechanically moved.
Using a hand knife for cutting out cod tongues is
dangerous, particularly for those not s~illed in the art.
The apparatus of the present invention el;mina-tes the hand
cutting and, ~ecause of the ease of placing the cod head in
position for the mechanical cut, the process can ~e performed
by the non-skilled while at the same time increas;ng production
3a substantially.
The apparatus o~ the present in~rention will also
cut the flesh from the vertabrae~ thi`s ~lesh ~-eing known in
the trade as "cod s-ound~ When cod fish are cured ~or the
salting process, the vertahrae or sound ~one ~s removed~
This ~s done ~y hand us-ing a curved ~lade ~nife or hy
mechanical means known as a splitting machine,
The flesh on one side o~ the ~one is a saleable
product ~ut the production is ver~ limited because of the
traditional method of cutting o~f the flesh ~y hand. The
same method of removing the tongue from the cod head can be
used in removing the flesh from the vertabrae as explained
hereinafter.
According to a broad aspect, the invention relates
to apparatus for removing selected flesh from cod fish com-
prising vacuum means for drawing the flesh from the fish,
cutting means for severing the flesh from the fish and means
for removing the flesh from the cutting area.
T~e vacuum means includes an apertured plate for
receiving the flesh therethrough, a storage tank for receiving
cut flesh, vacuum being applied to the tank; and a conduit
interconnecting the aperture in the tank.
The i`nvention is illustrated ~y way of example
in the acco~par.ying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the underside
of the head of the cod fish;
Figure 2 is an elevation view, partly sectioned
away, of the apparatus o~ the present invention,
Figure 3 i-s a plan view-of part of the assem~ly
shown in Figure 2, and
--~2
~3~i7~L
Figu~e 4 îs a partial plan ~iew of one part o~ the
apparatus~
~ eXer.~;ng to ~i~ure 1, a cod fish head 10 is
illustrated show~ng t-~e ~i~lls 12 and the location of the
ton~ue 14. The apparatus for removing t~e ~ongue is shown
in Figure 2 and compri~ses a tank 16 having :liquid 18 thereinr
vacuum ~eing applied ~o the upper part of tlle tank ~y any
suitable vacuum means, not shown. A conduit or hose 20
interconnects the tank with an aperture 22 ;n a supporting
plate 24, this aperture ~eing sufficientlY large and of
a configuration suitable to receive the tongue of the cod.
It will be observed from Figure 2 that when the cod head is
placed tongue down over the aper~ure 22 the vacuum in the
condui~ 20 ~ill draw the tongue from the head and down into
the aperture as seen in Figure 20
The means for severing the tongue 14 from the cod
head 10 consists of a rotary knife 26 mounted on and rotated
by suitable motor me~ns 28 which in turn is positioned for
reciprocatiOn on a supporting track 30. Means for reciprocating
the motor 28 and knife 26 is in the form of a suitable
rotating device such as a motor 32 and crank 34 connecting
motor 32 with the supporting track 30. The rotating means
32 can be indexed for causing reciprocation during specific
time periods or ~t can be a one time actuation operated ~y
the operator's ~oot etc~ Experimentall~, the apparatus has
been running with.~ reciprocation rate of a~out two and a
half seconds per cycle~
~t ~ill he observed that the cutting blade 26~
when reciprocated, will be moved forward and back~ard b~ the
rotary means 32, the blade 26 moving o~er the top of the plate
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24 between the cod tongue 14 and ~he cod head ln, the position
o~ the cuttin~ means i.n the ~orward, cuttin~ position being
shown b~ the das~ed line 36. Thi`~operation se~ers the
tongue from the cod head, the tongue 14 being drawn by
~acuum into t~e tank 18 while the cod head 10 can be dis~
carded over the top of the blade.
Fi~ure 4 is a fragmentary vie~ of a plate 124
having an aperture 122 therëin. It will be observed that
the aperture 122 is somewhat diffexent in configuration
than aperture 22 in plate 24, aperture 122 being so shaped
as to receive the vertabrae of the Eish so that the flesh
portion or cod sound is drawn down into the aperture 122 and
removed by the cutting means in the same manner as that used
to remove the tongue from the cod head.
It will be appreciated that the form of cutting
means shown is by wa~ of example only and that various other
types of knives and means of operating them can be used
without departing from the scope of this invention.
T~e terms and expressions which have been employed
in this specification are used as terms of description and
not of limitation, and there is no intention in the use o
such terms and expressions to exclude any equivalents of the
features shown and described or portions thereof, but it is
recognized that vari~ous modifications are possible within the
scope of the in~ention claimed.
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