Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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The presPnt invention concerns a device for
conveying fish head end first through a fish-processing
machine.
Such a device can be taken from German Letters
Patent 1 154 913. This known construction comprises a
belt with grippers, the belt being arranged above the fish
path of a fish processing machine and having the task of
conveying the fish through this machine for the purpose
of being processed. The grippers are so formed ~hat the
conveying engagement or grip takes place in the region of
the back so that the flanks of the fish remain accessible
for the guiding elements and the processing operations
which, e.g. enables an optimal separation of the ribs in
respect of the yield by precise guiding of each fish.
The task upon which that construction was based
in view of the constructions known at that time is also
directed to improving the conveying engagement in order
to guarantee a safe entrainment of the fish during the
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operation of the tools. This goal is reached due to the
flexibility of the conveyor effecting an improved adapt~tion
to the back contour of the fish and thus enabling a better
transmission of the conveying forces. It becomes apparent,
how~ver, that, especially wi~h spindle-shaped fish, e.g.
S mackerel or tuna, the course of the filleting cuts in the
tail region can not be contro].led definitely. The reason
for this is that the flexibility of the conveyor achieved
is not sufficient to guide the thin tail part of the fish
as well, so that there is not sufficient support against
the efficient cutting forces of the filleting tools in this
part. The consequence of this is the observed extreme
dependence of the cuttin~ result on the condition of
the cutting tools.
In txying to remedy this deficiency the solution upon
which German Patent 28 04 232 is based was found. The back
part of the fish 1s made accessible by the arrangement of
two wedge profile belts lying adjacent to each other and
each carrying one half of the grippers with no change in
the conveying efect occurring, so that additional guide
elements could be provided to cope with ~he mentioned
problems.
This functionally satisfactory concept is, however,
very costly and therefore uneconomical. Furthermore,
although it i5 possible to use tools which are effective
from above, it does not serve to facilitate the necessary
cutting sequence slnce e.g. the separation of the back
part may be performed quite easily from the abdominal
side of the flsho
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It is therefore an object of the invention to
suggest an improved device of the type described above in
respect of *he outlined disadvantages inherent in ~he con-
veying device shown in the first-mentioned prior art. It
is another object of the invention to reduce the expenditure
for such a device to a tolerable extent.
It is a further essential object of the invention
to enable a safe supporting of the back part of the fish
and thus the guiding of the same over the whole length.
According to the present invention, there is
provided a device for conveying fish defining a head end,
a tail end, a back region and a plane or symmetry, with
said head end leading through a fish processing machine,
said device comprising endless conveying means, driving
pulley means and deflection pulley means, said conveying
means running in a running plane about said driving pulley
means and said deflection pulley means in said plane of
symmetry of the fish to be processed, carrying prism-shaped
entraining means adapted to engage said fish in said back
region, and defining a working run which is resiliently
supported by presser means distributed over the length of
said working run, wherein said conveying means are formed
by a conveying organ means being positively driven and
arranged highly flexible in said running plane.
The advantages thus obtained lie particularly in
that due to the positive driving of the conveying organ its
longitudinal stress can be adjusted taking exclusively the
desired flexibility into account, iOe. it can be minimised
so that an ideal adjustment of the entraining elements to
the back contour of the fish takes ~lace.
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In order to avoid an ~Ipalrment of the flexibility by
the driving torque resulting rom the frictional and cut
ting forces the working run or strand of the conveying
organ may be driven in a pushiny manner which may be
effected by the driving wheel which provides the driving
being arranged on the intake side of the working run or
strand of the conveying organ.
In an especially advan-tageous embodiment of the device
according to the invention the conveying organ is formed
as a link chain composed of chain members endlessly con~
nected to each other which can also be made of highly wear-
resistant and tough synthetic material ~s can the link pins
which join them.
The prism-shaped entraining elements which conveyin~ly
engage the fish may advantageously either be connected
detachably to the chain links or manufactured integrally
with these~
In order to obtain an extreme capacity of resistance
to we2r a toothed belt may expediently be used as the
convey~ng orc3an, which belt may be provided with prismatic
entraining elements on its outer sur~ace.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other and further objects of the present invention
will be apparent from the following description and claims
and are illustrated in the accompanyiny drawings which by
way of illustration schematically show preferred embodiments
o~ the present invention and the principles thereo~ and
what now are considered to be the best modes contemplated
or applying these principles. Other embodiments o~ -the
invention embodying the same or equivalent principles
may he used and structural changes may be made as desired
by those skilled in the ar without departing from the
present invention and the scope of the appended claims.
In the drawings;-
Fig. 1 shows an axonometrical representation ofa total view of the conveyor according to
the present .invention,
Fig. 2 shows a partial view of the conveying organ
formed as a link chain, and
Fig. 3 shows a partial view of the conveying organ
formed as a toothed-belt.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In a not-shown frame of a fish-processing machine, e.g.
a filleting machine, a conveyor 4 is arranged above a fish
path 1 and rotating about a deflection pulley, roller or
wheel 2 and a dxive pulley, roller or wheel 3 in a vertical
plane. The drive pulley 3 is driven by means of a suitable
driving mechanism 5 in the direction of the arrow 6~ and
with the conveyor according to Fig. 1, positively transmits
the driving torque via pins 7 arranged on the periphery of
the drive pulley 3 to the conveying organ formed by a plate
link chain 8. This conveying organ is built up from single
chain members 9 connected to each other by means of link
pins 10, each of the chain members 9 carrying on its outer
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surface an entra~ning element 11 wi-th a prisma-tic recess
12 on th~ side coming into contact wlth the fish. A working
run or slack 13 of the conveying organ is held down resili-
ently against the fish path 1 by spring-biassed presser
rollers 14. For the sake of clear representation only one
of these presser rollers forming a compact chain is repro-
duced schemat~cally. The conveying organ is guided laterally
by guide elements 15 in the region of the working run 13
and supported in height above the fish path 1 in such a
way that there will always be a minimum distance to the
latter.
~ ccording to Fig. 3 a toothed belt 16 is used as a
conveying organ, which belt serves as a carrier band for
the entraining elements 11. In this case the deflection
pulley 2 and the drive pulley 3 are provided with corres-
ponding proiles on their periphery.
The working function of the device according ~o the
invention i9 as follows:
Fish 17 su:itably fed to the fish path 1 head first come
into contact in the region o their back with the entrain-
ing elements 11 of the working run 13 of the conveyor 4
and are led past processing tools (not shawn) arranged
along the fish path 1. The fish 17 i~ guided in the fish
path 1 in such a way that its backbone runs almost parallel
to it. The guiding o the conveying organ which may be
performed to change in height enables the accordingly
necessary adjustmen-'_ to the back contour of the ~ish, the
resiliently downward urging presser rollers 14 guaranteeing
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a defined conveying pressure. Due to ~he high flexibility
o:E -the conveying organ which is a result oE its construc
tion and which, due to the thrusting or pushing effect of
the drive, is also maintained independent of its charge,
each fish is conveyingly engaged along its whole length and
thus guided simultaneously. The disclosed characteristics
make such a delicate adjustment possible so that an
extremely careful manipulation of the fish and safe
transport is made possible.
