Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
1323147
_TOMATIC ~NIMAL HEAr) REMOVAL
This invention relates to the handlin~! of animals and~ in
particular, to apparatus for autornatic processing of animals as in
abattoirs, boning plants, etc,
In Austra1ian Patent Specification Nos, 35,992/84 and
19,034/88, an animal processing line is described which includes an
animal lead up race, capture and stun assembly, and hock and horn
removal stations located after the animal has bee~l s-tuck. The
carcass is -then ready for manual or automatic dressing and bonin~
operations.
An operation usually carried out manually in processing of an
animal carcass is removal oE the head, The carrying out of this
process manually requires substantial skill and s-trength and also
requires a process operator thereby adding to the processing cost,
15 In Australian Patent Syecification No. 57,413/86 there is described
an apparatus for automatically breaking or dislocating the neck of a
suspended carcass, particularly a sheep carcass. However even if
this apparatus were to be adapted for use with removing the head,
there would be substantial loss or downgrading of saleable meat from
the neck of the carcass as a result of a substantial part of the neck
; being removed with the head. Also, the head is relatively
unrestrained leading to poor repeatability oE the precise cut. Also
the head would fall away from -the apparatus so that further
processing of the head~ may need to rectify potential problems with
handling to achieve the required orien-tation and dealing with
contamination of the fallen head,
It is an objec~ of the present invention to provide an
automatic carcass; processing apparatus capable of automaticaIly
locating and removing an animal head from a carcass with accuracy and
minimal~loss or downgrading of saleable meat.
According to the present invention there is provided an
apparatus for automatlcally~ processing an animal carcass so as to
remove the animal ~head from the remainder of the carcass, the
apparatus including ~ head~ holding means, the head holding means
~cDmprlsing ;locating means ~ for locating in use the animal head in a
generally desired~ position,~ and clamping means for clamping ~he head
against ~movement~, the apparatus Purther including stretching means
. . ~ ~ . , .
~ ' '' :
.
; ~ ' " '' . : ,
.
1323t~7
for stretching the neck of the carcass so as to spread the atlas
joint, and cutting ~neans comprisirlg a C~lt ting blade which is
selectively movable along a cut line located below and generally
along the line of the jaw and through the atlas joint so as to sever
the head from the remainder of the carcass.
The locating means preferably comprises a cradle engageable
with the head, the cradle being movable generally along the
longitudinal direction of the head so as to position the cradle in
the desired relative longitudinal position before clamping. The
carcass is supported preferably in an inverted posi-tion with the
spine located beneath the carcass and the head hanging downwardly,
the locating means being operative to reLatively engage with the back
of the hanging head, the locating means including sensing means for
sensing the presence of the back of the head upon contact being made
with the back of the head. The clamping means is preferably
operative to clamp the head above the cut line, the clamping means
including a jaw clamp for urging the head into the cradle to loca-te
and clamp the head against movement.
The stretching means is preferably operative to move the head
holding means relatively away from the remainder of the carcass until
there is a predetermined reaction against further stretching of -the
head away from the carcass. The str-etching means may include a
reaction sensor mounted to the head holding means, the reac-tion
sensor being located so~as to be contacted by the crown of -the head
whereby upon stretching of the neck the crown of the head acts
against the reaction sensor wlth a Eorce sensed by the reaction
sensor.
The cutting blade p~referably comprises a shear blade movable
from the ~throat~ region~generally along the jaw line, the shear blade
being opera-tively associated with a shear reaction blade carried by
the head holdin~ means, the shear reaction blade being located during
the cutting operation adiacent~the crown oE the head and behind the
spread atlas joint.
At the head removal station, -the equipment can be thoroughly
cleaned ~and/or~ sterilized for reuse so as -to prevent cross
contamination of carcasses. ~ ~To this end, the design of such
equipment t~akes irlto~account~the need for thorough cleaning.
Possible and~preferred~; features of the present invention will
, . . . .
:: .
.
:
.
-
; ~: - .
13231~7
no~ be described with particular reference to the accompanying
drawin~s. Howe~er it is to be understood that the features
illustrated in and described with re~erence to the drawings are not
to be construed as li~litin~ on the scope of the invention, In the
drawings:
FIGS. I and 2 show an apparatus whereby the head of a carcass
may be automaticaly removed,
In an abattoir live animals are brought ~rom holding yards,
separated and isolated, immohilized7 stunrled and stuck. After
bleeding and removal of hocks and horns, manual hide preara-tion rnay
-take place. While the carcass is inverted, hide is released from the
legs and under body to depend at the carcass sides in preparation for
further removal automatical]y at a later stage along the l:ine as is
described in Patent Specification No. W0 89/05584. The legs are then
shackled and the shackles are engaged with overhead rails so that7
with a suitable drive, which may be similar to existing chains, the
carcass is drawn upwardly to an elevated position for further
processing, Manual operations continue to prepare -the carcass for
~; head removal, hide removal and evisceration, This may include
severing the head hide; removal oE the muzzle; recordal of tooth
number; removal of the tongue; and complete the clearing of the
oesophagus7 trachea and ar-teries from the thoracic cavity. The
tongue and then the head may be passed to a separate conveyor to be
separately processed. ~ Head removal may be an automatlc operation
25 u-tilising apparatus as is described in Specification No. W0 89/05584.
Also at the rear end of the carcass, a series of manual
operatlons may be calrled out to~prepare for altchbone cutting, hlde
removal, ~ evisceration and splitting. This may include rumping; mark
and strip the tail; remove tail bu~; remove the pizzle and erector
muscles;~ clear and pull;the rectum and bung (sphlnc-ter); and bag the
anus. ~ ~
utomatlc operatlons ~may beg~n aEter the manual preparation
steps and sta-tions~ enabling ~this are described in Patent
Speciflcation No. ~WQ~8~9/05584~. After most processes7 the carcass i5
spllt~ by~ a ~sultable~ means~ such as a band saw or rotary saw.
Inspection may ~be undertaken~ at ~various s-tages with condemned
carcasses ejected~from ;~the lirle.~ Trimming may proceed~with further
s~ection ~a cer ~a~cas~ tt~o~ Ca-casses requl~rln~ lurther
: ~: : :,
:
1 323 1 47
trimming may be ejected from the L-ine to enahle furt'rler processing.
Finished carcasses may be fed off onto a storage line when carcasses
are washed, inspected, etc. on their way to chiller rooms of the
usual character. Tnspection is undertaken as usual with those
carcasses tha~ require it bein~ ejected for a rewash.
Decontamination may be undertaken with grading bein~ performed when
necessary, The front leg may be releaseù to allow the carcass ha1t
to hang frorfl its back le~. The removed shackle might be fed back to
the head of the line automatically.
In the following description, there is set 0~1t a par-ticular
preferred structure for a processing sta~ion where heads are
removed. The a~tual placement of this station along a processing
line o~ -the above described character rnay be varied according to
particular objectives.
To improve the hide pulling cycle time and reduce the forces
generated on the forequarter of the carcass by pulling the hide over
the head, it is advantageous to remove the head before hide removal
and head skin at a separate station. For head removal, the carcass
i5 preferably suspended by the four legs, inclined head down
approximately 30 to the hori~ontal in order to reduce the effect of
the bulging of the hump behind the neck on some animals. The
inclined angle of carcass may be set at 30 to maintain uniformity
through processing stages.
In its operation, the carcass is located cen-trally over the
head removal mechanism, which is described below and the cutting
cycle is triggered. FIGS, 1 and 2 illustrate the features of such a
mechanism.
The f1rst operation of the auto cycle is to operate head
holding means 12 to locate and hold the head and position the cuttin~
means 151. This is achieved by the activation of two limit switches
152 and 153 mounted on the cutting means 151. When the auto cycle
begins the cutting means~l51 swings up through an arc ~mtil the back
of~ the head lO~is sensed by switch 152. This ensures tha-t the head
is in can-tact with the head Iocating means 13 shown as head cradle
154. The unit then rises vertically until the backhane is sensed by
; swi-tch~ 153, ~pasit~ioning ~-the crawn of the head 10 in frant o the
shear reaction blade l55.~
It is essential~ to clamp the head firml~ by clamping means 14
.
' ':'''' ',, ' ' . : ,
",~ , ", ' '
,
' . . '
,, 13231~7
to ensure a successful cut, If the head lO is allowed to rolL as the
shear b1ade 156 passes through, then the cutl:ing efEiciency is
reduced as the drawing action oE the blade 1S6 relative to the hea(l
10 is negated, causing the b]ade 156 to stall,
The clamping means 14 may operate in two sta&eS:
(I) When the head 10 is in position relative to the cuttin~
means 151, the neck bails 157 swing by any c~nvenient mean~ in thc
direc-tion of arrows A through 90 to ensure the neck 11 is contained
centrally, Simul-taneously the jaw clamp 158 swings down onto the
head 10 by action of any suitable means (not shown~, pushing the head
10 firmly into the ~ee shaped cradle 154.
(2) W~1en neck bails 157 and jaw clamps 158 are in posltion, the
cutting means 151 pulls down by operation o stretching means 15
until the crown 16 o~ the head 10 pulls back up hard against the
shear reaction blade 155, This action, while ensuring that the crown
16 of the head 10 is located a~ainst the reaction blade 155, also
puts the neck 11 in tension to spread the atlas joint to aid the
cutting action of the blade 156. Proof of the neck stretching is
provided by a reaction sensor 17 such as a pressure switch or limit
switch mounted on the reaction blade face,
Then when the neck 11 of the carcass has been s-tretched, the
head transfer clamps 159 lock onto -the side of the head 10 to prevent
any rocking motion of the head during cutting.
The cutting blade~ 156 and reaction blade 155 co-operate -to
describe a scissor action with the cutting blade ~ollowing the line
of the jaw 9 to shear the head through the atlas joint. Any sui-table
means may be used to actuate the blade 156, The aim of cutting close
to the jaw 9 is to leave as much saIeable meat on the carcass as
possible, and minimise the amount of trimming from the head 10 on the
head processing line. FolIowing the removal of the head 10, -the head
transfer clamps 159 swing the severed head out to -transfer it to the
head processing line, The mechanism then resets for the next
carcass.
The~ head cradle l54 centralises the head 10 for clamping and
ensures that the jaw line is approximately parallel with the cutting
blade 156. The ~ap 160 between the guides 161 and 162 prevents the
bridge of the muæzle from rotating, Ram 163 operates to raise the
unit~ on arm 166 up guide~rails 164 and 165, The cutting means 151 is
: . .
1 323 1 47
pivotally mounted on arm 166 at 167 whereby the ang:le of cutting
rneans 15l is adjustable. A stretchirlg means 15 cornprises a ram 168
enab:Ling the captured head. l() to be drawn downwar(lly so as to stretch
the neck 1l. ~dditi.onal rams (not shown) operate the clamps and
cutting blade.
I-t is to be understood that variolls alterations, modificatiolls
and/or additions may be made -to the fea~ures of the possible and
preferred embodi.rnent(s) of the invention as herein described without
departing fro~l the spirit and scope of the invent:ion.
~ 25
:
:~ :
:
`::: :
: :
:
~ ~ : 35
;: : ~ : :
: ~ : : : :
.
',
