APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR THE TRANSVERSE HALVING OF POULTRY CARCASSES

摘要

An apparatus and method for individually receiving continually a moving succession of shackle conveyor invertably suspended eviscerated whole poultry carcasses. Thereafter each whole poultry carcass is cooperatively guided sequentially to an inclined rotating cog wheel. The cog wheel has a circumferential radial arrayal of regularly repeating identical teeth. The carcasses are transported in a controlled and cooperatively timed conveyable delivery to the cog wheel so that one tooth thereof insertably engages respectively the evisceration vent of each whole poultry carcass. In such disposition the cog wheel presents the carcass to a pre-positioned carcass-transverse severing blade which is adapted to automatically engage and effect a migratory transverse incision at the base of the carcass keel. The incision is effected transversely across the carcass bilateral connecting tissue webs disposed between the breast and thighs while moving along a continuous directed path of travel. The migratory incision is progressively effected into a carcass section transverse pull-torn substantial halving which is completed by a breaking of the back of the carcass section. This substantial halving is effected by use of an increasingly inclined conical auger conveyor assembly. This method and apparatus act as a pre-processing step to thereafter accomplish subsequent blade severed carcass transverse halving, followed by separate forward and rearward transverse carcass section reduction operations, all such subsequent processing steps as are appropriate occurring at other processing machine locations such as the removal and sectioning of wings, breasts, legs and the like.