| 摘要 |
<p>PROCESSING OF SEA URCHINS of DISCLOSURE A tool for cracking the shells of sea urchins, comprising a blade formed with central recess which enables the blade to penetrate the shell in the region of the mouth thereof without causing significant damage to the internal organs or roe of the sea urchin, and means for restraining the shell and for moving said blade laterally with respect to said restraining means to thereby open the shell. In its simplest form, the blade is formed at one end of one handle of a hand tool while the restraining means is formed at one end of a handle to which the first mentioned handle is pivotted to achieve said lateral movement of said blade. In a more sophisticated embodiment, the blade is mounted for vertical movement by means of a pneumatic cylinder and is arranged for lateral movement relative to the restraining means by means of a further pneumatic cylinder which operates when the blade is in the shell penetrating position. Also disclosed is a system for processing sea urchins in which the shell is opened at sea by means of a shell cracking device while other sea urchins are being harvested, the roe in said shell being removed and stored in a suitable solution for transport back to shore whereupon it is further processed for final transport to its intended market. This processing system enables the processing time and labour content to be substantially reduced and for the roe so harvested to be delivered to the intended market much faster than is presently possible.</p> |
