Patent Application
20070184768
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices for retaining and associating carcasses, particularly poultry carcasses, with a transporting system for transporting the carcasses along a processing line. More specifically, the present invention concerns a shackle for retaining and associating a poultry carcass with a conveyor system for transporting the carcass along a processing line, wherein the shackle includes a disengagement, or breakaway, feature in which at least a portion of the shackle carrying the carcass substantially automatically disengages from the conveyor system under a pre-established condition involving an increase in downward force, such as, for example, when the shackle becomes caught or otherwise impeded.
2. Background of the Invention
In the processing of carcasses, particularly poultry carcasses, the carcasses are typically transported along a processing line in which at least certain processing operations may be performed substantially automatically. The carcasses are suspended from shackles or other retaining devices which are, in turn, coupled or otherwise associated with a conveyor or other transporting system for transporting the carcasses relatively rapidly along the processing line.
It sometimes happens that a particular shackle becomes caught or otherwise impeded in its movement. When this occurs, the conveyor system may experience considerable forces as it attempts to continue moving the impeded shackle along the processing line. At the very least, the processing operations may be slowed or stopped altogether until the shackle can be freed or removed from the conveyor system. Furthermore, the conveyor system may be damaged, potentially requiring costly and time-consuming repairs.
The present invention provides a shackle for retaining and associating a carcass, such as, for example, a poultry carcass, with a conveyor system for transporting the carcass along a processing line in which processing operations occur, wherein the shackle includes a disengagement, or breakaway, feature in which at least a portion of the shackle carrying the carcass substantially automatically disengages from the conveyor system under a pre-established condition, which, in one embodiment, involves an increase in downward force, such as, for example, when the shackle becomes caught or otherwise impeded.
In one embodiment, the shackle comprises a suspension member, and a hanger assembly adapted to retain the carcass. The hanger assembly presents an opening for receiving the suspension member, and a widenable gap, defined by first and second arms, extending between the opening and an edge of the hanger assembly. The arms are adapted to bend or otherwise separate to cause the gap to substantially automatically widen under a pre-established condition, thereby allowing the suspension member to pass through the widened gap to disengage the hanger assembly from the suspension member. In one contemplated application involving standard chicken carcasses undergoing conventional processing, the pre-established condition is a downward force applied to the hanger assembly of approximately between 150 pounds and 250 pounds.
In this embodiment, the suspension member is an upper hanger assembly, but in an alternative embodiment the suspension member may be the conveyor system itself or an extension thereof.
These and other novel features of the present invention are described in more detail in the section titled DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION, below.
A preferred embodiment of the present invention is described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, wherein:
With reference to the figures, a shackle is herein described, shown, and otherwise disclosed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Broadly, the present invention concerns a shackle 10 for retaining and associating a carcass, such as, for example, a poultry carcass, with a conveyor or other transporting system for transporting the carcass along a processing line in which processing operations occur, wherein the shackle 10 includes a disengagement, or breakaway, feature in which at least a portion of the shackle 10 carrying the carcass substantially automatically disengages from the conveyor system under a pre-established condition, which, in one embodiment, involves an increase in downward force, such as, for example, when the shackle becomes caught or otherwise impeded.
Referring to
The upper hanger assembly 12 is adapted to act as a suspension member to suspend or otherwise associate the lower hanger assembly 14 and the carcass hung or otherwise retained thereon from or with the conveyor or other transporting system 24 for transporting the carcass along the processing line. The hanger rod 18 presents first and second ends, with the first end being adapted to engage or otherwise cooperate, releasably or non-releasably, with the conveyor system 24, and with the second end presenting the hanger hook 20. The hanger hook 20 includes a curved or angled portion adapted to engage or otherwise cooperate with the lower hanger assembly 14. The hanger rod 18 and hanger hook 20 may be constructed of stainless steel or substantially any other suitable material or combination of materials, and may be cylindrical, polygonal, or substantially any other suitable shape or combination of shapes in cross-section. In one contemplated application involving standard chicken carcasses undergoing conventional processing, the hanger rod 18 and hanger hook 20 are formed from a single elongated, substantially cylindrical rod approximately between 7 mm and 9 mm in cross-sectional diameter.
The lower hanger assembly 14 is adapted to suspend or otherwise associate the carcass from or with the upper hanger assembly 12 in a desired orientation or other position to facilitate transportation along the processing line. The carcass hanger 22 presents a first portion 26 and second portion 28. The first portion 26 includes opposed first and second arms 30, 32 that define an opening 34 and that define a widenable gap 36 extending between the opening 34 and an edge of the lower hanger assembly 14. The opening 34 receives the hanger hook 20. The widenable gap 36 is, under normal operating conditions, smaller than the hanger hook 20, such that the hanger hook 20 is maintained in the opening 34 once received therein. Under the pre-established disengagement condition, however, the gap 36 widens to allow the hanger hook 20 to pass therethrough, thereby disengaging the lower hanger assembly 14 from the upper hanger assembly 12 and effectively removing the lower hanger assembly 14 and the carcass retained thereon from the conveyor system 24 and processing line.
In the present embodiment, this widening of the gap 36 is accomplished by constructing the first and second arms 30, 32 to flex or otherwise bend upwardly or sidewardly by a sufficient amount to release the hanger hook 20 when a threshold amount of separation force is applied to the lower hanger assembly 14. This bending is accomplished by constructing at least the first and second arms 30, 32, if not the entire carcass hanger 22, from a synthetic polymer, such as, for example, nylon, or other suitable natural or synthetic material or combination of materials, which further allow the first and second arms to 30, 32 to substantially automatically return to their unbended states after disengagement from the hanger hook 20.
The first and second arms 30, 32 may be connected by a crossmember 38 that both further defines the opening 34 and assists in controlling the widening of the gap 36 by assisting in controlling the upward or sideward bending of the first and second arms 30, 32.
It is also contemplated, however, that, in other embodiments, one or both of the first and second arms 30, 32 may be constructed of a breakable material or combination of materials that do not allow for reuse, or from a bendable material or combination of materials, such as, for example, a metal or metal alloy, that must be substantially manually returned, by, e.g., bending, to an operating position or shape prior to reuse.
The size of the gap 36 and the threshold amount of separation force will vary depending on such factors as, for example, the type and weight of the carcass and the particular processing steps performed on the carcass. In one contemplated application involving standard chicken carcasses undergoing conventional processing, the minimum amount of separation force may be approximately between 150 pounds and 250 pounds. Larger or smaller carcasses, such as those of turkeys, geese, ducks, or doves, may require correspondingly higher or lower minimum separation forces.
The second portion 28 presents one or more openings 42, sometimes referred to as “stirrups,” for receiving and retaining an appendage, such as, for example, the legs, or other portion of the carcass so as to maintain the carcass in the aforementioned desired orientation or other position.
Any portion of the shackle 10, particularly the carcass hanger 22, may, as appropriate, be provided with openings 44 or voids or may be made relatively thinner or otherwise adapted in order to reduce the amount of material needed to construct the portion and thereby reduce the construction cost or operating weight of the portion.
In exemplary use and operation, the present embodiment of the shackle 10 may function as follows. To begin, the upper hanger assembly 12 is engaged with the conveyor system 24, and the lower hanger assembly 14 is engaged with the upper hanger assembly 12. More specifically, the hanger hook 20 is received and maintained within the opening 34 defined by the first and second arms 30, 32 of the first portion 26 of the carcass hanger 22. A carcass is hung from the carcass hanger 22, and the shackle 10 and carcass are transported along the processing line. At some point, the shackle becomes caught or is otherwise impeded, which results in a downward force on the shackle 10 which can slow or stop, and possibly even damage, the conveyor system 24. When the downward force meets or exceeds the separation force, the first and second arms 30, 32 bend sufficiently to cause the gap 36 to widen sufficiently for the hanger hook 20 to pass through the widened gap 36 and thereby substantially automatically disengage the lower hanger assembly 14 from the upper hanger assembly 12. Once such disengagement, or breakaway, occurs, the conveyor system 24 can resume normal travel along the processing line.
From the preceding description, it will be understood and appreciated that the present invention provides a number of advantages over the prior art, including, for example, substantially automatically disengaging a caught or otherwise impeded shackle from the conveyor system and thereby allowing the conveyor system to resume normal travel along the processing line and substantially avoiding damage to the conveyor system.
Although the invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment illustrated in the attached drawing figures, it is noted that equivalents may be employed and substitutions made herein without departing from the scope of the invention as recited in the claims.
For example, it should be understood and appreciated that the upper hanger assembly, and especially the hanger rod and hook thereof, can be characterized as being any suitable suspension member from which the lower hanger assembly can be suspended from or otherwise associated with the conveyor system, and need not take the particular form described above and shown in
Referring to
Thus, it will be appreciated that, in all three embodiments, the arms bend in response to the downward force, which changes the size of the gap defined by the arms and thereby substantially automatically disengages at least a portion of the shackle from the conveyor system.
