Patent Grant
10662489
This application is the national phase entry, under 35 U.S.C. Section 371(c), of International Application No. PCT/EP2016/066619, filed Jul. 13, 2016, claiming priority from European Application No. 15176468.5, filed Jul. 13, 2015. The disclosures of the International Application and the European Application from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
Not Applicable
The present invention relates to an elongated pelt board for accommodating an animal pelt, and a method of manufacturing a pelt board for accommodating an animal pelt.
In the drying of pelts, e.g. mink or fox pelt, after skinning and scraping off the layer of fat on the leather side of the pelt, the pelts are typically stretched on a pelt board which is often provided with a fat-absorbing material with the object of removing the remaining fat on the leather side of the pelt.
The use of pelt boards in connection with the drying of pelts is well known in the prior art and there has in the past been developed a great number of configurations of such pelt boards. There has also been established a standard of pelt sizes and thus also of pelt boards.
The most widespread pelt boards in the past were made of wood, and may in short be described as a flat piece of wood defining a longitudinal direction and having in the longitudinal direction a first broadside surface, a second broadside surface, a first narrow side surface and a second narrow side surface. One end of the board, the bottom end, is cut off at right angles to the longitudinal direction. The lower end adjacent the bottom has a constant breadth, which breadth gradually decreases towards a pointed and rounded end approaching the top end of the board. Such boards typically also have a longitudinal slot for allowing air to pass.
The drying procedure of the pelt shall be understood to be a drying-out of the leather side of the pelt to an extent which by experience prevents any attack on the pelt by mites. The drying process is typically effected by the blowing of dry air in the slot on the board via pipes which are introduces into the slot, where via the perforations in the walls of the pelt bag the dry air is diffused out of the leather side of the pelt and dries the pelt.
From WO 01/62985 is known a bag shaped holster, which is referred to as a fixing bag, which is used for securing the pelts on a pelt board during the drying process. The fixing bag is drawn over the board with the stretched pelt from the cranium end of the pelt so that the fur side of the pelt is in tight contact with the fur, which results in the pelt being pressed against the board with a force which is sufficient for the pelt to remain substantially in the stretched position during the drying.
Further prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 3,137,963 in which a pelt board comprising a flat body of sheet metal having perforations therein and beads along the sides is disclosed.
In WO 2005/026394 is disclosed a pelt board which is lockable in a position, in which it has a first circumference and can also assume a position in which it has a second circumference being smaller than the first circumference by displacing opposing half parts in relation to each other. This results in a considerably easier removal of the pelt from the pelt board.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,110,016 relates to a pelt board having a pair of longitudinal legs and a nose piece located there between.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,526,967 relates to a pelt drying system including an air conditioning unit for supplying temperature controlled air to a number of manifolds having nozzles onto which the pelt drying frames are attached.
WO 82/03634 relates to a pelting board of non-absorbing plastics having a plurality of channels near its edges to supply drying air to the edges of the board so that the pelt dry evenly and stick less often to the board.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,313,038 relates to a pelt drying frame comprising opposite side rods joined at a nose over which frame a pelt may be drawn and held taut.
DK 2012 70519 A1 relates to a pelt board has a lower part and an upper part. The lower part has an outer cross section circumference which is substantially constant and the upper part has an outer cross section which is gradually decreasing.
DK 2013 00091 U4 relates to a pelt board has a lower part and an upper part. The lower part has an outer cross section circumference, which is substantially constant and the upper part has an outer cross section which is gradually decreasing. The lower part extends between 36 cm and 50 cm.
DK 177480 B1 discloses a pelt board having two broad elongated side surfaces. The pelt board comprises expansion means defining a narrow elongated side surface extending between side edges of the broad side surfaces. The expansion means are movable between an expanded position and a non-expanded position.
Some of the above pelt boards have an outer circumference made up of opposing non-movable surfaces and opposing movable surfaces. Pelt boards having this variable circumference for simplifying the removal of the pelt after drying are thus known in the prior art. The pelt boards are thus expanded during the drying process. As the pelt is fixated firmly during drying and may shrink slightly, the pelts may be difficult to remove from the pelt boards. Further, the pelts are typically fixated in a stretched state, thus increasing the pressure of the pelt onto the pelt board. By reducing the circumference of the pelt board, the pelt will be easier to remove from the pelt board.
However, the pelt boards used until now only feature a limited variation in the circumference in that only a limited part of the circumferential surfaces are moving/may be reduced. Although the pelt board according to the prior art may alter the total circumference and thereby relax the pelt, it has been noticed by the applicant that the pelt in some circumstances may still stick quite firm onto the pelt board at the locations of the pelt board at which the surface or circumference has not been reduced.
It is thus an object according to the present invention to provide technologies for simplifying the removal of the pelts from the pelt boards and avoiding the situations where the pelt due to the drying and stretching may stick to the pelt board, and at the same time ensure that the pelt board keeps a substantially elliptical circumference in order to distribute the inwardly oriented pressure of the pelt evenly over the pelt board.
It is an advantage according to the present invention that the pelt board may be locked in the expanded position and that the movement between the expanded position and the reduced position may be performed very accurately using very little force.
It is a feature according to the present invention that the pelt board may be modified to accommodate pelts of different sizes and shapes.
The above object, the above features and the above advantage together with numerous other objects, advantages and features, which will be evident from the below detailed description of the present invention, are according to a first aspect of the present invention obtained by an elongated pelt board for accommodating an animal pelt, said pelt board defining a blunt end and an opposite pointed end and defining a longitudinal direction therebetween, said pelt board further defining a first radial direction perpendicular to said longitudinal direction and a second radial direction perpendicular to said longitudinal direction and said first radial direction, said pelt board comprising a first part at said blunt end and an opposite second part at said pointed end,
said first part comprising:
The above object, the above features and the above advantage together with numerous other objects, advantages and features, which will be evident from the below detailed description of the present invention, are according to a second aspect of the present invention obtained by an elongated pelt board for accommodating an animal pelt, said pelt board defining a blunt end and an opposite pointed end and defining a longitudinal direction therebetween, said pelt board further defining a first radial direction perpendicular to said longitudinal direction and a second radial direction perpendicular to said longitudinal direction and said first radial direction, said pelt board comprising a first part at said blunt end and an opposite second part at said pointed end,
said first part defining an open end at said pointed end comprising:
The pelt board should have an overall size which is suitable for accommodating a pelt of an animal such as a mink or fox. The pelt board typically has a substantially elliptic cylindrical shape which is tapering in the longitudinal direction. The pelt is applied onto the pelt board by drawing in onto the pelt board in the longitudinal direction, while the pelt board assumes its expanded state. It is understood that state of the art pelt bags may be used between the pelt and the pelt board in order to remove fatty substances from the pelt. The wall elements typically include a large number of holes or nozzles for allowing ventilation air to pass from the cavity within the pelt board to the outside through the pelt.
The first and second elongated core elements may be positioned in any arbitrary configuration and positioning within the first cavity and may in a specific embodiment of the elongated pelt board be joined at the transition from the first part to the second part through a threaded connection allowing the second elongated core element to be operated through actuating the first core element, however, independent from the actuation of the first core element. In the presently preferred embodiment of the pelt board according to the first and second aspects of the present invention, the second elongated core element, however, extends in a passage preferably a throughgoing passage within the first elongated core element to the blunt end. At the blunt end, the elongated pelt board, according to the first and the second aspects of the present invention, preferably has a freely extending connector element known in the prior art as a “stubby projecting element” and serving for connecting the pelt board to an apparatus for the processing of the pelt constituting a so-called tanning machine and also for connecting and arranging the pelt board with a pelt positioned thereon in an upright position received on a drying apparatus constituted by a machine in which apertures are provided for receiving the connector element and serving to allow air to be blown into the first cavity of the pelt board for accomplishing the drying of the pelt received on the pelt board.
The first and second wall elements together define the substantially elliptical outer circumference of the pelt board, which is suitable for and adapted for accommodating a pelt of an animal, through its respective outwardly oriented surfaces. The inwardly oriented surfaces may preferably define a concave shape, which surfaces together define the cavity in the pelt board. The wall elements are typically made of plastics. The wall elements are further delimited in the circumferential direction by longitudinal edges.
In the elongated pelt board according to the first and second aspects of the present invention, the first elongated core element, which is located in the first cavity, is movable in the longitudinal direction in relation to the first and second wall elements. The actuator members of the wall elements and the cooperating members of the first core element interact when the first core element is moved in the longitudinal direction within the first cavity. The cooperating members move in the longitudinal direction together with the first elongated core whereas the actuator members move in any of the radial directions along with its respective first and second wall element. The interaction between the cooperating members and the actuator members translate the longitudinal movement of the cooperating members to a radial movement of the actuator members.
The actuator members and the cooperating members thus cause the first and second wall elements to move towards each other or away from each other in the respective first or second radial direction, thus making the cavity smaller or larger, when the first core element is moved in the longitudinal direction relative to the first and second wall elements. The first and second wall elements are thus movable between the contacted state, in which the first and second wall elements have moved towards each other, reducing the radial distances, and consequently the circumference of the pelt board and the cavity is small, and an expanded state in which the first and second wall elements have moved away from each other, increasing the radial distances and consequently the circumference of the pelt board and the cavity is large. Typically, an upward movement of the first elongated core element in relation to the first and second wall elements yields an expansion of the circumference of the pelt board, whereas a downward movement of the first elongated core element in relation to the first and second wall elements yields a contraction of the circumference of the pelt board.
The outer surface of the wall elements will constitute the contacts surface between the pelt and the pelt board, not taking into account the optional presence of a pelt bag between the pelt and the pelt board.
When in the expanded state, the circumference of the pelt board is large. In this state the pelt is applied to the pelt board, optionally using a pelt bag. During the drying process, the pelt looses fat and moist and consequently contracts slightly. It may thereafter be very difficult to remove the pelt from the board. By contacting the pelt board by moving the first and second wall element towards each other, the circumference of the pelt board defined by the outer surface of the first and second wall elements will be smaller and thus allow the pelt to loosen from the outer surfaces of the first and second wall elements, such that the pelt may be removed from the pelt board. In this context, the complete circumference of the pelt board will contract, effectively eliminating the risk of the pelt sticking to the pelt board.
In order to simplify the overlapping of the first and second wall elements and allow the gap between adjacent first and second wall elements to be minimized, the first and second wall elements may be partially flexible. Although it is fully feasible to realize an expansion and contraction of the pelt board via the first and second wall element using rigid wall elements, the thickness of the first and second wall element will typically prevent a fully flush outwardly oriented surface in the expanded state. By allowing the part of the first and second wall element which is going to be pushed below and/or above an adjacent wall element in the contracted state to be flexible in relation to the part of the wall element which is going to remain exposed to the pelt, the longitudinal edges of adjacent first and second wall elements may be caused to be fully flush or continuous in the expanded state.
According to a further embodiment of the pelt board according to the present invention, the first actuator member and the second actuator member constitute pins and the first cooperating member and the second cooperating member constitute grooves, e.g. linear or curved grooves, in which the pins are guided between the contracted state and the expanded state, or, wherein the first cooperating member and the second cooperating member constitute pins and the first actuator member and the second actuator member constitute grooves, e.g. linear or curved grooves, in which the pins are guided between the contracted state and the expanded state.
The above guiding principle using a pin which is guided by a groove allows a well defined movement of the wall elements. It is evident that the opposite configuration is equally feasible, i.e. having the first actuator member and the second actuator member constitute grooves, e.g. linear or curved grooves, and the first cooperating member and the second cooperating member constitute pins which are guided by the grooves between the contracted state and the expanded state, or any combination thereof. The longitudinal movement of the elongated core thus translates into a radial movement of the wall elements. The groove/pin configuration also allows for a very convenient latching of the wall elements and the core.
Another guiding principle is employed by using wedge members which exhibit an angle and may consequently slide outwardly when pushed. The longitudinal movement of the first elongated core element thus translates into a radial movement by interaction between the sloped members. This guiding principle may preferably be used when changing from said contracted state to said expanded state.
Yet another guiding principle is employed by using actuator members acting on the side of the elongated core element which is located opposite the wall element to be moved. The longitudinal movement of the elongated core element thus translates into a radial movement by interaction typically by using sloped members. This guiding principle may preferably be used when changing from said expanded state to said contracted state.
According to a further embodiment of the pelt board according to the present invention, the first wall element and the second wall element have an arched shape such that the first outwardly oriented surface and the second outwardly oriented surface define a convex shape. According to a still further embodiment of the pelt board according to the first aspect of the present invention, the third and fourth wall elements have also an arched shape such that the first and third outwardly oriented surfaces constitute a continuous surface in the non-extended state and similarly the second and fourth wall elements constitute a continuous wall in the non-extended state, and the first and third outwardly oriented surfaces and the second and fourth outwardly oriented surfaces define a respective convex shape.
Using a convex shape of the wall element or wall elements will allow the outer surfaces of the wall elements to adapt to the pelt, which typically has a cylindrical shape.
According to a further embodiment according to the present invention, the first wall element and the second wall element comprise ventilation grooves between the cavity and the outside of the pelt board.
Ventilation grooves may be present in order to allow dry air to be injected into the pelt for removing any remaining moisture in the pelt and thereby decrease the drying time of the pelt.
According to a further embodiment according to the present invention, the first wall element and the second wall element define an opening between the cavity and the outside of the pelt board at the bottom end for allowing ventilation air to enter the cavity.
The dry air injected into the pelt via the pelt board and used for decreasing the drying time of the pelt may be let into the pelt board via a cavity near the bottom end of the pelt board. The bottom end of the pelt board is typically as described above attachable to a drying unit for holding the pelt board in an upright position and for supplying the drying air.
In order to increase the rigidity of the pelt board and for allowing the pelt board to easily connect to a drying unit, the pelt board may assume the same circumference at the bottom end both in the expanded state and in the contracted state. This may be made by fixedly connecting the wall elements at constant distance relative to each other near the bottom end and allowing the flexibility of the wall elements to determine the movement of the lower portion of the pelt board. The lower extreme of the pelt board is typically not used for accommodating the pelt since the pelt boards are typically made longer than the longest pelts for which the pelt board is intended.
According to a further embodiment according to the present invention, the elongated core element comprises a first protrusion adjacent the bottom end, the elongated core element being spring-loaded at the bottom end and defining a centralized relaxed position and a non-centralized loaded position in the first radial direction and/or second radial direction, the first wall element and the second wall element comprise a second protrusion cooperating with the first protrusion such that when the first wall element and the second wall element define the expanded state and the elongated core element defines the centralized related position, the first and second protrusions prevent any longitudinal movement of the elongated core element, whereas when the elongated core element defines the non-centralized loaded position, the first and second protrusions allow longitudinal movement of the elongated core element.
In the state of the art expandable and contactable pelt boards, the pelt board is maintained in the expanded state merely due to the design of and internal friction between the movable parts of the pelt board. The friction increases with the pressure applied to the pelt board and although an increased friction may help keeping the pelt board in the expanded state also when a large inwardly pressure is applied from the pelt, it may also be very difficult to contract the pelt board. Experience has shown that after the drying, when the pelt has shrunk and thus applies a large pressure onto the pelt board, the users have to apply a large manual force to cause the pelt board to collapse. This work is very tedious and may lead to work related injuries.
The locking mechanism described above making use of cooperating protrusions for preventing movement of the elongated core element and thereby contraction of the pelt board allows the pelt board to remain in the expanded state even when exposed to very large inwardly oriented pressure, while reducing the amount of work needed for changing the pelt board into the contracted state. The first and second protrusions will interlock when the elongated core is in its central position, effectively preventing any longitudinal movement of the elongated core, which in turn prevents any radial movement of the wall elements.
By merely exposing the elongated core element to a small radial force, overcoming the friction between the first and second protrusion and the spring constant of the elongated core element, the inwardly oriented pressure from the dried pelt will cause the wall element to move inwardly and the pelt board to contact, while the elongated core element is moved in the longitudinal direction and the first protrusion is passing by the second protrusion. This mechanism will also be less prone to accidental activation since it is not depending on any hard to determine internal friction between the activation members and the cooperating members.
It is evident that the above locking mechanism may be used for a generic pelt board which does not necessarily have to encompass the four way expansion. Such pelt board may e.g. be defined as an elongated pelt board for accommodating an animal pelt, the pelt board defining a longitudinal direction, a first radial direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and a second radial direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and the first radial direction, the pelt board having a wall element and an elongated core element covered by the wall element, the wall element being capable of assuming an expanded state and a contacted state by longitudinal movement of the elongated core element, the elongated core element comprising a first protrusion adjacent a bottom end of the pelt board, the core element being spring-loaded at the bottom end and defines a centralized relaxed position and a non-centralized loaded position in the first radial direction and/or second radial direction, the wall element comprising a second protrusion cooperating with the first protrusion such that when the wall element define the expanded state and the elongated core element define the centralized related position, the first and second protrusions preventing any longitudinal movement of the elongated core element, whereas when the elongated core element define the non-centralized loaded position, the first and second protrusions allow longitudinal movement of the elongated core element.
The change from expanded state to contracted state may preferably be made when the bottom end of the elongated core element is attached to the drying unit, e.g. by tilting the pelt board sideways, thereby also taking advantage of the leverage provided by the pelt board for overcoming the friction between the first and second protrusions.
The above object, the above features and the above advantage together with numerous other objects, advantages and features which will be evident from the below detailed description of the present invention are according to a third aspect of the present invention obtained by a method of manufacturing an elongated pelt board for accommodating an animal pelt comprising:
The above object, the above features and the above advantage together with numerous other objects, advantages and features which will be evident from the below detailed description of the present invention are according to a fourth aspect of the present invention obtained by a method of manufacturing a pelt board for accommodating an animal pelt comprising:
The above method according to the third and fourth aspects may preferably be used together with the pelt board according to the first and second aspects. The wall elements and the elongated core are preferably made as separate molded plastic items. The wall elements are typically snap fitted together. In some cases, the first wall element and the second wall element may constitute two or more items which are snap fitted together.
The first part 12 of the pelt board 10 is composed of a total of three components, namely two identically shaped shell parts 22 and 24 and a first elongated core element 26.
Each of the shell parts 22 and 24 comprise a major low curvature wall part 20 and 21, respectively, and a minor high curvature wall part 16 and 18, respectively. The major low curvature wall parts 20 and 21 are joined to the minor high curvature parts 16 and 18, respectively, through imaginary lines 17 and 19, respectively.
The first embodiment of the pelt board 10 shown in
The second part 14 of the pelt board 10 constitutes a geometrical extension or continuation of the first part 12 and defines a tapering configuration defining a pointed open-end which is closed off by a closure element 40. The second part 14 comprises two shell parts like the first part being composed of the shell parts 22 and 24, however, in
The interior of the first part 12 defines a first cavity which cavity is designated the reference numeral 25 and in which the first elongated core element or rod 26 is positioned centrally and defining a central throughgoing passage in which a further or second elongated core element or rod 42 is received which second elongated core element is at its end opposite to the end shown in the left-hand part of
In
In
In
In
The shifting of the second embodiment 10I of the pelt board according to the present invention from the non-extended state shown in
In
In
In
In
Although the present invention has above been described with reference to presently preferred embodiments of the pelt board and although the above described embodiments may readily be combined by altering the shifting from contracted or non-expanded state to expanded state or shifting the pelt board from non-extended state to extended state by rearranging the actuator members in question, the pelt board according to the present invention may further be modified in accordance with the teachings of the applicant's two previously filed European patent applications EP 14199640.5, publication number EP 3 037 557, filed on 22 Dec. 2014, and, European patent application EP 14199651.2, also filed on 22 Dec. 2014.
The above mentioned European patent applications have been continued in an international application EP2015/056431, publication number WO2015/144774, filed on the 25 Mar. 2015 and claiming the priority of the above mentioned European patent applications EP 14199640.5 and EP 14199651.2. The above mentioned published applications EP 3 037 557 and WO2015/144774 are hereby incorporated by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15176468 | Jul 2015 | EP | regional |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2016/066619 | 7/13/2016 | WO | 00 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2017/009371 | 1/19/2017 | WO | A |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1110016 | Thorpe | Sep 1914 | A |
| 1731144 | Lord | Oct 1929 | A |
| 2231903 | Graham | Feb 1941 | A |
| 2493924 | Mowad | Jan 1950 | A |
| 3137963 | Hein | Jun 1964 | A |
| 3313038 | Bolz | Apr 1967 | A |
| 3526967 | Bolz | Sep 1970 | A |
| 4389795 | Craggs | Jun 1983 | A |
| 6915669 | Hedegaard | Jul 2005 | B2 |
| D611965 | Hedegaard | Mar 2010 | S |
| 7690228 | Hedegaard | Apr 2010 | B2 |
| 7987795 | Hedegaard | Aug 2011 | B2 |
| 9493852 | Frolund | Nov 2016 | B2 |
| D809372 | Palsgaard et al. | Feb 2018 | S |
| 10323290 | Larsen | Jun 2019 | B2 |
| 20150191802 | Pedersen | Jul 2015 | A1 |
| 20150250137 | Palsgaard et al. | Sep 2015 | A1 |
| 20170260597 | Larsen | Sep 2017 | A1 |
| 20180030556 | Larsen et al. | Feb 2018 | A1 |
| 20180057900 | Andersen et al. | Mar 2018 | A1 |
| 20180209003 | Larsen | Jul 2018 | A1 |
| 20180245170 | Larsen | Aug 2018 | A1 |
| 20190017127 | Larsen | Jan 2019 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 177480 | Jul 2013 | DK |
| 177582 | Oct 2013 | DK |
| 201300091 | Nov 2013 | DK |
| 201500045 | Jun 2015 | DK |
| 201500047 | Jun 2015 | DK |
| 3037557 | Jun 2016 | EP |
| WO8203634 | Oct 1982 | WO |
| WO0162985 | Aug 2001 | WO |
| WO2005026394 | Mar 2005 | WO |
| WO2005080607 | Sep 2005 | WO |
| WO2014032950 | Mar 2014 | WO |
| WO2015144774 | Oct 2015 | WO |
| WO2015144777 | Oct 2015 | WO |
| WO2017118721 | Jul 2017 | WO |
| Entry |
|---|
| Translation of DK201500045, Agerbo, Poul, Jun. 12, 2015, translated by Google on Nov. 12, 2019 (Year: 2015). |
| Danish patent application No. DK 2003 01592; Filed on Oct. 28, 2003; Inventor: Jens Hedegaard. |
| International Search Report on corresponding PCT application (PCT/EP2015/056431) from International Searching Authority (EPO) dated Jun. 15, 2015. |
| Written Opinion on corresponding PCT application (PCT/EP2015/056431) from International Searching Authority (EPO) dated Jun. 15, 2015. |
| International Search Report on related PCT application (PCT/EP2015/056441) from International Searching Authority (EPO) dated Sep. 3, 2015. |
| Written Opinion on related PCT application (PCT/EP2015/056441) from International Searching Authority (EPO) dated Sep. 3, 2015. |
| Non-Final Office Action on co-pending U.S. application (U.S. Appl. No. 15/128,677) dated Jun. 5, 2018. |
| International Search Report on corresponding PCT application (PCT/EP2016/066619) from International Searching Authority (EPO) dated Nov. 30, 2016. |
| Written Opinion on corresponding PCT application (PCT/ EP2016/066619) from International Searching Authority (EPO) dated Nov. 30, 2016. |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20180209003 A1 | Jul 2018 | US |
