Abstract: A device for the removal of the gullet, crop, windpipe and adhering parts from the neck part of slaughtered poultry, comprising a rotary driven mandrel which is conveyed from the belly cavity into and through the neck opening of the poultry, wherein the mandrel, preferably a hollow cylinder, in the wall of which one or more openings are provided, forms part of a vacuum system, and is provided with gripping means for the parts to be removed, while openings are provided in the vacuum system near the gripping means. The gripping means advantageously lie entirely inside the outer wall of the cylinder. The gripping means may be composed of a lip which, viewed in the axial direction, is fitted above an opening in the cylinder wall. The mandrel may be composed of one or more strips which are fitted in the axial direction at the end of the decropper, one or more strips being provided with notches forming the gripping means.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for removing viscera from poultry carcasses during processing is described comprising a frame which has a tilting means mounted thereon to tilt the carcasses so that the viscera hang sufficiently away from the carcasses to allow them to be mechanically grasped. A grasping means is mounted on the frame for grasping the viscera after the carcasses are tilted, and a pulling means is mounted on the frame for pulling the grasped viscera from the carcasses. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the tilting means comprises at least one guide bar, disposed in such a manner that as the carcasses move along on the shackle line, they strike the guide bar and are tilted. The grasping means of the preferred embodiment of the invention comprise a pair of side-by-side, spaced apart rails, the distance between which progressively decreases along their length to the point that viscera may be substantially grasped between the rails.

Abstract: An apparatus for internally processing slaughtered poultry comprises a processing device and a counterpressure plate engaging the back of the poultry. The plate is essentially movable towards and away from the poultry. As a result, the apparatus is suited for use with poultry of different dimensions and different weight. Preferably, the counterpressure plate is attached to the piston rods of two cylinder-piston assemblies positioned one above the other.

Abstract: An assembly for excising viscera hanging from a poultry suspended vertically consists in a structure which tilts the poultry from a vertical position to a horizontal position, pulls, in a substantial horizontal direction on the proventriculus and cuts the latter while the poultry moves sideways on a conveyor.