Abstract: A fish head cutting machine for decapitating a fish, comprising: a) a fish support for supporting a fish in an infeed loading zone with its belly side down and its backbone in a substantially horizontal orientation; b) a guide mechanism positioned adjacent the fish support to hold the fish via an anatomical body part, such as its gill plate, collar bone, pectoral fin or pelvic fin, so that only the body of the fish is supported by the fish support; c) a drive mechanism transporting the fish in a downward direction and at an acute angle to vertical from the infeed loading zone downstream to a head cutting zone while the fish is supported on the fish support and held by the guide mechanism; d) a head pusher located between the infeed loading zone and the head cutting zone that engages the head of the fish and tips the head of the fish upwardly and rearwardly as the fish moves downstream to the head cutting zone; and e) head cutting blades located downstream of the head pusher in the cutting zone that cut the he

Abstract: A fish feed-in device (1) for feeding fish (9) to a fish processing device (7) comprises a delivery conveying means (3) which is equipped with a controllable positioning drive (35) and a controllable conveying drive (36). The delivery conveying means (3) can be moved by the controllable positioning drive (35) into a first state (301) released by the fish (9) in a deposit space (11), into a second state (302) for grasping, centered holding and conveying of the fish (9) accessing said fish in the deposit space (11) and, in cooperation with the controllable conveying drive (36), into a third state (303) which releases the fish (9) after conveying at a fish delivery point (42) which is defined by a controlled delivery time with associated controlled fish delivery speed.

Abstract: An apparatus for carrying out a cleaning operation applied to the internal neck skin of slaughtered poultry by removing the windpipe, gullet, glandular tissue or remainders thereof.

Abstract: Slicer apparatus of the type used for slicing in particular fish fillets, where the apparatus comprises a conveying path, and cutting means arranged in said conveying path, where the cutting means comprises a set of moveable reciprocating knives and a cutting land, where the cutting means further comprises means for moving the knives relative to the cutting land and the surface of the conveyor path, wherein the cutting means are arranged on a common member which member may be rotated through a predetermined arch about a horizontal axis, perpendicular to the conveyor path's transport direction.

Abstract: The invention relates to a scraper head for cleaning the neck of poultry carcasses. The invention also relates to a device for cleaning the neck of poultry carcasses provided with such a scraper head. Finally, the invention also relates to a method for cleaning the neck of poultry carcasses, wherein a scraper head is moved out of the chest cavity into the neck.

Abstract: A machine for cleaning fowl by removal of residual viscera and bacteria, the machine comprising a wand with brushing tendrils attached to a tip, wherein the tip has exits for spraying cleaning fluid therefrom. The tip is attached to a rotating hollow shaft into which the cleaning fluid is introduced. Fowl are secured to hangers and the hangers are transported on a track to and around the machine. While passing around the machine, the wand is inserted into the fowl for cleaning thereof. The wand rides on a fixed cam comprising timed upward and downward guide tracks which transmit upward and downward movement to the wand, thereby inserting it into, and removing it from, the carcass of a fowl.

Abstract: A blade mounting device for the mounting of blades, in particular, for skinning and stripping machines with a blade mount fixing (1), a blade support (3), a retaining strip (6) and a tensioning device (8) for holding the blade support and retaining strip together is disclosed. A swallow-tail shaped recess (17, 18) is provided across the total width of the facing surfaces of the blade support and retaining strip. A shaft (9), centrally mounted in the retaining strip (6) and eccentrically mounted in the blade mount fixing (1) serves as tensioning device.

Abstract: A device and method for slaughtering fish, in particular white fish, has at least one fish receptacle for positioning and receiving the fish, a throat cutting apparatus for cutting through the throat in preparation for the pharynx cut, a pharynx cutting apparatus for completely cutting through the pharynx, a slaughtering apparatus for opening the abdominal cavity, a gut severing apparatus for releasing the entrails from the abdominal cavity and a peripheral fish receiving drum with which the fish can be moved to the individual processing stations. The fish receiving drum is driven intermittently in rotation about a horizontal shaft. The fish are movable transversely to their longitudinal axis on an essentially vertical circular path. The fish receptacle includes pectoral fin receptacles and a torso clamp for fixing the fish torsos. Also, a head support with a head clamp is provided.

Abstract: In a method for automatically gutting fish of the catfish species, the belly cavity is opened around the anal orifice either before or after opening the gills by severing the gullet and opening the blood stream, and the contents of the belly cavity are removed by pushing these from one of the openings of the cavity out of the other. In a machine for carrying out this method, the fish are conveyed sideways by a recessed conveyor. The belly cavity is opened in the vicinity of the anus by separating away the cartilaginous plate carrying the ventral fins. The contents of the ventral cavity are removed by a rotary body rotating synchronously with the conveyor and having tools successively arranged in a cantilevered helix around its circumference which comprise a clearing tool with scraping segments, a brush tool, a high-pressure spray device and a cutting tool for slitting open the belly cavity along its length.

Abstract: A flexibly structured probe carrying flexible fingers arrayed on the probe is used in decropping apparatus to snag and pull away from a poultry carcass membrane, crop, trachea and esophagus inedibles, the probe passing through the carcass stomach cavity and the neck passage in effecting this removal. The probe can be made of a resilient material such as a urethane this composition giving sufficient flexibility that the probe can deflect when encountering carcass inside obstructions to avoid damaging the carcass, and also the flexible fingers bending to prevent same breaking bones in the carcass when the rotating probe encounters such bones.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for eviscerating a beheaded fish without belly slitting the fish. A brush having a generally cylindrical shape is used to remove the entrails of a beheaded fish. In preferred form, the brush has multiple rows of bristle extending radially outwardly from a central shaft with the rows also being wrapped spirally around the shaft. The preferred brush is also cone shaped having a smaller diameter at the end of the brush first placed into the fish. The brush is driven by a hydraulic motor with a safety hood provided. A guide trough is used to help guide the fish onto the brush. A water nozzle helps rinse the brush between uses.

Abstract: An improved apparatus and method for eviscerating scallops and other shellfish is provided which includes a cylindrical drum having side walls formed from a plurality of rollers mounted between a pair of rims which define the longitudinal ends of the drum. A drive mechanism is provided for rotating adjacent rollers to rotate in opposite directions. Each of the rollers has a frictional surface to allow adjacent rollers to grip the viscera and pull it from the edible muscle as the rollers are rotated. A drive mechanism is also provided for rotating the drum about its longitudinal axis. To divide the drum into a plurality of sections to ensure sufficient contact of the scallops being cleaned with the viscera removing rollers and to allow the capacity of the drum to be maximized, radial plates are mounted within the drum and are rotated with it.