Abstract: Collection or bagging apparatus for a riding-type lawn mower is disclosed. A substantially rigid top hinged receptacle structure is fastened to the mower frame. A telescoping elongated handle member which cooperates with a bracket to provide a retractable lever for emptying of the receptacle and a latch to prevent accidental opening of the receptacle during the filling procedure is provided.

Abstract: A press for separating flesh from bones in which a charge of bones with flesh attached is received in a chamber and a plunger moveable axially in the chamber compresses the bones and flesh to liberate from the bones flesh in the form of a paste which flows through restricted size passages to exit the chamber. Bones retained in the chamber during compression are discharged thereafer through a passage in a cover on the chamber which passage is selectively opened and closed by a valve associated with a cover.

Abstract: A continuous method for enhancing the pick-up of marinade by poultry, such as chicken. Cut chicken pieces are introduced into a continuous conveyor assembly in which marinade liqud is maintained at a predetermined level. The chicken pieces are conveyed longitudinally of the conveyor and are repeatedly lifted up out of the marinade and are dropped back into the marinade, optimally between 40 and 90 times. A continuous marinating apparatus is disclosed having an elongate screw conveyor for carrying chicken pieces longitudinally of a vessel in which the conveyor is positioned. The screw conveyor has a plurality of vanes between adjacent pairs of screw conveyor flights for lifting the chicken pieces and for allowing the chicken pieces to drop back into the liquid in the trough. Discharge vanes at the end of the screw conveyor scoop up the chicken pieces and convey them upwardly to a discharge station for discharge outwardly of the trough.

Abstract: Hogs are skinned by suspending the carcass in the head-up position, freeing the hide from around the neck and head of the carcass, and pulling downwardly on the upper end of the hide whereby the hide is removed from the carcass.

Abstract: A self-propelled combine has a forwardly extending, vertically adjustable crop feeder housing and a transversely elongated, cutter bar type harvesting platform mounted on the forward end of the housing. The platform includes a floor and a transverse auger that extends the width of the platform and converges the crop along the floor to the center of the platform, for discharge rearwardly to the feeder housing. A cutter bar spans the width of the platform along the leading edge of the floor and is mounted for fore and aft extension or retraction into different fore and aft positions to vary the distance between the cutter bar and the auger. Members are also provided for adjusting the tilt of the cutter bar about a transverse horizontal axis, so that the cutter bar skids, which ride along the ground, can be adjusted to the desired angle relative to the ground.

Abstract: An apparatus for treating an animal carcass, particularly a slaughtered pig, suspended in a rotatably mounted suspension device, comprising a holder for a tool to treat the animal carcass and apparatus for automatically moving the holder both upward and downward and forward and backward with a controlled force independent of the shape of the carcass.

Abstract: An apparatus for skinning an animal is disclosed which apparatus permits skinning to be performed mechanically and comprises a roller table supporting the body of an animal and capable of moving in both elevational and tilting movements, a transfer and support table disposed adjacent the roller table, a guide roller disposed adjacent the transfer table, a cutter head mounting a cutter and juxtaposed against the guide roller for movement toward and away from the guide roller, and a pair of opposed rollers or two sets of endless chains disposed in a region beneath the line of contact between the cutter and the guide roller for pulling the skin stripped from the body of the animal by the cutter.

Abstract: A fish scaler comprises a specimen hold down plate and a scaler plate moveable toward and away from the hold down plate to and fro on a handle attached to the hold down plate and including manually operable scaler plate operating structure to guide the scaler plate on the handle and comprising an operating handle of modified oval-conical configuration to permit the scaler plate to have perpendicular as well as rotatable motion with respect to the guiding handle.

Abstract: A fish scaler having a housing with front input opening, a rearwardly declining bottom ramp, and a scaling rotor journalled within the housing. A series of adjacently positioned flexible scaling arms are secured intermediate their ends to and extend radially from the rotor axle. The scaling arms are of rubber-nylon composition and have a pair of laterally spaced extension fingers at one end and a middle extension finger at the opposite end which carry transverse scaling teeth. The teeth arc through a continuous lateral width when the scaling rotor is rotated. The bottom ramp is pivotably mounted within the housing and is spring biased toward the scaling rotor for varying the distance between the ramp and the scaling rotor. The ramp has a hinged extension platform extending forwardly of the input opening.

Abstract: De-headed and unshelled shrimp are automatically processed by apparatus including a feed station, an uncurling station, a cutting station, a flattening or spreader station, a cleaning station and a pair of endless conveyor belts which are supported on guides to form a generally V-shaped trough for receiving the shrimp and continuously moving it from the feed station and through the other stations. The uncurling station includes a plurality of leaf members which resiliently engage the underside of the shrimp as it passes thereunder and cause it to be uncurled to a substantially horizontally extended position prior to entering the cutting station. At the cutting station a rotating cutter blade cuts through the belly of the shrimp to the point at which the alimentary canal is located.

Abstract: A dual purpose blade and a shield are pivotally supported on a transverse axis on a hollow handle for pivotal movement from a nested position within the handle to a fully open position at an obtuse angle to the handle. The shield is independently movable relative to the blade. One longitudinal edge of the blade is an extremely sharp cutting edge, the other longitudinal edge being a scraping edge. The free end of the shield when disposed in nested relation with the blade forms a concave curvature at its free end to conform to the shape of a rib cage of a fish. The lateral surface of the combined shield and blade is a smooth concavity having its axis in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the blade. The concavity at the free end of the shield has sharp edges at its junctions with the lateral surfaces of the shield to provide a scraping edge to shear the fish meat from the rib cage.

Abstract: Halves of cleaned crabs, claws off and fins on, are placed onto the upper run of a conveyor belt with the fins facing in the direction of travel. A cooperating belt disposed above the conveyor belt has a lower run converging towards the upper run of the conveyor belt to form a squeeze pass therebetween, which squeezes the meat from the shell onto the belt in the rearward direction of belt travel. Rollers spaced beyond the ends of the belt run grab the fins in their nip and pull the then empty shell away from the belt run and the expressed crab meat drops off the end of the conveyor belt run into a container.

Abstract: A method of extending the hind legs of a slain animal for the purpose of mechanical shackling comprising the steps of applying an electric voltage to the bare skin near the anus of the animal and using the bare skin between the hind legs as ground. Involuntary motion is also suppressed thereby.

Abstract: This invention relates to an improvement in the process for shirring cylindrical tubular casings, especially artificial sausage casings of synthetic material, in which an inflated casing is conveyed in the direction of its longitudinal axis and shirred, with pleating, against a counter-force by shirring forces acting upon the circumference of the casing, the improvement comprising that the forces acting upon the surface of the casing do so continuously and simultaneously, at equal intervals, at a plurality of points on at least two straight lines extending parallel to and symmetrically about the longitudinal axis of the casing, the action being at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the casing, and, simultaneously, in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the casing, against the counter-force. The invention also relates to an apparatus for performing the process.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for knitting proteinaceous fragments into a unified mass is disclosed. The apparatus is adapted to accumulate proteinaceous fragments into a wad, and then knit the fragments together to form a unified proteinaceous patty. The method includes the steps of accumulating the meat fragments into a wad, and then knitting the wad to form a unified proteinaceous patty.

Abstract: A set of two parallel rails is used to hold animals being slaughtered. The animal's four legs straddle the two rails and the body rests on the rails. A back retraining device is provided to hold the rump and back securely on the rails. A device is also provided for restraining and stretching the neck upward so that ritual slaughter can be performed.

Abstract: The invention relates to a filling machine for stuffing of a plastically deformable mass such as baked sausage material using a filling pump which, per a unit angular displacement conveys equal amount of filling masses and is coupled to common drive shaft by two gear trains, at least one of which has an intermittently-driven output member on a periodically variable transmission ratio. The machine includes a first differential gear train with three coupling connections, one each of the latter coupling connections are connected to the first coupling connection of one of the gear trains and the common drive shaft respectively, while the second coupling connections of the two gear trains are couplable to each other.

Abstract: This invention teaches a dolly device and its separable connection to a normally portable hand-held electric power grass trimmer for converting same for standup operation. The dolly has a base plate with spaced upstanding arms supporting at the upper ends inwardly extended tabs and these tabs fit within recesses in the opposite side walls of the tool housing, and a lock mounted on the dolly base plate can be easily moved against the bias of a spring to fit into a recess in the rear wall of the tool housing.

Abstract: A hand-held fish skinning device is disclosed having a tee-head at one end of a handle body adapted to be held in the user's hand. The end of the tee-head remote from the handle body is formed as a sharp beak which can be readily pressed through the skin of the fish. The neck or shank joining the tee-head to the handle body is provided with a sharp edge so contoured that after the beak is pressed through the skin of the fish the tee-head can be pressed forward under the skin of the fish, making a continuous cut through the skin of the fish and thus the skin of the fish can be cut into panels, while yet on the body of the fish, by successive cuts made with the blade on the neck or shank of the tee-head. The nearer end of the tee-head (nearer the handle body) is formed as a gripping jaw for use in gripping the skin of the fish.

Abstract: A lung removal method for poultry in which an access opening to their body cavity has been formed at their vent including the steps of supporting poultry by its hocks and at an access opening at the vent so as to locate the access opening in a fixed plane while the breast portion of the poultry is flexibly supported therefrom in cantilever fashion through the bone and muscle structure of the poultry. The method also includes inserting an eviscerating tool through the access opening to eviscerate the poultry while it is supported. A separate vacuum may be imposed through the tool on different parts of the viscera to remove same.