Abstract: A bottle packaging apparatus including a dual line bottle conveyor, a cover conveyor for feeding contoured covers to the bottles on the conveyor, a magazine positioned above the cover conveyor and including a pair of guide tubes for supporting a stack of contoured covers, each cover including flexible means for separating one cover from another, and a tab or ring mounted on the bottom of the guide tube for bending the flexible means into engagement with the next cover to physically separate the cover from the stack when the cover is pulled off of the guide tubes.

Abstract: Sizing means for a food casing including an internal casing sizing means having a convoluted outer periphery which increases the perimeter length of the internal casing sizing means relative to its diameter. An external casing sizing means forces unstretched casing to conform to the convoluted perimeter to stretch the casing to the desired size. Also disclosed is a shirred casing article including the internal sizing means of the present invention as well as a method and apparatus for stretch sizing a food casing employing the internal sizing means of the present invention.

Abstract: A crab opener apparatus has a base with a fixed blade attached thereto and a slidable blade slidably mounted to the base and positioned next to the fixed blade in one position so that the two blades are parallel and adjacent to each other. An aperture in the fixed blade has a rod passing therethrough and is fixedly attached to the sliding blade on one end and has a handle attached to the other end. The blades are positioned together so that a crab placed thereon when the handle is hit to slide the slidable blade away from the fixed blade pops the crab shell off.

Abstract: A machine for processing fish, especially salmon, includes a base, a conveyor on the base for conveying fish along a longitudinal work path, a plurality of work stations for loading, locating, heading, gulleting and transferring the fish, and an indexing mechanism for sequentially moving the conveyor to feed the fish from station to station. The fish locating station is disposed upstream of the heading station and downstream of the loading station, and includes a positioning mechanism engageable within the gill slit of the fish for positioning the head of the fish at a desired location with respect to the heading station and gulleting station to provide depth control so that the fish is beheaded at the optimum location by a guillotine blade at the heading station and the gulleting tool may be inserted the appropriate depth into the fish body cavity after head removal to break the membrane that attaches the egg sack to the body of the fish without damage to the egg sack or eggs themselves.

Abstract: A gizzard peeling machine including at least one pair of toothed rolls for grasping and peeling the pocket lining from a gizzard, and having a tamper for periodically pressing the gizzard inwardly against the peeling rolls. Oscillation of the tamper occurs without connection to the peeling rolls, so that the rolls and the support bushings for the rolls are unaffected by movement of the tamper.

Abstract: A resilient finger for use in connection with a poultry plucking apparatus or the like is provided with a head portion capable of being pushed through an opening provided in a movable member associated with the apparatus. The head portion is provided with a resilient base portion which deforms sufficiently so as to allow the head portion to pass through the opening provided in the movable member. After passing through the opening, the resilient base portion returns to its undeformed state and grips the area of the movable member adjacent the opening against a shoulder portion formed on the shank of the resilient finger. A neck having a reduced transversed dimension relative to the shoulder and the base of the head portion is disposed within the opening upon installation. The head may be provided with one or more spiral threads which are engageable by one or more teeth projecting into the opening to facilitate mounting of the finger on the movable member.

Abstract: A device for manually retaining a fish during filleting the fish. A piece of material, such as metal or plastics or the like, is formed into a band which is adapted to encompass a person's finger. A stem extends from the band. At the end of the stem is a pointed protuberance which is adapted to engage a part of a fish while an instrument, such as a knife, engages another part of the fish.

Abstract: The machine comprises a device for feeding the product to be bagged under constant pressure toward an outlet orifice, a filling spout and a cutoff valve placed between said outlet orifice and said filling spout. The cutoff valve is periodically moved to the open position for adjustable predetermined time periods corresponding to adjustable amounts of the product delivered.

Abstract: The plant for semiautomatic treatment of quarters of meat of cattle or other quadrupeds comprises an overhead rail arrangement (1) at constant height forming a closed loop, a plurality of suspending arms (6) suspended at regular intervals along the overhead rail (1), means for continuously driving the set of the arms along the said closed overhead rail loop (1), a plurality of stationary treatment stations (8) arranged along at least one part of the closed loop and outside the latter, each station (8) comprising a platform (9) equipped with means for automatic vertical movement with manual control, a conveyor belt system (10, 11) arranged under the path of the arms (6) in order to receive the muscles removed at various treatment stations (8), and an automatic transfer and loading device (18) equipped with a grasping member capable of performing a telescopic movement followed by a rotary movement in order to move a quarter initially hanging from a rail (17 ) as far as a suspending arm (6) situated in a region

Abstract: This invention relates to an apparatus for constricting and fastening flexible tubular material along its longitudinal axis having particular utility in the food processing industry such as sausage casings. The apparatus circumferentially constricts and gathers flexible tubular material about its longitudinal axis by reciprocally moveable co-acting gates which comprise means for urging a pliable fastener about the gathered flexible material.

Abstract: A shellfish shucking machine and more specifically a bivalve opening device for safely shucking or opening bivalve shellfish such as oysters, clams and the like. The shucking machine includes a base structure, an upright support structure including a handle structure and a vertically movable knife structure which includes a thin but wide blade having a rounded and sharpened lower edge to engage the bivalve and to be forced into the seam between the two halves of the bivalve shell and then rotated or twisted about its own longitudinal axis to open the shell in a manner similar to the shucking action that is used when a conventional hand-held oyster shucking knife is used to open a bivalve shellfish. The blade is provided with a transparent guard which enables observation of the blade and provides maximum at rest protection for the user with the blade being interchangeable for use with different types of bivalve shellfish.

Abstract: In a preferred embodiment, a platform fish chunk-cutting combination having a platform substantially enclosed by circumscribing walls including an end upright wall at one end of a platform, mounting a pivotally-mounted lever carrying a blade having a bottom cutting-edge positioned and mounted to transverse space adjacent a gap defined between spaced-apart upright wall-portions of the end upright wall with the gap between the spaced-apart wall-portions being held to a minimum necessary for gap-insertion of a fish to be chopped into chunks, and including blade-limiting brackets that limit movement of the bottom cutting-edge to a minimum height necessary for gap-space insertion of the fish to be chopped into chunks and to a height not exceeding height of the gap-defining spaced-apart upright wall portions sufficiently to minimize potential accidental cutting of a person by the elongated cutting-edge, the blade being detachably-mounted and replaceable by another equivalent sharpened blade, the platform including

Abstract: An apparatus for processing either a fresh or frozen piece of meat, in particular for frenching a rack of lamb. A pair of chain conveyers each incorporating teeth are mounted in adjacent spaced apart relationship on a bench. A piece of meat is transported along by and between the conveyer chains with the teeth thereof gripping the meat. The piece of meat is orientated on the conveyer to dispose a required section thereof to a cutting zone. At a first cutting station liquid jet cutting means are located to either side of the path of the meat to direct a liquid jet onto the predetermined section and cut thereinto. At a second cutting station a liquid jet stripping means is provided to remove the previously cut meat.

Abstract: An apparatus for skinning fish includes a pressure pad carrying an oscillating knife blade and defining a presser surface which faces the circumferential surface of a skinning roller, the pressure pad being mounted to yield against spring force. The oscillating knife blade is guided in a pocket formed in the pressure pad. This arrangement makes it possible to skin fish fillets without any splitting of the tail portion.

Abstract: A fish filleting kit wherein a gate arm having a plurality of dependent pins holds the fish to be filleted by the tail against a supporting board. A revolving locking arm and a vertical stop hold the gate arm temporarily in place during the filleting process. To permit frequent and efficient sharpening of the filleting knife, the kit includes a knife sharpener attached conveniently atop one end of the supporting board. A ruler is provided on one side of the supporting board to assist in an accurate division of the fillet being carved.

Abstract: Machine for meat treatment and maceration, with automatic loading and unloading including a rotating drum having a loading and unloading hood inlet coaxial with the axis of rotation in one end, a door with fitting and locking devices for closing the drum hood inlet, driving and rolling support elements for driving and supporting the drum on a tilting frame for lifting and lowering one end of the drum articulated at the other end on a fixed structure, a series of containers surrounding the drum carried by a carriage structure for step-by-step advance movement, and a device for dumping a load in each container into a hopper for loading the drum, tilting of the frame by lifting the rear end of the drum producing unloading of the treated meat through the hood inlet into the container.

Abstract: An arrangement for transferring poultry carcasses such as the carcasses of birds being chickens, ducks, turkeys and the like, from one position to another may be used to transfer the poultry carcasses from a killing conveyor to an eviscerating conveyor, for example. The arrangement can, however, be used to transfer poultry carcasses from any one conveyor to another conveyor. The arrangement includes a rotatably mounted plate and associated structure for imparting a rotational moment thereto. A plurality of sector members are pivotally mounted on or connected to the plate at a position offset or spaced apart from the rotational mounting of the plate. The rotational moment of the plate can be imparted to the sector members. Members are provided to limit or control the pivotal movement of the sector members relative to each other and to the pivotal attachment point.

Abstract: As turret 12 rotates on vertical axle 20, probe assemblies 14 are raised and lowered by cam track 29. Drive belt 76 engages the drive sheave 42 of the probes as the probes pass around the back of the machine, causing the probes to rotate about their longitudinal axes 46. Ring cam 48 urges cam sheaves 58 radially outwardly into engagement with the belt 76 to disengage the belt from the probe drive sheaves 42, so that the probes 34 rotate only during part of their revolution about the turret 12. Probe head 35 includes a stem 88 of parallelopiped cross section, with helical teeth 90 and 91 which extend at a radius from the acute angle into overlying relationship with respect to the obtuse angle of the stem.

Abstract: A method of material distribution for distributing freeflowing material is provided which consists of transporting the material in bulk from one location to another, siting a mobile bagging apparatus at the second location, unloading the transported material into the bagging apparatus, and bagging the material for use. In a preferred arrangement the mobile bagging apparatus has a receiving hopper for material, a weighing and bagging machine for metering the material into bags in predetermined quantities by weight, and a stitching machine for closing the bags. The material is suitably transported in bulk by transport ship.

Abstract: Improvements in apparatus and methods for cutting potatoes into strips, wherein the potatoes are carried hydraulically .[.in single file.]. against and through an arrangement of knife blades, rapidly and with great force. The improvements reside in the manner in which the potatoes are preconiditioned for cutting, the mechanism .[.by.]. which .Iadd.causes .Iaddend.the potatoes .[.are aligned in.]. to .Iadd.move toward the axis of .Iaddend.the hydraulic stream as they approach the knives, and the knife device by which the potatoes are effectively cut into strips.