Abstract: A meat separating machine for separating meat from a feed material which has an appreciable bone content. The machine includes a foraminous cylinder or screen in which a conveying auger rotates. Feed material is introduced under compression into the infeed end of the cylinder/auger combination. The auger conveys the meat material to the discharge end of the combination. During such conveyance, meat is separated from the bone and exudes through the foramina as de-boned meat. Compacted residue high in bone content discharges through a restricted discharge orifice at the discharge end of the cylinder/auger combination. The flights on the auger have an outer diameter on the infeed end which has substantial radial clearance in the neighborhood of 0.25 inch with respect to the inner diameter of the cylinder. The auger flights taper outwardly toward the discharge end where the radial clearance is from about 0.010 and 0.025.

Abstract: An improved machine for separating meat from meat feed material having a substantial content of sinews or sinew-like material and being essentially free of bone particles larger than bone slivers, and wherein such a meat feed material is fed into one end of a foraminous cylinder in which an auger rotates at relatively high speed and fluidized meat separated from sinews, sinew-like material and bone slivers extrudes through the foramina while sinews, sinew-like material and bone slivers when present exit through a restricted discharge orifice, the improvement residing in a strip of flexible non-abrasive material being mounted on the crest of the auger flite so as to engage the interior of the foraminous cylinder and cut, and thereby free sinews or the like that may be lodged or trapped in the foramina.