Patents by Inventor Steven P. Sorensen

Steven P. Sorensen has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 5425668
    Abstract: A poultry slaughtering machine includes a shackle conveyor for carrying a series of birds, suspended by their feet in a predetermined orientation with their breast facing to one side, along a first path, and a head capturing device disposed generally below the shackle conveyor and offset away from the breast side. The capturing device includes a flexible carrier constrained to follow an endless second path, a series of pairs of relatively movable jaws affixed to the endless carrier, and a cam rail for closing each pair of jaws about the neck of a bird. A rotary blade incises major blood vessels of tile neck, but is prevented from cutting the trachea or the spinal cord, and the jaws are opened to release the neck as soon as the cut has been made.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 1994
    Date of Patent: June 20, 1995
    Assignee: Foodcraft Equipment Company
    Inventors: Eugene G. Martin, Steven P. Sorensen, Duane Newswanger