Abstract: A device (30) is provided for the inversion of bodies of meat (e.g., pork bellies 162, 164) during processing thereof in order to eliminate the manual labor involved in conventional packing house operations. The device (30) includes a rotatable inversion drum (32) made up of inner and outer drum subassemblies (42, 44), which are selectively interconnected by means of lock pin cylinders (86). An entry conveyor (34) serves to direct incoming meat bodies to the drum (32) and an exit conveyor (36) is provided to convey inverted meat bodies away from the drum (32). In preferred forms, the drum (32) has a pair of circumferentially spaced apart, elongated, transversely extending clamping rods (90), which are selectively shiftable towards and away from the drum (32) in order to sequentially clamp an incoming meat body to the drum (32) during rotation thereof, and to release the meat body after inversion thereof onto exit conveyor (36).

Abstract: A device (30) is provided for the inversion of bodies of meat (e.g., pork bellies 162, 164) during processing thereof in order to eliminate the manual labor involved in conventional packing house operations. The device (30) includes a rotatable inversion drum (32) made up of inner and outer drum subassemblies (42, 44), which are selectively interconnected by means of lock pin cylinders (86). An entry conveyor (34) serves to direct incoming meat bodies to the drum (32) and an exit conveyor (36) is provided to convey inverted meat bodies away from the drum (32). In preferred forms, the drum (32) has a pair of circumferentially spaced apart, elongated, transversely extending clamping rods (90), which are selectively shiftable towards and away from the drum (32) in order to sequentially clamp an incoming meat body to the drum (32) during rotation thereof, and to release the meat body after inversion thereof onto exit conveyor (36).