NZ336087A - Animal head removal by driving an axe-like blade with sufficient force and velocity to sever the head even if the preferred spot is missed - Google Patents

Abstract

Axe-like blade 30 is moved at sufficient force and velocity such that a slaughtered animal's head is severed even if the blade misses the preferred spot of the atlas joint.

Description

Patents Form # 5 cr- NEW ZEALAND o L~' O iXi AFTER PROVISIONAL # DATED• TITLE : Patents Act 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION 336087 3 June 1999 Animal Head Removal We, Jarvis Equipment (NZ) Limited Address. 2 Grayson Avenue, Papatoetoe, Auckland, New Zealand Nationality A New Zealand company do hereby declare the invention for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement PF05 JWP FEE CODE 1050 " V'C'CO INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICF OF NZ 1 2 JUN 2000 PiXTWlfe^^D ANIMAL HEAD REMOVAL ABSTRACT A cutter for the removal of sheep's heads from an inverted dressing system which uses a hardened stainless steel axe-like blade directed at high speed by an hydraulic ram and 5 positioned so that the blade enters the throat area and passes through the atlas joint severing the sheep's head and passes between two stationary bars which rest on the back of the head. The ram applies sufficient force so that if the blade encounters bone it will still sever the head. The correct position for the height of the blade is determined by means of a nose plate, which swings up under the animal's nose and detects the height of the nose from the floor. The head 10 cutter then travels to a predetermined distance and the cut cycle is initiated when the sheep head is exactly on the centre line of the blade.

T803ucap 600/ld ["INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY "OFFICE j J OF N.Z 1 2 JUN 2000 RECEIVED - J - FIELD OF INVENTION INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE OF N.Z. 2 0 NOV 2001 RECEIVED O *7 0 This invention relates to the removal of animal heads from carcasses of slaughtered animals in an abattoir, in particular, but not solely to the removal of heads from slaughtered sheep transported on a conveyor chain in a freezing works.

BACKGROUND By way of example, in New Zealand, after the animal is stunned and slaughtered, the removal of sheep heads has generally been a two operator job, the first operator twists the neck to loosen or break the cartilage between the atlas and the skull; the second operator uses a knife to sever the cartilage and the head is released from the carcass. Both operations have a high incidence of RSI/OUS associated with them. The process for the removal of cattle heads is carried out by one operator wherein the operator uses a knife to sever the cartilage between the skull and the atlas OBJECT It is the object of this invention to provide an improved method and/or apparatus for the removal of animal heads or one that will at least provide the industry with a useful choice STATEMENT OF INVENTION In one aspect the invention provides an apparatus for the removal of a head from the carcass of a slaughtered animal held in the inverted dressing system, the apparatus being adapted to be positioned alongside a chain in a freezing works and to sever the head as the inverted carcass moves along the chain, wherein the apparatus has a moveable axe-like blade, means tor detecting the position of the carcass relative to the blade, including (a) a movement 25 detector that senses the presence of the carcass moving along the chain towards the apparatus, and (b) a head sensor to detect the position or height of the animal's head relative T803gcap NO I /ha INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE OF N.Z. 2 0 NOV 2001 4 RECEIVED to the blade or the ground, means for aiming the axe-like blade at the atlas joint, means for driving the axe-like blade with sufficient force and velocity to sever the animals head, so that in use the combination of the applied force and the velocity is sufficient such that, even if the moving axe-like blade misses the atlas joint, it will still sever the head from the neck Preferably the head sensor has a moveable nose plate Preferably the nose plate is designed to come into contact with the head of the animal to detect its height above the ground and is adapted to move quickly out of the way after detecting the position of the animal's head.

Preferably the nose plate is pivotally connected to a frame which supports the movable Preferably the means for positioning and holding the animal's head includes a rear head arm capable of moving onto and out of engagement with the rear of the animal's neck during the cutting operation Preferably the means for driving the blade is an hydraulic ram In a second aspect the invention provides a method for the removal of a head from the carcass of a slaughtered animal, wherein the method involves locating a carcass relative to a movable blade, aiming the movable blade at or in the direction of the atlas joint of the carcass, and moving the blade at a high speed and with sufficient applied pressure to remove the animal head at the atlas joint or through the bone (if the motion of the carcass relative to the machine results in the blade missing the atlas joint).

Preferably the blade is moved by means of a hydraulic ram at a pressure in excess of lOOOpsi In another aspect the invention provides apparatus for the removal of heads from slaughtered animals, the apparatus including a moveable blade, a means for positioning and holding the animal's head, means for applying sufficient force and velocity to move the blade to sever the animals head, whereby in use the combination of the applied force and velocity is sufficient such that, even if the blade misses the preferred spot, it will still sever the head from the neck. blade T803gcap NOI/ba animals head, whereby in use the combination of the applied force and velocity is sufficient such that, even if the blade misses the preferred spot, it will still sever the head from the neck.

Preferably the removal apparatus is adapted to be positioned alongside a chain in a freezing works.

Preferably the apparatus incorporates a movement detector that senses the presence of the carcass moving along the chain and moving into the correct position for the start of the cutting cycle Optionally an operator may manually activate a switch to initiate the start of the cutting cycle once the animal has moved into the correct position.

Preferably the means for steadying the animal's head is a rear head arm made up of one or more members, the first member is attached at the proximal end and is connected to a pivoting arm, attached to a member of the frame by a bracket at which point the second member is also attached and lies parallel to the first member from the point both terminating at the distal end between which is provided a spacer at a distance which allows an unimpeded passage of the 15 blade between the two members.

Preferably the apparatus includes means for aligning the blade with the animal's neck. Preferably the aligning means includes a head sensor. Preferably the head sensor has a moveable nose plate.

The nose plate is designed to come into contact with the head of the inverted animal and in its 20 most preferred form will move quickly out of the way of the inverted animal once it has located the position of the animal's head relative to the ground.

Preferably the nose plate is pivotally supported on the apparatus.

Preferably the head sensor is connected by two supporting members attached at the members proximal end to the pivoting arm which is mounted on an overhead bar connected to the 25 pivoting arm by a bracket on each side.

T803ucap 600/ld Preferably the conversion of the distance from the floor to the nose of the animal to the position of the blade at the atlas bone is achieved using a rotary encoder (1 revolution = 2000 pulses) which enables the nose to floor distance to be translated into degrees of movement that the blade must turn through to achieve the preset distance which ensures the severing of the 5 head at the atlas bone.

Preferably the head sensor is also fitted with a trim switch which enables an operator to manually trim the preset distance should the blade consistently appear to require an adjustment so that the head severed at the atlas bone, which may occur when a line of animals, that are consistently greater or lesser than the preset distanced allowed for, enters the chain.

Preferably the cutting means is comprised of hardened stainless steel, weighing approximately 5 kg, with dimensions of 300mm x 200mm with a 20" chamfer on both sides of the cutting edge Although wider blades may be required for certain animals or for plants that do not use the halal cut.

Preferably on the back edge of the blade there is a cutaway section which allows for position 15 of the clevis of the ram and one or more attachment points for the blade to a mounting plate which is attached at each side to guide shafts.

Preferably the means for driving the blade is an hydraulic ram preferably moving with a pressure in excess of 1000 psi through the use of an 11KW power pack driving a 50 mm piston with a 400mm stroke sufficient to achieve a blade speed of approximately 1 metre per 20 second Preferably the applied pressure is about 2000 psi.

Preferably an hydraulic ram would be used to power the cutting means, the rear head bar and the head sensor. However compressed air or electric motors would be considered as an alternative means.

Preferably once the cut cycle has been completed the blade is retracted and hot water is 25 dispensed from pipes and supported from within the inside edge of the frame and at the termination of which are outlets which are directed upwards and onto the underside of the blade on both sides laterally and one or more outlets positioned laterally above the blade on each of the two pipes provided.

T803ucap 600/1 d In another aspect the invention provides a method of removal of animal heads.

The preferred method involves a high speed blade with sufficient applied pressure to remove the animal head at the atlas joint or through the bone if necessary.

Preferably the animal is moved along a chain, stopping at a cutting station where the head is 5 restrained and a blade is aligned with the atlas joint and moved at high speed to move towards the animals neck.

Preferably the blade is moved by means of an hydraulic ram DRAWINGS These and other aspects of the invention, which should be considered in all its novel aspects 10 will become apparent from the following drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a front perspective view of the head removal apparatus with protective housing removed.

Figure 2 is a rear perspective view of the head removal apparatus with protective housing removed.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the apparatus shown in Figure 1 with protective housing shown.

Figure 4 is a front elevation of the apparatus shown in Figure 1 with protective housing shown Figure 5 is a side elevation of the apparatus shown in Figure 1 with protective housing 20 shown.

Figure 6 is a top plan view of the cutting blade in the apparatus shown in Figure 1.

Figure 7 is a front elevation of the cutting blade shown in Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a top perspective view of the cutting blade shown in Figure 6. 1803ucap 600/ld DESCRIPTION OF THE METHOD In this example the incoming sheep carcass in Figure 4, is suspended on all 4 points (using the inverted dressing system) in a supine position with the shoulders slightly lower than the hips presenting the head hanging down and the throat foremost to the blade The pelt is well pared 5 back from the throat and neck region so that contamination from the fleece is minimised. The presence of the sheep is detected by a photo switch attached to the chain which activates the positioning of the machine such that the head sensor 18 swings up so that the nose plate of the head sensor makes contact with the animal's nose and detects the height at which the blade must be positioned.

The head sensor is a trough shape nose plate which may pivot about one or more points so that the nose plate is presented to the nose of the animal at right angles. The trough shape of the nose plate encourages the nose to return to the vertical position, thus ensuring an accurate measurement of the height of the nose to the floor and consequently an accurate positioning of the blade to the atlas.

The frame 13 is mounted on a centre stand and pivots upon a single arm 20, the pivoting angle is determined by the position of the nose plate 18 and directly by the distance of the nose from the floor The machine then pivots to its predetermined cut height.

The rear head bars pivot about a single point 8, 9 powered by a ram to swing forward and rest on the back of the animal's head simultaneously as the axe blade 30 comes forward and severs 20 the head.

A switch attached to the chain detects that the sheep is on the centre line of the blade and the cut cycle is initiated The blade retracts into the wash cabinet and the machine lowers and resets ready for the next animal All of this happens quickly with the carcass moving along the chain without stopping. The 25 machine can be fixed to the floor and does not need to move with the chain.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A machine to implement this method is described herein in Example 1.

T803ucap 600/ld In figure 1 the machine sits on a central mount 2 bolted to the floor 1, from this central mount there is attached by means of a single pivoting arm 20 a frame 13 providing a skeleton for the attachment of the cutting means 30, the washing means 33, 34 and the powering means for the blade 32 . The frame 13 is comprised of two longitudinal members 13 connected at one end 5 by a cross member 15 and connected to the central mount by a pivoting arm. At four points equidistant from the ends of the members on the superior surface of the frame there is a bracket 14 for the attachment of a safety cover 29 and at a central point on the rear edge of the cross member 15 of the frame is a guide for the alignment of the safety cover 16.

Adjacent to the central support 2 at ground level there is a ram 5 which drives the rear head 10 bar 8, 9 the said bar is attached to a longitudinal member 13 two thirds of the distance along the said member from the rear edge 15 of the frame. The rear head bar is attached at 7 and pivots at 11 The arm is made up of one or more members, the first member 8 is attached to the ram at the proximal end 7 and is connected through the pivoting arm 11. At 11 the second rear head bar member 9 is attached and lies parallel to the first member from the pivot point 15 both terminating at the distal end. At the distal end of the rear head bar the two members are provided with a spacer 12.

There is sufficient distance between the two members such that the blade may pass between. The pivoting arm 8, 9 is fixed to the end of the longitudinal member of the frame by a U-shaped bracket 10.

A head sensor 18 is located on the opposite longitudinal section of the frame 13 to the attachment of the rear head bar, comprising a nose plate 18 which lays at right angles to the two supporting members 19 The nose plate is designed to come into contact with the head of the animal and in its most preferred form will move in parallel motion and once contact is made will move quickly out of the way of the machine in operation. Figure 1 demonstrates a 25 sensor with flaps 17 at 30 degrees approximately extending from the flat central section 18 of the nose plate which is designed to prevent the nose from slipping from the vertical as the nose plate pivots upwards to make contact with the nose to determine the position of the head by detection of the distance of the nose from the floor.

T803ucap 600/ld Whilst the pivoting plate works it is not as advantageous as a two part movement which would drop the arm down and bring it up to the nose at an angle parallel to the floor ensuring that the first contact with the nose will give an accurate reading of the position of the head. Preferably a two part movement will enable the nose plate to consist of a substantially flat 5 plate sensor.

The head sensor 18 is connected by two supporting members 19 attached at their proximal to the pivoting arm 22 which itself is mounted on an overhead bar 21 connected to the pivoting arm by a bracket 27 on each side. A bracket 23 attaches both the pivoting arm 22 and the ram 28 at the proximal end of the pivoting arm. A bracket 26 attaches the ram 28 to the frame at 10 the proximal end of the said ram.

The conversion of the distance from the floor to the nose of the animal to the position of the blade at the atlas bone is achieved using a rotary encoder (1 revolution = 2000 pulses). The nose to floor distance is translated into degrees of movement that the blade must turn through to achieve the preset distance which ensures the severing of the head at the atlas bone. This is 15 based on the fact that the distance from the nose to atlas bone is relatively constant in each species/breed /line/age group of animals being slaughtered and that this distance may be preset so that once the nose plate has taken a reading of where the nose is relative to the floor the machine then moves to the preset distance and the blade is in place. The head sensor is also fitted with a trim switch which enables an operator to manually trim the preset distance should 20 the blade consistently appear to require an adjustment so that the atlas bone is severed; which may occur when a line of animals, that are consistently greater or lesser than the preset distanced allowed for, enters the chain.

Preferably the cutting means 30 is comprised of hardened steel, weighing approximately 5 kg, with dimensions of 300mm x 200mm with a 20° chamfer on both sides of the cutting edge. 25 On the back edge of the blade there is a cutaway section 42 which allows for position of the clevis 24 of the ram and one or more attachment points 41 for the blade to a mounting plate 25 which is attached at each side to the guide shafts 32. The ram achieves a speed of approximately 1 metre per second through the pressure created by a 11KW power pack driving a 50mm piston and a 400mm stroke to result in a pressure of approximately 2000psi.

T803ucap 600/ld Once the cut cycle has been completed the blade is retracted and hot water is dispensed over the blade.

Hot water pipes 33, 34 originate just past the pivot point of the frame and extend forwards towards and around but clear of the cutting blade 30. They are supported from within the 5 inside edge of the frame and at the termination of the pipes have outlets 35 which are directed upwards and onto the underside of the blade on both sides laterally. There is one or more outlets 36 positioned laterally above the blade on each of the two pipes provided.

VARIATIONS As an alternative the machine may be used for the removal of heads of other species of 10 animals or with animals in positions other than that which is shown and at different points on the chain.

As an alternative to the cutting cycle being initiated by a sensor being activated when the animal moves into position an operator may manually activate the start of the cutting cycle or may manually align the device with the animals neck.

It may be possible that other forms of power, such as compressed air or electricity, are used to provide the energy to power this machine.

The example shown using head sensor with the pivoting nose plate can be replaced by other movable sensors, for example a substantially flat nose plate that has a two part movement, wherein the said nose plate drops down below the head of the incoming animal before rising 20 upwards to meet the nose at an angle parallel to the floor, wherein the first meeting of the nose with the sensor phase will give an accurate reading of the position of the nose.

Finally, various other alterations or modifications may be made to the foregoing without departing from the scope of this invention Although the machine is at a fixed point so that it operates as animal carcasses move along the 25 chain, it is possible to move the machine in such a way that it moves alongside the chain.

T803ucap 600/ld ADVANTAGES The head cutter is described only in use in one position but it may be possible to use the machine in different areas on the chain and with the animals presented in different positions.

The head cutter may be manually activated when the animal is in position with the rear head bars in place or when the animal trundles into position along the chain and halts momentarily so that the rear head bars are manually activated and slide into position and the cutting cycle initiated T803ucap 600/ld

Claims (6)

1. WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1 Apparatus for the removal of a head from the carcass of a slaughtered animal held in the inverted dressing system, the apparatus being adapted to be positioned alongside a chain in a freezing works and to sever the head as the inverted carcass moves 5 along the chain, wherein the apparatus has a moveable axe-like blade, means for detecting the position of the carcass relative to the blade, including (a) a movement detector that senses the presence of the carcass moving along the chain towards the apparatus, and (b) a head sensor to detect the position or height of the animal's head relative to the blade or the ground, means for aiming the axe-like blade at the atlas 10 joint, means for driving the axe-like blade with sufficient force and velocity to sever the animals head, so that in use the combination of the applied force and the velocity is sufficient such that, even if the moving axe-like blade misses the atlas joint, it will still sever the head from the neck.
2. 2 Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the head sensor has a moveable nose 15 plate
3. 3 Apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the nose plate is designed to come into contact with the head of the animal to detect its height above the ground and is adapted to move quickly out of the way after detecting the position of the animal's head 20
4. 4 Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 or 3, wherein the nose plate is pivotally connected to a frame which supports the movable blade.
5. 5 Apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the means for positioning and holding the animal's head includes a rear head arm capable of moving into and out of engagement with the rear of the animal's neck during the 25 cutting operation
6. 6. Apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the means for driving the blade is an hydraulic ram T803gcap NOI/ba INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE OF N.Z. 2 0 NOV 2001 RECEIVED - 14- 5 7 A method for the removal of a head from the carcass of a slaughtered animal, wherein the method involves locating a carcass relative to a movable blade, aiming the movable blade at or in the direction of the atlas joint of the carcass, and moving the blade at a high speed and with sufficient applied pressure to remove the animal head at the atlas joint or through the bone (if the motion of the carcass relative to the machine results in the blade missing the atlas joint) 8 A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the blade is moved by means of a hydraulic ram at a pressure in excess of lOOOpsi 10 9 A method substantially as herein described with reference to any one of the accompanying drawings 10 Apparatus substantially as herein described with reference to any one of the accompanying drawings 15 PIPERS Attorneys for JARVIS EQUIPMENT NZ LTD 1 FCTUAL PROPEr r<CG OF HZ. •' 0 NOV 2001 LCEIVET 1803gcap NOl/ba