US3696925A - Seafood sorter - Google Patents

Abstract

A mass of seafood chuncks is placed on a chute having a reciprocating spreader which spreads the mass on the chute and hooks on a drum are moved through the lower edge of the mass to hook individual chunks and then drop the chunks onto a conveyor, a rotary brush assisting to strip the chunks from the hooks.

Description

1 51 Oct. 10,1972

United States Patent Harper [54] SEAFOOD SORTER 2,787,362 4/1957 Hill........................198/178X [72] Inventor: Foye Harper P'Q Box 352, 3,392,881 7/1968 Ericksen......... ....22l/2l3 Newberg, Oreg. 97132 Aug. 24, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 66,451

Primary Examiner-Richard A. Schacher [22] Filed:

Att0rneyBuckhom, Blore, Klarquist and Sparkman ABSTRACT A mass of seafood chuncks is placed on a chute hav- 52 US. Cl. ...................209/109, 198/178, 221/214 mg a reciprocating Spreader which spreads me mass [51] Int. 3/04 on the chute and hooks on a drum are moved through Field of Search 309/78 109; 198/178, 177; the lower edge of the mass to hook individual chunks 221/213, 214 and then drop the chunks onto a conveyor, a rotary brush assisting to strip the chunks from the hooks.

3 Chain, 4 Ih-awing Figures References Cited UNiTED STATES PATENTS 30,144 Kersey.................,.....22l/21 4 PATENTEDIJBI 10 1912 3.696. 925

FOYE H. HARPER INVENTOR BUCKHORN, BLORE, KLARQUIST & SPARKMAN ATTORNEYS SEAFOOD SORTER DETAILED DESCRIPTION This invention relates to a seafood sorter and more particularly to a sorter for separating wet, sticky chunks of seafood from a pile of such chunks.

An object of the invention is to provide a seafood sorter.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sorter for separating wet, sticky chunks of seafood from a-pile of such chunks.

A further object of the invention is to provide a sorter adapted to hook into individual seafood chunks and separate them from a pile of such chunks.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sorter having a drum with peripheral hooks having tong portions which are generally parallel to the periphery of the drum, are spaced from the drum a distance less than the thickness of a seafood chunk to be separated from a mass of such chunks and are of alength less than the thickness of the chunks.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for pulling wet, sticky seafood chunks one at a time form a mass of such chunks.

The invention provides a seafood sorter including hook-like impaling members each adapted to hook into an edge portion of a wet, sticky seafood chunk such as, for example, a shrimp or an oyster, of a pile of such chunks and pull the chunks from the pile. Preferably, each impaling member has a tine portion carried by a drum in a position parallel to the periphery of the drum, of a length less than the average thickness of the seafood chunks to be separated and spaced from the drum a distance less than that thickness.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of a seafood sorter forming one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of the seafood sorter of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view taken alongline 44 of FIG. 2.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, there is shown therein a seafood sorter forming one embodiment of the invention and including a chute on which are placedseafood chunks 12, which may be whole, peeled shrimp, shucked oysters, fish fillets or the like. A separatingdrum 14 havinghooks 16 rotates and each hook hooks into one of the chunks and carries it over the top of the drum and past a brush l8 and drops it on a belt-type conveyor 20. Aspreader comb 22 is reciprocated slowly on thechute 10 by a fluid pressure cylinder drive 24 to spread the pile of chunks over the entire width of the chute betweensides 26 of the chute. Teeth orfingers 28 of thecomb 22 are narrower than supportfingers 30 of the chute and reciprocate between the edges of thefingers 30, thefingers 30 being positioned on opposite sides ofslots 32 providing clearance for thehooks 16.

Thehooks 16 have verysharp points 40 and top sharpeningflats 42 which are concentric toaxle portion 44 of the drum to permit sharpening of thepoints 40 by turning the drum and holding an abrading member so that it is engaged by the flats as the latter are moved past the abrading member. The hooks have circumferentially impaling portions substantially concentric to the periphery of thedrum 46 and also have substantiallyradial shank portions 48 and roughenedanchor portions 50 secured inholes 52 by cast epoxyresin anchor portions 54. For best results the shank portions are of a length such that the impaling portions are about five-sixteenths inch which is slightly less than the average thickness of the portions of the chunks which are impaled, from the periphery of the drum and the distance from thepoints 40 of each hook is about onehalf inch 'which is slightly less than the average thickness of the portions of the chunks which are impaled from the projected centerline of theshank portion 50. The hooks, the drum, the chute and the comb preferably are of stainless steel, and the bristles of the brush are preferably of highly smooth plastic material such as, for example, nylon.

The axle portion 44 (FIGS. 1 and 2) is journaled inbearings 60 carried byframe 62, and anaxle 64 of thebrush 18 is journaled inbearings 66 carried by theframe 62. Chain and sprocket drives 68 and 70 drive the drum and the brush in inrunning directions and at speeds such that the outer circumference of the brush is faster than the hooks so that the brush strips thechunks 12 off the hooks and drops the chunks onto theconveyor 20. The hooks are so staggered and the speeds of the conveyor and the drum are such that the chunks drop individually onto clear spaces on the conveyor. That is, the chunks on the conveyor are spaced from each other. The conveyor conveys the separated chunks to cryogenic freezing apparatus where the moist chunks are individually frozen.

The periphery of thedrum 14 is smooth so that the wet,sticky chunks 12 will slide thereon, and the weight of the chunks is enough to prevent the drum by itself, without thehooks 16, from lifting the chunks on up around the drum. The hooks embed themselves in the individual chunks and pull the chunks out individually from the pile or mass. The hooks, because of their spacing from the drum and the length of the impaling portions, are each usually fully embedded in a single one of the chunks. The chute, with the comb, feeds the pile of chunks in a spread out condition to the bite of the chute and the lower right-hand portion of the drum.

What is claimed is:

1. In a seafood sorter,

support means for supporting a pile of seafood chunks,

hook means,

carrier means comprising a rotary drum for moving the hook means through the pile to impale one of the chunks and pull that chunk from the pile,

the drum being rotatable on a horizontal axis and the support means comprising a feed chute forming an acute angle with the lower side of the drum,

the carrier means including means for rotating the drum in a direction in which the hook means is moved upwardly past the feed chute,

and a spreader member adapted to spread the pile over the portion of the chute adjacent the drum.

2. The seafood sorter of claim 1 wherein the chute has clearance slots to permit passage of the hook means therethrough and the spreader member is comb-like with teeth movable over the portions of the chute between the slots.

through the *pile to impale one of the chunks and pull that chunk from the pile,

means for spreading the chunks in the pile,

conveyor means,

and stripper means for moving the chunks from the hooks onto the conveyor means after the chunk has been pulled from the pile.

Claims (3)

1. In a seafood sorter, support means for supporting a pile of seafood chunks, hook means, carrier means comprising a rotary drum for moving the hook means through the pile to impale one of the chunks and pull that chunk from the pile, the drum being rotatable on a horizontal axis and the support means comprising a feed chute forming an acute angle with the lower side of the drum, the carrier means including means for rotating the drum in a direction in which the hook means is moved upwardly past the feed chute, and a spreader member adapted to spread the pile over the portion of the chute adjacent the drum.

2. The seafood sorter of claim 1 wherein the chute has clearance slots to permit passage of the hook means therethrough and the spreader member is comb-like with teeth movable over the portions of the chute between the slots.

3. In a seafood sorter, support means for supporting a pile of seafood chunks, an elongated drum mounted for rotation on a horizontal axis, a plurality of hooks mounted on and spaced along and around the drum, means for rotating the drum to move the hooks through the pile to impale one of the chunks and pull that chunk from the pile, means for spreading the chunks in the pile, conveyor means, and stripper means for moving the chunks from the hooks onto the conveyor means after the chunk has been pulled from the pile.

Images