Title: Crab butchering machine

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Claims: What we claim is:

1. A crab butchering machine, comprising:

an elongated crab support means for slidably supporting a crab carcass at points thereon between its carapace and the proximal articulation of its legs with the carapace facing downwardly;

an overhead endless chain conveyor having lugs thereon for engaging and sliding successive crabs along the elongated crab support means in a prescribed path from an infeed station to a discharge station;

carapace removing means along the prescribed path for performing the carapace removal operation as the crab is slid along the path exposing the crab body including the viscera and the gills;

viscera removing means along the path and beneath the crab support means for performing the viscera removal operation as the crab is moved along the prescribed path;

a pair of rotatable gill removing brushes beneath the crab support means on opposite sides of the path and powered to rotate about axes for performing the gill removal operation;

biasing means for yieldably urging the brushes inward against the crab body with the brushes following the contours of the crab body to efficiently remove the gills without damaging the body;

leg severing means along the path for performing the leg severing operation; and

control means for varying the speed of the conveying means to increase the rate of movement of the crabs between the removal and severing operations and to decrease the rate of movement of the crabs during the removal and severing operations.

2. The crab butchering machine as defined in claim 1 wherein one of the pair of brushes is positioned downstream of the other brush so that only one brush is engaging a crab body at one time.

3. The machine as defined by claim 1 wherein the spaces between successive lugs are equal and the spaces between the carapace removing means, the viscera removing means, the pair of gill removing brushes and the leg severing means are equal to the lug spacing.

4. The machine as defined by claim 1 wherein the biasing means is comprised of a freely pivoted pair of swing arms mounting the brushes at outer ends thereof and wherein the pivot axes of the swing arms are inclined toward the prescribed path such that the brushes at the outer swing arm ends will gravitate toward the path.

5. The machine as defined by claim 1 wherein the carapace removing means is comprised of a stationary wedge member located in the path of a crab moving on the conveying means, wherein the wedge member includes a sharp point at the elevation of said point of contact and a downwardly inclined wedge surface leading downstream toward the viscera removing means.

6. The machine as defined by claim 1 wherein the leg severing means is comprised of:

a pair of guillotine blades; and

ram means mounting the guillotine blades for vertical movement between raised positions elevationally clear of a crab moving along the prescribed path and lowered positions intersecting the proximal articulations of the crab's legs; and

guillotine control means for actuating the ram means to lower in response to positioning of a crab below the blades by the conveying means.

Other info:

Inventors: Davis, Walter L. (Milton-Freewater, OR, US)
Svehaug, Henry V. (Milton-Freewater, OR, US)

Application Number: 719075
Filing Date: 1976-08-30
Publication_date: 1978-02-14
Assignee: Applied Magnetics, Inc. (Goleta, CA)
Primary Class(es): 452/1 198/341.07, 198/341.09
Other Classes:
US Patent Ref:

2502091	Mar, 1950	Harris et al.	17/71.
2784447	Mar, 1957	Thompson et al.	17/71.
2857621	Oct, 1958	Schlichting	17/52.
3076997	Feb, 1963	Evich	17/54.
3160267	Dec, 1964	Howel, Jr.	198/343.
3302236	Feb, 1967	Harris	17/71.
3309730	Mar, 1967	Michael	17/54.
3495293	Feb, 1970	Tolley	17/71.
3543609	Dec, 1970	Borodin	198/339.
3596310	Aug, 1971	Tolley	17/71.
3611478	Oct, 1971	Lockerby	17/71.
3943600	Mar, 1976	Cramer	17/52.

Other Refs:
Primary Examiner: Kinsey, Russell R.
Assistant Examiner: Hirsch, Paul J.
Attorney: Wells, St. John & Roberts