Frozen fish block cutting and aligning machine

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR CUTTING A SUCCESSION OF BLOCKS OF MATERIAL TO PRODUCE A TRANSVERSE ROW OF MATERIAL STICKS FROM EACH BLOCK AND FOR ALIGNING SAID STICKS IN TRANSVERSELY SPACED LINES, COMPRISING SUPPORTING MEANS, MEANS FOR FEEDING SAID BLOCKS TO SAID SUPPORTING MEANS AND FOR ORIENTING SAID BLOCKS THEREON TRANSVERSELY RELATIVE TO THEIR PATH OF TRAVEL THROUGH THE APPARATUS, A PLURALITY OF TRANSVERSELY SEPARATED SAWING MEANS SPACED FROM SAID FEEDING MEANS AND LOCATED IN THE PATH OF TRAVEL OF SAID BLOCKS ON SAID SUPPORTING MEANS, SEPARATOR MEANS FOR RECEIVING STICKS FORMED FROM SAID BLOCKS BY SAID CUTTING MEANS AND FOR VERTICALLY DISPLACING ADJACENT LINES OF STICKS TO THEREBY PREVENT ADHERENCE BETWEEN STICKS IN ADJACENT LINES, CONVEYING MEANS ENGAGING AND POSITIVELY MOVING SAID BLOCKS FROM SAID FEEDING MEANS TO A POINT INTERMEDIATE SAID FEEDING MEANS AND SAID SAWING MEANS AT WHICH POINT SAID CONVEYING MEANS DISENGAGES SAID BLOCKS, SAID CONVEYING MEANS INCLUDING MEANS FOR MOVING SAID BLOCKS WITH PROGRESSIVELY DECREASING SPACES BETWEEN ADJACENT BLOCKS FROM SAID FEED MEANS TO SAID POINT AT WHICH ADJACENT BLOCKS COME INTO ENGAGEMENT TO FORM A CONTINUOUS LINE OF BLOCKS AHEAD OF SAID POINT AND TO MOVE SAID LINE OF BLOCKS CONTINUOUSLY THROUGH SAID SAWING MEANS AND MOVE SAID STICKS THROUGH SAID SEPARATOR MEANS, AND TRANSPORTING MEANS FOR RECEIVING SAID STICKS FROM SAID SEPARATOR MEANS AND MOVING THEM TO AN ADVANCED LOCATION FOR FURTHER PROCESSING.