Anatomical section de-boning machine

Claim 1

A machine operable automatically to simultaneously debone individually a similar plurality of appendicular anatomical sections of a small edible animal and deliver therefrom respectively separated a meat component and a bone component, said machine comprising in combination: a. a longitudinally disposed support frame having interconnected horizontal and vertical members, b. an infeed end and a delivery end respectively positioned at the opposite longitudinally disposed ends of said machine, c. a chain connected drive train having sprocket members mounted upon rotatably transverse shafts supportably positioned in said frame in longitudinally and vertically spaced relationship intermediate the infeed end and the delivery end of said machine and interconnectably communicating to rotatably drive a channel sprocket member mounted upon a rotatably transverse shaft said channel sprocket member being positioned in said frame intermediate of the lateral sides thereof and inward of the delivery end of said machine, d. a longitudinally disposed endless conveyor extending around said channel sprocket and longitudinally disposed vertically spaced track means supportably positioned intermediate the lateral sides of said frame to provide vertically disposed upper and lower longitudinal guiding support spans for said conveyor, e. drive means supported on said frame and interconnected by chain to one of said sprocket members of said drive train and operable to rotate said channel sprocket and thereby rotatably transport said conveyor in fixed unidirectional endless motion from said infeed end to said delivery end of said machine, f. a plurality of regularly spaced longitudinally disposed conveyor member connecting rods extending respectively perpendicularly outward either side from said conveyor said rods adapted to receive upon adjacent pairs thereof on either lateral side of said conveyor a plurality of planetery operational head assemblies adapted to receive and clampably engage said appendicular anatomical sections individually, g. de-boning means operable by engagement of cam follower means on said operational head assemblies with cam means supportably configured upon said frame on either lateral side of said conveyor so that during transport of said conveyor from said infeed end to said delivery end of said machine adjacent said vertically disposed upper longitudinal guiding support span thereof said meat component of said appendicular anatomical sections is individually and successively inversely removed from said bone component, h. cutting means respectively positioned either lateral side of said frame at the delivery end of said machine to automatically sever meat component to bone component retaining tissue, and i. means to respectively discharge said meat component and said bone component separately at said delivery end of said machine.

Claim 33

A method of de-boning appendicular anatomical sections of small edible animals without bone fiber contamination, said method comprising placing said appendicular anatomical sections individually in a plurality of operational head assemblies having clamping and peeling blades during continual conveyable transport thereof, annularly clamping said appendicular anatomical sections with a first clamping means immediately inward of the larger protuberance of the bone member thereof, annularly clamping said appendicular anatomical sections with a second clamping means next immediately inward of the larger protuberance of the bone member thereof, transversely displacing said first clamping means relative to said second clamping means to successively cause said second clamping means to first scrape the shaft of said bone and secondly initiate an inverse peelable removal of the bone encasing meat of said appendicular anatomical section upon a slight opening of said second clamping means thereby further causing the formation of an annular meat bushing film about said bone shaft from the point of the beginning of said scraping over a length of less than half of the total length of said bone shaft, annularly engaging said bone shaft by a set of detented peeling blades and withdrawing, said second clamping means, further transverse displacing of said first clamping means relative to said detented peeling blades thereby inversely pushing said encasing meat around and beyond the bone end having the smaller protuberance thereon, severomg any meat-to-bone retaining tissue, and discharging the separate meat and bones containers.

Claim 34

A method of de-boning appendicular anatomical sections of small edible animals without bone fiber contamination, said method comprising placing said appendicular anatomical sections individually in a plurality of operational head assemblies having clamping and peeling blades during continual conveyable transport thereof, annularly clamping said appendicular anatomical sections with a first clamping means immediately inward of the larger protuberance of the bone member thereof, annularly clamping said appendicular anatomical sections with a second clamping means next immediately inward of the larger protuberance of the bone member thereof, transversely displacing said first clamping means relative to said second clamping means to successively cause said second clamping means to first scrape the shaft of said bone and secondly initiate an inverse peelable removal of the bone encasing meat of said appendicular anatomical section upon a slight opening of said second clamping means thereby further causing the formation of an annular meat bushing film about said bone shaft from the point of the beginning of said scraping over a length of less than half of the total length of said bone shaft, annularly engaging said bone shaft by a set of detented peeling blades and withdrawing, said second clamping means, further transverse displacing of said first clamping means relative to said detented peeling blades thereby inversely pushing said encasing meat around and beyond the bone end having the smaller protuberance thereon, severomg any meat-to-bone retaining tissue, and discharging the separate meat and bones containers.