Fish filleting machine
First Claim
1. A method a filleting fish for producing fish fillets, comprising the steps of:
- transporting a headless, eviscerated fish belly-side-down and head end leading along a conveying path;
slitting the fish longitudinally to make an anal cut on opposite sides of its anal spine;
slitting the fish longitudinally to make a dorsal cut on opposite sides of its dorsal spine to produce a pair of integral portions each connected to its backbone by ribs;
cutting through the ribs on either side of the fish backbone to split the fish into two individual portions each separate from the backbone, dorsal spine, anal spine and tail, but not ribs and pin bones; and
cutting the ribs away from the pin bones and each individual portion to make a rib cut and provide a pair of fish fillets.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A fish filleting machine makes an anal cut and a dorsal cut on opposite sides of the anal spine and dorsal spine, respectively, and then cuts through the ribs on either side of the backbone to split the fish into two individual portions each separate from the backbone, dorsal spine, anal spine and tail, but not ribs. Prior to making the anal cut, the fish is positioned by a pivoting guide horse so that its backbone is untouched during the anal and dorsal cuts. A pair of adjustable, opposing, elongated jaws are employed to feed fish to the guide horse to ensure the backbone of the fish engages the guide horse irregardless of the individual size or species of the fish. After removing the backbone, the individual portions are squeezed together so that a vertically orientated reciprocating blade may cut the ribs away from the flesh to produce a pair of fillets. A shroud is actuatable to cover the rib removal blades in response to a previously determined cut value for each individual fish so that the rib cut begins at the head end of the ribs and ends at the trailing end of the ribs to minimize meat loss.
56 Citations
37 Claims
-
1. A method a filleting fish for producing fish fillets, comprising the steps of:
-
transporting a headless, eviscerated fish belly-side-down and head end leading along a conveying path; slitting the fish longitudinally to make an anal cut on opposite sides of its anal spine; slitting the fish longitudinally to make a dorsal cut on opposite sides of its dorsal spine to produce a pair of integral portions each connected to its backbone by ribs; cutting through the ribs on either side of the fish backbone to split the fish into two individual portions each separate from the backbone, dorsal spine, anal spine and tail, but not ribs and pin bones; and cutting the ribs away from the pin bones and each individual portion to make a rib cut and provide a pair of fish fillets. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
-
-
6. A method a filleting fish for producing fish fillets, comprising the steps of:
-
transporting a headless, eviscerated fish belly-side-down and head end leading along a conveying path; slitting the fish longitudinally to make an anal cut on opposite sides of its anal spine; slitting the fish longitudinally to make a dorsal cut on opposite sides of its dorsal spine to produce a pair of integral portions each connected to its backbone by ribs; cutting through the ribs on either side of the fish backbone to split the fish into two individual portions each separate from the backbone, dorsal spine, anal spine and tail, but not ribs; cutting the ribs away from each individual portion to make a rib cut and provide a pair of fish fillets, said step of cutting the ribs away further includes the step of controlling the rib cut to begin at the head end of the ribs and end at the trailing end of the ribs without changing the orientation of the individual portions being transported along said conveying path, and said step of controlling the rib cut includes the step of squeezing each individual portion together prior to cutting the ribs away so that the ribs become positioned in a substantially planar orientation. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15)
-
-
11. A fish filleting machine for producing fish fillets wherein a headless, eviscerated fish is transported belly-side-down and head end leading along a conveying path, said machine comprising:
-
a pair of spaced apart belly cutting blades for making a pair of longitudinal anal cuts in a fish on opposite sides of its anal spine; a pair of spaced apart back cutting blades for making a pair of longitudinal dorsal cuts in the fish on opposite sides of its dorsal spine; a pair of spaced apart backbone removal blades located downstream of said back cutting blades and positioned to cut through the dorsal ends of the ribs on either side of the fish backbone whereby the fish is split into two individual portions each separate from the backbone, dorsal spine, anal spine and tail, but not ribs; a pair of spaced apart rib removal blades located downstream of said backbone removal blades and positioned to make a rib cut along the interface formed between the ribs and flesh of each individual portion to provide a pair of fish fillets free of ribs; and mounting means for mounting said rib removal blades in a vertical plane spaced from said conveying path, and drive means for reciprocally driving said rib removal blades. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
-
-
18. A fish filleting machine for producing fish fillets wherein a headless, eviscerated fish is transported belly-side-down and head end leading along a conveying path, said machine comprising:
-
a pair of spaced apart belly cutting blades for making a pair of longitudinal anal cuts in a fish on opposite sides of its anal spine; a pair of spaced apart back cutting blades for making a pair of longitudinal dorsal cuts in the fish on opposite sides of its dorsal spine; a pair of spaced apart backbone removal blades located downstream of said back cutting blades and positioned to cut through the dorsal ends of the ribs on either side of the fish backbone whereby the fish is split into two individual portions each separate from the backbone, dorsal spine, anal spine and tail, but not ribs and pin bones; and a pair of spaced apart rib removal blades located downstream of said backbone removal blades and positioned to make a rib cut through the pin bones and along the interface formed between the ribs and flesh of each individual portion to provide a pair of fish fillets free of ribs. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
-
-
21. A fish filleting machine for producing fish fillets wherein a headless, eviscerated fish is transported belly-side-down and head end leading along a conveying path, said machine comprising:
-
a pair of spaced apart belly cutting blades for making a pair of longitudinal anal cuts in a fish on opposite sides of its anal spine; a pair of spaced apart back cutting blades for making a pair of longitudinal dorsal cuts in the fish on opposite sides of its dorsal spine; a pair of spaced apart backbone removal blades located downstream of said back cutting blades and positioned to cut through the dorsal ends of the ribs on either side of the fish backbone whereby the fish is split into two individual portions each separate from the backbone, dorsal spine, anal spine and tail, but not ribs; a pair of spaced apart rib removal blades located downstream of said backbone removal blades and positioned to make a rib cut along the interface formed between the ribs and flesh of each individual portion to provide a pair of fish fillets free of ribs; control means for controlling the rib cut to begin at the leading end of the ribs and end at the trailing end of the ribs without changing the orientation of the individual portions being transported along said conveying path; and fish positioning means engageable with the backbone of the fish for feeding the fish to the belly cutting blades at a position wherein the backbone of the fish is located slightly above said belly cutting blades regardless of the individual size of the fish;
said fish positioning means comprises a pivoting guide horse located in said conveying path, said guide horse including an upstanding finger engageable with the leading end of the backbone of the fish, and pivotal mounting means for pivotally mounting said guide horse on an axis transverse to said conveying path so that said guide horse moves in the direction of said conveying path between an upright position wherein said finger projects into said conveying path and a laid-down position out of said conveying path, and spring means for biasing said guide horse to said upright position. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23)
-
-
24. A fish filleting machine for producing fish fillets wherein a headless, eviscerated fish is transported belly-side-down and head end leading along a conveying path, said machine comprising:
-
a pair of spaced apart belly cutting blades for making a pair of longitudinal anal cuts in a fish on opposite sides of its anal spine; a pair of spaced apart back cutting blades for making a pair of longitudinal dorsal cuts in the fish on opposite sides of its dorsal spine; a pair of spaced apart backbone removal blades located downstream of said back cutting blades and positioned to cut through the dorsal ends of the ribs on either side of the fish backbone whereby the fish is split into two individual portions each separate from the backbone, dorsal spine, anal spine and tail, but not ribs; a pair of spaced apart rib removal blades located downstream of said backbone removal blades and positioned to make a rib cut along the interface formed between the ribs and flesh of each individual portion to provide a pair of fish fillets free of ribs; control means for controlling the rib cut to begin at the leading end of the ribs and end at the trailing end of the ribs without changing the orientation of the individual portions being transported along said conveying path; fish positioning means engageable with the backbone of the fish for feeding the fish to the belly cutting blades at a position wherein the backbone of the fish is located slightly above said belly cutting blades regardless of the individual size of the fish; and feed guide means for feeding the fish to the fish positioning means to insure the backbone of the fish engages said fish positioning means. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26)
-
-
27. A method a filleting fish for producing fish fillets, comprising the steps of:
-
transporting a headless, eviscerated fish belly-side-down and head end leading along a conveying path; slitting the fish longitudinally to make an anal cut on opposite sides of its anal spine; slitting the fish longitudinally to make a dorsal cut on opposite sides of its dorsal spine to produce a pair of integral portions each connected to its backbone by ribs; cutting through the ribs on either side of the fish backbone to split the fish into two individual portions each separate from the backbone, dorsal spine, anal spine and tail, but not ribs; cutting the ribs away from each individual portion to make a rib cut and provide a pair of fish fillets; and spreading the fish apart along the anal cut after making the anal cut and before cutting through the ribs.
-
-
28. A method a filleting fish for producing fish fillets, comprising the steps of:
-
transporting a headless, eviscerated fish belly-side-down and head end leading along a conveying path; slitting the fish longitudinally to make an anal cut on opposite sides of its anal spine; slitting the fish longitudinally to make a dorsal cut on opposite sides of its dorsal spine to produce a pair of integral portions each connected to its backbone by ribs; cutting through the ribs on either side of the fish backbone to split the fish into two individual portions each separate from the backbone, dorsal spine, anal spine and tail, but not ribs; cutting the ribs away from each individual portion to make a rib cut and provide a pair of fish fillets; and spreading the fish apart along the dorsal cut after making the dorsal cut and before cutting through the ribs.
-
-
29. A method a filleting fish for producing fish fillets, comprising the steps of:
-
transporting a headless, eviscerated fish belly-side-down and head end leading along a conveying path; slitting the fish longitudinally to make an anal cut on opposite sides of its anal spine; slitting the fish longitudinally to make a dorsal cut on opposite sides of its dorsal spine to produce a pair of integral portions each connected to its backbone by ribs; cutting through the ribs on either side of the fish backbone to split the fish into two individual portions each separate from the backbone, dorsal spine, anal spine and tail, but not ribs; and cutting the ribs away from each individual portion to make a rib cut and provide a pair of fish fillets, said step of cutting the ribs away further includes the step of controlling the rib cut to begin at the head end of the ribs and end at the trailing end of the ribs without changing the orientation of the individual portions being transported along said conveying path, and said step of controlling the rib cut further includes the steps of; (a) measuring the longitudinal length of the fish, (b) measuring the longitudinal length of the ribs of the fish, (c) determining a cut value which is representative of rib length to fish length, and (d) employing the cut value in a control system to end the rib cut at the trailing end of the ribs.
-
-
30. A fish filleting machine for producing fish fillets wherein a headless, eviscerated fish is transported belly-side-down and head end leading along a conveying path, said machine comprising:
-
a pair of spaced apart belly cutting blades for making a pair of longitudinal anal cuts in a fish on opposite sides of its anal spine; a pair of spaced apart back cutting blades for making a pair of longitudinal dorsal cuts in the fish on opposite sides of its dorsal spine; a pair of spaced apart backbone removal blades located downstream of said back cutting blades and positioned to cut through the dorsal ends of the ribs on either side of the fish backbone whereby the fish is split into two individual portions each separate from the backbone, dorsal spine, anal spine and tail, but not ribs; a pair of spaced apart rib removal blades located downstream of said backbone removal blades and positioned to make a rib cut along the interface formed between the ribs and flesh of each individual portion to provide a pair of fish fillets free of ribs; and anal guide means located downstream of said belly cutting blades for spreading the fish apart along the anal cut.
-
-
31. A fish filleting machine for producing fish fillets wherein a headless, eviscerated fish is transported belly-side-down and head end leading along a conveying path, said machine comprising:
-
a pair of spaced apart belly cutting blades for making a pair of longitudinal anal cuts in a fish on opposite sides of its anal spine; a pair of spaced apart back cutting blades for making a pair of longitudinal dorsal cuts in the fish on opposite sides of its dorsal spine; a pair of spaced apart backbone removal blades located downstream of said back cutting blades and positioned to cut through the dorsal ends of the ribs on either side of the fish backbone whereby the fish is split into two individual portions each separate from the backbone, dorsal spine, anal spine and tail, but not ribs; a pair of spaced apart rib removal blades located downstream of said backbone removal blades and positioned to make a rib cut along the interface formed between the ribs and flesh of each individual portion to provide a pair of fish fillets free of ribs; and dorsal guide means located downstream of said back cutting blades for spreading the fish apart along the dorsal cut.
-
-
32. A method a filleting fish for producing fish fillets, comprising the steps of:
-
transporting a headless, eviscerated fish belly-side-down and head end leading between a pair of drive belts at an initial vertical cutting height along a conveying path; slitting the fish longitudinally to make an anal cut on opposite sides of its anal spine; inserting an anal guide horse into said anal cut to locate the fish at a desired vertical cutting height; slitting the fish longitudinally to make a dorsal cut on opposite sides of its dorsal spine to produce a pair of integral portions each connected to its backbone by ribs; inserting a dorsal guide horse into said dorsal cut to maintain the fish at said desired vertical cutting height; cutting through the ribs on either side of the fish backbone to split the fish into two individual portions each separate from the backbone, dorsal spine, anal spine and tail, but not ribs; and cutting the ribs away from each individual portion to make a rib cut and provide a pair of fish fillets.
-
- 33. The method of claim 33 wherein the step of cutting the ribs away further includes the step of controlling the rib cut to begin at the head end of the ribs and end at the trailing end of the ribs without changing the orientation of the individual portions being transported along said conveying path.
-
35. A fish filleting machine for producing fish fillets wherein a headless, eviscerated fish is transported belly-side-down and head end leading between a pair of drive belts at an initial vertical cutting height along a conveying path, said machine comprising:
-
a pair of spaced apart belly cutting blades for making a pair of longitudinal anal cuts in a fish on opposite sides of its anal spine; an anal guide horse downstream of said belly cutting blades receivable within said anal cut to locate the fish at a desired vertical cutting height; a pair of spaced apart back cutting blades for making a pair of longitudinal dorsal cuts in the fish on opposite sides of its dorsal spine; a dorsal guide horse downstream of said back cutting blades receivable within said dorsal cut to maintain the fish at said desired vertical cutting height; a pair of spaced apart backbone removal blades located downstream of said back cutting blades and positioned to cut through the dorsal ends of the ribs on either side of the fish backbone whereby the fish is split into two individual portions each separate from the backbone, dorsal spine, anal spine and tail, but not ribs; and a pair of spaced apart rib removal blades located downstream of said backbone removal blades and positioned to make a rib cut along the interface formed between the ribs and flesh of each individual portion to provide a pair of fish fillets free of ribs. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37)
-
Specification