US2300157A - Feather-picking apparatus for fowls and the like - Google Patents

Description

G. R. HUNT Oct. 27, 1942.

FEATHER-PICKING APPARATUS FOR FOWL AND THE LIKE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 16, 1939 INVENTOR Gav/245 R. HUNT 2 ATTORNEYS G. R. HUNT 2,300,157 FEATHER-PICKING AFIARATUS FOR FOWL AND THE LIKE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 16, 1939 lNvsNfi'oi GEORGE R. HUNT ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 27, 1942 2,300,157 FEATHER-PICKIN G APPARATUS FOR FOWLS ANDTHE George E. Hunt, Akron, Ohio Application November 16, 1939, Serial No. 304,752 19 Claims. (Cl. 1711.1)

This invention relates to improvements in apparatus for picking feathers from fowls and the like, and more particularly it relates to the provision of novel fingers for use in removing the feathers.

An object of the invention is to provide a feather picking apparatus which is efiicient, simple in operation, inexpensive to manufacture and maintain, and which will remove all of the feathers, including pin feathers, hair, etc., from a fowl in a minimum of time with but little effort on the part of the operator.

Another object is to provide a driven roller or drum having a plurality of flexible fingers extending from the outer periphery thereof at an angle which will most effectively permit said fingers to strip feathers from a fowl.

A further object is to provide a plurality of flexible fingers each having corrugations or threads thereon, arranged so as to present a plurality of projections on each finger to engage a fowl and strip the feathers therefrom.

A further object is to provide a novel flexible finger having a tapered longitudinal opening therein, a flange on the outer end of said finger, and a plurality of corrugations extending around the body portion of the finger throughout the greater portion of its length.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a section taken substantially on line ll of Fig. 2 with some parts shown in elevation and others broken away,

Fig. 2 is a section taken substantially on line 2-2 of Fig. 1 with some parts shown in elevation and with the fingers shown in perspective, and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a a portion of the drum with fingers extending therefrom.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral I0 designates the body of the apparatus which is supported on a plurality of legs II in any suitable or desired manner. The body I0 is formed with a substantially central opening l2 which curves downwardly at its front side as shown at l3, while the rear side I4 preferably extends straight downwardly, thus forming a bottom opening l5 of smaller size than opening l2.

Inside the body portion ID, a bracket or shelf l6 supports a conventional electric motor I! adapted to be driven from a suitable source (not shown). At the rear and on top of the body I0,

a hood or shield I8 is arranged so as to catch feathers removed from a fowl and direct them to the bottom of the apparatus. A water pipe I9 extends from a source (not shown), upwardly along the side of the apparatus andis brought downwardly through the hood l8 as indicated at 20 to provide a means to spray water when desired. A valve 2| may be utilized to control the water supply.

Rotatably mounted in the body I0 is a shaft 22 having its ends mounted in suitable bearings 23 carried by body I0. Shaft 22 extends across and is arranged a slight distance below the top of opening l2. This shaft carries a preferably hollow roller or drum 24 which is fixedly secured thereto in any suitable manner for rotation with the shaft. As shown, each side of drum 24 is provided with a hub 25 which may be utilized for securing the drum to the shaft. Between one of the hub portions 25 and one of the bearings 23, a pulley 26 is also fixedly secured to shaft 22. Pulley 26 is preferably of the V-type and receives a V-belt 21 which extends around a smaller V-pulley 28 secured to shaft 29 of motor l1. Thus, whenever motor I! is in operation, drum 24 will be, rotated through the means provided therefor.

As clearly shown in Fig. 1,'drum 24 isof a size to extend above the top of body It! and the periphery of this drum carries a plurality of spaced, substantially cylindrical, flexible fingers 30. As shown in Fig. 2, these fingers are arranged completely around the drum in a plurality of spaced rows and each row is staggered with respect to the next row.

Each finger 30 preferably is formed of rubber or other suitable flexible and elastic material and, as shown in Fig. 3, is of such length that about two-thirds thereof extends from the drum 24 at an angle that inclines slightly toward the front of the apparatus as viewed in Fig. 1. The

angle of inclination of each finger is about 14 when measured with respect to a finger which would be truly radial from the axis of shaft 22. This angle of inclination may be determined as follows:

With a drum having an outside diameter of about 16 /2", a circle similar to the dash circle 3| in Fig. 1, of about 4" in diameter, is drawn around the axis of shaft 22. The longitudinal axis of each finger is then made tangent to this circle 3|, and the resulting angle of the fingers has been found to be very satisfactory in use and much more advantageous than radial fingers.

Each finger 30 has on its inner end a tapered portion 32 of increased diameter, and spaced therefrom is another portion 33 of increased diameter. For reoeivingthe fingers, the rim 34 of the drum is provided with suitable openings 38 extending clear through the rim portion, and each opening II has a portion 88 of increased size complementary to portion 33 of the finger inserted therein. As clearly shown in Fig. 3, the enlarged portionJl on each finger is larger than the adjacent portion of opening I5, whereby when a finger is properly in place in the rim the enlarged portion 32 will prevent it from being pulled out of the drum. Similarly, no finger can be forced inwardly beyond the shoulder ll formed in opening I! which receives the inner end of finger portion It. Since these fingers are formed of rubber or other-suitable flexible material they can, with the assistance of thetaper on portions 32, be quickly and easily forced through openings 3! to the position shown, and they cannot be accidentally displaced'or removed during the ordinary operation of the machine. If it should become necessary to remove any of the fingers for replacement, etc., it is possible to remove same by exerting a substantial pulling force thereon, as the flexible material will yield to such a force. However, in the normal operation of the apparatus the manner of securing the fingers to the drum has been found to be very emcient and to permit the operator to take full advantage of the bending characteristic of the fingers without pulling the latter out of the drum.

Throughout the greater portion of its length, each finger lll is provided with a plurality of relatively closely spaced corrugations or projections 38. In the embodiment shown these projections are indicated as screw threads, but they obviously may be made in other than spiral form if desired, as long as they are spaced relativeLv close together so as to permit a number of them to come in contact with a fowl when they are bent forwardly as shown in Fig. 1. At its outer end, each finger is provided with an annular fian e 39 of larger size than the projections 38, whereby this fiange will become an outstanding projection to engage and strip feathers from a fowl when the fingers are bent forwardly as in Fig. 1. As will benoted from Fig. 1, these fingers, while they may be bent, they may not be collapsed in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis, and thus they always maintain sufficient stability to properly remove the feathers.

It has been found that fingers formed with projections 38 only will remove feathers satisfactorily, but the removal operation is speeded up considerably by having at least one projec-' 'tion on the outer end of the finger of larger size than the others, since this projection more readily enters small indentations, such as are" found on the inside of the wings and other places. Also, it has been found that a solid finger of the kind described will remove feathers satisfactorily, but the operation is further speeded up if a tapered bore 40 is formed in each finger, with the taper decreasing inwardly as shown in Fig. 3.

On each side of drum 24, two partially circular hollow shields II are secured as at 42 to the body portion II and are arranged to extend slightly below the outer ends of the fingers it as they rotate with the drum. One of these shields 40 receives a portion of pulley 26 and encloses same as shown in Fig. 2. Thus, the operating parts of the apparatus are fully enclosed with a plurality of fingers extending above the upper surface of the body l0, whereby a fowl 43 may readily be placed against the fingers as in Fig. 1.

In operation, the motor I1 is started to rotate the fingers 30 in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. i. Since the angle of the fingers is opposite to the direction of rotation, the fingers are readily bent and the speed of rotation is such that some of the projections 38 and 39 are continuously in engagement with the feathers of the fowl and quickly remove these feathers without tearing or otherwise injuring the skin of the fowl. By providing fingers which are hollow at their outer ends, when these fingers are bent, they flatten out somewhat and present a greater area on each projection for contact with the feathers.

Obviously, a fowl can be pressed against the rotating fingers with various degrees of pressure, since the fingers are formed of material which will readily yield to permit bending. In the case of a fowl having feathers which are not difficult to remove, the pressure with which such fowl is pressed against the fingers need not be very great, it being sufilcient to bring only a few of the projections into engagement with the feathers. However, with a fowl having feathers which are difficult to remove, the pressure of such fowl against the fingers can be increased and the fingers bent to bring more of the projections into contact with the feathers. An operator can readily tell by the amount of feathers being removed whether or not he is pressing the fowl against the fingers with sufficient pressure to properly remove the feathers, and he can vary this pressure as desired. In actual practice a chicken which had been previously scalded had all of its feathers completely removed in eight seconds with my apparatus, and frequently as many as two hundred chickens per hour have had all of their feathers completely removed with this apparatus.

It will be observed from the showing in Fig. 1 of the fowl in engagement with the fingers that applicant has also invented a novel method of plucking feathers which teaches that when a fowl is held in position against the fingers and the drum rotated, the fingers 30 will continuously apply to the underside of the fowl, repeated applications of force in an arcuate direction to the feathered portion of the fowl, and substantially simultaneously these fingers will strike and rub said feathered portion, with the initial striking force taking placeradially a distance outwardly from the application of the rubbing force.

While I have shown the preferred type of finger for use with my apparatus, it will be understood that other types of fingers may also be used satisfactorily as long as they have a plurality of relatively closely spaced corrugations or projections thereon which can be successively brought into engagement with the feathers of a fowl.

Although I have illustrated and described the preferred form of my invention, it will be obvious that various changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the subjoined claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A feather plucking device comprising a rotatable member having secured thereto means projecting from the outer surface thereof, said means being substantially cylindrical in shape, of elastic material, and having projections on the surface thereof, a portion of said means throughout its length bein hollow.

2. A feather plucking device comprising a rotatable member having secured thereto means projecting from the outer surface thereof, said means being substantially cylindrical in shape, of elastic material-,and having projections on the surface thereof, a portion of said means adjacent one end thereof being hollow.

3. A feather plucking device comprising a rotatable member having secured thereto means projecting from the outer surface thereof, said means being substantially cylindrical in shape, of elastic material, and having projections on the surface thereof, a portion of said means having a thin wall and the remainder thereof having thicker wall portions.

4. A feather plucking device comprising a rotatable member having secured thereto means projecting from the outer surface thereof, said means being substantially cylindrical in shape, of elastic material, and having projections on the surface thereof, a portion of said means throughout its length being hollow, the hollow formation being of tapering shape with the larger portion of the taper at the free end of the means.

5. A feather plucking device comprising a rotatable member having secured thereto a finger projecting from the outer surface thereof, said finger comprising a body non-rectangular in shape and cross-section transversely, formed of elastic material and having projections on the outer surface thereof, a portion of said body throughout its length being hollow.

6. Apparatus for removing feathers from fowls comprising a rotatable member and a plurality of spaced flexible fingers extending outwardly from said member, each finger being provided with a plurality of relatively closely spaced projections arranged so that upon bending of each finger such projections successively engage the feathers of a fowl pressed thereagainst, each finger being provided with a longitudinal bore tapering inwardly from the outer end of each finger.

7. Apparatus for removing feathers from fowls comprising a rotatable member and a plurality of spaced flexible fingers extending outwardly from said member, each finger being provided with a plurality of relatively closely spaced projections arranged so that upon bending of each finger such projections successively engage the feathers of a fowl pressed thereagainst, each finger being annular in cross-section and having said projections arranged completely therearound.

8. Apparatus for removing feathers from fowls comprising an annular rotatable member and a plurality of spaced transverse rows of flexible fingers extending outwardly from said member, a plurality of said fingers being in each row, each finger being provided with a plurality of spaced projections arranged on the side thereof so that upon bending of each finger such projections successively engage the feathers of a fowl pressed thereagainst, each finger extending non-radially with respect to the rotatable member.

9. Apparatus for removing feathers from fowls comprising an annular rotatable member and a plurality of spaced transverse rows of flexible fingers extending outwardly from said member, a plurality of said fingers being in each row, each finger being provided with a plurality of spaced projections arranged on the side thereof so that upon bending of each finger such pro-- jections successively engage the feathers of a fowl pressed thereagainst, the projections on each finger beingin the form of screw threads.

10. Apparatus for removing feathers from fowls comprising an annular rotatable member and a plurality of spaced transverse rows of fiexible ringers extending outwardly from said member, a plurality of said fingers being in each row, each finger being provided with a plurality of spaced pro ections arranged on the side thereof so that upon bending of each finger such projections successively engage the feathers of a fowl pressed thereagainst, each finger being provided with a longitudinal bore extending at least partially inwardly from the outer end of the finger.

11. A poultry plucking finger member of the character described comprising an elongated flexible body portion and a plurality of relatively closely spaced projections arranged so thatupon bending of the finger such projections successively engage the feathers of a fowl pressed thereagainst, and being provided with a longitudinal bore extending at least partially inwardly from the open outer end of the finger.

12. A poultry plucking finger member of the character described comprising a substantially cylindrical body formed of elastic material and having projections on the outer surface thereof, a portion of said body throughout its length being hollow, the walls of the body being sufliciently thick to avoid collapse in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis when the finger is in use.

13. A poultry plucking finger member of the character described comprising a substantially cylindrical body formed of elastic material and having projections on the outer surface thereof, a portion of said body adjacent one end thereof being hollow, the walls of the body being sufliciently thick to avoid collapse in a direction par allel to the longitudinal axis when the finger is in use.

14. A poultry plucking finger member of the character described comprising a substantially cylindrical body formed of elastic material and having projections on the outer surface thereof, a portion of said body having a thin wall and the remainder thereof having thicker wall portions, the walls of the body being sufliciently thick to avoid collapse in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis when the finger is in use.

15. A poultry plucking finger member comprising a body non-rectangular in shape and crosssection transversely, formed of elastic material and having projections on the outer surface thereof, a portion of said body throughout its length being hollow, the walls of the body being sufficiently thick to avoid collapse in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis when the finger is in use.

16. A method of plucking feathers from fowls comprising holding a fowl in position while continuously applying directly to only one side of the body thereof repeated applications of force in an arcuate direction and also to the feathered portion thereof while substantially simultaneously striking and rubbing said side and said feathered portion, the initial striking force taking place radially a distance outwardly-from the application of the rubbing force and. in substantially the same plane as the rubbing force, the opposite side of the fowl being freely exposed so as to facilitate ready handling by the operator, said rubbing forces being the main forces utilized in the removal of feathers.

17. A poultry plucking machine comprising a rotatable drum and a plurality of flexible studs projecting outwardly from the drum, each stud having a plurality of projections on the face thereof, the outer end of each stud being recessed to provide edges thereon in spaced relation in the plane of the edges.

18. A poultry plucking machine comprising a rotatable drum and a plurality of flexible studs projecting outwardly from the drum, each stud 10 having projections on one wall thereof and the free end of each stud having inner wall portions in spaced relation.

19. A plucking finger for a rotary drum of a plucking machine comprising a member greater in length than width with a plurality of projections on the outer surface of the portion of greaterlength, the outer surface of the free end thereof being recessed to provide spaced surfaces.

GEORGE R. HUNT.

DISCLAIMER 2,300,157 .-George R. Hunt, Akron, Ohio. FEATHER-PICKING Armm rus FOB FowLs AND THE LIKE. Patent dated Oct. 27, 1942. Disclaimer filed Feb. 26, 1947, by the inventor; the licensee, Conrad B. Mueller, assenting. Hereby disclaims claim 16 of said patent. [Oflicial Gazette March 25, 1947.]

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