The present invention refers to a method for transferring fish fillets between a first and a second endless conveyor belt and arranging the fillets in a position substantially transversally to the direction of transport for the second conveyor belt, and turning the fish fillet upside down. The invention furthermore refers to a device for accomplishing the method.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

From Swedish patent specifications 8406159-7 and 8503128-4 filleting and deskinning machines are earlier known, which are charactericed of high capacity at the same time as the filleting and deskinning are made with very high precision. This high capacity has resulted in the desire also to mechanize subsequent treatment steps, which today are made almost only manually, and which incorporate survey of the fillets, particularly regarding the deskinning, cutting of the fillets into titbits and placing these titbits in expedient packing containers.

The deskinned fish fillet hitherto has been caused to slide along a gutter to a collecting vessel, in order at a later moment to be subjected to the above mentioned treatment steps. This means that the fish fillets must be picked up from the collecting vessel and be arranged on a conveyor belt thus that the skin side will be facing upwards and the fillets being located perpendicularly to the direction of movement for the conveyor belt, thus that they after survey can be transferred straight to a cutting machine. As this work must be done manually, the working pace is entirely determined by the person making the manual work.

PURPOSE AND MOST ESSENTIAL FEATURES OF THE INVENTION

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a method and a device for transferring the fish fillets directly, e.g from a filleting and/or deskinning machine to a cutting machine without

any manual work and which device arranges the fish fillets thus that they are in correct position for the continued treatment in the cutting machine. The device thereby shall be uncomplicated, reliable and it shall not make the machine plant more expensive to a considerable extent. These tasks have been solved in that the wet fish fillets during the time excess liquid (water) is flowing off, are conveyed upon a first perforated conveyor belt while being arranged substantially in the longitudinal direction of the conveyor belt and with the skin side downwards, towards a second conveyor belt arranged at an angle to the first conveyor belt, that the fish fillet at the end portion of the first belt, due to the bending of the belt around a pulley roller having a considerable bigger circumference relative to the lenth of the fillet and due to the speed of the belt, is transferred towards an inclined surface during simultaneous turning the fillet upside down, thus that its skin side will be facing upwards, and that the inclination and possible warping of the surface are adapted to the weight and moistness of the fish fillets, i.e. their friction against the surface, thus that the fillets during their downward sliding will be positioned mainly in parallell after each other upon the second belt mainly transversly to the longitudinal direction thereof. The invention also incorporates a device for accomplishing the method and which has the characterizing features defined in claim 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention hereinafter will be further described as an embodiment with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1 shows in side view a part of the active members of the deskinning device and a guiding member for discharging the treated fillets to a conveyor device.

Fig. 2 shows in perspective the opposite end of the conveyor device shown, which according to the invention is equipped with sliding plates positioned above a second belt conveyor. Fig. 3 shows also in perspective the conveyor belt according to Fig. 2 and the sliding plates in end view.

Fig. 4 shows a view from above n one of the sliding plates in vertical position.

Fig. 5 shows a section along line V-V in Fig. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The filleting as well as the deskinning operations are fully described in the patent specifications mentioned in the beginning of this specification, and these treatment steps, which do not constitute any part of the present invention, therefor will not be described in this case. The known deskinning device incorpo¬ rates a carrier disc 11, which cooperates with a deskinning knife 12 on each side of the carrier disc. A double fillet 13, i.e. two fish fillets which are still interconnected via the dorsal skin, is conveyed by the carrier disc 11 against the deskinning knives 12, which thereby pull the skin from the fillets. During the deskinning operation, stationary spacing members 14 on each side of the carrier disc 11 will urge the fillets outwards from the carrier disc and thereby also from the deskinning knives 12. Within this deskinning area is provided a guiding member 15, against which the fillet 16 thus severed from the skin is brought by the carrier disc 11. The guiding member 15 is constituted by an arc-shaped and cross-sectionally, at least in its lower part, gutter-formed profile, which guides the fillet with its "head"- portion downwards against a first conveyor belt 17 arranged immediately downward of the lower discharge end 18 of the guiding member 15.

The fish fillets thus will be transferred to the conveyor belt with their flesh side upwards and with their "skin"-side engaging the conveyor belt and being located relative to this thus, that the fillets are located in the longitudinal direction of the conveyor belt. At the end of the conveyor belt 17 facing away from the guiding member 15 and in close connection to the pulley roller 19 for the conveyor belt, a sliding plate 20 is provided above a second conveyor belt 21, which is arranged mainly perpendicularly to the first conveyor belt 17. The sliding plate 20 is carried by a system of links 22, by means of which it is

possible at one hand to turn the sliding plate about a shaft 23, along which the plate is also displaceable, and the shaft 23 at the other hand is pivotable about a vertical shaft journal portion 24 on a bush 25, which on one hand is displaceable in a stand 26 along a groove 27 and on the other hand is pivotable about a horizontal axis, which is constituted by the screw 28. The vertical shaft journal 24 furthermore is vertically adjustable in the bush 25. The link system 22 furthermore is equipped with appropriate arresting means for arresting the different angular positions as set. In this manner it is possible to adjust the inclination of the sliding plate against the second conveyor belt 21 and/or its warping and to adapt it to the weight, moistness and thereby the resulting friction of the fish fillets against the sliding plate.

The first conveyor belt 17 is perforated and is preferably a wire netting thus that the fish fillets have rather a small contact surface against the net-formed conveyor belt. The second conveyor belt 21, which transports the fish fillets, e.g. to a cutting device, can be a conventional conveyor belt.

FUNCTION DESCRIPTION

A cleaned double-fillet 13, where the head and the tail have been severed and the dorsal fin with the adhering ventral bones have been cut away and where the the fillet sides are interconnected by the dorsal skin of the fish only, by means of the carrier disc 11 is fed to the deskinning knives 12, where the fillet is separated from the skin. As the deskinning progresses the fillet is bent against the guiding member 15, the arced shape of which directs the fillet downwards and the gutter formed end portion of which guides the fillet towards the conveyor belt 17 thus, that the fillet will be located in the longitudinal direction of the belt. The conveyor belt 17 is perforated, thus that excess water - which has been supplied in connection to the deskinning process - can flow off during transport to the second conveyor belt 21. The pulley rollers 19 of the first conveyor belt 17 are pre¬ ferably dimensioned thus that the circumference is considerably

bigger than the length of one fish fillet 16. Thereof follows, that at the discharge end of the conveyor belt, when this has begun to bend about the pulley roller 19, the fish fillet will be thrown against the sliding plate 20, thus that the flesh side of the fillet will engage the plate. The inclination of the sliding plane 20 against the second conveyor belt 21 is chosen thus, that the fillet during its downward sliding has enough time to change its position so much that the fillet will leave the sliding plate substantially in parallel to the lower edge of the sliding plate, i.e. perpendicularly to the transport direction of the conveyor belt 21. In this manner all the fillets will be situated with the head end facing in the same direction and substantially in parallel beside each other, which firstly facilitates the sur¬ veying and secondly allows a direct feeding of the fillets to the cutting machine.

The invention hereinabove has been described in connection to only one set of conveyor belts 17 and 21, but when using deskinning machines of the kind mentioned in the introduction, from each double fillet is obtained one fillet on each side of the carrier disc 11, which means that the guiding means 15, the first conveyor belt 17 and the sliding plate 20 must be provided in two sets.