The present invention relates to a process for slaughtering animals, preferably pigs, in a manner which is more effective and takes the butcher's job environment into consideration, and to an apparatus by means of which the carcass is placed in a suitable working position be¬ fore each operation in the process. The process and the apparatus are especially adapted to be integrated in a pig slaughtering system.

The slaughtering of pig is a process which in many respects is industrialised. Traditional slaughtering of pig means that the pig is transported between different processing stations along a line, different operations being carried out at each station. As a result, the tasks at each station are monotonous and the cycles are short (10-20 sec). The work load at a station is directly de¬ pendent on the work carried out at the preceeding sta- tions. Thus, it is not unusual that periods of waiting are inflicted on the personell at a certain station owing to faults or delays at the preceeding stations. One factor is also that the entire line, i.e. each station, must be manned to make the line slaughtering function. These negative factors cause a number of problems, of which only a few, personally related ones will be men¬ tioned in the following. The above-mentioned monotonous tasks of high repetition frequency result in physical and mental ill-health. Physical injuries are comparatively easy to establish and frequently depend on one-sided strain since the same operation is repeated at short intervals during a complete shift. Mental ill-health is considerably more difficult to establish, but usually arises from a banal task in combination with the feeling of not being able to control or affect the system, but rather being a tiny part of a superior system. Working positions and the working environment are mostly felt as

being given, i.e. the personell must adapt to a given design of the line, which in many cases causes ergoτ nomically unsuitable working positions in moist and cold surroundings. All in all, this leads to a high rate of absence owing to direct accidents happening while at work, many of which must be ascribed to lack of attention owing the monotonous working situation, wear and strain injuries and "inexplicable" reasons which probably depend on phsycho- logical phenomena. In addition to a high rate of absence, which causes problems in the form of shortage of personnel in the line, this also means that it will be more and more difficult to keep and recruit personnel to this trade. The technical development in the meat trade essen- tially concerns development of various tools and automa¬ tion of parts of the slaughtering line, which in practice has resulted in still simpler, manual operations and still shorter cycles.

The main object of the present invention therefore is to develop a pig slaughtering system as an alternative to line slaughtering, while applying optimal solutions re¬ garding phsycosocial and physical work environment condi¬ tions, comprising e.g. considerably longer cycles as compared to traditional line slaughtering. To achieve the first aspect of the above-mentioned main object, a process for processing animal carcasses as claimed in claim 1 is provided.

To achieve the second aspect of the above-mentioned main object, an apparatus for turning an animal carcass as claimed in claim 6 is provided.

The inventive process and one embodiment of the inventive apparatus will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is an exemplifying top plan view of a plant for individual processing according to the inventive pro¬ cess.

Fig. 2 is a side view of an apparatus for turning an animal carcass.

Fig. 3 is a partly broken away side view of a supporting arm in a position for clearing the rectum. First, the system for individual pig slaughtering as illustrated in Fig. 1 will be described. The system is made up of a plurality of sections in the form of circular segments. In the illustrated layout, five such sections form a semicircular department, and a plurality of such departments may be located in one room. Each department is provided with a supply path for animal carcasses and a supply path for containers, i.e. organ carriers, said paths branching off to each section. Further, each section is connected to a discharge main path for carcasses and organ carriers. Spaced from the department, the organ carriers are separated from the main path and diverted to an emptying device and a subsequent washing device, whereas the carcasses advance to cooling and cutting-up. Each section contains at least one station which, in addition to the inventive apparatus for processing the carcass, also includes a viscera table with a chute, a tool rack for e.g. a rip saw and a drill for clearing the rectum, a chute for condemned parts, a wash basin etc. This results in a very flexible organisation, allowing one person to be responsible for the slaughtering of an entire pig, including cutting-up of the organ package. The person will be working at his own speed and is not dependent on delays in a previous link.

Pig slaughtering according to the inventive configu- ration proceeds as follows.

First, the butcher requests supplying of a carcass which is supplied, preferably from a buffer via the car¬ cass switching device of the department, to the correct station in the corresponding section. The carcass is suspended from an overhead rail by its hind legs and ad¬ vances in a prior art manner. The carcass stops at a fixture which preferably comprises the inventive apparatus

for processing the carcass as described below. In this position, a number of steps will be taken according to one embodiment of the inventive process. Phase 1: locking the carcass _ sawing through the chest sterilising the chest saw Phase 2: locking the forelegs lowering and cutting the throat ureter pelvis opening the abdomen Phase 3: turning the carcass aside tilting backwards (optional) clearing the rectum, manually or by means of a drill sterilising the knife or drill cutting through the pelvic symphysis Phase 4: tilting forwards (optional) raising the rear end of the carcass turning back, sealing off the rectum raising tilting forwards removing the intestine removing the kidney opening the chest removing the internal fat Phase 5: tilting backwards raising removing the tongue suspending the organ package

Phase 6: removing the forelegs tilting forwards lowering turning aside (optional) splitting raising and splitting sterilising the saw

if necessary, turning back to the starting position Phase 7: cutting up the organ package Phase 8: raising tilting backwards trimming the neck removing the head Phase 9: lowering tilting to vertical position returning to overhead rail

Phase 10: removing the prepared carcass fetching a new carcass The inventive apparatus for processing a carcass, which is preferably used in the system for carrying out the inventive process, is illustrated in Figs 2 and 3.

The illustrated embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention is arranged on an existing supporting rail 2 of an overhead rail 4 such that a base element 6 extends downwards essentially vertically. For stabilising the essentially vertical base element 6, there is arranged a crossbar 8 whose one end 10 is attached to said supporting rail 2 and whose opposite end 12 is attached to the downwardly directed end of the base element 6 facing away from the supporting rail 2. A frame member 14 is turnably attached to the base element 6 and intended for turning the carcass 6 about different axes, which will be described below.

To said one end 10 of the crossbar 8 there is attached the piston 16 of a first piston-and-cylinder assembly 18, whose end facing away from the point of attachment is connected to the cylinder of a second piston-and-cylinder assembly 20, which thus results in a unit of two essentially horizontally extending piston-and- cylinder assemblies 18 and 20 connected in series. The piston 22 of the second piston-and-cylinder assembly 20 is attached to the upper end of the frame member 14. To this end, there is also attached the end of a third, essential-

ly vertically extending piston-and-cylinder assembly 24 whose one end is connected to an essentially horizontal bearing means 26 which in turn is slidably supported by a pivot shaft 28 extending essentially in parallel with the third piston-and-cylinder assembly 24, for reasons which will be described below. The horizontal bearing means 26 comprises a sleeve-shaped member 30 supporting a shaft whose one end is connected to a first turning member 32 and whose opposite end is connected to a vertical bearing means 34. A supporting arm 36, which in the starting position extends essentially vertically, is rotatably supported by said bearing means 34. The supporting arm 36 comprises an upper portion 38 and a lower portion 40. The upper portion 38 of said supporting arm 36 is connected to a moving part 42 of the overhead rail 4 and is provided with locking means 44 for effectively locking a suspension device 46 which is intended for the carcass S and movable along the overhead rail 4, said locking means 44 permitting releasable fixing of the suspension device 46 to the upper portion 38 of the supporting arm 36. As an alternative to the embodiment described, it is possible to arrange at the upper portion 38 support means for the pelvis portion of the carcass S.

The lower portion 40 of the supporting arm 36 is fixedly connected to a second turning member 50 for turning the supporting arm 36 about its own longitudinal axis. At the level of the shoulder portion of the carcass S there is also arranged a lower support member 52 intended for the shoulder portion of the carcass S and movable in vertical and/or horizontal direction. In the illustrated embodiment of the present invention there is also arranged, at the level of the head of the carcass S, a member 54 for fixing the lower part of the carcass S, i.e. the front end, which like the lower support member 52 preferably is movable in vertical and/or horizontal direction. The fixing member 54 comprises a pair of L- shaped fixing means 56 of which only one is shown in Fig.

1 and which are designed and operable so as to be movable from a starting position indicated by dash-dot lines in Fig. 1 to a position fixing the carcass S and indicated by full lines in Fig. 1, in which fixing position a leg 58 of each of the fixing means 56 is positioned between the forelegs of the carcass S, thereby fixing the carcass. For moving the fixing means 56 between said end positions, the fixing member 54 further comprises a piston-and-cylinder assembly 60 which via a lever member 64 fixedly connected to the second leg 62 of the fixing means 56 permits pivoting of the fixing means 56 about a pivot 66. For accomplishing said essentially horizontal movement, e.g. the second leg 62 may be telescopic and contain spring- loaded telescoping parts 62A, 62B. In practice, the inventive apparatus functions as follows. The butcher requests supplying of a carcass S by operating a control switch of a control device 68 for controlling the inventive apparatus. From e.g. a buffer for carcasses S, a carcass S is supplied along the over- head rail 4 to the correct department, correct section and correct buffer station. From the buffer station 80 which is intended for one carcass S at a time and which is arranged just before the inventive apparatus, see Fig. 1, the carcass S is fed into the inventive apparatus in which it is caused to stop at the moving part 42 of the overhead rail 4. The locking means 44 is then activated automa¬ tically, whereby the suspension device 46 from which the carcass S is suspended is effectively fixed to the moving part 42 fixedly connected to the upper portion 38 of the supporting arm 36, and subsequently the moving part 42 can be released from the overhead rail. If necessary, the carcass S is turned such that the shoulder portion of the carcass engages the lower support member 52. In case an upper support member is arranged, this is caused to engage the pelvis portion of the carcass S. As mentioned above, the lower support member 52, and if available the upper

support member, is adjustable in vertical and/or horizon¬ tal direction.

After sawing through the chest, the piston-and- cylinder assembly 60 for operating the fixing member 54 is activated, whereby the fixing means 56 are moved from the starting position to the fixing position in which one leg 58 of each fixing means is positioned between the forelegs of the carcass S, thereby applying to the inside of the forelegs forces acting in the opposite direction and tending to separate the carcass S. Subsequently, the carcass is automatically lowered by activating the third piston-and-cylinder assembly 24, whereby the carcass S performs a downwardly directed rectilinear movement such that the abdomen of the carcass takes a position con- venient for processing. After opening the abdomen, the second turning member 50 is activated, whereby the supporting arm 36 is caused to rotate about its longitu¬ dinal axis. This turning motion occurs over an angle area of preferably 90°. After this operation, the carcass S is in a position intended for clearing the rectum.

According to an alternative embodiment, the support¬ ing arm 36 is also turned about the pivot shaft 70 extending perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the supporting arm 36, by activating the first turning member 32. This pivotal movement occurs through an angle area of preferably 60° such that the carcass takes the position illustrated in Fig. 2, in which the supporting arm 36 forms an angle α of about 30° with the horizontal plane, whereby the carcass S takes a position convenient for clearing the rectum. This operation implies separating of the rectum from the carcass S by means of a suitable drill or by means of a knife. In connection with this operation, also the pelvic symphysis is cut through. If required, the turning movements described above are automatically reversed, i.e. the supporting arm 36 is pivoted back to an essentially vertical position and rotated about its own longitudinal axis back to the starting position. By

automatically activating the first piston-and-cylinder assembly 18 and then immediately activating the third piston-and-cylinder assembly 24, the upper part of the frame member 14 is first tilted forwards and the entire frame member 14 is raised. At the same time as this movement pattern is carried out, the following operations take place: removing the intestine, removing the kidney, opening the chest and removing the internal fat. Then the upper end of the frame member 14 is tilted backwards by activating the first and the second piston-and-cylinder assembly 18, 20 at the same time as the frame member 14 is raised further. In this position, the carcass has taken a position which is convenient for removing the tongue and the organ package. The next operation is detaching the lower fixing of the carcass S by correspondingly activating the piston- and-cylinder assembly 60 for operating the fixing member 54, whereby the fixing means 56 are moved from the fixing position, in which one leg 58 of each fixing means is positioned between the forelegs of the carcass S, to the starting position indicated by dash-dot lines in Fig. 1. By tilting the frame member 14 forwards, which occurs by correspondingly activating the piston-and-cylinder assemblies 18 and 20, or by correspondingly moving the lower support member 52 horizontally, the carcass 1 is moved before the splitting to a position at a safe dis¬ tance from the base elements. After lowering the carcass S by activating the third piston-and-cylinder assembly 24, it is thus possible to begin the splitting of the carcass in the longitudinal direction thereof, since the lower support member 52 is in two pieces and has an essentially vertical partition line. After a presettable period of time, the forwardly tilted frame element 14 is raised, the period of time being adapted to the sawing speed such that the carcass always takes a position convenient for proces¬ sing.

For removing the head of the carcass S and trimming the neck, the frame element 14 is tilted backwards by activating the piston-and-cylinder assemblies 18 and 20 and the frame element 14 is raised, the carcass thereby taking a position which is convenient for processing, at the same time as the lower support member 52 supports this portion.

Finally, the inventive apparatus is reset to the starting position in which the frame element 14 and, thus, the supporting arm 36 extend essentially vertically and the processed carcass is returned to the overhead rail along which it is transported away to the final proces¬ sing.

A person skilled in the art may, of course, find alternative embodiments and carry out modifications which fall within the scope of the inventive idea. Thus, further developments of the control technique will be effected in the present invention so as to further facilitate the operations. All such changes and modifications are there- fore intended to be comprised by the scope of protection applied for.