PELTING BOARD

Technical Field

This invention relates to a pelting board especially suitable for use in the fur out drying process of preparing mink pelts for the fur industry.

Background Art

The conventional pelt drying process ordinarily uses a flat wood slat to draw tautly a fresh pelt. Air is sup¬ plied between the pelt and the slat to enhance the drying. The wooden slats absorb moisture from the pelt and become sour quickly, requiring that the slat be replaced. Some¬ times damage to the pelt itself occurs. In gnited States Patent 3,313,038, a pelt drying frame of metal or other nonabsorbent material is used with air from an air supply manifold to dry expeditiously and practically a pelt. This frame employs a wooden plate to secure the underside and tail of the pelt to the frame with staples or thumbtacks. Thus, when the pelt dries and shrinks, sticking of the pelt to the frame may damage the pelt. In United States Patent 3,526,967, a pelt drying system for drying pelts fur side out is disclosed. The sys¬ tem uses a manifold having air discharge nozzles to supply temperature and humidity controlled air to drying frames through a common trunk line. The patent focuses upon a novel air-conditioning unit used to supply the air.

Disclosure of Invention

This invention improves over existing pelting board systems by removing the need for pinning the pelt to the frame. Additionally, the pelting board of this invention utilizes a plurality of channels near its edges to supply drying air to the edges of the frame so that the pelts dry

more evenly in these areas and stick less often to the frame.

A preferred pelting board for drying pelts in a fur out pelting process is capable of tautly holding a pelt about it and comprises a generally flat, elongated, relatively narrow frame. The frame has a generally para¬ bolic shape with channels created about its edges. A dam on one side of the frame directs drying air from an air nozzle to two channels along the edges of the frame. A lattice of girders between the edges of the frame allows for airflow throughout the length of the frame so that drying air con¬ tacts the pelt over substantially its entire inner surface. Plastic clips are used to hold the underside of the pelt and the tail on the frame. Each clip has a plurality of hooks extending upwardly from a lattice frame. These hooks hook around the lattice girders of the pelting board frame to hold the pelt firmly. The tail clip is preferably revers¬ ible with differently spaced hooks on either side. Differ¬ ently spaced hooks are needed because a male pelt tail will usually be larger than that of a female.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a preferred pelting board. Figure 2 shows a plan view from the bottom of a preferred pelting board.

Figure 3 is a cross-section of the pelting board of Figure 1 taken along line 3-3.

Figure 4 is a partial side elevation of the pelting board of Figure 1.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

United States Patent 3,313,038 is incorporated by reference into this description, especially with respect to its discussion of pelting boards and a method of drying pelts.

The pelting board of this invention generally comprises three pieces: a frame 10, a tail clip 12, and an

underside clip 14. The frame is generally made from an injection-molded plastic which is nonabsorbent to moisture from the pelt, or any other suitable nonabsorbent material. The frame is generally parabolic in shape, having a nose end with a pin point 16 which is used to secure the head of the pelt. The edges 18 and 20 of the parabola are shaped with upset beads to form two channels, one on the top and one on the bottom, designated in Figure 3 as 22 for the upper chan¬ nel and 24 for the lower channel. A dam 26, generally in the shape of a V which points toward the closed end of the parabola, rises from the frame 10 to direct inflowing air from an air nozzle 28 to the top channels 22 (as shown in Figure 1 ) . A small amount of air flows up through a hole in air nozzle 28 through hole 30 in the frame 10, contacts the V point of the dam 26, and channels out into the channel 22. This flow of drying air dries the edges of the pelt more rapidly and helps to keep the edges from sticking to the frame. Generally, the shape of the frame, with its bead creating the upper channel 22 and the lower channel 24, helps in limiting the contact of the pelt with the frame along this- portion. The reduced contact makes it easier to remove the pelt from the frame when the pelt is dried.

The closed end of the parabola for the frame 10 clips into a wall bracket 32 with a spring clip 34 which slides over an upset collar portion 36 on the frame 10. The frame rests on a flat surface on air nozzle 28 (as shown in Figure 4). The air nozzle is confined by two stops 38 (as shown in Figure 2). The major portion of the frame 10 be¬ tween the edges 18 and 20 is made up of a lattice of longi- tudinal girders 40 and transverse girders 42. Preferably, the lattice is substantially uniform, because uniformity is important for attaching a pelt to the frame 10 with the tail clip 12 and the underside clip 14. As shown in the figures, two ridges 44 extend outwardly from either side of the lat- tice girders. These ridges 44 function to hold the pelt off of the frame 10. Thus the pelt contacts only a small por¬ tion of the surface area of the frame and, because of its limited contact, is more easilv removable from the frame

OiMPI

when the pelt is dried. The construction of the ridges is probably best understood by reference to the cross-section shown in Figure 3.

The tail clip 12 is generally made of flexible plastic. The lattice framework of the tail clip 12 has a plurality of upset hooks extending from either side. On one side, as best seen in Figure 1 , the hooks 12a are spaced along the sides. Although not seen as clearly, hooks 12b also extend downwardly from the other side of tail clip 12; however, they project from the first inset longitudinal lattice girder. These hooks 12b are used to attach the tail clip 12 to the frame 10 when a female pelt is being dried.

The underside clip 14 is of similar construction to the tail clip 12, having a plurality of hooks 12a which extend upwardly from one of its surfaces.

To provide further reinforcement for the frame, a plastic strip 46 may be attached to the latticework in the main body of the frame, as shown in Figure 1.

In other respects, the mink pelting process is similar to that described in United States Patent 3,313,038.

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