The invention relates to a shrimp peeling machine for operation in stationary land based production facilities and in maritime production facilities including in fishing boats such as shrimp trawlers where the shrimp peeling occurs in a shrimp peeling process direction, where the shrimp peeling machine is provided with a closed chain consisting of a number of joints, which contains cylindrical rollers, where the longitudinal axis of the cylindrical rollers is displaced 90 degrees in relation to the shrimp peeling process direction and where the rollers can be turned by activation of toothed wheel and where the chain is operated by at least one toothed wheel, which is connected to a motor unit, where the cylindrical rollers have a metallic or a polymeric surface. Also, the invention relates to a method for utilization of shrimp peeling machine.

Furthermore, the invention relates to application of shrimp peeling machine. From US patent number US 5120265 (A), a method is known and a shrimp peeling machine where skewed parallel rollers are used for peeling or shelling boiled shrimp.

The skewed rollers are characterized in that their longitudinal direction runs in the same direction as the shrimp peeling process direction.

It has been found, however, that there are some drawbacks of this known technique, including that the efficiency of the shrimp peeling machine from US 5120265 to an extensive degree is dependent on the angle, by which the parallel rollers are skewed. This drawback has among other resulted in that it has not been possible to use the known technique in shrimp trawlers since the trawlers' movement in the open sea will inevitably change the angle in relation to a horizontal level by which the parallel rollers are skewed.

The hitherto known technique has therefore in practice only functioned satisfyingly on land based production facilities.

It is obviously a drawback since the shrimps therefore must be frozen on the trawlers and then thawed when they must subsequently be peeled on the land-based shrimp peeling facilities.

The peeled shrimps can subsequently be refreezed for sale to the consumers.

The finished product has therefore gone through 2 freezing processes before it can be sold to the consumers.

The quality of the finished peeled shrimps is therefore lower than if the shrimps could be finished processed including peeled directly after they were landed on the shrimp trawlers.

Concurrently, the whole manufacturing process is allocated to two places namely partly on the fishing boats and partly on the land based shrimp peeling production facilities, which is not optimum.

From US 2832092 A is known a shrimp peeling machine where the shrimp peeling occurs in a shrimp peeling process direction. The shrimp peeling machine includes an endless conveyor belt, which includes an endless chain with a number of joints, which contain cylindrical rollers.

The longitudinal axis of the cylindrical rollers is displaced 90 degrees in relation to the shrimp peeling process direction and the rollers are turned by activation of toothed wheel. The endless conveyor belt is operated by two larger driving toothed wheels, since the conveyor belt's rotation is started by mesh between toothed wheel on the shaft for the rollers and the larger driving toothed wheels, whereby the rollers are rotated in tracks, which run along the sides of the endless conveyor belt. The rollers include rollers with a polymeric surface and rollers from metal, where the rollers with the polymeric surface have a larger diameter than the rollers from metal. Shrimps are added to the endless conveyor belt in the top via a conveyance belt, the shrimps are shelled, by friction between the activated rollers and the released shells, and are collected under the chain.

It has been found, however, that the technique described in US 2832092 A does not function sufficiently efficient, including that it is not possible to adjust the mutual position between the rollers, which is used for shelling, the shrimps.

It is therefore an object of the invention to improve the known technique including shrimp peeling machine and method and application.

The object of the invention is achieved by a shrimp peeling machine of the in the introduction to claim 1 stated type, which is characterized in that the chain is provided with friction bearings, which forms seat for rollers, and which is affected by position regulation guys.

In this way it becomes possible to fine adjust the mutual position between the rollers, which shell the shrimps, whereby it becomes possible to make the shrimp peeling efficiency and to shell or peel shrimps without them passing angle sensitive skewed rollers, and the shrimp peeling machine can therefore be applied in shrimp trawlers whereby the shrimps can be peeled immediately after catch whereby a freezing process can be avoided. Hereby, the quality of the finished product is increased.

Further appropriate embodiments for the shrimp peeling machine are stated in claims 2 to 6.

As mentioned, the invention also relates to a method for utilisation of shrimp peeling machine according to one or more of claims 1 to 6. This method is characterized in that the chain is operated in a rotation direction, which is indicated with the arrow, where shrimp, which are to be peeled, are added to the chain, the chain is operated in a rotational direction, which is indicated with the arrow, where shrimp, which are to be peeled, are added to the chain in the top at the inlet to the horizontal inlet, the shrimps are subsequently shelled by friction through contact to the rollers, which are operated by activation of the rack, the released shrimp shell parts are collected below the chain, and the shelled shrimps can be collected at the end of the chain by the horizontal outlet where the shrimp peeling process is optimised by speed adjustment of toothed wheel, which operates the chain and by speed adjustment of rack, which operates the cylindrical rollers. In the top at the inlet to the horizontal inlet, the shrimps are subsequently shelled by friction through contact to the rollers, which are operated by activation of the rack, the released shrimp shell parts are collected below the chain, and the shelled shrimps can be collected at the end of the chain by the horizontal outlet where the shrimp peeling process is optimised by speed adjustment of toothed wheel, which operates the chain and by speed adjustment of rack, which operates the cylindrical rollers. It hereby becomes possible to use shrimp peeling machine in a maritime boat such as in shrimp trawlers. As mentioned, the invention also relates to application of shrimp peeling machine for mounting and operation in maritime boats such as shrimp trawlers.

The invention will now be explained more fully with reference to the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a section of a preferred embodiment of a shrimp peeling machine according to the invention.

Fig. 2 shows a section of the chain, which is used for shelling or peeling shrimp. Fig. 3 shows a section of the chain with position regulation guys.

Fig. 4 shows a section of a chain part with position regulation guys.

Fig. 5 shows a cross section of a chain part with position regulation guys.

In fig. 1 is with 1 shown a section of a shrimp peeling machine where shrimp 2, which are to be peeled, are added to a closed chain 3 at the chain's 3 horizontal inlet in relation to a shrimp peeling process direction 13. The shrimp peeling machine 1 is provided with a closed chain 3 consisting of a number of joints 14,15, which contain cylindrical rollers 4,5,6, where the cylindrical rollers' 4,5,6 longitudinal axis is displaced 90 degrees in relation to the shrimp peeling process direction 13 and where the rollers 4,5,6 can be turned by activation of toothed wheel 7 and where the chain 5 is operated by at least one toothed wheel 12, which is connected to a motor unit 10,11 . The cylindrical rollers 4,5,6 have a metallic or a polymeric surface.

In a preferred embodiment, the cylindrical rollers 4,5,6 have at least 2 different diameters.

It is also a characteristic of the shrimp peeling machine 1 that toothed wheel 7, which operates the cylindrical rollers 4,5,6 is mounted on an axle 16, which is placed in continuation of a cylindrical roller's 4,5,6 axis of rotation.

Moreover, it is a characteristic of the shrimp peeling machine 1 that the axle 16, which forms seat for toothed wheel 7 is used for connection with toothed wheel 2, which operates the chain 3.

The toothed wheels 7 are activated by at least one rack 8, which is operated by an activator 9 such as a servomotor.

Fig. 2 shows a section of a preferred embodiment of a chain 3 where the chain is composed of joints 14,15, which each contains rollers 4,5,6 where two of the rollers 4,5 have the same diameter and are provided with a polymeric surface and where the third roller 6 has a, in relation to the additional rollers, smaller diameter and where this roller 6 has a metallic surface.

The shelling of the shrimps occurs by moving the shrimp between the rotating rollers 4,5,6.

The described combination of alternating diameters and surfaces of the in the chair joints 14,15 containing rollers 4,5,6 has shown to be optimum with regard to shelling or peeling shrimps efficiently. A shrimp peeling process occurs by the chain 8 being operated in a direction of rotation, as stated with the arrow 13, where shrimps 2, which are to be peeled, are added to the chain 8 in the top at the inlet to the horizontal inlet.

The shrimps 2 are subsequently shelled by friction through contact to the rollers 4,5,6, which are operated by activation of the rack 8. The released shrimp shell parts are collected below the chain 8 and the shelled shrimp 2 can be collected at the end of the chain 8 at the horizontal outlet.

In practice, including at installation of the shrimp peeling machine in shrimp trawlers, the shrimp peeling process can be optimised by adjusting the speed of toothed wheel 12, which operates the chain 8 and by speed adjustment of rack 8, which operates the cylindrical rollers 4,5,6.

It is a part of the invention that the shrimp peeling machine 1 is mounted and is operated in maritime boats such as shrimp trawlers.

With the invention, it is achieved that shrimps 2 in a continuous process can be landed in a shrimp trawler and subsequently be boiled, peeled and packaged on the vessel and thus be ready for sale to the consumers as soon as the trawler reaches the harbour.

The quality of the ready to be sold and peeled shrimps will thereby be significantly higher than it has hitherto been possible and the production process is optimised and thereby cheaper, among other since the whole shrimp manufacturing process is on the fishing vessel, which lands the shrimp. Fig. 3 shows a chain part, which is affected by a position regulation guy 17, which can be adjusted in a dimension, as stated by arrows 18. As shown in fig. 4, which depicts a section of a chain, which is positioned by the position regulation guys 17, these have connection against the chain at the friction bearing 20, which is pressed against the position regulation guys by effect of a spring 21. The friction bearing 20 forms seat for the ends 4 of the rollers 5.

From fig. 4 is likewise seen that the end 23 of the rollers 5 can glide in a track 24, where the rollers are pressed against the rollers 4 and 5 by force from a spring 22.

In fig. 5 is shown a cross section of a chain part, which is positioned by a position regulation guy 17.

When the position regulation guys 17 are position adjusted, the mutual position between the rollers 4,5 and 6 will thus be changed.

This is applied to control the shrimp peeling since the mutual position between the rollers 4,5 and 6 is decisive for the shrimp peeling efficiency, which again is a function of the type of shrimp, size and boiling.