APPARATUS FOR DEHEADING AND CLEANSING SHRIMP

摘要

Apparatus for deheading and cleansing shrimp in a continuous-flowproduct transport system for more efficient storage or peeling.The apparatus transports food product having weakly attachedappendages, such as crustaceans and especially shrimp, alongconduits in a fluid medium at a flow rate as controlled by a foodpump. Upstream conduit defines a flow channel having a certaincross-sectional area; downstream conduit defines a flow channelhaving a cross-sectional area less than that of the upstreamconduit. The narrowing of the flow channel in an intermediateconduit-connecting region causes an increase in the speed of theproduct-laden fluid in that region. The ratio of the downstreamspeed to the upstream speed is inversely proportional to the ratioof the cross-sectional area of the downstream channel to theupstream channel. The abruptness of the speed increase isdetermined by the nature of the intermediate region. A relativelyabrupt narrowing of the flow channel in the intermediate regioncauses an abrupt speed increase, which creates hydrodynamic forcesthat tend to detach, in the case of shrimp, heads from thedesirable tail meat. An abrupt speed increase of about four to oneis preferable. In the higher-speed downstream flow channel,further cleansing of the shrimp of sand, dirt, and visceral fluidsoccurs. The tails and detached heads are strained from the dirtytransport fluid prior to the segregation of tails and detachedheads. Detached heads are discarded, and cleansed, headless tailsare made available for efficient storage or peeling.