Horse mackerel or scad shield plate removal - by drawing the fish, appropriately oriented past a shield removing milling cutter

摘要

Horse mackerel or scad are supported on their bellies and drawn, tail-first, by clamping devices mounted on a conveyor chain the clamping devices comprising two levers mounted on a securing plate and acting in the manner of tongs to grip the tail of the fish, belly support devices being mounted on the chain intermediate the clamping devices. The conveyor chain moves the fish past a processing mechanism comprising two symmetrically arranged halves stressed together by a tension spring and each comprising a pivot arm movable in a plain bearing transversely of the direction of movement of the conveyor, a control plate rigidly connected to the pivot arm by a strut, the control plate being set at an acute angel to the conveying direction and arranged to followed the contours of the fish with a cylindrical milling cutter on the end of the pivot arm and extending through a window aperture in the control plate. Removes shield plates by a high performance appts. suitable for shipboard use, which operates mechanically without the action of steam in one single working pass and in which all manual work is superfluous.