Apparatus and method for harvesting meat from poultry thighs in a processing line provided with carriers for poultry legs. A cutter for cutting into the poultry leg, and a scraper for scraping poultry thigh meat from the thighbone, wherein the scraper of the apparatus is arranged to clamp the poultry leg near to its knee joint and fix the knee joint in position, and the cutter is arranged to provide a first cut into the poultry leg while the scraper clamps the poultry leg, and wherein the cutter is arranged to provide the cut adjacent to the scraper and below the knee joint at the height of a knuckle of the thighbone at the side of the knee joint, so as to cut through ligaments that connect the thigh meat to the thighbone.

Method and apparatus for providing a drumstick from a poultry's leg suspended by the ankles in hooks of a carrier, including clamping the poultry's leg with a clamp and arranging that the poultry's leg is kept in position, cutting the ligaments between the drumstick and the thighbone for removal of the thighbone and providing the drumstick, raising the clamp with the poultry's leg so as to raise the ankles from the hooks of the carrier and arranging that the knee joint is positioned at a predetermined altitude, and providing that a cutter is positioned at the predetermined altitude and is activated to cut through the knee joint so as to separate the thighbone from the drumstick.

A method of mechanically removing skin from animal parts that have a bone part extending therein, including: moving the animal parts, suspended on shackles depending from an overhead conveyor, along a path of travel and cutting the part to separate the skin therefrom. The part moved into a skinning station in which the part is urged into engagement with skinning rolls. The skinning rolls are rotated and engage and draw the skin of the part therebetween. The skin is progressively pulled downwardly and away from underlying meat of the animal part as the part moved forwardly along its path of travel.

A bone-meat separation device for a bone-in limb meat according to an embodiment is a bone-meat separation device for a bone-in limb meat for separating a meat part adhering to a trunk-side end bone head of a bone-in limb meat, the device including a plurality of clamp portions for conveying the bone-in limb meat along a conveying path, a guide portion disposed on the conveying path and forming a V-shaped guide space with an open end thereof being directed upstream in a conveying direction of the bone-in limb meat, a cutter disposed at a downstream end of the guide space in the conveying direction, and a holding portion holding the meat part below the guide portion and the cutter. The holding portion is configured to hold the meat part of the bone-in limb meat when the meat part is cut from the trunk-side end bone head with the cutter.

Deskinning apparatus for a poultry leg or part of a poultry leg, including a conveyor with conveyor hooks from which the poultry leg or part of the poultry leg is suspendable, and rollers below the conveyor that are rotatable in opposite directions and are provided with meshing teeth that are contactable with a skin on the poultry leg or part of the poultry leg that is suspended from the conveyor hooks for stripping the skin from the poultry leg or part of the poultry leg, wherein the rollers are movable up and down.

A Cutting unit and method for cutting meat parts from suspended previously eviscerated poultry carcasses, when the carcasses are each suspended upside-down by their legs from a shackle in an overhead conveyor that transports a succession of shackles through poultry cut-up apparatus. The cutting unit includes at least one cutting element. The cutting unit includes a guiding and positioning member for guiding and positioning a predetermined portion of a poultry carcass in respect of the at least one cutting element. The guiding and positioning member is associated with an auxiliary conveyor adapted to move synchronously with shackles in an overhead conveyor. The auxiliary conveyor has an endless chain articulated about first and second return sprocket. The articulated chain moves in a vertical plane parallel to a vertical plane common to a path of movement of the conveyor shackles.

A bone-meat separation device for a bone-in limb meat according to an embodiment is a bone-meat separation device for a bone-in limb meat for separating a meat part adhering to a trunk-side end bone head of a bone-in limb meat, the device including a plurality of clamp portions for conveying the bone-in limb meat along a conveying path, a guide portion disposed on the conveying path and forming a V-shaped guide space with an open end thereof being directed upstream in a conveying direction of the bone-in limb meat, a cutter disposed at a downstream end of the guide space in the conveying direction, and a holding portion holding the meat part below the guide portion and the cutter. The holding portion is configured to hold the meat part of the bone-in limb meat when the meat part is cut from the trunk-side end bone head with the cutter.

An apparatus and method for processing poultry carcasses with a slaughter opening located between the legs includes a drivable transport conveyor for continuously conveying the carcasses, at least one holding apparatus on the transport conveyor for holding the carcasses, and a processing station. The station includes an engagement basic body rotatably mounted on a rotary axis and at least one engagement element. The engagement element is configured for at least partial engagement with the slaughter opening. During the at least partial engagement of the at least one engagement element with the carcass a widening of the slaughter opening is effected while maintaining the continuous conveyance with the generation of a torque. The engagement basic body is configured for receiving the torque. If the torque exceeds a predetermined torque, the engagement basic body is automatically released from the slaughter opening by rotation of the engagement basic body about the rotary axis.

A method of, and an apparatus (1) for, continuously harvesting surrounding meat from a successive plurality animal legs having articulated first and second animal bones and an intermediate joint. The method continuously conveys the animal legs through a path of conveyance, and determines a location of the intermediate joint. Based on the determined location of the intermediate joint, adjusting a position of the intermediate joint and a cutting implement relative to one another, and performing cutting of tissue at a location commensurate with the location of the intermediate joint. The step of determining the location of the intermediate joint is performed contactless, and without interrupting continuous conveyance of the animal legs.

A paw tracker for maintaining poultry paws in an ordered, indexed manner so that each paw can be matched with the carcass from which it was removed is provided. The paw tracker has a plurality of columns defining a plurality of pockets vertically aligned on the column. A rotatable gate corresponds to each pocket of the plurality of pockets. At least one gate arm urges each gate of the plurality of gates from a closed position to an open position at a predetermined time and a rotating assembly is configured to move the plurality of columns at a predetermined speed.