the assembly shown in fig1 comprises a unit 1 , which is built up of a crop probe 15 , a carcass holder 13 and a neck breaker 14 , which are arranged on a pair of vertical rods 30 ( only one of which is shown ). these rods 30 are mounted such that they are slidable or movable at the top and at the bottom on stationary tracks and are propelled by a drum , for instance . it will be understood that in a slaughter line a series ot units 1 will be arranged one behind the other as seen in the processing direction , so as to form a circulating , for example oval - shaped series , which , for the course at which the desired processing has to take place , coincides with the path of a conveyor , in this case an overhead conveyor with upper guide 2 , on which trolleys 3 are pulled forward with the help of chain 75 . the trolleys 3 are provided with an overhead wire 4 , in which a leg hook 5 is attached . a carcass 8 of a slaughtered bird is hung by the legs 11 in the lower end of the leg hook 5 and is kept in position by means of a holder 13 , which is securely attached to the rods 30 by means of attachments 17a and 17b and which is provided with a back plate 16 , from where the axillary holding rods 19 and the leg bracket 18 extend . with its back the carcass 8 abuts the back plate 16 and extends downward with the neck region 12 . the neck breaker 14 is located underneath the holder 13 and comprises a block 35 , which is upwardly and downwardly moveable along the guiding rods 30 and which on the other side of the guiding rods 30 is provided with a roll 36 , which moves in a cam or curve track 50 of which the upper boundary 50a and the lower boundary 50b are shown . on the side which is turned towards the slaughter line block 35 is provided with a bracket 37 , which at the location of 41 is hinged connected to block 35 . on the outside the bracket 37 is provided with a cam 42 , which engages a guiding rod 43 which extends in the direction of the slaughter line . on the other end the u - shaped bracket 37 is provided with a breaker member 38 , of which the breaker end 39 is shaped to be able to separate neck vertebrae by breaking action . above the holder 13 a crop probe assembly 15 is located , which comprises a crop probe holder 20 , which on its side which is turned away from the slaughter line is provided with a roll 21 , which is guided in curve track 40 of which the upper boundary 40a and the lower boundary 14b are shown . on the side turned towards the slaughter line the crop probe holder 20 is provided with downwardly extending holder member 22 , in which the upper portion 23 &# 39 ; of a crop probe 23 is accommodated against axial sliding but still rotatably . the upper end of the upper portion 23 &# 39 ; of the crop probe 23 is provided with a cone - shaped drive gear wheel 96 . the lower portion 23 &# 34 ; of the crop probe has at its lower end an end portion 24 which acts as a crop remover , which end portion itself ends in a closed , convex nose 25 . the end portion 24 comprises two plates , which are arranged along the circumference and which define longitudinal gaps 26 between them , and furthermore are provided with teeth 27 which extend downwards in a slanting way and in circumferential direction . located at the upper end of the end portion 24 is a sprayer 28 which is directed to the outside , and which is supplied with spraying water by means of one or more lines 33 and fixed inlet 32a , on which a further supply line ( not shown ) can be connected . between line 33 and the inlet 32a rotation - seal is provided . it is noted that the end portion alternatively may comprise a closed cylindrical plate , which is provided with radial / tangential extending engaging lips or teeth , like for instance shown in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 178 , 578 . the arrangement of the sprayer ( s ) is then adapted , so that the nozzles cover the area outside the cylindrical plate . just above the lower end , in which the crop probe 23 is inserted , the holder member 22 is provided with vacuum lines 31 , which can be connected to a vacuum source via a connection 34 in the holder block 20 and a further vacuum line ( not shown ) to be connected to it . the vacuum lines 31 are provided with one or several suction mouths 29 , through which air from the outside can be sucked in . below , on the basis of fig2 a - 2i the operation of the unit 1 shown in fig1 will be discussed , including special further parts in the embodiment of the assembly according to the invention which are arranged along the slaughter line . it will be understood that in fig2 a - 2i subsequent stages in the treatment are shown , in which the unit 1 with guiding rods 30 is simultaneously moved with the trolley 3 . as seen on the drawing left next to the guiding rods 30 cure tracks are arranged in a stationary way , with the curve tracks shaped in such a way with curvings in the vertical plane , that the movements to be discussed can be enforced on the breaker unit 14 and on the crop probe 15 . in fig2 a a curve track 40 causes the crop probe holder 15 to move downwards ( a ), the crop probe 23 to pass inside the carcass 8 via its vent which has been enlarged by a vent cutter and eventually to reach the location of the crop with end portion 24 . during this downward movement the crop probe 23 can be rotated in the direction b . in the working position of the end portion 24 as shown in fig2 a , the crop probe 23 is rotated in the direction b , so that the end portion 24 is revolved , in which the teeth 27 will tear off the organs present in that region from the body 10 of the carcass 8 , in a manner in itself known . curve track 40 subsequently causes a further downward movement in the direction a of the crop probe holder 15 , so that the end portion 24 moves to the outside through the neck 12 ( fig2 b ). this movement is carried out to the extend that the lower end of the holder member 22 and the suction port 29 are located at the level of the operation area of the teeth 26 ( fig2 c ). the vacuum means are then activated , so that a suction action occurs at the location of the suction inlet 29 . as a result of this the remnants of the torn off organs are removed , which is further enhanced by a suitable , for instance an undulatory design of the curve track 40 , so that the crop probe holder 15 and hence the suction inlet 29 are moved up and down several times during suction . because the suction port 29 is located at a distance h 1 from the end portion 24 , which is larger than the distance h 2 between the upper end crop ( s ) and lower end of the skin of the neck , the end portion 24 of the crop probe 15 can be sprayed at the same time with the aid of the stationary sprayer 60a and 60b shown in fig2 c in order to remove clinging bored out material from that end portion . in this way amongst others contamination of the carcass is prevented . this retracting movement is illustrated in fig2 d , in which the curve or cam track 40 is shaped in such a manner that the crop probe holder 15 moves upwards in the direction d . at the same time the neck breaker 14 is also moved upwards in the direction e by suitable design of the curve track 50 . the movement of crop probe 15 in the direction d takes place until the nose end 25 of the end portion 24 is located just above the desired breaking plane x -- x of the neck 12 . likewise breaker 14 is moved upwards to such an extend in the direction e , that when activating the breaker the break end 39 can be swayed in the plane x -- x . subsequently , as shown in fig2 e , the breaker 14 is operated , which takes place because the guide 43 is shaped in such a way that the cam 42 is forced upwards in the direction f , so that the bracket 37 as seen in the drawing is swayed to the left in a direction g . because of suitable design of the guide 43 it is achieved that this happens with great speed and force , so that , after the break end 39 has broken the neck vertebrae in plane x -- x , in which back plate 16 serves as abutment , a series of dislodged neck vertebrae 12a are situated below the break portion 38 , surrounded by neck skin 12b . during breaking the nose 25 , because of its position near the plane x -- x , causes stabilization of the neck vertebrae in the area near the breaking plane , so that breaking can take place in a reliable way . the presence of the nose 25 in the neck region is further made use of when forcing the series of separated neck vertebrae 12a somewhat downwards within the skin of the neck 12b . the ( small ) downward movement in the direction h is caused by suitable design of the curve track 50 , in which the guide 43 keeps the cam 42 in the same orientation as during breaking . subsequently the guide 43 curves downwards a little , as shown in fig2 g , so that the cam 42 moves downwards in the direction i and the bracket 37 carries out a swaying movement in the direction j , in order to sway the breaker 14 away from the carcass 8 . at the same time or a little later the crop probe 15 is moved upwards again a little by the curve track 40 in the direction d , until the end portion 24 of the crop probe 15 is located in the inner cavity of the body 10 of the carcass 8 . from this inner cavity the viscera were removed earlier with the aid of an eviscerator which will not be further discussed here . a number of actions can then be carried out simultaneously . the first action to be discussed is that with the aid of stationary guiding rods 70a and 70b the skin of the neck 12b is engaged and clamped in between them , with continuous movement in conveyance direction . because of squeezing together of the neck region the dislodged neck vertebrae 12a are pushed further downwards . for this purpose the guides 70a and 70b are designed sloping downwards in the conveyance direction , so that the neck vertebrae series 12a are forced further and further downwards and eventually fall out of the skin of the neck 12b . the next action which can be carried out is spraying the carcass 8 for cleansing it with the aid of a stationary spray frame 80 , which is provided with sprayers 81 . the sprayer 28 can also be activated in this operation for an accelerated cleansing . special is the action carried out with the aid of sprayer 28 , with the aid of which the inside of the body 10 of the carcass is namely sprayed clean . the spraying liquid can drain away downwards , through the neck 12 , which is stimulated it the neck vertebrae series 12a are already removed . the sprayer 28 is supplied with the liquid in the direction k , via line 33 and via connection 34 . during spraying the crop probe 23 will be rotated again in the direction b in order to wash the entire inner circumference of the inside of the carcass 8 in a good manner . during spraying with the aid of the sprayer 28 the crop probe holder 15 can be propelled at a low pace in the direction d , so that the entire inner surface of the carcass 8 can be reached by the sprayer 28 . finally the unit 1 reaches the location where knife unit 90 is situated . this knife unit 90 has a motor 93 , a converter 92 and a circular knife 91 , with the aid of which the skin of the neck is cut off , the breaker 14 can be used in keeping the neck skin taut to some extent . the crop probe assembly 15 has then been moved completely out of the carcass 8 in the direction d , whereas the breaker 14 is moved further downwards in the direction h to an exit position . after the track , along which the guides 30 are moved , and the track of the overhead conveyor 2 diverge and the carcasses 8 have come loose from the holders 13 , the units 1 are led back along any track in order to gather with the overhead conveyor 2 at an upstream location to start a new cycle . with the assembly according to the invention carcasses are obtained which to a large extend are free of contamination and remains . the assembly unites a crop remover , a breaker , a final control unit , an inside - outside washer and a cutter for skin of the neck , so that one machine will suffice after the eviscerator . connector tube 323 &# 39 ; ( fig3 a ) has a cylindrical exterior surface and an interior longitudinal passage 333 extending therethrough . the bottom annular surface of connector tube is beveled so as to form circular outer bottom edge , with the sloped annular surface 301 intersecting annular edge 302 and the threaded portion 303 of passage 333 . when connector tube 323 is threaded onto end portion 324 ( fig3 c ), circular outer bottom edge 302 of the connector tube engages annular beveled shoulder 304 of the collar 305 of the rotary probe , while the sloped annular surface 301 extends upwardly over upper flat surface 306 , forming an annular passage 307 about the lower threaded shank 308 , which communicates with the passages 310 of the threaded shank 308 and the radial passages 309 of the collar 305 . therefore , when liquid emerges from longitudinal bore 311 of threaded shank 308 through the passages 310 , the liquid will enter an annular plenum chamber 307 that communicates directly with spray nozzles 309 at the annular beveled shoulder 304 of the collar , so that the liquid passes out through the spray nozzles 309 , generally outwardly from the probe . it will be noted that the spray nozzles 309 , as illustrated in fig3 d , are angled in the direction of rotation t , so that the spray of liquid is propelled in directions that extend between a radial and a tangential direction with respect to the rotary probe . in the units 1 modifications may be made . reference is made to fig4 - 8 , in which the holder and the breaker are modified for further improved operation of the assembly . in fig4 an overhead conveyor 101 is shown , with a rail 102 , on which trolleys 103 are propelled , for which purpose the trolleys 103 are connected to one another and to propelling means ( not shown ) by means of a drive chain 104 . at the lower end 105 the trolleys 103 are provided with a depending intermediate rod 106 , on which a leg hook 107 is attached . at its lower end the leg hook 107 carries the legs 109 of a carcass 108 of a chicken . this chicken hangs with its neck 111 downwards . at the left side of the conveyor 101 , as seen in the drawing , usually the inner side of the track , a unit 112 is located , which is a part of a series of similar units arranged on a circulating frame , for instance in the shape of an oval carousel . the driving means for such a carousel are not shown but will be sufficiently known to the expert . the unit 112 comprises a crop probe 113 , which in its end 114 is provided with teeth 115 and a rounded lower end 116 . the crop probe 113 is accommodated in a crop probe holder 117 which depends from the holder block 118 . the crop probe 113 projects upwards through the crop probe holder 117 and the holder block 118 and is provided there with a cone - shaped drive gear wheel 119 , which is driven to let the crop probe 113 rotate about its centre line . if the lower end 114 of the crop probe 113 is located at the level of the crop of the carcass 108 , the teeth 115 will loosen the crop . the unit 112 further comprises two rods 120 ( of which only one is shown ), along which the holder block 118 can be moved up and down . for this up and down movement the holder block le is provided with a cam roll 122 , which is situated between the upper and lower boundary of a curve or cam track 121 . this curve track extends according to the path which is followed by the units 112 , in which a downward or upward movement of the crop probe is effected by the descending or rising courses of the curve track 121 . below the crop probe 113 a carcass holder 123 is situated , which with the aid of a fixing block 124 is fixedly attached to the rods 120 . from the fixing block 124 a leg bracket 125 protrudes in an outward direction ( to the right as seen in the drawing ), which in a manner known per se engages between the legs 109 . this leg bracket is shaped as a u - shaped bracket , of which the base is turned to the outside and is rounded . from ear of the legs of the leg bracket 125 an l - shaped axillary support 126 extends in downward direction , of which the foot 127 is horizontally outwardly directed . these l - shaped axillary supports 126 are rigidly fixed to the leg bracket 125 and with their downwardly directed surfaces 150a , 150b ( see fig7 a ) do not only offer resistance against an upwardly movement of the axils of the wings 110 , but they also offer a lateral support 153a , 153b ( see fig7 a ) against lateral displacement ( those directions of conveyance of the carcass ) of the carcass . an extra abutment pin 160 is attached to the left axillary support 126 ( see fig7 a ), with which an additional abutment against rotation of the carcass 108 during removing the crop -- as a result of the rotation of the crop probe -- is provided . beneath the u - shaped shoulder support 132 there is an alternative breaker 140 according to the invention , with a holder 141 , which is provided with two pairs of blocks 141a - d with passages 141e - h for the rods 120 and with two breaker members 144 extending in outward direction ( to the right as seen in the drawing in fig4 ), which between them , in the non - active position , define a passage space for the neck 111 of the carcass 108 . the breaker members 144 form a whole with the rotation shafts 146 bearing mounted in holder 141 , which form a whole with gear wheels 147a , b at the inner end ( seen on the left in the drawing ). as can be seen in fig7 a the gear wheel 147a or the rotation shaft 146a is rigidly connected to lever arm 148 , at the free end of which a roll 143 is attached , which is arranged so as to follow a curve track 142 . at least one of the breaker members 144 is provided with a stop 145 extending into the passage defined by the breaker members 144 to check the neck 111 if it has the tendency to rotate simultaneously and outwardly during the rotation of the crop probe . in the fig5 and 6a - 6d the operation of the breaker 140 as such is explained . the breaker members 144a , 144b are formed by semi - circular cylindrical bodies , the upper edges 149a , 149b of which form breaking edges . as is shown in fig6 a the crop probe 114 can move between the breaker members 144a , 144b during the removal of the crop from the carcass 108 . the stop 145 ensures that the neck vertebrae are retained / confined in a horizontal sense within the breaker members 144a , 144b . when the breaker 15 140 has to be operated -- whilst keeping the breaker at the same height -- by shifting the curve track 142 , the roll 143 is moved upwards as a result of which the gear wheels 147a , 147b will rotate towards one another at the top , so that the breaker edges 149a , 149b will be moved towards one another and the situation shown in the fig6 b and 6d is reached , this is all elucidated on the basis of the fig7 a - 7f . in fig7 a the crop probe 114 is moved up again into the carcass 106 , the lower end 116 being held at a level just above the breaking plane . in this way the neck vertebrae region is stabilized during breaking . the l - shaped supports 126a , 126b and the u - shaped shoulder support 132 in this case hold the carcass 108 in the correct position . as can be seen in fig7 a the breaker edges 149a , 149b of the breaker members 144a , 144b are at a distance d1 from one another . the neck 111 with the neck vertebrae 111a extends downward in an unhindered fashion between the breaker members 144a and 144b . in fig7 a it can also he seen that the holder 141 for the breaker 140 is further provided with a roll 152 ( not shown in fig4 - 6 ), which is arranged to follow a cam track or curve path 151 . this cam track 151 is located below the cam track 142 , so that these paths do not interfere with one another . prior to the situation shown in fig7 a and prior to crop removal , the u - shaped shoulder support 132 is , because of suitable design of the curve track 130 , moved to abut the lower side of the shoulders of the wings 110 , so that the shoulder regions / axillary regions of the wings 110 are , as it were , clamped between the surfaces 150a , 150b of the l - shaped axillary supports 126a , b and the surfaces 155a , 155b of the u - shaped shoulder support 132 . the surfaces 155a , 155b are in this case convex , whereas the surfaces 155a , 155b are horizontally flat . the resultants g of the surfaces 155a and 155b , respectively are in this case located laterally outside the resultants f of the surfaces 150a and 150b , respectively . as can be seen in fig7 f the resultants f and g generate an upwardly inwardly rotating moment which is exerted on the wings 110 , which moment counteracts a moment exerted by the upward movement of the crop probe 113 . by of suitable design of the curve track 142 , in fig7 b the roll 143 is moved upward in the direction a , whereby the gear wheel 147a is rotated to the right as seen in the drawing in the direction b1 , so that through the interengagement of the teeth the gear wheel 147b is rotated to the left in the direction b2 . both the shafts 146a , 146b will in this case rotate at the top toward one another and hence the breakers 144a , 144b , too . this rotation takes place until both breaker edges 149a , 149b are brought to a distance of approximately 1 , 5 mm from one another , in the case of a chicken of full - grown proportions . due to suitable design of the curve track 142 and the propelling speed of the unit 112 adapted thereto , the force with which the breaker edges 149a , 149b move toward one another will be large enough to loosen the neck vertebrae 111a from the rest of the skeleton of the carcass 108 . due to the circular path which the breaker edges 149a , 149b follow here , simultaneously a downward ejecting effect will be exerted on the neck vertebrae 111a , as is shown in fig7 c after the neck vertebrae 111a have been separated , a slightly downward course of the curve track 142 ensures that the roll 143 moves downwards in the direction c , to rotate the breaker members 144a , 144b back again somewhat , until between the breaker edges 149a , 149b a distance d2 of , in this example with a chicken , approximately half a centimeter has been reached . in that mutual distance the breaker 140 is suited for completely ejecting the broken - off neck vertebrae 111a out of the neck 111 . for this purpose the curve track 142 as well as the curve path 151 has been given a downward course , to allow the rolls 143 and 152 to simultaneously move downward , the distance d 2 being retained . hence the breaker edges 149a , 149b fulfil a stripping - off function , whereas the skin of the neck 111 remains substantially undamaged . after the broken - off neck vertebra portion 111a has been thus downwardly ejected and collected is a collection tray , the crop probe 113 can be raised in the direction e , during which movement the cooperation between the axillary supports 127a , 127b and the shoulder supports 155a , 155b ensure that the wings 110 are not excessively loaded and their connection with the carcass remains intact . in fig8 an indication is given concerning the saving of space which is obtained with the breaker device according to the invention . the overhead conveyor 200 and the turret or carousel 201 are shown . the carousel 201 is provided with a circularly arranged series of units 112 , as discussed above . the overhead conveyor 200 comprises an incoming section 200a , a section 200b circulating with it and an exit section 200c . a hatched area 202 is shown on the radial outer side of the path 200b . if no use were made of the invention , this hatched area 202 would have to be occupied by operating means , such as curve tracks , for the breakers . this area 102 and the direct surroundings takes up space and is a potential danger for bystanders . while preferred embodiments of the invention are disclosed by the foregoing specification and drawings , variations and modifications thereof can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention , as set forth in the following claims .
device for removing at least the crop of slaughtered poultry , comprising means for holding a carcass of the poultry , a crop probe assembly with a crop probe holder and an elongated crop probe , which is provided with crop engaging means in an end portion , such as a number of teeth / sprockets , means for moving the crop probe up and down between a non - active position to one or more active positions , means for turning the crop probe about its longitudinal axis , in which the crop probe is provided with a nose on the outer end of the end portion , and in which on the side of the holder means facing away from the crop probe the device is provided with a neck breaker with neck breaking means and with means for activating the neck breaker and with means for moving the neck breaker toward the carcass and away from it , said means for moving the crop probe , the activating means and the means for moving the neck breaker being geared to one another such that during activation of the neck breaker the nose of the crop probe is held on a level which is situated just above the breaking plane of the neck of the carcass to be realized by the neck breaker .