1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an apparatus for processing fish fillets, the apparatus including a device for dividing or separating the fillets into usable pieces of predetermined properties or characteristics, e.g. of geometric or volumetric kind, which device comprises a belt conveyor driven in a rotating manner and conveying the fillets lying flat, as well as a cutting element which is arranged to be controlled with regard to its position relative to the position of the fillet; and, following said dividing device, a sorting device for sorting fillet pieces.
2. Prior Art
According to their equipment and arrangement, such apparatus is able to divide fillets to pieces considering geometric facts, and also to perform a separation, the aim of which is gaining pieces of even weight.
From DE-OS 31 09 174 is known a device for the piecewise delivering or discharging, which device is effective in the sense of a sorting device and includes a conveying path for transporting material in the shape of pieces. This known delivering device has a delivering flap, which can be swivelled in the transport direction in a slanted manner from a transport position in the plane of the conveying path into a delivering position leading away from the conveying path.
With this device, it is, however, only possible to guide whole material pieces from a continuous conveying flow.
From German Patent 36 23 002 there is known a device for an automatic transverse separating of fish fillets, in which device the dividing cuts are performed while automatically adapting to the respective dimensions of the fillet and to other significant optical features. To this end, a cutting device arranged above a conveying plane is used which comprises a set of circular knives having a flattened or cut-off section, which, when facing the conveying plane results in a passage position for the fillets. From this position knives can be brought into a cutting position by a defined turning. The respective position of the circular knives and their activation in correct time by turning is controlled through evaluating/detecting a picture made by a video camera, said evaluation being made by means of a computer.