Apparatuses and methods for stretching a pelt on a pelt board

1. A method of stretching a pelt on a pelt board, wherein the pelt has an inwardly-oriented leather side, an outwardly oriented fur side, a nose end, a rear end, and a pair of front leg cavities, the method comprising:

(a) providing the pelt board defining a top end, a circumferential wall configured for facing the inwardly-oriented leather side of the pelt, and a base end opposite the top end;

(b) providing a stretching apparatus comprising a holding device, a fastening mechanism, a length measuring device, and a controllable actuator having a velocity controller and a force detector;

(c) holding the base end of the pelt board by the holding device;

(d) positioning the pelt on the pelt board by arranging the nose end of the pelt in contact with the top end of the pelt board, and arranging the rear end of the pelt at the base end of the pelt board;

(e) contacting the fastening mechanism with the rear end of the pelt;

(f) operating the controllable actuator at a specific speed controlled by the velocity controller so as to cause the fastening mechanism to be moved toward the holding device, thereby stretching the pelt, while detecting, by the force detector, the force applied to the pelt by the controllable actuator;

(g) measuring a length of the pelt by the length measuring device when at least one of an empirically determined force and an empirically determined force gradient has been detected; and

(h) registering the length of the pelt and the at least one of the empirically determined force and the empirically determined force gradient as a first set of coherent data.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

(i) while continuing the operating step (f), measuring an incremental increase in the length of the pelt by the length measuring device;

(j) measuring, by the force detector, a force value applied to the pelt that creates the incremental increase in the length of the pelt;

(k) determining, on the basis of the measured force value and the incremental increase in the length of the pelt, a further force gradient needed for creating the incremental increase in the length of the pelt; and

(l) registering at least one of the incremental increase in the length of the pelt and a total length of the pelt comprising the length of the pelt plus the incremental increase in the length of the pelt, and at least one of the measured force value and the further force gradient, as a second set of coherent data.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising: repeating the steps (i), (j), and (k) until at least one of a pre-set maximum allowable force and a pre-set maximum allowable force gradient has been reached, and then discontinuing the operating of the controllable actuator.

4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising: utilizing the second set of coherent data constituting sets of coherent data as forecasts for stretching of a pelt of a specific species.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the pelt is a mink pelt having a length that is to be classified according to the international classification established by Kopenhagen Fur A/S, and wherein the method further comprises: comparing the total length of the pelt with a specific class of the pelt, and, on the basis of the forecasts, determining if further stretching of the pelt may be performed safely to reach a further class.

6. The method of claim 2 , wherein steps (i)-(k) are performed in an intermittent operation.

7. The method of claim 2 wherein the step (i) is performed with the controllable actuator being operated at varying speeds controlled by the velocity controller.