Butchering – Sausage making – Delinking
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-08
2001-09-11
Rada, Rinaldi I. (Department: 3724)
Butchering
Sausage making
Delinking
C452S051000, C083S569000, C083S639100, C083S648000, C083S932000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06287189
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to the field of food processing, and more particularly to the field of sausage processing.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the processing of meat into sausage links, ground meat, fat, and spices are mixed and extruded into either collagen or natural casing. The sausage is then divided into individual sausage links by twisting the casing at selected intervals. This process creates a twist in the casing between each sausage link.
In one known process, the string of sausage links is then placed on a rolling rack for transport for further processing such as cooking or smoking. Referring to
FIGS. 1 and 2
, an example of such a rack is a mobile rack
10
comprising a series of bars
11
having a triangular surface. The links
12
are preferably wound or looped around the bars in a helical fashion. In the illustrated embodiment, each loop includes four links so that within each loop two links
12
hang on either side of the bar
11
.
Sausage links processed using the above-described rack typically have two types of ends. Referring to
FIG. 2
, one end may be described as a cobra head end
13
. This type of end results when the normally rounded end of the link has been flattened on the triangular surface of the bar. Stretching of the twist
14
also occurs with this type of end, creating twists of varying lengths. According to the process described above, a pair of cobra head ends
13
is formed once every four links. The other type of end is called a round end
15
.
After smoking, cooking, cool-down or other processing, the links are transported on the rolling rack
10
to a separating area. Here, the links
12
are separated from one another by cutting the twist
14
(e.g., with a knife or scissors). When the twist
14
is cut, a small portion of the twist typically stays attached to one or both ends of the corresponding links
12
. With short twists, this is normally not a problem. However, with twists that have been stretched (e.g., due to the weight of the suspended links), the twist can be significant in length. Such long twists can have a tough texture, particularly if they are collagen.
In light of this problem, it is known to remove a substantial portion of the twist by trimming on both ends of the twist, thereby resulting in an improved product. This process was previously performed manually by workers using scissors. This process can be a problem in the industry due to low efficiency and also due to the repetitive nature of the process.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It can be appreciated that an automated apparatus for cutting and trimming links is desirable. However, the design of such an apparatus is compounded by several problems. First, the length of the links may vary by about ¼ to ⅜ inch. Second, the length of the twist of each link may vary by about ¼ to ⅜ inch. The variation in link length and twist length is in part due do to the formation of cobra head ends. What is needed is a machine that can cut links with varying body length, twist length and head type.
The present invention provides a link cutting apparatus for cutting a twist between two links. The apparatus includes a link aligning device and a cutting device. The link aligning device is movable between a disengaged position and an engaged position where the device will engage a link and align the twist with the cutting device. In one embodiment, the link aligning device includes a link aligning member pivotable between the engaged and disengaged positions. Preferably, the apparatus further includes a second link aligning device that will engage a second link and align a second twist with a cutting device.
The present invention also provides a link cutting apparatus including a trimming device having at least two cutting edges that will remove at least a portion of the twist from both of the links. In one embodiment, the cutting edges comprise at least two knives and at least one blade sized to fit between the knives. For example, the blade can be pivotally mounted relative to the knives. Preferably, the apparatus further includes a second trimming device having at least two cutting edges that will remove at least a portion of a second twist from a second pair of links.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2503353 (1950-04-01), Pugh
patent: 2670498 (1954-03-01), Mosby
patent: 3716891 (1973-02-01), Demarest
patent: 4060875 (1977-12-01), Gosling et al.
patent: 4194268 (1980-03-01), Deerwester
patent: 4214492 (1980-07-01), Hoffman
patent: 4233709 (1980-11-01), Smith et al.
patent: 4584740 (1986-04-01), Townsend
patent: 4671042 (1987-06-01), Moekle et al.
patent: 5156566 (1992-10-01), Righele
patent: 5377570 (1995-01-01), Giljam
Moro Joseph
Southworth William
Thomas Richard
Goodman Charles
Johnsonville Foods Company
Michael & Best & Friedrich LLP
Rada Rinaldi I.
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