Butchering – Sausage making – Sausage link handling
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-18
2001-07-10
Little, Willis (Department: 3643)
Butchering
Sausage making
Sausage link handling
C452S177000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06257974
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Sausage making machines of the type long known in the industry (U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,191,222 and 3,115,668) are often accompanied by a conveyor which holds the strand of linked sausages in circular loops, each supported by a hook on the conveyor. The loops are then manually removed from the conveyor by use of an elongated “stick” wherein the stick is inserted through a plurality of loops, and then lifted from the hooks which support the loops. This is a difficult job which requires threading the stick through the loops of sausages which often are swinging on the hook. Removing the strands from the conveyor after they have been threaded onto the stick is also difficult, because the shape of the hooks does not easily release the loops, and because the hooks do not hold the loops in an open configuration.
The sticks, when filled with the loops of sausages, are then manually loaded onto a carrier or robotically loaded into a cooking or smoking device.
In addition, conventional wire hooks on sausage conveyors do not allow for the operator to easily insert the stick because the loop opening faces the operator of the sausage making machine, and the stick must be inserted from an opposite and more difficult direction. Further, much valuable time is consumed by removing a strand of linked material with the stick by conventional methods, and this slows down the overall progress of the sausage making machine. In the case of cellulose casings, they often become entangled upon being placed upon the conventional conveyors. They become twisted, and the loops form a figure eight shape which is not conducive to removal by the sticks.
It is therefore a principal object of this invention to provide a sausage conveyor hook which will spread the sausage links apart at the top of the loop to allow the person who is using the stick to remove the loop from the hooks by sliding it easily through the loops without having to slide the stick through loops of a tangled configuration.
A further object of the invention is to provide a sausage conveyor hook which will easily release the loops from the hooks by means of a passive trailing edge which will not snag the loops as they are lifted off the hooks.
A still further object of this invention is to provide a sausage conveyor hook which disposes the loops in a diagonal configuration with respect to the conveyor so as to permit the ease of insertion of a stick into the adjacent loops of sausages from a downstream direction.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a sausage conveyor hook which will allow the conveyor to drive the loops right upon the stick when the stick is held in a stationary position while the conveyor is moving the loops on to the stick.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a sausage conveyor hook that will easily accommodate cellulose casings as well as natural casings.
These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A sausage conveyor hook has an elongated flat support arm having first and second ends and first and second arm portions disposed at an angle with respect to each other. The first arm portion normally is disposed in a horizontal position on the conveyor, and the second arm portion extends downwardly and outwardly from the first arm portion. The support arm extends outwardly from the conveyor chain at a right angle. The support arm is of a flat construction and has forwardly and rearwardly side edges.
A head is located on a lower end of the second arm portion and has a blade with an upper support edge extending upwardly and forwardly from the lower end of the second arm portion. An elongated tang element is on the head and has a link engaging portion located rearwardly and below the support edge. When a strand of linked sausages comprised of a plurality of sausage links separated by link points is draped over the support edge, the strand will bend on the pivotal link point proximate the support edge. The sausage links adjacent the bent link point will be held in an angular position with respect to each other by the relative positions and shapes of the blade and the tang.
The support edge of the blade and the tang are such that the center axes of adjacent sausage links draped across the support edge will be in substantially the same vertical plane, and will dwell in a plane that is diagonally disposed with respect to the forward edge of the support arm.
REFERENCES:
patent: D. 397287 (1998-08-01), Hergott et al.
patent: 3115668 (1963-12-01), Townsend
patent: 3191222 (1965-06-01), Townsend
patent: 3312442 (1967-04-01), Moeller
patent: 3347504 (1967-10-01), Goss
patent: 3423058 (1969-01-01), Kuster
patent: 3972499 (1976-08-01), Simmons
patent: 4761854 (1988-08-01), Schnell et al.
patent: 5163854 (1992-11-01), Burger et al.
patent: 5183433 (1993-02-01), Townsend et al.
patent: 5354229 (1994-10-01), Markwardt et al.
patent: 5730649 (1998-03-01), Schliesser et al.
Little Willis
Townsend Engineering Company
Zarley McKee Thomte Voorhees & Sease
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