Butchering – Sausage making – Linking
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-22
2002-08-27
Poon, Peter M. (Department: 3643)
Butchering
Sausage making
Linking
C452S047000, C452S048000, C452S049000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06439990
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for manufacturing chain-like food products such as sausages for automatically effecting stuffing and linking (formation of twisted portions) by mainly using a natural intestine as a casing.
BACKGROUND ART
As manufacturing methods and apparatuses of this type, those disclosed in JP-A-6-7073 and JP-A-9-266753 are known. JP-A-6-7073 discloses an apparatus for stuffing and linking natural intestine sausages whose link lengths are nonuniform, the apparatus comprising a material supplying means for intermittently supplying a material each in a fixed amount into a natural intestine casing and a pinching means and a pinching means for pinching the stuffed natural intestine casing by operating in synchronism with the intermittent supply of the material. Meanwhile, JP-A-9-266753 discloses an apparatus for stuffing and linking natural intestine sausages whose link lengths are uniform, the apparatus comprising a material supplying means for continuously supplying a fixed amount of a material into a natural intestine casing and pincher members attached to a wrapping connector means at fixed intervals.
The link lengths of the natural intestine sausages in the apparatus of JP-A-6-7073 are difficult to be made uniform since they are affected by the variation of the amount of casing being pulled out from a stuffing nozzle on the basis of the discharge pressure of one portion of the material. Therefore, the stuffing degrees (stuffing densities) of the links are also difficult to be made uniform.
In the apparatus of JP-A-9-266753, since the attaching intervals of the pincher members are fixed, if the variation of the diameter of the natural intestine casing is excessively large, the stuffing degrees of the links having a desired fixed weight are affected by it. Hence, if the diameter of the natural intestine casing is small, the stuffing degree becomes excessively large, so that the natural intestine casing punctures, whereas if the diameter of the natural intestine casing is large, the stuffing degree becomes excessively small, and creases occur.
The present invention has been devised in view of the above-described various aspects, and its object is to provide a method and an apparatus for manufacturing chain-like food products such as sausages which are simple in arrangement and which permit the high-speed production of both natural intestine sausages having a fixed quantity, a high stuffing density (tensioned link shape), and a substantially uniform link length and sausages using a natural intestine whose variation of the diameter is particularly large.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The method in accordance with a first aspect of the present invention is a method for manufacturing chain-like food products such as sausages in which a stuffing material is continuously discharged from a distal end of a stuffing nozzle into an unstuffed casing fitted over the stuffing nozzle to form a stuffed casing forwardly of the distal end of the stuffing nozzle, the stuffed casing being rotated is pinched by pincher members each circulatingly moving about at least two rotational centers, and the pinched stuffed casing is moved in a downstream direction from the distal end of the stuffing nozzle together with the pincher members so as to form a twist in a portion of the stuffed casing pinched by the pincher members, comprising the step of: effecting an ensuing pinching following one pinching of the stuffed casing by the pincher members after the cancellation of the one pinching and after the lapse of a predetermined time so that a moving speed of the stuffed casing moving in a state in which the pinching by the pincher members has been canceled can be changed.
The method in accordance with another aspect of the present invention is a method for manufacturing chain-like food products such as sausages in which a stuffing material is continuously discharged from a distal end of a stuffing nozzle into an unstuffed casing fitted over the stuffing nozzle to form a stuffed casing forwardly of the distal end of the stuffing nozzle, the stuffed casing being rotated is pinched by pincher members each circulatingly moving about at least two rotational centers, and the pinched stuffed casing is moved in a downstream direction from the distal end of the stuffing nozzle together with the pincher members so as to form a twist in a portion of the stuffed casing pinched by the pincher members, comprising the step of: effecting an ensuing pinching following one pinching of the stuffed casing by the pincher members after the cancellation of the one pinching and after the lapse of a predetermined time so that the stuffed casing whose pinching by the pincher members has been canceled is moved by the discharge pressure of the stuffing material discharged from the distal end of the stuffing nozzle.
In the method in accordance with still another aspect of the present invention, the stuffed casing whose pinching by the pincher members has been canceled is clamped by stuffed-casing holding means which moves along the same circulatingly moving path as that of the pincher members, so as to impart a force for moving the stuffed casing to the stuffed casing.
The apparatus for manufacturing chain-like food products such as sausages in accordance with the first aspect of the present invention includes a stuffing nozzle over which an unstuffed casing is fitted and which is adapted to continuously discharge a stuffing material from a distal end thereof into the unstuffed casing so as to form a stuffed natural intestine casing forwardly of the distal end, and pincher members which are disposed on circulating endless members each adapted to circulatingly travel about at least two rotational centers and move in a downstream direction from the distal end of the stuffing nozzle while pinching the stuffed casing, so as to form a twist in a pinched portion of the stuffed casing by the rotation of the stuffed casing and the pinching by the pincher members, the apparatus comprising: means for effecting an ensuing pinching following one pinching of the stuffed casing by the pincher members after the cancellation of the one pinching and after the lapse of a predetermined time so that a moving speed of the stuffed casing moving in a state in which the pinching by the pincher members has been canceled can be changed.
The apparatus for manufacturing chain-like food products such as sausages in accordance with the other aspect of the present invention includes a stuffing nozzle over which an unstuffed casing is fitted and which is adapted to continuously discharge a stuffing material from a distal end thereof into the unstuffed casing so as to form a stuffed natural intestine casing forwardly of the distal end, and pincher members which are disposed on circulating endless members each adapted to circulatingly travel about at least two rotational centers and move in a downstream direction from the distal end of the stuffing nozzle while pinching the stuffed casing, so as to form a twist in a pinched portion of the stuffed casing by the rotation of the stuffed casing and the pinching by the pincher members, the apparatus comprising: means for effecting an ensuing pinching following one pinching of the stuffed casing by the pincher members after the cancellation of the one pinching and after the lapse of a predetermined time so that the stuffed casing whose pinching by the pincher members has been canceled is moved by the discharge pressure of the stuffing material discharged from the distal end of the stuffing nozzle.
In accordance with the present invention, since the stuffed casing is moved with the pincher members for a predetermined time, the length of the stuffed casing formed in the meantime become uniform. Subsequently, since the pinching of the stuffed casing by the pincher members is canceled, the stuffed casing which moves by receiving the stuffing discharge pressure moves at a slow moving speed if the diameter of the casing is large and at a fast moving speed if the diameter
Kasai Minoru
Nakamura Minoru
HiTec Co., Ltd.
Nixon & Vanderhye
Olszewski Joan
Poon Peter M.
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