Butchering – Sausage making – Stuffing
Reexamination Certificate
2000-10-27
2003-02-04
Jordan, Charles T. (Department: 3644)
Butchering
Sausage making
Stuffing
C452S030000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06514134
ABSTRACT:
The invention concerns a process for the production of chain-like or concatenated foodstuff products, such as sausages or the like, wherein a pasty filling material such as for example sausage meat is conveyed by means of a filling pump through a filling tube which is rotatable about its longitudinal axis, and introduced into a tubular case or skin which partially surrounds the filling tube, wherein the filled skin is fed to a portioning device having a plurality of dividing elements which are disposed in opposite paired relationship and which are movable synchronously together with the filled skin, and the filled skin is engaged by two dividing elements which are disposed in opposite paired relationship and acted upon by a clamping force, and wherein a rotational moment is applied to the skin by the filling tube by rotation of the filling tube so that the filled skin is caused to rotate at least in a portion between an exit opening of the filling tube and the portioning device and is locally prevented from rotating by application of the clamping force by the dividing elements, so that a twist-off location is produced, and wherein, at a location spaced from a twist-off location produced, a further twist-off location is produced on the filled skin, so that portioned sausages or the like are produced.
The invention further concerns an apparatus for the production of chain-like or concatenated foodstuff products, such as sausages or the like, comprising a filling pump for conveying a pasty filling material such as sausage meat, a filling tube which communicates with the filling pump and which is rotatable about its longitudinal axis and which at an end region has an exit opening for discharge of the filling material into a case or skin partially surrounding the filling tube and which is in engagement with the skin in such a way that a rotational moment is applied to the skin by the filling tube by rotation of the filling tube so that the filled skin is caused to rotate at least in a portion between an exit opening of the filling tube and the portioning device, and a portioning device having a plurality of synchronously movable dividing elements which are disposed in mutually opposite paired relationship and which apply a clamping force to the filled skin so that a defined twist-off location can be produced.
A process and an apparatus of that kind, which are known for example from German patent specification DE 23 02 297 can be used primarily to produce sausages but also other foodstuff products which are divided into portions. For the purposes of producing sausages which are divided into lengthwise portions, in accordance with DE 23 02 297, sausage meat is conveyed by means of a filling pump through a rotatable filling tube and introduced into a sausage skin. The skin which expands during the filling operation is simultaneously subjected to a pulling force by the portioning device and withdrawn from the filling tube. The dividing elements of the portioning device engage the filled skin and prevent it from rotating while at the same time the filled skin is continuously rotated by means of a rotational moment applied by the filling tube so that a twist-off location is produced in the region of the dividing elements which engage the filled skin. At a later time, after further conveying movement of the filled skin, a further spaced twist-off location is produced by means of the dividing elements of the portioning device, thereby producing a length-portioned sausage. The sausages which are connected together can then be transferred to a suspension device and can be subjected for example to a smoking procedure.
To apply a rotational moment to produce rotation of the filled sausage skin, the known apparatus has a so-called braking device with braking rollers which provide that the unfilled skin is pressed against the outside surface of the filling tube. The braking rollers enclose the filling tube in an annular array. The pressing force of the braking rollers must be specifically selected so that the skin on the one hand does not tear but on the other hand a certain level of resistance is opposed thereto. The apparatus suffers from the disadvantage that adjusting the pressing force of the braking rollers and applying an adequate rotational moment is difficult. The skin can tear when an excessive rotational moment and/or an excessive pressing force is applied by the braking rollers.
A further disadvantage of the known apparatus is that the braking device with the braking rollers is of a really complicated and expensive structure. In addition, the operation of pulling on the unfilled skin to prepare for the actual operation of filling it with sausage meat is very complicated and difficult. As the skin which is in a condition of being gathered together cannot be threaded through the braking arrangement which is closed in an annular configuration, the entire braking device either has to be completely pushed away axially from the filling tube, or it has to be pivoted away, which in operation however is also complicated in terms of structure. A particular problem in that respect is that the end of the filling tube is arranged relatively closely to the portioning device and there is thus little space available for pivoting the braking device away and also for manually threading in the sausage skin and pulling it on to the filling tube. The entire portioning device would possibly also have to be moved away. Moreover, in the case of a device which is referred to as a skin-placing device, it is really difficult and complicated to place the individual components consisting of the filling tube, the braking device and the portioning device in such a way that those components are readily accessible and can be quickly cleaned.
A particular aim in the production of sausages is for the individual sausages as far as possible to be of the same lengths and volumes, more specifically even when the sausage skins used involve fluctuations in diameter. Fluctuations in diameter or calibre of that kind occur particularly frequently in natural sausage skins. The attempt is made, by means of the filling machine and the portioning device, to introduce approximately the same volume of filling material into each sausage. Because of the fluctuations in calibre in that case sausages of different lengths may occur if the calibre within a group of calibre sizes differs sometimes upwardly or sometimes downwardly, so that the result is either a shorter sausage or a longer sausage. Manufacturers and consumers do not like to see that.
The object of the present invention is to provide a process and an apparatus for the production for sausages or other concatenated foodstuff products, which permit reliable production in portion-wise manner, which are simple to handle and which in particular permit the sausage case to be easily threaded on, while the apparatus is simple to clean. The invention further aims to provide that different sausage skins such as natural skins or artificial skins can be used while very substantially ensuring that sausages of equal length can be produced even when fluctuations in the calibre sizes of the skins occur.
In accordance with a first aspect, in a process of the kind set forth in the opening part of this specification, the invention attains that object in that the filling material flows into the skin radially at least partially through openings provided in the end region of the filling tube in the peripheral wall thereof and the diameter of the skin is increased in the end region of the filling tube by virtue of the at least partial radial flow thereinto.
Furthermore, in an apparatus of the kind set forth in the opening part of this specification, that object is attained in that the filling tube has in its end region in the peripheral wall at least one opening through which filling material flows into the skin radially and causes an increase in the diameter of the skin in the end region of the filling tube.
The advantages of the invention are essentially that the at least partially radial discha
Krompholz Harry
Meier Dieter
Jordan Charles T.
Nelson Judith
VEMAG Maschinen-und Anlagenbau GmbH
Wood Herron & Evans L.L.P.
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