Apparatus for forming and packaging stuffed product

Apparatus for stuffing sausage or similar product into a shirred casing, then forming the stuffed casing into individual twisted links, then cutting the formed links into predetermined links lengths, and then loading the cut lengths of links into containers, said apparatus comprising:

• a motor driven endless drive device operable to move at a predetermined rate of speed;
• a plurality of work-performing mechanisms carried by said chain drive device, each said work-performing mechanism including a stuffed casing pinching mechanism, a casing cutting mechanism, and a hollow elongated link holding device, each said link holding device being sized to loosely hold a link during the pinching and cutting operations, and each said link holding device having an open side portion which is aligned with said chain drive device;
• a hollow rotary horn device having an open end and including a paddle device affixed proximate the open end thereof and rotatable therewith, said horn operable to have the material to be stuffed forced from the open end thereof and past said paddle device, said rotary horn device positioned proximate the path of said work-performing mechanisms so that said open end and said paddle device project into the open side portions of said link holding devices as they are moved past said rotary horn device, shirred casing adapted to be carried on said rotary horn device so that as stuffing material is formed from the open end of said rotary horn device and past said rotating paddle device, the stuffing material fills and straightens the casing and also twists the casing because of the rotation of said paddle device;
• said stuffed casing pinching mechanism which forms a part of each said work performing mechanism being actuated by the motion of said chain drive device past a pinching cam to pinch a section of the filled casing after a predetermined portion of the filled casing has passed said paddle device, said casing upon being pinched while a following portion of said casing is still being filled with rotating stuffed material causing said casing to twist at the pinched portion thereof;
• said cutting mechanism which forms a part of each said work performing mechanism being actuated by the motion of said chain drive past a cutting cam to cut the twisted link sections at twisted portions thereof into predetermined lengths of links;
• a link unloading station positioned next to the continuous path of said chain drive device, each said link holding device being actuated by the motion of said chain drive device past a stationary unloading cam to be rotated through approximately ninety degrees so that the open sides of said link holding devices are rotated to face downwardly to eject the links therefrom, and said stationary unloading cam having a non-linear cam surface so that the rotation of said link holding devices during unloading is initially relatively slow and the rotation is then speeded up to eject the links;
• a finished link conveying device comprising two spaced continuously moving conveyors moving at a predetermined rate of speed and positioned to parallel the path of said continuous chain drives, said conveying device positioned to receive the links ejected from said link holding devices and to convey same at a predetermined rate of speed to a link ejection position;
• and
• a container feeding mechanism for moving containers in a direction perpendicular to the path of said continuously moving finished link conveying device at a predetermined rate of speed and beneath said finished link conveying device so that the ejected finished links sequentially drop into said containers in adjoining and parallel position.