Apparatus and method for stripping casing from sausages
AssigneeGeo. A. Hormel & Co.
InventorLyndon R. Leining
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus and method for stripping the casing from casing enclosed sausage sticks includes an indexing device which moves sausages in an arcuate path during which the front end of the sausage stick is severed. The sausage sticks are then moved horizontally, front end first, by a positioning conveyor, and the front edges of the casing are engaged by a casing stripper device. The casing is pulled from the sausage stick as the latter is moved by a positioning conveyor. The decased front end of the sausage stick is gripped by a movable gripper device which pulls the sausage from the casing. An ejector mechanism ejects the sausage from the gripper device.
Claims14
An apparatus for removing the casing from elongate casing-enclosed sausage sticks, the front end of each casing-enclosed sausage stick having been cut, comprising:
- an elongate positioning conveyor having a receiving end for receiving the casing-enclosed sausage sticks in sequential fashion, and having a discharge end, each casing-enclosed sausage stick being longitudinally conveyed, front end first, from the receiving end to the discharge end of said positioning conveyor,
- casing stripper means positioned adjacent the discharge end of said positioning conveyor and engaging the front end of the casing to restrain the front end of the casing as the sausage stick is moved from the discharge end of the positioning conveyor,
- shiftable sausage gripper means being shiftable between a retracted position adjacent said casing stripper means and an advanced position remote from said casing stripper means, means for shifting said sausage gripper means between retracted and advanced positions, said sausage gripper means, when in the retracted position, gripping the decased front end of the sausage stick and being operable to pull the sausage stick from the casing when the sausage gripper means is shifted towards the advanced position, and
- casing clamping means positioned adjacent said casing stripper means clamping the trailing end portion of the casing when the sausage gripper means is shifted towards the advanced position whereby the sausage stick will be completely pulled from the clamped casing by said sausage gripper means.
A continuous method of mechanically removing the casings from elongate casing-enclosed sausage sticks comprising:
- sequentially moving the sausage sticks through a predetermined path of travel, each sausage stick being horizontally disposed during said travel and each sausage stick having a front and rear end, interrupting the travel of the sausage sticks and severing the front end of each sausage stick with a cutting medium,
- continuing said travel of the sausage sticks in which each sausage stick is moved, front end first, while maintained in a horizontal position,
- mechanically engaging the front edge portions of the casing of each sausage stick with a casing stripping medium during said travel to restrain the front end of the casing as the sausage stick is moved in said path of travel to thereby peel the casing from the front end of the sausage stick,
- mechanically gripping the decased front end of the sausage stick with a movable gripping medium and moving the gripping medium and sausage stick in said predetermined path of travel while the casing is restrained by the casing stripping medium to thereby completely peel the casing from the sausage stick, and
- mechanically ejecting the decased sausage from the gripping medium.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.