Food product manufacture

An apparatus for procesing a food product-forming material, comprising:

• a tube in which said material is processed,
• an elongate element received within said tube,
• spaced-apart partitioning means mounted on said elongate elemnt which extends internally of the tube adjacent the interior surface of said wall of said tube so that substantially no part of any elongate compartment lies between said elongate element and said adjacent inner surface of said tube wall, and
• drive means for driving said elongate element and said partitioning means through said tube,
• said tube having an inlet and an outlet and said partitioning means forming in said tube a series of zones which extend longitudinally of said tube and are bounded at least in part by the inner surface of said wall of said tube,
• said apparatus including
• means for introducing said material into said zones adjacent said inlet of said tube,
• said material introduced into said zones being movable from said inlet to said outlet of said tube by said drive means.

An apparatus for manufacture of skinless sausages, comprising

• a flexible-walled tube in which said sausages are formed, said tube having an inlet and an outlet,
• means for forming within said tube a plurality of elongate sausage compartments and for moving said compartments successively from said inlet of said tube to said outlet thereof, and
• means for introducing sausage material into said compartments adjacent said inlet of said tube,
• said compartments extending axially of said tube, being spaced-apart longitudinally of said tube and being bounded at least in part by the inner surface of the wall of said tube, and
• said means for forming and moving said compartments comprising respective series of pressure elements on opposed sides of said tube,
• said pressure elements acting in pairs to pinch said tube walls together to form said sausage compartments and being movable along said tube to move sausage material in said compartments along said tube by peristaltic action.

An apparatus for processing of a food product-forming material, comprising,

• a tube in which said material is processed, said tube having an inlet and an outlet,
• means for forming in said tube a plurality of zones to be occupied by said material, said zones being spaced longitudinally of said tube, and for moving material occupying said zones successively from said inlet to said outlet of said tube, and
• means for introducing said material into said zones adjacent said inlet of said tube,
• said means for forming and moving said food material zones comprising a source of compressed gas which is arranged to introduce pockets of pressurized gas into said tube alternately with said food-product forming material introduced by said material-introduction means, thereby to drive foodproduct forming material along said tube to said tube outlet by expansion of said pressurized gas introduced into said tube.

An apparatus for processing a food product-forming material, comprising,

• a tube in which the material is processed, said tube having inlet means and outlet means,
• zone-defining means extending lengthwise of said tube and being interconnected longitudinally thereof, said zone-defining means comprising zone-defining elements spaced longitudinally of said tube and means interconnecting said elements, said zone-defining means being arranged to form in said tube a plurality of zones which are spaced-apart lengthwise of said tube, are bounded at least in part by the inner surface of the wall of said tube and have cross-sections transverse to the longitudinal extent of said tube which are substantially uninterrupted by said zone-defining means,
• means for introducing said material into said zones through said inlet means, and
• means for moving said zone-defining means along said tube thereby to move said material occupying said zones along said tube from said inlet means to said outlet means of said tube.