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US 4,773,127 AGranted
Method and apparatus for shirring food casings
AssigneeViskase Corporation
InventorAlan D. Stall
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A shirring method and apparatus for shirring food casing in which the casing is shirred directly onto a sleeve which moves longitudinally through the shirring mechanism from a first position to a second position until a desired length of shirred casing is accumulated on the sleeve. The sleeve is held at its second position and the shirred casing is removed from the sleeve in the direction of shirring and thereafter the sleeve is returned to its first position.
Claims15
A method of shirring food casing comprising the steps of:
- (a) feeding unshirred tubular casing over a first end of a longitudinally fixed mandrel and along the mandrel to a shirring zone disposed intermediate the ends of the mandrel;
- (b) shirring the casing into pleats in said shirring zone directly onto a sleeve which is slidably disposed on said mandrel;
- (c) during said shirring step (b), longitudinally moving the sleeve through the shirring zone and along the mandrel in the direction of the mandrel second end at a rate sufficient to resist the free longitudinal passage of shirred casing pleats from the shirring zone and towards the mandrel second end so that the pleats pack together and a length of shirred casing accumulates on the sleeve;
- (d) continuing said shirring of casing and longitudinally moving the sleeve until a desired length of shirred casing has accumulated on the sleeve;
- and then
- (e) separating the accumulated length of shirred casing from the unshirred tubular casing and longitudinally removing the separated length of shirred casing from the sleeve in the direction of the mandrel second end.
3 more elements
A shirring machine comprising:
- (a) a mandrel having a first end over which unshirred tubular casing is drawn for shirring and a second end from which shirred casing is doffed from the mandrel;
- (b) a sleeve slidably disposed on said mandrel for longitudinal movement along said mandrel;
- (c) shirring means disposed about said mandrel intermediate the ends thereof for shirring the unshirred tubular casing into pleats directly onto said sleeve;
- (d) clamp means operable to hold said mandrel at a fixed longitudinal position relative to said shirring means during the shirring of the casing;
- and
- (e) drive means for moving said sleeve longitudinally along said mandrel and through the shirring means in the direction of said mandrel second end at a rate sufficient to resist the free passage of the pleats shirred casing from said shirring means so that the pleats of shirred casing pack together and accumulate on said sleeve.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.