Method and apparatus for severing shirred tubular food casing, and article
AssigneeViskase Corporation
InventorsJohn Farkonas, Michael P. Kazaitis
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Severing a shirred stick of sausage casing from casing feed stock joined to the stick is accomplished by perforating a section of the casing across its flat width prior to moving the section through a shirring zone. The section is then moved to a shirring zone where longitudinal movement of the casing is restrained while shirring rolls continue to pull on the casing. The resulting tension tears the casing apart along the line of perforations and the shirring rolls incorporate a torn end of the casing into the shirred stick by gathering the torn end up into a pleat at the last-shirred end of the stick.
Claims10
A method of severing a shirred casing stick from a length of feed stock casing comprising the steps of:
- a) weakening a flattened section of feed stock casing prior to shirring to form a frangible band of casing extending transverse the casing longitudinal axis and around its circumference;
- b) drawing feed stock casing in the direction of the casing longitudinal axis on to a shirring mandrel towards and through a shirring zone and conducting a shirring operation in the zone which gathers the feed stock casing into pleats about the shirring mandrel to form the shirred stick;
- c) continuing the conducting of the shirring operation until said frangible band is at the shirring zone;
- and
- d) thereafter restraining the feed stock casing from moving and utilizing said shirring operation for tensioning the casing across the frangible band and tearing apart the casing along the frangible band thereby separating the shirred stick from the feed stock casing.
A method of separating a shirred casing stick from a length of unshirred feed stock casing wherein flattened tubular casing is drawn from a feed stock on a supply roll, inflated and moved longitudinally over a mandrel and into a shirring zone, and then is shirred in the shirring zone to form a shirred stick such that one end face of the strand merges with unshirred casing in the shirring zone, including the steps of:
- a) prior to moving the inflated casing over the mandrel, perforating a section of the casing to provide a line of perforations extending around the casing at an oblique angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the casing such that the line of perforations is longer than the circumference of the casing;
- b) drawing the perforated section of casing over the mandrel and up to the shirring zone;
- and
- c) subjecting the perforated section to tension across the line of perforations by restraining the feed stock while performing a shirring operation thereby tearing apart the casing along the line of perforations.
Apparatus for severing a stick of shirred tubular food casing from feed stock casing comprising:
- a) shirring means defining a shirring zone including a shirring mandrel extending through said zone wherein tubular feed stock casing is drawn in a longitudinal direction onto a first end of said mandrel and along said mandrel to said shirring zone where said feed stock is gathered into pleats against said mandrel to form a shirred stick of casing;
- b) means located prior to said mandrel for transversly weakening but not severing a flattened section of said feed stock casing to provide a narrow frangible band of casing extending about the circumference of the feed stock casing;
- c) restraining means operable for restraining the feed stock casing when said frangible band is adjacent said shirring means;
- and
- d) said shirring means and said restraining means cooperating for tensioning the feed stock casing across said frangible band and tearing apart the casing along said frangible band.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.