Apparatus for separating individual sausages from a string of sausages

#1. Field of the Invention

#The invention concerns an apparatus for separating individual sausages, which are connected together by connecting portions to form a string, the apparatus comprising a conveying system for conveying the sausage string along a conveying path, a cutting apparatus arranged in the area of the conveying path and a sensor device for detecting the positions of the connecting portions between adjacent sausages and controlling the cutting apparatus as a function of these positions.

#The sausage string, which is the starting product for this apparatus, is the result of conventional production processes for sausages. The sausage string is formed of a skin, in which sausage meat is progressively stuffed in portions with a specialised filling device. These portions are then separated from one another by twisting the skin or with clips or the like to produce a string of sausages, from which individual sausages must be separated.

#Further objects and advantageous of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings which schematically show a preferred embodiment of the present invention and the principles thereof and what now are considered to be the best modes contemplated for applying these principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention and the scope of the appended claims. In the drawings:

#FIG. 1 shows a side view of the overall apparatus,

#FIG. 2 shows a sectional view of the apparatus along the line II--II of FIG. 1, and

#The apparatus according to the invention comprises a conveyor system 1, a cutting apparatus 2 and a sensor device 3 all arranged in a machine frame, which is not illustrated and will not be described in detail here.

#As shown in FIG. 1, the conveyor system 1 comprises three individual conveyors 4, 5 and 6, each of which include, respectively, an upper partial conveyor 4.1, 5.1, 6.1 and a lower partial conveyor 4.2, 5.2, 6.2, formed of endless conveyor belts 4.3/4.4, 5.3/5.4 and 6.3/6.4, respectively. The belts 4.3/4.4, 5.3/5.4 and 6.3/6.4 are driven to revolve in a common vertical plane and are guided over deflection rollers such that their respective working runs are essentially horizontal and parallel to one another, the working runs of the belts of the same conveyors 4, 5, 6 being arranged to oppose one another across a space. The conveyor belts 4.3/4.4 of the first individual conveyor 4 revolve synchronously and comprise, respectively, a toothed belt which is smooth on the outer surface. The second individual conveyor 5 is arranged downstream of the first conveyor 4 and separated from the same by a gap 7. The conveyor belts 5.1, 5.2 of the second conveyor 5 are provided on both sides with profiled teeth and are synchronously driven at a speed which is greater than that of the first conveyor 4. The third conveyor 6 is arranged downstream of the second conveyor 5 and spaced from the same by a gap 8, and its conveyor belts 6.3, 6.4 are toothed, but smooth on the outside and revolve synchronously. The third conveyor 6 is driven such that its speed is higher than that of the second conveyor 5. The working runs of the upper partial conveyors 4.1, 5.1, 6.1 are biased by upwardly yielding movable tension weights 4.5, 5.5, 6.5. The upper partial conveyors 4.1, 5.1, 6.1 are arranged in a non-illustrated manner to be displaceable as one unit so as to permit the throughput between the working runs of the upper and lower partial conveyors to be varied.

#The cutting apparatus 2 comprises a knife blade 9 which is arranged in the gap 8 in such a way that it can be rotated in a plane transverse to the conveying path, and has cutting edges 10 on its opposite edges (FIG. 2). In the illustrated embodiment, the operation of the knife blade 9 is effected by a double-action pneumatic cylinder 11. It is, however, conceivable that the movement of the knife be instead controlled by a magnet or electromagnet. The knife blade 9 and its pivot axis are arranged such that the cutting edges 10 cross the conveying path when cutting.