Method and means for creating a casing on a sausage making machine

A method of making sausages utilizing a hollow sausage casing on a rotating sausage stuffing horn during a sausage making process, comprising,

• helically winding a strip of thermoplastic casing material having side edges on the rotating sausage stuffing horn to form a series of contiguous helixes of casing material with the side edges of one helix overlapping the side edges of an adjacent helix,
• applying a source of heat on at least a helical portion of the adjacent overlapping edges of adjacent helixes to cause the overlapping side edges adjacent the source of heat to fuse together to create a hollow casing,
• confining the application of the source of heat to only a short helical path superimposed only over a corresponding helical segment of the overlapping side edges of adjacent helixes,
• moving the casing formed by fusing together the overlapping side edges of the helixes from the stuffing horn over a sausage emulsion discharge end thereof, and
• extruding sausage out of the discharge end of the stuffing horn into the formal casing end.

An apparatus for creating a casing on a sausage making machine comprising,

• an elongated hollow rotatable stuffing horn for receiving meat emulsion and extruding the same through a discharge end into a sausage casing,
• means for helically winding a strip of thermoplastic casing material having side edges in overlapping condition onto the outer surface of the stuffing horn to form a series of contiguous helixes of casing material with the side edges of one helix overlapping the side edges of an adjacent helix,
• means for applying a source of heat on at least a helical portion of the adjacent overlapping side edges of adjacent helixes to cause the overlapping side edges adjacent the source of heat to fuse together to create a hollow casing,
• said means for applying a source of heat comprising a helical shaped heating element over a short segment of the overlapping side edges of the helixes while the stuffing horn is rotated to apply a concentrated source of heat to the overlapping edges while they pass through a confined area between the outer surface of the stuffing horn and a helical surface of the heating element.

An apparatus for creating a casing on a sausage making machine comprising:

• an elongated hollow rotatable stuffing horn for receiving meat emulsion and extruding the same through a discharge end into a sausage casing;
• means for helically winding a strip of thermoplastic casing material having side edges in overlapping condition onto the outer surface of the stuffing horn to form a series of contiguous helixes of casing material with the side edges of one helix overlapping the side edges of an adjacent helix;
• means for applying a source of heat on at least a helical portion of the adjacent overlapping side edges of adjacent helixes to cause the overlapping side edges adjacent the source of heat to fuse together to create a hollow casing;
• said means for applying a source of heat comprising a helical shaped heating element over a short segment of the overlapping side edges of the helixes while the stuffing horn is rotated to apply a concentrated source of heat to the overlapping edges while they pass through a confined area between the outer surface of the stuffing horn and a helical surface of the heating element, and
• a balancing element secured to the means for applying a source of heat to counteract any rotational force exerted upon the means for applying a source of heat by the rotating stuffing horn and the rotating casing thereon.

An apparatus for creating a casing on a sausage making machine comprising:

• an elongated hollow rotatable stuffing horn for receiving meat emulsion and extruding the same through a discharge end into a sausage casing;
• means for helically winding a strip of thermoplastic casing material having side edges in overlapping condition onto the outer surface of the stuffing horn to form a series of contiguous helixes of casing material with the side edges of one helix overlapping the side edges of an adjacent helix;
• means for applying a source of heat on at least a helical portion of the adjacent overlapping side edges of adjacent helixes to cause the overlapping side edges adjacent the source of heat to fuse together to create a hollow casing;
• said means for applying a source of heat comprising a helical shaped heating element over a short segment of the overlapping side edges of the helixes while the stuffing horn is rotated to apply a concentrated source of heat to the overlapping edges while they pass through a confined area between the outer surface of the stuffing horn and a helical surface of the heating element, and
• wherein a transversely extending heating device extends through the block above the stuffing horn, and a pivotal link is mounted on the heating device and engages the top of the means for applying a source of heat which in turn is in intimate contact with an overlapping segment of the helixes of the helical casing.