Method and apparatus for loading casings onto the stuffing tube of a sausage making machine

A sausage encasing machine, comprising,

• a frame,
• a sausage emulsion pump on the frame,
• an elongated longitudinally movable stuffing tube on the frame and being associated with the pump to deliver emulsion out of a discharge end into a tubular casing slidably mounted on an outer surface thereof,
• means on the frame for selectively longitudinally moving the stuffing tube,
• a casing chute on the frame adjacent the stuffing tube comprising a hopper having a downwardly sloping bottom terminating in a downwardly extending fence wall,
• a chute wall substantially vertically disposed and being in lateral spaced relation to the fence wall to form a substantially vertical passageway,
• the chute wall terminating in an inclined flange that extends upwardly and inwardly below the passageway to form a cradle portion to receive only a single hollow casing,
• the passageway being only of sufficient width to receive a plurality of longitudinally vertically stacked elongated hollow casings,
• the flange terminating in an inward elongated edge spaced from a lower end of the fence wall to permit only the single casing in the cradle to be moved laterally outwardly from the flange beneath the fence wall to be aligned with a stuffing tube on a sausage encasing machine,
• the stuffing tube being parallel to the cradle,
• power means on the frame for aligning the cradle and the casing in the cradle with the discharge end of the stuffing tube, so that the stuffing tube can be longitudinally moved to penetrate the casing in the cradle.

A method for loading elongated hollow casings on the outer surface of an elongated hollow sausage stuffing tube, comprising,

• providing a hopper having a downwardly sloping bottom terminating in a downwardly extending fence wall,
• providing a chute wall substantially vertically disposed and being in lateral spaced relation to the fence wall to form a substantially vertical passageway,
• the chute wall terminating in an inclined flange that extends upwardly and inwardly below the passageway to form a cradle portion to receive only a single hollow casing,
• the passageway being only of sufficient width to receive a plurality of longitudinally vertically stacked elongated hollow casings,
• the flange terminating in an inward elongated edge spaced from a lower end of the fence wall to permit only the single casing in the cradle to be moved laterally outwardly relative to the hopper from the flange beneath the fence wall when it is on the stuffing tube and the hopper moves away from the stuffing tube position,
• placing a plurality of casings in the hopper to create a vertical column in the passageway upwardly from the cradle,
• moving the cradle into a position of longitudinal alignment with the discharge end of a sausage stuffing tube,
• moving the stuffing tube longitudinally to penetrate the casing in the cradle,
• moving the cradle away from the stuffing tube to allow another casing in the passageway to fall into the cradle;
• and
• extruding meat emulsion from the tube into the casing that is on the stuffing tube.