Automated clipping packaging apparatus and associated devices, methods, systems and computer program products suitable for packaging whole muscle

#The present invention relates to apparatus that can package and apply closure clips to materials that enclose products therein, and may be particularly suitable for enclosing discrete pieces of whole muscle in clipped netting material.

#Certain types of commodity and/or industrial items can be packaged by placing the desired product(s) in a covering material, then applying a closure clip or clips to end portions of the covering material to secure the product(s) therein. For non-flowable piece goods, the piece goods can be held individually in a respective clipped package, or as a group of goods in a single package. The covering material can be any suitable material, typically a casing and/or netting material.

#For example, the systems include a netting chute that holds a length of a netting sleeve over the exterior thereof. A first downstream end portion of the netting is typically gathered and clipped closed using a first clip. As the product exits the netting chute, it is covered with the netting. The trailing edge of netting can be gathered (upstream of the product) and clipped, typically using a Tipper Tie® single or double clipper apparatus. A clip attachment apparatus or “clippers” are well known to those of skill in the art and include those available from Tipper Tie, Inc., of Apex, N.C., including product numbers Z3214, Z3202, and Z3200. Examples of clip attachment apparatus and/or packaging apparatus are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,389,533; 3,499,259; 4,683,700; and 5,161,347, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference as if recited in full herein.

#FIG. 1 is a perspective discharge end view of an apparatus/system used to automatically advance objects through a product chute and then automatically apply at least one clip according to embodiments of the present invention.

#FIG. 2 is a perspective pusher end view of the apparatus/system shown in FIG. 1.

#FIG. 3 is a top view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

#The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying figures, in which embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. In the figures, certain layers, components or features may be exaggerated for clarity, and broken lines illustrate optional features or operations, unless specified otherwise. In addition, the sequence of operations (or steps) is not limited to the order presented in the claims unless specifically indicated otherwise. Where used, the terms “attached”, “connected”, “contacting”, “coupling” and the like, can mean either directly or indirectly, unless stated otherwise. The term “concurrently” means that the operations are carried out substantially simultaneously.

#In the description of the present invention that follows, certain terms are employed to refer to the positional relationship of certain structures relative to other structures. As used herein, the terms “front,” “forward” and derivatives thereof refer to the general or primary direction that a target product travels for enclosure and/or clipping; this term is intended to be synonymous with the term “downstream,” which is often used in manufacturing- or material flow environments to indicate that certain material traveling or being acted upon is farther along in that process than other material. Conversely, the terms “rearward,” “upstream” and derivatives thereof refer to the directions opposite, respectively, the forward and downstream directions.

#Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.