Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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~ his invention relates to a method of bindiny sausage casings
whereby a clamp is mounted across a constricted casing portion in
order to stabilize the constriction. The invention relates parti~
cularly, though not exclusi~ely, to such bindings which serve not
only to close the sausage casiIIg9 but additionally to hold a su-
spension member enabling the sausage to be suspended on a rod or
the like in connection with a usual smoking treatment of the sau-
sageO
Originally the ends of sausage casings were closed by tied
~tring pieces, but in modern production it is preferred to use me-
tallic clips which are easy to mount on the casings simply by intro-
ducing them radially over the constricted casing end portions and
forcing them to clamp about these portions. At one end of the sau-
sage casing the said suspension member was originally const~tuted
by a loop portion of the string piece used for the binding of the
casing end, but in connection with the use of the said metallic
clips it is now possible to use prefabricated loop members shaped
either as tied loops having a thick knot portion at one end thereof
or as cast plastic eye members having a stem or shaft portion~ the
outer free end of which is provided with a thickened material port~
ion; in both cases the suspension member is mountable by placing
a lower portion thereof so as to be clamped between the metallic
clip and a side portion of the said constricted sausage casing port~
ion with the said thick portion thereof located underneath the clipt
whereby the clip will hold the upper loop or eye shaped portion
of the suspenClion member against retraction from the sausage casing~
However, the known binding method involves some drawbacks,
especially wit:h respect to the use o~ the metallic clips, which may
mechanically dlamage the casing material and - due to a considerable
contents of lead - even show a poisenous effect~ As far as sausage
suspension is concerned heavy sausages cause a considerable pull in
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the suspension members, and the corresponding pressure of the said
thickened portions thereof against the clips will exert an opening
action on the clips, whereby there is a certain waste of sausagees
falling down from the suspension rods in the smoke ovenO For in-
creased security the suspension members may be secured by means of
two or even more clips placed one after the other~ but this in~
volves increased mounting time, clip consumption and casing material
consumptionO
It is the purpose of the inventlon to provide a binding method
whereby in an easy manner it is possible to achieve an advantageous
and effective bindingO
The method according to the invention is characterized in that
for forming the clamp one or more plastic elements are arranged
about the constriction and forced or tightened thereagainst so as
to form a split annular member, the closed annular shape of which
is fixed by joining the material portions ad~acent said split or
splits or otherwise rigidly anchoring the elements together, pre-
ferably by weldingO Hereby is provided about the constriction a
strong and entirely closed clamping ring of plastics which show no
poisenous effect and is unliable to damage the casing materialO
At the suspension end of the sausage or sausage casing it will
of course be possible to make use of the known suspension members
which may be held safely by the clamping ring, but the invention
provides for a possibility to completely avoid the special mounting
operation of the suspension member, because when elements of pla-
stic are used for forming the clamping ring it is possible to make
use of elements shaped integrally with suitable suspension members,
e g. die cast with a suspension eye, or plastic suspension members
may be welded to the elements~ Hereby a very safe suspension bind-
ing is obtainable in an easy and cheap manner~
The invention further comprises a sausage binder and an appa-
ratus for use with the method according to the invention, as de-
fined in the appended claimsO
In the following the invention is described in more de-tail
with reference to -'he accompanying drawing, in which -
FigO 1 is a perspective v.iew of a sausage binder accordîng tothe invention,
Pig. 2 is a side view, pa:rtly in section, illustrating an
arrangement for mounting of thle binder on a sausage casing,
FigO 3 is a top vie~l of this arrangement,
FigO 4 is a perspecti~e view of a sausage ready to be suspen-
ded and closed at both ends by the method according to the invention~
FigO S is a perspec-tive view of a modified binder element9 and
FigO 6 is a perspective view of a modified sausage binde.r
according to the invention~
The sausage binder shown in figO 1 is made of weldable plastics
such as nylon and comprises two parts, vizo a U-shaped part 2 having
parallel legs 4 and a bottom portion 6~ and a separate cross bar
part 8 which is receivable between the legs 40 The inner sides of
the legs are profiled in a convex manner while the end faces 10
of the cross bar 8 are correspondingly conca~ely profiledO The bin-
der is usable simply by introducing the U-part 2 laterally over the
constricted casing portion and forcing the cross bar 8 into the
space between the legs and a~ainst the said casing portion, where-
after welding heat is supplied to the areas adjacent the ends o~
the cross bar 8 while the portions 6 and 8 are urged towards each
other and thus against the constricted casing portion, and prefarably
by simultaneously applying a lateral pressing force urging the Iegs
4 against the cross bar ends lOo When the parts 2 and 8 have thus
been welded together they form a ring member tightly closed about
the constriction. The welding heat may be supplied by means of an
ultrasonic welding head engaging the exterior side of the cross bar
8, whereby a single weldin~ head is s~f~icient for closing the
splits at both ends of the bar 80
As shown in dotted lines in fig~ 1 the cross bar 8 may be
provided with a suspension member 12, which could alternatively
be connected with the U-shaped part 20 The inside corners of the
exterior ends of the legs may be cut as oblique guiding surfacesO
FigO ~t shows an end 14 of a sausage or a sausage casing placed
in an application station for binders, comprising a maga2ine 16
for the U-shaped parts 2 7 a magazine bottom plate 18 and a piston
20 which, in a manner not shown9 is connected with means for reci-
procating it along the bottom plate ~ for successively supplying
U-parts 2 to the application position from one sideO At the oppo-
site side thereof is located, but not shown, a supply arrangement
for successively feeding a cross bar part 8 to a position on a
support 22 in which the bar is backed by a welding head 240 When
a cross bar part is brought into this position the piston 20 is
actuated to push a ~ part 2 into a position about -the constricted
portion of the sausage casing until the bottom portion 6 of the
U-part 2 is clamped against the casing; the outer ends o~ the legs
4 of the U-part 2 will then receive the cross bar 8 and project
rearwardly therefrom7 as also shown in ~igO 30 FigO 3 additionally
shows that in addition to the longitudinal clamping of the sausage
casing between the clamp portions 6 and 8 a transverse clamping of
the leg portions 4 against the ends 10 of the cross bar 8 may be
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effected by means of clamping shoes ~ When thereafter the weld--
ing head 24 i.s actuated to heat the cross bar 8 the ends of this
element will get welded to the respective inner sides of the legs
4, whereby a rigid clamp ring is formed about the constricted
sausage casing portion~
For a subsequent release of the sausage or sausage casing
from the cla~lp application station the two arrangements located
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at the opposite sides of the casing as illustrated by ~igsO 2 and
3 may be movable away from each other, or one of the clamping shoes
26 may be swung away ~rom its clamping position, wherea~ter upon
retraction of the welding head 24 and the piston 20 the sausage
casing end may be moved laterally out of the slot de~ined between
the supports 18 and 220
As shown in ~ig D 3 the free leg ends projecting beyond the
cross bar 8 may be cut off by means of knives 28 or other suitable
cutting meansO
The interior side of the cross bar is preferably curved in a
convex manner as apparent from figO 2, whereby when the parts are
clamped together the cross bar will engage the casin~ material with
a concentrated pressure9 though in a gentle manner due to the said
convexity, and when the welding is accurately controlled it is
achievable that the cross bar material is softened such that some
material from the interior side of the cross bar enters into the
folds of the casing7 whereby the resistance against axial tear off
of the binder from the sausage end is increased considerably~ Gene-
rally for obtaining this advantage in connection with suspension
binders it would be possible to effect softening of further or all
portions of the closed plastic ring memberO
PigO 4 shows a finished sausage ready to be suspended on a
support rodO The figure shows a preferred embodiment of the cross
bar 8 as provided with the suspension member 120 In practice it is
preferable that the suspension member is associated with the cross
bar instead of with the U-part 9 because both parts are then easier
to handle automaticallyO It should be mentioned that the suspension
member may be arranged so as to project not in the longitudinal
direction as shown~ but radially outwardly, whereby a row of lying
sausages may be conveyed direct onto a smoking rod~ from which
they will then hang down with the bendable suspension members cor-
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respondingly bent, as illustrated by a stem portion 12' shown in
ditted lines~
In fig~ 5 is shown a cross bar element having no suspension
member~ Por facilitating automatic handling of the element it is
shaped with a groove 30 whereby it is guidable along a guiding rod~
It will be appreciated that a closed plastic clamp ring member
may be assembled or provided about the constricted casing portion
in a variety of different manners and with starting elements of
any suitable designs 7 eOgO two curved or angular members instead
of a U-part and a straight cross partO Moreover, as illustrated in
figO 6, the binder may have a bendable strap portion 32 cooperating
with a holder block 34~ the ends of the strap being drawn through
a passage in the block and thereafter secured to the block e~gO by
welding~ One end of the strap is shown in dotted lines, because
one strap end may be previously secured to the block, eOgO by being
die cast in one piece with the blockO The block may additionally
be provided with a suspension member 12 as an integral partO
Though as mentioned welding will be the preferred way of join-
ing the ring forming elements it will nevertheless be possible to
join them or otherwise cause a rigid fixation of the clamping ring
structure by other means, eOgO by cementing or riveting or - as an
extreme example - by clamping together by means of a metalllc clip
the free ends of the U-legs 4 entending beyond the cross bar 8 as
viewed in figsO 2 and 3 to thereby lock the cross bar in its clamp-
ing positionO The binder shown in figO 6 has some similarity with a
known type of cable bunch holders~ in which9 however the strap 32
is provided w.ith kind of teeth or barbs cooperating with a holding
edge inside t]he block 34 to prevent retraction o~ the strap loop~
such an ancho.ring system might be usable in connection with a
3 sausage binde.r according to the invention, though the binders for
security should have to be produced with a very high degree of
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accuracy, especially binders for use at the suspension end of the
sausage casing~ whether or not provided additionally with an inte-
gral suspension memberO
The method according to the invention will generally be well
suited to be carried out automatically, but it is not the purpose
of this invention to disclose rnore detailed methods and equipment
of special advantage in this respect, and for this reason the appa-
ratus illustrated in ~igs~ 2 and 3 has been shown and described
schematicallyO
