Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
O~S7
Descr iption
STUFFING METHOD AND APPARATUS
Technical Field
The present ~nvention relates to the
g~uffing of flowable product into casing leng~hs, -
such as cellulosic food casing r conventionally used
to make sausagas and other ~imilar produats. More
particularly, the present invention relates to an
improved ~tuffing method and apparatu~ or use
especially in con~unction with controllably
premoisturized, shirred casing.
Background Art
Typically, stufflng apparatus is commonly
used ~n the food lndustry, for example, to
~utomatically stuff food product, e.g., meat
emulsion, into a casing length desh$rred ~rom a
shirred casing supply mounted over a ~tuffing horn.
After the product is stuffed, the casing is
; ronstricted and gathered ~round the end of the
stuffed product by closing a pair of gathering
plate~. The stuffed product is then closed by
applying a clip around the gathered end of the
casing.
An importan~ recent development in the food
packing indu~ry has been the use with food s~uffing
apparatus o~ a controll~bly premoiæturized, shirred
cas~ng. This particular casing has several
significant advantages. First of all, there is no
need to soak the casing a~ the processing plant
Immediately prio~ to ~he stuffing operation. This
of cour~e s~ves con.Riderable time, equipment and
expense ln the product;on of s~uffed produc~s.
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Furthermore, since the moisture content of the
cas~ng i~ maintained at a controlled level, the
casing tends to behave in a predictable fashion on.
the stuffing apparatus. Finally, s~nce soaking is
no longer a requirement, the casing can be shirred
to hlgher pack ratios 80 that a greater length of
cas~ng can be ~hirred on~o a stick of predetermined
length. It will be readily apparent that this
feature si~nificantly reduces the apparatus downtime
due to sti¢k load~ ng.
Casing whi~h i8 controllably premoisturized
to a commercially acceptable level, e~g., from about
15.5~ to about 35~, and preferably to about 20~, of
~otal casing weight, iB much les~ pliable than a
fully soaked casing. Unfortunately, this ha~ giYen
rise to certain problems ~n ~dapting existing
stuffing equipment to handle the premoisturized
casing. For instance~ it ha~ been found that
stuffing pressures encountered with premois~urized
casing may be significantly higher than those
encountered when a fully ~oaked casing is employed
to stuff the casing to the same diameter.
U.S. Patent No. 4,007,761 to 8eckman
describes a 801ution to this problem wherein a
sizing disc or ring mounted inside the casing,
strekches the casing c$rcumferentially as the casing
deshirrs from the casing supply. The sizing disc or
ring ~tretches the casing toward or even beyond its
recommended s~uffed circumference, which thereby
causes the casing to take a temporary setO With the
casing stretched to about ~ts recommended stuf~ed
circumference, ~he emul~ion entering the casing need
only fill ~he casing wi~hout much, if any,
additional ~tr`etching, resul~ing in 8 substantial
reduct$on in stuffing pressure.
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Un~ortunately, the placement of a sizing
disc or ring inside.the casing to stretch the casing
create~ an additional problem in that the sizing
disc or r~ng establishes a holdback force which, if
not relieved, can prevent completion of the
ga~hering and clipplng opera~ion without damage to-
the casing. This problem has been solved in the
past by ~he provision of a tension sleeve. ~he
tension sleeve is mounted o~er ~he stuffing horn and
carries the sizing disc or ring at ~ts outer endO
The tension sleeve is connect~d at its other 2nd to
a reciprocating mechanism which cycles the tension
sleeve first aft~ then ~ore, to create a con~rolled
length of slack casing which, in e~fect,
sub~tantially reduces ~he holdback force developed
in the casing supply during gathering. The slack
casing so provided is thus availabIe to be drawn by
the gathering plates around the end of th~ stuffed
product.
Although the pro~lslon of a tension sleeve
carrying a sizing disc or ring and reciprocating
fore and af~ on ~he stuffing horn has solved the
problem of a casing holdback, the solution
nevartheless has been a compromise since additional
space ~ust be taken from the shirred casing length
on the stuffing horn to allow for the reciprocating
motion o~ the tension sleeve. In other words, due
~o i~æ reciprocating movemen~, the tension sleeve is
short~ned and this necessarily results in the loss
of available shirred casing, approaching about 25
or ~ least enough in most cases to considerably
dilu~e the pack rat~o ~dvantage offered by ~he
highly compressed con~rollably premoisturized casing.
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U.S. Patent No. 3,748,690 to Niedecker
discloses ~ ~tuff~ng apparDtus for stuffing ~aus~ge
cas~ngs and the like whereln the ~tufflng horn ~6 '
prov~ded w~th ~ snubbing ring adjacent to lt~
discharga end. Th~ snubbing rlng 18 ~rranged to
reduce the cas~ng holdback imm~diately after
~omple~on of the fill~ng operation ~n order to
accommodate flowable product that ~s displ~ced
during the constriction and gath~ring operation.
U:S. Patent ~o. 4,43~,545
~ssigned ~o the common Dss~gnee hesecf, discloses ~n
improved s~uffing method and apparatus which 15
pr~marily ~d~pted to the utllization of controllably
pr~moistur$zed cas~ng. In thi~ deve$opment, a
tens~on sleeve carrying a ~izing disc or ring ~s
provided along with D snubbing r~ng mounted adjacent
to the discharge end of the ~tuffing horn. The
~nubb~ng r~ng ~esves to ~nfold the ~tretched casing
~s it passes from ~round the 6~zing dis~ or ring and
also prsvide~ an emulsion ~eal as the infolded
casing passes between the snubbing ring ~nd stuffing
horn. Agaln, the tenslon sleev~ is adapted to
reciprocate ln order to prov$de ~lack in the casing
~hlle th~ snubbing ring is mainta$ned ~n fixed or
~tation~ry posit~o~O
Disclosure of the Invent~on
The present invention contemplates ~n
~mproved method of stuffing ~ ~lowable produc~
e.g., me~t emulsion, into tubular casing lengths
whlch haYe been ~h$rred ~nd mounted onto ~n elongated
s~uf$ng horn. The me~hod o the p~esent lnven~ion
~s carr~ed ou~ by mountlng within the lnterior of
the ~ubular cas~ng a ~lxlng memb~r having an outer
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circumference whAch is larger than the casing in its
initial un~tuffed condition and then drawing the
tubular casing over the ~zing member in order to
stretch ~he casing to about its recommended stuffed
~ircumference. The ou~er circumference of the
sizing member is provided with a casing contact
surfa~e area wh$ch is relatively small and which
consequently reduces the force ~i.e. holdback force)
required to pull the cas~ng over the sizing member.
An engaging member or snubbing ring i8 placed around
the exterior of the tubular casing in order to
infold the stretched, desh~rred casing a~ter it has
been drawn over the sizing memberO The engaging
member holds the casing against the surface of the
stuf~ing horn ~o provide ~n ~mulsion ~eal. Further,
the engaging member has an arcuate projection or
extended lip which coac~s with the sizing member to
force the casLng to follow a convoluted path. This f
in turn, ~reates a high frictional holdback force on
the casing. This holdback fsrce~ together with the
holdback force crea~ed by the stretching action of
the sizing member, combine to provide a to~al
holdback force sufficient to control or reyulate the
internal stuf~ing pressure, thereby insuring that
the casin~ will stuff out to the desired s~uffed
circumference.
During the stuffing operation, the engaging
member ~s positioned in close proximity to the
sizing member which is mounted inside the casing.
However, sa$d engaging member is caused to move
longitudinally ~long the length of the stuffing horn
just pr$or to or duriny the stuffed product
gathering ~nd ~lipping step, from its ~nitlal
position adjacent to the sizing member to a point
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proximate to the discharge end of the stuffing
horn. This substantially reduces the casing
holdback force and thereby allows the casing to be
drawn on demand from the sh~rred casing supply
during the stuffed product gathering and clipping
~t~p.
~ n a preferred embodiment of the present
invention, the internal sizing member is held ~ixed
or s~ationary throughout the ent~re ~tuffing,
ga~hering and cllpping operation. This is made
posslble by the fac~ tha~ the sizins member
generally does not apply the major portion of the
holdback force against the casing during the
stretching operation. Accordingly, since ~he sizing
member is fixed or stationary, essentially all of
the space available to store the shirr~d casing ~n
the stufflng horn can be readily utilized without
sacrificing any space to accommodate reciprocating
movement of a tension sleeve or similar device foe
supporting the ~izing member.
In its method aspe~ts, the present
inYention comprehends a method of stuffing a
flowable product into continuous lengths of tubular
casing which have been shirred and mounted onto an
~longated stuffing horn comprising:
mountlng a shirred casing supply and a
sizing member onto a stuffing horn, said sizing
member being mounted within an unshirred portion of
the shirred casing supply and said sizing mem~er
havi~g a periphery which is larger than the
circum.~erence of he casiny ln its initial unstufed
condition~ and said casing supply comprising
controll~bly premoisturized casing;
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placing around the exterior of the tubular
casing an engaging member adapted to fold the
stre~ched unshlrred casing inwardly as it passes
around and over the sizing member, the engaging
member having a casing ~ontact surface area of which
an opt~mum port~on contacts the casing when the
engaging member is pos$tioned adjacent to the c~zing
member;
positioning the engaging member adjacent to
the sizing member;
drawing the tubular casing over the sizing
member and stretching the casing to ~bout the
desired s~uffed circumerence;
folding ~he stretched un~hirred easing
~nwardly through the engaging member while
maintaining the casing in contact with an optimum
portion of the casing contact urfa~e area, thPreby
producing a high holdba~k force on the casing;
filling the tubular casing with the
flowable product until a predetermined length of
casing has been stuffed tv about th~ desired stufed
circumference;
moving the engagin~ member longitudinally
along the stuffing horn from its position adjacent
to the sizing member to a point proximate to the
dlscharge end of the stuffing horn to effectively
decrease the casing contact surface area actually in
contact with the ca.cing r thereby substantially
reducing the holdba~k force on the casing; and ~hen
gathering the casing around the end of the
stuffed product,.and thereby pulling a necessary
additional amount of casing over ~he sizing member
to form the rear end of ~he jus~ stuffed product
length and the~ front end of the succeeding n~xt
prod w t length to be stuffed.
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The stuffing method according to the
pre~ent lnvention may be carried o~t by an apparatus
comprising, in combination:
an elongated stuffing horn;
~ shirred casing supply mounted onto the
stuffing horn, said casing supply comprising
controllably premoi~tur~zed casing;
a sizing member disposed within an
unshirred portion of the ~hirred casing suppl~y and
having an outer circumference which contact~ the
inner surface of the casing for stretching the
casing to a predetermined dimension;
an engaging member surrounding ~he stuffing
horn and contacting ~he outer surface of ~he
stretched unshirred casing for folding the casing
inwardly as it is drawn ~round and over the sizing
member, the engaging member having a casing contact
surface area, an opt~mum portion of which contacts
the casing when the engaging member is positioned
ad~acent to the sizing member, thereby producing a
hiyh holdback force on the casing during ~tuffing;
means for controllably moving the engaging
member along the stuffing horn from a position
adjacent to the sizing member to a position adjacent
to the discharge end of the stuffing horn in order
to decrease the casing contact surface area actually
in contact wlth the casing, thereby substantially
reducing ~he holdback force on the casing; and
means for holding the sizing member
~tationary on the stuffing horn.
In a preferred embodiment o~ apparatus
according to the present invention, the interior
sizing member is moun~ed ~o an end of a t~bular core
member which carries or supports the shirred casing
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supply. The tubular core member is mounted along with
the casing supply over the stuffing horn and is held in
stationary position thereon by suitable attachment
means. Such means may include, for example, a bayonet
mount arrangement for detachably fixing the inboard end
of the tubular core member to a part of the apparatus.
The shirred casing supply used with the
preferred embodiment may comprise a "cored high density"
casing stick as described in U.S. Patent No. 4,688,298
lC issued August 25, 1987. A cored high density casing
article comprises a support tube or tubular core member
with a shirred casing length mounted thereon and highly
compacted to a high pack ratio (at least about 100) and
a high packing efficiency (at least about 0.50). Such a
configuration provides a casing article having improved
structural stability and strength, and it supplies
additional stuffing length as compared to conventional
shirred sticks.
Article aspects of the present invention are
as follows:
A casing article comprising in combination, an
elongated tubular core member having a sizing member
affixed thereto at one end, and a continuous length of a
controllably premoisturized tubular casing shirred and
compacted over substantially the entire length of said
tubular core member, said sizing member being disposed
within an unshirred portion of said casing and having an
outer periphery of substantially fixed circumference
which is larger than the interior circumference of said
casing, such that said casing is stretched outwardly
when the casing is drawn around and over said periphery,
said periphery having a casing contact ~urface area
which produces a minimal holdback force on the casing so
that the casing can be drawn easily around and over the
periphery of the sizing member when no other holdback
forces are applied thereto.
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~A
A casing article comprising in combination, an
elongated tubular core member having a sizing member
affixed thereto at one end, and a continuous length of a
controllably premoisturized tubular casing shirred and
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compacted over substantially the entire length o~ said
tubular core member, said sizing member being disposed
within an unshirred portion of said casing and having an
outer periphery of substantially fixed circumference
which is larger than the interior circumference of said
casing, said sizing member comprising a substantially
unresilient wall which flares outwardly from said one
end and terminates in a relatively narrow rim that
defines said outer periphery of substantially ~ixed
circumference and said rim maintaining substantially
line contact with the interior circumference of qaid
casing, such that said casing is stretched outwardly
when the casing is drawn around and over said rim, said
substantially line contact providing a casing contact
surface area which produces a minimal holdback force on
said casing so that said casing can be drawn easily
around and over said rim when no other holdback forces
are applied to said casing.
The internal sizing member is preferably
conical in shape as opposed to a cylindrical disc and
is, preferably, made integral with the outer end of the
tubular core member. This sizing member can be
conveniently made by molding the sizing member in one
piece with the tubular core member. Since the sizing
membsr must stretch the casing, it must be made of a
substantially unresilient material such as metal or,
preferably, a rigid plastic such as high density
polyethylene.
The engaging member preferably includes an
annular projection which surrounds the inner
circumference thereof and can coact with the internal
sizing member to create a convoluted casing path.
Preferably, the annular projection on the engaging
member is adapted to enter the open annular space
defined between the conical sizing member and the
stuffing horn. This arrangement is utilized to
effectively increase the convolution of the casing
passage and thereby produces a siynificant portion of
the holdback force to control or reyulate the internal
stuffing pressure.
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DescriPtion of the Drawinq
The present invention will be described in
greater detail hereinafter with particular reference to
the accompanying drawing in which:
Figure 1 is an elevational sectional view
showing apparatus according to the present invention
during the stuffing operation;
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Figure 2 is a similar view showing the same
apparatus during the constriction and gathering
operation;
Figure 3 is an exploded view showing an
assembly for mounting and adjusting the longitud~nal
position of the casing ~rticle on the stuf~ing
apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the
present invention.
Description o the Preferred Embodiments
Referring now more particularly to the
dr~wings, there is shown in Figures 1 and 2 an
appara~us according to the present invention or
stuffing a flowable product sush as a meat emulsion
10 into continuous lengths of tubular cellulosic
casing 1~. Preferably, the casing 12 is a
controllably premoisturlzed casing which is shirred
and compacted tightly onto an elongated plastic tube
or core 14 to form a eomplete casing article
depicted generally by the reference numeral 16. ~he
casing article 16 ~s loaded onto the stuffing
apparatus by placing the plastic tube or core 1~
over the elongated stuffi~g horn 18. Only tho~e
parts of the ~tuffing apparatus are shown that are
considered essential to an understanding of the
present invention.
The ca~ing ar icle 16 is detachably mounted
onto the apparatus by means of a pair of mounting
plates 20, 22~ These mounting pla~es each have
coinciding openings through which passes the aft end
of the stuff~ng horn 18. The outermost plate 22 is
fixed to a part of the apparatus, not chown, while
the other innermost plate 20 is removably secured
theretc as by set screws, ~lso not shown. The
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innermo~t plat~ 20 carries around the periphery of
its opening an interrupted flange element 24 which
forms part of a conventional bayonet mount
arrangement. The inboard end of the plastic tube or
core 14 is formed with similar spaced interrupted
flange elements as at 26 which engage the flange
element 24 and detachably lock the tube in place
upon ro~ation.
A conically shaped siz~ng member 28 is
d;sposed within the interior of the tubular casing
12~ The sizing member 28 iS affixed to the fore end
of the elongated plastic tube or core 14 and
preferably, thou~h not necessaril~, is made an
integral part thereof. In the embodiment of the
stuffing apparatus ~hown, the si2ing member 28 is
molded in one piece with the plastic ~ube or core
14. Alternatively, the sizing member 28 can be made
as a separate piece and then suitably secured onto
the end of the plastic tube or core 14. The sizing
member 28 can also be detachably secured by suitable
means ~o ~he stuffing horn ~f desired.
The conically shaped sizing member 28 in
its preferred form includes an outwardly flared wall
30 terminating at its outer edge in a narrow,
rounded peripheral rim,32. The wall 30 is disposed
at an ang}e ~ with respect to the longitudinal axis
of the plastic tube or core 14 defining an open
annular ~pace 34 between the wall 30 and the outer
surface of the ~tuffing horn 1~.
The elongated plastic tube or core 14 i~
preferably made as long as possible in order to
incorporate the maximum leng~h of shirred tubular
~asing within the casing ~r~icle 16. ~owever, the
plastic tube o`r core 14 is shorter than the overall
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length of the stuffing horn 18 leaving a part of the
latter exposed in an area adjacent to the discharge
end 3S.
A snubbing ring or engaging member 38 is
disposed concen rically around the exposed area on
~he stuff~ng horn 18. The engaging member 38
contacts the exterior ~urface of the stretched,
unshirred casing 12 and infolds the casing as it i~
drawn ~rom around the ou~er r~m 32 of ~he sizing
member 28.
The engaging member 38 is ~ormed around its
inner periphery with an annular, arcuate ~haped
projection 40. The annular projection 40 contacts
the exterior surface of the Etretched, unshirred
casin~ 12 and, in concert with the ~izing member 28,
produces a holdback ~orce on the casingO Th~ ~nner
periphery of the engaying member 38 also holds the
casing 12 snugly around the discharge end 3S of the
stuffing horn 1~. This preYents back flow of the
meat emulsion extruded from the stuffing horn 18,
that i8, ~he engaging ~ember prevents the meat
emul~lon from entering the casing 12 at a point
inboard of the engaging member 3B.
The outer periphery of the engaging member
38 is secured inside an annular groove 42 formed on
the inner Eurface of a circular carriage 44. This
carriage 44 ~s connected to a suitable driv~
m~chan~sm, n~t ~hown, which is adapted to move the
carriage 44 and engaging member 38 longitudinally
along the exposed area on the stuffing horn 18 in
both the fore and aft direction as depicted by the
arrow~. The mec~anism for driving the carriage 44
may be, for example, a pair of pneuma~ic cylinders
operating in ~`andem or any 3imilar device.
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As the meat emulsion 10 extrudes from the
discharge end 36 of the stuffing horn 18 under
pressure from an emulsion pumpO not hown, the meat
emulsion fills the tubular casing 12 outwardly to
the desired stuffing circumference. Tha casing 12
is continuously dechirred from the casing ar~icle ~6
and is drawn over the peripheral rim 32 of the
sizing member 28. The rim 32 ~tretches the casing
outwardly to about its recommended ætuff diameter
and there~y reduces the internal pressure required
to complete ~he stuffing operation. The stretched
casing 12 is then infolded and continuously drawn
around the arcuate annular projection or extended
lip 40 of engaging member 38. The ring 38 contacts
the casing and holds ~t snugly against the surface
of the stuffing horn 18.
During the stuffing operation, the engaging
member 38 is positloned adjacent to the conically
shaped sizing member 28 as illustrated in the view
of Figure 1. In this positon of the engaging member
38, the extended lip 40 is placed inside the annular
space 34 between the ~lared wall 30 and the stuffing
horn 18. It will be s~en by ~his arrangement that
the infolded ~ection of the casing 12 actually
reverseq direction fol~owing a convoluted path first
inwardly and rearwardly as it passes ~hrough the
~pace 34 and then in the forward direction again as
the cas~ny i~ drawn around the extended lip 40~
This convoluted path that the casing 10 is forced to
follow creates the additional holdback force which
is necessary ~o enable the casing to be fully
stuffed to the desired stuffed diameter.
As soon as She casing 12 is filled to a
predetermined length with mea~ emulsion 10, emulsion
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flow is shut off and the engaging member 38 is moved
along the stuffing horn lB by the carriage 44 and
lts associated drive mechanism to a position close
to the horn discharge end 36 as shown in the view of
~igure 2. This substantially reduces tha total.
holdback force of ~he engaging member on the casing,
while leaving undisturbed that portion of the total
holdback for~e con ributed by the stretching ~ction
of the sizing member.
A pair of ~onstriction plates 46, 48, are
located just ahead of the discharge end 36 of the
~uf f ing horn 18 . These plates simultaneously close
together to constrict the filled casing 12 as shown
in the view of Figure 2. The extra casing required
to form the ~ear or trail~ng end of the just-stuffed
produ~t length and the f ront end of the succeeding
"nex~-to-be-stuffed" product length is pulled from
the shirred casing supply, and over the sizing
member, by the action of the constriction plates.
This ability to draw casing from the shirred casing
supply, as needed, is brought about by controllably
eliminating a large portion of the total holdback
force required for stuffing, by moving the engaging
member and ~hereby reducing its holdback
contribution through minimizing the casing contact
~rea cn the arcuate annular projection 40, as shown
in Figure 2.
A pair of clips (not shown) seal the rear
end of th~ just-stuffed product length and the fron~
end of ~he next product length, and a severing means
lnot shown~ ~aparates the casing between the clips.
The engasing member 38 is withdrawn from horn
discharge end 36 and positioned again adjacent to
the conically shaped ~izing member 2~. Emulsion
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flow is reactivated, and stuffing of the next
product length commences.
While in ~ha stuffing position shown in
Figure 1, the arcuate annular project~on 40 of the
engaging member 38 co~ct6 w~th the sizing member 28
to force the tubular casing 12 to follow a
convoluted path as it deshirrs from the casing
supply. This creates a high frictional holdback
force on the casing which, when coupled with the
holdback force created by the stretching action of
si~in~ member 28, provides a total holdback force
sufficient to control or regulate the internal
stuffing pressure, thereby insuring that the casing
will stuff out to the desired stuffed diameter or
stuffed circumference.
The rim 32 formed by the outer periphery of
the sizing member 28 has a relatively small surface
area which contacts the interior of the casing 12.
While stretching the casing 12 to about its
recommended stuf~ing circumference, said sizing
member, therefore, produces a minimal holdback force
on the ~asing. When in the constriction and
~athering position shown in Figure 2, the major
portion of the total holdback force which is acting
on the casing becomes tpat portion which ~s due to
this stretching contact of the sizing member. This
allows the constricting and gathering action ~o
~asily draw casing from the shirred casing supply
o~er the rim 32 as required. There is, therefore,
no necessity to move or reciprocate the casing
supp}y 16 to create slack during the constriction,
gathering ~nd cl~pping operation It is only
necessary to move the engaging member 38
approximately ~/8-inch away from the sizing member
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28 to eliminate a ~ubstantial portion of the total
holdback force on the casing.
An important advantage of the above
described arrangement is that it is no longer
necessary to provlde space for reciprocating the
plasti~ tube or core 140 Conse~uently, the core can
be longer and, thereby, a maximum len~th of shirred
cas~ng can now be applied to the plas~ic tube or
core 14 during assembly of ~he casing article 14.
This advantage is of signif$cant value in the case
where a controllably premolstur$zed, shirred casing
is employedO
Although the plastic tube or core 14 is
held stationary on the stuffing horn 18 throughout
operat$on of the apparatus, it may be convenient if
not necessary~ to meet special user requirements, to
adjust the position of the tube or core 14 and in
turn the location of the conically shaped sizing
member 2B with respect to She engaging member 38.
This is readily accomplished in accordance with the
present invention by the provision of a mounting
plate ad~ustment mechanism 50. This mechanism may
con~ist, for example, of a rotatable knob 52 having
a tubular extension 54 mounted on a stationary shaft
56. The tubular extension 54 is threadably engaged
inside a tubular sleeva 58 which in turn is fixed}y
secured in an opening 60 ~ormed within the mounting
plate 22. I~ will be seen then that by simply
rotat~ng the knob 52 either clockwise or
counterclockwise~ the plate 22 and, in turn, the
tube or core 14 can be moved, in small increments,
longi~udinally in either direc~ion along the length
of the 3tu~fing horn 18.
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Thi~ movement of the tube or core 14
causes the conically ~haped sizing member 28 to
relocate either closer to or farther from the
engaging member 38 and its projection 40, thereby
controlling the amount of total holdback to be
developed in the ~asing supply. ~y properly
adjusting the distance between the sizing member 28
and the engaging member 38, provision is thereby
made to assure that an optimum portion of the casing
contact surface area on the arcuate annular
projection 40 will be in contact with the infolded
casing during stuffing in order to provide that the
total holdback force will produce the desired
stuffed ~asing circumference or diameter. The
mechanism whereby the level of holdback contributed
by the engaging member 38 is Gontrolled, involves
the amount of casing 12 which is wrapped around
arcuate projection 40 as the casing moves over the
sizing member 28 and ~ast the engaging member. The
closer ~he engaging member 38 is set to the sizing
member 28, the greater the amount o~ ~asing wrap
and, therefore, the higher the holdback force.
Similarly, when the distance is greater, the casing
wrap is less, and with a lesser casing wrap a lesser
holdback ~orce is prod~ced.
In the practice of the present invention,
the angle ~ defined between the ~lared wall 30 and
the longitudinal axis of ~he plas~ic tube or core 14
may be any angle in a range of between about 30 and
75 d~grees, for example~ Preferably, the angle~3 is
about 45~ This preferred angle provides a ~pace 34
for creating casing holdback.
An a~ternate and pre~erred assembly for
detachably mou'nt~ng the casing ~rticle on the
D-13,924
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~tufing apparatus and adjusting the longitudinal
position of tube or core 14 is shown in Figure 3O
An internally threaded outer ring 62, provided with
openings 64 about its periphery, is mounted
concentric to the stuffing horn 18 and bolted to the
horn atta~hment nut 66 of the stuffing apparatus.
An ex~ernally Shreaded adju~ting r~ng 60 i6
concentrically mounted around the stuffing horn and
threadably engag~d within outer ring 62. A number
o~ adjusting holes 70 are radially bored around ~he
periphery of the ~djusting ring 80 that they are
accessible through the openings 64 of outer ring 62
for the insertion of a rod ~not shown) into a hole
70 for ~djusting the position of ring 60 within ring
~2 by rotating ring 60. An adapter ring 72 is, in
turn, mounted concentric to the stuffing horn and
bolted to the face 74 of adjusting ring 60. The
adapter ring carries around the periphery of its
opening 76 an interrupted flange element 78 which
~orms p~rt of a ~onventional bayonet mount
arrangement. Only the adapter ring 72 need be
changed to accommodate di~ferent tubular ~-ore
inboard sizes. As earlier described, the inboard
end of the plastic tube or core 14 of the casing
article is formed with a slmilar spaced interrupted
flange element which engages the flange element 78
and detachably locks the tube in place upon
rotationO It will be seen that by simply rotating
the externally ~hreaded adjusting ring 60, within
the internally threaded outer ring 62, the adapter
ring 72 ~nd, in .urn, the tube or core 14 of ~he
casing article can be moved longi~udinally in either
direction along the stuffing horn 18, establishing
D-13,924
~L~607S~
- 20 -
any desired relationship between the sizing member
28 and the engaging member 38.
While a preferred embodiment has been
described herein, it ~hould be appreciated that
other arrangements of a movable external engaging
member and ~ ~tationary internal sizing member wou~d
fall within the ~cope of the claimed invention. For
example, the internal ~izing member could have a
convoluted outer periphery which would impart little ,
or no prestretching or holdback to the casing until
an engaging member, prov~ded with a plurality of
fingers or protuberances, pressed and stretched the
casing into the recessed por~ions of the convoluted
izing member~
Similarly, the internal sizing member can
have a shape (e.g. ellipsoidal, hemispherical, etc.)
other than a conical shape, as long as an annular
space is provided between said ~iæing member and the
stuffing horn to allow coaction with ~he engaging
member, and provided that the contact area of the
sizing member with the casi.ng is roughly equivalent
to that provided by the rim of a conical ~izing
member~
D-13,324
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