An apparatus and method for inflating a casing enclosing a sausage stick is disclosed, wherein the apparatus includes a holder configured to receive the sausage stick enclosed in the casing and move together with the sausage stick thereby received from an inflation starting position to an inflation end position, and an inflating needle configured to penetrate the casing of the sausage stick received by the holder and to follow the holder immoveably relative to the holder moving together with the sausage stick from the inflation starting position to the inflation end position to inflate the casing between the inflation starting position and the inflation end position.

The invention relates to an automatically-limiting electric sausage filler and control methods thereof. A piston is positioned at the tail end of a toothed piston rod and integrated as a whole; a DC motor drives an automatic shaft, the automatic shaft is meshed with the toothed piston rod through a gear train to drive the toothed piston rod to move up and down in a material cylinder, a meat outlet is formed at the bottom of the material cylinder, when the piston is arranged at the bottom of the material cylinder, the electric sausage filler has a lower limit; when the piston is arranged at the top of the material cylinder, the electric sausage filler has an upper limit; a lower limit signal detection element and an upper limit signal detection element are arranged on two sides of the toothed piston rod and correspond to an upper limit magnet strip and a lower limit magnet strip embedded on the toothed piston rod in an induction manner, and induction signals of the lower limit signal detection element and the upper limit signal detection element are sent to a control circuit which outputs a control signal to drive the DC motor to work. By virtue of the upper limit and the lower limit, the electric sausage filler is controlled to automatically fill sausages, overcurrent protection function is added in the control circuit for protecting the motor from stalling, so that a motor stalling protection device is omitted, and the cost is reduced; the sausage filling operation is simplified by virtue of the upper limit and the lower limit; and by virtue of the movement of the piston, the sausage filling process is fully automatic.

A heat-treatment device in particular for sausages of the co-extruded sausage type, has pipework extending between an introduction orifice and a discharge orifice through which the sausages emerge from the pipework a collecting device that is disposed above the introduction orifice, which emerges in the pipework at the introduction orifice and is intended to enable the sausages to be introduced into the pipework a pump intended to propel hot water into the pipework upstream of the introduction orifice or in the collecting device the water level in the collecting device being higher than the level of the discharge orifice and the level of the introduction orifice the level of the introduction orifice is lower than the level of the top part of the coil, and the pipework has between the introduction orifice and the discharge orifice, a part taking the form of a coil in a descending spiral, and between the introduction orifice and the coil an ascending portion.

A heat-treatment device in particular for sausages of the co-extruded sausage type, has pipework extending between an introduction orifice and a discharge orifice through which the sausages emerge from the pipework a collecting device that is disposed above the introduction orifice, which emerges in the pipework at the introduction orifice and is intended to enable the sausages to be introduced into the pipework a pump intended to propel hot water into the pipework upstream of the introduction orifice or in the collecting device the water level in the collecting device being higher than the level of the discharge orifice and the level of the introduction orifice the level of the introduction orifice is lower than the level of the top part of the coil, and the pipework has between the introduction orifice and the discharge orifice, a part taking the form of a coil in a descending spiral, and between the introduction orifice and the coil an ascending portion.

Apparatus for the anti-rub of metal surfaces involved in the process for processing vegetables, flours and preferably for processing animal meat for producing sausages, including, in sequence along the axis (100), an actuation shaft (200), a loading hopper (70), at least one auger (1) adapted to transport the animal meat to be processed; at least one first knife (11), preferably a plurality of knives (11), rotary and arranged at the outlet of the meat from the auger (1); at least one first fixed drawing disc (3), the first disc (3) having a plurality of holes and having the actuation shaft (200) at least one cylindrical projection (300), arranged along the actuation shaft (200), provided with at least one circular bearing (40), preferably a pair of circular bearings (40) adapted to stabilize and reduce the forces acting on the actuation shaft (200).

Apparatus for the anti-rub of metal surfaces involved in the process for processing vegetables, flours and preferably for processing animal meat for producing sausages, including, in sequence along the axis (100), an actuation shaft (200), a loading hopper (70), at least one auger (1) adapted to transport the animal meat to be processed; at least one first knife (11), preferably a plurality of knives (11), rotary and arranged at the outlet of the meat from the auger (1); at least one first fixed drawing disc (3), the first disc (3) having a plurality of holes and having the actuation shaft (200) at least one cylindrical projection (300), arranged along the actuation shaft (200), provided with at least one circular bearing (40), preferably a pair of circular bearings (40) adapted to stabilize and reduce the forces acting on the actuation shaft (200).

An automatic stuffing machine for food products, which comprises a base framework that supports at least one forming die of the product to be stuffed and a pusher adapted to cause the translation of the formed product through a stuffing tube; the machine has at least one tube changer body that supports at least two stuffing tubes and is actuated to move in order to bring, in each instance, one of the stuffing tubes to a working position, in which it is located substantially at the area of action of the pusher; furthermore elements are provided for removable joining between the forming die and the stuffing tube in the working position which are adapted to pass from an active condition, in which they provide a connection between the forming die and the stuffing tube in the working position, to an inactive condition.

The present invention relates to a clipping machine and a method for producing sausage-shaped products, like sausages, by filing a flowable filling material into a tubular or bag-shaped packaging casing and closing said packaging casing by a closure means, like a closure clip. The clipping machine comprises a filling tube for feeding the filling material into the tubular or bag-shaped packaging casing stored on the filling tube and being closed at its first end, gathering means for gathering the filled tubular or bag-shaped packaging casing and for forming a plait-like portion thereto, the gathering means includes a first displacer unit and a second displacer unit, and a clipping device having a first and a second closing tool being reversibly movable between an opened position and a closed position, for applying at least one closure means to the plait-like portion and closing said closure means when the closing tools are in their closed position. The clipping machine includes common drive means for commonly reversibly radially moving the gathering means from an opened position into a closed position for performing the gathering movement, and the clipping tools for applying said closure means on the plait-like portion and closing said closure means. The clipping machine further comprises single drive means for separately reversibly driving the second displacer unit for executing a movement in axial direction for forming the plait-like portion, at least partially independently from the common drive means. The clipping machine further comprises a control unit for controlling the single drive means at least partially independently from the common drive means and at least a first sensor associated with the common drive means and at least a second sensor associated with the single drive means, which are coupled to the control unit.

The invention relates to a method for preparing a casing material for use in co-extruding food products comprising the steps of providing two or more casing material components; mixing the casing material components and feeding the resulting viscous gelling solution to the co-extrusion process to form an external layer on an extruded strand of food dough. Each of the casing material components in itself is not suitable for co-extrusion as an external layer and the composition of the viscous gelling solution is determined by changing the volumes of the casing material components used dependent on the required food product to be co-extruded and/or the composition of the viscous gelling solution is adjusted by changing the volumes of the casing material components dependent on the information on the properties of the food dough and/or the food product to be co-extruded. The present invention further relates to a method and a system for preparing food products by means of co-extrusion wherein such casing material is used.

Methods, systems, apparatus, devices and computer program products automatically package an object, such as, for example, whole muscle meat pieces, in a covering material, such as, for example, sheared casing and/or netting. The devices include an automated compression assembly with an electric drive motor and a pusher assembly with an electric motor, preferably each electric motor is a servo-motor. The systems/apparatus devices can include a programmably adjustable index and/or speed profile for the compression and/or pusher assembly.