The invention relates to a method for applying a consumable treating liquid to an individual meat product, comprising the steps of placing an individual meat product on a carrier; moving the meat product towards a liquid applier; applying a consumable treating liquid to a meat product; forcing excess liquid towards the bottom of the meat product and/or the carrier, and controllably removing the excess liquid from the meat product and/or the carrier by a liquid remover. The invention also provides a device for applying a consumable treating liquid to an individual meat product.

A sausage processing apparatus, including a circulating compartmented belt, a downstream compartmented roller, wherein a sausage is transferred from a compartment of the belt into a compartment of the roller, and a second circulating transport device, onto which the sausages are transferred from the compartments of the roller. A control device controls the conveying operation of the second transport device and of the roller. A sensor device detects the occupancy of the compartments of the belt. The control device controls the conveying operation of the roller and the second transport device dependent on the detection result of the sensor device such that, upon detection of one or more successive unoccupied compartments of the belt, the conveying operation of the roller and of the second transport device is stopped or slowed when the unoccupied compartment is in or is entering a transfer position and, upon detection of an occupied compartment, the conveying operation is resumed when the occupied compartment is in or is entering the transfer position.

The present invention relates to a clipping machine and a method for operating a clipping machine for producing sausage-shaped products, like sausages, by filling a flowable filling material into a tubular or bag-shaped packaging casing and closing said packaging casing by at least one closure means, like a closure clip. The clipping machine comprises a filling tube for feeding the filling material in a feeding direction into the tubular or bag-shaped packaging casing stored on the filling tube and being closed at its front end, gathering means for gathering the filled packaging casing and for forming a gathered portion thereto, wherein the gathering means include a first displacer unit and a second displacer unit, and wherein the second displacer unit is reversibly movable in the feeding direction for forming a filling material free plait-like portion at the gathered portion of the filled packaging casing, a clipping device having at least 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, and a discharge device for discharging a sausage-shaped product just produced from the clipping machine in a transportation direction, wherein the position of the discharge device along the transportation direction and relative to components located upstream the discharge device can be adjusted. The clipping machine further comprises a sensor device for detecting the position of the discharge device relative to components of the clipping machine located upstream the discharge device.

The present disclosure relates to a device and a method for transferring sausage portions with a first transport device for transporting the sausage portions, an ejection device for pushing the sausage portions from a first transport device to a second transport device, which is configured as a drum or fan belt. The first transport device has a lower and an upper circumferential transport means, between which the sausage portions are transported.

The present invention relates to a system for transferring sausage-shaped products, like sausages, containing a flowable filling material in a tubular or bag-shaped packaging casing from a discharge device of a processing machine for processing the sausage-shaped products to a handling device for the sausage-shaped products. The system comprises conveyor means for subsequently receiving sausage-shaped products discharged from the discharge device in a discharge direction and for conveying the sausage-shaped products in a feeding direction to a releasing position in which the sausage-shaped products can be removed from the conveyor means, drive means for driving said conveyor means in the feeding direction being at least substantially parallel to the discharge direction of the discharge device, guiding means for guiding the sausage-shaped products when conveyed by the conveyor means in the feeding direction and at least one shaping box for subsequently receiving a sausage-shaped product released from the conveyor means in the releasing position, wherein the at least one shaping box is provided at least substantially underneath the conveyor means in a receiving position for receiving the sausage-shaped product released in a release direction substantially perpendicular to the feeding direction.

The present invention relates to a device for removing a rod-like element, like a smoking rod, from a loading zone of a hanging line, wherein the rod-like element is arranged in a loading position of said loading zone, in which the rod-like element can successively be loaded with sausage-shaped products, like sausages, each of which contain a flowable filling material in a tubular or bag-shaped packaging casing provided with a suspension element, like a suspension loop, through which the sausage-shaped products can be suspended on the rod-like element in the loading position. The device comprises discharge means for discharging the loaded rod-like element out of the loading zone of the hanging line in a discharge direction and transfer means being reversibly movable in a transfer direction between an engagement position in which the transfer means engage the rod-like element to be removed from the loading position, and a retracted position in which the loaded rod-like element is transferred to said discharge means. The device further comprises a drive assembly having a single drive device and transmission means for intermittently driving the discharge means in a discharge direction, and for reversibly driving the transfer means in the transfer direction between the engagement position and the retracted position.

The present invention relates to a clipping machine for producing sausage-shaped products, like sausages, containing a flowable filling material in a tubular or bag-shaped packaging casing, the machine comprising filling means configured to feed filling material into the casing, and further comprises closing means arranged downstream the filling means, for closing the casing in a closing region. A housing is provided, enclosing at least the closing region, comprising at least a front wall and a first side wall, wherein the front wall is arranged at least substantially parallel to a longitudinally extending axis of the filling means, and further comprises an opening which can be closed by a movable door element, movable between an open position, allowing access to the closing region and a closed position, covering and blocking access to the closing region. The side wall faces the filling means and further comprises a movable housing element, movable between at least an open position and a closed position, wherein the movable housing element comprises an opening for passing through the sausage-shaped products, and wherein the movable housing element enables access from a side of the first side wall to the closing region when in the open position; and wherein the movable housing element covers and blocks access to the closing region when in the closed position.

A low profile water bath co-extrusion process for sausage manufacturing is disclosed, along with machines for accomplishing this process. The process is an automated assembly line which begins with co-extruded food product, such as a sausage emulsion coated with collagen and finishes with cooked, boxed, packaged link sausage. The process includes the steps of co-extrusion, linking and cutting the co-extruded food product to individual links. Following these steps and prior to a liquid smoking step, the casing is prepared by steps which includes chemical treatment of the individual links in a water bath, while dehydrating the product in a salt solution, the water bath being a two-part process and following the water bath using a forced hot air drying step. Machines disclosed include a modification of prior art screw driven water bath and a novel roller/conveyor forced hot air drying assembly that subjects individual links of a co-extruded food product to a rolling motion while simultaneously being transported horizontally and being subject to forced hot air drying.

Apparatus for orient sausages and methods of orienting sausages. The apparatus has at least one conveyor device with a moveable, in particular circulating, conveyor element on which individual sausages can be placed and transported in a conveyor direction along a path of movement. Two orientation devices are spaced from each other transversely relative to the conveyor direction and which are arranged above the moveable conveyor element, and each having at least one respective guide for laterally guiding the sausages.

A gripper installation for simultaneously gripping a plurality of elongate flexible items, in particular sausages, having a plurality of gripper portions that are disposed so as to be mutually parallel, wherein each gripper portion has two mutually spaced-apart finger pairs, wherein the fingers of each finger pair grip the item at opposite sides and for gripping an item are capable of being simultaneously converged, wherein the gripper portions are capable of being simultaneously activated.