The present disclosure relates to a hanging device, a smoke bar top module as well as a method for extracting a sausage group that hangs on multiple hanging hooks of a hanging device. The hanging hooks have a device for guiding a smoke bar or a smoke bar top module.

The present invention relates to a transfer arrangement for transferring sausage-shaped products, like sausages, to a rod-like element, like a smoking rod, provided in a loading position in a hanging line, each of the sausage-shaped products 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. The transfer arrangement comprises an infeed device having an infeed conveyor and a guide bar along which the suspension elements of the sausage-shaped products are guided in an infeed direction to the rod-like element, a transport device which is arranged above the rod-like element and the guide bar and which has a conveyor device with transportation elements for transporting the sausage-shaped products along the guide bar towards the rod-like element, and a drive device for driving the conveyor device, and an indexing device for supporting the guide bar. The indexing device includes at least two pairs of indexing pins configured to be reversibly moved pairwise and alternately into an engagement position for engaging with the guide bar for supporting the guide bar and into a release position for disengaging with the guide bar for allowing the passage of a suspension element of a sausage-shaped product to be suspended on the rod-like element in the loading position, wherein the indexing pins of each pair of indexing pins are arranged on opposite sides of the guide bar and at least substantially opposite to each other, and a transmission arrangement for driving and controlling the movement of the indexing pins. The transmission arrangement is driven by the transport device.

The present invention relates to a method for removing a rod-like element from a loading position of a hanging line in which the rod-like element can successively be loaded with sausage-shaped products, each of which contain a flowable filling material in a tubular or bag-shaped packaging casing provided with a suspension element through which the sausage-shaped products can be suspended on the rod-like element in the loading position. The method comprises the steps of feeding successively sausage-shaped products to a take-up position of the hanging line at a basic feeding speed, taking up one sausage-shaped product being positioned in the take-up position, by one of several transportation elements of a transport device of the hanging line, the transportation elements circulating along a circulation path at a basic transportation speed, loading by the transportation elements a predefined number of sausage-shaped products on the rod-like element being positioned in the loading position by the transportation elements, and replacing the loaded rod-like element by an empty rod-like element after the final sausage-shaped product has been suspended on said rod-like element. The method further comprises the steps of varying the basic transportation speed of the transport device or the basic feeding speed, or both, after the final sausage-shaped product to be stored on the rod-like element, has been picked up by a transportation element, such that the subsequent transportation element remains empty, and setting back the varied transportation speed and/or the varied feeding speed to the basic transportation speed and/or the basic feeding speed during loading of the subsequent rod-like element.

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.

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.

Provided is a sausage sticking system capable of changing a position and an interval at which a chain of sausages is hung on a stably held stick according to a length of a casing. The sausage sticking system includes a hook conveying unit, a stick holding unit, and a pivoting imparting unit. A loop of a chain of sausages hooked on each of the pivoting hooks of the hook conveying unit is configured to be dropped onto a stick passing through the loop by which pivoting hooks are pivoted. The stick holding unit holds both ends of the stick, and includes a fixed arm and a pair of actuating arms, wherein the pair of actuating arras alternately holds the stick and avoids the loop of the chain of sausages. The pivoting imparting unit sequentially pivots the plurality of pivoting hooks at a predetermined pivoting imparting position.

An apparatus for loading and unloading slices of bacon includes a loading portion including: a motor-driven conveying arrangement arranged to convey the slices of fresh bacon; a first motor-driven conveyor arranged to convey the seasoning hooks; a second motor-driven conveyor arranged to receive the seasoning hooks loaded with the slices of fresh bacon, and to move away the seasoning hooks from the loading zone; and a manipulator device configured to load onto the seasoning hooks the slices of fresh bacon. The apparatus further includes: an unloading portion including a motor-driven conveying arrangement, arranged to convey the seasoning hooks, loaded with the slices of seasoned bacon; and a manipulator device cooperating with the conveying arrangement to unload/extract one hook after another of the seasoning hooks from the slices of seasoned bacon.

Provided is a stick curvature correction device that can determine a curvature of a stick with a simple structure and correct a curvature of a curved stick. The stick curvature correction device includes a curvature detection unit, a center push-up unit, a stick holding unit, and a stick correction unit. The curvature detection unit includes two-end push-up units, and a multi-point sensor unit. The center push-up unit causes a curved stick to axially rotate to be in a mountain bow state, and pushes up a part between a left end and a center of the stick. The stick holding unit holds the right end of the stick, and holds the stick slidably in a direction of the left end of the stick. The stick correction unit applies a force in a direction opposite to a curve direction of the put stick and corrects a curvature of the curved stick.

Provided is a stick turning device capable of turning a stick on which a chain of sausages is suspended while reducing defects in the sausages when delivering the stick from an upstream device to a downstream device. The stick turning device includes a turning arm unit, a turning driving unit, and an actuator unit. The turning driving unit causes the turning arm unit to turn at a predetermined angle around a turning shaft. The actuator unit lifts the turning arm unit such that both ends of the stick are horizontally picked up from the upstream device and the stick is lifted, and such that by bringing the stick close to the turning shaft, a peripheral speed of the stick is reduced with respect to a turning speed of the turning driving unit, and defects in the sausages are reduced, and lowers the stick turned by the turning driving unit.

A cutting system is provided for cutting carcass parts while the carcass parts are carried by carriers connected to and moved by an overhang transport system. A detection device is provided for determining a cutting position of an incoming carcass part. At least one cutting device having an upwardly and downwardly facing surface structure is provided and a moving mechanism is mechanically connected to the at least one cutting device for controlling the position of the at least one cutting device on the basis of the determined cutting position. A carcass displacement device is arranged to initiate displacement of the carcass part away from the at least one cutting position while the carcass part or a resulting sub-part carried by a carrier and is located between the upstream cutting edge and the downstream edge.