Meat processing assembly

Abstract

An improved processing assembly having a meat emulsion pump connected to a stuffing horn. The stuffing horn positioned to fill casings with meat emulsion which form a strand of processed meat that is received by a twister, then a linker, and subsequently deposited on a conveyor.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 254,918 filed Oct. 26, 2009.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]This invention is directed toward a meat processing assembly and more specifically to improvements for the meat pump, the stuffing horn, the twister, the linker, and the conveyor.[0003]Meat processing assemblies are known in the art and over the years improvements have been made to enhance speed and efficiency when making linked meat products. Despite these improvements, deficiencies still exist. For example, removing gears from a meat pump remains a difficult time consuming process. With the twister, the use of a seal is still susceptible to wear and does not maximize heat reduction. To adjust the linker for different products require separate linker heads. Finally, aligning the conveyor with the linker can be difficult particularly when the floor is uneven. Therefore, a need exists in the art for a meat ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011]A meat processing assembly having an improved meat emulsion pump that allows for easier installation and removal of gears within a pump housing. A horn adjustment assembly that permits the position of a stuffing horn to be adjusted to eliminate the need for removing and replacing stuffing horns of different lengths for use with different casing materials. An improved twister that reduces heat through use of a non-contact bearing isolator that shields the bearing from the exterior environment. An improved linker that, through use of pistons connected to idler sprockets, self-adjusts the linker assembly for different recipes and the easy removal and replacement of linker chains and constant tension on the chains. The spacing is also adjustable for different calibers and eliminates the need for adjustable backing plates, sprocket sizes, and shaft spacings. A process control system that permits links to be counted and controlled based on sensed data. Finally, an improved conveyor that is adjustable to provide for easy positioning of the looper of the conveyor with the output end of the linker while maintaining a fixed base.

Problems solved by technology

Despite these improvements, deficiencies still exist.

For example, removing gears from a meat pump remains a difficult time consuming process.

With the twister, the use of a seal is still susceptible to wear and does not maximize heat reduction.

Finally, aligning the conveyor with the linker can be difficult particularly when the floor is uneven.

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