Flexible Crimping Element for Alginate Sausage Separation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing separation devices for sausage portions filled with alginate or collagen often result in non-full closure at separation points, leading to undesirable optical properties and potential damage to the sausage ends during the separation process.
Innovation Solution
A separation device with a flexibly trained counter holder that applies a preload to the crimpelement, allowing for increased separation force without the need for cutting, ensuring complete closure of the alginate shell around the sausage portions by adjusting the bridge thickness and material selection to influence flexibility and separation force.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If rigid crimping elements are used for separating sausage portions, then the separation force is sufficient to separate portions, but the alginate casing is damaged and separation points are not completely sealed
Solution Approach 1:
The crimping element is designed with a flexible crimping section that can dynamically adapt its shape during the crimping process. The flexibility allows the crimping element to deform and conform to the casing shape, distributing the separation force more evenly and preventing localized damage while maintaining sufficient separating force.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the crimping element by introducing flexibility through specific geometric designs (such as curved surfaces and rounded edges). This parameter change allows the same crimping element to achieve both sufficient separation force and gentle interaction with the casing, resolving the contradiction between force and damage prevention.
2Productivity
If cutting edges are added to crimping elements to improve separation, then portions can be separated more effectively, but the gentleness of the separation process is reduced and casing damage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the cutting edges from the crimping element design. By extracting this harmful feature, the separation process becomes gentler on the casing while still achieving effective portion separation through the flexible crimping action alone, eliminating the need for aggressive cutting mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the previously harmful effect of rigid crimping into a beneficial flexible crimping action. The flexibility that was potentially seen as a weakness is transformed into an advantage, allowing the crimping element to effectively separate portions while simultaneously protecting the casing from damage.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the crimping element is made more flexible to prevent casing damage, then the gentleness of separation improves, but the separation force may be insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The crimping element is designed with differentiated local properties: the crimping section has flexible curved surfaces for gentle interaction, while the legs and base section maintain sufficient rigidity to transmit and generate the necessary separation force. This local quality differentiation resolves the contradiction between flexibility and force generation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs curved and rounded geometric surfaces on the crimping section, replacing sharp edges with smooth contours. This curvature design inherently provides flexibility while maintaining structural integrity, allowing the element to deform gently on the casing surface while still generating adequate separation force through its overall structure.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a separating device (8) for separating portions (10) from elongated casings (12) filled with food mass (11), in particular sausage portions (10) from alginate casings (12) filled with sausage meat (11), comprising two spaced-apart, rotating transport elements (16a, 16b) that can be driven by means of at least one drive (14), each having a transport area (18) which is moved in a transport direction (20) during operation, and a return area (22), wherein the filled casing (12) can be introduced between the transport areas (18) of the two transport elements (16a, 16b) and transported in the transport direction (20), and wherein the transport elements (16a, 16b) are oriented such that the distance between the transport elements (16a, 16b) in the transport area (18) is in the direction of the transport direction (20). reduced, at least one at each transport element (16a,16b) arranged laterally from the transport element (16a, 16b), wherein two crimp elements (24a, 24b) of the spaced-apart transport elements (16a, 16b) are moved towards each other when moving in the transport direction (20), and wherein one of the crimp elements (24a, 24b), in particular both crimp elements (24a, 24b), have: a fastening section (26) for fastening the crimp element (24a, 24b) to the transport element (16a, 16b), a crimp section (28) extending from the fastening section (26), which has two legs (30) opening from a base section (32), a counter-holder (34) which is configured to hold a crimp section (28) of the crimp element (24b) arranged on the opposite transport element (16b) when the crimp elements are moved. (24a,24b) towards each other with a contact force (FK) against the crimp section (28) of the crimping element (24a). According to the invention, it is proposed that the counter-holder (34) be designed to be flexible in such a way that it applies a preload force to the crimping element (24b) arranged on the opposite transport element (16b) in order to improve the separating effect of the crimping elements (24a, 24b).