Adjustable Sausage Clamping Jaws for Casing-Safe Portioning
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sausage portioning devices struggle to consistently cut sausages of varying types of flexible casings (natural and synthetic) while ensuring a secure seal without the need for twisting or tying, and they lack adjustable mechanisms for optimal closure based on casing type.
Innovation Solution
A sausage portioning device with adjustable grippers and cams that allow for varying the overlap and geometry of the constriction passage, using cams on a central axis to adjust the gripper position, ensuring a tight seal and retention of food within the casing regardless of casing type.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the tongs are designed with fixed parallel gripping surfaces, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the device cannot accommodate sausages of different diameters and may cause the casing to tear
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the tong jaws adjustable rather than fixed. The adjustment mechanism allows the gripping surfaces to be positioned at different distances from the tong axis, enabling adaptation to various sausage diameters. This transforms a static structure into a dynamic one that can change its configuration based on the workpiece dimensions, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements parameter changes by allowing the gripping surface position parameter to be varied. The adjustment mechanism enables changing the distance between the gripping surfaces and the tong axis, which directly affects the gripping geometry. This parameter adjustment allows the same tong structure to handle different sausage diameters without requiring multiple specialized tools, thus improving versatility while maintaining reasonable structural complexity.
2Reliability
If the tongs grip the sausage casing too tightly, then the sausage is held securely during slicing, but the casing may tear especially at the ends
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing different surface characteristics on different parts of the tong jaws. The gripping surfaces are designed with specific properties (such as texture or material characteristics) that provide adequate friction for secure gripping, while other areas of the jaws have different properties that prevent excessive pressure concentration. This local differentiation allows secure holding without causing damage to the casing, particularly at vulnerable end regions.
Solution Approach 2:
The adjustable geometry of the tongs allows dynamic adaptation of the gripping force distribution. By adjusting the position of the gripping surfaces relative to the tong axis, the operator can optimize the grip for different sausage types and conditions, achieving secure holding while minimizing the risk of casing damage through proper force distribution.
3Adaptability or versatility
If an adjustable mechanism is added to modify the overlap of the tong jaws, then the device can accommodate different sausage diameters, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the tong structure into separate adjustable components. The jaw assembly is segmented from the handle, allowing independent adjustment of the jaw position. This segmentation enables the adjustment function to be added without requiring a complete redesign of the entire tong, thereby limiting the increase in overall device complexity while achieving the desired adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The adjustment mechanism is designed to serve multiple functions: it adjusts the gripping surface position for different diameters, modifies the overlap geometry for different sausage types, and potentially adjusts the gripping force. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate mechanisms for each adjustment type, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity while maximizing adaptability.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
The invention relates to a device (1) for portioning sausages from a continuous sausage formed of a flexible casing containing a food product, such as sausage meat, the device comprising a fixed central axis (3) on which a rotating plate (2) is mounted around which the continuous sausage is intended to be driven, the plate (2) being provided with consecutive opposite pairs of gripping tongs (8) arranged around the central axis (3) and a cutting member (18) for each pair of tongs, the movement of the pairs of tongs and the associated cutting member being provided by cam tracks (24, 25, 26) formed on first and second cams (13, 14) each mounted on the central axis (3) on either side of the plate (2). According to the invention, the device comprises means for adjusting the position of at least one of the cams (13, 14) along the central axis (3) from among a plurality of positions so as to be able to modify the degree of overlap of the tongs in the closed position and the dimensions of the constriction.