Abstract: An apparatus for producing and processing a strand of sausage or foodstuff has a sausage producing machine which produces a linked strand of sausage for deposit of loops of the strand on the hooks of a continuous conveyor. The conveyor picks up the loops of the strand at a loading station immediately adjacent the discharge end of the machine, and conveys the loops to a processing station for smoking or the like. The conveyor then moves the loops to an unloading station for removal of the strand from the conveyor, whereupon the conveyor downstream of the unloading station returns to the loading station to pick up additional product. A conveyor take-up mechanism is located immediately downstream from the loading station to permit the conveyor to cease movement at the loading station (while the casing on the machine is being replenished) while the conveyor can continue movement in the processing area. Sensors and controls interconnect the machine and the conveyor to coordinate the operational functions of each.

Abstract: A meat encasing machine has a looper horn, linking chain and conveyor which, prior to production, have home positions which are determined. A pulsed signal is generated as the looper horn rotates and is transmitted to an amplifier from an encoder on the servo motor for the looper horn and the conveyor. The output pulse signal is then reduced in frequency so that it can be read by a PLC. The PLC counts the pulses in the signal and can determine the relative position of the looper horn based on the count and can therefore minimize the rotation of the looper horn in the home position at the beginning of each new cycle. The meat encasing machine may also be controlled such that the linking chain, looper, and conveyor have no direct mechanical or electrical interaction between each other. By driving the components with separate servo motors, each can be precisely controlled in the desired ratios with respect to each other.

Abstract: A sausage making machine (10) has a meat pump, (22), a twister with a chuck 30 to rotate a strand of sausage, a linker (32) to create links in the strand of sausage, a conveyor (38) with movable hooks to grasp loops in the sausage strand. Four separate motors (22A, 30A, 32A, 38A) are operatively connected to the pump (22), twister (30), linker (32) and conveyor (38), and the motors (22A, 30A, 32A, 38A) are all connected to and controlled by a computer (44) control having a memory with the operating parameters of the separate components. The method of operation involves imposing the operational parameters on the memory of the computer (44) to permit the computer (44) to control and coordinate the components (22A, 30A, 32A, 38A).

Abstract: A meat encasing machine has a looper horn, linking chain and conveyor which, prior to production, have home positions which are determined. A pulsed signal is generated as the looper horn rotates and is transmitted to an amplifier from an encoder on the servo motor for the looper horn and the conveyor. The output pulse signal is then reduced in frequency so that it can be read by a PLC. The PLC counts the pulses in the signal and can determine the relative position of the looper horn based on the count and can therefore minimize the rotation of the looper horn in the home position at the beginning of each new cycle.