Abstract: A guiding and rotary cutting device for severing strips of tape or the like comprising a cylindrical guide post having a slot, preferably tapered, extended transversely through said post and a hollow cylindrical rotatable knife coaxially mounted about the post, said rotatable knife having a longitudinal slot disposed adjacent to and in alignment with the longitudinal first opening of the slot in the guide post and a longitudinal knife slot disposed adjacent to and in alignment with the longitudinal second opening of the slot in the guide post such that upon rotation of the cylindrical knife, a tape or the like protruding out from the longitudinal second opening in the guide post will be severed by the longitudinal knife edge defining the knife slot in the cylindrical knife.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for securing a tape loop hanger at the gathered end of a stuffed or unstuffed casing using a substantially U-shaped clip. Specifically the U-shaped clip forces a preformed tape loop hanger into contact with a gathered end portion of a casing whereupon the two opposed legs of the clip are deformed to encircle the gathered casing and the tape loop hanger with sufficient pressure so as to crimp and anchor the tape loop hanger between the legs of the clip so as to secure the tape loop hanger to the gathered end of the casing.

Abstract: Poultry articles are advanced on an upwardly inclined conveyor one at a time through a wing and neck training jig mechanism which forms each such article into a packaging configuration, and, at the top of the upwardly inclined conveyor, tilted downwardly to advance by gravity into a stretched open flexible packaging bag at a packaging station.

Abstract: In an apparatus for stuffing flowable product into a shirred tubing disposed on a stuffing horn to produce stuffed tubular articles of predesired length on a continuous basis, a sensing member is employed for detecting movement of the trailing end portion of the shirred tubing on the stuffing horn which activates control for interrupting the stuffing operation of the apparatus so as to terminate the flow of product from the stuffing horn before the shirred tubing is completely expended.