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EP-4445735-B1 - MEAT STUFFING MACHINE

EP4445735B1EP 4445735 B1EP4445735 B1EP 4445735B1EP-4445735-B1

Inventors

  • BOLZACCHINI, GIOVANNI

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20230424

Claims (9)

  1. A meat stuffing machine, comprising: a base frame (2) which supports at least one mold (3) for forming a portion of meat (100) to be stuffed; a pusher (4), for conveying the portion of meat (100) through a stuffing tube (5) which communicates, at an inlet end (5a) of said stuffing tube (5), with said mold (3), a casing (6) being applicable on said stuffing tube (5) and being designed to accommodate inside it the portion of meat (100) moved by said pusher (4); unwinding means (7) for unwinding a spool (8) of a ribbon (9) of said casing (6) in a flattened condition; supporting means (10) for supporting an inlet end of said casing (6) in an open condition, said supporting means (10) being movable on command between a retracted position, in which they are spaced from an outlet end (5b) of said stuffing tube (5), and an advanced position, in which they are closer to the outlet end (5b) of said stuffing tube (5); application means (11), arranged at said stuffing tube (5), for applying said casing (6) on said stuffing tube (5) which can be activated on command in order to fit at least one portion of said casing (6) on said stuffing tube (5), said application means (11) having means (12) for the engagement of said casing (6) which can move between a receiving position, in which they are arranged in a position that faces the outlet end (5b) of said stuffing tube (5), and in a retracted condition in the direction of the axis of said stuffing tube (5), in order to allow their insertion in the inlet end (6a) of said casing (6), with said supporting means (10) in said advanced position, and an application position, in which they are arranged so as to be spaced with respect to the outlet end (5b) of said stuffing tube (5) in the direction of said mold (3) and in an expanded condition with respect to the axis of said stuffing tube (5), in order to obtain the application of said casing (6) around said stuffing tube (5); and a pair of clipping heads (30a, 30b) comprising a first clipping head (30a) and a second clipping head (30b), said clipping heads (30a, 30b) being disposed downstream of said stuffing tube (5), with respect to the advancement direction of the portion of meat (100) through the stuffing tube (5), said clipping heads (30a, 30b) being mutually spaced along a direction that is substantially parallel to the axis of said stuffing tube (5), said clipping heads (30a, 30b) being actuatable on command in order to close and cut said casing (6), at regions of the casing (6) that are substantially proximate to the longitudinal ends of the portion of meat (100) inserted in said casing (6); at least one of said clipping heads (30a, 30b) being movable toward the other, and said clipping heads (30a, 30b) being adjustably positionable, relative to each other, at a predetermined distance from each other, along a direction that is substantially parallel to the axis of said stuffing tube (5), as a function of the longitudinal length of the portion of meat (100) that is to be inserted into the casing (6), and to allow the compaction of the portion of meat (100) inserted in said casing (6).
  2. The machine according to claim 1, wherein said second clipping head (30b) is movable by translation, with respect to said base frame (2), along a direction that is substantially parallel to the axis of said stuffing tube (5).
  3. The machine according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein said second clipping head (30b) is supported by a framework (36) which can slide by means of movement wheels (36a, 36b) along longitudinal guiding members (37a, 37b).
  4. The machine according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein said second clipping head (30b) is actuatable in movement, with respect to said base frame (2), by a pair of cylinders (38a, 38b), supported by a supporting element (39), connected to said base frame 2.
  5. The machine according to the claim 4, wherein said supporting element (39) is mounted along a pair of worm screws (40a, 40b), rotatably supported by said base frame (2) and extended substantially parallel to the axis of said stuffing tube (5), said worm screws (40a, 40b) being engaged by respective female threads (41a, 41b), integral with the supporting element (39).
  6. The machine according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein each of said clipping heads (30a, 30b) comprises a pair of respective crimpers (31a, 31b), rotationally actuatable in order to pass from a resting position, in which they are spaced laterally with respect to the axis of said stuffing tube (5), to a working position, in which they are close to the axis of the stuffing tube (5).
  7. The machine according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein said clipping heads (30a, 30b) are provided with a respective cutting blade (33).
  8. The machine according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein said first clipping head (30a) is provided with separator means (34), actuatable on command in order to engage said casing (6), so as to gather said casing (6) around the portion of meat (100) inserted in the casing (6), said separator means (34) being adapted to act as an abutment to prevent the portion of meat (100) from being dragged backward toward said stuffing tube (5).
  9. The machine according to one or more of the preceding claims, further comprising, at said second clipping head (30b), gathering elements (35a, 35b) which are adapted to prepare the casing (6) for clipping while preventing the portion of meat (100) from deforming.

Description

The present invention relates to a meat stuffing machine. Stuffing machines are known which allow, in an automatic manner, to insert a food product constituted by portions of meat into a tubular enclosure, constituted typically by a casing, and to close, by means of adapted clips, constituted by laces or clips, the ends of the casing. Machines of this type (cf. e.g. document EP 0 242 944 A2) are generally constituted by a frame which supports at least one mold, which forms a recess designed to receive the product to be stuffed. A pusher acts at the mold and translates the portion of meat placed in the mold through a stuffing tube, on the outer surface of which a casing is manually fitted beforehand by an operator and is closed, at its end facing the outlet end of the stuffing tube, by means of a clipping head. Upon exiting the stuffing tube, the portion of meat moved by the pusher encounters the closed end of the casing and drags it along with it, gradually unfolding the casing from the stuffing tube, thus achieving the insertion of the portion of meat into a portion of the casing, which is subsequently sheared off and, therefore, closed, also at its other end, by the clipping head. The drawback of machines structured in this way is that they require constant manual intervention by operators to position the casing on the stuffing tube, with the consequent necessary use of labor and the obviously associated costs. Another drawback of these machines is that they require the use of casings that have a significantly larger diameter with respect to the diameter of the stuffing tube, in order to allow operators to fit the casings easily and without risk of breakage on the stuffing tube. However, this fact entails that the casing that is used is dimensionally much wider even with respect to the portion of meat that exits the stuffing tube and is inserted into it, a situation that is not considered optimal for certain types of stuffed-meat products. The aim of the present invention is to provide a meat stuffing machine that is capable of overcoming one or more of the drawbacks of the background art. Within this aim, an object of the invention is to provide a meat stuffing machine that allows to perform, in an automatic manner, the positioning of the tubular enclosure on the stuffing tube, so as to limit the manual intervention of the operators on the machine. Another object of the invention is to provide a stuffing machine capable of ensuring that the tubular enclosure is always in optimal conditions to receive the product to be stuffed inside it. A further object of the present invention is to provide a stuffing machine that allows to prepare the product to be stuffed by properly compacting it in the tubular enclosure, without leaving air inside. Still another object of the invention is to provide a stuffing machine that allows to use casings with diametrical dimensions that substantially correspond to those of the portions of meat to be stuffed. Another object of the present invention is to provide a meat stuffing machine capable of giving the greatest assurances of reliability and safety in its operation. Another object of the present invention is to provide a meat stuffing machine that overcomes the drawbacks of the background art in a manner that is alternative to any existing solutions. Not least object of the invention is to provide a meat stuffing machine that is relatively simple to provide, so as to be competitive also from a purely economic point of view. This aim, as well as these and other objects that will become better apparent hereinafter, are achieved by a stuffing machine according to claim 1, optionally provided with one or more of the characteristics of the dependent claims. Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of the machine according to the invention, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a lateral elevation view of a portion of the machine according to the invention, with parts omitted and others shown partially for the sake of simplicity;Figure 2 is a longitudinally section lateral elevation view of the machine according to the invention;Figure 3 is an elevated perspective view of the machine according to the invention, in which a first clipping head and other parts of the machine have been omitted for the sake of simplicity;Figure 4 is an enlarged-scale view of a detail of Figure 3;Figure 5 is a perspective view of a first clipping head of the machine according to the invention in the deactivated condition;Figure 6 is a perspective view of the first clipping head with separator means in the activated condition;Figure 7 is a perspective view, from a different angle, of the first clipping head of the machine according to the invention with the corresponding crimpers in the working position;Figure 8 is a perspective view of a se