EP1439755A1

EP1439755A1 - Device for producing sausage-type products

Info

Publication number: EP1439755A1
Application number: EP02802317A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Gilles Bocabeille; Jacques Le Paih
Original assignee: Sonjal Sas
Current assignee: Sonjal Sas
Priority date: 2001-10-30
Filing date: 2002-10-10
Publication date: 2004-07-28
Also published as: FR2831394B1; FR2831394A1; US20050037703A1; WO2003037089A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a device that is used for the continuous production of sausage-type products comprising a bead which is covered with a skin that is obtained by means of gelation. For this purpose, the inventive device comprises a coextrusion head (1) which delivers into a gelation tub (2). According to the invention, said tub is circular in shape and defines an annular, peripheral channel (20) in which the bead exiting the coextrusion head (1) can be wound into a plurality of coils before leaving the gelation bath. Moreover, means are provided for creating a current in said bath so that the bead is driven continuously at more or less the coextrusion speed.

Description

DEVICE FOR MANUFACTURING SAUSAGE TYPE PRODUCTS

The present invention relates to the manufacture of sausage type products.

In the context of the present invention, these products consist of a sausage consisting of a minced meat or fish and / or vegetables, covered with a skin and cut into portions, the section of which can be arbitrary, although generally round. And concerning the manufacture of these products, they are obtained by coextrusion of a rod coated with a starting base comprising for example one or more hydrocolloids such as sodium alginate or pectate, pectin, carrageenans, etc., which base is intended to form the skin by gelation in a bath downstream of the coextrusion means. Following immersion over a fixed period in the bath, the sausage is portioned, rinsed, dried and then conditioned. In a continuous manufacturing mode, the rod at the outlet of the coextrusion head passes into the horizontally elongated gelation bath so as to determine the required immersion time.

A line for manufacturing such continuous products therefore typically comprises a device formed by a coextrusion head discharging into the upstream end of a gelation tank, which has a length determined as a function of the speed of coextrusion and the time of passage or immersion time required for sausage formed. But on either side of this device, the manufacturing line may most often include means common to the manufacture of traditional sausage or other products, such as a "push" type storage means upstream of the coextrusion head and a portioning machine downstream of the gelling tank, which are equipment that many manufacturers already have. For them, the problem is however to insert the aforementioned device therein because of the large length of the gelation bath. And in all cases, this length is excessive due to the space requirement on the ground.

The invention results from research with a view to eliminating this drawback, in other words very significantly reducing the size of such a gelling tank, without this necessitating a change in the manufacturing parameters which are the speed of coextrusion and the immersion time in the bath, and taking into account that when leaving the coextrusion head, the rod formed remains fragile and brittle for a good part of the immersion time in the gelling bath.

According to the invention, in a device for continuously manufacturing sausage-type products consisting of a sausage covered with a skin obtained by gelation, comprising for this purpose a coextrusion head delivering into a tank containing a gelling bath, said tank has a circular shape and defines an annular peripheral path in which said tube leaving the coextrusion head can be wound in a plurality of turns around means internally delimiting said channel, before emerging from said gelation bath, means being furthermore provided for creating a current therein, for continuously driving said tube substantially at the speed of coextrusion.

A simple and therefore preferred way of creating said driving current of the rod in the gelation bath is to provide that said tank is of circular shape and rotatable about its axis of revolution, to be driven in rotation so that the circumferential speed of the interior of said channel is substantially equal to the speed of coextrusion; which has the additional advantage of almost eliminating the relative movement between said tube and the means internally delimiting said annular track around which it is wound.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, said tank containing the gelation bath is a tank of substantially cylindrical shape, and it can comprise a dome centrally to define said peripheral annular path. Advantageously, said annular channel communicates with the interior of said dome, for example by perforations in the wall of the latter, to increase the volume and therefore the autonomy of the gelation bath.

These characteristics and advantages of the invention, as well as others, will appear more clearly in the following description, given in relation to the attached drawings, in which: Figs. 1 and 2 are schematic views, respectively from above and from the side, of a device according to the invention; and Fig. 3 is a schematic view in axial section of a gelation tank forming part of the device of FIGS. 1 and 2.

First considering Figs. 1 and 2, they represent the essentials of a device according to the invention for the manufacture of sausages continuously, which comprises at its upstream end a coextrusion head 1 delivering a rod coated with a starting base in a bath of gelling contained in a tank 2. In this, a certain time of immersion of the sausage is necessary so that the gelling of its skin is carried out, which will determine with the speed of extrusion an immersion length of this black pudding.

The coextrusion head 1 can be supplied by means of conventional equipment called "pusher" for the formation of the rod, designated by the reference 3 in Figs. 1 and 2, and a set 4 consisting of a storage hopper and a pump for the formation of the surface layer.

Downstream of the gelling tank 2, the tube with its skin is taken up for further processing, in the example shown, passing it through a portioning machine 6. This can be a conventional machine, such as that which is the subject of French patent n ° 2 725 876 in the name of the company Nijal SA It is therefore seen that in practice, the device according to the invention may include a pusher and a portioning machine which potential users already have in conventional sausage manufacturing lines.

And therefore, one of the major interests of the invention is to allow easy integration into these already existing lines of a gelling tank.

To do this and in accordance with the invention, the gelation tank 2, as it appears better in FIG. 3 where it is shown in axial section, is a substantially cylindrical tank, preferably slightly flared upwards, the middle part of which is occupied by a dome 21, which is preferably slightly frustoconical with its large base on the bottom of the tank 2. The dome 21 therefore defines, in the tank 2, a peripheral annular path 20 in the form of a chute where the rod leaving the coextrusion head 1 will be received.

This, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, flows in a tangential direction and downward in the track 20, which has a height and a suitable width so that the rod can be loosely wound several times around the central dome 21, that is to say say on the length corresponding to the necessary immersion time, before leaving again by being taken up on a conveyor 5 also oriented in a tangential direction. It is shown in the same alignment as the coextrusion head 1, but it can of course have any direction relative to it. According to another characteristic of the invention, the gelation bath in track 2 moves longitudinally at a speed substantially equal to the speed of coextrusion, to continuously drive the submerged rod; and this carrying current is advantageously obtained by rotating around its axis of revolution XX and in the direction of flow of the coextrusion head 1 the whole of the tank 2. The fact that the tank 2 is rotary also has the advantage that there is almost no relative displacement between the submerged tube and the side wall of the dome 21 which could then be replaced by another type of structure, such as a succession of vertical bars.

By way of nonlimiting example but validated by tests, the tank 2 can have an average diameter as small as 0.60 m, approximately, with a track 20 with an average width of 0.15 m, to admit so loose at least ten turns of the coil wound around the dome 21 corresponding to a length of 10 to 12 meters; and it can rotate at a speed of the order of 20 revolutions / minute. However, we can of course only gain in reliability by increasing the diameter of the tank 2 and consequently reducing the number of turns of the flange. On the other hand, as illustrated schematically by the level line N in FIG. 3, the entire volume of the tank 2 below the top of the dome 21, including the interior space of the latter, is preferably available for the gelling bath, in order to increase its autonomy. To this end, track 20 must be designed to communicate with the interior of dome 21, by passages consisting for example of perforations in the wall thereof.

Claims

1) device for continuously manufacturing sausage-type products consisting of a sausage covered with a skin obtained by gelation, comprising for this purpose a coextrusion head (1) delivering into a tank (2) containing a gelation bath, characterized in that said tank (2) has a circular shape and defines an annular peripheral path (20) in which said tube leaving the coextrusion head (1) can be wound in a plurality of turns around means internally delimiting said path ( 20), before emerging from said gelling bath, means being furthermore provided for creating a current therein, for continuously driving said rod substantially at the speed of coextrusion.

2) Device according to claim 1, characterized in that said tank (2) is circular and rotatable around its axis of revolution (XX), to be driven in rotation so that the circumferential speed of the interior of said channel (20) is substantially equal to the coextrusion speed. 3) Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said tray (2) containing the solidifying bath is a form of tank ^• substantially cylindrical.

4) Device according to claim 3, characterized in that said tank comprises centrally a dome (21) for defining said peripheral annular path (20).

5) Device according to claim 4, characterized in that said annular path (20) communicates with the interior of said dome (21) to increase the volume and therefore the autonomy of the gelation bath.

6) Device according to claim 5, characterized in that said channel (20) communicates with the interior of the dome (21) by perforations in the wall of the latter.

7) Device according to one of claims 1 to

6, characterized in that said extrusion head flows in a tangential direction and downwards into said path (20) of the gelation tank (2).

8) Device according to one of claims 1 to

7, characterized in that a conveyor (5) for taking up the tube at the outlet from the gelation tank (2) is provided above the track (20), inclined and oriented in a tangential direction.