CA1055770A - End plug closures for shirred casing sticks and methods for making them - Google Patents

Abstract

END PLUG CLOSURES FOR SHIRRED
CASING STICKS AND METHODS FOR MAKING THEM

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

Improved end closures for shirred casing sticks and methods for making them which comprise inturning a predetermined amount of a casing material into a forming tube and then compressing the inturned casing material against a fixed surface to form a free floating, semi-floating or fully anchored type flat end plug which when anchored within the fore end of a shirred stick may or may not form an integral part thereof.
S P E C I F I C A T I O N

1.

Description

77~1 8781-1 Field_of the IntTention This invention relates to improved end closur~s of casing material for holl~w ahirred casing sticks and to method~ for making such end clo~ures.
Back~round of th~ Invention - Shirre food casings of flexibl~ ~ubing are presen~ly being used in the meat industry for making ~ausage products such 8S frankfurter , pork sausages or the llke. The flexible tubing used fQr food casing 10 D~y be comprlsed of proteins9 carbohydrate~ and the like as collagens, alginates, starches or cellulo~ic material ~uch as cellulose es~ers, cellulose ethers and regenerated cellulose, a8 well as other natural, synthetic or artificial materi~ls. The ca~ings are firs~ prepared as hollow, th~n-walled tubes o~ lengths ranging from about 12.2 to about 48.8 ~eters or more, and then shirred and compressed to produce what is c~mmonly ~ermed in - the art "~hirred ~aæin~ stick~ or strands" o from abou~
20 cent~eters or less to about 69 centimeter3 or more 20 in lengt~
- The shirred casing ~ticks are then packaged .
and sh`ipped ~o a food processor where each ~ndivid~al - ~tick-is stu~fed with food emul~ion filling th~ easing ~o it~ fully extended length~ Such casi~g-s~ick~ may be s~uffed with food em~llsi~ by m~nual or automatic ope~atio~. In the manual operatior~" th~ easing ~tick .
` . ` i8 8heathed ollto a thin wsllg~d food stuffing horn .
:: connect~d ~o a con~Jentional valve controlled ~Jes~el .. .. . . .
.. i .. .

5 57 7 ~ ~781-1 filled with food emulsion under pr~ssure. The operator may deshirr a sho~t length of ca6ing at its outboard or fore end to form a closure thereat 80 a8 to prevent the loss of food emulsion during the fil~ing of the casing.
Au~omaeic machi~es have~ been deYeloped for stu~fing or ~tuffing and linking of ~hirred food casings with food emulsio~s to produce ~uch produc~s as ~rank-- furters or the li~e o~ a continuous basis~ One ~uch automatic machine, disclosed in U. S. Patent 3~115,668 .
to Townsend, is capable of succes~ively ~tufing and linking a shirred easing with food emulsion to produce a plurality of food lin~cs on a continuous basis. In automatic food stllffing machi~es of all typas, and with th~ Townsend machlne in parti~ularg the stuffing of ~he casing usually takes plaoe within several seconds with the result that the casing i8 e~ctended from a 6hirred length of 20 to 69 centimeter8 to an ex~ènded length o 12.2 to 48.8 me er~ or mor~ ln a ma~er of 7 to 30 ~econds. Thi~ rapid ex~ension of the ca~ing during the stuffing operation of thQ machine require~ the casing to-b è~peeially strong and resi~tant to ~e ring. In adtition, thP easing ~tick i required ev have an end ~108ure so that the shirred casing stick can m~rely be placed on the 8tuffing horn of a ~t~ffing machine and f~lled with ood emulsion without further h~nd~i~g by the machine operator t~ ensure tha~ none-of the food ~mul3io~ cseape~ fr~ the casing. In prac~ice, 8 . ~ D 30 " ~

~ ~ 57 7 ~ 8781-1 plurality of shirred cssing ~tick~ with the fore end of each plugged or otherwiRe clo~ed, are placed in a dispensing hopper of sn automatic stuff~ng-linking machine. The machine operates 8tlch that one B t ick at a ti~e i8 fed from the hopper to clampingaligning means that align the stick'~ bore with a thin-~alled recipro-cating food ~tuffing horn. The ~tu~fing horn is r~-tractabie to a st rting position aft of the c~sing stick positioned in the aligning mean~. The dlschar~e end of ~he ~tuffing horn i8 ad~anced lnto the casing bore and must engage the fore end of the casing stick to initially deshirr and push the for~ end about midway through an annular passage on a control chuck. Thereupon ~ pusher at the aft end of the stick advances eo compres8 the casing and seat the fore end of the.casing wall into flutes d ~he chuck'~ pa~sage. Before the seufing-linking operation begins, the casing~s ore end ~s firmly saated into and grippet by flute~ of the chu~k~ Food e~ulsion is shen di3pensed fr~m the ~tuf~ing horn a~d the chuc~ is rota~ed to cooperate-wi~h linking ~ean~ to . thercby ~orm the filled ca~ing ~ick in~o links of pre-- de~ermined length which can thereafter be suitably pro-ce~sed, if nece5sar~, to produce a 8~rand of ~au8agR
links or the like which, i~ pe~led, yield skinless fraDkfurters or the likec - -- Co~equsntly, stuffing~linking-machi~ery that .
operate8 in ~uch a manner require~ ~hirred food oa~i~g - 8~icks ~o have a plug or closure at the fore end of . .

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~ 7 ~ 87~1 s~ch 6eicks ~o th~t the advancing stufflng horn ma~ engage it ~o that the stuffing horn can ~dvance ~he ca~ing s~ick ~nto the chuck ~o ~hereby del3hirr the c~ing ~ithoue di~soci~
a~io~ of ~he ~108ure a~d al~o ~o ~ffec~i~el~ block ~he flow therethrough ~f fo~d emulsion. The closure thus ~erve~ a~
- ~n ab~ment to properly initLs~e 3uitable filli~g and de~
shirring of the s~ing ~tick while ~iu~ltaneously providlng suit2ble ~ontrol for the start of the linking operation without having any of the food emulsion escape from ~he casing. When using completely hollow c~ng 6tlck~ with automatic ~uff~ng-linking m~chinery, the operator had to plug one end of each casing by tying, twistin~ or in~erting an obstruction to the food emul~ion law. This ~as a co~tly and time consuming operation for the food packer. Thus it became conventional practice to provide a ca~ing stick with an end closure preparedduring the manufacture of th~
casing rather than during the use of the casing at the site of the ~t~ffing and linking operatlons. Con~equ2ntly~
Yarious typ~s of ca~ing clo~ures9 and ~ethod~ for forming ~he same, have been disclosed as, for e~ample~ in U. S.
Patent 3,162~892 ~o Town~endg U. S. Patent 3,274,005 ~o A1BY8, U. S. Pa$ent 3,383,222 to Al~y3 et al ~nd U. 5.
Paten~æ 3,419,401, 3,550,191, 3,564,647 and 3,570,045 - to ~atecki~ and i~ U. ~. P~tent 3~8659954 ~o Tum~ et ~1.
Although the~e casing end closure8 exhibit ~ --_ many advantage8 over the manually formed clo~urest ~h0y .
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~5577~ 87~
- have been found to have certain limitation~ such as not being readily formable orl 8hirring machines, being ~ifficult to control the amount of casing u~ed in formlng the end closure, being too tightly anchored in the bore, or being too rigid to be employed in some versions of the automatic linking ~nean~ of ~tuffing ~achines.
Accordingly, it ~s one ob~ect of this invention to provide a new ~nd impro~ed method of closing the ore end o~ a shirred c~sing stick for food or other n~aterials.
Ano~her ob~ect of this in~Tention is to provide an ~mproved method for clo8ing the end s)f a 6hirred caæing ~tick utilizing only the msterial o the casing in the clo3ure.
Another ob~ect o:E the inv~ntion iB to provide - a new and improved method for producing plug closure~
for hollow ~hirred sticks of eubular casings.
- Another ob~ect of thi~ i~vention is to pr~vide ~
a new and improved sh~rred food casing stick ha~ing a ~;
floaelng end closure which i~ ~tegral with the casing 20 8tick.
- Ano~cher ob~ect of ~h~s invention is to provide a ne~ and improved ~hirred food cas~ng stick havirlg a ~emi-floating end closure which may or may not be lntegral - ~rith the casirlg ~tick.
.
Still another ob~ect of thi~ inventlon i~ to provide a new and improved shirred food casing stick having.a:~ully anchored plug closure to pr~7ent improper sheathing of the stick onto a ~tuffi~g horrl and to permit - . 6.
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internal engagement of the closure with means to deshirr and ~tuff the ca~ng with food e~
- Still another ob~ect of the invent~ o~ is to provide a new and ~roved shirrc~d casing ~tick ~ith a pl~g clo~ure which is not an integral part of the casing ~t~ck.
Other and additional ob~ects of the ~nvention will become apparent from the speclfications, de3cription and accompanying drawings.
- 10 SummarY of the Invention The lnvention relates to a hollow shirred stick of tubular caRing hsving an open end, also referred to ~s ~h~ aft end~ and a closed end, al50 referred to B8 the fore end, ~aid closed end eompri~ing a plug of com-pressed deshirred casing o~ which ~ first port~on is secured to at least a portion of the closed or fore end surface of the shirred stick with the remainder generall~
conforming to the bore of the shirred stick and e~tending withi~ said bore ~o as to form an an~ular space betw~en the ex~ended portiorl of said plug and the internal wall of the shirsed stick. Another embodiment of a clo~ed ~d for a hollow shirred stick of tubular-casing compri~es a cylindrical plug of compre~sed deshirred casis~g, h~Ying sub3tan~ciall~ flat end ~u~face~, coaxially ~mplanted ~ithin the bore of the ~hi:rred stick and subs~an~ially flu~h moùnted at the clo~ed or fore end thereof. The plug in both of the~e em~odi~ents could pre~erably be an -~ .
- integrai part of ~he ca~ng so a~ to efficiently and ' ,' ' : . ' . , ':

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5 ~7 ~ 8781-1 easily all~w the fore end pleats of the cssing to be initially deshirred by the adv~nc~ment of a stuffing horn of an automatic stuffing machine for inserting the fore end of the c8sing into a chuck member of the machine - whereup~n the pressure of the di~3pensing food or other type emMlsion could then deshirr the remainder of the casing. In another embodiment, a plug c n be prepared using casing or some other material in a ~epar.te opera-tion and then be inserted into th~ bore at the`fore end of a shirred casing stick having a deshirrad portion of about 2 to 5 cent~m~ters. The separstely produced plug can be attached or osherw~se secured to ~he deshirred casing at the fore end of ~he stick prior to being inserted ~n the bore of the casing or ~ubsequent there~o ~:
as long as i~ is ~ufficiently anchored to the fore end of the ca3ing stick to allow for the fore end to be initiàlly deshirred as stated above. Preferably, the portion of the ~eparately produced plug which extends substantially across th~ bore of the sasislg ætick should 20 be compressed against the internal wall of the cssing stic~ and then the deshirred por~ion of casing qtick fDlded tightly ineo or bonded onto the end surface of the plug to for2 a secured union ~herewith.
- In bot,h the integral and non-integral plug embodiment~, the plug should be æufficiently anchored - to the~fore end of the casing stick so as to permit initial deshirring as stated above and to:preven~ blowout - ~ of the plug during filli~g of the cssing with foot ar - ~ ~
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~ ~ 5 57 7 ~ 8781-1 other type emul~ion while being adaptable 80 that any - exce~s emul8ion that may be trapped in the first link - of the ca~ing can be easily removed.

The invention al30 relates to a method for - closing an end of a hollow shirred 8tic~ of tubular casing which comprises:
a) placing a hollow cylindrical fonming tube into the bore of a holl~w shirred xtick of tubular casing;
b) inturnlng a portion of the casing 8t the fore end of the shirred stick into said forming tube;
- c) placing a relatively fixed ~urface sgainst the end of the shirred st~ck containing the inturned casing;
d) compressing the inturned casing against said fixed surface to form a compressed plug of casing within the bore of the shirred s~ick; and e) removing said forming tube from the bore of ~aid-~hirred stic~.
. . -Ano~her ~ethod for closing an end of a hollow - 20 shirred-~tlck of ~ubular food ca ing would c~mpri~e ~ 8tep8 (a) through ~c) above foll~wed by the following 8tep~
d') compressing the inturned casing again~t - said ~xed ~urface ~hile simul~aneously removing sa~d , for~ing tube ~o a3 to form a compressed flat-end-face ` cyl~drical plug of casing wi~hi~ ~he bore of ~aid - shirred ~t~ck which is tigh~ly compresaed agaln3t th~
. ln~ernal wall of fiaid ~hirred ~tick with sufficient .: --. . ' -. ' --- . .
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77~t 8781-1 tenacity to allow the fore end of the ca~ing to be orcibly inserted into sizing-linking means of an automatic stufing ~chine.
Another feature of thisl invention relates to a method for producing plugs or closures of compres~ed casing, ~de of food casing or another type.ma~erial, for u~e with hollow ~hirred sticks of tubular casing~
which comprises:
a) implanting a fi~ed amoun~ of ca~ing into ~one end of a cylindrical forming tube;
b) placing a relatively fixed Qurface against the end of the forming tube containing the implanted casing; and O c) compre6sing the implanted ca~ing against 8aid fixed surface to form a c~pressed cyllndrical plug of casing having substantially flat end surface~
The compressed plug can then be firmly anchored to the pleats of the internal w 11 of ~he fore end of a hollow shirred stic~ of tu~ular casing9 for example, food ca~lng, by being forcibl~ implanted therein so as to - provide a ~uitable clo~ure thereat a~ des~ribed above.
To produce a ~Pmi-floating non-lntegral plug ~or a hollow ~hirred stick9 the forming tu~e $~ step Ca~
~ above is prefar~bly coaxially aligned within a larger cylindrical support tube and xecessed at one end by a f~xed amcun~O A fi~ed amount o ca~ing is then implan~ed ineo the recess~d end of the forming tube and ~tep~ (b) and (c) are performed a8 ~tsted above ex~ept ~chat in tead -,:
-. , - 10.

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~ 87 ~ 5 57 7 ~
of producing a cylindrical cGmpressed plug, a mushroom type seml-floatlng plug is pr~duced. Thereafter ~he semi-floa~ing plug csn be forcibly ~nserted into the fore e~d of a holl~w shirred stick with the top or larger diameter portion of the plug being firmly anchored to the pleats of the internal wall of said ~hirred casing.
As used herein, the terms "fore end" and "aft ~nd" of the shirred easing st~ck are intended to ~eQn the direc~ion of shirring ill ~he stick, the fore end 10 being the part of the casing to be ~nitially shirred, and thc aft end being the last to be shirred. Thu~, :
it i8 the sft end of the shirred casing stick that is - fed over a 3tuffing horn so tl~t the food emulsion dis-per~ed from ~aid horn wi`ll deshirr and fill the fore end of the casing 8~ic~ first. Typical methods and apparatus e~ployed ~o shirr lengths of tubular casing to obtain shirred casing stieks are disclo~ed9 for e~ample, in U. S. Paten~ 2,983,94~ and 2,9&4,574 to Matec~i and U. S, Patent 3,110,058 to M~rbach.
I~ should be apprPciated that ~he slze9 shape and degree of anehoring of ~he compres~ed plul3~ of this inYentio~ can ~ar~ depending on the ~ize nd use o th~
hollow shirred casing ~ticks with which it will be used.
For exa~ple, with casing s'clcks h~ving- an ~ternal or bore diam2ter of between abo~lt 9 mm. to 25 mm., the cylindrical fl~t-end plugs of th~ inYention c~n vary iIi casing deshirred lengths betwee~ aboll~ 7 cm. to abou~
46 cm. in l~ngth a~d hsve ~ diameter sufficient ~o that . ' . .
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~355~7713 8781-1 the p lug can be f irmly ancho~ed ~ithin the f ore end of the casing sticlc. A plug ha~ing a de~hirred casing leng~h ~maller than about 7 cm. would be undesirable because:
1~ the plug would no~ contain enough ~terial to permit a 8~uffing horn of an automatic stuffing machine tv ~d~rance th~ stick containing ~aid plug into ~ c~uck of the ~chine for proper indexing therein; and 2) the plug would not conta~n enough material in which to main~ain integrity or 8ecurement to the stick and this could result in blowout~ and/or leakage during ~tuffing of the 8~iC~o A
plug leng~h larger than about 46 cm. would be unde~irable because: 1~ the plug would have too much material a~d thereby be too large and rigid to cooperate satisfactorily with the linklng means of an auto~atic stufing machine;

2~ too mu h material in the plug prevents efective and efficient stripping of emulsion fr~m the first (partially filled) link; 3) leads to ineffecti~e and was~eful use of ca8ing material; and 4) causes ~he plug to be anchored more securely to the bore ~han desirable.
- Preferably, a shirred cellulose casing stick having an ou~ide diam~eter of abou~ 23 mm., an inside diEmeter of ab ~ t 13 mm. and a shirred length o about 50 cmO ~a deshirred length of abou~ 50 ~.) can use floating plugs having a deshirr~dcasing length of 25 cm. c~mpressed to a plug length o~ about 5 mm. When using a semi-floating ~lug for the abov~ sized caslng, ~he preferred com~res~etl casing length would be ~bout 20 mm. and when u~ing a fully anchored plug3 the preferred compre~8ed ca~ng length - 12.
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would be about 15 mm.
The casing length~ of the compressed plugs of thi3 invention can vary depending on the end use of the casing sticks in which they will be u~ed. However, for general application use, preferable deshirred lengths of the plug8 should be between about 20 cm. and about 36 cm.
- The diameter of the ~maller cylindrical portion of the floa~ing plug can vary depending on the bore and . end use of the shirred casing stick. The benefits of employing ~ floating end plug ~re that it permits ease and uniformity of deshirring the fore end of the stick in which it is used while it also pro~Tides a softer or more re~ilient plug for-m~nimizing difficulties with the linking means of automatic ~tuffing machines.
The ~ize and shape of the semi-floa~ing plugs of this invention can vary wher0by the length and diameter of the floating eegment can be as described sbove for the floating end plug while the length and diametar of - th~ anchored portion can be ~s described above for t~e - 20 f lat end cylindrical plug .
- . ; A common feature of all the above shaped plugs 18 that each is prov~ded with a flat end facing the aft end of th~ cssing stick thereby providing a more reliable - pre~8ure rece~pe point for the fore end of the ood - - emul~ion s~u~fi~lg horn of c~mmercial stuffi~g machines uch as diRclos~d in the above-identiied patent to - Town~es~d. This i8 a~l important fe~tuse since at the star of the stuffing cycle, the ~tuffing horn i8 a~vanoed - . '. '', : -: . - 13.

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~ ~ ~ 5~77 ~ ~781-1 through the bore of an indexed ca~ing to engage the plug posltioned ~t the casing's fore end to intro~uce ie into a rotating annulu8 or chuc~ on the machine which cooperates with linking mesns for automatically lin~ing the stuffe~
casing in~o predetermined length~ after it i8 filled wi~h food emul8ion. The plugs of this inventi~ ~n addition to having ~he necessary mechanical integrity ~o withstand the initial Insertion of ~he casing into ~he ohNck mem~er, possess the necessary ~ydraulic integrity to prevent jection of the food e~ulsion during the stuff~ng operatio~
while al90 belng ~usceptible to being s~-ripped upon com-pletion of the stuf~ing and linking operation ~o that any food emulsion contalned therein can be salv~ged.
Illustrative embodiments of the invention are ~hown in the drawings wherein:
- Figure 1 is a ~iew partially in elevation and partially in sec~ion of a hollow shirred stick of tubular food cas~g with a portion of the casing deshirred a~c its fore end.
20- Fgure 2 is a view of the hollow shirred ~tick - of Figure 1 wil:h a forming tube conta~ning a p~cking rod di~posed withil~ the bore of the ~hirred stick.
- . ....... Figur~3 3 is a view of the shirred- ~tlck assembl~
in Figure 2 wi.th an inverting rod positioned So initiate th~ lnturaing of the de~hlrred casing into the bore of ~ho forming ~cube.
Figur~ 4 i8 a vie~ of the ~hirred stick assembly of Figure 3 wi~h the in~erting rod moved to a posltion , . - . . ;:: - '-. 14"
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~ 7 7 ~ ~78~-1 wher~by the de~hirred casin$ sho~n in Fi~ure 1 along with a second portion of deshirxed c~s~ng i~ inturned into ~he bore of the forming tube.
Figure 5 is a v~ew of the ~hirred stick assembly of Figure 4 with the inverting rod removed and ~ fixed surface positioned against ~he fore end of the sh~rred ~tick.
Figure 6 is a view of the shirred stick ass~mbly of Figure 5 with the packing rod positioned ~uch that the inturned casing i~ compressed ~gain~ ~he fixed surface.
Figure 7 is a view o~ the shirred stick a~sembly of Figure 6 with the forming tube moved to a position of alignment with the packlng rod.
Figure 8 i8 a view of the shirred stick ~ssembly of Flguse 7 with the forming tube and pac~ing rod being moved to the aft end of the shirred casing.
. Figure 9 is a v~ew of the shirred stick of Figure 8 after the floating plug is formed nd the forming tube and packing rod removed.
20 - - Figuxe 10 i~ a view of a shirred stick ~ssembly similar ~o Figure 6 excep~ that the forming tube is recessed at the fore end of the shirred ~tick.
Figure 11 is a ~iew of the shirred stick of Figure 10 ~ft the semio~loa~ing plug i8 formed and the forming tube ~d packing rod remo~ed.
FigUrQ. 12 is a view of a a~irred ~tic~ Qsse~bly simi~ar to Figure 10 except that the forming tube i8 shown in a positio~ of being r~moYed ~s the packing rod .
- l50 : . - ', " ', ' . "
- , , 7~ 8781-1 is scl~ancing to ~he fore end of the ca~lng.
Figure 13 is a view of the ~hirred ~tic~ of Flgure 12 after the fully anchored plug i8 formed and the forming tube and packing rocl removed.
Figure 14 is a view of a portion of ~evered deshirred ca~ing implanted within a forming tube and sh~wing a fi~ed surface and pac~cing rod in poslt~on to initia~e compression of the ca~lngO
Figure 15 i8 a vlew of a flat-end cylindrical 1~ plug for~ed using the assembly and material shGwn i~
~igure 14.
Figure 16 is a view of a portion of severed deghirred casing implanted within a forming tube whi h i~ coaxially mounted within, and recessed from5 one end of a supporting tube and showing a fixed surface and packing rod in position to initiate compression of the casing.
Figure 17 i8 a view of a semi-floating plug formed u~ing the sssembly and material shown in Figure 16.
F~gure 18 is a view of a shirred stick assembly ~milar to Figure 6 except that the forming tube is ~tended out~ide ~he fore end of the ~hlrred ca~ing.
- Referring in detail to Figuxes 1 through 9 - therc is shown a ~oll~w stick o tubul r food casing lO
having a deshirred fir~t leng~h 12 at th~ fora end thereof.
A form~ng or pack sle~ve 14 i~ shown disposed within ~he bore o~ casing stick 10 ~ubstantlally flush mounted ~o the forè end of casing ~ick 10. A reciprocatlng p~ck , , . , . 1~. '' - : ~

, S57~0 B781-1 rod 16 (reciprocating means not shown), secured to support member 18, is positioned within the bore of 61eeve 14 and is adapted to have a clo~e 31~de fit therein.
~y ~ubstantially eliminating any clearance between pack rod 16 and ~he internal diameter of sleeve 14, wedging of casing ma~erial between pack rocl 16 and sl~e~e 14 i~
effectively prevented during the compre~sing operation by these c~mponents ~s will be de~cribed below. Pack rod 16 1~ provided with a conduit 20 to effectively equalize:~he air pre~ure in the chamber formed within the bore o~ casing stick 10 as the pack ro~ 16 i~ advanced or retractQd from said bore before or after compre~sing, re~pectiYely, the plug at the fore ~nd of casing stick 10 agsinst a fixed surfac~. . .
li~ith the deshirred length 12 of casing stick lO
positioned to occlude or ob~truct the bore at the fore end of casing stlck lO as shown in Figure 3, an inverting rod 22, axially aligned with forming sleeve 14, is advanred in~o 8aid 81eeve 14 a predetermined di8tance ~hort of contact with pack rod 16. During the insertion of i~verting rod 22,-deshlrred length 12 ~nd a second deshirred -12ng~h 24 which ls concurrently deshirred by the ad~ancing . ~ . in~erting rod 22 9 are inturned into ~leevr 14 as shown in Figure 4. The amount of each of these de~hirred lsng~hs -- 12 ~nd 24 can vary depending UpGn the dis~ance advanced by inverting rod 22 and the density and length o~ the : - ~lo~ure plug desired.

- .. Upon removal of in~er~ing rod 22, a relatiYely : ' ' ' -., - , . - .
. 17.

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i7'7~33 8781-1 fi~ed suri.ace 26 i8 p laced against the ore end of casing 8ti~1c 10 ~s ~hown in Figure 5 and then pack rod 16 ~s advanced to compress and comp~c:t the in~urned casing lengths 12 and 24 ~nto a floating closure plug 28 as shown in Fi~re 6. The close s:Lide fit between pack rod 16 and the bore of s lee~Te 14 prevent s the cas ing l~ngths 12 and ~4 from ~eing wedged between merliber~ 16 and 14 and thereby effectively allows pack rod 16 to impart a flat-end surface to ~he compres8ed plug 28.
Forming sleeve 14 is then retracted from compres~ed plug 28 until aligned with pack rod 16 which remains engaged with said plug 28 as ~hown in Figure 7. Thereafter pack r~d 16 and forming sleeve 14 are concurrently with-drawn fr~m the bore of casing stick lO and fixed surface 26 i8 removed as shown in Figure 8. Conduit 20 in pack rod 16 functions to equali~e the air pressure formed in the chamber o~ the bore of casing 10 thus prPventing the plug 28 from being dr~wn further into the borP by a vacuum which would normally be created in the ch mber upon remo~al of pack rod 16 fr~m casing stick 10. Once pack rod 16 and sl~eYe 14 ~re removed, a casing stick 10 remains having - - a floating end clo~ure 28 at its fore end 2S 8hown in - Figure ~.
-- Figur~ 10 sh~ws an arrangment of components as in Flgure 6 -which 118e6 the 8ame reference numbers for idantical members-.- The only difference i that forming 81eeve 14 i5 ~hown displaced a predetersqined di~tance ~c from ~che fore end o casing ~tick 10 80 thEtt du,ring compaction o~ ~he .. . .
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5 ~ 781-1 intu~ned casing lengths 12 and 24, a porf ion of plug 30 will be firmly anchored to the pleats comprising the bore of casing stick 10. The pack rod 16 and sleeve 14 are removed as discus~ed a~ove leavi.ng a casing stick 10 ha~ing a semi-floating end closure 30 at its fore end a~
shown in Figure 11~ As stated above, the dis~ance x of emi-floating plug 30 can vary as long as it exhibits ~
sufficient degree of tenacity or anchoring to the internal w~ll of casing 6tick lQ to force the fore end of the casing st~ck into sizing-linking means of an automatic stuffing machine.
Figure 12 ~hows an arrangment of component`s as in Figure 10 which uses the ~ame referenee numbers or iden~ical members. The only difference is that as pack rod 16 advances t~ compact ca~lng lengths 12 and 24~ forming sleeve 14 is concurrently retraeted so that plug 32 i formed fully anchored to the fore end of casing sticlc 10.
Upon removal of pack rod 16 znd sleeYe 14 after compaction of casing lengths 12 and 24~ a casing sticlc 10 remains .20 which has a fully anchored, flat-end-face . ylindrical plug - 32 st its- fore end as shown in Figure 13.
It is al~o to be understood that the forming ;: tube 14 could ~ext~nd out~ide the fore end of eas~g 10 - - as sh~ in Fi~gure 18 o that a plug 34 could be formed ~ - outside casing 10 using pack rod 16 and then incerted into -the bor~ of-ca~ing 10 to produce ~ closure as shown, for .exampl29 in ~igure 9~ :
- `- -- Referring in detail to~Figures 14 and 15~ there . ,, .. . , ,, - , -, . .
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- ~ S~7~ ~781-1 .is ~hown a reciprocating pack rod 40, ~ecured ~o support me~iber 42, posi~ioned within the bore of a forming sleeve 44 and adlapted to hsve a close ~;lide fit ~ithin 8aid ~ore for the rea~onc mentioned abo-ve" Pack rod 40 al~o ha~ ~
conduit 46 for the reasons advanced above. A relatively fixed surface 48 i~ positioned aagainst the end of the forming sleeve 44 once a predetermined amount of severed deshirred casing 50 is implanted within said end of sleeve 44O The deshirred casing 50 can be implsn~ed in the bore of sleeve 44 in any convenient manner such as di~closed with reference to Figures 4 and 5 whereby an inverting rod i8 employed. ~nce casing S0 is disposed in ~leeve 44, pack rod 40 i~ advanced to compact the casing 50 against fixed surface 48 thereby forming a cylindrical plug having fla~ end faces a~ ~hown in Figure 15. This cylindrlcal plug ca~ then be forced fit ~nto the fore end of a ca~ing stick 80 that it can become fully anchored therein as ~hown in Figure 13.
To form a semi-floating plug a~ ~h~wn in Fi~ure 17, .the components of Figure 14 can be u~ed with the addi~io~
- of a support tube-54 coaxially mounted out~id~ of forming 81e~ve 44 a~ 3h~wn in Figure 16, Formi~g sleeve 44 also ha~ ~o ba reoessed or spaced a predetermined dis~anc~ x from the fi2ed surface 48 80 that when paclc rod 40 i8 advanced to co~act casing 52, ~ portiorl of ~he plu8 B0 formed will be suitable for being foreed fit into the fore end of a casiI~g s~ick ~here it can be :Eirmly anchored therein a~ 9hawn in F~gure 11. All thae in required i8 20.
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., ' -'.,. ., "". ' ~ ~ ~57 ~ ~ 8781-1 -. ~hat ~he portlon ~ anchored into the bore of d caxing stick have ~ degree of tenac~ or ~nchoring to the ~nternal ~all of the bore so a~ to allow th~ fore end of the casing stick to be forced into sizing-linking means of aIl BUtomatiC 8tufiTy~ machine witha~t damaging either tho casing or the sizing-linkinlg m~ans.
When the plug~ are fabricated ln ~ 3eparate ope~a~ion a~ described in con~unction with Figures 14 to 17, they can be made of any sui~able material ~hat wlll be compat~ble with the material of the c~sing.
It 18 to be u~derstood that eomponent parts used in making the plugs of thiQ invention, whether in~egral with ~he casing stick or not, can be made o~ ~ny ~uitable material capable of with~tanding the pressure used to compace and ~orm the plugs. It i~ thus apparent that e~ch componen~ part may ~e made of the same material or each may be ~ade of a different materialO
EXAMPLE I
Using the proceduxe sutlined in Figures 1 through 9, a 0.711 mm~ inch thio~ cylindrical stainless steel - - formin8 sleeve having an O.D. of 12.8 mm. wa~ inserted wi~hin the bore of a hollow ceLlulose casing 6tick measuring.
- 13O7 m~. I.D. and 22.8 mm. O.D. A highly poli~hed 11,2 mm.
diameter ~tai~ s ~eel pack rod, with a 4.7 mm. axial passage, was disposed within ~he bore of the forming sleeve.
After a 12.7 cm. inch leng~h of casing was de~hirred, a highl~ polished 6.35 mml dlameter steel i~verting rod ~as axlally advanced into the forming ~leeve for a .
21. --~- '' ' ; ' - - . . ; . , , i7~ 8781-1 distance of 20 A 32 cm. Upon removal oiE the inverting rod, a rigid 1~t sur:f~ace wa~ po~itioned against the fore end of the casing st~ck c.ontaining the inturned deshirred casing and then ~he pack rod wa~ advanced to compact the inturned casing thereby forming a floatillg plug appro~imately 25.4 mm. long. Therea:Eter the sleeve, pac~ rod and rigid flat ~urface ~ere removed lea~ing a ca8ing 8tick ha~ring an integral floa~ing end closure, The cloæed erld casing stick was then placed in a con~7en~
10 tionRl ~ype hoppPr whis:h fed the 8tick ltO a ~ fing and linking machine as descril~ed in U. S. Patent 3,115,668.
The ca8~ng ~tick perfor~ned better than a~ailable commer-cial casing sticks in that the casi~g stic~c had a plug which was fabricated from a predetermined fixed amount of ca8iDg material which was adap~ed for ¢asy and e~icient stripping while being softer o~ les~ resil~ent thereby being admirably 3uited for cooperation with the sizing- :
linking m~an~ of the au~omatic ~tuf~ing machlneO
L~ II
~0 - Usi~g ~he procedure outllned in Figures 1 through ll,a 0.711 mm. thic~ c~lindrical stainless gteel forming sleeve~ ha~iDg an O.D. of 12.8 mm.-was in~erted wi hin ~he bore of a cellulose holl~w ca~ing stick measur~ng 1307 mm. I.~. ~nd 22.8 mmO O~D. A highly polished 11.2 ~mD
diameter ~tainle3~ steel pack rod, with a 4.7 mm. ~ial pas~age, wa~ dlsposed ~$~hln the bore of the fonmlng ~leeve.
~te~ a 15.24 cm. ~nch leng~h of ca~ing wàs de~hirred and ~i~h the forming sleeve recessed a~out 12.7 mmD from `- - ' . ~ , . .: , ' ~2.
-781_1 th~ fore end of the casing stick, a highly polished 6.35 mm. diameter steel inverting rod was axially - advanced in~o ~he forming ~leeve for a di.stance of 15.24 cm.
Upon removal of the inverting rod, a rigid flst ~urface was po itioned sgainst the fore end of the casing stick con taining the inturned deshirred ra~ing and then the pack - rod was advanced to compact the inturned cssing thereby forming ~ semi-10ating pl~g ha~ing an anchored portion 12.7 mm. long and a floating portion 12.7 mm. long, Thereaf~er the ~leeve, pack rod and rigid me~al flat aurface ware removed leaving a ca~ing ~tick having an integral semi-floating end closure. The closed end ca~ing ~tick was then placed in a conventional type hopper which fed the stick to a stuf~ing and linking machine as de8cribed in U. S. Patent 3,115,S68~ The casing stick performed b~tter than available commercial casing YSicks in that ~he ca~ing stick had a plug which was fabricated from a predetermined fixed amount of casing material which was adapted for easy and efficient stripping while b~ing softer and le~8 resilient thereby being admirably ~uited ~or cooperation wi~h the si~ing-linkin~ mean~ of $he ~u:t ~ ~ic st~f~ing machi~e. : -~ t is thus evident from the various embodiments shown in t~e drawi~gs and rom the ~xEmples ~hat a fre~-floating plug is one ~ha~ foEms ~n integral part of ehe casing -such th~t the plug i8 ~ecured a~ the fore ~nd of the internal wall o the casi~g b~ the portion o~ the deshirred casing that ~8 common to the plug and the casing. A

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5'77~ 8781-1 semi-floating plug i~ one th~t i8 or i8 not integral with the casing and which has a compressed por~ion of the plug tightly secured to the pleats at the fore end of the internal wall of the cssi:ng.
It i~ to be understood that other modifioations and changes ~o the preferred embodiments of ~he in~rention here~n shown and described can . lso be made l:)y a person skilled in the art without departing iErom the spirit and scope of the invention. . .

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Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A method for making compressed casing plug closures for hollow shirred sticks of tubular food casing which comprises:
a) implanting a fixed amount of deshirred casing within a forming tube;
b) placing a relatively fixed surface against one end of the forming tube;
c) compressing the implanted casing against the wall of the fixed surface to form a compressed cylindrical plug of casing having substantially flat end faces; and d) removing said plug from the forming tube.

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