CA1077773A - Self-sustaining compressed length of thin-walled tubing - Google Patents
Self-sustaining compressed length of thin-walled tubingInfo
- Publication number
- CA1077773A CA1077773A CA225,979A CA225979A CA1077773A CA 1077773 A CA1077773 A CA 1077773A CA 225979 A CA225979 A CA 225979A CA 1077773 A CA1077773 A CA 1077773A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- tubular
- length
- compressed
- casing
- sheathing
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A22—BUTCHERING; MEAT TREATMENT; PROCESSING POULTRY OR FISH
- A22C—PROCESSING MEAT, POULTRY, OR FISH
- A22C13/00—Sausage casings
- A22C13/02—Shirring of sausage casings
- A22C13/023—Holders or packs of shirred casings
Landscapes
- Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Wood Science & Technology (AREA)
- Zoology (AREA)
- Food Science & Technology (AREA)
- Processing Of Meat And Fish (AREA)
- Wrappers (AREA)
- Containers And Plastic Fillers For Packaging (AREA)
- Shaping Of Tube Ends By Bending Or Straightening (AREA)
- Laminated Bodies (AREA)
- Rigid Pipes And Flexible Pipes (AREA)
- Moulding By Coating Moulds (AREA)
- Shaping By String And By Release Of Stress In Plastics And The Like (AREA)
Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A self-sustaining length of thin-walled, flexible tubular material comprising in combination a length of pleated and longitudinally compressed, thin-walled, flexible tubular material and a tubular elastic sheathing material stretched and tightly drawn about the periphery and at least a portion of the terminal pleats of said length of compressed, pleated tubular material totally retaining said compressed length of pleated thin-walled, flexible tubular material therein, whereby a self-sustaining length of said thin-walled, flexible tubular material is formed.
1.
A self-sustaining length of thin-walled, flexible tubular material comprising in combination a length of pleated and longitudinally compressed, thin-walled, flexible tubular material and a tubular elastic sheathing material stretched and tightly drawn about the periphery and at least a portion of the terminal pleats of said length of compressed, pleated tubular material totally retaining said compressed length of pleated thin-walled, flexible tubular material therein, whereby a self-sustaining length of said thin-walled, flexible tubular material is formed.
1.
Description
~C~7 777 3 Reference is had t~ the applicant ' s copending applicati~n Serial No. 242,111, filed December 17, 1975.
This invention relates to a ~vel packsge of tubular materi~l, and more p~rticularly ~o ~ length of c~mpres~ed, pleated fle~lble tubin~ retalned withLn ~n ela6tlc sheathing materlsl to form a ~e'L:E-su6taining tube thereof.
Fle~ble tubing ~terial such a~ fle~c~ble plast~cs ~ e~astomers 9 p~per ~ f~bric and the like heretc>- :
fore have ~een pr~vided either in the form of ~hort piece~
th~t can be easily opened and filled a~ packages or wou~d in flattened form on suitable ~p~oL8 or cores for torage.
When tubuLar material hafi been provided in the orm of a flat~ened tube wound on a spool or core~ it ha~ been generally used by unw~nding rom t~e core and openlng and filling in discrete ~eg~ent8.
In the mea~ packi~g ~n*u~try, ~ynthetic sausage casings " whlch are a specialized type of ~ ble tubing ~terial, ranging ~n length~ of fr~m 40 to 160 feet or ~ore, are prepared in a ple~ted ~Lnd compre~0d or shirred fc~r~ of the or~er of a few inche~ $n length,, The COD-. 2t) preQsed length o~ ular ca~ing iB filled ~r placing on a ~tuffing horn tl~r~uRh ~h~ch a D~at ~lei~n is extruded - ~o :IEill ~he c:~eing to 1~CB fully egi:OEded lengt~l.
. The ~h~rring app~r8~u~ ~d prl~t:eS~e8 ~?idely u~ed ~n 'che ~u6age ca~ing ar~ ve ~een generally ~ und mo8t .: ~ui~cable for u~e ~l~h ~mall diam~0r (i.e., h~ving a di-ame~er o ab~t 12 mm ~o 40 ~n~ ar~cifici~l ~bular c~
~uch a~ ~ed in the pr~dw~ of fr~nkfurter~e ~d p~rticularl9 CAsiDlg for~d o~ regenera~e~d c:eïlulc~
.. .. .
.
' ~ ~ 7 7 ~ 7 3 9499 Cellulosic ca~ings of intermediate or larger size with di~meter~ greater than about 40 mml ei~her reinforced wi~h ibrous material or no~, h~ve grea~er wall ~hicknees or other characteristics tha~ limi~ the compactlng and in~er-locking of the pleated tubing wall~. As a result, com~
pressed 10ngths of such pleated tubular casing do no~ maln-tain ~he integrity required to be self-sustaining and the compressed tube~ tend to break and the pleat~ ~eparate.
In one widely used prior art technique to over-c~me ~hi~ disadvantage, the compressed length of plea~edtubing made from large diametcr tubing is provided with a support core, generally in the form of a rigid tube of plastic material, inserted into the bore of the compressed leng~h of pleated tu~ing immediately after ~he compres~ion step. Separation of the compre~ed pleat6 is prevented by a pin or peg extending transversely through the w~lls of the support tube at both extremitles thereof~ restr~ining the endwi~e expan~ion of the co~pressed ~ubing.
The core tube and peg arrangement is relatively ex-pensi~e. Moreover, the arrangement does not permit readyplacem2nt Dn a s~ufing honn without additional time-consuming manipula~ions by the stuf~er operator~
Other technique~ for maintalning the integrity of a co~pres~ed ~trand of tubular ca~ing h2~e been ~hown in ~he .; patent literature and ~pecific reference is m~de to ~. S.
Patent ~08. 3,528,825 ~o Dough~y and 3~6393130 to E~chin.
H~wever9 there is ~till a demand for a ~ethod of ~oring long le~gths o ubular material tha~ is simple . 3 .
~ 9499 77'73 and economical in both time and material and which permits continuous filling of the tubing. A particularly desirable technique would be one that was suitable for use with a wide variety of different types of tubular materials enabling them to be readily and continuously filled in packaging and the like applications.
In aecordan~e with the present in~ention, there is provided a unique self-sustaining length of flexible, thin-walled tubular material comprising a length of pleated and compressed flexible, thin-walled tubular material having a bore extending therethrough and a tubular elastic sheath-ing material stretched and tightly drawn about the periphery o said length of compressed tubular material and down about at least a portion of the terminal pleats at each extremity thereof, said sheathing retaining the c~mpressed, pleated thin-wall tublng in a self-sustaining length thereof without restriating the bore therethrough.
The invention also includes a method for preparing a substantially self-sustaining length of pleated and compressed flexible tubular material which comprlses pro-; viding a length of pleated and compressed flexible, thin-walled tubular material supported in a longitudinally compressed state about a mandrel, providing a length of tubular elastic sheathin,g ma~erial having a diameter smaller , - than the outer diameter of said eompressed tubular mat rial, ; and preferably that is longer than said length of cbmpressed tubular ma~erial, stretching at least a por~ion of sa:id tubular sheathing material and positioning the stretched ~ 49 1~77773 portion thereof about the periphery of a length of compressed, pleated tubular material with the ends of said sheathing material extending beyond the ends of saicl compressed tubular material, releasing the stretching forces on said sheathing material and permitting the stretched sheathing material to contract about the periphery of said lengt:h of compressed tubular material and down about at least a portion of the terminal pleats thereof whereby said length of compressed, pleated tubular material is retained totally within said sheathing material without restricting the`bore therethrough, and then removing said sheathed length of pleate.d and compressed, tubular material from about the supporting mandrel.
In a preferred embodiment, a tubular sheathing material that is longer than the length of compressed pleated tubular material ls circumferentially stretched -only along a portion of its length and the unstretched portion aids in positioning and locating the ~tretGhed portion of the sheathing material about the length of com-20 pressed tubular material.
It is important that ~he sheathing material aboutthe periphery and ends of the compressed tubular material be under sufficient ~ension to maintain the longitudinal compression on the compressed, pleated tubing and thereby the mechaniçal integrity required to produce a substantially, self-sustaining length thereof.
An advantageous aspect of the shea~hed length of compressed tubular material of the pre~ent invention is that a considerable length of thin-walled flexible tubular material is made available in a relativel~ small '' ' ' ' :
.
package that may be readily handled during ~torage and ~hipping wi~hout prema~ure ~epara~ion o the plest~
and the configuration ~hereof lends iltself to mo~nting on various ~tuffing mean~ for continu~us filling 3f the tubular material without undue fur~her man~pulation.
Further, in the ca~ of ~ubular n~terials ~uch as cellulo~ic food ca~ings whieh r~quire ~rea~men~ ~uch a~ soaking in wa~cer to improve stuing characteri3tic~, t~e soaking operation may be oarried out without removing 10 ~he sheathing material, and the ~heathing ma~cerial will contain the expansion in length of ~he tu~ular ca~ing due to increased moisture conten~, permi~ting the moisl:ened sticlc to be easily m~unted on various type~ of ~tuffing horns .
The article and method of the present illYen~ion will become apparent from the ~ollowing description thereof when consider~d together wi~ch ~he accomparlying drawing which is set forth a~ being e~cemplary of various embodLments o~ the pre~ent inv~ntion and nolt intendedD in any w y to 20 be limita~ive thereof and wherein the 801e figure i~ a side elevation view, partially in ~ection, of an e$emplary ~mbodiment of a self-~u~taining length of pleated and c~mpres~ed thi~-walled, flexible ~ubular ma~erial of the illvelltiorl.
.
6.
~077773 9499 ~ Referring now ~o the drawing, there is shown in the figure a len~h 10 of pleated and compr~ssed thin-walled, flexible tubing having ~ bore 11 extending therethrough. The length of compressed thin-walled, flexible tubing 10 is contained within a tubular elastic sheathing material 12 that is ~tretch~d and ~ightly drawn about ~he periphery of said compressed length of tu~ular materlal and down abou~ at lea~t a portion of the terminal plea~s 13 and 14 at ~he extremities thereof, preerably without restricting ~he bore therethrough. The ends 15 and 16 of the sheathing material 12 extending beyond ~he e$~remities of the compressed tubing 10 are in a relaxed and untensioned state, retaining the terminal pleat~ of : the compres~ed, pleated tubular material th¢rein thereby re~aining the entire length in a compre~ed sta~e and main-taining the degree of compression on ~he pleats sub~tantially as originally imposed thereon ~o form a self-~u~taining length thereof.
A wide v~riety of tubular ma~erials m~y be employed ~;
in the preparation of the self-~ustaining length of c~m-pressed, pleated tubular material of the present invention.
Suitable tubular ma~erial may be a~y thin-w~lled, ~: :
flexible tubing that may be prepared in a con~inuou~ length of, for example, 40 or more fee~, and tha~ is flexible yet ~rong enough to wi~hstand rapid olding and a high degree of compression when folded. Typical ~aterial~ are thin~
walled9 ~lexible thenmopla~tic tu~lng such as may be prepared rom polyethylene and other polyolefins~
7.
' ; 1 ~7 7 ~ ~ 3 94g9 polyvinylidene chloride 9 polyvinylchloride 7 polyesters and the like, and regenerated cellulosic tu~ng including ibrous web reinforced ~ubing, such as intermediate and large ~ize tubular fibrous ~susage casing.
I~ has be~n found that apparatu~ and processes well known in the food casing art for shirring tubular cellulo~ic food casing such a~, for example, disclo8ed in U. S. Patent ~os. 2,983,949 and 29984,574 to Matecki, may be em~loyed in th~ preparati~n of the plea~ed ~nd com-pre~ged tubular materials o the present inYention w~reinc~mpres~ion ratios of at lea~t about 40:1 and up ~o about 100:1 or even grea~er may be ob~ained.
Tubular ela~tic material constitut~ng the sheath-ing material of the present i~ven~ion may be prepared~from any one oi a wide variety of well known pla~tic or `- elastomeric material~ which are elastic~ ~.e., i8 capable o being ~tretched and then ~ubstan~ially recovering its`
original size and shape when ~tres~ is removed. For ex~mple~
thermopla~ic polymers such as polyvinylchloride9 polyvinyl-; 20 idene chloride, polyethylene and ot~er polyolefin~ formu-lated to e~hibit suitabl~ elastic propert~es as more ex~en-slvely di~cussed hereinafter may be suitable or preparing the fiheathing material of the present in~en~ionO Also uitable may be elas~omerlc ma~erial~ such as nntural rubber, polychloroprene 9 polyurethane, polybutadiene--~ s~yrene copolymers and the like.
In gener~l~ 8ui~bl~ tubular~ ela~ic ~hea~hing material may be ~eamle~s or ~eam~d tubing and may be pr~pared ~' ; 8.
~', . .
~ ~ 7 7 7 7 ~
as individual discrete lengths or cut r~m continuous leng~hs of tubing. The ela~tic tubi~g of this invention ~hould be capable of being uniorm1y ~rans~ersely circu~-ferentially expanded at lea~t 75/O witho~t tearing or rup-turing and ~hould e~hibit a "penmanent ~et" no~ greater than about 10~/.. Relatlvely high ~effsile modulus properties st low elongation, i.e~ the ~tres~ re~q~ired to ~tretch the material 30/0 to 9C~/., is also desirable to ma~ntain the mechanical integrity of the conpres~ed leng~h of pleated tubular material and retain the ~erminal pleats within the shea~hing material yet sh~uld not ca~se distortion of the pleated tubing or the general con~iguration of the compressed tubin~. The el~stic sheathing material may be perforated to provide holes about the periphery o the ~heathed9 com~
pressed, pleated tubing when, for exampLe9 Lt may be desired to provide means or the ready soaking with wa~er o a compressed pleated tubing such a~ fibrou~ ~ausage ca~ing.
The self-au~taining leng~h of compressed plea~ed tubing of the present invention may be prepared in coniunc-tion with the apparatu~ u~ed ~o form the pleated and com-pre~sed length of thin-walle~, flexible tubing or completely separate therefrom.
A typical method for preparing ~he self sustaining length of c~mpres~ed, pleated tu~lar material of the pre~ent invention may involve supporting a lengt~ of com-pressed9 pleated tubing on a mandrel while main~ainlng a longitudinal compression on ~he pleated tubing to prevent prem~ure separation thereof~ The suppor~ mandrel for the '77773 compressed tubing may be the mandrel over which the tubing was advanced during the pleating and c~mpaction thereof or may be any suitable support mandrel means about which the compressed, pleated tubing may be arranged having associated therewith means to maintain the desired longi-tudinal compression on the pleated tubing. While the amount of compression used is not critical, it should be sufficient to purge as much air as possible from within the pleated tubular material to establish the highest possible ; 10 apparent density within the deslred length of compressed, pleated tubular material.
A length of elastic tubular sheathing material having two open ends is then uniformly transversely circum-ferentially stretched and the stretched sheathing material is positioned about the lo~gitudinally compressed length of pleated tubing with the ends of the tubular sheathing material extending beyond the ends of the compressed tubing.
The tubular shea~hing material may be uniformly circum-ferentially stretched u~ing means well known in the art.
The ends of the shea~hing material extending beyond the ends of the compressed length of tubing contract and are drawn down about the terminal pleats at the extremities of the compressedg pleated tubing whereby the entire length of said pleated tubing is retained within the ~ubulax sheathlng material. The sheathed compressed, pleated tubing may then be removed from about the supporting mandrel.
It is essential that ~he elastic tubula~ sheathing ~ material is long enough or can be stretched to contain the :, 10.
~77~73 compressed length of tubing to be retained and, fur*her, that the unstretched diameter of elastic tubular sheathing is smaller than the outer diamet~r of the compressed, pleated tubing. It is also generally preferred that the unstretched diameter of the tubular sheathing material is large enough so that it will not restrict the bore of ~he compressed, pleated tubing retained therein.
In general, the original unstretched diameter of the tubular sheathing material should be at least about 10%
and preferably at least about 20% smaller than the outer diameter of the compressed, pleated tubing to be sheathed.
Tubular sheathing prepared from suitable elastic materials as herein described, that exhibits "permanent set" proper-ties less than about 10% after being s~retched from about 30% to 90%, should, therefore, recover after belng stretched an amount sufficient so that the ends thereof extending ~ ~ -beyond the extremities of the c~mpre~sed, pleated tubing will be drawn down about the terminal pleats of the com-pressed tubing to retain the entire length thereof withln the sheathing material. I~ will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the diameter of the elastic tubular sheathing material actually required to retain a compressed length of pleated tubular material will depend on the type of pleated tubing that is to be retained and the degree of compression required to maintain the mechanical integrity or desired length thereof. The actual type and dimen~ions of ~u~ular sheathing material can be readily determined in accordance with the teaching herein for the wide variety of thin-walled, flexible tubing that may be employe~ in the preparation of the self-suataining length oP~compressed, plea~ed tubular material of ~he pre~enlt i~entlon.
Alternati~ely9 in accordance! wi~h the pre~ent lnven~lon, a c~mpre~sed, pleated tubing supported on a mandrel is maintained under longitudinal compre8sl~n to maintain it~ desired length. A tubular 6heathing materi~l, as herein described, that i5 longer than ~he compres~ed tublng to be ~heathed i8 uniformly, transversely circum-; 10 ferentiaLly stretched over a portion of its length and the compre~sed, pleated tubing i8 in~erted in~o ~he - ~tre~ched sheathing material un~il contacting the portion of ~he~thing material that had not been stretched. The mean~ employed for inserting the compre8sed tubing in~o the stretched 8hea~hing material may also be used to exert a final longitudinal compre3sion on the compr~s~ed tubing before or after withdrawing the stretching force~ from the sheathing materi~l. The stretching force~ m~y then be withdrawn from the sheathing material, permi~ting the stretched portion thereof to contrast about the compre~8ed length o pleated tubing to retain ~ therein. The sheathed~ compres~ed ler~g~h of pleated ~u~ing, when remo~red rom about the supporting mandrel, i8 ~alf-sustaining ~Lnd maintain3 itB int~grity during handling thereof.
In accordaT~ce with the practice o~ the presen~
invention, there is prepared a self-~us~aining letlg~h of compres~ed, pleated T~ubul~r materi~l wh@rein a long contin~ous length of thin-walled" flexible tu~ing is ' . z~.
~1~77~73 provided in a ~ubstantially ~horter leng~h ~hat may be readily handled during storage and shipping and may be continuously filled using automatic stuffing equipment.
Elastic tubular sheathing materials suitable for use in accordance with the practice of the invention are, in general, capable of being stretched longitudinally concurrently as they are stretched circumferentially. In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, there is prepared a length of compressed pleated tubular material supported on a mandrel and maintained under longitudinal compression to a predetermined length~ An elastic tubular sheathing material, as herein described, i9 provided of a length equal to or shorter than a desired predetermined length o~ compressed pleated ~ubular material. Said elas~ic material is uniformly, transversely circumferentially stretched over a portion of its length by stretching means, and a first end of the com-pressed pleated tubing is inserted into the stretched sheathing material until contacting a first end por~ion of ~heathing material that had not been stretched. A final longitudinal compression is exerted on the compre~sed,pleated tubing to progressively remove the sheath from the stretching mean~, and longitudinally stretch the sheathing material until the second end thereof extends beyond the second end of 3aid compressed tubing to provide an amount of sheathing material sufficien~ to contract down about a~ least a portion of the terminal pleats of the compressed length of pleated tub~ng ` and retain it therein.
The invention is further illustra~ed by the ~ollowing examples which are not to be construed ~8 llmitative since various modifications can be made within the tèac~ings di3closed herein.
12a.
. ~ ' , " . :
~L0777~3 ~499 Food casing "~hirring apparatus" as disclosed in U. S. Patents 2,g83,949 and ~,984,574 was employed in this example.
A 27.5 meter length of thin-walled, flexible tubular material prepared f ~m polyvinylidene chloride polymer resin was ad~anced about a hollow "shirrlng"
mandrel through the "~hirring passage'l of a "shirring machine" and the pl~ated tubu~ar material was longitudinally compressed on the m~ndrel to a length of about 26 cm. The tubing employed had a flat width of about 19.7 cm.and a wall thickness about 0. 056 nm~
Uslng the stretching apparatus disclosed in U. S. Patent 2,884,328, a 46 cm.long segment of an elastic, flexible, tubular material prepared from polyvinylchloride re~in commerclally available under the trademark "VISTEN"
was transversely circumferentially stretched about 40~b over a sub~tantial portion of its length and the stretched tubing ~as positioned over ~he compressed length of pleat~d tubing with the ends thereof extending beyond ~he ends of the compresæed tubing~ The elaætic tubing had a flat width of about 14 c~ and a wall thickness of about 0.046 mm.
The stretching de~ice was removed from the tubular elastie material and ~he elastic tubing eontracted about the c~mpres~ed len~th o~ pleated ~u~ing totally retaining the pleated tubing thereln, F~ve more 27.5 meter length sample~ of the thin-walled polyvinylidene chloride tubular material of this 13.
~ 77773 9499 example were pleated, c~mpressed and ~hen sheathed as ~escribed above.
The six samples of shea~hed3 compressed, pleated tubular material were measured and fo~nd to range -in length from about 33 cm. to 39.4 cm~ The internal or bore diameter of the shea~hed t~bular mater~l ranged rom 5.1 cm~ to 5.7 cm. and the external diame~er ~rom 13.6 cm.
~o 14.6 cm. After removal from the "shirring" mandrel~
each of the lengths of sheathed~ csmpressed, pleated tubular material was self-sustaining and no premature separation of the pleats occurred during handling. The internal bore through the compressedg plea~ed tubing was substantially straight and unres~ricted. Water pressure testing of the plea~ed tubular materi~l showed that no rupturing or formation o~ pin-hole~ re~ulted from the ~ plea~ing and compression operations~
: EXAMPLE ~
The apparatus and procedure~ of Example 1 were used for processing 23 me~er lengths of variou~ types o 20 thin-walled, flexible tubular materials into pleated ant compressed lengths thereof about a "~hirring" mandrel.
The compression force used to longitudinally compress the pleated tubing about ~he mandrel was the same for all the samples.
The elastic tubular sheathlng mater~al of ~am-ple 1 was used in this example. Four different diameter tubular shea~hing materials were used wi~h each of the various samples of compressed, p~eatad tubing Df this ~: 14.
- , - .
~ ~ ~ 7 ~ ~ 3 9499 example and the procedure of Example 1 was used to sheath the compressed, pleated ~ubing samples of this example.
The types of thin-walled, flexible tubular material used to form the compr~ssed" pleated tubing and various characteri~ics of the sheathed, compres~ed lengths formed therefrom are summarized in Table I below.
Each of the samples of the example was self-sustaining, had an unrestricted bore and exhibited no premature separation of the ~ompressed pleats during handling. Deflection of the Sample L sheathed tubing may be greater than desired for ready in~tallation on a stuffing means but would not be totally unsuitable.
15.
07~73 o ~:
,, V
~d ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ o o C~l ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ U~
4~ ,n ~i ~;i ~ C~i u; o~ i u; ~ u~ co r O t~
_ ~o J- V ~ `J ~ ~ r~ c~ o v V,~ ~.
u~ ~n a~
., ~q C~ OC 1-- ~ O O c~l u~ ~ cr ~ ~ ~ ~ o u~
. V~ ~ ~ ~ ~ C~ 0 ~ oo C~i e r, ~ oc~l~c~ ~U~ ~0~O
O ~ cr~ ~ c~ ~ c~ C~ C~
C~
5~ ~
~d e~ ~o Oo~o00~10 0OO~OOO ~o ~ ,~2 1-1 ~ 3 V ,~ . ~ ~ o 1~ 00 ~ O 1~ O 1~ C~ a~ o v ~ u; c~ C~ ~ u; ' ~i ~ ~ u; c~
U~ X J-ta _~
oo ~1 a~ u~ ~ L" , ~
~rl '' O O O O ~,1 ~ E~
v ~ ~ ~n , e ~ ~ ~ 0O s~
,~
: ~ ~ ~
~ ,C ~
r~
~ ~ c~ o ~ ~ o ~ 5 ~
~1 ~~1 ~ ~1 0 o ~ o ~ o ~1 ~1 ~ ¢ P~ ~ ~ W ~ ~7 I ~ ~ ~ ~ X ~i o P~
C~
16 ~
" ~ ~7 ~ 7 7 3 9499 .
Using the apparatus and procedures of Example 1, 23 meter lengths of a 15.5 cmO flat width(9.9 cm diame~er) tubular fibrous food casing having a moi~ture content of about 14% were pleated and compressed and then sheathed with the elastic tubular sheathing ma~:erial of Example 1.
Several diameters of sheathing material were used, The sheathed, sel-sustaining lengths of compressed ~ubular material were immersed in water or various periods of time and the effects of water immersion are summarized ln Table Il below.
Each of the samples prepared was a self-sustaining length of the compressed fibrous tubular cas-lng that exhibited no premature separation of the pleated tubing ; during handling ~hereo0 After the water immersion tests3 .~ each ~ample of sheathed tubing maintained its self su~taining characteri~tics and in no instance did any of the pleated casing exude from wi~hin ~he sheathing material.
Further, the shea~hed length~ of pleated tubular casing could be mounted on the stuffing horn of a food stuffing machine and continuously stuffed without the need for removing the ~heathing ma~erial prior to stuffing.
~3777'73 9499 a) 1~
,~ au a) e r~
u~ P ~ e E O r-l r-l ~1 a~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ ,I r-l ~ ~1 ~ E~ 0~
O ~ ~ O ~D r-l ~ ~ ~ .~ + + +
S~ c~ C~
3,s ~ ~ ~;1 r~
~C ~ 00 ~c) c~i C~i ~e. ~ O O~ o~
O _~
.~Q) E-l~ ~ r-l r ~ 1-1 ~
u~bl ~_1 JJ ~ u ~1 a~ O E~ r E~ r~
~3 E-l ~ ~ ~1 ~ r l r ., ~ ~
br ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
_ u ) r~ J r -l cr~ r;
r r-l r E~ 0 ~s ~ r-l 1~ u~
`L\ ~ .
tt) b~ F r-l c~ ~ C~l o~ ~ r l tY~ ~) ~
~a) _, ~ ~ ~ ~
v~ ~
~ ~
~rl ~ ~ o .u 5_1 ~) ~ ~ e ~
~_ ,~ Oo oo ~
e ¢
C~
., 18.
7 7 ~ 3 9499 ~ sing the apparatus and procedures of Exa~ple 1, three 23 meter long samples of the thin-walled, flexible tubular material of Example 1 of ~hree different diameters are pleated and compressed and then shea~hed with the elastic tubular sheathing ma~erial of Example 1.
Characteristics of the self-sustaining lengths of compressed tubular material are summarized in Table III.
19.
~`" 9499 ~7'7773 ~ ~1 E3'd h O o JJ u~
U~
a~ ,~
~ c~
c~ o ) ~ u~o ~d ~
~ ~ J~
~ ~ ~ ~ u~ ~
~ ~.~ ~
~d ~
~:
q) ~ o ~ ~ ~s~ ~
E~ ~ ~ El~ o ~
~ 1 ,J
i~
s~
b~ Q~ ~ _~
~o ~ ~~ o ~ .
~ ~ p~ ~ . :
~Q~ .~ c~
s~
. O h O ~ ~ ~ I~ U~
~ . ,_ a -,1 ., ~ ¢ ~
U~
20.
. .
This invention relates to a ~vel packsge of tubular materi~l, and more p~rticularly ~o ~ length of c~mpres~ed, pleated fle~lble tubin~ retalned withLn ~n ela6tlc sheathing materlsl to form a ~e'L:E-su6taining tube thereof.
Fle~ble tubing ~terial such a~ fle~c~ble plast~cs ~ e~astomers 9 p~per ~ f~bric and the like heretc>- :
fore have ~een pr~vided either in the form of ~hort piece~
th~t can be easily opened and filled a~ packages or wou~d in flattened form on suitable ~p~oL8 or cores for torage.
When tubuLar material hafi been provided in the orm of a flat~ened tube wound on a spool or core~ it ha~ been generally used by unw~nding rom t~e core and openlng and filling in discrete ~eg~ent8.
In the mea~ packi~g ~n*u~try, ~ynthetic sausage casings " whlch are a specialized type of ~ ble tubing ~terial, ranging ~n length~ of fr~m 40 to 160 feet or ~ore, are prepared in a ple~ted ~Lnd compre~0d or shirred fc~r~ of the or~er of a few inche~ $n length,, The COD-. 2t) preQsed length o~ ular ca~ing iB filled ~r placing on a ~tuffing horn tl~r~uRh ~h~ch a D~at ~lei~n is extruded - ~o :IEill ~he c:~eing to 1~CB fully egi:OEded lengt~l.
. The ~h~rring app~r8~u~ ~d prl~t:eS~e8 ~?idely u~ed ~n 'che ~u6age ca~ing ar~ ve ~een generally ~ und mo8t .: ~ui~cable for u~e ~l~h ~mall diam~0r (i.e., h~ving a di-ame~er o ab~t 12 mm ~o 40 ~n~ ar~cifici~l ~bular c~
~uch a~ ~ed in the pr~dw~ of fr~nkfurter~e ~d p~rticularl9 CAsiDlg for~d o~ regenera~e~d c:eïlulc~
.. .. .
.
' ~ ~ 7 7 ~ 7 3 9499 Cellulosic ca~ings of intermediate or larger size with di~meter~ greater than about 40 mml ei~her reinforced wi~h ibrous material or no~, h~ve grea~er wall ~hicknees or other characteristics tha~ limi~ the compactlng and in~er-locking of the pleated tubing wall~. As a result, com~
pressed 10ngths of such pleated tubular casing do no~ maln-tain ~he integrity required to be self-sustaining and the compressed tube~ tend to break and the pleat~ ~eparate.
In one widely used prior art technique to over-c~me ~hi~ disadvantage, the compressed length of plea~edtubing made from large diametcr tubing is provided with a support core, generally in the form of a rigid tube of plastic material, inserted into the bore of the compressed leng~h of pleated tu~ing immediately after ~he compres~ion step. Separation of the compre~ed pleat6 is prevented by a pin or peg extending transversely through the w~lls of the support tube at both extremitles thereof~ restr~ining the endwi~e expan~ion of the co~pressed ~ubing.
The core tube and peg arrangement is relatively ex-pensi~e. Moreover, the arrangement does not permit readyplacem2nt Dn a s~ufing honn without additional time-consuming manipula~ions by the stuf~er operator~
Other technique~ for maintalning the integrity of a co~pres~ed ~trand of tubular ca~ing h2~e been ~hown in ~he .; patent literature and ~pecific reference is m~de to ~. S.
Patent ~08. 3,528,825 ~o Dough~y and 3~6393130 to E~chin.
H~wever9 there is ~till a demand for a ~ethod of ~oring long le~gths o ubular material tha~ is simple . 3 .
~ 9499 77'73 and economical in both time and material and which permits continuous filling of the tubing. A particularly desirable technique would be one that was suitable for use with a wide variety of different types of tubular materials enabling them to be readily and continuously filled in packaging and the like applications.
In aecordan~e with the present in~ention, there is provided a unique self-sustaining length of flexible, thin-walled tubular material comprising a length of pleated and compressed flexible, thin-walled tubular material having a bore extending therethrough and a tubular elastic sheath-ing material stretched and tightly drawn about the periphery o said length of compressed tubular material and down about at least a portion of the terminal pleats at each extremity thereof, said sheathing retaining the c~mpressed, pleated thin-wall tublng in a self-sustaining length thereof without restriating the bore therethrough.
The invention also includes a method for preparing a substantially self-sustaining length of pleated and compressed flexible tubular material which comprlses pro-; viding a length of pleated and compressed flexible, thin-walled tubular material supported in a longitudinally compressed state about a mandrel, providing a length of tubular elastic sheathin,g ma~erial having a diameter smaller , - than the outer diameter of said eompressed tubular mat rial, ; and preferably that is longer than said length of cbmpressed tubular ma~erial, stretching at least a por~ion of sa:id tubular sheathing material and positioning the stretched ~ 49 1~77773 portion thereof about the periphery of a length of compressed, pleated tubular material with the ends of said sheathing material extending beyond the ends of saicl compressed tubular material, releasing the stretching forces on said sheathing material and permitting the stretched sheathing material to contract about the periphery of said lengt:h of compressed tubular material and down about at least a portion of the terminal pleats thereof whereby said length of compressed, pleated tubular material is retained totally within said sheathing material without restricting the`bore therethrough, and then removing said sheathed length of pleate.d and compressed, tubular material from about the supporting mandrel.
In a preferred embodiment, a tubular sheathing material that is longer than the length of compressed pleated tubular material ls circumferentially stretched -only along a portion of its length and the unstretched portion aids in positioning and locating the ~tretGhed portion of the sheathing material about the length of com-20 pressed tubular material.
It is important that ~he sheathing material aboutthe periphery and ends of the compressed tubular material be under sufficient ~ension to maintain the longitudinal compression on the compressed, pleated tubing and thereby the mechaniçal integrity required to produce a substantially, self-sustaining length thereof.
An advantageous aspect of the shea~hed length of compressed tubular material of the pre~ent invention is that a considerable length of thin-walled flexible tubular material is made available in a relativel~ small '' ' ' ' :
.
package that may be readily handled during ~torage and ~hipping wi~hout prema~ure ~epara~ion o the plest~
and the configuration ~hereof lends iltself to mo~nting on various ~tuffing mean~ for continu~us filling 3f the tubular material without undue fur~her man~pulation.
Further, in the ca~ of ~ubular n~terials ~uch as cellulo~ic food ca~ings whieh r~quire ~rea~men~ ~uch a~ soaking in wa~cer to improve stuing characteri3tic~, t~e soaking operation may be oarried out without removing 10 ~he sheathing material, and the ~heathing ma~cerial will contain the expansion in length of ~he tu~ular ca~ing due to increased moisture conten~, permi~ting the moisl:ened sticlc to be easily m~unted on various type~ of ~tuffing horns .
The article and method of the present illYen~ion will become apparent from the ~ollowing description thereof when consider~d together wi~ch ~he accomparlying drawing which is set forth a~ being e~cemplary of various embodLments o~ the pre~ent inv~ntion and nolt intendedD in any w y to 20 be limita~ive thereof and wherein the 801e figure i~ a side elevation view, partially in ~ection, of an e$emplary ~mbodiment of a self-~u~taining length of pleated and c~mpres~ed thi~-walled, flexible ~ubular ma~erial of the illvelltiorl.
.
6.
~077773 9499 ~ Referring now ~o the drawing, there is shown in the figure a len~h 10 of pleated and compr~ssed thin-walled, flexible tubing having ~ bore 11 extending therethrough. The length of compressed thin-walled, flexible tubing 10 is contained within a tubular elastic sheathing material 12 that is ~tretch~d and ~ightly drawn about ~he periphery of said compressed length of tu~ular materlal and down abou~ at lea~t a portion of the terminal plea~s 13 and 14 at ~he extremities thereof, preerably without restricting ~he bore therethrough. The ends 15 and 16 of the sheathing material 12 extending beyond ~he e$~remities of the compressed tubing 10 are in a relaxed and untensioned state, retaining the terminal pleat~ of : the compres~ed, pleated tubular material th¢rein thereby re~aining the entire length in a compre~ed sta~e and main-taining the degree of compression on ~he pleats sub~tantially as originally imposed thereon ~o form a self-~u~taining length thereof.
A wide v~riety of tubular ma~erials m~y be employed ~;
in the preparation of the self-~ustaining length of c~m-pressed, pleated tubular material of the present invention.
Suitable tubular ma~erial may be a~y thin-w~lled, ~: :
flexible tubing that may be prepared in a con~inuou~ length of, for example, 40 or more fee~, and tha~ is flexible yet ~rong enough to wi~hstand rapid olding and a high degree of compression when folded. Typical ~aterial~ are thin~
walled9 ~lexible thenmopla~tic tu~lng such as may be prepared rom polyethylene and other polyolefins~
7.
' ; 1 ~7 7 ~ ~ 3 94g9 polyvinylidene chloride 9 polyvinylchloride 7 polyesters and the like, and regenerated cellulosic tu~ng including ibrous web reinforced ~ubing, such as intermediate and large ~ize tubular fibrous ~susage casing.
I~ has be~n found that apparatu~ and processes well known in the food casing art for shirring tubular cellulo~ic food casing such a~, for example, disclo8ed in U. S. Patent ~os. 2,983,949 and 29984,574 to Matecki, may be em~loyed in th~ preparati~n of the plea~ed ~nd com-pre~ged tubular materials o the present inYention w~reinc~mpres~ion ratios of at lea~t about 40:1 and up ~o about 100:1 or even grea~er may be ob~ained.
Tubular ela~tic material constitut~ng the sheath-ing material of the present i~ven~ion may be prepared~from any one oi a wide variety of well known pla~tic or `- elastomeric material~ which are elastic~ ~.e., i8 capable o being ~tretched and then ~ubstan~ially recovering its`
original size and shape when ~tres~ is removed. For ex~mple~
thermopla~ic polymers such as polyvinylchloride9 polyvinyl-; 20 idene chloride, polyethylene and ot~er polyolefin~ formu-lated to e~hibit suitabl~ elastic propert~es as more ex~en-slvely di~cussed hereinafter may be suitable or preparing the fiheathing material of the present in~en~ionO Also uitable may be elas~omerlc ma~erial~ such as nntural rubber, polychloroprene 9 polyurethane, polybutadiene--~ s~yrene copolymers and the like.
In gener~l~ 8ui~bl~ tubular~ ela~ic ~hea~hing material may be ~eamle~s or ~eam~d tubing and may be pr~pared ~' ; 8.
~', . .
~ ~ 7 7 7 7 ~
as individual discrete lengths or cut r~m continuous leng~hs of tubing. The ela~tic tubi~g of this invention ~hould be capable of being uniorm1y ~rans~ersely circu~-ferentially expanded at lea~t 75/O witho~t tearing or rup-turing and ~hould e~hibit a "penmanent ~et" no~ greater than about 10~/.. Relatlvely high ~effsile modulus properties st low elongation, i.e~ the ~tres~ re~q~ired to ~tretch the material 30/0 to 9C~/., is also desirable to ma~ntain the mechanical integrity of the conpres~ed leng~h of pleated tubular material and retain the ~erminal pleats within the shea~hing material yet sh~uld not ca~se distortion of the pleated tubing or the general con~iguration of the compressed tubin~. The el~stic sheathing material may be perforated to provide holes about the periphery o the ~heathed9 com~
pressed, pleated tubing when, for exampLe9 Lt may be desired to provide means or the ready soaking with wa~er o a compressed pleated tubing such a~ fibrou~ ~ausage ca~ing.
The self-au~taining leng~h of compressed plea~ed tubing of the present invention may be prepared in coniunc-tion with the apparatu~ u~ed ~o form the pleated and com-pre~sed length of thin-walle~, flexible tubing or completely separate therefrom.
A typical method for preparing ~he self sustaining length of c~mpres~ed, pleated tu~lar material of the pre~ent invention may involve supporting a lengt~ of com-pressed9 pleated tubing on a mandrel while main~ainlng a longitudinal compression on ~he pleated tubing to prevent prem~ure separation thereof~ The suppor~ mandrel for the '77773 compressed tubing may be the mandrel over which the tubing was advanced during the pleating and c~mpaction thereof or may be any suitable support mandrel means about which the compressed, pleated tubing may be arranged having associated therewith means to maintain the desired longi-tudinal compression on the pleated tubing. While the amount of compression used is not critical, it should be sufficient to purge as much air as possible from within the pleated tubular material to establish the highest possible ; 10 apparent density within the deslred length of compressed, pleated tubular material.
A length of elastic tubular sheathing material having two open ends is then uniformly transversely circum-ferentially stretched and the stretched sheathing material is positioned about the lo~gitudinally compressed length of pleated tubing with the ends of the tubular sheathing material extending beyond the ends of the compressed tubing.
The tubular shea~hing material may be uniformly circum-ferentially stretched u~ing means well known in the art.
The ends of the shea~hing material extending beyond the ends of the compressed length of tubing contract and are drawn down about the terminal pleats at the extremities of the compressedg pleated tubing whereby the entire length of said pleated tubing is retained within the ~ubulax sheathlng material. The sheathed compressed, pleated tubing may then be removed from about the supporting mandrel.
It is essential that ~he elastic tubula~ sheathing ~ material is long enough or can be stretched to contain the :, 10.
~77~73 compressed length of tubing to be retained and, fur*her, that the unstretched diameter of elastic tubular sheathing is smaller than the outer diamet~r of the compressed, pleated tubing. It is also generally preferred that the unstretched diameter of the tubular sheathing material is large enough so that it will not restrict the bore of ~he compressed, pleated tubing retained therein.
In general, the original unstretched diameter of the tubular sheathing material should be at least about 10%
and preferably at least about 20% smaller than the outer diameter of the compressed, pleated tubing to be sheathed.
Tubular sheathing prepared from suitable elastic materials as herein described, that exhibits "permanent set" proper-ties less than about 10% after being s~retched from about 30% to 90%, should, therefore, recover after belng stretched an amount sufficient so that the ends thereof extending ~ ~ -beyond the extremities of the c~mpre~sed, pleated tubing will be drawn down about the terminal pleats of the com-pressed tubing to retain the entire length thereof withln the sheathing material. I~ will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the diameter of the elastic tubular sheathing material actually required to retain a compressed length of pleated tubular material will depend on the type of pleated tubing that is to be retained and the degree of compression required to maintain the mechanical integrity or desired length thereof. The actual type and dimen~ions of ~u~ular sheathing material can be readily determined in accordance with the teaching herein for the wide variety of thin-walled, flexible tubing that may be employe~ in the preparation of the self-suataining length oP~compressed, plea~ed tubular material of ~he pre~enlt i~entlon.
Alternati~ely9 in accordance! wi~h the pre~ent lnven~lon, a c~mpre~sed, pleated tubing supported on a mandrel is maintained under longitudinal compre8sl~n to maintain it~ desired length. A tubular 6heathing materi~l, as herein described, that i5 longer than ~he compres~ed tublng to be ~heathed i8 uniformly, transversely circum-; 10 ferentiaLly stretched over a portion of its length and the compre~sed, pleated tubing i8 in~erted in~o ~he - ~tre~ched sheathing material un~il contacting the portion of ~he~thing material that had not been stretched. The mean~ employed for inserting the compre8sed tubing in~o the stretched 8hea~hing material may also be used to exert a final longitudinal compre3sion on the compr~s~ed tubing before or after withdrawing the stretching force~ from the sheathing materi~l. The stretching force~ m~y then be withdrawn from the sheathing material, permi~ting the stretched portion thereof to contrast about the compre~8ed length o pleated tubing to retain ~ therein. The sheathed~ compres~ed ler~g~h of pleated ~u~ing, when remo~red rom about the supporting mandrel, i8 ~alf-sustaining ~Lnd maintain3 itB int~grity during handling thereof.
In accordaT~ce with the practice o~ the presen~
invention, there is prepared a self-~us~aining letlg~h of compres~ed, pleated T~ubul~r materi~l wh@rein a long contin~ous length of thin-walled" flexible tu~ing is ' . z~.
~1~77~73 provided in a ~ubstantially ~horter leng~h ~hat may be readily handled during storage and shipping and may be continuously filled using automatic stuffing equipment.
Elastic tubular sheathing materials suitable for use in accordance with the practice of the invention are, in general, capable of being stretched longitudinally concurrently as they are stretched circumferentially. In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, there is prepared a length of compressed pleated tubular material supported on a mandrel and maintained under longitudinal compression to a predetermined length~ An elastic tubular sheathing material, as herein described, i9 provided of a length equal to or shorter than a desired predetermined length o~ compressed pleated ~ubular material. Said elas~ic material is uniformly, transversely circumferentially stretched over a portion of its length by stretching means, and a first end of the com-pressed pleated tubing is inserted into the stretched sheathing material until contacting a first end por~ion of ~heathing material that had not been stretched. A final longitudinal compression is exerted on the compre~sed,pleated tubing to progressively remove the sheath from the stretching mean~, and longitudinally stretch the sheathing material until the second end thereof extends beyond the second end of 3aid compressed tubing to provide an amount of sheathing material sufficien~ to contract down about a~ least a portion of the terminal pleats of the compressed length of pleated tub~ng ` and retain it therein.
The invention is further illustra~ed by the ~ollowing examples which are not to be construed ~8 llmitative since various modifications can be made within the tèac~ings di3closed herein.
12a.
. ~ ' , " . :
~L0777~3 ~499 Food casing "~hirring apparatus" as disclosed in U. S. Patents 2,g83,949 and ~,984,574 was employed in this example.
A 27.5 meter length of thin-walled, flexible tubular material prepared f ~m polyvinylidene chloride polymer resin was ad~anced about a hollow "shirrlng"
mandrel through the "~hirring passage'l of a "shirring machine" and the pl~ated tubu~ar material was longitudinally compressed on the m~ndrel to a length of about 26 cm. The tubing employed had a flat width of about 19.7 cm.and a wall thickness about 0. 056 nm~
Uslng the stretching apparatus disclosed in U. S. Patent 2,884,328, a 46 cm.long segment of an elastic, flexible, tubular material prepared from polyvinylchloride re~in commerclally available under the trademark "VISTEN"
was transversely circumferentially stretched about 40~b over a sub~tantial portion of its length and the stretched tubing ~as positioned over ~he compressed length of pleat~d tubing with the ends thereof extending beyond ~he ends of the compresæed tubing~ The elaætic tubing had a flat width of about 14 c~ and a wall thickness of about 0.046 mm.
The stretching de~ice was removed from the tubular elastie material and ~he elastic tubing eontracted about the c~mpres~ed len~th o~ pleated ~u~ing totally retaining the pleated tubing thereln, F~ve more 27.5 meter length sample~ of the thin-walled polyvinylidene chloride tubular material of this 13.
~ 77773 9499 example were pleated, c~mpressed and ~hen sheathed as ~escribed above.
The six samples of shea~hed3 compressed, pleated tubular material were measured and fo~nd to range -in length from about 33 cm. to 39.4 cm~ The internal or bore diameter of the shea~hed t~bular mater~l ranged rom 5.1 cm~ to 5.7 cm. and the external diame~er ~rom 13.6 cm.
~o 14.6 cm. After removal from the "shirring" mandrel~
each of the lengths of sheathed~ csmpressed, pleated tubular material was self-sustaining and no premature separation of the pleats occurred during handling. The internal bore through the compressedg plea~ed tubing was substantially straight and unres~ricted. Water pressure testing of the plea~ed tubular materi~l showed that no rupturing or formation o~ pin-hole~ re~ulted from the ~ plea~ing and compression operations~
: EXAMPLE ~
The apparatus and procedure~ of Example 1 were used for processing 23 me~er lengths of variou~ types o 20 thin-walled, flexible tubular materials into pleated ant compressed lengths thereof about a "~hirring" mandrel.
The compression force used to longitudinally compress the pleated tubing about ~he mandrel was the same for all the samples.
The elastic tubular sheathlng mater~al of ~am-ple 1 was used in this example. Four different diameter tubular shea~hing materials were used wi~h each of the various samples of compressed, p~eatad tubing Df this ~: 14.
- , - .
~ ~ ~ 7 ~ ~ 3 9499 example and the procedure of Example 1 was used to sheath the compressed, pleated ~ubing samples of this example.
The types of thin-walled, flexible tubular material used to form the compr~ssed" pleated tubing and various characteri~ics of the sheathed, compres~ed lengths formed therefrom are summarized in Table I below.
Each of the samples of the example was self-sustaining, had an unrestricted bore and exhibited no premature separation of the ~ompressed pleats during handling. Deflection of the Sample L sheathed tubing may be greater than desired for ready in~tallation on a stuffing means but would not be totally unsuitable.
15.
07~73 o ~:
,, V
~d ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ o o C~l ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ U~
4~ ,n ~i ~;i ~ C~i u; o~ i u; ~ u~ co r O t~
_ ~o J- V ~ `J ~ ~ r~ c~ o v V,~ ~.
u~ ~n a~
., ~q C~ OC 1-- ~ O O c~l u~ ~ cr ~ ~ ~ ~ o u~
. V~ ~ ~ ~ ~ C~ 0 ~ oo C~i e r, ~ oc~l~c~ ~U~ ~0~O
O ~ cr~ ~ c~ ~ c~ C~ C~
C~
5~ ~
~d e~ ~o Oo~o00~10 0OO~OOO ~o ~ ,~2 1-1 ~ 3 V ,~ . ~ ~ o 1~ 00 ~ O 1~ O 1~ C~ a~ o v ~ u; c~ C~ ~ u; ' ~i ~ ~ u; c~
U~ X J-ta _~
oo ~1 a~ u~ ~ L" , ~
~rl '' O O O O ~,1 ~ E~
v ~ ~ ~n , e ~ ~ ~ 0O s~
,~
: ~ ~ ~
~ ,C ~
r~
~ ~ c~ o ~ ~ o ~ 5 ~
~1 ~~1 ~ ~1 0 o ~ o ~ o ~1 ~1 ~ ¢ P~ ~ ~ W ~ ~7 I ~ ~ ~ ~ X ~i o P~
C~
16 ~
" ~ ~7 ~ 7 7 3 9499 .
Using the apparatus and procedures of Example 1, 23 meter lengths of a 15.5 cmO flat width(9.9 cm diame~er) tubular fibrous food casing having a moi~ture content of about 14% were pleated and compressed and then sheathed with the elastic tubular sheathing ma~:erial of Example 1.
Several diameters of sheathing material were used, The sheathed, sel-sustaining lengths of compressed ~ubular material were immersed in water or various periods of time and the effects of water immersion are summarized ln Table Il below.
Each of the samples prepared was a self-sustaining length of the compressed fibrous tubular cas-lng that exhibited no premature separation of the pleated tubing ; during handling ~hereo0 After the water immersion tests3 .~ each ~ample of sheathed tubing maintained its self su~taining characteri~tics and in no instance did any of the pleated casing exude from wi~hin ~he sheathing material.
Further, the shea~hed length~ of pleated tubular casing could be mounted on the stuffing horn of a food stuffing machine and continuously stuffed without the need for removing the ~heathing ma~erial prior to stuffing.
~3777'73 9499 a) 1~
,~ au a) e r~
u~ P ~ e E O r-l r-l ~1 a~ ~ ~ ~ ~_ ,I r-l ~ ~1 ~ E~ 0~
O ~ ~ O ~D r-l ~ ~ ~ .~ + + +
S~ c~ C~
3,s ~ ~ ~;1 r~
~C ~ 00 ~c) c~i C~i ~e. ~ O O~ o~
O _~
.~Q) E-l~ ~ r-l r ~ 1-1 ~
u~bl ~_1 JJ ~ u ~1 a~ O E~ r E~ r~
~3 E-l ~ ~ ~1 ~ r l r ., ~ ~
br ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
_ u ) r~ J r -l cr~ r;
r r-l r E~ 0 ~s ~ r-l 1~ u~
`L\ ~ .
tt) b~ F r-l c~ ~ C~l o~ ~ r l tY~ ~) ~
~a) _, ~ ~ ~ ~
v~ ~
~ ~
~rl ~ ~ o .u 5_1 ~) ~ ~ e ~
~_ ,~ Oo oo ~
e ¢
C~
., 18.
7 7 ~ 3 9499 ~ sing the apparatus and procedures of Exa~ple 1, three 23 meter long samples of the thin-walled, flexible tubular material of Example 1 of ~hree different diameters are pleated and compressed and then shea~hed with the elastic tubular sheathing ma~erial of Example 1.
Characteristics of the self-sustaining lengths of compressed tubular material are summarized in Table III.
19.
~`" 9499 ~7'7773 ~ ~1 E3'd h O o JJ u~
U~
a~ ,~
~ c~
c~ o ) ~ u~o ~d ~
~ ~ J~
~ ~ ~ ~ u~ ~
~ ~.~ ~
~d ~
~:
q) ~ o ~ ~ ~s~ ~
E~ ~ ~ El~ o ~
~ 1 ,J
i~
s~
b~ Q~ ~ _~
~o ~ ~~ o ~ .
~ ~ p~ ~ . :
~Q~ .~ c~
s~
. O h O ~ ~ ~ I~ U~
~ . ,_ a -,1 ., ~ ¢ ~
U~
20.
. .
Claims (9)
1. A self-sustaining length of thin-walled flexible tubular material, comprising, in combination:
a thin-walled flexible tubular food casing longitudinally compressed to define a shirred casing having a plurality of pleats and a substantially straight hole extending from an open end of said casing through said casing;
and a tubular elastic sheathing material around the periphery of said casing and extending over the entire length of said casing;
said sheathing material being in a circumferentially stretched state of at least about 10% and the portions of said sheathing material near the ends of said casing being in tight engagement with respective end portions of said casing;
each of the end portions of said sheathing material extending beyond the respective end portions of said casing, and being in an unstretched state;
each end portion of said sheathing material comprising means for soaking and deshirring said casing, including an opening in at least partial alignment with the open end of said casing;
whereby, a self-sustaining length of said thin-walled flexible tubular material is formed.
a thin-walled flexible tubular food casing longitudinally compressed to define a shirred casing having a plurality of pleats and a substantially straight hole extending from an open end of said casing through said casing;
and a tubular elastic sheathing material around the periphery of said casing and extending over the entire length of said casing;
said sheathing material being in a circumferentially stretched state of at least about 10% and the portions of said sheathing material near the ends of said casing being in tight engagement with respective end portions of said casing;
each of the end portions of said sheathing material extending beyond the respective end portions of said casing, and being in an unstretched state;
each end portion of said sheathing material comprising means for soaking and deshirring said casing, including an opening in at least partial alignment with the open end of said casing;
whereby, a self-sustaining length of said thin-walled flexible tubular material is formed.
2. The self-sustaining length of tubular material of claim 1, wherein said sheathing material possesses permanent set properties not greater than about 10%
subsequent to being stretched from about 30% to about 90%.
subsequent to being stretched from about 30% to about 90%.
3. The self-sustaining length of tubular material of claim 1, wherein said casing comprises thermoplastic tubing.
4. The self-sustaining length of tubular material of claim 1, wherein said casing comprises a fibrous food casing.
5. The method of preparing a self-sustaining length of thin-walled, flexible tubular material, comprising the steps of:
providing a length of longitudinally compressed pleated tubular material mounted about a mandrel support;
providing a length of tubular elastic sheathing material having a diameter smaller than that of the outer diameter of said compressed tubular material;
stretching at least a portion of said sheathing material and positioning the stretched portion thereof about the periphery of said compressed tubular material with the ends of said sheathing material extending beyond the respective ends of said compressed tubular material;
releasing the stretching forces on said sheathing material so that the sheathing material engages the periphery of said compressed tubular material at at least a portion of the respective terminal pleats of said compressed tubular material with the open ends of said sheathing material in at least partial alignment with the respective open ends of said compressed tubular material; and removing said sheathed length of tubular material from said mandrel support.
providing a length of longitudinally compressed pleated tubular material mounted about a mandrel support;
providing a length of tubular elastic sheathing material having a diameter smaller than that of the outer diameter of said compressed tubular material;
stretching at least a portion of said sheathing material and positioning the stretched portion thereof about the periphery of said compressed tubular material with the ends of said sheathing material extending beyond the respective ends of said compressed tubular material;
releasing the stretching forces on said sheathing material so that the sheathing material engages the periphery of said compressed tubular material at at least a portion of the respective terminal pleats of said compressed tubular material with the open ends of said sheathing material in at least partial alignment with the respective open ends of said compressed tubular material; and removing said sheathed length of tubular material from said mandrel support.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein said tubular sheathing material is stretched at least about 10%.
7. The method of claim 5, wherein a portion of said tubular elastic sheathing material is unstretched and used to position the stretched portion of sheathing material about the compressed tubular material.
8. The method of claim 5, wherein said tubular eleastic sheathing material is circumferentially stretched from about 30% to about 90% before being positioned about the compressed tubular material.
9. The method of claim 5, wherein said compressed tubular material is inserted into the stretched portion of said elastic sheathing material.
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US46793574A | 1974-05-08 | 1974-05-08 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1077773A true CA1077773A (en) | 1980-05-20 |
Family
ID=23857754
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA225,979A Expired CA1077773A (en) | 1974-05-08 | 1975-04-29 | Self-sustaining compressed length of thin-walled tubing |
Country Status (14)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| JP (1) | JPS5543732B2 (en) |
| AR (1) | AR205194A1 (en) |
| BE (1) | BE828832A (en) |
| BR (1) | BR7502758A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1077773A (en) |
| CH (1) | CH592416A5 (en) |
| DE (1) | DE2520243A1 (en) |
| DK (1) | DK148432C (en) |
| FI (1) | FI61173C (en) |
| FR (1) | FR2269868B1 (en) |
| GB (1) | GB1506428A (en) |
| IT (1) | IT1037931B (en) |
| NL (1) | NL7505413A (en) |
| SE (1) | SE429282B (en) |
Families Citing this family (10)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US4007761A (en) * | 1975-10-30 | 1977-02-15 | Union Carbide Corporation | Prepackaged shirred tubular casing article |
| GB0114312D0 (en) | 2001-06-12 | 2001-08-01 | Sangenic International Ltd | Spool for a waste storage device |
| JPS574986U (en) * | 1980-06-10 | 1982-01-11 | ||
| GB8705120D0 (en) * | 1987-03-05 | 1987-04-08 | Process Improvements Ltd | Packs of flexible tubing |
| US5328733A (en) * | 1992-03-30 | 1994-07-12 | Viskase Corporation | Shirred fibrous casing article and method |
| WO1999059416A1 (en) * | 1998-05-18 | 1999-11-25 | Cryovac, Inc. | Wrapped shirred stick of tubular film for food packaging and method of making it |
| GB0324764D0 (en) | 2003-10-23 | 2003-11-26 | Sangenic International Ltd | Waste storage device |
| GB0622909D0 (en) | 2006-11-16 | 2006-12-27 | Sangenic International Ltd | Waste storage device |
| GB201103429D0 (en) | 2011-02-28 | 2011-04-13 | Sangenic International Ltd | Improved waste storage device and cassette |
| DE202015008912U1 (en) * | 2015-11-02 | 2016-02-24 | Hilmar Reiß | Stopperless tube for sausage casings |
Family Cites Families (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NL7500790A (en) * | 1974-01-31 | 1975-08-04 | Tee Pak Inc | PROCEDURE FOR THE VACUUM PACKAGING IN INOIDE SAUSAGE CASES, AND SUCH A PROCESS. |
-
1975
- 1975-01-01 AR AR25868275A patent/AR205194A1/en active
- 1975-04-29 CA CA225,979A patent/CA1077773A/en not_active Expired
- 1975-05-07 DK DK202875A patent/DK148432C/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1975-05-07 JP JP5396275A patent/JPS5543732B2/ja not_active Expired
- 1975-05-07 DE DE19752520243 patent/DE2520243A1/en active Pending
- 1975-05-07 CH CH590675A patent/CH592416A5/xx not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1975-05-07 IT IT2310575A patent/IT1037931B/en active
- 1975-05-07 BE BE156148A patent/BE828832A/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1975-05-07 FR FR7514466A patent/FR2269868B1/fr not_active Expired
- 1975-05-07 GB GB1906875A patent/GB1506428A/en not_active Expired
- 1975-05-07 FI FI751355A patent/FI61173C/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1975-05-07 BR BR7503521D patent/BR7502758A/en unknown
- 1975-05-07 NL NL7505413A patent/NL7505413A/en unknown
- 1975-05-08 SE SE7505358A patent/SE429282B/en not_active Application Discontinuation
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| IT1037931B (en) | 1979-11-20 |
| DK148432B (en) | 1985-07-08 |
| GB1506428A (en) | 1978-04-05 |
| BR7502758A (en) | 1976-03-16 |
| AR205194A1 (en) | 1976-04-12 |
| DE2520243A1 (en) | 1975-11-20 |
| FI61173B (en) | 1982-02-26 |
| DK148432C (en) | 1988-08-22 |
| DK202875A (en) | 1975-11-09 |
| BE828832A (en) | 1975-11-07 |
| SE429282B (en) | 1983-08-29 |
| JPS50152890A (en) | 1975-12-09 |
| CH592416A5 (en) | 1977-10-31 |
| FR2269868A1 (en) | 1975-12-05 |
| NL7505413A (en) | 1975-11-11 |
| FI751355A (en) | 1975-11-09 |
| FI61173C (en) | 1982-06-10 |
| JPS5543732B2 (en) | 1980-11-07 |
| AU8089175A (en) | 1976-11-11 |
| FR2269868B1 (en) | 1980-08-29 |
| SE7505358L (en) | 1975-11-10 |
Similar Documents
| Publication | Publication Date | Title |
|---|---|---|
| CA1077773A (en) | Self-sustaining compressed length of thin-walled tubing | |
| US3639130A (en) | Shirred casing stick | |
| DE2551452A1 (en) | SELF-SUPPORTING STICK OF SHAPED FOOD SHELLS | |
| CA1245095A (en) | Improved end-closures for shirred tubular casings and method of making | |
| US3865954A (en) | Closure for shirred casing sticks | |
| JP2009509560A (en) | Mesh casing manufacturing method | |
| US4411048A (en) | End closure for sausage casings | |
| US4263942A (en) | Net-like tubular support sheathing for rod made up of a lengthwise shirred casing | |
| US3419401A (en) | Hollow shirred meat casing stick | |
| AU693789B2 (en) | Improved meat product casing and method of shirring | |
| CA1089700A (en) | Self-sustaining stick of shirred casing | |
| US4551370A (en) | Shirred casing stick article with end closure and method for making the same | |
| EP1524908B1 (en) | Flexible-hose-shaped edible foodstuff wrapper produced according to the amino oxide method | |
| US4693280A (en) | End closure for shirred casing sticks | |
| DE10009979A1 (en) | Tubular cellulose-based food casing stick especially for easy-peel sausages, is of low surface roughness and has the shirred casings made by the amine oxide (NMMO) method | |
| US3914447A (en) | Method of forming any end closure in a hollow shirred food casing | |
| US4759100A (en) | Method of making an end closure for a stick of shirred food casing | |
| US6444161B1 (en) | Mandrel structure for use in manufacture of cellulose food casing | |
| DE3216011A1 (en) | Joined-together, gathered food covering | |
| US3550191A (en) | Method for making shirred casing articles | |
| CA1056198A (en) | Self-sustaining stick of shirred food casing | |
| WO1999059416A1 (en) | Wrapped shirred stick of tubular film for food packaging and method of making it | |
| JPS59130130A (en) | Method and apparatus for compressing shirred casing | |
| CA2189969C (en) | Improved meat product casing and method of shirring | |
| CA1165527A (en) | End closure for sausage casing |
Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| MKEX | Expiry |