FR2507564A1 - ARTICLE A ENVELOPE, IN PARTICULAR FOR FOOD - Google Patents

Abstract

THE INVENTION RELATES TO A TUBULAR AND FLEXIBLE SYNTHETIC FOOD ENVELOPE, FOLDED AND COMPRESSED TO FORM A STICK. THE ENVELOPE 17 IS FOLDED AND COMPRESSED ON A HOLLOW AND RIGID CORE 11, CONSTITUTING A TRACTION SLEEVE WHICH INCLUDES A FLANGE 13 ALLOWING IT TO BE CONNECTED TO A RELIEF MECHANISM 15 OF A JAMMING APPARATUS. FIELD OF APPLICATION: ENVELOPES FOR FOOD PRODUCTS SUCH AS SAUSAGES, ETC.

Description

The invention relates to food casings

  synthetic materials, and more particularly an

  cellulosic material that is wrinkled and moistened in a

  formed in a compact form and in a highly compressed state on a rigid tubular core made of tensile sleeves, so as to produce articles with traction sleeves and pleated casing sticks with high compression efficiency, in which each stick has a significantly increased pad length, greater structural stability and greater strength, and wherein also the core constituted by traction sleeves and carrying the casing comprises an extreme portion with a single flange or shouldered flange, for to be connected to an expansion mechanism located on a stuffing machine, a calibration device, usually a disc, facilitating the adjustment of the retainer during the stuffing operation. The invention is particularly suitable for the food industry, for the preparation of sausage-type products of so-called medium sizes and larger sizes, the method of the invention comprising a step of expanding the envelope to perform a closing operation using a fastener

  envelopes according to the invention may be submitted

  tagously to protective antimycotic treatments,

  for example by means of chloride salts, in particular

sodium chloride.

  Envelopes or artificial skins for food products, used throughout the world for the treatment of a wide variety of meats and other food products such as sausages of various types, cheese rolls, turkey roasts and the like, are usually prepared. from regenerated cellulose and other cellulosic materials The envelopes are of several different types and of different sizes to suit the different categories of food products to be prepared, and they exist under

  the reinforced or unreinforced form, the envelopes

  forced, commonly referred to as "fibrous envelopes",

  carrying a fibrous reinforcement web embedded in their wall.

  4 A feature common to many processed food products, particularly products

  of meat, is that the mixture of ingredients comes

  tible, commonly known as "emulsion", is introduced under pressure or stuffed into an envelope and the treatment of the food product is carried out after this product has been

  placed in the envelope The food product can also be

  be stored and transported while wrapped, although in many cases and in particular in the

  small sausages such as sausages from

  strong, the envelope is removed from the food product at the

end of treatment.

  The expression "small food envelopes"

  refers generally to the envelopes used for the pre-

  paration of small sausages such as sausages Frankfurt As this expression suggests, this type of envelope for food presents,

  in the stuffed state, a small diameter, the latter being generally

  typically about 15 to about 40 mm, and this envelope is most commonly supplied in the form of

  thin-walled tubes of very long lengths.

  For manipulations, these envelopes, which may be 20 to 50 meters in length or more, are pleated and compressed to form what are commonly referred to as "folded envelope sticks" of about 20 to about 1 cm in length. pleating machines and the products they give are described, inter alia, in patents

  United States of America Nos. 2,983,949 and 2,984,574.

  "Envelopes of large size

  "this term commonly refers to

  used for the preparation of foodstuffs

  relatively large dimensions such as salamis and mortadella, meat loaves, cooked and smoked ham heels and others, are produced in such a way

  diameter in the stuffed state is between

  In general, these envelopes have a wall whose thickness is about three times greater than that of "small envelopes", and they comprise a fibrous reinforcing ply embedded in their walls. wall, although they can be prepared without this reinforcing element For many years, large tubular envelopes have been supplied to the products processing companies

  in flattened form, cut into lengths

  determined from about 0.6 to about 2.2 meters However,

  more recently, but prior to the present invention

  large size envelopes of both the fibrous type and the unreinforced type, are uniform and are always provided in the form of pleated sticks containing

  up to about 65 meters of envelopes.

  "Medium-sized food casings" are a range of sizes of intermediate casings whose diameters, in the stuffed state, are

  between about 38 mm and 99 mm, these large dimensions

  on the aforementioned dimensional ranges of envelopes

  small and large food

  but largely understood in the context of the

  design and description of food envelopes

  large dimensions The description of the food envelopes

  therefore, in a way

  general, with medium-sized

  to which the invention applies mainly.

  Controlling the moisture content of the enve-

  loppes is very important in the preparation and use

  cellulosic food casings.

  In the production of cellulosic envelopes

  In the case of small dimensions, it is generally necessary for these casings to have a water content of about 14% to about 18% of the total weight of the casing to allow filling operations to be carried out without deterioration. This relatively narrow range of moisture content is also important because excessive breaks in the envelope during

  tamping appeared at lower moisture contents.

  res, while a higher moisture content gives the material of the envelope excessive plasticity and,

  therefore, causes excessive jamming.

  Envelopes of large size, as described above, have recently been improved to the extent that crimped and compressed envelope sections are available in the pre-moistened or pre-soaked state, so that the long and difficult operation, consisting of The moisture contents of larger envelopes, of the fibrous reinforcement type, supplied in the pleated and pre-moistened state, have generally been eliminated. The moisture content of the envelopes immediately prior to the stuffing operation has now been eliminated. 16% to around 35% of the

total weight of the envelope.

  The pleating techniques of the envelopes described above with reference to the aforementioned patents, as well as

  in other patents, may be generally

  such as to continuously advance a section of flat envelope, for example from a coil, to introduce it into a pleating machine where it is inflated with a low-pressure gas, usually

  air The inflated envelope passes into a set of rou-

  pleating beams which fold it against a retaining element, on or around the pleating mandrel, until

  that we obtain a pleated length previously chosen.

  In the case of a floating chuck type pleating machine such as that described, for example, in U.S. Patent No. 3,766,603, the pleated casing is then transferred linearly beyond or the distance of the holding element against which the pleating has been performed and on an extension of the chuck where it

  is compressed to form a stick of desired length.

  In the case of a shrink mandrel pleating machine such as that described, for example, in U.S. Patent No. 2,583,654, the pleating mandrel, on which the pleated casing remains, is turned to a

  another position in which the folded envelope is

  rewarded to form a stick of desired length.

  normal pressure results in a stick whose length may be between about 1% and about 1.2 or 1.3%

  the initial length of the envelope The United States Patent

  United States of America No. 2,001,461, for example, describes how an initial envelope length of 1006 cm is reduced to a length of less than 10 cm in the form of a stick, and it also indicates that the practical limit lower than which it is probably possible to lower the ratio of the length of the stick to the initial length of the envelope is probably in the neighborhood of one cent

thirtieth (1/130).

  In industry, so far, the ratios of the initial length of the envelope to the length of the pleated stick have generally been in the range of 70 to This report is referred to as "compression ratio" and it is the reverse of the report described in the patent

No. 2 001 461 cited above.

  The compression yield is another means of quantitatively expressing the amplitude at which initial envelope lengths are compressed into pleated sticks. The compression yield is defined as the ratio of the volume of the pleated and compressed envelope. , of unit length, the volume of the same unit length that would be occupied by the solid material of the envelope, and it may be determined by the

following relation: -

  PE L L x (2 x FW xt) ir (ID OD 2) x LT o PE = compression efficiency Lc = envelope length Ls = pleated casing stick length FW = flat width of the casing tc = wall thickness OD = outside diameter of folded envelope stick ID = inside diameter of folded envelope stick. An examination of the relation shows that the ratio is in fact the volume occupied by the flat envelope contained in the folded envelope stick, divided by the volume of the wall of a hollow cylinder having the same dimensions as the stick. pleated envelope The value of the increase in the compression yield is thus measured by its

  approximation of one (1), namely unity.

  The goals sought in the pleating technology are to produce an envelope stick that can be unfolded and stuffed onto a tamping apparatus, continuously, without mechanical defects or failure, to ensure continuous production, the stick itself. even having sufficient structural and mechanical integrity to withstand the normal loads to which it is subjected during packaging, storage, handling and placement on the stuffing apparatus, and another purpose is that it is desired to to compress, in a stick of given length, a length of envelope to stuff also

  great that it is technically possible.

  For example, a return can be calculated

  typical prior compression from data reported in the United States Patent

  No. 3,528,825 The description of line 75 of the column

  to line 5 of column 6, a crimped casing stick with a casing 30 meters in length, having an outer diameter of 1.75 cm inflated diameter and a wall thickness of 0 , 0254 mm, is pleated to form a stick having an outside diameter

  2.22 cm, an inside diameter of 1.27 cm and a length of

  With the help of these data and the previous formula giving the compression efficiency, it appears that the envelope of the prior art, as described in the aforementioned patent No. 3,528,825, presents a compression ratio of 0.374 The compression ratio of this anterior envelope is 70, namely a length of

  meters reduced to 41.28 cm by pleating and compression.

  The envelopes of medium or intermediate dimensions to which the invention applies can be stuffed with a food emulsion on tamping machines such as self-calibrating tamping machines of the "SHIRMATIC" type (trademark registered by Union Carbide Corporation). ), described in U.S. Patent No. Re. No. 30,390, for example, or on a similar commercially available tamping machine equipped with a suitably sized stuffing mandrel when handling envelopes. medium size during the stuffing operation, an auxiliary device, intended to apply the closure fasteners on the stuffed envelope, is commonly used A double automatic fastener installation apparatus

  or pliers, widely used with a beating machine

  rage of envelopes of medium size, put two clamps or fasteners simultaneously on the envelope,

  between the separate lengths or links of food product

  Fasteners of various sizes may be applied, depending on the weight and viscosity of the stuffing material. The tightening and tying of the casing at high speed, particularly in the case of advantageous envelopes wetted in a determined manner as described above. , require some relaxation of the envelope so that it does not tear or stretch undesirably, or to avoid the application of excessive pressure to a length of stuffed product and the expulsion of the product at the other end closed by a

  For this purpose, it can be said that the relaxation of

  to facilitate the closing operation by installation of fasteners or clamps, such an operation covered by the United States Patent Application No. 273,278 filed June 12, 1981 uses a technique and an apparatus for relaxing and tightening the envelope which requires a reciprocating longitudinal movement of a traction sleeve, carrying

  the envelope, on the stuffing device.

  In particular, the invention relates to a tractive or tensioning sleeve operably connected to the expansion apparatus disclosed in the aforementioned application No. 273,278. * In view of the prior art as described

  above, the invention is designed and developed for

  an integrally formed pull-on article for a pleated casing stick comprising a substantially hollow and rigid tensile sleeve core

  pleated and compressed envelope at a compres-

  higher than those which can be achieved in the prior art, the traction sleeve comprising means

  enabling it to be functionally connected to a

  me regulator equipping a stuffing machine.

  The subject of the invention is an article with a tensile or tensile sleeve for a high density pleated casing stick, of a type particularly suitable for automatic stuffing equipment for preparing foodstuffs.

  medium-sized food items.

  The invention also relates to the manufacture

  articles with traction sleeves for baton sticks.

  high density pleated loppe and core, on equipment

  envelopes currently available, the invention

  which, if necessary, only require slight modifications

  cations of this equipment for the production of articles

according to the invention.

  The invention also relates to a stick

  pleated envelope with high density in which the soul

  itself a part of a stuffing system which includes in particular a reciprocating traction sleeve placed on an automatic stuffing apparatus

  for medium-sized envelopes

  to note, in this regard, that improvements

  the process and the relaxation apparatus

  spots, these improvements on the techniques

  jamming of medium-sized products, are necessary

  considered in the present case solely to adapt the concept of high density and the use of a soul to such techniques. It should also be noted that these improvements are the subject of the patent application of the

United States of America No. 273,278.

  It should also be noted that the concept of high-density core pleating used in the present invention is the subject of United States Patent Application No. 261,304, filed May 1, 1981. A further object of the invention is a high density pleated casing article having a core and a pulling sleeve associated with a calibrating device of one type or another mounted

  on the traction sleeve of the article and arranged in the

  inside a non-folded section of the pleated envelope.

  The article according to the invention comprises,

  generally, a substantially tubular traction sleeve

  a rigid support, forming an envelope support, means located at a first end of this sleeve to connect it to a mechanism that can be reciprocated and placed on a stuffing apparatus,

  a cellulosic food casing length of humic

  specified size having a moisture content of

  taken from about 16% to about 35% of the total weight of the envelope, this envelope being pleated and compressed on the core at a higher compression efficiency than would be the same length of envelope folded and compressed in the same pleating and compression conditions,

  but without a soul, the latter having an outer circumference

  greater than the inner circumference that would be the opening of the same envelope if it was folded and

  compressed under the same conditions of pleating and

  pressure, but without a core, and a device for calibrating the casing mounted on the traction sleeve and disposed inside a non-pleated section of said length

pleated envelope.

  It appeared advantageous, when setting

  of the invention, to maintain the performance of

  pressure at 0.50 and above.

  The substantially tubular and rigid soul of the man-

  chon traction of the article according to the invention comprises a wall whose thickness may vary to suit the article

  particular envelope and its adaptation and use

  However, in general, it can be considered that the thickness of the wall of such a pulling sleeve is generally between

about 0.10 cm and about 0.15 cm.

  The means located at one end of the traction sleeve and intended to connect it to a reciprocating expansion mechanism mounted on the tamping apparatus may advantageously comprise an annular flange which projects radially outwards from

  the tubular surface of the traction sleeve.

  In another embodiment of the invention,

  described in more detail below, the flange of the pulling sleeve has a shoulder disposed between the end

  of the compressed envelope and a facial surface of the flange.

  The shoulder is adapted to provide a space between the compressed end of the envelope and the facial surface

  flange to facilitate coupling with a

  canister regulator part of a stuffing device.

  The calibration device placed in the article according to the invention may be a calibration disk, and

  preferably a circumferential crown.

  The preferred antimycotic agent, when used, is a chloride salt selected from the group consisting of sodium chloride, magnesium chloride,

  ammonium chloride, calcium chloride and chlorine

  As regards the use of chlorides as antimycotic agents, it should be noted that this use is the subject of United States Patent Application No. 130,190, filed March 3, 1980. invention will be described in more detail in

  view of the annexed drawing as an example, which is by no means

  tative and on which the single figure is a view in per-

  pective, with partial tearing, of the article according to the invention in which the core of the traction sleeve is used as an envelope support intended to be slid on a stuffing mandrel and connected to an expansion mechanism

a stuffing machine.

  As shown in the single figure, the preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a core or a tubular and rigid sleeve 11 of traction or tension, supporting the envelope and having, at one end, a flange

  13 to connect the traction sleeve to a mechanism

  me regulator 15, reciprocating, a stuffing machine which, except the regulator mechanism, is not

represented.

  A length of envelope 17, folded and com-

  in a high density state, is disposed on the traction sleeve 11, so that one end of this length is contiguous to the flange 13 and the other end

  end is partially unfolded, drawn on a

  19 of calibration, on the end 21 without flange of the sleeve 11 of traction, and closed by means of a fastener

  23 The pleating and compression of the envelope 17 is

  in accordance with the above-mentioned Application No. 261,304, which relates to a high-pleating

density, on soul.

  As shown, the calibration disc 19 is a cup-shaped annular disk, mounted, as shown in the figure, on the traction sleeve 11 so that an arm 25 protrudes radially outwardly.

  outer surface of the tubular sleeve 11 of trac-

  to a circumferential ring 27 on which

  the unfolded portion of the envelope 17 is pulled.

  To enable and facilitate the liaison of the

  flange 13 of the traction sleeve 11 with the mechanism

  15, a shoulder 29 may advantageously be disposed between the end 31 of the pleated and compressed envelope 17 and the face surface 33 of the flange 13. The criterion required for such an arrangement or any other equivalent arrangement is that the material of the envelope is maintained

  away and free from contact, risking deterioration

  with the regulator mechanism 15.

EXAMPLE I

  o Fibrous envelopes of inter-

  according to the invention can be prepared on tubular cores with traction sleeve, made of high density polyethylene, for use on stuffing machines to produce sausages of medium size,

  according to the data given in Table 1 below.

below. Cut

of enve-

Loppe

43

60

90

  Noinal diameter of the inflated envelope (a) 3,76 4,036 4,310 4,689 4,973, 240, 547 6,063 6,558 7,043 7,973 8,506 8,895 9,588

TABLE 1

Diameter Com ratio

  outside tube pressure the envelope of the aae (m / m) (cm)

3,124 52

3,124 74

3,124 96

3,124,126

3,124,149

3,124,170

4.351 97

4.351 139

4,351,178

4,351 217

4.351 290

4,351,332

4.351 359

4,351 286

Peraeent de com-

pressure of the

veloppe With soul Without me

0.500 0.421

0.500 0.444

0.500 0.458

0.500 0.468

0.500 0.476

0.500 0.479

0.500 0.439

0.500 0.461

0.500 0.470

0.500 0.478

0.500 0.484

0.500 0.487

0.500 0.488

0.500 0.491

  The thickness of the wall of the casing for the sizes 43 to 100 is 0.061 mm, and it is 0.089 mm for the size 110. The thickness of the tube wall of the tensile sleeve core is of 1.27 mm and the compression yield is 0.50 in all cases of core samples and, as indicated in the last column for the coreless samples, pleated and compressed in the

  the same conditions and the same ratios

  compression but without soul.

EXAMPLE II

  Although the main application of the invention

  the preparation of sausages of inter-

  medium or medium, the invention is also easy to apply and is suitable for the preparation of packed food products of large dimensions in cases where the

  implementation of a traction sleeve is required.

  Fibrous Envelope Articles of Large Size According to the Invention for Use

  on machines stuffing large products

  Such machines, such as the machine described in the aforesaid Re No. 30,390, for example, as well as in other machines where the use of a pulling sleeve as described above is used in the process, may to be produced on tubular cores of high density polyethylene, as shown in Table 2 below.

TABLE 2

  Size Diameter Diameter Cons ratio Cam yield

  Noeinal external pressure pressure

  lopped the envelope of the tube the envelope inflated veloppe (cm) of 1 'soul (m / M) With loves Without soul

9 11.181 9.047 104 0.500 0.429

9 1/2 11.836 9.047 136 0.500 0.447

12,210 9,047 154 0,500 0,454

* it 13,406 10,795 127 0,500 0,430

12 14.651 10.795 187 0.500 0.454

  The thickness of the wall of the envelope is 0.10 mm for all the sizes indicated in the table; the thickness of the wall of the tube formed by the tensile sleeve core is 1.575 mm and the compression efficiency is 0.50 in all cases of the core samples and has the value indicated in the last column

  in the case of samples without a core, creased and

  under the same conditions and at the same

  respective ratios of compression, but without soul.

  Experimental work, described in the aforementioned application No. 261,304, indicate that the thickness of the

  wall of the high-density polyethylene pulling sleeve

  for articles according to the invention must be understood

  between about 0.10 cm and about 0.15 cm.

  Tensile sleeves made of acrylonitrilebutadiene-styrene copolymer tube perform satisfactorily with a wall thickness somewhat less than that of the high density polyethylene tensile core cores.

  Polyvinyl chloride tensile sleeves are considered unsatisfactory because of the very high friction that occurs between the casing and the core elements formed by such sleeves. The choice of the material of the core or traction sleeve according to the invention depends on economic criteria and design, the main design factor to be considered is the choice of a thickness for the wall of the core. some resistance and a modulus of elasticity

  corresponding to the chosen material and making it

  to the forces of expansion of the envelope, which tend to deform and reduce the dimension of the opening of the soul

pulling sleeve.

  The invention as described above

  is an important improvement for the technique A longer length of pleated envelope for a length

  given sticks makes it possible to lengthen the production passes

  Continuous use The use of a premoistened or wetted envelope in a determined manner is very important, in combination with the other elements of the invention, since the imbibition preceding the stuffing being suppressed, it is not necessary to provide interstices. between the folds to facilitate this imbibition and the envelopes can be compressed tightly to the density state

  in accordance with the invention.

  It goes without saying that many modifications can be made to the article described and represented

  without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims (10)

  1 envelope article, characterized in that it comprises a core (11) with substantially rigid and tubular traction sleeve, supporting the envelope, means (13) located at a first end of the trac-   to enable the latter to be connected to a   canister regulator (15) capable of performing an alternating movement   native on a stuffing device, an envelope length   cellulosic food (17), wetted in a   and having a moisture content of between about 16% and about 35% of the total weight of the casing, this casing length being pleated and compressed on the core at a higher compression yield than would be the same pleated and compressed envelope length, under the same conditions of pleating and compression, but without   soul, the latter having a superior outer circumference   than the inner circumference of the opening   the same envelope if it was creased and   under the same conditions of pleating and compression, but without a core, the article also comprising a device (19) for calibrating the casing mounted on the traction sleeve and disposed inside an unfolded section of the length of pleated envelope.   Article according to claim 1, characterized   in that the compression efficiency is not inferior around 0.50.   Article according to claim 1, characterized   in that the diameter of the inflated envelope is   between about 3.8 cm and about 9.9 cm, the outer diameter of the rigid tubular core being between   about 2.54 cm and about 5.08 cm, and the ratio of   pressing the unfolded length to the pleated length of the envelope being between about 50 and about 360.   Article according to claim 3, characterized   rised in that the thickness of the wall of the tubular core   rigid is between about 0.10 cm and about 0.15 cm.   An article according to claim 1, characterized in that the diameter of the inflated envelope is between about 10.2 cm and about 13.44 cm, the outer diameter of the core of the tensile sleeve being between about 9 , 1 cm and about 10.9 cm and the compression ratio of the unfolded envelope length   the pleated envelope length being between about 100 and about 190.   Article according to claim 5, characterized   in that the thickness of the wall of the soul of the man-   tensile rating is approximately 0.127 cm and about 0.19 cm.   Article according to claim 1, characterized   in that the means at the first end of   of the pulling sleeve to connect it to a reciprocating expansion mechanism of a stuffing apparatus comprises an annular flange (13) which   protruding radially outwardly from the tubular surface the traction sleeve.   An article according to claim 7, characterized   characterized in that the flange comprises a shoulder (29) disposed between the end (31) of the compressed envelope   and a facial surface (33) of said flange, this shoulder   delimiting a space between said compressed end (31) of the envelope and said face surface of the flange   in order to allow the functional link with the   me regulator of a stuffing device.   Article according to claim 1, characterized   in that the calibration device is a disk (19) calibration.   An article according to claim 9, characterized   characterized in that the calibration disk has an arm (25) extending radially between the outer surface   of the tubular traction sleeve and a circumferential crown   feral (27) of said calibration disk.   Article according to claim 1, characterized   in that the length of the food envelope   Cellulose with a certain humidity receives an anti-   mycotic enough concentrated to prevent   any growth of mold in said envelope.   Article according to claim 11, characterized   characterized in that the antimycotic agent is selected from the group consisting of sodium chloride, magnesium chloride, ammonium chloride, calcium chloride and potassium chloride.