MXPA99010877A - Conveyor chain and system for looped sausage products - Google Patents

Abstract

A conveyor chain (112) for linked sausages has a plurality of spaced first hook carriers (114) with second hook (116) carriers pivotally secured thereto between pairs of the first hook carriers. A generally J-shaped hook (92) having an elongated shank (94) is secured to each of the first and second hook carriers by one of the ends of the shank. A roller bearing (106) is rotatably mounted on that end of the shank (94) on only the shanks depending from the second hook carriers (116). The roller bearings (106) engage teeth (74) on a sprocket wheel spaced to operatively drivingly engage only the shanks depending from the second hook carriers (116). The conveyor chain (112) is continuous in nature and movably extends through an enclosed smoke compartment (34) for subjecting the loops (32) of linked sausages to the smoke material, either of a liquid nature, or natural smoke. The compartment (34) has a series of spaced rotatable members (46, 48, 50, 52, 58), some of which are sprockets (46) which engage and drive the chain (112), and others which are rotatable members (e.g. 150) having a circular bearing surface extending therearound to engage laterally extending bars (114) on the chain opposite to the hook members (92). The sprocket members (46, 52) are disposed in a horizontal plane and the rotatable members (58, 60) with the bearing surfaces are disposed in a vertical plane.

Description

SYSTEM AND CONVEYOR CHAIN FOR SAUSAGE PRODUCTS IN GAZAS DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The elongated strips of sausage links in loops are typically subjected to natural or liquid smoking after they are formed * in a sausage making machine. The environment for smoking is intended to impart flavor to the sausage. See a machine described in U.S. Patent No. 4,532,858. The sausage strip is draped over hooks on a conveyor which rotates through a smoker compartment where a liquid smoke or a natural smoke is present. The conveyor includes a continuous conveyor chain which moves through the compartment in more than one plane. The problem with existing conveyor chains is that the hooks on them are substantially separated to accommodate the turns in the sinuous path of the chain as it moves through the housing, thereby decreasing the density of the product of the system. Furthermore, it is not easily possible to place the hooks closer because this would not allow the chain to easily follow a double plane path within the confines of the housing. It is therefore a main object of this invention to provide a conveyor system and chain for sausage products in gauzes which increase the density (volume) of the sausage links, and at the same time, allow the conveyor to easily move through. of a sinuous plane-double trajectory inside the smoker compartment. These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art. A conveyor chain for link sausages has a plurality of first hook conveyors separated with second hook conveyors pivotally secured thereto between pairs of first hook conveyors. A generally J-shaped hook having an elongated rod is secured to each of the first and second hook conveyors by one of the ends of the rod. A roller bearing is rotatable mounted on that end of the rod only on the rods that depend on the second hook conveyors. The roller bearings engage the teeth in a separate toothed wheel to operatively and actuably engage only the rods that depend on the second hook conveyors. The conveyor chain is continuous considering the nature and extends movably through a closed smoker compartment to subject the sausage loops in links to smoker material, whether of a liquid nature, or natural smoked. The compartment has a series of separate rotating members, some of which are sprockets which mesh and drive the chain, and others which are rotating members having a circular support surface that extends around them to mesh the bars laterally. extended in the chain opposite the hook members. The cogwheel members are arranged in a horizontal plane and the rotating members with the support surfaces are arranged in a vertical plane. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a perspective view of a conveyor chain of the prior art; Figure IA is an exploded view of one of the hook assemblies of Figure 1; Figure IB. is an exploded top plan view of the assembly of Figure IA; Figure IC is an exploded side elevational view of the hook assembly of Figure IB as viewed from the bottom thereof; Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the prior art chain of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a top plan view of the prior art chain type shown in the Figures; Figure 4 is a perspective view of the conveyor chain of this invention; Figure 4A is an exploded perspective view of one of the hook assemblies of Figure 4; Figure 4B is an exploded top plan view of the hook assembly of Figure 4A; Figure 4C is an exploded side elevational view of the hook assembly of Figure 4B as viewed from the bottom thereof; Figure 5 is a side elevational view of a portion of the chain shown in Figure 4; Figure 6 is a plan view of the bottom of the chain shown in Figure 4 disposed in an arched position; Figure 6A is a top plan view of the chain shown in Figure 4 disposed in an arched position; Figure 7 is a bottom plan view similar to Figure 6 where the teeth of a gear are shown in dashed lines; Figure 8 is a plan view of the sprocket used together with the chain of Figures 4-7; Figure 9 is a sectional view taken along line 9-9 of Figure 8; Figure 10 is a plan view of a rotating member that forms part of the support mechanism for the chain of Figures 4-7; Figure 11 is a sectional view taken along line 11-11 of Figure 10; Figure 12 is a schematic plan view of a portion of the conveyor system of this invention; Figure 13 is a schematic perspective view showing the rotating members used in this invention; Figure 14 is a perspective view of a sausage making machine and the smoker compartment which houses the conveyor system of this invention. With reference to Figure 14, a conventional sausage machine 10 has a structure 12 with four support legs 14. The upper part 16 of the structure 12 supports a conventional stuffing tube 18, a meat emulsion pump 20, a cover hopper 22, a link forming housing 24 which houses a conventional link former (not shown), a computer control 26, and a conventional discharge horn 28.

The links of the sausage 30 formed in loops 32 are shown to be unloaded conventionally from the horn 28. The above structure is conventional and does not need, by itself, to constitute a part of this invention.

A conventional smoker compartment 34 has an inlet door 36 and an outlet door 38. The inlet and outlet doors 36 and 38 are located in the side wall 40. A substantially horizontal chain guide 42 is fixed to the side wall 40 as is a chain protector 44. With reference to Figure 13, the sprockets 46, 48, 50 and 52 are identical and are mounted in a horizontal plane on vertical axes 52 in any convenient manner. These '6-52 sprockets are mounted within the smoker compartment 34. An electric gear motor 56 is operatively connected to the sprocket 46 and adapted to rotate the sprocket 46 in a conventional manner. Pulleys 58 and 60 are mounted on the horizontal axes 62 on the outside of the side wall 40 with the sprocket 58 located within the shield 44. With reference to Figures 8 and 9, which specifically show the sprocket 46, the which is identical to the sprockets 48-52, a hub 64 is located in the center thereof and is secured to a central opening in the sprocket by a connecting screw 65. The hub 64 has a central hole 66 and a plurality of arms 68 extending radially outwardly thereof. The arms 68 end in a circular edge portion 70 which has an outer surface 72. A plurality of teeth 74 extend radially outwardly from the outer surface 72 (Figure 8) and end in a U-shaped groove 76. As we see it in Figure 13, the four identical cogwheels 46-52 are in a horizontal plane and are in the same plane with each other. The rotating member 58 is shown in Figures 10 and 11 and is similar to the member 60 except that the diameter of the member 58 is greater than the diameter of the member 60. The member 58 has a hub 78 with a central hole 79 adapted to receive the horizontal axis 62 (Figure 13). A central network 80 extends outwardly from the hub 78 and terminates at an edge 82 which has a flat circular support surface 84. With reference to Figures 1-3, a conventional prior art chain 86 is shown which includes a hook conveyor 88. The conveyor 88 includes a J-shaped hook 90 which has a J-shaped portion 92 at its lower end. An elongate rod 94 extends from the J-shaped portion 92 upward toward the hook conveyor 88. With particular reference to FIGS. 1, IA, IB, and IC, the conveyor 88 has two components: a small safety hook. 96 and a larger security hook 98. Each security hook has a vertical wall or base 100. Each security hook 96 and 98 has a pair of horizontally disposed tongues 102 and 102A, respectively, which extend horizontally outward from the base wall 100. A flat bar 104 extends laterally outwardly from the upper tab 102 in the member 96. The upper end of the hook rod 94 extends upwards through an opening in the lower tab 102 and ends by making stamped depressions or the like in the central part of the bar 104. As can be seen in Figure 1, a rotary bearing 106 is mounted on the upper end of the rod 94 in the space between the lower tab 102A and the bar 104. A pin 108 (with a sleeve 109 therein) pivotally connects the separate tabs 110 and 110A. Those tongues are positioned vertically and extend outwardly from the base walls 100 of the members 96 and 98 facing each other. The tabs 102A are received between the tabs 110 of the member 96. Once again, the pin 108 extends through the matching apertures in the tabs 110 and 110A to pivotally secure the members 96 and 98 together. While the prior art structures of Figures 1 to 3 can be used, the substantial space between the rods 94, as caused by the members 96 and 98, substantially reduce the number of sausage rolls that can be transported by the chain 88. The chain system of this invention is shown in Figures 4-7. With reference to Figure 4, the chain 112 is composed of a first hook conveyor 114 and a second hook conveyor 116. The hook conveyor 114 includes a U-shaped clamp 118 having a bottom 120 and sides 122. A pair of vertically disposed tabs 124 extend longitudinally outwardly from one side of the walls 122. A similar pair of tabs 126 are also arranged in a vertical plane and extend outwardly in a direction opposite the tabs 124. A transverse bar 128 rigidly secured to the upper ends of the side walls 122 and extends in a lateral direction of the clamp 118. A C-shaped safety hook 130 (Figure 4C) has a vertical wall base 132 with horizontally arranged upper tabs 134 and 136 extending outwardly from the wall 132. A horizontal transverse bar 138 extends laterally outwardly from the tongue 134. cross bar 138 is essentially identical to cross bar 128. A pair of tabs 140 lie in a vertical plane and extend toward tabs 126 of member 114. Tabs 140 are pivotally fitted within tabs 124 and pivotally connected together by pins 141 (Figure 4). The C-shaped safety hook described above 130 comprises one of the two components of the second hook conveyor 116. The second hook conveyor component 116 is composed of a composite safety hook 142 (Figure 4A) which has a wall of normal and vertically extended base 144. A pair of tabs 146 are in a horizontal plane, and extend towards the tabs 134 and 136 in the security hook 130. The tabs 146 are adjustably and pivotally fit within the tabs 134 and 136 in the safety hook 130. A second pair of tongues 148 lie in a vertical plane and extend from the base wall 144 in an opposite direction to that of the tabs 146. Again, the upper ends of the total of the rods 94 are rigidly secured to the central parts of the lateral extended bars 128 or 138. The upper ends of the rods extend through openings suitable in the lower tab member of the hook conveyors 114 and 116. It is important to note that there are bearings 150 on the upper ends of the rods only which depend on the second hook conveyors 116 and not the hook conveyor 114. it should be noted that the hooks 90 in the embodiment of Figures 4-7 are much closer together than the hook elements are in. the prior art device of Figures * 1 to 3. In the normal operation of the device of this invention, (Fig. 14) The tassels of the sausage strips are created as the hooks 90 intersect the links 30 at predetermined points. The gauges 32 are transported through the entrance door 36 and are subjected to a smoke bath generally located at the end 152 of the compartment 34. The general area designated by the number 154 represents the area where the sausage locks are allowed to dry or at least lose part of the excessive liquid smoke imposed on the gauze. The trajectory of the loops through the compartment 34 is best shown by the dashed lines of Figure 13. As soon as the loops enter through the door 36, their direction reverses as the chain 88 moves around the wheel toggle 50 and back towards the gearwheel 52. The chain direction then reverses and the loops move back towards the cogwheel 46. Upon moving away from the cogwheel 46 the chain then moves towards the cogwheel 48 the which moves the chain through the exit opening 38 towards the rotating member 58. The member 58 moves the chain vertically upwards and back towards the starting place to the rotating member 60. When it is in its last phase of this trajectory , the chain moves in the chain guide 42 on the outside of the compartment 34 as shown in Figure 14. The device for imparting liquid smoking or natural smoking to the length of the chain in the Area 152 has shown us that this is conventional and does not itself need to understand a part of this invention. From the foregoing, it can be seen that the closely located hooks 90 will substantially increase the volume or density of loops that can be treated in the smoker compartment 34 through a pass of the chain 88. Also, since the sprockets 42 As the roller bearings 150 are substantially separated and engaged, which are mounted only on one hook or the other, the chain 88 moves easily from one plane to the other within the compartment 34. Therefore, it has been seen that this invention will achieve at least all its stated objectives.

Claims (15)

1. CLAIMS 1. A conveyor chain characterized in that it comprises a plurality of first hook conveyors separated with second hook conveyors pivotally secured thereto between pairs of the first hook conveyors, a generally J-shaped hook having an elongated rod secured to each of its first and second hook conveyors by one of the ends of the rod, and a roller bearing rotatably mounted on one end of the rod only on the rods which depend on the second hook conveyors to engage the teeth of a wheel Toothed separated for operative and actuably engage only the rods that depend on the second hook conveyors. The conveyor according to claim 1, characterized in that the first hook conveyors are each comprised of a U-shaped member having separate pairs of tabs extending lengthwise from the opposite ends thereof, with each pair of tabs being pivotally secured about laterally extended axes to one of the second hook conveyors. 3. The conveyor chain according to claim 2, characterized in that the second hook conveyors each consist of a pair of C-shaped safety hook members pivotally secured to each other and each secured to a rod that depends on the second hook conveyor, with each of the safety hook members being pivotally secured to a first adjacent hook conveyor about a laterally extended axis. 4. The conveyor chain according to claim 3, characterized in that the laterally extended bar is secured to one end of each of the rods. The conveyor chain according to claim 1, characterized in that the rods depending on each of the first hook conveyors are rigidly secured to the first hook conveyors. The conveyor chain according to claim 3, characterized in that the rods depending on each of the second hook conveyors are rigidly secured to one of the safety hook members. 7. A conveyor system, characterized in that it comprises, a structure, a series of rotating members separated in the structure, a continuous conveyor chain extending around the rotating members, activation means in the structure for rotating at least one of the rotating members for moving the chain to move, the chain comprises a plurality of first hook conveyors separated with second hook conveyors pivotally secured thereto between pairs of first hook conveyors, a generally J-shaped hook having an elongated rod secured to each of the first and second hook conveyors at one end of the rod, at least one of the rotating members being one. gear wheel having radially extended spaced teeth, the teeth are separated in such a way that operatively and actuably engage the rods that depend on the second hook conveyors. The conveyor system according to claim 8, characterized in that the gear wheel is arranged in a plane at right angles to a longitudinal axis of the rods. The conveyor system according to claim 8, characterized in that a laterally extended bar is secured to one of the ends of each of the rods, at least one of the rotating members has a circular support surface extending around from an outer periphery thereof, the chain extends partially around the support surface with the laterally extended bars engaging the support surface. 10. The conveyor system according to claim 9, characterized in that the circular support surface is rotated about a horizontal axis. The conveyor system according to claim 9, characterized in that the support surface rotates about a horizontal axis. The conveyor system according to claim 10, characterized in that the circular support surface is rotated about a horizontal axis and the plane of the rotating member is in a vertical position. The conveyor system according to claim 12, characterized in that the rotating members include two of the supporting surfaces in a vertical plane, and includes four of the sprockets in a horizontal plane. The device according to claim 7, characterized in that the conveyor system is enclosed within a smoked sausage compartment 15. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the conveyor system is enclosed within a sausage smoker compartment. SUMMARY A chain conveyor "(112) for link shaped sausages has a plurality of first separate hook conveyors (114) with second hook conveyors (116) pivotally secured thereto between pairs of first hook conveyors. generally J-shaped (92) has an elongate rod (94) which is secured to each of the first and second hook conveyors by one end of the rod A roller bearing (106) is rotatably mounted at that end of the rod (94) only in the rods that depend on the second hook conveyors (116) The roller bearing (106) engages the teeth (74) of a separate toothed wheel for operative and actuably engaging only the rods that depend on the second hook conveyors (116) The conveyor chain (112) is continuous in nature and movably extends through a closed smoker compartment (34) for submitting the loops (32) of the sausages in the labones to a smoker material, either liquid or natural smoke. The compartment (34) has a series of separate rotating members (46, 48. 50, 52, 58), some of which are sprockets (46) which mesh and drive the chain (112), and others which are rotating members (for example 150) having a circular support surface that extends around them to engage the laterally extended bars (114) in the chain opposite the hook members (92). The gearwheel members (46, 52) are disposed in a horizontal plane and the rotating members (58, 60) with the support surfaces are arranged in a vertical plane.