Patent ID: 6786813
Filing Date: 2004-09-07
Classification: A22C

Abstract:
An automated winder for an elongated product, comprising:an elongated arm having an associated length and opposing first and second end portions, wherein, in position, said first end portion is adapted to receive an elongated product thereon from an extrusion and/or stuffer device located upstream of the automated winder, and wherein the second end portion is configured to release the elongated product therefrom after the product travels a desired distance over the length of the arm away from the extrusion and/or stuffer device; and a winding mechanism attached to said elongated arm a distance from said first end portion, said winding mechanism configured to cause said elongated arm to travel repeatedly in a desired motion pattern so that, in operation, the winding mechanism causes the arm to release a sufficient length or lengths of one or more elongated products so that the one or more elongated products are directly suspended in a straddled non-looped configuration on a suitably positioned transfer support member at a plurality of spaced apart suspension contact regions, wherein the elongated arm is configured and sized, so that, in operation, during loading of a single transfer support member, the elongated arm, in response to traveling in the motion pattern directed by the winding mechanism, distributes a plurality of non-looped straddled product segments directly onto a respective transfer support member.