Abstract:
A holder for retaining shirred gut sausage casing comprising an elongated, flexible, self-supporting, flattened tube having a longitudinal uninterrupted slit. The flattened tube comprises a pair of opposed parallel walls terminating in longitudinal edges at the slit. The flattened tube is formed from a relatively firm, flexible sheet material having a low coefficient of friction.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a continuation application of International Application No. PCT/CA97/00947, filed Dec. 9, 1997 (09.12.97). 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to packaging for natural gut sausage casing, and more particularly, to a holder for such casing. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     The sausage industry has been using a two-piece holder for natural gut casing and the packaging thereof. This two-piece holder is best described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,115,240, issued Dec. 24, 1963 to Edward Flomen et al. The holder, in accordance with the above United States patent, includes an elongated, flexible, self-supporting, flattened tube having opposed parallel walls. The flattened tube is reinforced by a stiffener insert adapted to be placed in the flattened tube. The flattened tube is disposable, thereby reducing the cost otherwise necessitated by the sanitation of the holder. Reference is made to this United States patent for a description of the particular problems faced when handling natural gut casing and the limitations encountered with conventional packaging for such products. 
     The two-piece holder is not popular in all markets. For instance, in the Japanese market, a reusable, one-piece, semi-rigid, cylindrical tube is commonly used. However, the tube must be sanitized before it can be reused. The use of such a holder requires that the sausage making plant be close to the supplier of natural gut casing in view of the back-and-forth transportation of the holders. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an aim of the present invention to provide a one-piece disposable holder for use in packaging natural gut sausage casing. 
     It is a further aim of the present invention to have an improved holder that can replace the one-piece reusable holder. 
     A construction in accordance with the present invention comprises an elongated, self-supporting, flattened, slit tube having a pair of opposed, somewhat parallel walls with overlapping longitudinal edges at the slit. The material of the tube is selected from a flexible self-supporting sheet material having a low coefficient of friction. 
     It has been found that, by providing the flattened tube having a continuous slit parallel to the axis of the tube, a firmer wall construction could be maintained while providing the necessary flexibility to the holder. 
     A preferred material for the flattened slit tube is polyethylene. 
     It has been found that a one-piece holder of relatively thin polyethylene material having a U-shaped cross-section having a bight portion and a pair of opposed parallel walls with inwardly curved free edges representing a flattened slit tube provides an ideal disposable holder. One end of the holder may be tapered in order to facilitate the loading of a length of natural gut onto the holder. In view of the flexible wall construction and the uninterrupted slit formed in the otherwise flattened tube, the holder may be easily placed on a shirring horn. In view of the relative stiffness of the holder, the holder tube will not have a tendency of “riding up” on the shirring horn. 
     In another embodiment of the present invention, the flattened slit tube has an extension from each end thereof, with one extension having a tapered end, and the two extensions have cooperating means for retaining the two end extensions together to form a loop. Thus, a casing can be mounted on the flattened slit tube on the shirring horn, and then the flattened tube can be formed in a loop by coupling the end extensions for the purpose of forming a transportable pack. 
     In a more specific embodiment, the end extension with the taper is provided with a notch at the bight in order to lock with the edges of the aperture when the end extensions are coupled together, thereby providing the retaining means. 
     In a still further embodiment of the present invention, end portions of the tube are separated from the holders by a weakened line in the bight portion extending transversely of the axis of the tube to allow the end portions to be flipped over the top of the bight at each end of the tube to provide abutment means for retaining the sausage casing on the tube. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Having thus generally described the nature of the invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, showing by way of illustration, a preferred embodiment thereof, and in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a natural gut casing holder in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the holder shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-section taken through line  3 — 3  in FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 is a side elevation showing natural gut casing shirred onto the holder of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a plurality of the holder shown in FIG. 4; 
     FIG. 6 is a side elevation showing another embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the holder of FIG. 6 in a different operative position; 
     FIG. 8 is a perspective view of yet another embodiment of the casing holder in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 9 is a side elevation thereof, partially in cross-section; 
     FIG. 10 is an enlarged axial cross-section of the area denoted by X in FIG. 9; 
     FIG. 11 is an end elevation of the tube in accordance with the embodiment shown in FIG. 8; and 
     FIG. 12 is a cross-section, taken along line XII—XII of FIG.  11 . 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIGS. 1 to  3 , a holder  10  is shown according to a preferred embodiment. The holder  10  has a tapered end  12 , the taper being formed by a gradual convex curve of somewhat semi-parabolic outline. The other end  14  may be a straight edge perpendicular to the axis of the holder  10 . 
     As shown in FIG. 3 in particular, the holder  10  has a bight portion  16  and a pair of opposed parallel side walls  18  and  20  that terminate at inwardly curved edges  22  and  24  respectively that tend to overlap. The holder  10  may be formed from a flat sheet of polyethylene film which has been bent under the influence of heat to form the bight  16 . The edges  22  and  24  are also curled to form the inwardly extending edges. The resulting construction of the holder is a flattened tube characterized by an elongated interrupted slit between the edges  22  and  24 . The ends  12  and  14  remain open, thus allowing the holder to be easily placed on a shirring horn. 
     The holder is preferably made of polyethylene or equivalent plastic material with a proper balance of firmness and flexibility. In other words, the holder should be strong enough to be self-supporting and to resist collapsing or “riding up” on the shirring horn when the gut is being shirred onto the holder, without the necessity of using a stiffener as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,115,240. At the same time, it is preferable that the holder be flexible and relatively soft in order to avoid tearing the gut as it is being shirred and so that the holder can be better manipulated on the shirring horn or various other transportation and delivery operations. 
     The preferred embodiment of holder  10  has a length of 21 cm. and a width of 2 cm., that is, between the bight  16  and the edges  22  and  24 . The overall thickness of the flattened tube is 5 mm. The thickness of the sheet material is 1.4 mm. The polyethylene has a low density at 0.92. 
     The tapered end  12  facilitates the shirring of the natural gut casing onto the holder  10 . The curved or curled edges  22  and  24  tend to overlap, and this avoids any potential aggressive cutting edges which might tear the casing. 
     Apertures  26  and  28  may also be provided on the respective ends of the holder  10  in order to accommodate laces as will be described. 
     FIG. 4 shows a holder  10  in accordance with the preferred embodiment on which a natural gut casing  30  has been shirred. For a holder of approximately 21 cm., a length of 15 m. of natural gut can be shirred thereon. 
     As can be seen from FIG. 5, laces  32  can be threaded through the openings  26  and  28  respectively of a group of holders  10  in order to form a transportable pack. 
     The embodiment shown in FIG. 6 includes elements which are similar to those in FIGS. 1 to  4 , and the references identifying those elements have been raised by 100. 
     Thus, a holder  110  includes a bight portion  116  and a pair of opposed parallel side walls  118  and  120  that terminate at inwardly curved longitudinal edges  122  and  124  respectively and tend to overlap. One end  112  is tapered and includes a linear edge. A notch  126  is formed in the bight portion of the end  112 . At the other end  114 , wall  120  extends forming a tail portion  134  with an opening  128 . The opening  128  is large enough to receive the tapered portion of end  112 , at least up to the notch  126 , which fits within the opening  128  as shown in FIG.  7 . FIG. 7 shows the holder with a gut casing  130  placed on the holder and the ends of the holder coupled together for transport. Thus, in the case of the present embodiment, laces  32  can be avoided. 
     As shown in FIGS. 8 through 12, another embodiment includes the holder  210  having a bight portion  216  and a pair of opposed parallel side walls  218  and  220  that terminate at inwardly curved, longitudinal edges  222  and  224  respectively, and tend to overlap. 
     Each end of the holder  210  is provided with an extension  212  and  214  respectively. These extensions  212  and  214  are identical and thus only one end  212  will be described. A wide notch  240  is defined in each side wall  218  and  220 , as shown in FIG.  9 . At the remainder of the material between the apices of the notches  240  extending transversely of the holder, particularly at the bight thereof, there is provided a weakened line  242  which provides a folding area. The weakened line  242 , as shown in FIG. 10, is formed at the extrusion process for forming the polyethylene tube and while the polyethylene material is still warm. Thus, there is inherent memory in the material causing the tube ends  212  and  214  to naturally assume the upright position, as will be described. 
     Thus, the tube holder  210  may be mounted to a shirring horn with the end extensions  212  and  214  coaxial with the retainer tube  210 . Once the natural gut sausage casing has been placed on the holder  210 , the ends  212  and  214  are flipped up so that they are roughly at 90° to the axis of the holder  210  and act as abutments to prevent the casing from ravelling off the end of the holder  210 .