Patent GB-1366860-A (GB)
Title: Method and apparatus for packaging products in tubular encasing ma tterial
IPC: A22C11/00
Filed: 1970-12-21
Abstract: 1366860 Wrapping apparatus INDUSTRIAL KNITTING Inc 21 Dec 1971 [21 Dec 1970] 60695/70 Heading B8C [Also in Division A2] In wrapping apparatus, a cylinder 7 is lowered onto a plate 19 to close one end thereof, the leading end 28 of a tubular wrapper, which may be of stretchable or non-stretchable netting, is pulled over the cylinder 7, a meat product is placed in the cylinder 7, and the cylinder 7 is raised and withdrawn from the wrapper so that the latter encloses the meat product. The wrapper is supplied from a roll 31 and fed through a movably supported ring 51 and over guide rods 27 which depend from a member 17 which forms the plate 19. The member 17 is guided for vertical "floating" movement by angle bars 59 which carry pivotal fingers 67 spring urged into contact with the member 17 for transferring the wrapper onto the cylinder 7. A support 3 slidably houses a hollow piston 123 and can be connected to a pressure source or atmosphere through a line 173 and a valve 175. The hollow-piston 123 is connected to the ring 51 by an arm 49 and surrounds a second hollow piston 141 connected to the cylinder 7 by an arm 11. A rod 163 connects the piston 141 to a third piston 161 which is slidable within a tube 167 oonnectible to a pressure source or atmosphere via a line 181 and a valve 183. At the commencement of operation the apparatus is in the condition shown in Fig. 7A. Compressed air is supplied to the tube 167 to lower the cylinder on to the plate 19. The support 3 is then connected to atmosphere so that the cylinder 7, the member 17, and the ring 51 are lowered past the fingers 69 which thus transfer the wrapper on to the cylinder 7. This lowering of the cylinder 7 moves the cylinder clear of a weight-loaded pressure plate 105 to permit a meat product to be placed in the top of the cylinder 7. Compressed air is now supplied to the support 3 to raise the ring 51 and the cylinder 7. During this movement the guides 27 of the member 17 is clear of the ring 51 but rises with the wrapper, the fingers 69 pivoting away from the cylinder 7. The meat product then contacts the pressure plate 103 to halt the member 17 so that the ring 51 catches up with the guides 27 to push the member 17 upwardlyto compress the meat product against the pressure plate 105. A platform 193 on the arm 49 abuts stops 191 to halt upward movement of the first piston 123 so that pressure in the support 3 builds up to open a valve 153 in the piston 123 and thus cause the second piston 141 to be raised. Thus the cylinder 7 is withdrawn from the plate 19 and the wrapper. A cutter 91 then severs the wrapper. In a second embodiment (Figs. 2 and 2A) the fingers 69 are replaced by a ring (90) which surrounds the member 17 and has an expansible membrane (94) on its inner surface the membrane being inflated when the member 17 is lowered with the cylinder 7, thus transferring the wrapper onto the cylinder 7. The pressure plate 105 may be replaced by a device 203, Fig. 8, adjustably secured to the support 3 and housing a hollow piston 213 in turn surrounding a further hollow piston 221. The piston 213 has an enlarged lower end 235 from which depend hollow needles 237 apertured at 239, and has a flange 251 received in a chamber 245 of the device. The ends of the chamber can selectively be connected to a pressure source or atmosphere to raise or lower the piston 213. The piston 221 is fixed and connected to a feed conduct 257 provided with a valve 259. The device 203 may be used either to feed an additive into the meat product, or to feed a flowable meat product into the cylinder. For additive feeding, the piston 213 is lowered to insert the needles 237 into the meat whilst this is being compressed between the plate 19 and the device 203. This draws additive through the conduct 257 and into the piston 213. The valve 259 is then closed and the piston 213 is raised to expel the additive into the meat. For feeding fluid-meat, the operation of the device is the same with the conduit 257 connected to a meat source. In both eases, the extent to which the piston 213 is lowered is controlled by means of a switch 281 operated by an arm 291 on the piston 213.