Patent Description:
In a sausage production line, first, a casing having a predetermined length is filled with ingredients by using a sausage filling machine, and is twisted to form a chain of sausages. Then, such a chain of sausages is hung on a stick by a sausage sticking system. Thereafter, the sausages are transferred to subsequent heat treatment and smoke treatment processes, etc..

Examples of a sausage sticking system used for hanging a chain of sausages on a stick include one in which hooks attached at predetermined intervals to an endless chain which is an endless circulation body are used to form loops of a chain of sausages, and a stick passes through the loops to hang the chain of sausages.

In such a sausage sticking system, Patent Document <NUM> discloses a sausage sticking system capable of transferring a chain of sausages for one stick hooked on hooks to a stick simply by moving the stick held at one end in a horizontal direction. In the sausage sticking system, hook portions that rotate about a substantially horizontal axis are attached to an endless circulation body at regular intervals. The chain of sausages is hooked on the hook portions to form loops, and the hook portions are rotated, so that the chain of sausages hooked on the hook portions can be transferred to the stick which passes through the loops and is held at one end.

Further, Patent Document <NUM> discloses a sausage sticking system that hangs a chain of sausages on a stick held at both ends. The sausage sticking system is one in which a front part of the stick passing through the loop of the chain of sausages is supported by a front stick support member, and a rear part of the stick is supported by a rear stick support member. The rear stick support member is provided on a second endless circulation body that moves in the same traveling direction as a first endless circulation body to which the hook portions are attached. Other devices for hanging sausages on sticks are described in <CIT>, <CIT> and <CIT>.

However, in a case of the sausage sticking system that transfers the chain of sausages from the hook portions to the stick held at one end as in Patent Document <NUM>, since the stick is held at one end, there is a risk that the stick may curve due to weight when the chain of sausages is hung. If the stick curves, there is a risk that the hung chain of sausages may fall.

It is difficult to pass the curved stick through the loops of the chain of sausages, and a tip of the stick further hits the chain of sausages and may damage the sausage. Further, when the curved stick is transferred to the subsequent heat treatment and smoke treatment processes, there is also a risk that the stick may fall from a trolley or the chain of sausages may be gathered near a center of the stick unevenly.

Even if the stick does not curve, the stick sways since one end is held, making the stick difficult to hang the chain of sausages in a correct position. Furthermore, there are risks that the chain of sausages also sways if the stick sways, a twisted portion of the chain of sausages may twist back, a casing may be easily cut, and an appearance may be deformed, and resulting in a defective product.

Due to a configuration in which the chain of sausages is transferred from the hooks to the stick by a cooperative operation of the hooks and a guide groove of a transfer execution unit, the sausage sticking system of Patent Document <NUM> can hang the chain of sausages at a specific position determined by the guide groove at a specific interval. Therefore, it is difficult to change positions and intervals at which the chain of sausages is hung on the stick according to a length of the casing.

In the sausage sticking system of Patent Document <NUM>, since the chain of sausages can be hung on the stick held at both ends, the stick does not curve or sway, unlike the sausage sticking system in which the chain of sausages is hung on the stick held at one end. However, the positions and intervals at which the chain of sausages is hung on the stick cannot be changed according to the length of the casing.

The length of the casing is not constant, and the number of loops of the chain of sausages hung on one stick changes according to the length of the casing. In the related art where a hanging position cannot be changed, when the chain of sausages is hung at a specific position at a specific interval, if the casing is short, there is a risk that the chain of sausages may be unevenly hung on one stick. As a result, non-uniform gaps are generated in chains of sausages respectively hung on a plurality of sticks mounted on a trolley. Such non-uniform gaps may lead to non-uniform smoke treatment in the subsequent smoke treatment process, resulting in a defective product. Therefore, a worker spends a lot of time and effort to re-hang the sausages.

Therefore, it is desired to develop a sausage sticking system in which a stick does not sway or curve, and positions and intervals at which a chain of sausages is hung on the stick can be changed according to a length of a casing.

In view of such circumstances, the present invention provides a sausage sticking system capable of changing positions and intervals at which a chain of sausages is hung on a stably held stick according to a length of a casing.

In order to achieve the above object of the present invention, a sausage sticking system according to the present invention includes:
a hook conveying unit including a plurality of pivoting hooks pivotable and arranged at predetermined intervals, and conveying the plurality of pivoting hooks at a predetermined speed, the hook conveying unit being configured such that the chain of sausages is hooked on each of the plurality of pivoting hooks to form a loop respectively and the loop of the chain of sausages hooked on each of the plurality of pivoting hooks is dropped onto the stick passing through the loop by pivoting each of the plurality of pivoting hooks; a stick holding unit holding both ends of the stick on which the chain of sausages hooked on the plurality of pivoting hooks of the hook conveying unit is to be hung, and including a fixed arm and a pair of actuating arms, the fixed arm holding a vicinity of one end of the stick on a side further from a conveying direction of the plurality of pivoting hooks, and the pair of actuating arms holding a vicinity of another end of the stick on a side closer to the conveying direction of the plurality of pivoting hooks, wherein the pair of actuating arms alternately performs an operation of holding the stick and an operation of avoiding the loop of the chain of sausages in order to sequentially pass the stick through each the loop of the chain of sausages hooked on the plurality of pivoting hooks; and a pivoting imparting unit configured to sequentially pivot the plurality of pivoting hooks at a predetermined pivoting imparting position while moving in a direction opposite to the conveying direction of the plurality of pivoting hooks of the hook conveying unit such that each the loop of the chain of sausages hooked on the plurality of pivoting hooks of the hook conveying unit is dropped at a predetermined position and a predetermined interval onto the stick.

Here, the hook conveying unit may include an endless circulation body configured to move on an elliptical orbit, and each of the plurality of pivoting hooks of the hook conveying unit includes: a hook base connected to the endless circulation body and including a pivot shaft; a bearing pivotably supporting the pivot shaft; a sausage hook unit formed on a lower side of the bearing and hooking the loop of the chain of sausages; and a pivoting imparting receiving unit formed on an upper side of the bearing and against which the pivoting imparting unit abuts.

The pivoting imparting unit may wait at the predetermined pivoting imparting position, and pivot each of the plurality of pivoting hooks by which the pivoting imparting receiving unit of each of the plurality of pivoting hooks conveyed at the predetermined speed by the hook conveying unit abuts against the pivoting imparting unit.

The pivoting imparting unit may include an abutting arm configured to abut against the pivoting imparting receiving unit, and the abutting arm may extend so as to abut against the pivoting imparting receiving unit when the pivoting imparting unit moves in the direction opposite to the conveying direction of the plurality of pivoting hooks of the hook conveying unit, and may contract so as not to abut against the pivoting imparting receiving unit when the pivoting imparting unit returns to the conveying direction of the plurality of pivoting hooks of the hook conveying unit after the pivoting is imparted.

Furthermore, the sausage sticking system may further include a control unit presetting the number of and an interval between the loops of the chain of sausages to be hung on one stick based on the predetermined length of the casing, wherein the control unit controls a conveying speed of the hook conveying unit, operations of the pair of actuating arms of the stick holding unit, and a pivoting imparting operation of the pivoting imparting unit based on the preset number of and interval between the loops of the chain of sausages.

The sausage sticking system of the present invention has an advantage that the positions and intervals at which the chain of sausages is hung can be changed according to the length of the casing with respect to the stably held stick.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to a shown example. <FIG> is a schematic top view for illustrating an overall image of a sausage sticking system of the present invention. As illustrated in <FIG>, the sausage sticking system of the present invention mainly includes a hook conveying unit <NUM>, a stick holding unit <NUM>, and a pivoting imparting unit <NUM>. The sausage sticking system of the present invention is used to hang on a stick <NUM> a chain of sausages <NUM> whose casing <NUM> having a predetermined length is filled with ingredients by using a sausage filling machine.

Here, the chain of sausages <NUM> is in which the casing <NUM> is filled with the ingredients and twisted at regular intervals so that a plurality of sausages are connected in a chain manner. The stick <NUM> on which the chain of sausages <NUM> is hung may be taken out from the stick holding unit <NUM> and transferred to a subsequent smoke treatment process or the like.

The casing <NUM> may be a natural casing made of intestines of pigs or sheep or an artificial casing made of collagen or the like. In a case of the natural casing, a length of the casing cannot be known in advance, but in a case of the artificial casing, the length of the casing can be known in advance.

Either the natural casing or the artificial casing is acceptable, and as will be described later, in the sausage sticking system of the present invention, positions and intervals at which the chain of sausages <NUM> is hung on the stick <NUM> can be changed according to the length of the casing <NUM>, and thus, in the case of the artificial casing in which the length of the casing <NUM> can be known in advance, the positions and intervals can be designated in advance.

The hook conveying unit <NUM> conveys a plurality of pivoting hooks <NUM> at a predetermined speed. The plurality of pivoting hooks <NUM> are arranged at predetermined intervals. The hook conveying unit <NUM> is configured such that the loop of the chain of sausages <NUM> hooked on each of the pivoting hooks <NUM> is dropped onto the stick <NUM> passing through the loop by pivoting each of the pivoting hooks <NUM>.

The hook conveying unit <NUM> includes an endless circulation body <NUM>. The endless circulation body <NUM> is configured to move on an elliptical orbit, as illustrated in <FIG>. The endless circulation body <NUM> may be made of, for example, a chain loop or a belt loop. The endless circulation body <NUM> may be configured to travel from a position where the chain of sausages <NUM> is hooked on the plurality of pivoting hooks <NUM>, pass through a position where the chain of sausages <NUM> is dropped onto the stick <NUM>, and return to a position where the chain of sausages <NUM> is to be hooked on the empty hooks after the chain of sausages <NUM> is dropped.

The stick <NUM> is arranged parallel to the endless circulation body <NUM>, and the pivoting hooks <NUM> are conveyed along the stick <NUM>. Here, the conveying of the pivoting hooks <NUM> of the hook conveying unit <NUM> may be performed intermittently. The chain of sausages <NUM> may be sequentially hooked on the pivoting hooks <NUM> from the sausage filling machine while the conveying of the pivoting hooks <NUM> is temporarily stopped. The conveying of the pivoting hooks of the hook conveying unit <NUM> is not necessarily limited to the intermittent conveying, and may be performed continuously, and the chain of sausages <NUM> may be sequentially hooked on the pivoting hooks <NUM> in accordance with a conveying operation.

A specific configuration of the hook conveying unit <NUM> will be described with reference to <FIG> is a schematic side view for illustrating details of the sausage sticking system of the present invention. In <FIG>, parts having the same reference numerals as those in <FIG> represent the same objects. The plurality of pivoting hooks <NUM> are connected to the endless circulation body <NUM> at regular intervals and is conveyed along the movement of the endless circulation body <NUM> on the elliptical orbit.

The chain of sausages <NUM> is hooked on each of the plurality of pivoting hooks <NUM> to form one loop 2a. The loop 2a is a loop formed by connecting a plurality of sausages in a chain manner, and for example, as illustrated in <FIG>, one loop 2a includes four sausages. The number of sausages forming the loop is not particularly limited to the illustrated example.

As illustrated in <FIG>, each of the pivoting hooks <NUM> includes a hook base <NUM>, a bearing <NUM>, a sausage hook unit <NUM>, and a pivoting imparting receiving unit <NUM>. The hook base <NUM> is connected to the endless circulation body <NUM>. The hook base <NUM> includes a pivot shaft 13a. The pivoting hook <NUM> is configured to pivot about the pivot shaft 13a. The bearing <NUM> pivotably supports the pivot shaft 13a. The sausage hook unit <NUM> is formed on a lower side of the bearing <NUM>.

The sausage hook unit <NUM> is a unit that hooks the loop 2a of the chain of sausages <NUM>. The pivoting imparting receiving unit <NUM> is formed on an upper side of the bearing <NUM>. The pivoting imparting receiving unit <NUM> is a unit against which the pivoting imparting unit <NUM> which will be described later abuts. The pivoting hook <NUM> may be obtained by integrally forming the pivoting imparting receiving unit <NUM> and the sausage hook unit <NUM> above and below the bearing <NUM> of the hook base <NUM>. A weight balance between the sausage hook unit <NUM> and the pivoting imparting receiving unit <NUM> may be adjusted such that the sausage hook unit <NUM> goes to the lower side when the loop 2a is not hooked.

Here, the pivot shaft 13a is oriented obliquely with respect to the stick <NUM> when viewed from above, and the pivoting hook <NUM> above the stick <NUM> is configured to pivot about the pivot shaft 13a directed in an oblique direction. Accordingly, when the pivoting hook <NUM> is pivoted by the pivoting imparting unit <NUM> which will be described later, the pivoting hook <NUM> can be prevented from abutting against the adjacent pivoting hook <NUM>.

The sausage hook unit <NUM> in the illustrated example has an L shape. Specifically, the sausage hook unit <NUM> has a shape obtained by bending a plate-like body having a certain width into the L shape such that a twisted portion of the chain of sausages <NUM> is hung and the loop 2a is widened laterally to make the stick <NUM> pass through the loop 2a. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and any shape may be used as long as the loop 2a is hooked on the sausage hook unit <NUM> and the loop 2a can be dropped by pivoting.

Next, the stick holding unit <NUM> holds both ends of the stick <NUM> when the chain of sausages <NUM> hooked on the plurality of pivoting hooks <NUM> of the hook conveying unit <NUM> is to be hung on the stick <NUM>. The stick holding unit <NUM> includes a fixed arm <NUM> and a pair of actuating arms <NUM>. The fixed arm <NUM> holds the vicinity of the end of the stick <NUM> at a side farther from a conveying direction of the plurality of pivoting hooks <NUM>. Here, the side farther from the conveying direction of the pivoting hooks <NUM> is a right side in <FIG>.

That is, the fixed arm <NUM> holds the vicinity of the end of the stick <NUM> on the side where the pivoting hooks <NUM> arrive later. The fixed arm <NUM> may be appropriately provided with a U-shaped groove or the like in order to hold the stick <NUM> from below. The pair of actuating arms <NUM> hold the vicinity of the end of the stick <NUM> on a side closer to the conveying direction of the plurality of pivoting hooks <NUM>. Here, the side closer to the conveying direction of the pivoting hooks <NUM> is a left side in <FIG>. That is, the pair of actuating arms <NUM> hold the vicinity of the end of the stick <NUM> on a side where the pivoting hooks <NUM> arrive faster.

The pair of actuating arms <NUM> alternately perform an operation of holding the stick <NUM> and an operation of avoiding the loop 2a of the chain of sausages <NUM> in order to sequentially pass the stick <NUM> through each the loop 2a of the chain of sausages <NUM> hooked on the plurality of pivoting hooks <NUM>. The pair of actuating arms <NUM> may also be appropriately provided with a U-shaped groove or the like in order to hold the stick <NUM> from below.

Details of the operations of the pair of actuating arms <NUM> will be illustrated with reference to <FIG> are schematic top views for illustrating the details of the operations of the pair of actuating arms of the stick holding unit of the sausage sticking system of the present invention. In <FIG>, parts having the same reference numerals as those in <FIG> represent the same objects.

The chain of sausages <NUM> is partially illustrated in a cross section. The pair of actuating arms <NUM> include an arm 22a and an arm 22b. The arms 22a and 22b of the pair of actuating arms <NUM> protrude below the stick <NUM> to support the stick <NUM> from below when holding the stick <NUM>, and move downward and retract when avoiding the loop 2a of the chain of sausages <NUM>. As illustrated in <FIG>, the loop 2a of the chain of sausages <NUM> is conveyed by the hook conveying unit <NUM> from left to right in <FIG>.

In this case, first, the arm 22b of the pair of actuating arms <NUM> performs the operation of holding the stick <NUM>. That is, the arm 22b protrudes below the stick <NUM> and holds the stick <NUM> in a manner of supporting the stick from below. On the other hand, the arm 22a performs the operation of avoiding the loop 2a of the chain of sausages <NUM>. That is, the arm 22a is retracted from a lower side of the stick <NUM> so as not to hit the loop 2a of the chain of sausages <NUM> conveyed from the left.

When the loop 2a of the chain of sausages <NUM> conveyed from left to right in a manner of not hitting the arm 22a is conveyed to the front of the arm 22b, the arm 22a and the arm 22b are exchanged, and in this case, as illustrated in <FIG>, both the arms 22a and 22b are temporarily operated to hold the stick <NUM>. Then, as illustrated in <FIG>, the arm 22b performs the operation of avoiding the loop 2a of the chain of sausages <NUM>.

In this case, the arm 22a remains in a state of holding the stick <NUM>. When the next loop 2a is conveyed to the front of the arm 22a while the loop 2a of the chain of sausages <NUM> conveyed from left to right in the manner of not hitting the arm 22b is conveyed, the arm 22a and the arm 22b are exchanged, and also in this case, as illustrated in <FIG>, both the arms 22a and 22b are temporarily operated to hold the stick <NUM>. Then, the arm 22a performs the operation of avoiding the loop 2a of the chain of sausages <NUM>, and is in the state as illustrated in <FIG> again. By repeating such operations, one of the pair of actuating arms <NUM> is in the state of holding the stick <NUM>.

Accordingly, the arms 22a and 22b of the pair of the actuating arms <NUM> are configured to repeat the operations of extending and retracting at predetermined timings in conjunction with the conveying operation of the pivoting hooks <NUM> of the hook conveying unit <NUM>. Therefore, the stick holding unit <NUM> can pass the stick <NUM> through the loop 2a of the chain of sausages <NUM> while always stably holding both ends of the stick <NUM> by the actuating arms <NUM> together with the fixed arm <NUM>.

A distance between the arms 22a and 22b of the pair of actuating arms <NUM> may be wider than a diameter of the chain of sausages <NUM>, and may be narrower than a distance between the loops 2a of the chain of sausages <NUM>, that is, an interval between the plurality of pivoting hooks <NUM>.

Next, the pivoting imparting unit <NUM> will be described. Referring to <FIG> again, the pivoting imparting unit <NUM> is configured to sequentially pivot the plurality of pivoting hooks <NUM> at a predetermined pivoting imparting position while moving in a direction opposite to the conveying direction of the plurality of pivoting hooks <NUM> of the hook conveying unit <NUM>, so that the loops 2a of the chain of sausages <NUM> hooked on the pivoting hooks <NUM> of the hook conveying unit <NUM> are dropped at predetermined positions and the predetermined intervals onto the stick <NUM>.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the pivoting hook <NUM> with the chain of sausages <NUM> hooked thereon is conveyed from left to right in <FIG>. In this case, the pivoting imparting unit <NUM> may, for example, wait at the predetermined pivoting imparting position, and each of the pivoting imparting receiving units <NUM> of the plurality of pivoting hooks <NUM> conveyed at the predetermined speed by the hook conveying unit <NUM> may abut against the pivoting imparting unit <NUM>, so that the pivoting imparting unit <NUM> may pivot the pivoting hooks <NUM>.

The pivoting imparting unit <NUM> may not wait at the predetermined pivoting imparting position, and be moved in the direction opposite to the conveying direction of the pivoting hooks <NUM> so as to sequentially abut against each the pivoting imparting receiving unit <NUM> at the predetermined pivoting imparting position. Accordingly, by pivoting the pivoting hook <NUM> by the pivoting imparting unit <NUM>, the loop 2a of the chain of sausages <NUM> hooked on the pivoting hook <NUM> can be dropped onto the stick <NUM> passing through the loop 2a.

In this case, the pivoting imparting position of the pivoting imparting unit <NUM> can be freely set such that the loop 2a of the chain of sausages <NUM> is dropped onto the stick <NUM> at the predetermined position and the predetermined interval. That is, the positions and intervals at which the chain of sausages <NUM> is hung can be changed according to the pivoting imparting position of the pivoting imparting unit <NUM>, and the loop 2a of the chain of sausages <NUM> can be hung at a desired position simply by causing the pivoting imparting unit <NUM> to abut against the pivoting imparting receiving unit <NUM> at the desired position.

The interval between the plurality of pivoting hooks <NUM> is a maximum interval of the predetermined intervals at the pivoting imparting position of the pivoting imparting unit <NUM>. That is, an interval for hanging a widest loop of the chain of sausages <NUM> is determined by the interval between the plurality of pivoting hooks <NUM>. For example, when the hook conveying unit <NUM> conveys the pivoting hooks <NUM> intermittently, the interval for hanging the widest loop is obtained when all the loops 2a for one stick are dropped from the pivoting hooks <NUM> while the conveying of the pivoting hook <NUM> is stopped.

Therefore, for example, the interval between the plurality of pivoting hooks <NUM> may be adjusted to be the interval for hanging the widest loop of the chain of sausages <NUM> to be hung, that is, an interval in a case where the length of the casing <NUM> is short and the number of loops is minimum. For example, when the length of the casing <NUM> is long and the number of loops of the chain of sausages <NUM> for one stick is large, the pivoting hook <NUM> may be pivoted by the pivoting imparting unit <NUM> at the pivoting imparting position with a narrower interval than the interval between the plurality of pivoting hooks <NUM>, so that the loop 2a is dropped.

Accordingly, by adjusting a relation between the conveying speed of the pivoting hook <NUM> of the hook conveying unit <NUM> and the pivoting imparting operation performed by the pivoting imparting unit <NUM>, the loops 2a of the chain of sausages <NUM> on one stick can be hung at equal intervals regardless of the interval between the plurality of pivoting hooks <NUM>.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the pivoting imparting unit <NUM> may include an abutting arm <NUM>, for example. The abutting arm <NUM> abuts against the pivoting imparting receiving unit <NUM> of the pivoting hook <NUM>. The abutting arm <NUM> may be extendable and retractable. For example, the abutting arm may include a cylinder or the like. The abutting arm <NUM> may be in an extended state so as to abut against the pivoting imparting receiving unit <NUM> when the pivoting imparting unit <NUM> moves in the direction opposite to the conveying direction of the plurality of pivoting hooks <NUM> of the hook conveying unit <NUM>, that is, from right to left in <FIG>.

Then, the abutting arm <NUM> abuts against the pivoting imparting receiving unit <NUM>, and the pivoting hooks <NUM> are sequentially pivoted at predetermined positions, so that the loops 2a of the chain of sausages <NUM> hooked on the pivoting hooks <NUM> may be dropped at the predetermined positions and the predetermined intervals onto the stick <NUM>. The pivoting imparting unit <NUM> is not particularly limited to the illustrated example, and may have any shape as long as the pivoting imparting unit <NUM> can abut against the pivoting imparting receiving unit <NUM>.

In the illustrated example, the abutting arm <NUM> is in the extended state and abuts against the pivoting imparting receiving unit <NUM>, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and may be configured such that a moment the pivoting hook <NUM> comes to the pivoting imparting position, the pivoting imparting receiving unit <NUM> is hit to cause the pivoting.

After all the loops 2a of the chain of sausages <NUM> to be hung on one stick <NUM> are dropped onto the stick <NUM>, as illustrated in <FIG>, the abutting arm <NUM> of the pivoting imparting unit <NUM> may be in a contracted state. <FIG> is a schematic side view for illustrating details of an operation of the pivoting imparting unit of the sausage sticking system of the present invention. In <FIG>, parts having the same reference numerals as those in <FIG> represent the same objects.

As illustrated in <FIG>, after pivoting the pivoting hooks <NUM> for one stick, the abutting arm <NUM> may be contracted so as not to abut against the pivoting imparting receiving unit <NUM> when the pivoting imparting unit <NUM> returns to the conveying direction of the plurality of pivoting hooks <NUM> of the hook conveying unit <NUM>, that is, from left to right in <FIG>.

Accordingly, when the pivoting is imparted, that is, when the pivoting imparting unit <NUM> moves from right to left in <FIG>, the abutting arm <NUM> can be configured to extend to abut against the pivoting imparting receiving unit <NUM> to pivot the pivoting hooks <NUM>, and after the pivoting is imparted, that is, when the pivoting imparting unit <NUM> returns from left to right in <FIG>, the abutting arm <NUM> can be configured to contract and not abut against the pivoting imparting receiving unit <NUM>. The pivoting imparting unit <NUM> returns to an original position and waits to hang the chain of sausages <NUM> on a next stick <NUM>.

The illustrated example shows that the abutting arm <NUM> can be extended and contracted by the cylinder, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and any configuration may be used as long as the abutting arm is lowered to a position where the pivoting imparting receiving unit <NUM> can be abutted when the pivoting is imparted, and can rise to a position where the pivoting imparting receiving unit <NUM> is not abutted after the pivoting is imparted.

As described above, the sausage sticking system of the present invention can freely set the number of and interval between the loops 2a of the chain of sausages <NUM> to be hung on one stick <NUM>. Therefore, for example, when the length of the casing <NUM> to be used is known in advance, it is possible to use the control unit <NUM> that presets the number of and interval between the loops 2a of the chain of sausages <NUM> to be hung on one stick <NUM> based on the predetermined length of the casing <NUM>.

For example, when an effective length of the stick <NUM> and the number of loops 2a are input to the control unit <NUM>, the interval between the loops 2a of the chain of sausages <NUM> to be hung on one stick <NUM> is calculated and set in the sausage sticking system. The control unit <NUM> may control the conveying speed of the hook conveying unit <NUM>, the operations of the pair of actuating arms <NUM> of the stick holding unit <NUM>, and the pivoting imparting operation of the pivoting imparting unit <NUM> based on the set number of and interval between loops 2a of the chain of sausages <NUM>.

Claim 1:
A sausage sticking system for hanging, on a stick (<NUM>), a chain of sausages (<NUM>) whose casing (<NUM>) having a predetermined length is filled with ingredients, the sausage sticking system comprising:
- a hook conveying unit (<NUM>) including a plurality of pivoting hooks (<NUM>) pivotable and arranged at predetermined intervals, and arranged to convey the plurality of pivoting hooks (<NUM>) at a predetermined speed, the hook conveying unit (<NUM>) being configured such that the chain of sausages (<NUM>) is hooked on each of the plurality of pivoting hooks (<NUM>) to form a loop (2a) respectively and that the loop (2a) of the chain of sausages (<NUM>) hooked on each of the plurality of pivoting hooks (<NUM>) is dropped onto the stick (<NUM>) passing through the loop (2a) by pivoting each of the plurality of pivoting hooks (<NUM>);
- a stick holding unit (<NUM>) holding both ends of the stick (<NUM>) on which the chain of sausages (<NUM>) hooked on the plurality of pivoting hooks (<NUM>) of the hook conveying unit (<NUM>) is to be hung, and including a fixed arm (<NUM>) and a pair of actuating arms (<NUM>), the fixed arm (<NUM>) holding a vicinity of one end of the stick (<NUM>) on a side downstream in a conveying direction of the plurality of pivoting hooks (<NUM>), and the pair of actuating arms (<NUM>) holding a vicinity of another end of the stick (<NUM>) on a side upstream in the conveying direction of the plurality of pivoting hooks (<NUM>), wherein the pair of actuating arms (<NUM>) is configured to alternately perform an operation of holding the stick (<NUM>) and an operation of avoiding the loop (2a) of the chain of sausages (<NUM>) in order to sequentially pass the stick (<NUM>) through each the loop (2a) of the chain of sausages (<NUM>) hooked on the plurality of pivoting hooks (<NUM>); and
- a pivoting imparting unit (<NUM>) configured to sequentially pivot the plurality of pivoting hooks (<NUM>) at a predetermined pivoting imparting position while moving in a direction opposite to the conveying direction of the plurality of pivoting hooks (<NUM>) of the hook conveying unit (<NUM>) such that each loop (2a) of the chain of sausages (<NUM>) hooked on the plurality of pivoting hooks (<NUM>) of the hook conveying unit (<NUM>) is dropped at a predetermined position and a predetermined interval onto the stick (<NUM>).