Patent ID: 7618307

Claim:
A system comprising: a sausage filling and clipping machine, and a motor-driven sausage conveyor apparatus, the sausage filling and clipping machine has a filling pipe, and a thread feeding device having a supply of thread, the thread being attached to both ends of a sausage product by the sausage filling and clipping machine, the attached thread and sausage product forming a ring; the motor-driven sausage conveyor apparatus includes at least one conveyor element and is positioned downstream of the filling pipe of the sausage filling and clipping machine in an advance direction of the sausage, the sausage conveyor apparatus including a chain link conveyor and being immediately adjacent to the filling pipe of the sausage filling and clipping machine such that the ring of sausage product filled and closed at the filling pipe of the sausage filling and clipping machine is engaged by one of the at least one conveyor element of the chain link conveyor.