Patent ID: 7553222

Claim:
A sausage packaging apparatus for filling pasty stuffing material into tubular casing material, said apparatus comprising a filling pipe ( 1 ) wherein said filling pipe ( 1 ) comprises a mouth ( 10 ) that opens at a filling zone ( 5 ) and, wherein said filling pipe ( 1 ) comprises on its outside a receptacle for gathered tubular casing material ( 80 ), wherein said filling pipe ( 1 ) and gathered tubular casing material ( 80 ) are configured such that, in order to fill a sausage ( 8 ), the casing material ( 80 ), which is sealed on one end, is pulled off from the filling pipe ( 1 ) under the pressure of the stuffing material ( 85 ) and, wherein, when a certain size is reached by said filled sausage ( 8 ), said casing material ( 80 ) is sealed by a sealing device ( 2 ), wherein said apparatus further comprises a removal device ( 4 ), said removal device ( 4 ) comprising a moving belt ( 40 ) with an ejection region, for the filled sausage ( 8 ), characterized in that the moving belt ( 40 ) comprises a drive ( 43 ) that can be adjusted in rotational speed and that is actuated by a regulating module ( 64 ) of a control unit ( 6 ), and wherein said removal device further comprises a growth measuring device for measuring the growth of the sausage ( 8 ), said growth measuring device comprising a speed measuring means ( 7 ) for measuring the speed of growth of said sausage ( 8 ), said speed measuring means ( 7 ) arranged in said filling zone ( 5 ), and wherein said growth measuring device further comprises an evaluation unit ( 67 ) in communication with said speed measuring means ( 7 ) that evaluates the growth rate of the sausage ( 8 ) and a synchronizing unit ( 62 ) that activates the regulating module ( 64 ) such that synchronism is achieved between the speed of the moving belt ( 40 ) and the growth rate of said sausage ( 8 ).