Patent ID: 7249997

Claim:
An apparatus for suspending a sausage from a stick, comprising: an endless circulating body put around a first rotational axis and a second rotational axis spaced from said first rotational axis; a plurality of hooks provided on said endless circulating body and having hook portions for hooking twisted portions of a sausage to suspend loops of the sausage, including a leading loop and a trailing loop; a stick supporting means including a stick rear portion supporting means and a stick front portion supporting means for supporting a rear portion and a front portion of a stick such that said stick is disposed below said hook portions of said hooks which are moving from said rear portion to said front portion in state of suspending the loops; said stick rear portion supporting means being disposed below said hooks for cooperation with said stick front portion supporting means to support said stick inserted through the leading and trailing loops of the sausage suspended from said hooks, said stick rear portion supporting means including: a stick supporting member for supporting said rear portion of said stick while said stick supporting member moves in a longitudinal direction of said stick from said rear portion to said front portion of said stick; and a stick rear portion supporting member actuating means disposed between said first and second rotational axes in said longitudinal direction for causing said stick supporting member to move away downwardly from said stick so as to release support of said rear portion when said stick supporting member arrives at a predetermined position spaced in a hook moving direction in said longitudinal direction from a position where another stick supporting member subsequent to said stick supporting member starts to support said stick rear portion.