Method of packaging sausages and apparatus therefor

Claim 1

AN IMPROVED METHOD FOR COLLATING SAUSAGES INTO GROUPS OF A SPECIFIED NUMBER FOR PACKAGING, SAID METHOD COMPRISING: MOVING A PLURALITY OF SUCCESSIVE SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL SAUSAGES IN A GIVEN DIRECTION AND PATH LATERAL TO THEIR LONGITUDINAL AXES; SENSING THE PASSAGE OF EACH SAUSAGE PASSING POINT IN SAID PATH TO COUNT A DESIRED NUMBER OF SAUSAGES; SPINNING EACH SAUSAGE IN SAID GIVEN DIRECTION JUST IN ADVANCE OF SAID POINT TO ASSIST THE SAUSAGE IN PASSING SAID POINT; HALTING THEMOTION OF A FIRST SAUSAGE AT A LOCATION BEYOND SAID POINT AND THEREBY ARRESTING THE MOTION OF A NUMBER OF SUBSEQUENT SAUSAGES AFTER PASSING SAID POINT TO ASSEMBLE A FIRST QUALITY OF SAID DESIRED NUMBER OF SAUSAGES; CONFINING SAID NUMBER OF SAUSAGES TO A SINGLE LAYER; THEREAFTER ADVANCING SAID LAYER OF SAUSAGES BEYOND SAID LOCATION IN SAID DIRECTION UPON SENSING SAID DESIRED NUMBER OF SAUSAGES AT SAID POINT AND HALTING THE NEXT SUCCEEDING SAUSAGE TO ASSEMBLE A SUBSEQUENT LAYER; ALIGNING THE END OF THE SAID SAUSAGE IN SAID FIRST LAYER; AND THEN TRANSFERRING SAID FIRST LAYER OF SAUSAGES IN A LONGITUDINAL DIRECTION FROM SAID PATH AS A UNIT.