Casing linking machine for sausage and the like

Claim 1

IN A MACHINE FOR DIVIDING TUBULAR, FLEXIBLE CASINGS, WHICH HAVE BEEN PREFILLED WITH A COMPRESSIBLE EMULSION, INTO LINKS OF PREDETERMINED LENGTH, POSITIONING MEANS FOR POSITIONING A SELECTED PORTION OF THE PREFILLED CASING AT A CONSTRICTING STATION, CONSTRICTING MEANS LOCATED AT SAID STATION FOR FIRST CONSTRICTING THE CASING AT SAID SELECTED PORTION THEREOF AND FOR THEN RELEASING SAID CASING, WRAPPING MEANS ALSO AT SAID CONSTRICTING STATION FOR WRAPPING A STRING AROUND THE CASING AT SAID SELECTED PORTION THEREOF SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH THE CONSTRICTING THEREOF BY SAID CONSTRICTING MEANS THE CONSTRICTION IN SAID CASING PROVIDED BY SAID CONSTRICTING MEANS BEING RETAINED THEREIN BY THE STRING WRAPPED AROUND THE CONSTRICTED PORTION OF THE CASING BY SAID WRAPPING MEANS, SEVERING MEANS FOR CUTTING A STRING WRAPPED BY SAID WRAPPING MEANS ABOUT SAID CASING, AND MEANS CO-ACTING WITH SAID SEVERING MEANS FOR MAINTAINING THE LATTER STATIONARY IN A SEVERING POSITION WHILE SAID WRAPPING MEANS MOVES THE STRING ACROSS SAID SEVERING MEANS FOR CUTTING THE STRING.