Apparatus for automatically forming square meat loaves

Claim 1

Apparatus for extruding and packaging a meat product, comprising: a. a frame, b. a horn assembly adapted to be removably mounted at the discharge outlet of a meat processing member, said horn assembly having an inner cylindrical section mounted adjacent the outlet of the meat processing member, an outwardly flared intermediate section substantially larger in cross section than said inner section thereby to permit expansion of the meat product as it passes therethrough, and an inwardly tapered outlet section the terminal portion of which is square in cross-section and substantially smaller in area than said intermediate section whereby said meat product is compressed and in square loaf form as it is discharged from said horn assembly, c. bag clamping means for clamping the open end of a bag to be filled around the discharge end of said horn assembly, d. means on said frame for supporting said bag as the same is filled by said meat product from said horn assembly, e. means including a carriage mounted for reciprocating movement on said frame, f. means for biasing said carriage into pressure engagement with the closed end of said bag thereby serving to compress said bag for uniform packing of said meat product, g. latching means for terminating the movement of said carriage during the bag filling operation when said carriage has reached a predetermined position wherein said bag is filled with a predetermined amount of said meat product, and h. switch means for shutting off said meat processing member when said carriage is in said latched position thereby permitting the filled bag to be removed and an unfilled bag to be placed over said horn assembly for a subsequent filling operation.