Casing ring device

Claim 1

A ring device adapted to be mounted adjacent the discharge end of a stuffing horn for a stuffing machine used to stuff casings with food product and over which the casing passes, the stuffing horn having circumferentially spaced apart locking lugs projecting outwardly therefrom, a snubbing device for applying clips to the casing and having a rigid annular brake ring through which the stuffing horn projects during the stuffing operation, comprising: a ring member having a front end and a rear end and being formed of a metallic material, said ring member having a generally circular interior surface, an enlarged interior annular recess in said interior surface spaced from the front and rear ends thereof to define front and rear annular shoulders, a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart slots in said front shoulder communicating with said annular recess to permit the slots to pass over the locking lugs on the stuffing horn whereby, when the ring is rotated, the ring device will be releasably locked on the stuffing horn, a sleeve formed of flexible yieldable material and including a ring member engaging portion and a forward portion, said ring member engaging portion embracing the exterior surface of said ring member and said forward portion extending axially forwardly from said ring member and said ring member engaging portion, the exterior surface of said forward portion tapering axially from said ring member and ring member engaging portion, and the interior surface of said forward portion having a diameter corresponding generally to the inner diameter of said ring member, said ring member engaging portion of said sleeve having an exterior diameter less than the diameter of the casing to be filled whereby the casing being moved over said ring device and through the brake ring during the stuffing operation will be retarded by the yieldable sleeve as the sleeve yieldably urges the casing against the brake ring during the stuffing operation.