Holder for making sausages or the like in flexible tubular casings

Claim 1

A HOLDER FOR MAKING AND SUPPORTING THEREIN AN ELONGATED GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL ASSEMBLY OF A MASS OF EDIBLE MATERIAL COMPACTED IN AN OUTSTRETCHED PORTION OF A TUBULAR CASING OF THIN FLEXIBLE MATERIAL WITH CIRCUMFERENTIAL PORTIONS OF THE CASING INTURNED RADIALLY AGAINST THE MASS OF EDIBLE MATERIAL AT THE ENDS OF THE ASSEMBLY TO PROVIDE FLATTENED ENDS THEREFOR, THE HOLDER HAVING THEREIN AN ELONGATED STUFFING ZONE IN WHICH THE EDIBLE MATERIAL AND CASING ARE ASSEMBLED AND CONJOINTLY SHAPED IN THE ELONGATED GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL FLAT ENDED FORM BY STUFFING THE EDIBLE MATERIAL INTO AND OUTSTRETCHING THE CASING THEREWITH, THE STUFFING ZONE BEING PROVIDED WITH AXIALLY OPPOSED ZONE END CLOSURES WITH RESPECTIVE GENERALLY PARALLEL FLAT OPPOSED FACES BETWEEN WHICH A PORTION OF THE LENGTH OF A TUBULAR CASING OF THIN FLEXIBLE MATERIAL IS RECEIVABLE IN THE ZONE FOR STUFFING THEREOF WITH EDIBLE MATERIAL, SAID OPPOSED FACES BEING DISPOSED IN THE PATH OF AND OPERABLE BY THE AXIAL EXPANSION OF THE ASSEMBLY TO TURN IN AND FLATTEN CIRCUMFERENTIAL PORTIONS OF THE CASING AGAINST THE RESPECTIVE OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE MASS OF EDIBLE MATERIAL IN THE CASING AND PRODUCTE THE FLATTENED ENDS OF THE ASSEMBLY, ONE OF THE END CLOSURES HAVING A FILLER OPENING THERETHROUGH AROUND WHICH THE FLAT FACE THEREOF EXTENDS GENERALLY RADIALLY OUTWARD THEREFROM, THE SAID OPENING BEING ADAPTED TO RECEIVE THEREIN A CIRCUMFERENTIALLY CONTRACTED PORTION OF THE TUBULAR CASING WITH AN OPEN END PORTION OF THE TUBULAR CASING PROJECTING OUTWARDLY TO PROVIDE A SLEEVE PORTION TO RECEIVE ENDWISE THEREIN A TUBULAR STUFFING HORN THROUGH WHICH EDIBLE MATERIAL IS INTRODUCIBLE INTO THE CASING PORTION BETWEEN THE OPPOSED END CLOSURES TO FORM THE ELONGATED GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL ASSEMBLY THEREBETWEEN, THE TUBULAR CASING BEING SLIDABLY CONFINED IN THE FILLER OPENING AROUNG THE STUFFING HORN TO PERMIT RETRACTION OF THE CASING THROUGH THE OPENING INTO THE STUFFING ZONE BETWEEN THE OPPOSED END CLOSURES TO PROVIDE INCREASED LENGTH OF CASING IN THE STUFFING ZONE BETWEEN THE OPPOSED END CLOSURES TO ACCOMMODATE ENLARGEMENT AND SHAPING OF THE ASSEMBLY TO THE GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL FLAT ENDED FORM IN WHICH IT IS SHAPED IN THE STUFFING ZONE BETWEEN THE OPPOSED END CLOSURE THEREOF, THE ZONE END CLOSURE WHICH IS AXIALLY OPPOSED TO THE END CLOSURE WHICH HAS THE FILLER OPENING BEING PROVIDED WITH FASTENING MEANS BY WHICH AN END OF THE TUBULAR CASING IS SECURABLE THERETO AND CLOSED.