The present invention relates to a carrier pipe for the transfer of a casing to a stuffing horn, wherein

the carrier pipe comprises

- a primary end section with a primary end,

- a secondary end section, and

- a midsection between the primary end section and the secondary end section;

at least the primary end section of the primary end section and the secondary end section comprising a means suitable for acting in use as a stop for the casing

wherein the carrier pipe comprises

- as the means suitable for acting in use as a stop for the casing a lip, wherein the lip comprises

- a free, distal end, and

- a hinging section; and

- a wall opening at a side of the carrier pipe diametrically opposed to the hinging section;

said lip comprising material capable of being bent and having a length of more than the distance between the hinging section and the wall opening so as to allow the lip to be

- in a first state with the lip extending in the longitudinal

direction of the carrier pipe;

- in a second state, wherein the hinging section is bent and the distal end of the lip protrudes through the wall opening.

The present invention relates to a carrier pipe suitable for transferring casings used in butchery onto a stuffing horn for sausage production .

The casings used in butchery are generally natural sheep, pig or cow intestines. The intestines can for example be used singly

(separated from each other) , or can be overlapped. The casings are generally delivered preassembled on flexible sheaths (a.k.a tubes) or, per the subject of the present invention, rigid tubular members

(carrier pipes), then transferred onto the stuffing horn. To produce a sausage, the carrier pipe (or tube) is fit over the stuffing horn. Then the casings may be transferred to the stuffing horn by retracting the carrier pipe or, possibly, the carrier pipe may remain in place during the stuffing operation.

During transport, the casings should remain on the carrier pipe. In the art, for example EP1961307, it is known to slide disk-shaped stops having a central through-hole over the end sections of the carrier pipe as the means suitable for acting in use as a stop for a casing held over the midsection. The stops are made from resilient material (plastic or rubber) and might end up in the sausages, something that is to be avoided, as the consumer might choke on it. EP1961307 proposes the detection of the stoppers using a metal detector.

WOl 998025476 discloses a carrier pipe having end extensions capable of being bent transversely so as to act as stops and hold a casing in between them.

DE202017101504 discloses a carrier pipe according to the

preamble. It comprises a protrusion at a first end of the carrier pipe. In a first, non-blocking state it protrudes away from the second end. In a second, blocking state the protrusion is bent back towards a second end of the carrier pipe and the distal end of the protrusion is inserted into a first through-hole at side of the protrusion of the carrier pipe and then into a second through-hole at a side of the carrier pipe opposite of the first through-hole.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a carrier pipe that allows for a casing to be provided to a stuffing horn in convenient manner.

To this end, a carrier pipe according to the preamble is

characterized in that in the first state the lip extends in a

direction from the primary end section towards the secondary end section .

In the first state the hinging section is between the primary end and the secondary end section. In the second state, the distal end section of the lip is capable of acting in use as a stop for the casing, preventing said casing from sliding off at the primary end.

If the stuffing horn is introduced into the primary end of the primary end section, stuffing horn will push the lip from the second state back towards the first state. Thus, a carrier pipe is provided where the very act of providing the stuffing horn with the carrier pipe will retract the stop at the primary end of the stuffing horn and thus allows for transfer of a casing to the stuffing horn. As the means suitable for acting in use as a stop at the primary end, i.e. the lip, is not a separate item that has to be removed from the carrier pipe, there is a reduced risk that it might end up in a sausage with a concomitant risk of choking risk as a result.

Although the carrier pipe might be made of metal, given the disposable nature of this type of product, the carrier pipe will typically be manufactured from a plastic material, such as

polypropylene (PP) or polyethylene (PE) .

Typically, the lip and opening may be formed by punching or by laser cutting.

It is preferred that the lip of the primary end section is bent over less than 90° when in the second state. This makes it easier to retain the casing.

According to a favourable embodiment, the carrier pipe comprises a second lip as the means suitable for acting in use as a stop for the casing, wherein said second lip comprises

- a free, distal end, and

- a hinging section; and

- a second wall opening at a side of the carrier pipe diametrically opposed to the hinging section of the second lip;

said second lip comprising material capable of being bent and having a length of more than the distance between the hinging section of the second lip and the second wall opening so as to allow the second lip to be

- in a first state with the second lip extending in a direction parallel to the centerline of the carrier pipe;

- in a second state, wherein the hinging section is bent and the distal end of the second lip protrudes through the second wall opening .

Thus a very simple carrier pipe is provided, that can be

manufactured from a pipe.

In the first state, the distal end of the second lip will typically point to the primary end, and the carrier pipe will be removed before stuffing with the stuffing horn.

According to a favourable embodiment, in the first state of the second lip, the distal end of the second lip points away from the primary end section.

Thus the second lip, when in the second state, will act as a stop if the filling horn is inadvertently introduced into an end (i.e. the second end of the carrier pipe) of the secondary end section, making it harder or impossible to apply the carrier pipe in a reverse (wrong) direction to the stuffing horn. This embodiment is in particular useful for casings that need to be used in a particular direction, such as in case of overlapping natural casings such as intestines.

It is preferred that the second lip is bent over more than 90° when in the second state. This makes it easier to retain the casing. It is in particular preferred that then in addition the first lip is bent over less than 90 ^° when in the second state thereof.

According to a favourable embodiment, a distal section of the second lip extending from the second wall opening when the second lip is in the second state comprises wing sections that extend in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the carrier pipe beyond the second wall opening section of the second wall opening.

Thus shoulders make it harder that the lip is pushed back towards the first state. In case of the embodiment discussed above where in the first state the second lip points towards the primary end section, the shoulders make it even harder for the lip to pass to a third state - where it points in a direction opposite to the direction of the first state - if the stuffing horn is used to exert great force on the 1 ip .

According to a favourable embodiment, at least one lip chosen from the lip and the second lip is a lip formed from the wall of the carrier pipe.

Such a lip is not a separate component, i.e. an integral part, and is hence inherently hard to separate. Stated differently, the carrier pipe body and the at least one lip are a single component, in contrast to the carrier pipe of EP1961307.

According to a favourable embodiment, the wall opening comprises a first opening section relatively far from the primary end and a second opening section relatively close to the primary end, the first opening section and the second opening section being separated by a constriction for the lip.

The constriction has a width that is smaller than the width of the lip when bent to the angle corresponding to the angle for bending it to the constriction but without passing the constriction. This allows the lip to be retained in the second opening section in the _c

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second state, as the force to make the lip pass back to the first opening section and towards the first state because of any resilience of the material used for the lip will be smaller than the force necessary to force the lip through the constriction.

The same applies for the secondary end section which, in

accordance with a preferred embodiment, as the wall opening also has a wall opening comprising a first opening section relatively far from the primary end and a second opening section relatively close to the primary end, the first opening section and the second opening section being separated by a second constriction for retaining the second lip in the second state thereof.

According to a favourable embodiment, the first opening section tapers towards the constriction.

Thus the lip is gradually bent, easing its passage through the constriction.

According to a favourable embodiment, the second opening section of the primary end section comprises a taper towards the constriction.

This will facilitate bringing the lip back towards the first state, as defined above, by the stuffing horn while still effectively blocking inadvertent unblocking.

According to a favourable embodiment, the carrier pipe comprises a casing held by at least the lip at the primary end in the second state .

This covers the use phase of the carrier pipe. In practice there will be a second means at the secondary end section to act as a stop, preferably a second lip as discussed above.

The present invention will now be illustrated with reference to the drawing where

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of three carrier pipes according to the invention;

Fig. 2 shows a carrier pipe of Fig. 1 comprising a casing;

Fig. 3A and Fig. 3B show end section of the two lefmost carrier pipes shown in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 shows a cross-sectional view illustrating the use of the carrier pipe of Fig. 1.

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of three identical carrier pipes 100 according to the invention, with from left to right in

respectively a view from a first side and two views with the two _r

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rightmost carrier pipes 100 being shown rotated over 180° along the longitudinal axis.

The carrier pipe 100 for the transfer of a casing to a stuffing horn comprises

- a primary end section 110 with a primary end 111,

- a secondary end section 120 with a secondary end 122, and

- a midsection 130 between the primary end section 110 and the secondary end section 120.

The primary end section 110 comprises a lip 140, e.g. formed by laser-cutting or punching of the wall material of the pipe. The lip 140 has a free distal end 141 and points away from the primary end 111. Between the distal end 141 of the lip 140 and the primary end 111 the lip 140 comprises a hinging section 142.

Diametrically opposite of the lip 140 is a wall opening 150.

In the two left most carrier pipes, the lip 140 is oriented in a longitudinal direction towards the secondary end section 120. This is the first state of the lip 140.

The hinging section 142 of the lip 140 allows the lip 140 to be bent and the distal end 141 to protrude through the wall opening 150. Then it is in a second state (right-most carrier pipe of Fig. 1) . In general, the lip 140 will protrude over at least 5 mm from the outer surface of the carrier pipe, so as to allow the distal end 141 to serve as a stop for a casing.

In a carrier pipe according to the present invention the primary end section comprises the lip at a location away from the first end.

The lip is typically bent over less than 135° when in the second state thereof .

In the embodiment shown, the carrier pipe 100 has a further lip 140', a further wall opening 150' at the secondary end section 120. These will be located diametrically opposed with respect to each other but are not necessarily at the same rotational angle with respect to the diametrically opposed lip 140 and wall opening 150 respectively, although in the carrier pipes shown in Fig. 1 they are.

Fig. 2 substantially corresponds to the carrier pipe 100 shown at the right of Fig. 1. The bent lips 140, 140' (i.e. in the second state) serve as stops, retaining casing 299 (intestine) between them at the midsection 130 (see Fig. 1) .

Fig. 3A and Fig. 3B shows side views of the primary end section 110 of the two lefmost carrier pipes shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3A shows the lip 140, distal end 141 and the hinging section

142.

Fig. 3B shows the wall opening 150 which comprises a first opening section 351 and a second opening section 352 separated by a waist 353 that serves to retain the lip 140 in the second state once the lip 140 has been brought from the first state to the second state.

To provide a stuffing horn 499 with a casing 299 (not shown in Fig. 4), the carrier pipe 100 of Fig. 1 is introduced over the stuffing horn 499 at the primary end 111 of the carrier pipe 100. The stuffing horn 499 thus pushes the lip 140 from the second state back towards the first state. Now the casing 299 (not shown) can be moved over to the stuffing horn 499 and the empty carrier pipe 100 can be discarded .

Fig. 4 shows the lip 140 in the second state (pointing up), and the first state (pointing right) .