Hovey, Williams, Timmons & Collins
Dual piston portioner and casing device
 A dual piston device (10) for handling and casing of flowable materials such as whole muscle meat products is provided which eliminates the problem of tailing, or creation of a tail of meat product extending outwardly from a casing adjacent an endmost clip. The device (10) includes a transfer conduit (20) having a slidable transfer piston (26) therein, together with an auxiliary conduit (34) connected to the transfer conduit (20) intermediate the ends thereof. The auxiliary conduit (34) is equipped with a deaerating severing piston (42). The pistons (42, 26) are configured to mate and coact so as to cleanly sever whole muscle meat pieces which may otherwise lie in the open end of a casing in the region thereof to be clipped. A stuffing horn assembly (14) is positioned adjacent the outlet (22) of transfer conduit (20); a stuffing horn (69) forming a part of the assembly (14) may be pivoted outwardly to receive a fresh casing (88), whereupon the horn (69) is pivoted back into alignment with trnasfer conduit (20) to receive a fresh meat portion into the casing (88). 
Marlen Research Corporation
Wendell Richard G. James E.
Dennis Powers Anderson