Apparatus for making center-filled chewing gum
First Claim
1. Apparatus for forming center-filled chewing gum comprising:
- extruder barrel nozzle means for extruding a rope of chewing gum through an orifice to form the gum rope with a hollow interior of predetermined volume, said extruder nozzle having an outer tube;
a straight center-fill tube extending concentrically within and outwardly through said orifice and being concentrically disposed within said outer tube, said center-fill tube having an outside diameter equal to at least one-half of the inside diameter of said outer tube; and
conveying means suitable for pouring a powdered center-fill material at a predetermined volumetric rate from said center-fill tube into the hollow interior of said gum rope as the gum rope is being extruded, said conveying means comprising a straight rotating screw conveyor rotatable in said center-fill tube and being regulative to establish a volumetric rate sufficient to just fill the hollow interior of the gum rope without exerting pressure thereon.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for making center-filled chewing gum, in which product having up to at least 35-40% by weight of center fill can be produced. The apparatus includes a novel extruder barrel and nozzle arrangement (11) which extrudes a tubular rope of gum (G) through an annular orifice (30), and at the same time supplies a center-fill material (F) to the hollow interior (V) of the tubular rope through a central nozzle (20,21) concentric with the orifice. The center-fill material is fed into the hollow interior of the gum rope at a rate sufficient to just fill the void produced in the gum rope as it is extruded through the nozzle, and without exerting a compressive pressure thereon. With this apparatus, center-filled chewing gum can be produced with up to at least 35-40% by weight of center-fill material and at the same time uniform wall thickness and consistency for the center-filled product can be maintained.
99 Citations
8 Claims
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1. Apparatus for forming center-filled chewing gum comprising:
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extruder barrel nozzle means for extruding a rope of chewing gum through an orifice to form the gum rope with a hollow interior of predetermined volume, said extruder nozzle having an outer tube; a straight center-fill tube extending concentrically within and outwardly through said orifice and being concentrically disposed within said outer tube, said center-fill tube having an outside diameter equal to at least one-half of the inside diameter of said outer tube; and conveying means suitable for pouring a powdered center-fill material at a predetermined volumetric rate from said center-fill tube into the hollow interior of said gum rope as the gum rope is being extruded, said conveying means comprising a straight rotating screw conveyor rotatable in said center-fill tube and being regulative to establish a volumetric rate sufficient to just fill the hollow interior of the gum rope without exerting pressure thereon. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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Specification