Method and apparatus for producing multiple food extrudates
US5919509A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 1, 1997 |
| Grant date | Jul 6, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 1, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA21C3/04
- WIPO fieldOther special machines
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
An apparatus (10) for forming a single extrudable food stream such as a cooked cereal dough into a plurality of differently colored and/or flavored dough streams is disclosed including an extruder (12) having screw augers (15) in a main passageway (14) for advancing a plastic food mass, a head or manifold (18) for dividing the plastic food mass into a plurality of substreams such as a branching passageway section in fluid communication with a plurality of sub-divided dough passageways, and a die head (30) having a plurality of die ports (40) for each subpassageway. Each subpassage is separately supplied an additive and has disposed therein a multiplicity of in-line static mixer elements (59) to admix the additive into the substreams of the plastic food mass before passage through the die ports (40). In a preferred form, a portion of the food mass is bled from a first substream and fed to the exit ports (40) of a second substeam to create an extrudate including zones of distinct food mass. The extrudates are severed into individual pieces (41, 158) by a rotary cutter (36).
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.