Plastic article or earthenware shaping or treating: apparatus – Means feeding fluent stock from plural sources to common... – Extrusion shaping means
Reexamination Certificate
1997-06-06
2001-02-27
Pyon, Harold (Department: 1722)
Plastic article or earthenware shaping or treating: apparatus
Means feeding fluent stock from plural sources to common...
Extrusion shaping means
C425S382300, C425S462000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06193494
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to manufacture of food compositions with a plastic mass, particularly a plastic frozen composition mass, into which another composition is introduced, particularly to obtain a composite food composition wherein the other composition is in a form of pieces, and more particularly, the present invention relates to apparatus for manufacture of such composite compositions by means which include extrusion apparatus and techniques.
It is known how to incorporate and uniformly distribute pieces, for example pieces of comfit or dried fruits, in a mass of frozen composition, for filling pots or trays in the manufacture of family or bulk portions. For example, a device as described in German Patent Application Publication No. 35 21 612 makes it possible to distribute already-formed pieces of a certain size uniformly in a vein of ice cream from a hopper with the aid of a rotating drum with retractable blades pressing against a cylindrical wall, the function of which is to load a constant quantity of pieces into a sector of the drum and to distribute them uniformly in the stream of ice cream.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,014,437 different masses of plastic products such as ice cream masses with different flavors are co-extruded, and the extrudate obtained is twisted by imparting a rotating movement with the aid of a rotating blade having a “butterfly” form. One of the plastic products may be a fondant.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to meter an edible gel into a mass of a plastic composition, particularly a frozen composition, and obtain a composite plastic mass and gel composition wherein the gel is in a form of pieces distributed in a random manner in the mass.
To that end, the present invention provides a process for manufacturing composite compositions characterized in that a gel extrudate and plastic substance composition, particularly a plastic frozen composition, are delivered into a member which provides a chamber so that the chamber contains a mass of the plastic composition, and the gel extrudate delivered into the chamber is cut into pieces and the pieces are distributed in a random manner in the plastic composition mass continuously and in a single operation.
The present invention also provides apparatus for carrying out the process which includes a member which provides a cylindrical chamber in which is contained a tool which is provided with a rotating movement for cutting up the gel extrudate into pieces and with means for deflecting the mass longitudinally with respect to the axis of the chamber and which includes a nozzle through which the composite composition is extruded from the chamber.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, “frozen composition” means an ice cream, a sorbet or a sherbet, which is aerated or expanded to a variable extent.
Also within the context of the present invention, a gel is an aqueous composition containing sugar, polysaccharide gelling agents, such as, for example, carob gum or carrageenans and optionally flavors and colorants, for example fruit flavors and colorants.
The gel employed in the context of the present invention is prepared hot, for example at 60-80° C., from a mixture of water, sugar, polysaccharide gelling agents and optionally colorants and flavors, and this mixture is then pumped through a pipe and cooled to around 10-15° C, so that it can still be pumped.
In a particular embodiment of the invention, such as by means of an assembly comprising co-axial tubes, the gel is formed as a hollowed extrudate, and a second composition which has different Theological properties from those of the gel and which, at low temperature, is harder than the gel, and which may be, for example, a fondant, a sweetened paste or a fatty material, for example chocolate, is introduced and metered into the hollow of the gel extrudate at a higher temperature than that of the gel, for example at around 40-60° C. In this way, it is possible to produce a sheath of gel surrounding a vein of hard composition, which may be incorporated directly into the mass of frozen composition. Without this sheath, it would not be possible to introduce the second composition, since such a composition would rapidly solidify and obstruct the supply tube in contact with the cold mass of frozen composition. Once cut up, the two-component extrusion pieces have a form of, for example, rings which provide a decorative appearance.
Outlines other than circular are of course included within the term “ring”, in as much as the outline is dictated by the configuration of the nozzle at the end of the pipe supplying the gel. This outline may define, for example, a slit, a polygon, such as a rectangle, a square, a triangle, a star, or may define an oval, or a figurine.
An embodiment of an apparatus for carrying out the process of the present invention comprises a cylindrical member which provides a chamber for the mixing of the plastic frozen composition and the gel composition, at least one tube for delivering the frozen composition to and discharging it into the chamber laterally with respect to the longitudinal axis of the chamber, at least one tube for delivering the gel composition to and for discharging it into the chamber laterally with respect to the longitudinal axis of the chamber and having a cross-section smaller than that of the tube which delivers the frozen composition, a tool which is provided with a rotating movement and which matches the inner wall of the mixing chamber for cutting up the gel supplied into pieces and for distributing the pieces in the frozen composition, means for deflecting the substance mixture of frozen composition and gel pieces longitudinally with respect to the longitudinal axis of the chamber and a nozzle for extruding the substance mixture of the frozen composition containing gel pieces from the chamber.
According to a particular embodiment of the present invention, the tool for cutting up the gel extrudate is a cylindrical lantern which is defined by spaced-apart members which have cutting edges and which, in turn, define and provide open space therebetween, i.e., lantern “windows”, and which, upon lantern rotation, “match” the inner wall of the chamber to provide for the cutting of the gel extrudate.
In an embodiment, the apparatus is extended downstream from the lantern cutting tool and mixing chamber by at least one further chamber and ends in the outlet nozzle. Preferably, supplementary supply tubes for the frozen composition are arranged laterally downstream from the cutting tool.
Preferably, in the extended embodiment, further means for distributing the pieces is provided by elements arranged about the periphery of a further chamber along its inner wall. These elements ensure a random distribution of the pieces of gel by preventing these pieces from being distributed in a heap in the mass of frozen composition.
The invention is described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing Figures.
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Leyson Joseph
Nestec S.A.
Pyon Harold
Vogt & O'Donnell, LLP
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