Vanessa A Terry

US Patent:

20030082257, May 1, 2003

Filed:

Oct 29, 2001

Appl. No.:

10/047503

Inventors:

Lewis Keller - McKinney TX, US
Edward Ouellette - Denton TX, US
Vanessa Terry - Rowlett TX, US

International Classification:

A21C001/00

US Classification:

425/208000, 099/353000

Abstract:

An extruder die assembly and method for using same is disclosed which is designed for adaptation to a wide variety of commercial-grade extrusion devices common in the food industry. The extruder die assembly is inserted into an appropriate compartment within an extrusion device such that a first extrudate is directed down a coaxially aligned passageway within the forming section and combined with a fluid additive in the injection section whereupon the resulting food mass is compressed through a converging nozzle bore in the nozzle section to produce an extruded food product. The forming section and injection section are fabricated as a matching set. The matched set, comprising the forming section and the injection section, when properly aligned and coupled form an internal peripheral reservoir manifold through which a fluid additive may be supplied to at least one and more preferably a plurality of capillary channels which in turn impart a distinct cross-sectional design into a flowing mass of a first extrudate.