U.S. patent number 3,559,561 [Application Number 04/850,777] was granted by the patent office on 1971-02-02 for auger outlet extension.
This patent grant is currently assigned to General Mills, Inc.. Invention is credited to Robert C. Dechaine, John A. Page.
United States Patent |
3,559,561 |
Page , et al. |
February 2, 1971 |
AUGER OUTLET EXTENSION
Abstract
An outlet extension is disclosed for an auger. The extension
includes a forming core and a surrounding sleeve which are rigidly
interconnected to the core of the auger. The forming core has a
forming path defined in the surface thereof. The forming path is
parallel to the axis of rotation of the forming core for the major
portion of the length thereof and curved at the auger end thereof
to form a continuation of the helix of the auger.
Inventors: |
Page; John A. (Minneapolis,
MN), Dechaine; Robert C. (Minneapolis, MN) |
Assignee: |
General Mills, Inc.
(N/A)
|
Family
ID: |
27009151 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/850,777 |
Filed: |
August 18, 1969 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
|
380890 |
Jul 7, 1964 |
3498793 |
Mar 3, 1970 |
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
425/461; 99/353;
100/145; 198/658; 425/131.1; 425/209; 425/376.1; 425/466;
425/505 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A23J
3/227 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A23J
3/22 (20060101); A23J 3/00 (20060101); A47j
036/14 () |
Field of
Search: |
;99/234,353
;107/14.4,14.5,14.7 ;100/82,84,117,145--150,299 ;18/12--14,322
;259/9 ;23/280,290.5 ;18/12(A,,DR,SA,SE,SI,SS),13W,14R |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Scheel; Walter A.
Assistant Examiner: Machlin; Leon G.
Parent Case Text
This application is a division of our copending application, Ser.
No. 380,890, filed July 7, 1964 now U.S. Pat. No. 3,498,793, issued
Mar. 3, 1970.
Claims
We claim:
1. An outlet extension for an auger and housing which comprises a
forming core rigidly connected to the core of said auger, said
forming core having a forming path in the surface of said forming
core and parallel for a major portion of the length of said forming
core to the axis of rotation of said forming core, said forming
path being curved at the auger end of said forming core to form a
continuation of the helix of said auger, a sleeve surrounding said
forming core and rigidly connected to said forming core, said
sleeve having an inside diameter equal to the inside diameter of
the housing surrounding said auger, and bearing means
interconnecting said sleeve and housing.
2. An outlet extension for an auger and housing which comprises a
forming core rigidly connected to the core of said auger, said
forming core having at least two forming paths in the surface of
said forming core each parallel for a major portion of the length
of said forming core to the axis of rotation of said forming core,
each of said paths being curved at the auger end of said forming
core to form a continuation of the helix of said auger, a sleeve
surrounding said forming core and rigidly connected to said forming
core, said sleeve having an inside diameter equal to the inside
diameter of the housing surrounding said auger and bearing means
interconnecting said sleeve and housing.
Description
PRODUCTS.
This invention relates to the art of producing food products high
in protein and composed of edible protein fibers. More
particularly, the invention concerns an auger outlet extension,
such as may be used for manufacturing simulated meat products.
It is an object of the present invention to provide apparatus
suitable for producing a fibrous food protein product which
contains a substantial portion of protein and resembles a meat
product.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a new and
improved apparatus of sanitary design which can be operated on a
continuous basis.
The invention contemplates a novel apparatus, which may include a
mixer for combining a fibrous protein product with any additive and
intimately intermixing the materials. The mixed materials are then
discharged from the mixer into an auger where the material is
heated to set a binder which is part of the additive and in which
the fibers of the fibrous protein product are oriented in order to
simulate the fiber orientation of the meat product. The auger is
designed so that the product is compressed to remove air and to
compact the fibrous product prior to discharge. At the discharge
end of the auger an auger attachment is provided for controlling
the discharge of the fibers in order to facilitate cutting or
further processing of the processed product. A heating jacket may
be utilized in connection with the auger wall in order to heat the
combined materials and set the binder.
A complete understanding of the invention may be obtained from the
following detailed description of an apparatus forming specific
embodiments when read in conjunction with the drawing, in
which;
FIG. 1 is a front view of an apparatus according to the present
invention showing a mixer and an auger in partial cross section in
relation to other elements of the apparatus,
FIG. 2 is a cross section view of the auger shown in FIG. 1 and
showing the fibrous protein products in the auger,
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a process in which the
present invention may be used,
FIG. 4 is a cross section view taken along lines 4-4 of FIG. 1,
FIG. 5 is an isometric view of a segment of the fibrous protein
product prior to processing in the present invention,
FIG. 6 is an alternate embodiment of an auger which might be
utilized in the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2,
FIG. 7 is an alternate embodiment of an auger which might be used
in the apparatus in FIGS. 1 and FIG. 2,
FIG. 8 is an end view of a section which might be attached to the
auger illustrated in FIGS. 2, 6, and 7,
FIG. 9 is a segmented view partially in cross section of an
alternate embodiment of FIG. 8 which may be attached to the end of
the auger assembly as illustrated in FIG. 2,
FIG. 10 is an illustration of a problem which exists in the
handling of fibrous protein material, and
FIG. 11 is a cross section view taken along lines 11-11 of FIG.
9.
The spun protein products can be produced using apparatus including
the present invention. A wide variety of protein materials which
are edible can be used in preparing the product. Representative of
such materials are soybean, corn, peanuts, and pea proteins, as
well as various animal proteins such as casein. The edible proteins
spun into fibrous form may be prepared, for example, by first
dispersing dry or water slurried protein in an alkaline medium. The
amount of protein dispersed may range from about 10 to 30 percent
by weight. A suitable alkaline medium is water containing an alkali
metal hydroxide, that is about 5 to 10 percent by weight sodium
hydroxide. The pH of the spinning solution can be varied to within
relatively wide limits but may generally be in the range of 9 to
13.5. The viscosity and temperature of such dispersions is
generally within the range of about 10,000 to 20,000 centipoises
and about 25 to 45.degree.C., respectively. Viscosity, pH,
temperature, and concentrations of alkaline metal hydroxide and
protein will vary somewhat with the particular protein being
dispersed. Also, dispersion may amount to a colloidal solution.
The spinning dispersion or dope is forced through a porous membrane
such as a spinneret used in the production of rayon, and into a
coagulating bath which is generally an acid and salt solution.
Individually spun filaments from the various spinnerettes are
brought together in bundles or tows and stretched by pulling them
from the coagulating bath over take up rolls. A variety of methods
may be used to stretch the fibers composing the various tows. The
stretching process alters textural characteristics by changing the
diameter and strength of the individual fibers.
In such a process, the fibrous tow is first severed across its
longitudinal axis into segments 12 such as that illustrated on the
conveyor 11 of FIG. 1 in the drawing. The tow may be severed by
conventional means and segments 12 deposited on the conveyor 11.
The tow is cut into segments 12 in order that the segments may be
processed to thoroughly impregnate the individual bundles of fibers
with an additive which contains the individual constituents which
provide the color, taste, smell and other characteristics of a meat
product.
Next the segments 12 are combined with the additive which together
with the fiber segments provide the physical characteristics of a
product which resembles meat. An additive is formulated which
contains constituents necessary to produce a particular type of
meat products. Generally speaking, the additive will include a
coloring agent to provide the meat color, a binder to bind the
individual filaments of the fibrous protein product, a flavoring
agent which will depend upon the meat to be simulated, a fat in
order to increase the fat content of the finished product to a
level normally associated with the meat involved, and other
ingredients which might be utilized to enhance the stability of a
product.
Binders are added to the fibrous protein product in order to bind
the individual fibers together so that the fibrous texture of the
product will resemble that of meat. The unbound fibers tend to
separate when they are further processed, handled or cooked. When a
binder is added, the mass of fibers appear to have the connective
tissue normally associated with the connective tissue of ordinary
meat.
Another major constituent of the additive is fat. All meat-type
products have a certain quantity of fat associated with the protein
of the meat product. This fat occurs in various flavors,
concentrations, and physical forms depending upon the type of meat
considered.
A number of vegetable oils both hydrogenated and unhydrogenated
have been found to be useful. Examples of these are cottonseed oil,
corn oil, soybean oil, coconut oil, and similar vegetable oils.
Examples of animal fats may include lard, tallow, chicken fat,
butter, fish oils, and various other animal and seafood fats. Other
oils such as mineral oils, olive oil and the like might also be
considered. It is to be pointed out here that the above fats are
listed by way of example and not in terms of limiting the scope of
the invention herein.
A number of other ingredients go into making up the additive.
Examples of some of these additional constituents are skim milk
solids which may be used as a filler and as a binder. Sugar,
starch, monosodium glutamate as a flavor enhancer, hydrolyzed
protein as a flavoring agent, spices, onions, salt, dried egg
whites, wheat gluten, garlic, white pepper, and onion powder, and
other ingredients which will produce the final flavor and
characteristics of the meat being simulated. The number and type of
ingredients is only limited in part by the characteristics which
are desired in the end product considering such things as the final
use to which the product will be placed such as a chilled product
or a cooked product, a dry product or a wet product, the type of
meat to be simulated, the period of stability desired in the
product and similar factors.
The segments 12 are next combined with the additive containing the
above-described constituents. The combining may take place by
simply pouring the additive together with the segment 12 into a
suitable container for containing the mass. At this point the
combined segments and additive are agitated in some manner in order
to impregnate the fibers with the additives. This impregnation step
is illustrated by block 13 in the block diagram shown in FIG. 3 of
the drawings.
At this point, the viscous mass containing the fibers and the
impregnating additive does not resemble a meat product for several
reasons. First the mass is in a sense viscous. Secondly, the fibers
are not aligned in any fashion in a manner normally recognizable in
meat. Further, the fibers do not have the compact consistency
normally associated with meat. Accordingly, the viscous mass is
next worked or treated in order to impart many of the physical
characteristics associated with meat to the fibrous protein
product. The mass containing the randomly aligned fibers is
accordingly drawn out and worked so that the fibers become aligned
in a somewhat uniform fashion. Meat normally has a fiber alignment
characteristic of the muscle involved in the meat cut. Accordingly,
the mass may be layed out in a thin stream in order to achieve some
degree of fiber alignment. An apparatus which might also be
utilized for accomplishing the fiber alignment is illustrated in
the drawings and is described hereinafter. An auger is utilized for
this purpose and tends to align the fibers as the material travels
from the feed end of the auger to the discharge end thereof. This
augering action tends to align the fibers and simulate the fibered
texture and characteristics of meat.
As illustrated in box 14 of the block diagram shown in FIG. 3, the
alignment and compression of the fibers may take place at the same
time. A squeezing action is applied to the mass of viscous material
so that the fibers are forced together or into contact with each
other thus substantially achieving the compactness of the fiber
bundle of a meat product. The compression may be accomplished in
varying degrees in order to simulate the various meat products
which may be reproduced. For instance, a beef-type product will
normally have more compact fiber structure than might be expected
in a fish-type product. Accordingly, application of more or less
pressure to the viscous fibrous mass is utilized in order to
accomplish the end result desired. This compression can be
accomplished by simply squeezing the fibers together by mechanical
means or by hand. The requirement is that the fibers be compacted.
Again an example of an apparatus which might be utilized for this
purpose is illustrated in the drawings and will be described as
noted.
If a binder is properly chosen, one which will coagulate and set
under compressive action, the binder will coagulate and agglutinate
or bind the individual fibers together in somewhat the same manner
that the connective tissue in a muscle fiber bind the various
fibers of a meat product together. This binding function of the
binding constituent in the additive thus imparts firmness to the
product. Thus with the fibers aligned in substantially the same
manner as that in the meat product and with the fibers bound
together by a suitable binder such as one of the types listed, the
fibrous protein product takes on the consistency of a meat product.
If the proper combination of ingredients is chosen, and processed
in this manner, the resultant product will have a toughness and
resistance to disintegration which is characteristic of meat.
Depending upon the particular characteristics of the binder
utilized, the heat or whatever coagulating agent is utilized, may
be applied prior to the compression of the product as well as
during the compression of the product. One of the essential results
which is to be achieved is compaction of the fibrous material so
that the individual fibers of the mass will be securely bound
together. The binder also serves one other function and that
involves the "locking" of the various ingredients or constituents
of the additive in position, within the fibrous segments 12. The
coagulated binder acts as an agent for locking the distributed
ingredients of the additive about the fibers so that the thorough
distribution of the additive achieved by the agitation remains
constant after the product has been processed to a finished
product. This is essential of course in order to insure uniformity
of the product and a sustained high quality of the product. The
binder also prevents the flavoring agents and coloring material
from leaching out of the finished product.
At this point in the process, the product is an unbroken coagulated
mass of simulated meat product which has the essential
characteristics of a meat product. The unbroken mass may now be
further processed to enhance the characteristics of the product if
desired. For instance, if hamburger is desired as the finished
product, a further processing step of grinding may be necessary to
bring the simulated meat product to the consistency of hamburger.
If a seafood, fish, or fowl-type product is to be simulated, the
product may be diced, cubed or sliced in order to simulate the
usual characteristics of these products. If a ham product is to be
simulated, slicing of the product or for that matter, cubing the
product may be desirable.
Since the product described at this point is essentially a moist
product, having a quantity of water trapped by the coagulated
binder, a further step may be taken to make the product marketable.
This step involves drying the product so that it may be packed in
ordinary packages and stored without refrigeration. The drying
brings the moisture content of the product to about 2 percent to
about 8 percent by weight. Preferably, the product is dried to a
range of from about 4 percent to about 5 percent by weight. Thus a
hamburger product may be dried so that the resulting product is
granular in form. It has been found that this granular product can
be stored without refrigeration and is easily rehydrated by simply
heating the product in the presence of moisture. The drying
illustrated by box 17 in the block diagram of FIG. 3 may be
accomplished by any number of well-known methods of drying granular
material or cubed material.
Most of these steps described above in connection with processing
the fibrous protein product from a raw fiber to a finished
simulated meat can be accomplished by readily available equipment
or can be accomplished by simple hand operated means. Also, one
embodiment of a novel and preferred apparatus in which the process
of the invention may be accomplished is set forth in the attached
drawings.
After the segments 12 have been cut by conventional cutting means,
they are deposited as noted above on the conveyor belt 11. This
conveyor belt carries the segments to an inlet 18 of a mixer 19.
Housing 21 of mixer 19 is an enclosed tank or reservoir for
containing combined segments 12 and additive. The additive is
combined with the segments 12 at the inlet 18 flow from tanks 22
and 23. Tank 22 contains a discharge 24 for introducing fat into
inlet 18 of mixer 19. The discharge 24 contains a valve 26 for
controlling the rate of flow of fat from the tank 22 so that a
precise amount of fat may be added to the segments 12 depending on
end characteristics desired in the finished simulated meat product.
A serum is mixed and consists essentially of all the other
previously described ingredients. The serum is stored in tank 23.
From this tank 23, the serum flows through discharge 27 and is
combined with the segments 12 and the fat from the tank 22. A
combined fat and serum make up the additive as the term is used in
this specification. (If proper emulsifiers are used, the fat can be
premixed with the serum ingredients.) A valve 28 is utilized to
control the quantity of serum flowing from the serum tank 23. As
with the fat, a control for regulating the amount of serum
introduced into combination with the segments is necessary in order
to arrive at a desired end characteristics in the simulated meat
product. The fat and serum are essentially in a liquid form and
therefore the housing 21 must be of such a nature that the liquid
can be contained.
Refer now to FIG. 4 of the drawings where the mixer 19 is shown.
The mixer 19 has two agitators 29 mounted side by side in the
housing 21. These agitators 29 each contain a shaft 31 with
radially extending paddles 32 along the length of the shaft. Each
shaft 31 is mounted at either end of the housing 21 by bearing
supports 30 and 33. The agitators are driven through a sprocket and
chain drive which is connected to motor 34. The motor 34 drives
sprocket 36 through a gear system 37. The sprocket 36 and sprocket
38, which is connected to the drive shaft 29 are interconnected by
a chain 41. The sprocket 38 is connected to a gear system 39 which
transmits the power from the motor 34 to both of the shafts 31 thus
rotating the agitators 29. The gear systems 37 and 39 may be
utilized to operate the agitators at any speed desired. Also,
manipulation of the gear systems can accomplish rotation of the
agitators in clockwise or counterclockwise directions depending
upon the degree and kind of agitation desired for the combined
segments and additive.
The mixer thoroughly and violently agitates the combined segments
and additive so that the fibrous bundles or segments 12 develop an
appearance similar to liquid saturated balls of cotton. This
agitating action by the paddles 32 results in thoroughly
impregnating the fibrous segments with the additive so that the
resulting mass as noted previously, appears to be a rather viscous
mass containing fibers. The fibers thus saturated are randomly
aligned due to the intense agitation to which they have been
subjected. The mixer 19 may be slightly tilted toward the discharge
end 42 or the paddles 32 may be slanted so that the mass of
material moves from the inlet 18 toward the outlet 42 of the mixer
19. The fibrous mass of material is discharged directly into the
inlet 43 of an auger cooker generally designated by the number 44.
The fibrous mass of material 46 enters the opening 43 where it
encounters the flights 47 of an auger generally designated by the
numeral 48.
The auger 48 (FIG. 2) is driven through a drive system by a motor
49. (See also FIG. 1.) This motor 49 can be directly connected to
the core 51 of the auger 48 as shown in FIG. 2 or it may be
connected to the auger 48 through a sprocket and gear chain system
as illustrated in FIG. 1 of the drawings. In the FIG. 1 system, the
motor 49 is connected to a shaft 52 through a sprocket 53, a chain
54 and a sprocket 56. This sprocket system is in turn driven by
motor 49 through a gear reducer 57. The gear reducer permits
control of the speed of the auger 48. The auger 48 is mounted
within the auger housing 58 by mounting the auger 48 on a suitable
bearing block 61. The auger 48 may be cantilever mounted such as
that shown in the FIG. 2 so that the discharge end 59 is not
mounted on a bearing block to disrupt the flow of material along
the flights 47 of the auger. If, however, the auger 48 is too large
to be cantilever mounted on a bearing 61 as shown in FIG. 2, then a
bearing block and bearing may be attached to the discharge end 59
to support the auger 48. These are mere mechanical manipulations
within the skill of the art.
The mass of viscous fiber material engages the flight 47 at the
auger input 62 and is conveyed by rotation of the auger 48 from the
input end 62 to the discharge end 59. The fibrous mass enters the
auger 48 as a mass of material having the appearance of saturated
fibrous cotton with random alignment of the fibers in the mass.
During the movement of the fibrous mass from the input end 62 to
the output end 59, the auger tends to align the fibers. This
alignment apparently comes from the plug-type movement of the
material as it is moved along the auger flights 47. Experience has
shown that the fibrous mass tends to be transformed from a mass of
randomly aligned fibers at the input end 62 to a mass having a
noticeable fiber alignment at the discharge end 59.
The fibrous mass is compressed between the auger flights 47, the
core 51, and the wall of the housing 58 as it moves along the
length of the auger 48. This compression forces the individual
fibers of the mass together thereby compacting the fibrous material
removing excess air from between the fibers and enhancing its
meatlike characteristics.
If the fibrous mass introduced into the opening 49 contains an
additive having a eat coagulable binder such as egg albumin in a
preferred embodiment, a hot water jacket 63 is placed about the
auger housing 58 so that hot water or steam may be introduced
through inlet 64 to contact the outer walls of the auger housing
58. (This heat unit might also be electric or the like.) This
heating medium warms the walls of auger housing 58 and heats the
mass between the flights 47 to a temperature sufficient to
coagulate the binder. Accordingly, as the fibrous mass moves along
the length of the auger 48 to the discharge end 59, the binder is
coagulated at a controlled rate depending upon the temperatures
applied to the auger housing 58 and is completely coagulated when
the product reaches the discharge end 59. The binder coagulates and
traps the ingredients of the additive throughout the fibrous mass
for uniform distribution and locks these ingredients in place
throughout the cross section of the resulting product. Further, the
heat coagulable binder in this case binds the fibers together so
that the finished product discharged from the discharge end 59 has
the firm consistency of a meat product. The compression of the
fibrous material during the coagulation of the binder forces the
individual fibers of the mass closer together so that the binder
effectively binds the individual fibers together in addition to
trapping the ingredients of the additive in the overall mass of
material. The resulting product discharged at 59 is a plug of
material 66 which has a recognizable fiber alignment which
simulates that of meat and which has a texture, physical
appearance, and other characteristics of a meat product. The hot
water which enters through inlet 64 is discharged through outlet 67
so that a complete circulation of heating water or steam is
accomplished throughout the jacket 63. The temperature supplied to
the walls were noted previously in connection with the description
of the process involved. The hot water jacket 63 may have several
compartments 65 so that a separate water supply at inputs 64, 70,
75 and 85 can be used to heat the wall of the housing 58. See FIG.
1. This permits temperature control along the length of the auger.
The valves 80 individually control the rate of flow of steam and/or
hot water to the respective compartments. The auger core 51 may
also be made hollow (see FIG. 4) so that a heat unit 55 can be
inserted This additional heat unit permits more effective control
of the temperatures within the housing 58.
Since the finished product 63 emerges as a long plug of simulated
meat product, the product does not resemble the physically
recognizable cuts of meat ordinarily encountered in a butcher shop.
A cutter 68 is attached to the end of the auger housing 58 so that
blades 69 inserted within the cutter 68 will cut the plug of
material 66 into chunks sufficiently small to be further processed.
The auger flights 47 simply force the plug of material 66 against
the sharp knives 69 thus severing the plug of material 66 at
various points. The chunks of material are then discharged for
further processing.
Ordinarily one associates a difference in texture and compactness
with the different meat products. This difference in texture and
firmness can often be measured in terms of compactness or toughness
of the meat product. This characteristic can be achieved in part by
compressing the fibrous mass to a greater degree than possibly by a
simple auger such as 48 where the core 51 is straight and the auger
flights are uniform depth and pitch. An auger, typical of those on
which the present invention may be mounted, is disclosed in FIG. 6.
Auger 71 has a core 72 which tapers from the input end 73 to the
output end 74. In other words the depth of the individual flight 76
becomes less toward the output end 74 of the auger 71. A further
change in auger 71 is the change in the pitch of the flight 76. The
pitch is decreased toward the output end 74. This combination of
decreased toward the output end 74. This combination of decreased
depth of flight and decreased pitch of the flights result in a
reduced volume into which the fibrous mass is compressed with
respect to the wall of the auger housing 58. The result of this
reduced volume of course results in an increase in the compression
applied to the fibrous mass as it moves from the input end 73 to
the discharge end 74. An auger such as this has been successfully
utilized for the production of red meat-type products.
Another embodiment of an auger which might be utilized in the
apparatus disclosed in FIG. 1 is the auger 77 illustrated in FIG. 7
of the drawings. Auger 77 contains flights 78 which have a varying
pitch. The core 79 of the extruder 77 is also varied in diameter so
that the depth of the flight 78 varies from the input end to the
output end thus producing the squeezing or compressing action
achieved in the auger 71 of FIG. 6. Auger 77, however, contains an
additional section 81 connected to the output end of the auger for
manipulating the fibrous plug of material at the output end 82. In
the auger illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 6, the plug of material leaves
the augers and forms a helix in substantially the form of a coil
spring. The plug of material from such an auger moves parallel to
the central axis of the coil and consequently there may be some
problem in handling the material. For instance, in further
processing, it may be desired to cut the finished fibrous protein
product in a certain manner but to cut it along the length of the
plug rather than cross section the plug. Therefore, section 81
provides a means for aligning the plug of material so that the plug
of material ultimately emerges from the auger 77 in a continuous
straight stream of material. Section 81 contains a pair of channels
83 and 86 which are a continuation of the space between flights 78.
These channels are essentially extensions of the helical path
between flights 78. A plug of material which arrives at point 84 is
separated by the extension 86 so that a portion of the plug follows
channel 83 and a second portion of the plug moves along channel 86.
Channels 83 and 86 gradually change direction until the channels
are parallel to the central axis of the auger 77 and thus material
travelling along the length of the channels 83 and 86 emerge from
the auger 77 parallel to the axis thereof and travelling in a
forward direction along the length of the plug. This permits
cutting the plug of material across the length of the plug. More
than two channels may be utilized and such an auger with three
channels has been used with success.
The section 81 illustrated in FIG. 7 shows two channels 83 and 87
which are formed from a single flight extruder. Refer now to FIG. 8
for a similar section 88 which is an extension of a double flight
extruder 89. In such an extruder 89, no point 86 necessary to
separate the plug of material leaving the auger flight. In this
case two plugs of material, one in each of two separate channels 91
and 92 simply move along the longitudinal axis of the auger 88
without separating into two parts. It is to be noted at this point
that a number of channels 91 which might be utilized in an end
section 88 may be varied from 1 to several such channels.
Since the end channels which align the product along the central
axis along the auger results in a product having the fiber
alignment substantially parallel to the central axis of the core of
the auger, a special problem arises. The problem is illustrated in
FIG. 10 of the drawings where the fibrous product 93 is shown in
cross section. The core 94 of the auger or end section 81 such as
that shown in FIG. 7, is surrounded by a sleeve 96. This sleeve
normally would be an extension of the wall of the housing 58 shown
in FIG. 2 and is stationary. Since the core 94 is rotating in the
clockwise direction and the individual fibers of the product 93 are
parallel to the central axis as noted of the core 94, the relative
movement between the auger core 94 and the stationary housing 96
forces a few fibers 97 between the moving surfaces of the core 94
and the sleeve 96 into the space 98. This material 97 produces
clogging of the working mechanisms and produces a damaged and
unsanitary finished product. The damage occurs because the fibers
99 next the inside wall of the sleeve 96 tend to cling to the
sleeve and are not properly carried with channel 101. This
condition occurs in the end section referred to and discussed in
FIGS. 7 and 8 of the drawings because of the realignment of the
plug of fibrous product. Accordingly, the present invention
provides a solution to this problem and is illustrated in FIGS. 9
and 11 of the drawings. The housing of the auger 102 contains a
flange 103 at the output end. Within this flange a sleeve 104 is
fitted by a moving connection such as a bearing 106. The sleeve 104
is rigidly connected by a setscrew 107 to the forming core 108.
Thus it will be noted that as the auger 109 rotates, the end
section 111 also moves but the sleeve 104 moves with the forming
core 108 thus no fibers will slide in the space 98 illustrated in
FIG. 10 and clog the outlet end of the auger. This result is
achieved because at a place where the plug is moving in a helical
fashion within the housing no clogging problem occurs since the
fibers engage the stationary wall along their length. The clogging
only occurs when the fibers simultaneously move parallel to their
own axis and engage a stationary wall while the fibers are also
moving about the core of the auger in a channel 101. The effect of
the mechanism in FIG. 9 is to remove the later relative movement
between the fibers and a containing wall 104. The end section
illustrated in FIG. 9 may be connected to the auger 109 by a bolt
112 as illustrated in FIG. 9 or it may be an integral part of the
auger as illustrated in FIG. 7 of the drawings.
It is to be understood that the examples, embodiments and
variations are merely illustrative of the invention and numerous
modifications will occur to those skilled in the art which fall
within the scope of the invention.
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