| abstract |
Two or more different materials, especially food materials, are coextruded through adjacent orifices of an extruder. The flows of the two materials are cut in a direction transverse to the flow to form segments of flow. These segments are interspersed so as to join upstream and downstream of each segment of first material to a segment of a second material. Generally two rows of joined segmented flows are extruded side by side. Preferably between the two rows is formed a boundary cell wall which usually is transformed to a harder material after extrusion. Cell walls of the harder material may surround, in two or three dimensions, cells of softer or foamed material. Co-extrusion is carried out by a method in which the dividing members which segment the flows move across the extruder orifices in rhythm with the imposition of extrusion pressure on the material through the respective orifice. The dividing members may reciprocate or rotate relative to the orifices. Preferably the dividing members are fixed and the orifices are caused to move. In this case, the material may be supplied from respective reservoirs in fixed dye components, to the moving portion. The process and apparatus is particularly useful for producing confectionary products, for instance formed of chocolate, marzipan, or dough materials. |