Non-contact printed comestible products and apparatus and method for producing same
AssigneeWm. Wrigley Jr. Company
InventorsRonald L. Ream, Enrique Valdez, Dennis W. Rybolt, William R. Gleffe
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present disclosure provides apparatuses and methods for non-contact printing on comestible products. The apparatus includes an extruder for extruding a slab of an edible substrate and a non-contact printing device for printing an edible ink on the slab. The apparatus provides versatility as the printing device may be placed anywhere along the apparatus. The printing device may be positioned along the apparatus as desired to operate in cooperation with other components of the apparatus.
Claims14
An apparatus for producing a product comprising:
- an extruder for extruding a slab of a confectionery substrate having a moisture content of 0.5 to 20% by weight;
- a roller for forming the slab into a desired dimension, the roller shaped to form an indentation in the slab;
- a non-contact printing device for printing an edible ink on the slab, wherein the edible ink coats the indentation;
- a cooling device for cooling the slab printed with the edible ink;
- and
- a packaging device for packaging the confectionery substrate.
An apparatus for producing an edible substrate having a three-dimensional object comprising:
- an extruder for extruding chewing gum;
- a roller for forming the extruded chewing gum into a desired dimension, the roller shaped to form an indentation in the surface of the extruded chewing gum;
- a dispensing device for dispensing an edible material onto the chewing gum, and
- a cooling device for cooling the chewing gum having the edible material,
- wherein the edible material forms a three-dimensional object having different thicknesses on the surface of the chewing gum;
- and
- wherein the edible material coats the indentation in the chewing gum.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.