Paste spreader apparatus for shredded wheat

Edible paste enters an apparatus at an inlet. A nut holds the inlet coupled to another supply pipe. A portion of the nut is threaded. The area of the inlet is approximately equal to the area of a slit-like opening, the filling material or edible paste passing through the slit and into an opening in a block. A second block has a plurality of valves therein, the valves being simple plug valves, and having a single bore therethrough. Paste is extruded through nozzles fixedly connected to a third block, and paste is extruded into rows upon a moving bed of a lower half portion of a continuous sheet of "shredded wheat" in its uncut form. The paste is laid in rows of five across, and a second sheet of uncut shredded wheat is laid atop the first layer, trapping the rows of paste. The resulting product when cut forms the familiar shredded wheat biscuit shape. The finished product contains raisin paste.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to shredded wheat biscuits, and in particular to 
shredded wheat biscuits havings an edible paste therein. The invention 
particularly relates to a paste spreader apparatus for locating edible 
paste on a bed of shredded wheat, atop which bed the edible paste is 
located, and atop which a second and final composite layer of shredded 
wheat is added prior to biscuit-forming steps including cutting of the 
layers into individual biscuits. The bed layer and composite layer each 
are usually formed of four or five individual wheat layers composed of 
wheat strands, as is well-known in the shredded wheat biscuit art. 
It is conventional to supply a fluid, paste, or other substance having 
fluid-like properties under pressure from a supply to a nozzle, and to 
control the flow through the nozzles by means of valves. Furthermore, it 
is another well-known concept in the art to equalize flow from a common 
supply through individual nozzles by individually adjusting valves 
associated with each individual nozzle. 
It is a problem in the art, however, when a paste formed of organic 
commestible or other material, such as raisin paste, strawberry paste, 
banana paste, blueberry paste, apricot pastes, or apple paste, among 
others, to provide straight and uniform extrudate paths from each nozzle 
fed by a common supply. This phenomenon is not yet clearly understood, but 
believed to be due to either a time-varying turbulent pattern formed 
during fluid flow, or to a type or organic "memory" which exhibits itself 
as erratic behavior in the flow path component transverse to the axis of 
the nozzle. In particular, it is a problem to extrude paste from a common 
supply through a plurality of nozzles so that the paste lies in uniformly 
and precisely located straight rows or lines while being deposited upon a 
moving bed, or while the nozzles move relative to a stationary bed or 
support. The moving bed in the food industry in usually supported by a 
conveyor belt or the like, with the nozzles being stationary over the 
moving bed. The moving bed atop the conveyor belt can be a bed of shredded 
wheat layers, usually four layers thick, which forms the lower half of 
what ultimately becomes a whole shredded-wheat biscuit. 
It is also a problem in the art that, when several nozzles are supplied by 
a single header or supply, directionality of the paste extruded through 
the nozzles is not always dependent entirely upon the nozzle axis. Thus, 
conventional gate-type valves which are in common use cannot alter the 
flow path or pattern of extrudate from a nozzle, especially when such 
extrudate does not continuously flow in a direction colinear with the axis 
of the nozzle, as in the situation with pastes discussed above. This holds 
true despite attempts at perfecting nozzle design so that the nozzles have 
sharp outlet edges to prevent end effects of the nozzles from disturbing 
the paste flow. 
It is therefore a problem in the art to provide a plurality of nozzles, 
supplied by a single supply source, which can precisely and consistently 
distribute paste extruded from the plurality of nozzles by using 
adjustable members or means, which can both control flow through 
individual nozzles as well as affect the direction of paste extruded 
through each of the nozzles, without re-locating, moving, or disturbing 
the nozzles themselves in any way. Thus a transverse component of flow to 
a nozzle axis has not been solved in the prior art by controlling a valve 
upstream of the nozzle. Many grains require different cooking times, 
different tempering times and different temperatures to obtain optimal 
flowability properties, shred strength, appearance, and the like. 
Accordingly, to produce a cereal product having a mixture of different 
types of cereal grains in each biscuit, it is preferable to separately 
process each type of grain and to then co-shred the grains. It is also 
possible to combine the separate grains by separately shredding the grains 
and then layering the shreds of different grains. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is accordingly one object of the present invention to provide an 
improved apparatus for distributing paste which is relatively simple in 
construction, formed of readily available materials, and that can be 
manufactured by persons of ordinary skill in the food processing equipment 
arts. 
Another object of the invention is provide an improved apparatus for 
distributing paste, wherein a plurality of nozzles are provided, which are 
supplied by a single source, with the flow through each of the nozzles 
being separately controllable so that each nozzle extrudes a constant, 
predetermined amount of paste, each nozzle being controllable to 
distribute an identical amount of paste to each of the other nozzles which 
are supplied from the common source. 
A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved 
apparatus for distributing commestible paste onto a moving substrate, 
including a plurality of nozzles supplied by a common supply with a means 
for controlling directionality of the extrudate material from each of the 
nozzles, without the necessity of moving or relocating any of the nozzles 
themselves. 
A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved 
apparatus for applying paste in uniform rows to a moving substrate, 
including a paste supply, a plurality of nozzles supplied from the paste 
supply, and a single means associated with and upstream of each nozzle for 
controlling both the amount of flow through each nozzle as well as the 
directionality of flow through each of the nozzles, without the necessity 
of movement or disturbance of any of the nozzles. 
Shredded wheat biscuits are well-known in the prior art. Also, apparatus 
for forming shredded wheat biscuits are well-known in the prior art, as 
evidenced by the U.S. classification system and the index to the U.S., 
classification system, which specifically refers to shredded wheat 
biscuits and to apparatus for forming shredded wheat biscuits. 
The process of the present invention, including the apparatus for spreading 
paste, precisely locates raisin or apple paste, or other commestible 
pastes discussed in the above, along continuous straight lines on a 
continuously moving bed of shredded wheat, the continuously moving bed 
being then sliced and pinched to form individual shredded wheat biscuits. 
The pinched biscuits are then toasted in an oven, and the biscuits 
separated as by breaking at the pinched locations. Each individual biscuit 
so formed preferrably has very little or no paste visible along any of the 
edges thereof, except possibly a small or minute amount along at most two 
of the pinched edges of the biscuit. No paste should be visible at either 
of the two edges of the biscuit which are parallel to the paste rows. The 
biscutis may if desired have a single open, edge being the extreme edges 
of the bed which is not pinched because separation from other biscuits is 
unnecessary. 
Knowledge of the prior art methods of forming shredded wheat biscuits is 
very helpful in understanding the resulting product of the present 
invention. Such devices and systems are well-known in the prior art, as 
evidenced by the following discussion. 
Shredding systems which can be used in the process of the present invention 
may comprise conventional rolls and devices such as those indicated in 
U.S. Pat. Nos. 502,378, 2,008,024, 2,013,003, 4,004,035 and Canadian Pat. 
No. 674,046. A conventional shredding mill for use in the process of the 
present invention comprises a pair of closely spaced rolls that rotate in 
opposite directions, with at least one of the rolls having circumferential 
grooves. Upon passing between the rolls, the wheat is deformed into long 
individual strings or shreds. The circumferentially grooved roll can also 
be grooved transversely to the circumferential grooves for the production 
of the net-like sheets. When the rollers are held to roll in mutual 
contact, the shreds or filaments will be fairly separate from each other, 
though more or less contacting, but when the rollers are sprung slightly 
apart, under pressure, the adjacent filaments may be united to each other 
by very thin translucent, almost transparent, webs or fins between them. 
The shredding mills are typically arranged in a linear series along a 
common conveyor, with the shreds running longitudinally or in parallel 
with the direction of movement of the conveyor. The sheets or layers of 
filaments are deposited on the conveyor in super-position, with their 
filaments running in the same direction. A typical biscuit, for example, 
may contain from 2 to 20 individual layers of shreds, with 8 total layers 
being the most usual. Upon obtaining the requisite or desired thickness, 
the multiple layer shredded wheat bed can be cut transversely and 
longitudinally into multiple lines of biscuits in known manner. The 
cutting can be completely through the laminate to form the individual 
bisbuit shapes prior to baking. Cutting partially through the laminate to 
form biscuit shapes, followed by baking, and separating the baked 
partially cut laminate into individual biscuits in known manner is 
preferred for easier control of the orientation of the cut product as it 
passes through the baking oven. 
Suitable ovens for drying, baking and toasting the shredded product include 
Proctor & Schwartz, Werner Lahara and Spooner ovens containing forced air 
and has fired burners and a conveyor. 
In the present invention, an extruder has a coupling member for cupling to 
a pipe of the like which contains raisin paste, apple paste, or the like. 
Preferrably, an Acme threaded sanitary tubing fitting is used, or a clamp 
type such as a Triclover Tri-clamp, among others. The paste is forced 
through a conduit to a formed slit-like member, the slit-like member 
having an area which is approximately equal to the area of the inlet 
conduit, in the preferred embodiment. 
This slit-like member is formed in a solid block which is rigidly connected 
thereto by welding or the like, and which is fastened to a block-like 
member having individually adjustable plug valves. Each plug valve has a 
cylindrical body and a head, the cylindrical body having a bore 
therethrough. In order to control flow through each of the bores, the head 
may be turned in either direction from dead center. A third block-like 
member has nozzle fixedly attached thereto, in line with the bores formed 
in the second block-like member. 
Therefore, the slit-member supplies, through holes formed in the second 
block-like member, the bores in each of the plug valves. The plug valves 
control both the amount and the general direction of paste flow through 
the nozzles downstream of the plug valves. 
Gaskets are interposed inbetween the separate block-like members, the 
block-like members being connected together by bolts, welding, or any 
other suitable means, including clamps or the like. The nozzles are 
generally tapped or threaded into the third block-like member so that the 
length of each nozzle from the third block-like member is controllable by 
rotation of the individual nozzle. Teflon.RTM. tape (not shown) is used on 
the indivudual threaded nozzle fittings to prevent leakage. Each 
individual nozzle tapers from a relatively large area to a narrower or 
more constricted area. This results in a directed flow, the flow not 
always occurring directly linear along the axis of the individual nozzle, 
but rather the flow may have a component of motion transversely directed 
to the axis of any particular individual nozzle. This is due, as discussed 
above, either to complex turbulent flow patterns, or a form of fluid 
material "memory" which affects the flow. In this event, turning of the 
plug valve, or other valve having an equivalent bore therethrough, 
associated with the individual nozzle, results in both a restriction in 
the flow to the nozzle as well as a change in the direction of the 
transverse component of flow. Since the preferred plug valve can control 
or restrict flow by turning in either a clockwise or a counterclockwise 
direction, the directionality of the transverse component of flow may be 
controlled by rotation in a suitable direction of the plug valve head. A 
line inscribed on the head indicates the direction of the bore axis 
therethrough. 
Each of the plug valves is retained at a projecting end of the plug valve 
which is fixedly connected to a nut member to prevent movement of the plug 
valve along the bore in the block-like member in which the plug valve is 
seated. 
The paste extruder, once properly aligned and the flow controlled so that 
each nozzle produces a uniform flow of paste in a desired direction, then 
deposits the paste extrudate in a continuous stream upon a moving bed of 
shredded wheat which is to be subsequently formed into biscuits. The paste 
is generally deposited as nearly as possible to the center line of what 
will eventually become an individual shredded wheat biscuit. As the 
shredded wheat bed, having the continuous rows of paste thereon, then 
passes to a station where an upper layer, preferrably having four or five 
layers of shredded wheat therein, is layed atop the lower bed of shredded 
wheat, thereby completely covering the paste extrudate. Brown sugar is 
then preferably added atop the lower bed. The entire shredded wheat 
assembly described above is then conveyed to a station where individual 
rows and columns of biscuits are formed by pinching of the shredded wheat 
assembly. The shredded wheat biscuit assembly is preferably toasted before 
being broken apart. The extrudate rows are enclosed within each biscuit 
and lie generally intermediate sides of each biscuit. 
Further details and advantages of the present invention appear from the 
following description of a preferred embodiment shown schematically in the 
drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the apparatus of the present 
invention. The apparatus is used to extrude paste, such as raisin paste, 
strawberry paste, banana paste, blueberry paste, apricot paste, or apple 
paste, through nozzles so as to precisely direct a controlled amount of 
paste from each nozzle onto a substrate such as a bed of shredded wheat, 
or other substrate. The apparatus includes an inlet orifice 11 and an 
outlet orifice 19, the outlet orifice 19 being seen in FIG. 1 as a nozzle 
19. 
A nut 9 is slidable along conduit 10, and has an internal structure (not 
shown in FIG. 1) to enable it to aut one or more of the ledges shown in 
FIG. 1 (unnumbered) so that an internal threaded portion of the nut 9 
projects beyond the inlet orifice 11. Preferrably, an Acme threaded 
sanitary tubing fitting is used, or a clamp type such as a Triclover 
Tri-clamp, among others. This enables coupling of the nut 9 and the inlet 
orifice 11 to a conventionally threaded pipe member. A weld 12 joins the 
generally cylindrical, hollow conduit 10 to a somewhat flatened member 8. 
The somewhat flattened member 8 is fixedly connected to a first block-like 
member 5 along a joint 6, which may be a welded joint, a machined joint, 
or the like, so as to be consistent with the detailed construction shown 
in FIG. 3 and discussed in the following. 
The member 8 has a generally circular cross-sectional shape and is hollow 
at the junction 12 which is preferrably a welded junction, although this 
entire construction could also be molded of a moldable material such as 
metal, plastics, fiber-reinforced plastic material, or the like. The 
member 8 then has a gradually flattening cross-sectional shape so that at 
its end 6 it extends across a relatively wide length so as to supply a 
plurality of nozzles 19. The portion 7 of the member 8, which is near the 
joint 6, has an approximately slot-like cross-sectional shape which is 
hollow. In a preferred embodiment, the cross-sectional area of the inlet 
portion 11 is generally equal to the cross-sectional area of slot 6, which 
is shown in greater detail in FIG. 3. 
As seen in FIG. 1, the nozzles 19 are directed somewhat downwardly due to 
the angle at which the joint 12 connects members 8 and 10. In operation, 
the nozzles are preferrably inclined at a 45.degree. downward angle, 
although such angle can range from 0.degree. to 90.degree. if desired to 
apply the extrudate paste. A second block-like member 3 is connected to 
the first block-like member 5, having an intermediary gasket 14 
therebetween to prevent leakage of paste between the adjacent block-like 
members 3 and 5. A valve head 4 is visible in elevational view in FIG. 1, 
as is a corresponding nut 41 along the bottom edge of the block-like 
member 3. A third block-like member 2 is seen in FIG. 1 connected to the 
second block-like member 3, having an intermediary gasket 13 therebetween 
to prevent fluid leakage between the adjacent blocks. All three block-like 
members, 2, 3, and 5 are connected together by headed fasteners 28. The 
headed fasteners 28 connect the blocks together as follows. The headed 
portion is on the outer-most surface of the block-like member 2 nearest 
the nozzle 19. The headed fastener 28 passes through bores in the 
block-like members 2 and 3 and fits in threaded engagement into a threaded 
hole 51 formed in the first block-like member 5. 
Each of the nozzles 19 has a nut-like portion 1 and a threaded portion 
which threadingly engages corresponding threaded holes in the block-like 
member 2. Teflon.RTM. tape (not shown) is used on the individual threaded 
nozzles fittings to prevent leakage. Thus, the length of projection of 
each of the nozzles 19 is adjustable merely by rotation of the nuts 1 to 
cause the nozzles 19 to move toward or away from the block-like member 2 
along a central axis of the threaded bores 21 (seen in dotted outline in 
FIG. 1). 
Also in FIG. 1, in dotted outline is seen the body of a plug valve 31 
(unnumbered in FIG. 1). The plug valve body 31 is fixedly connected to, or 
is integral with, the head member 4. The nut 41 is fixedly connected with 
or made integral with the plug body 31. The second block-like member 3 has 
an upper surface 44 as seen in FIG. 1. The third block-like member 2 has 
an upper surface 289 as seen in FIG. 1. 
FIG. 2 is a top elevational view of the inventive apparatus as seen along 
the inclined view 2--2 of FIG. 1 which is generally parallel to the 
central axis of the headed member 28 and to the axes of the nozzles 19. 
This view shows the true elevational shape of the upper-most surfaces of 
each of the block-like members 2, 3, and 5. 
FIG. 2 shows that there are five nozzles 19, and shows the true projecting 
length of each of the nozzles 19. The true view of the headed portions 4 
of the valve members are seen in FIG. 2. Each headed portion 4 has a line 
formed therein, to indicate the positon of the valve, the lines being 
parallel to the axis of each bore 35 formed in the valve body 34. The 
problem of maintaining uniformed spacing between the paste extruded 
through the orifices 19 is solved partially by formation of a 
predetermined spacing between each of the nozzles 19. In particular, the 
two end nozzles, in FIG. 2 being the upper-most nozzle and the lower-most 
nozzle, are spaced apart by a distance of approximately 1 millimeter less 
than the spacing between the central nozzle and each adjacent nozzle, the 
preferred spacing between these nozzles approximately 25 millimeters apart 
from center line to center line. Although any predetermined spacing can be 
used, based upon the scale and relative sizes of the orifices 19 and other 
factors, it is noteworthy that for uniform row spacing it is sometimes 
necessary, as in this case, to have non-uniform nozzle spacing to maintain 
a constant extrudate row spacing. This is due to a number of factors, 
including the "end effects" of the nozzle and manifold assembly, as well 
as to an apparent inherent "memory effect" of the complex chemical 
constituents forming the edible paste which tends to prevent a straight 
and constant flow which might be expected based upon the shapes, 
orientations, and sizes of the nozzles themselves. Furthermore, such 
variations in extrudate spacing are due to the transverse components to 
the axis of the nozzles of the extrudate flow. Such transverse components 
are due to the above-mentioned effects, and also are due to the downstream 
turbulence effects which are present in all fluids which flow from one 
type of conduit to another. It is expected that, however, the flow of 
water or thin oil, for example, would be more predictable and would 
generally flow more co-linearly with the axis of each nozzle. Such effects 
occur downstream of any change in conduit conditions, and are often 
unpredictable and can even be violent. Such effects in general are 
well-known and are well-documented in the fluid mechanics arts. 
The lower headed fastener 28 which connects the three block-like members 2, 
3, and 5 together the upper fastener 29 retains the three block-like 
members together. Together, these two fasteners 28, 29 retain all three 
block-like members together. It is noted that the portion 7 of member 8 is 
fixedly attached to the block-like member 5 at the joint 6. This is shown 
in FIG. 3, discussed below. FIG. 2 is partially broken away just beyond 
the welded joint to the left of the figure. FIG. 2 shows how the member 8 
spreads out from left to right until at portion 7 it becomes a relatively 
wide portion. 
The member 8, having the deformed portions shown, can be formed generally 
from a conventional funnel or pipe stock which is heated and deformed 
smoothly and relatively continuously outwardly as shown in the figures so 
that one end maintains its generally circular cross-sectional shape, while 
the other end forms a generally elongated, slot-like cross-sectional 
shape. However, this member 8 can also be formed in other ways such as by 
molding in a pre-formed mold, blow molding from plastic, or use of any 
other forming methods and using any formable materials adequate for the 
purpose of extruding paste through the nozzles 19. 
The right-hand portion 29 of the block-like member 2 is seen in FIG. 2. 
This surface is seen in true frontal elevational view in FIG. 8, also 
discussed below. 
FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the block-like member 5 as seen as it 
would be taken from the right of FIG. 1, but in true view such as in FIG. 
2. The block-like member 5 is seen in its dis-assembled form so that the 
interior surfaces of the threaded bores 52 are seen as being a circular 
outline in FIG. 3. Also, the slot 6 is shown as being welded to the 
block-like member 5, which has a planar surface. The surface 5 visible in 
FIG. 3 is the surface which is adjacent to the gasket 14 in FIG. 2. As 
seen in FIG. 3, the joint formed corresponds to a slot formed in the 
block-like member 5 (unnumbered) into which the slot-shaped end 6 of the 
member 8 is inserted and held while the portion 6 is welded (indicated by 
the rough filler material shown between the block-like member 5 and the 
portion 6) to form a solid, leak-proof joint that fixedly retains the 
slot-like member 6 and the member 5 together. 
The member 6 is slot-like in shape, and has an area in cross-section 
approximately equal to that of the inlet area at the inlet 11. Although 
the member 6 is shown as being welded to the member 5, any known manner of 
connection is contemplated, and any manner of connection known to anyone 
of skill in the machining or metal working arts, is contemplated as being 
within the scope of the present invention. For example, the entire 
assembly from the inlet portion 11, including conduit 10, the portion 8, 
the slot 6 and the block-like member 5 could be formed in a single molded 
cavity including the appropriate internal preforms to cause the final 
shape to occur. Such a well-known method is the "lost wax" method of 
forming intricately shaped objects. Other methods are also known, such as 
forming by sections through a molding process, and then attaching the 
parts at a later stage, and all such methods are contemplated as being 
within the scope of the present invention. 
FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the block-like member 3 as seen 
separated from the other block-like members 2 and 5. In this figure, the 
gasket 14 is shown as being attached, as by glue, frictioned attachment, 
or ordinary low-strength adhesion, to the block-member 3. Here, in dotted 
outline is seen the bore 31 extending completely through the block-like 
member 3. Also seen in dotted outline is the value body 45 which is 
rigidly and fixedly connected to the headed member 4 and the nut member 
41. As seen in FIG. 4, a washer member 4 exists between the nut 41 and the 
block-member 3. No other bores are formed in the block-like member 3 
except as seen in FIG. 5, bores 31 and 32, discussed hereunder. 
FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of the block-like member 3 as it would 
be seen from the right in FIG. 1 and in true elevational view as seen from 
the right in FIG. 2. It is shown separated from the other components as it 
would be prior to assembly, or while it would be removed for cleaning, 
refurbishing, or the like. FIG. 5 shows the surface of the block 3 
partially broken away, to show the plug valve body 45 having a hole 35 
bored therethrough. The hole 35 bored therethrough corresponds 
approximately identically to the shape and size, as well as the location, 
of bores 33 bored completely straight through the block-like member 3. 
Thus, the operation of the plug valves 4 is readily apparent from FIG. 5. 
When completely aligned, as are the right-hand-most four of the five shown 
valve members, the bores 33 and the bores 35 exactly coincide to permit 
full flow of paste therethrough. However, as seen in the left-hand-most 
valve 4, when the valve is turned slightly clockwise as seen from the top 
of the FIG. 5, the bores 33 and 35 misalign, so that a portion of the 
valve body 34 obstructs the passageway 33. Such obstruction not only 
limits the flow through the bores 33, but also imparts a directionality to 
the flow, which directionality is transverse to a central bore axis of the 
bores. Thus, by suitable rotation either clockwise or anticlockwise of the 
valves 4, a predetermined directed transverse component of the exiting 
paste can be caused to exit between the block-like member 3 and the axis 
of the nozzles 19. This permits precisely aligned and precisely spaced 
rows of extrudate to be applied upon a substrate. Such would not occur if 
nozzles were used in conjunction with gate valve members, or any other 
type of valve member which cannot control both flow and directionality of 
the transverse component of flow relative to the axis of the nozzles. 
Furthermore, due to the end effects of the slot 6 to prevent "starving" of 
one or more of the nozzles 19, each of the valves 4 may be required to 
adjusted somewhat differently so that each of the nozzles 19 extrudes 
approximately the same amount of extrudate paste as do each of the other 
nozzles 19. This is very important from the standpoint of product quality 
and product uniformity, since the end products are formed from the 
substrate upon which the extrudate lies. The substrate being, in the 
preferred embodiment, shredded wheat, upon which a second set of layers of 
shredded wheat is added with the resultant assembly of layers being 
pinched, toasted, and cut or broken along pinched regions to form shredded 
wheat biscuits, product uniformity is essential to prevent exposure of the 
paste (such as raisin paste or apple paste, for example, among others) 
along the ends or edges of the finished product, where the paste might 
tend to dry. A biscuit so formed also has a more attractive appearance 
where very little or no paste is visible along the edges. 
As seen in FIG. 5, the washers 42 are adjacent a lower surface 43 of the 
block-like member 3. The bores 31 and 32 are to permit passage of the 
headed fasteners 28 therethrough, and the bores 31 and 32 are not 
threaded. The block-like member 3 has an upper surface 44, and a spacing 
between the center line of each of the bores 33 is indicated by the 
indicia "X1" or "X2". In the present preferred embodiment, the magnitude 
of X1 is less than the magnitude of the value of X2. This shows the 
compensation required due to the "end" effects between the relative nozzle 
spacings in order to achieve uniform and precisely controllable, extrudate 
spacing. The present arrangement shown achieves five approximately equal 
spaced extrudate rows; if the nozzles themselves were equally spaced, the 
rows of extrudate would not be equally spaced due to the end effects 
discussed above. If the nozzles were equally spaced, the outermost 
extrudate row on either side would have a greater spacing than the central 
rows, due to the above-mentioned end effects. 
While five nozzles are shown and described hereinabove, producing five 
continuous rows of extrudate, the present invention is not limited 
thereto. Use of two nozzles to any desired number of nozzles is 
contemplated as being within the scope of the present invention. For 
example, the present apparatus could include 9, 20, or any other desired 
number of nozzles. The preferred embodiment, having five nozzles, is 
exemplary of the problems encountered and solved by the present invention. 
In particular, the spacing of the outermost nozzles at each end is a 
problem solved and discussed hereinabove, and such solution, namely 
reducing the spacing of each outermost nozzle, is readily applicable to 
nozzle systems of four or more nozzles. Also, control of paste flow rate 
and direction as described hereinabove is applicable to a system having 
any number of nozzles. 
FIG. 6 is a bottom elevational view of one of the nuts 41 and the lower 
surface 43 of FIG. 5. The remainder is broken away, since each of the nuts 
is shown in typical view. As seen, indents 46 are formed in the lower nut 
surface and the lower valve body portion 45, the nut 41 being joined to 
the valve stem 45 by a series of indents 46, welds 46, or the like, and 
which nut 41 and stem 45 may be crimped, welded, or glued together to 
retain the stem 45 rotatably in the block-like member 3. Otherwise, 
vibration or other forces could tend to force or allow the stem 45 to 
drift out of the block-like member 3 vertically in the direction of the 
head 4, away from the upper surface 44. Also, the shape of the washers 42 
is clearly shown as being that of a generally truncated circular body in 
FIG. 6. 
FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of the valve body, having a stem 45 and 
showing a cross-sectional view of the nut 41 including the points of 
attachment 46 between the stem 45 using the nut 41. FIG. 7 shows the 
cylindrical aspect of the stem 45 in the shade lines, and shows in dotted 
outline the bore 35 formed therethrough. The member 3 is seen in 
cross-section in this figure. The bore 35 itself is seen more clearly in 
FIG. 10, discussed hereunder. 
FIG. 8 is a front elevational view of the block-like member 2, showing the 
nozzles 19 as they would be seen in front view taken from the right of 
FIGS. 1 and 2, and shown as disassembled as the block-like member 2 would 
be prior to assembly, or during a cleaning operation or refurbishing 
operation. 
The surface 29 is visible in true aspect in FIG. 8. Bores 27 are visible at 
either end of the block-like member 2, which bores are unthreaded to 
permit ready passage of the fastener members 28 (seen in FIGS. 1 and 2) 
therethrough. Also, the distances between center lines of the nozzles 19 
are indicated by the respective indicia "X subscript 1" and "X.sub.2 ". X2 
is greater than X1 by a predetermined amount sufficient to account for end 
effects, directionality of flow through the nozzle which is not exactly 
parallel to the central axis of the nozzles, as discussed hereinabove. The 
block-like member 2 has an upper surface 283 and the nozzles 19 are seen 
as tapering to a sharply defined central bore. 
FIG. 9 shows in dotted outline, through the block-like member 2, the 
internal bore receiving the member 203, the internal bore being threaded 
and unnumbered in FIG. 9. The internal thickness of the threaded portion 
203 is indicated by the dotted lines 27, the thickness being relatively 
small to allow passage of paste from the opening in the gasket 13 and 
block-like member 2 into the threaded end 203 and thence to the nozzle 19. 
In FIG. 9, the hexagonal nut portion 202 is adjacent to the threaded 
portion 203, and permits rotational adjustment of the spacing of the 
nozzle 19 from the surface 29 of the block-like member 2. A cylindrical 
portion 201 is adjacent the nut 202, and a smoothly tapering ledge 200 
connects the nozzle 19 to the cylindrical member 201. 
FIG. 10 is a view of the plug valve member 4 as seen in FIG. 5, but being 
partially broken away to expose the inner bore 35. The nut 41 is also 
shown in section, while the upper portion of the valve stem 45 is shown in 
elevational view at a location just above the bore 35. The block-like 
member 3 is shown in section also. 
FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the member 8 as taken along line 11--11 of 
FIG. 2. This shows an exaggerated thickness of the hollow member 8, and 
also shows the general curvature of the member 8 at the location of the 
view 11--11. 
FIG. 12 is a rear elevational view of the block-like member 2 as seen from 
the rear of FIG. 8. Here, the bores 27, 27, which are unthreaded, are 
visible. The bores 27 receive the attaching members 28 as seen in FIGS. 1 
and 2. Also, the gasket 13 is visible in FIG. 12, having bores 25 visible 
therethrough. As seen in FIG. 12, a tapering portion just adjacent the 
nozzle end terminates at a circular nozzle outlet 19. 
FIG. 13 is a side sectional view taken along line 13--13 of FIG. 12, and 
shows the internal shape of the nozzles 19, and their location in the 
block-like member 2. The nozzle 19 and the block-like member 2, as well s 
the gasket 13, are all shown in sectional view. Also, the internal 
threading of the bore 25 is clearly seen in FIG. 13. 
As seen in FIG. 13, the internal bore (unnumbered) of the nozzle 19 tapers 
from a relatively large cross-sectional area to a more constricted 
cross-sectional area at the nozzle outlet. The nozzle outlet is relatively 
very sharp, to prevent clogging or sticking of the paste material to the 
external edges of the nozzles 19. The threaded portion 203 is shown as 
being only partially inserted into the bore 25, leaving room for 
adjustment by rotation of the nut 202 to insert the threaded portion 203 
further into the bore 25, or to retract it from the bore 25. 
FIG. 14 is a side elevation view of the paste extruder 1 in operation. 
Here, a single row of extrudate 500, broken away at its leading edge to 
indicate that the extrudate 500 extends indefinitely, travels at a 
velocity W as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 4. 
The nozzle 19 is oriented downwardly and directly above a bed of shredded 
wheat 400. The bed 400 is comprised in the preferred embodiment of four 
layers of shredded wheat, sufficient to form one-half of a shredded wheat 
biscuit. The bed 400 is broken away along its leading and trailing edges 
to show that it also extends indefinitely in either direction. The 
shredded wheat bed travels together with a conveyor belt directly beneath 
it (unnumbered in FIG. 14) at a velocity V. 
FIG. 15 shows a second and third stage of the operation, wherein a second 
layer of shredded wheat 600 is laid atop the moving bed 400 and atop the 
extrudate row 500. In the present invention, there would be at least 5 
rows of extrudate 500 across a relatively wide bed 400 of shredded wheat. 
The layer 600 in the preferred embodiment is comprised of four layers of 
shredded wheat, sufficient to form the upper half of a shredded wheat 
biscuit. 
The layer 600 is laid so that it travels also at a velocity V which is 
approximately indentical to that of the conveyor belt and the bed 400. 
A pinching member is symbolically indicated in FIG. 15, and travels with a 
vertical velocity component Z as indicated by the double-headed arrow of 
the figure. The pinching and cutting operations needed to form individual 
shredded wheat biscuits are well-known and conventional in the art, and 
commonly include a pair of pincher members to form each pair of sealed 
edges which are on opposed sides of each shredded wheat biscuit, as well 
as a longitudinal pincher which in the preferred embodiment pinches the 
shredded wheat at locations between the rows of extrudate 500. 
FIG. 16 is a side elevational view of the inlet portion 11 taken from the 
left-hand side of FIG. 1. It shows the generally circular cross-sectional 
outline of the inlet 11. 
FIG. 17 is an enlarged elevational view of the inlet portion seen in FIG. 
1, but showing the internal structure of the nut 9. The nut 9 has a 
threaded portion 99 which is adapted to slide over the largest portion of 
the inlet end 11 so as to couple with a threaded pipe end. Also, the inner 
ledge 98 is formed which slides on the conduit 10, a transverse portion of 
that ledge (unnumbered in FIG. 17) abutting one of the projections of the 
inlet 11 which projects beyond the conduit 10, thereby enabling the nut 9 
to engage both a portion of the inlet 11 as well as to engage a paste 
supply conduit (not shown in any of the figures) having a threaded end. 
FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a shredded wheat biscuit 700 formed 
according to the present invention. A completely conventional biscuit 
shape has right and left-hand pinched ends and front and rear pinched 
ends, so as to form the conventional "pillow" shape of the shredded wheat 
biscuit. FIG. 18 shows a biscuit having one "open" end, unpinched, along 
the lower left-hand biscuit edge. This end can be pinched or not, as 
desired, to form a conventional biscuit shape. 
FIG. 19 shows the lower half of a shredded wheat biscuit taken along line 
19--19 of FIG. 18. 
As seen in FIG. 19, the biscuit 700 has an internal 701 representing the 
original top of the lower bed 400, and the row of extrudate 500 is aligned 
generally centrally between the upper and lower cut edges as seen in FIG. 
19 (the apparent nearer and farer edges) so that the paste 500 is not 
generally visible from the cut ends of the shredded wheat biscuit. 
However, the extrudate 500 runs continuously across the pinched ends, and 
therefore it is possible that small amounts of the extrudate 500 might be 
visible at the locations where by the shredded wheat biscuits are pinched 
together (the left and right-hand portions of the biscuit shown in FIG. 
19). However, usually the pinching operation itself forces the extrudate 
slightly inwardly along the pinched edges, and the shredded wheat fibers 
pinched together generally do not show significant evidence of the 
extrudate therein. Some evidence is more visible on some biscuits than 
others. This pinching additionally helps to preserve the moistness and 
softness of the extrudate 500 by serving as a moisture barrier. 
As discussed hereinabove, the extrudate paste 500 can be any type of raisin 
paste, apple paste, or the like. While consistency of the paste is 
important, nonetheless the paste need not be composed of only extremely 
minute particles, but may include slightly larger particles visible to the 
human eye, as well. This is especially true in the case of raisin paste, 
where the skins of the raisins are difficult to completely grind into fine 
pieces. Generally, however, the finer division of particles is especially 
desirable for the extruding operation itself. 
The paste of the present invention, formed from raisins or apples, or other 
fruits, or other edible foods which can be formed into a paste, may also 
include a stabilizing agent to retain the moistness of the paste. Such 
stabilizing agents are well-known in the art, and may include oil-based 
stabilizers as well as water-based stabilizers. Such stabilizers may also 
include algin-type stabilizers as well as any other known fruit 
stabilizers useful in the present invention. 
The present invention is capable of achieving all of the above-enumerated 
objects, and while a preferred embodiment has been set forth, the scope of 
the present invention is not limited thereto but may be embodied within 
the scope of the following claims.