Patent ID: 7470119

Claim:
Apparatus for producing center-filled confections comprising: a. a manifold, b. at least one nozzle assembly connected to said manifold, each nozzle assembly comprising an inner passageway for a filler component, and a concentric annular passageway for a shell component, c. a removable disk insert comprising a central aperture and a plurality of apertures contiguous with the central aperture for feeding said shell component into said annular passageway, wherein the central aperture and the flow distributing apertures form a single aperture and insertion of the insert on an inner nozzle of the nozzle assembly creates separate flow distributing apertures, and wherein the apertures at least substantially evenly distribute the shell component within the annular passageway before the shell component contacts and partially enrobes a filler component which is fed through said inner passageway, and d. at least one mold into which the partially enrobed filler component is deposited from each of said at least one nozzle assembly to shape the partially enrobed filler component and to obtain a center-filled confection wherein the shell walls are at least substantially uniformly thick.