RU2575754C2 - Chewing gum forming (versions) - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: process engineering.

SUBSTANCE: invention discloses the forming of chewing gum and confectionaries. In compliance with claimed process, two moving first and second walls are made. Chewing collected mass is continuously pushed to said two walls. Said chewing gum is sized to chewing gum sheet of uniform depth of 0.3-10 mm with the help of said two walls. Note here that said chewing gum is kept in continuous contact with at least one of said two walls before and after said sizing. Chewing gum forming system comprises the bin to intake and feed the continuous chewing mass, two moving walls and clearance there between.

EFFECT: perfected system and method.

40 cl, 12 dwg, 2 tbl

Description

Technical field

The present invention relates to methods and systems for producing chewing gum, more specifically it relates to methods and systems for forming chewing gum.

State of the art

Typically, the manufacturing process and packaging of chewing gum products takes a lot of time and requires a lot of equipment. The process of manufacturing and packaging of chewing products may include mixing and receiving the finished gum as non-standard products, extruding and molding the finished gum in the form of bars, conditioning the bars of the finished gum, extruding the bars into a continuous thin sheet of the finished gum, rolling a continuous sheet through a series of rollers to a uniform reduced thickness , marking and dividing sheets into separate marked sheets, conditioning individual sheets in an air conditioning chamber, dividing sheets a portion of the gum and gum packaging portions. Such processes for the manufacture and packaging of chewing gum products are described in US Pat. No. 6,254,373 assigned to the predecessor of the interests of this assignee, and in US Patent Application No. 12 / 352,110, owned by this assignee; the ideas and descriptions of these documents are incorporated herein by reference to the extent that they are not incompatible with the present invention.

Conventional calibration equipment may include a calibration extruder that presses chewing gum through a small rectangular hole (for example, a rectangular hole about 25 mm by 457 mm in size). When the hole size becomes smaller, a rather large force is required (for example, a drive with a power of 30 hp may be required for a sufficiently high productivity / production volume). Typically, the product exiting the calibration extruder is still too thick. As a result, many previous systems typically used a series of calibration rollers mounted in series on a conveyor belt to gradually reduce the gum thickness from about 25 mm, typically to about 2-6 mm. To prevent the gum from adhering to the rollers, dusting with a suitable powder is usually used. After that, a marking roller and a dividing roller can be used to obtain thin plates or somewhat shorter and thicker gum tiles or pads (any of the above plates, tiles, pads or other portions of gum can be called a “calibrated rubber band"). Such traditional lines typically also require significant post-refrigeration and / or conditioning before packaging, since a warm, soft product is not very suitable for packaging.

The present invention is directed to the improvement and modernization of previous systems and methods for producing and packaging products based on chewing gum.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The proposed method of forming chewing gum includes providing a pair of movable walls containing a first wall and a second wall, and calibrating the chewing mass into a chewing gum sheet having a substantially uniform thickness of about 0.3 mm to about 10 mm using a pair of walls, the chewing mass is in substantially continuous contact with at least one of the walls before and after calibration.

A method for forming chewing gum is also described, comprising providing a pair of movable walls comprising a first wall and a second wall, and calibrating the chewing mass into a chewing gum sheet having a substantially uniform thickness of about 0.3 mm to 10 mm using a pair of walls, at least at least one of the walls has a substantially flat surface.

In addition, a chewing gum molding system is described comprising a gum inlet configured to supply chewing mass to the system; a pair of movable walls behind the entrance, the pair of movable walls comprising a first wall and a second wall, and a gap between the first and second walls, the gap being made for calibrating the chewing mass into a chewing gum sheet having a width of substantially 0.3 mm to about 10 mm moreover, at least one of the walls is made for essentially continuous contact with the chewing gum sheet, transporting it upstream and downstream of the gap.

In addition, a gum molding system is described, including a gum inlet configured to supply chewing mass to the system; a pair of movable walls behind the entrance, and a pair of movable walls contains a first wall and a second wall, and a gap between the first and second walls, and the gap is made to calibrate the chewing mass in a sheet having a width of essentially from 0.3 mm to about 10 mm, and at least one of the walls has a substantially flat surface.

Next, a method for forming a chewing gum is described, comprising providing a pair of movable walls comprising a first wall and a second wall, and calibrating the chewing mass into a chewing gum sheet having a substantially uniform thickness of about 0.3 mm to about 10 mm using a pair of walls, moreover, immediately before calibration, the chewing mass is shapeless.

A gum molding system is also described, including a gum inlet made to feed the chewing mass into the system, a pair of movable walls behind the inlet, the pair of movable walls comprising a first wall and a second wall, and a gap between the first and second walls, the gap being made for calibrating the chewing mass in a chewing gum sheet having a width of substantially from 0.3 mm to about 10 mm, the inlet being configured to supply a substantially shapeless chewing mass immediately before the gap.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, depict certain aspects of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a partially schematic and partially perspective image of a system for producing chewing gum according to the first embodiment;

Figure 2 is a partially schematic and partially perspective image of a system for producing chewing gum according to a second embodiment;

Figure 3 is a partially schematic and partially perspective image of a system for producing chewing gum according to a third embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a partially schematic and partially perspective view of a chewing gum production system according to a fourth embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a gum molding system comprising a set of rollers fixed to frame structures, wherein a generally uniform transverse clearance is provided between the pair of rollers;

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the gum molding system of FIG. 5, showing a deviation between a pair of rollers;

7 is a top perspective view of a hopper containing a pair of feed rollers, according to one illustrative embodiment;

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a pair of rollers containing a cooling channel, according to one illustrative embodiment;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a self-contained cooling roller according to one illustrative embodiment;

10 is a schematic illustration of a refrigerated belt conveyor according to one illustrative embodiment;

11 is a schematic illustration of a gum molding system comprising several heat transfer rollers according to one illustrative embodiment, and

12 is a schematic illustration of the walls for forming an elastic band according to one illustrative embodiment.

Although the invention will be described in connection with some preferred embodiments, it is not limited to these embodiments. On the contrary, the intention is to include all alternatives, modifications and equivalents covered by the essence and scope of the invention, which are determined by the attached claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following describes in detail particular embodiments of the present invention, providing improved molding of a chewing gum sheet and facilitating heat transfer from or to the sheet. In one embodiment, the system comprises a plurality of movable walls for forming a chewing structure / mass into a continuous web having a desired thickness and width while controlling the temperature of the gum. It should be noted that the term "walls" can be defined as any surface that can move inside the system. The system can mold the chewing mass into a chewing gum sheet of a desired width and thickness with smaller dimensional deviations than conventional lines. In addition, the system can eliminate the need for a calibration type extruder and a set of rollers used in conventional chewing gum production lines to gradually reduce the thickness of the chewing mass to the desired sheet thickness. Without the need for a calibration type extruder, the system can operate with much lower power consumption than conventional lines containing a calibration extruder. Thus, the system allows to reduce the energy consumption and shear force introduced during deformation of the chewing structure, while retaining more gum ingredients that are sensitive to temperature or shear.

In addition, the system can produce a chewing gum sheet with a much wider width than a calibration type extruder in conventional lines, and also eliminates the need for powdering materials. By not using powder dusting material, it is possible to reduce the cleaning time for switching to a fraction of the time required in conventional rolling and marking lines, thereby significantly reducing production downtime. This further reduces the overall cost of operating the line, since no additional dusting material is needed. In addition to these advantages over conventional lines, the moving walls of the system can also be cooled (or heated, in some embodiments) to provide cooling upon deformation of the chewing structure or mass to the desired thickness and width. Thus, the system according to some embodiments can mold and cool or heat the gum in one step, thereby giving many advantages over conventional chewing gum production lines.

In addition, the chewing gum products obtained according to the embodiments of the present invention may be structurally different from the products obtained on conventional chewing gum production lines, since the systems can lead to different crystallization of the gum due to its rapid cooling and not using a calibration type extruder with high shear, multiple rollers to reduce rolling sizes and prolonged cooling / conditioning of the rubber. In addition, chewing gum production more satisfactory from an aesthetic point of view can be achieved by abandoning the use of powder dusting materials and obtaining chewing gum with the desired thickness and width with relatively small fluctuations in thickness and width compared to products obtained on conventional chewing gum production lines .

1 shows a chewing gum system 100 according to one illustrative embodiment. The chewing gum production system 100 typically includes a gum mixing system 102, a gum molding or calibration system 106, a scribe roll 194, and a dividing roll 196. The chewing gum manufacturing system 100 is also shown here with an optional dough forming machine 104 and a cooling tunnel 200. Should note that the marking roller 194 and / or the dividing roller can also be placed behind the cooling tunnel 200.

The gum mixing system 102 may comprise a single mixer or several mixers equipped with various mixing components and / or a mixer loading system for processing the gum ingredients to obtain a chewing structure or mass. The mixers of the mixing system 102 may be, for example, a batch mixer or a continuous mixer, such as an extruder. Further, in some embodiments, the gum mixing system 102 may simply be a melting system that melts the previously formed gum into a state in which it can later be molded.

Depending on the type of gum molding system 106, it provides calibration and potentially temperature control (i.e., cooling or heating) and reduces / eliminates the following gradual rolling operations. As will be explained, this gum molding system 106 can also be used to eliminate the use of calibration extruders (for example, extruders that produce wide and thin strips of gum), which can reduce the forces acting during processing or the average deformation and temperature, thereby leading to less abrasion of pressure-sensitive materials. The system can also increase the amount of shear or temperature sensitive ingredients that remain unharmed during processing. Gum molding system 106 can be used to mold various chewing masses (or various formulations), such as a finished gum, a gum base, a gum base including pieces of candy, etc. Although most of the embodiments discussed herein relate to chewing gum using the molding system 106, other confectionery products that do not contain elastomeric compounds can also be molded, calibrated and / or conditioned. Before proceeding to a more detailed description of the gum mixing system 102, we first give some general information about the composition of the chewing gum.

Chewing gum in general

Chewing gum contains in large part components that are usually never swallowed, i.e. gum base, which is a rubber-like chewing component. Chewing gum also contains an edible portion, including sweeteners, flavors and the like, and may also include another candy or food product, incorporated into it in layers or as ingredients. Gum base is quite unique in food production technology in that it introduces the material with elasticity and flexibility into the processing, and also gives a relatively non-conductive or insulating material that does not transfer heat very well. This creates unique technological challenges. As for processing, the temperature of the processed gum product greatly affects both viscosity and other technological properties, such as elasticity and flexibility.

Further, different gum formulations are also factors to consider when processing, and there is usually a desire to process gum of different formulations on the same equipment or lines. Some of the ingredients tolerate the treatment quite well. Other ingredients, such as flavors, may evaporate due to heat, thereby reducing the amount of flavors in the final consumer product. Other ingredients, such as encapsulated sweeteners, are sensitive to shear forces (for example, due to significant pressure, intense mixing, forces acting during processing, etc.) and thus may be damaged during processing. All these factors create different problems in terms of calibrating the gum into small, one-bite portions and conditioning the gum to be packaged. Below, for a better understanding, some terms and typical components in the gum composition will be considered.

As used herein, a “chewing structure,” “chewing mass” or “chewing gum sheets” may include, without limitation, formulations ranging from filled elastomer to finished gum, which may include a filled elastomer with some composite additives, a masterbatch gum base mixture, filled elastomer with the addition of some further gum ingredients, filled elastomer with the addition of some basic gum ingredients and some additional gum ingredients, gum base, gum base in the addition of some further ingredients gum, gum masterbatch finished and finished gum.

Before describing the systems and methods according to the present invention, it will be useful to discuss the general composition of some typical chewing structures that are used or can be used to form the most complex chewing structure, namely a finished gum, which can be obtained using embodiments of the systems and methods of the present invention.

The term “finished gum”, as used here, refers to a chewing structure that is generally ready for preparation in order to deliver the product to the consumer. As such, the finished gum may still require aging at a certain temperature, molding, shaping, packaging and coating. However, the compilation of the gum as a whole is completed. Not all finished gums have the same composition or the same amount of individual ingredients. By varying the ingredients and the amounts of the ingredients, you can change, among other things, texture, taste and sensations, providing different characteristics to suit the needs of the consumer.

As everyone is well aware, a finished gum usually includes a water-soluble bulk, a water-insoluble fraction of the gum base and one or more flavoring agents. The water soluble fraction is wasted over time by chewing. The gum base fraction remains in the mouth throughout the entire chewing process. The finished gum is typically ready for consumption by the consumer.

The term “gum base”, as used herein, refers to a chewing structure that contains a sufficient combination of gum base ingredients that only need to be combined with the additional gum ingredients to make the gum ready. The basis of the finished gum is a chewing viscoelastic material that contains at least one viscous component, an elastic component and a softening component. For example, a typical gum base may include an elastomer, at least some components selected from a filler, resin and / or plasticizer, polyvinyl acetate and a softener (such as oil, fat or wax). A simply filled elastomer, for example, without adding any softeners, will not be the basis of the finished gum, since it cannot be considered suitable for use in the structure of the finished gum due to the difficulty, if not impossible to chew.

Ingredients

Chewing gum structures can include a huge number of ingredients from various categories. Gum mixing systems and methods according to various embodiments of the present invention can be used to mix all, without exception, known ingredients, including, but not limited to, ingredients from the following categories: elastomers, bulking agents, elastomer plasticizers (which include resins), elastomer solvents, plasticizers, fats, waxes, fillers, antioxidants, sweeteners (e.g. bulk sweeteners and high intensity sweeteners), syrups / liquids, flavors, in sensation enhancers, flavor enhancers, acids, emulsifiers, colorants and functional ingredients.

Insoluble gum base usually includes ingredients in the following categories: elastomers, plasticizers for elastomers (resins or solvents), plasticizers, fats, oils, waxes, softeners and fillers. An additional discussion will be held later on the characteristic ingredients from each category. The gum base can comprise 5-95% by weight of the finished gum, more typically 10-50% by weight, and most often 20-30% by weight of the finished gum.

The water-soluble portion of the finished gum may include additional ingredients that fall into the following categories: softeners, bulk sweeteners, high-intensity sweeteners, flavors, acids, additional fillers, functional ingredients, and combinations thereof. Softeners are added to the gum to optimize the mastication and taste of the gum. Softeners, also known as plasticizers, plasticizing additives or emulsifiers, usually comprise about 0.5-15% by weight of the chewing structure. Bulk sweeteners comprise 5-95% by weight of the chewing structure, more typically 20-80% by weight of the gum, and most often 30-60% by weight of the gum. High intensity sweeteners, which are commonly used with sugarless sweeteners, may also be present. When used, high intensity sweeteners typically comprise 0.001-5% by weight of the chewing structure, preferably 0.01-3% by weight of the chewing gum. Typically, high intensity sweeteners are at least 20 times sweeter than sucrose.

The flavoring agent should typically be present in the gum in an amount in the range of about 0.1-15% by weight of the chewing gum, preferably about 0.2-5% by weight of the gum, most preferably about 0.5-3% by weight of the gum. Natural and artificial flavoring agents can be used, which can be combined in any palatable way.

Acids, when contained, typically comprise about 0.001-5% by weight of the chewing structure.

Optional ingredients such as colorants, functional ingredients and additional flavoring agents can also be incorporated into chewing structures.

Now, after a general overview of commonly used ingredients has been given, the individual categories of ingredients will be examined in more detail and examples of specific ingredients in various categories will be given.

Elastomers

The elastomers (rubbers) used in the chewing structure will vary significantly depending on various factors, such as the type of chewing structure desired, the desired texture of the chewing structure, and other components used in the chewing structure. The elastomer can be any water-insoluble polymer known in the art, it includes polymers used for chewing gums and inflatable chewing gums. Illustrative examples of suitable polymers in chewing structures, in particular in gum bases, include both natural and synthetic elastomers. For example, polymers suitable for chewing structures include, but are not limited to, natural substances (of plant origin) such as caspi (cashew plant), sapotil tree latex (chiclet), natural rubber, tree crown gum, nispero, rosidinia, jelutong, guaula, perilla, milky juice of oil nougat, tuna, balata, gutta-percha, lychee capsi, pluck, guttakai, etc., and combinations thereof. Examples of synthetic elastomers include, but are not limited to, styrene-butadiene copolymers (SBR), polyisobutylene, isobutylene-isoprene copolymers, polyethylene, polyvinyl acetate, etc. and their combinations. Elastomers comprise from about 10% to about 60%, more often about 35-40% of the weight of the chewing structure.

Additional useful polymers include: crosslinked polyvinylpyrrolidone, polymethyl methacrylate; copolymers of lactic acid, polyhydroxyalkanoates, plasticized ethyl cellulose, polyvinyl acetate phthalate, and combinations thereof.

Elastomer Plasticizers

The chewing structure may contain elastomer solvents, also referred to herein as elastomer plasticizers, to help soften elastomeric materials. Such elastomer solvents may include elastomer solvents known in the art, for example terpinene resins, such as polymers of alpha-pinene, beta-pinene or d-limonene, methyl, glycerol and pentaerythritol esters of rosin and modified rosin and gums, such as hydrogenated, dimerized and polymerized rosins and mixtures thereof. Examples of elastomer solvents suitable for use herein may include pentaerythritol ether of partially hydrogenated wood and gum rosin, pentaerythritol ether of wood and gum rosin, glycerol ether of extraction rosin, glycerol ether of partially dimerized extraction and gum rosin, glycerol ether of polymerized extraction and gum resin rosin rosin, glycerin ether of extraction and gum rosin and partially hydrogenated extraction wood and gum rosin and the partially hydrogenated methyl ester of wood and rosin, and the like, and mixtures thereof. The elastomer solvent can be used in the chewing structure in an amount of from about 2% to about 15%, preferably from about 7% to about 11%, by weight of the chewing structure.

Plasticizers

The chewing structure may also include plasticizers or softeners, which also fall into the waxes category described below, designed to provide a variety of desirable textures and texture. Due to the low molecular weight of these ingredients, plasticizers and softeners are able to penetrate the main structure of the chewing base, making it plastic and less viscous. Suitable plasticizers and softeners include triacetin, medium chain triglycerides of non-hydrogenated, partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil, soybean oil, palm oil, palm kernel oil, coconut oil, safflower oil, tall oil, cocoa butter, palmitene, terpene resins derived from alpha-lanoline acids, oleic acid, stearic acid, sodium stearate, potassium stearate, glyceryl triacetate, glyceryl lecithin, glyceryl monostearate, propylene glycol monostearate, acetylated th monoglyceride, glycerol, etc., and mixtures thereof. Waxes, for example, natural and synthetic waxes, hydrogenated vegetable oils, petroleum waxes such as polyurethane waxes, polyethylene waxes, paraffin waxes, sorbitan monostearate, tall oil, propylene glycol, mixtures thereof and the like, can also be incorporated into the chewing structure. Plasticizers and softeners are usually used in the chewing structure in amounts up to about 20% by weight of the chewing structure, more specifically, in amounts from about 9% to about 17% by weight of the chewing structure.

Plasticizers may also include hydrogenated vegetable oils, soybean oil, and cottonseed oil, which may be used individually or in combination. These plasticizers provide the chewing structure with a good texture and good chewing characteristics. These plasticizers and softeners are usually used in amounts of from about 5% to about 14%, more specifically in amounts of from about 5% to about 13.5% by weight of the chewing structure.

Fats

Suitable oils and fats include, but are not limited to, partially hydrogenated vegetable or animal fats, such as coconut oil, palm kernel oil, beef tallow, and lard. If these ingredients are used, they are usually present in amounts up to about 7%, preferably up to about 3.5% by weight of the chewing structure.

Waxes

In some embodiments, the chewing structure may include wax. Used waxes may include synthetic waxes, such as waxes containing branched alkanes and copolymerized with monomers such as, without limitation, polypropylene and polyethylene, and waxes from Fischer-Tropsch processes, petroleum waxes such as paraffin, and microcrystalline wax, and natural waxes such as beeswax, candelilla wax, carnauba wax, polyethylene wax, rice bran, and petroleum products.

Wax softens the polymer mixture and improves the elasticity of the chewing structure. Waxes, if present, should have a melting point below about 60 ° C, preferably from about 45 ° C to about 55 ° C. Low melting wax can be paraffin wax. Wax may be present in the chewing structure in an amount of from about 6% to about 10%, preferably from about 7% to about 9.5%, by weight of the chewing structure.

In addition to low melting waxes, waxes with a higher melting point, in amounts up to about 5% of the weight of the chewing structure, can also be used in the chewing structure. Such high melting waxes include beeswax, vegetable wax, candelilla wax, carnauba wax, most petroleum waxes, etc., and mixtures thereof.

Fillers

In some embodiments, chewing structures formed using systems and methods according to the teachings of the invention may also include effective amounts of bulking agents, such as mineral adjuvants, which can serve as fillers and texturizing agents. Suitable mineral adjuvants include calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, alumina, aluminum hydroxide, aluminum silicate, talc, clay, titanium oxide, ground limestone, monocalcium phosphate, tricalcium phosphate, dicalcium phosphate, calcium sulfate, etc., and mixtures thereof. These excipients or adjuvants may be used in various amounts in the chewing structure. The amount of filler may be from about zero to about 40%, more specifically from about zero to about 30% by weight of the chewing structure. In some embodiments, the amount of filler will be from about zero to about 15%, in particular from about 3% to about 11%.

Antioxidants

Antioxidants may include materials that trap free radicals. In some embodiments, antioxidants may include, without limitation, ascorbic acid, citric acid (citric acid may be encapsulated), rosemary oil, vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin E phosphate, butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), propyl gallate , tocopherols, di-alpha-tocopheryl phosphate, tocotrienols, alpha-lipoic acid, dihydrolipoic acid, xanthophylls, beta-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin, astaxanthin, beta-carotene, carotenes, mixed carotenoids s, flavonoids and combinations thereof.

Additional ingredients

The chewing structure may also include a number of conventional additives selected from the group consisting of sweeteners (bulk and high intensity sweeteners), softeners, emulsifiers, fillers, bulk enhancers (carriers, extenders, bulk sweeteners), flavoring agents (flavoring agents, flavoring agents ), coloring additives (dyes, pigments), functional ingredients, etc., and mixtures thereof. Some of these supplements may serve more than one purpose. For example, in a sugarless chewing structure, a sweetener such as maltitol or other sugar alcohol may also act as a filler, in particular as a water-soluble filler.

Bulk Sweeteners

Suitable bulk sweeteners include monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides, such as xylose, rubilose, glucose (dextrose), lactose, mannose, galactose, fructose (levulose), sucrose (sugar), maltose, invert sugar, partially hydrolyzed starch and solid corn syrups, sugar alcohols, irregular glucose polymers, for example, which are sold under the trademark Litesse ^TM , a trade name for polydextrose, manufactured by Danisco Sweeteners, Ltd. (41-51 Brighton Road, Redhill, Surryey, RH1 6YS, UK); isomalt (a racemic mixture of alpha-D-glucopyranosyl-1,6-mannitol and alpha-D-glucopyranosyl-1,6-sorbitol sold under the trademark PALATINIT ™ by Palatinit Sussungsmittel GmbH (Gotlieb-Daimler-Strause 12a, 68165 Mannheim , Germany); maltodextrins; hydrogenated starch hydrolysates; hydrogenated hexoses; hydrogenated disaccharides; minerals such as calcium carbonate, talc, titanium dioxide, dicalcium phosphate; celluloses and mixtures thereof.

Suitable non-sugar bulk sweeteners include sorbitol, xylitol, mannitol, galactitol, lactitol, maltitol, erythritol, isomalt, and mixtures thereof. Suitable hydrogenated starch hydrolysates include the compounds described in US Pat. No. 4,279,931, and various hydrogenated glucose syrups and / or powders that contain sorbitol, maltitol, hydrogenated disaccharides, hydrogenated higher polysaccharides or mixtures thereof. Hydrogenated starch hydrolysates are obtained mainly by controlled catalytic hydrolysis of corn syrup. The resulting hydrogenated starch hydrolysates are mixtures of monomeric, dimeric and polymeric saccharides. Different proportions between these different saccharides give different hydrogenated starch hydrolysates with different properties. Mixtures of hydrogenated starch hydrolysates such as LYCASIN® (a commercially available product from Roquette Freres, France) and HYSTAR® a commercially available product from SPI Polyols, Inc., New Castle, Delaware are also suitable.

In some embodiments, the chewing structure may include a particular polyol as one composition containing at least one polyol and comprising from about 30% to about 80% by weight of the specified chewing structure, in particular from 50% to about 60%. In some embodiments, such chewable structures may have low hygroscopicity. The polyol composition may include any polyol known in the art, such as, without limitation, maltitol, sorbitol, erythritol, xylitol, mannitol, isomalt, lactitol, and combinations thereof. LycasinTM, a hydrogenated starch hydrolyzate containing sorbitol and maltitol, can also be used.

The amount of polyol as one composition or combination of polyols used in the chewing structure will depend on many factors, including the type of elastomers used in the chewing structure and the specific polyols used. For example, if the total amount of the polyol as one composition is from about 40% to about 65% by weight of the chewing structure, then the amount of isomalt can be from about 40% to about 60% in addition to from 0 to about 10%, in particular the amount of isomalt may be from about 45% to about 55% in combination with sorbitol contained in an amount of from about 5% to about 10% by weight of the chewing structure.

The polyol composition may contain one or more different polyols that can be obtained from genetically modified organisms ("GMOs") or from sources that do not contain GMOs. For example, maltitol may be non-GMO maltitol or maltitol derived from a hydrogenated starch hydrolyzate. For the purposes of the present invention, the term “non-GMO” refers to a composition that was obtained in a process in which genetically modified organisms were not used.

Sweeteners that can be used in some chewing structures formed using systems and methods according to the teachings of the present invention can be any of the various sweeteners known in the art and can be used in various physical forms well known in the art to provide an initial a surge of sweetness and / or a prolonged sensation of sweetness. Such physical forms include, but are not limited to, lyophilized, powder, granular forms, encapsulated forms, and mixtures thereof.

High Intensive Sweeteners

It is desirable that the sweetener be a high-intensity sweetener, such as aspartame, neotam, sucralose, monatin and potassium acesulfame (Ace-K). High-intensity sweeteners can be in encapsulated form, free form, or both.

Typically, an effective amount of a sweetener can be used to provide the desired level of sweetness, and this amount can vary depending on the sweetener selected. In some embodiments, the amount of sweetener may be from about 0.001% to about 3% by weight of the gum, depending on the sweetener used or the combination of sweeteners. The full range of contents for each type of sweetener may be selected by those skilled in the art.

The sweeteners used can be selected from a wide range of materials, including water-soluble sweeteners, water-soluble artificial sweeteners, water-soluble sweeteners derived from water-soluble sweeteners of natural origin, sweeteners based on dipeptides and sweeteners based on protein, including mixtures thereof. Representative categories and examples include, but are not limited to, these particular sweeteners:

(a) water soluble sweeteners, such as dihydrochalcones, monellin, steviosides, Luo Han Guo, Luo Han Guo derivatives, glycyrrhizin, dihydroflavonol, and sugar alcohols, such as sorbitol, mannitol, maltitol, xylitol, erythritol, and L-aminodicamide esters and aminoalkenoic acid, as described in US Pat. No. 4,619,834, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, and mixtures thereof;

(b) water-soluble artificial sweeteners, such as soluble saccharin salts, i.e., saccharin sodium or calcium salts, cyclamate salts, sodium, ammonium or calcium salts of 3,4-dihydro-6-methyl-1,2,3- oxathiazin-4-one-2,2-dioxide, potassium salt of 3,4-dihydro-6-methyl-1,2,3-oxathiazin-4-one-2,2-dioxide (acesulfame-K), saccharin in the form free acid and mixtures thereof;

(c) dipeptide-based sweeteners, such as sweeteners derived from L-aspartic acid, such as L-aspartyl-L-phenylalanine methyl ester (Aspartame), N- [N- (3,3-dimethylbutyl) -L-α -aspartyl] -L-phenylalanine 1-methyl ether (neotam) and the materials described in US patent 3,492,131, L-α-aspartyl-N- (2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-3-thietanyl) -D-alaninamide hydrate (alitam), methyl esters of L-aspartyl-L-phenylglycerol and L-aspartyl-L-2,5-dihydrophenylglycine, L-aspartyl-2,5-dihydro-L-phenylalanine; L-aspartyl-L- (1-cyclohexene) -alanine and mixtures thereof;

(d) water-soluble sweeteners derived from natural water-soluble sweeteners, such as chlorinated derivatives of ordinary sugar (sucrose), for example, derivatives of chlordeoxy sugar, such as derivatives of chlordeoxy saccharose or chlordeoxy galactosucrose, known, for example, by the designation of product sucralose; examples of chlordeoxysaccharose and chlordeoxygalactosaccharose derivatives include, but are not limited to: 1-chloro-1'-dioxisaccharose; 4-chloro-4-deoxy-alpha-D-galactopyranosyl-alpha-D-fructofuranoside or 4-chloro-4-deoxyhalactosaccharose; 4-chloro-4-deoaki-alpha-D-galactopyranosyl-1-chloro-1-deoxy-beta-D-fructofuranoside or 4,1'-dihydro-4,1'-dideoxyhalactosaccharose; 1,6'-dichloro-1 ', 6'-dideoxysaccharose; 4-chloro-4-deoxy-alpha-D-galactopyranosyl-l, 6-dichloro-1,6-dideoxy-beta-D-fructopyranoside, or 4.1 ', 6'-trichloro-4.1', 6 ' trideoxygalactosaccharose; 4,6-dichloro-4,6-dideoxy-alpha-D-galactopyranosyl-6-chloro-6-deoxy-beta-D-fructopyranoside, or 4,6,6'-trichloro-4,6,6'-trideoxygalactosaccharose ; 6.1 ', 6'-trichloro-6.1', 6'-trideoxysaccharose; 4,6-dichloro-4,6-dideoxy-alpha-D-galactopyranosyl-1,6-dichloro-1,6-dideoxy-beta-D-fructopyranoside, or 4,6,1 ', 6'-tetrachloro-4 6,6'-tetradeoxyhalactosaccharose and 4,6,1 ', 6'-tetradeoxy saccharose and mixtures thereof;

(e) protein-based sweeteners, such as Thaumatococcus daniellii (thaumatin I and II) and talin; and

(f) Monatin sweetener (2-hydroxy-2- (indol-3-ylmethyl) -4-aminoglutaric acid) and its derivatives.

Intensive sweeteners can be used in a wide variety of physical forms well known in the art to provide an initial release of sweetness and / or a long lasting sweetness sensation. Such physical forms include, but are not limited to, free forms, lyophilized forms, powder forms, granular forms, encapsulated forms, and mixtures thereof. In one embodiment, the sweetener is a high intensity sweetener, such as aspartame, sucralose, and potassium acesulfame (e.g., Ace-K or Acesulfame-K). Some representative forms of encapsulated sweeteners and methods for enclosing sweeteners in capsules are illustrated in US patents 7,244,454; 7,022,352; 6,759,066; 5,217,735; 5,192,561; 5,164,210; 4,997,659 and 4,981,698, as well as in patent application publications US 2007/0231424; 2004/0096544; 2005/0112236 and 2005/0220867, the ideas and descriptions of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

The active component (e.g., sweetener), which is part of the dispensing system, can be used in the amounts necessary to give the desired effect associated with the use of the active component (e.g., sweetness). Typically, an effective amount of an intensive sweetener can be used to provide the desired level of sweetness, and this amount can vary depending on the sweetener selected. Intensive sweetener may be present in amounts from about 0.001% to about 3% by weight of the composition, depending on the sweetener used or the combination of sweeteners. The exact range of contents for each type of sweetener may be selected by those skilled in the art.

Syrups

Anhydrous glycerin can also be used as a softener, for example, commercially available anhydrous glycerin of pharmaceutical grade (according to the US Pharmacopoeia). Glycerin is a syrupy liquid with a mild sweet taste, its sweetness is about 60% of the sweetness of cane sugar. Since glycerin is hygroscopic, anhydrous glycerin can be maintained under anhydrous conditions throughout the process of obtaining a chewing structure. Other syrups may include corn syrup and maltitol syrup.

Flavors

In some embodiments, flavoring agents may include flavors known to the skilled artisan, such as natural and artificial flavors. These flavors may be selected from synthetic aromatic oils and flavored aromatic substances and / or oils, extraction essential oils and extracts from plants, leaves, flowers, fruits, etc., and combinations thereof. Non-limiting representative aromatic oils include crispy peppermint oil, cinnamon oil, wintergreen oil (methyl salicylate), peppermint oil, Japanese peppermint oil, clove oil, laurel oil, anise oil, eucalyptus oil, thyme oil, cedar oil, nutmeg oil, nutmeg peppers, clary sage oil, maize seed oil, bitter almond oil and cassia oil. Artificial, natural, and synthetic fruit flavors such as vanilla and citrus oils, including lemon, orange, lime, grapefruit, yuzu (yuzu), judati, (sudachi), and fruit essences, including apples, are also suitable flavors. , pears, peaches, grapes, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, cherries, plums, pineapples, apricots, bananas, melons, Japanese plums, cherries, raspberries, blackberries, tropical fruits, mangoes, mangosteen, pomegranates, papaya, etc. Other potential flavors whose release profile can be controlled include a milk flavor, a butter flavor, a cheese flavor, a cream flavor, and a yogurt flavor; vanilla flavor tea or coffee flavors, such as green tea flavor, oolong tea flavor, tea flavor, cocoa flavor, chocolate flavor and coffee flavor; peppermint flavors, such as a peppermint flavor, a spearmint flavor and a Japanese peppermint flavor; spicy flavors such as asafoetida flavor, ajgon flavor (Trachyspermum Ammi), anise flavor, angelic flavor, fennel flavor, fragrant pepper flavor, cinnamon flavor, chamomile flavor, mustard , caraway flavor, cumin flavor, clove flavor, pepper flavor, coriander flavor, sassafras flavor, flavor thyme flavor, Zanthoxyli Fructus flavor, perilla flavor, juniper flavor, ginger flavor, star anise flavor, horseradish flavor, thyme flavor, tarragon flavor, aromatic flavoring, aromatic flavor, flavor flavoring with a touch of basil, flavoring with a touch of marjoram, flavoring with a touch of rosemary, flavoring with the smell of bay leaves and flavoring with taste of wasabi (Japanese horseradish); alcoholic flavors such as a wine flavor additive, a whiskey flavor additive, a brandy flavor additive, a rum flavor additive, a gin flavor additive and a liquor flavor additive; floral flavors and plant flavors such as onion flavors, garlic flavors, cabbage flavors, carrot flavors, celery flavors, mushroom flavors, and tomato flavors. These flavoring agents can be used in liquid or solid form and can be used individually or in a mixture. Commonly used flavors include various types of peppermint, such as peppermint, menthol, curly peppermint, artificial vanilla, cinnamon derivatives, and various fruit flavors, individually or in combination. Flavors may also provide breath freshening, especially mint flavors used in combination with the coolants described below. In some embodiments, flavoring agents may be selected from geraniol, linalool, nerol, nerolidol, citronellol, heliotropin, methylcyclopentelone, ethyl vanillin, maltol, ethyl maltol, furaneol, onion compounds, rose compounds such as phenylethyl alcohol, phenylacetic acid, , jasmine, sandalwood, patchouli and / or cedar.

In some embodiments, other flavoring agents include aldehydes and esters such as cinnamyl acetate, cinnamaldehyde, citral diethylacetal, dihydrocarville acetate, eugenyl formate, p-methylanisole, etc. Generally, any flavoring or nutritional supplement described in Chemicals Used in Food Processing, publication 1274, p. 63 258, ed. National Academy of Sciences. This publication is incorporated herein by reference. These flavors may include both natural and synthetic flavors.

The following examples of aldehyde flavors include, but are not limited to, acetaldehyde (apple), benzaldehyde (cherry, almond), aniseed aldehyde (licorice, anise), cinnamaldehyde (cinnamon tree), citral, i.e. alpha citral (lemon, lime) ), neral, i.e. beta-citral (lemon, lime), decanal (orange, lemon), ethyl vanillin (vanilla, cream), heliotrope, i.e. piperonal (vanilla, cream), vanillin (vanilla, cream), alpha-amylcinnamic aldehyde (spicy fruit flavors), butyraldehyde (butter, cheese), valerian aldehyde (butter, cheese), qi tronellal (modified, many types), decanal (citrus fruits), aldehyde C8 (citrus fruits), aldehyde C9 (citrus fruits), aldehyde C12 (citrus fruits), 2-ethyl butyraldehyde (berries), hexenal, i.e., trans-2 (berries) ), tolylaldehyde (cherry, almond), veratric acid aldehyde (vanilla), 2,6-dimethyl-5-heptenal, i.e., melonal (melon), 2,6-dimethyloctanal (unripe fruits) and 2-dodecanal ( citrus, mandarin), shortbread cookies with cherries, grapes, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, and mixtures thereof.

In some embodiments, flavoring agents are used in amounts that provide a perceived sensation experience, i.e., at their threshold levels or higher. In other embodiments, flavoring agents are used at levels below the threshold, so that they do not provide an independent perceptual sensation experience. At levels below the threshold, flavoring agents may provide additional benefits, such as enhanced flavor, or potentiation.

In some embodiments, the flavoring agent may be used in liquid form and / or dried form. In the latter case, suitable drying agents, such as spray drying the liquid, can be used. Alternatively, the flavoring agent may be absorbed by water-soluble materials such as cellulose, starch, sugar, maltodextrin, gum arabic, etc., or may be encapsulated. In other embodiments, the flavoring agent may be adsorbed on silicon oxides, zeolites, and the like.

In some embodiments, flavoring agents can be used in many different physical forms. Such physical forms include, without limitation, free forms, such as lyophilized, powder, granular forms, encapsulated forms, and mixtures thereof.

Illustrations of the encapsulation of flavors as well as other additional components can be found in the examples below. Typically, encapsulating a component will delay the release of a given amount of the component when consuming a chewable structure that includes the encapsulated component (for example, as part of a dispensing system added as an ingredient to the chewing structure). In some embodiments, the release profile of an ingredient (e.g., flavoring, sweetener, etc.) can be controlled by controlling the various characteristics of the ingredient, the dispensing system containing the ingredient, and / or the chewing structure containing the dispensing system and / or how the system is made issuance. For example, characteristics may include one or more of the following: tensile strength of the dispensing system, the solubility of the ingredient in water, the solubility of the encapsulated material in water, the solubility of the dispensing system in water, the ratio of the ingredient to the encapsulated material in the dispensing system, the average or maximum particle size of the ingredient , the average or maximum particle size of the crushed dispensing system, the amount of ingredient or dispensing system in the chewing structure, the ratio between different polymers, we use suitable for encapsulating one or more ingredients, the hydrophobicity of one or more polymers used to encapsulate one or more ingredients, the hydrophobicity of the dispensing system, the type or amount of coating on the dispensing system, the type or amount of coating on the ingredient before it has been encapsulated, and t .d.

Sensory ingredients

Sensory compounds may include cooling agents, warming agents, pinching agents, effervescent substances, and combinations thereof. A variety of well-known cooling agents can be used. For example, suitable coolants include, but are not limited to, xylitol, erythritol, dextrose, sorbitol, menthan, menton, ketals, menton ketals, glycerol ketal menton, substituted p-mentates, acyclic carboxamides, monomethylglutarate, substituted cyclohexanamides, substituted, cyclohexanamides, substituted sulfonamides, substituted menthanols, hydroxymethyl-p-menthane and hydroxymethyl derivatives of p-mentane, 2-mercaptocyclodecanone, hydroxycarboxylic acids with 2-6 carbon atoms, cyclohexanamides, methyl acetate, menthalsal ylate, N, 2,3-trimethyl-2-isopropylbutanamide (WS 23), N-ethyl-p-menthane-3-carboxamide (WS 3), isopulegol, 3- (1-menthoxy) propane-1,2-diol , 3- (1-menthoxy) -2-methylpropane-1,2-diol, p-menthane-2,3-diol, p-menthane-3,8-diol, 6-isopropyl-9-methyl-1,4 -dioxaspiro [4,5] decan-2-methanol, menthyl succinate and its alkaline earth metal salts, trimethylcyclohexanol, N-ethyl-2-isopropyl-5-methylcyclohexanecarboxamide, peppermint oil, peppermint oil, 3- (1-menthoxy) ethane -1-ol, 3- (1-menthoxy) propan-1-ol, 3- (1-menthoxy) butan-1-ol, 1-menthyl acetic acid N-ethylamide, 1-mentyl-4-hydroxypentanoate, 1-mentyl -3-g Droxybutyrate, N, 2,3-trimethyl-2- (1-methylethyl) -butanamide, n-ethyl-t-2-c-6-nonadienamide, Ν, д-dimethylmethylsuccinamide, substituted p-menthanes, substituted p-menthane carboxamides, 2-isopropanyl-5-methylcyclohexanol (from Hisamitsu Pharmaceuticals, hereinafter "isopregol"); glycerol ketone menton (FEMA 3807, trademark FRESCOLAT®, type MGA); 3-1-menthoxypropane-1,2-diol (from Takasago, FEMA 3784) and menthyl lactate (from Haarman & Reimer, FEMA 3748, trade name FRESCOLAT® type ML), WS-30, WS-14, eucalyptus extract (p- menta-3,8-diol), menthol (its natural or synthetic derivatives), menthol PG carbonate, menthol EG carbonate, menthol glyceryl ether, N-tert-butyl-p-menthane-3-carboxamide, p-menthan-3- carboxylic acid glycerol ester, methyl 2-isopril-bicyclo (2.2.1), heptane-2-carboxamide, menthyl methyl ether and menthyl pyrrolidone carboxylate. These and other suitable coolants are described in more detail in the following US patents, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety: US 4,230,688; 4,032,661; 4,459,425; 4,136,163; 5,266,592; 6,627,233.

In some embodiments, the heating components may be selected from a wide variety of compounds, which are known to provide the consumer with a sensory warming signal. These compounds offer a sensible feeling of warmth, especially in the oral cavity, and often enhance the perception of flavorings, sweeteners, and other organoleptic components. In certain embodiments, suitable warming compounds may include n-butyl vanilla alcohol (TK 1000) manufactured by Takasago Perfumary Company Limited, Tokyo, Japan, n-propyl vanilla alcohol, isopropyl vanilla alcohol, isobutyl vanilla alcohol, n-amino ether in alcohol, isoamyl ether of vanilla alcohol, n-hexyl ether of vanilla alcohol, methyl ether of vanilla alcohol, ethyl ether of vanilla alcohol, gingerol, shogaol, paradol, zingeron, capsaicin, dihydrocapsaicin, nord igidrocapsaicin, homocapsaicin, homodihydrocapsaicin, ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, isoamyl alcohol, benzyl alcohol, glycerin, and combinations thereof.

In some embodiments, a tingling sensation may be provided. One such tingling sensation is provided by the addition of some examples of eugenia, resin, or spilanthol. In some embodiments, alkyl amides isolated from materials such as eugenia or sanshool may be present. In addition, in some embodiments, the sensation is created by hissing. Such a hiss is created by the combination of an alkaline substance with an acidic substance. In some embodiments, the alkaline substance may include alkali metal carbonates, alkali metal bicarbonates, alkaline earth metal carbonates, alkaline earth metal bicarbonates, and mixtures thereof. In some embodiments, the acidic material may include acetic acid, adipic acid, ascorbic acid, butyric acid, citric acid, formic acid, fumaric acid, gluconic acid, lactic acid, phosphoric acid, malic acid, oxalic acid, succinic acid, and tartaric acid their combinations. Examples of tingling agents can be found in US Pat. No. 6,780,443, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in all senses.

Perceptible components can also be called "trigeminal stimulants", as described in patent application US No. 2005/0202118, which is incorporated herein by reference. Trigeminal stimulants are defined as a mouth-absorbed product or agent that stimulates the trigeminal nerve. Examples of trigeminal stimulant coolants include menthol, WS-3, N-substituted p-menthane carboxamide, acyclic carboxamides, including WS-23, methyl succinate, glycerol ketal menton, bulk sweeteners like xylitol, erythritol, dextrose and sorbitol, and their combinations. Trigeminal stimulants may also include flavorings, tingling agents, eugenia extract, vanilla alkyl ethers, such as vanilla n-butyl ether, spilanthol, echinacea extract, Northern Prickly Ash extract, capsaicin, capsicum extract oil, extraction red pepper essential oil, extraction black pepper essential oil, piperine, ginger extraction essential oil, gingerol, shoagol, cinnamon tree extraction essential oil, cassia extraction essential oil, cinnamon aldehyde, eugenol, cyclic vanillin acetal and glycerol ether menton, unsaturated amides, and combinations thereof.

In some embodiments, sensory-perceived components are used in amounts that provide a perceived sensory experience, i.e., at their threshold levels or higher. In other embodiments, sensory-perceived components are used at levels below the threshold, so that they do not provide an independent perceived experience of sensation. At levels below the threshold, sensory-perceived components can provide additional benefits, such as enhancing, or potentiating, taste or sweetness.

Potentiating ingredients

Potentiating agents may include materials that can intensify, complement, alter, or enhance the perception of the taste and / or smell of the starting material without causing a perception of their own characteristic taste and / or smell. In some embodiments, potentiating substances may be included to enhance, complement, alter, or enhance the perception of taste, sweetness, astringency, yumi taste, kokumi taste, salinity, and combinations thereof.

In some embodiments, examples of suitable potentiating agents, also known as flavor enhancers, include, but are not limited to, neohesperidin dihydrochalcon, chlorogenic acid, alapyridaine, cinarin, miraculin, glupiridaine, pyridinium compounds of betaine, glutamates, such as monosodium glutamate and monokali , thaumatin, tagatose, trehalose, salts such as sodium chloride, monoammonium glycyrrhizinate, vanilla extract (in ethanol), sugar acids, potassium chloride, sodium hydrogen sulfate, hydrolyzed plants body proteins, hydrolyzed animal proteins, yeast extracts, adenosine monophosphate (AMP), glutathione, nucleotides such as inosine monophosphate, disodium inosinate, xanthosine monophosphate, guanylate monophosphate, alapyridine (N- (1-carboxyethyl) ethyl) pyridinium-3-ol internal salt, sugar beet extract (alcoholic extract), sugarcane leaf extract (alcoholic extract), curculin, strogin, mabinlin, gimnemic acid, hydroxybenzoic acid, 3-hydrobenzoic acid, 2,4-dihydrobenzoic acid, bitter orange (Citrus aurantium), vanilla extraction essential oil, sugar cane leaf essence, maltol, ethyl maltol, vanillin, licorice glycyrrhizinates, compounds corresponding to G-protein coupled receptors (T2R and T1R) and taste-enhancing compositions that give the taste of kokumi, as described in US Pat. No. 5,679,397 (Kuroda et al.), which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. "Kokumi" refers to substances that give "fullness of mouth filling" and "integrity".

Sweetener enhancers, which are one type of flavor enhancer, enhance the taste of sweetness. In some embodiments, exemplary sweeteners include, but are not limited to, monoammonium glycyrrhizinate, licorice glycyrrhizinates, Citrus aurantium, alapyridine, alapyridine (N- (1-carboxyethyl) -6- (hydroxymethyl) pyridinium-3-ol) inner salt, miracleulin, chicken , strogin, mabinlin, gimnemic acid, cinarin, stilopyradain, pyridinium compounds of betaine, sugar beet extract, neotam, thaumatin, neohesperin dihydrochalcon, hydroxybenzoic acids, tagatose, trehalose, maltol, ethyl maltol, extract in vanilla essential oil, vanillin, sugar beet extract (alcohol extract), sugarcane leaf essence (alcohol extract), compounds corresponding to G-protein coupled receptors (T2R and T1R), and combinations thereof.

Additional examples of potentiating substances to enhance the taste of the salt include acid peptides as described in US Pat. No. 6,974,597, incorporated herein by reference. Acid peptides include peptides having a greater number of acidic amino acids, such as aspartic acid and glutamic acid, than basic amino acids, such as lysine, arginine and histidine. Acid peptides are obtained by peptide synthesis or hydrolysis of proteins using endopeptidase, if necessary with deamidation. Proteins suitable for use in preparing acidic peptides or peptides obtained by protein hydrolysis and deamidation include plant proteins (e.g., wheat gluten, corn protein (e.g., zein and gluten meal), soy protein isolate), animal proteins (e.g., milk proteins like milk casein and whey protein, muscle proteins like protein from meat and fish, protein from egg protein and collagen) and microbial proteins (for example, microbial cell proteins and polypeptides produced by microorganisms).

The effects of causing a feeling of warming or cooling can also be prolonged using the hydrophobic sweetener described in the publication of patent application US 2003/0072842 A1, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Food Acid Based Ingredients

Acids may include, without limitation, acetic acid, adipic acid, ascorbic acid, butyric acid, citric acid, formic acid, fumaric acid, gluconic acid, lactic acid, phosphoric acid, malic acid, oxalic acid, succinic acid, tartaric acid acid, benzoic acid, caffeic digallic acid, isolimonic acid, citramalic acid, galacturonic acid, glucuronic acid, glyceric acid, glycolic acid, ketoglutaric acid, α-ketoglut rovuyu acid laktoizolimonnuyu acid, oxaloacetic acid, pyruvic acid, Quinic acid, shikimic acid, succinic acid, tannic acid, hydroxyacetic acid, suberic acid, sebacic acid, azelaic acid, pimelic acid, capric acid, and combinations thereof.

Emulsifiers

The chewing structure may also contain emulsifiers that help disperse immiscible components to provide a single, stable system. Emulsifiers suitable for the present invention include glyceryl monostearate, lecithin, fatty acid monoglycerides, diglycerides, propylene glycol monostearate, methyl cellulose, alginates, carrageenan, xanthan gum, gelatin, carob tree, tragacanth, galactan gum, galobane, bobbin tree, like guar gum, carob bean gum, glucomannan, gelatin, starch, starch derivatives, dextrins and cellulose derivatives such as carboxymethyl cellulose, acidifiers such as apple sour lots, adipic acid, citric acid, tartaric acid, fumaric acid, etc., used individually and in a mixture. The emulsifier can be used in amounts of from about 2% to about 15%, more specifically, from about 7% to about 11% by weight of the chewing structure.

Dyes

Dyes can be used in amounts effective to obtain the desired color. Dyes may include pigments introduced in amounts up to about 6% by weight of the chewing gum. For example, titanium dioxide can be introduced in an amount up to about 2%, preferably less than about 1% by weight of the chewing structure. Dyes may also include natural food coloring and paints suitable for food, medicine, and cosmetics. These dyes are known as F.D. & C. paints and varnishes (U.S. Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act). Materials suitable for the above applications are preferably water soluble. Illustrative non-limiting examples include an indigo dye known as FD & C Blue No.2, which is an indigo-5,5-disulfonic acid disodium salt. Similarly, a colorant known as F.D. & C. green No. 1, contains triphenylmethane paint and is a monosodium salt of 4- [4- (N-ethyl-p-sulfoniumbenzylamino) diphenylmethylene] - [1- (N-ethyl-N-p-sulfoniumbenzyl) -delta-2,5-cyclohexadienimine] . Complete list of all F.D. & C. dyes and their corresponding chemical structures can be found in the encyclopedia Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, 3rd Edition, v. 5 on pages 857-884, this text is incorporated herein by reference.

According to the classification of the US Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act (21 CFR 73), colorants can include exempted colorants (sometimes called natural, even if they can be synthesized) and certified colorants (sometimes called artificial) or combinations thereof . In some embodiments, exempted or natural coloring agents may include, without limitation, annatto extract (E160b), bixin, norbixin, astaxanthin, dehydrogenated beets (beetroot powder), beet red / betanin (E162), ultramarine blue, cantaxanthin ( E161g), Cryptoxanthin (E161c), Rubixanthin (E161d), Violaxanthin (E161e), Rhodoxanthin (E161f), Caramel (E150 (ad)), β-apo-8'-carotinal (E160e), β-carotene (E160a), alpha-carotene, gamma-carotene, β-apo-8-carotinal ethyl ester (E160f), flavoxanthin (E161a), yutein (E161b), cochineal extract (E120); carmine (E132), carmoisine / azorubine (E122), sodium-copper chlorophyllin (E141), chlorophyll (E140), flour from fried partially fat-free boiled cotton seeds, iron (II) gluconate, iron (II) lactate, dye extract from grape extract, coloring matter extract from grape skin (enocyanin), anthocyanins (E163), Haematococcus algae flour, synthetic iron oxide, iron oxides and hydroxides (E172), fruit juice, vegetable juice, dried algae flour, flour and tagetes extract (marigold upright), carrot oil, Kukur endosperm oil narrow beans, paprika, paprika extraction essential oil, yeast Phaffia rhodozyma, riboflavin (E101), saffron, titanium dioxide, turmeric (E100), turmeric extraction essential oil, amaranth (E123), capsanthin / capsorubin (E160c), lycopene (E160d) and their combinations.

In some embodiments, certified colorants may include, without limitation, FD&C blue # 1, FD&C blue # 2, FD&C green # 3, FD&C red # 3, FD&C red # 40, FD&C yellow # 5 and FD&C yellow # 6, tartrazine ( E102), Quinoline yellow (E104), Sunset Yellow (E110), crimson (E124), erythrosine (E127), Blue patented V (E131), titanium dioxide (E171), aluminum (E173), silver (E174), gold ( E175), ruby / lithol ruby pigment BK (E180), calcium carbonate (E170), carbon black (E153), black PN / Diamond black BN (E151), green S / sour diamond green BS (E142), and combinations thereof. In some embodiments, certified colorants may include aluminum varnishes according to FD&C. This includes aluminum salts of FD & C dyes applied to an insoluble alumina hydrate substrate. In addition, in some embodiments, certified colorants may be included as calcium salts.

Functional Ingredients

The gum composition can also include additional additives containing functional ingredients, including physiological cooling agents, soothing agents for the throat, spices, warming agents, tooth whitening agents or other dental care ingredients, breath fresheners, vitamins, nutraceuticals, phytochemicals, polyphenols, antioxidants, active ingredients, minerals, caffeine, drugs and other active substances. Such components can be used in amounts sufficient to achieve their desired effect, they are discussed in more detail below.

Ingredients for breath freshening

Breath fresheners may include essential oils, as well as various aldehydes, alcohols, and similar materials. In some embodiments, the essential oils may include curly peppermint, peppermint, winterjaw, sassafras, chlorophyll, citral, geraniol, cardamom, cloves, sage, carvacrol, eucalyptus, cardamom, tannic magnolia extract, marjoram, cinnamon, lemon, lime and grape orange. In some embodiments, aldehydes, such as cinnamaldehyde and salicylic aldehyde, may be used. In addition, chemicals such as menthol, carvone, isogarrigol and anethole can serve as breath fresheners. The most common of these are peppermint oil, curly peppermint oil and chlorophyll.

In addition to essential oils and chemicals derived from them, in some embodiments, breath fresheners may include, without limitation, zinc citrate, zinc acetate, zinc fluoride, zinc ammonium sulfate, zinc bromide, zinc iodide, zinc chloride, zinc nitrate, zinc fluorosilicate, zinc gluconate, zinc tartrate, zinc succinate, zinc formate, zinc chromate, zinc phenolsulfonate, zinc dithionate, zinc sulfate, silver nitrate, zinc salicylate, zinc glycerophosphate, copper nitrate, chlorophyll, chlorophyll copper complexes, chlorophyllin, hydrogenated cottonseed oil, chlorine dioxide, beta-cyclodextrin, zeolite, silica-based materials, carbon-based materials, enzymes such as laccase and combinations thereof.

In some embodiments, probiotic release profiles can be controlled for chewing gum, including, but not limited to, lactic acid producing microorganisms such as Bacillus coagulans, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus laterosporus, Bacillus laevolacticus, Sporolactobacillus lactobusacobactus, Lactobacillus jenseni, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus fermentum, Lactococcus lactis, Pedioccocus acidilacti, Pedioccocus pentosaceus, Pedioccocus urinae, Leuconostoc mesenieroides, Bacillus coagulans, Bacillusactususus bulus bacillusususulus, Bacillus subtusolus bilis, bacillus subtusolus bulus, bacillus subtusolus bulus, bacillus subtusolus bilis, bacillus subtusolus bacillusus bacillus bacillus subtusolus Breath fresheners are also known under the following trademarks: Retsyn ™, Actizol ™ and Nutrazin ™. Examples of odor control compositions are also described in US Pat. No. 5,300,305 (Stapler et al.) And in US Patent Application Publication Nos. 2003/0215417 and 2004/0081713, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

Dental Care Ingredients

Dental care ingredients (also known as oral care ingredients) can include, but are not limited to, tooth whiteners, stain removers, oral cleaners, whitening agents, desensitizing agents, dental remineralization agents, antibacterial agents, anticariotic agents, agents for buffering the effects of plaque acid, surfactants and antitartar agents. Non-limiting examples of such ingredients may include hydrolytic agents, including proteolytic enzymes, abrasives such as hydrated silicon dioxide, calcium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate and alumina, other active stain removing agents such as surface active agents, including, but not limited to anionic surfactants such as sodium stearate, sodium palmitate, sulfonated butyl oleate, sodium oleate, fumaric acid salts, glycerin, hydroxylated lecithin, sodium lauryl sulfate and chelating agents such as polyphosphates, which are typically used as anti-calculus ingredients. In some embodiments, the dentifrice ingredients may also include tetrasodium pyrophosphate and sodium tripolyphosphate, sodium bicarbonate, acidic sodium pyrophosphate, sodium tripolyphosphate, xylitol, sodium hexametaphosphate.

In some embodiments, peroxides such as urea peroxide, calcium peroxide, magnesium peroxide, sodium peroxide, hydrogen peroxide, and peroxydisphosphate can be used. Some embodiments include potassium nitrate and potassium citrate. Other examples may include casein glycomacropeptide, casein calcium peptone-calcium phosphate complex, casein phosphopeptides, casein phosphopeptide-amorphous calcium phosphate (CPP-ACP), and amorphous calcium phosphate. Other examples may include papain, krillase, pepsin, trypsin, lysozyme, dextranase, mutanase, glycoamylase, amylase, glucose oxidase, and combinations thereof.

The following examples may include surfactants, such as sodium stearate, sodium ricinoleate and sodium lauryl sulfate, as surfactants for use in some embodiments to achieve enhanced prophylactic action and to make cosmetic ingredients more suitable for dental care. Surfactants may preferably be detergents that impart detergent and foaming properties to the composition. Suitable examples of surfactants are water-soluble salts of monoglyceride monosulphates of higher fatty acids, such as the sodium salt of monosulphonated monoglyceride of fatty acids of hydrogenated palm oil, higher alkyl sulfates, such as sodium lauryl sulfate, alkylaryl sulfosulfonates, sodium sulfosulfonates, sodium sulfosulphonatesulfonates 1,2-dihydroxypropanesulfonate and substantially saturated higher aliphatic acylamides of lower a compounds ipathic aminocarboxylic acids containing 12-16 carbon atoms in fatty acid radicals, alkyl or acyl radicals, and the like. Examples of the latter amides mentioned are N-lauroyl sarcosine and the sodium, potassium and ethanolamine salts of N-lauroyl, N-myristoyl or N-palmitoylsarcosine.

In addition to surfactants, dentifrice ingredients may include bactericidal agents, such as, but not limited to, triclosan, chlorhexidine, zinc citrate, silver nitrate, copper, limonene, and cetylpyridinium chloride. In some embodiments, additional anticariotic agents may include fluoride ions or fluorine-containing components, such as inorganic fluoride salts. In some embodiments, soluble alkali metal salts may be included, for example, sodium fluoride, potassium fluoride, sodium fluorosilicate, ammonium fluorosilicate, sodium monofluorophosphate, and tin fluorides such as tin (II) fluoride and tin (II) chloride. In some embodiments, fluorine compounds may also be included in the composition as an ingredient, having a beneficial effect on the care and maintenance of oral hygiene, for example, to reduce the solubility of enamel in acid and protect teeth from decay. Examples thereof include sodium fluoride, tin (II) fluoride, potassium fluoride, potassium tin (II) fluoride (SnF ₂ -KF), sodium hexafluorostannate, tin (II) chlorofluoride, sodium fluorozirconate and sodium monofluorophosphate. Some embodiments include urea.

Further examples can be found in the following US patents and published patent applications, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety: US Patents 5,227,154 (Reynolds), 5,378,131 (Greenberg), 6,846,500 (Luo et al.), 6,733,818 (Luo and et al.), 6,696,044 (Luo et al.), 6,685,916 (Holme et al.), 6,485,739 (Luo et al.), 6,479,071 (Holme et al.), 6,471,945 (Luo et al.), published US applications 2005/0025721 (Holme et al.), 2005/008732 (Gebreselassie et al.) And 2004/0136928 (Holme et al.).

Active ingredients

Active ingredients are generally considered to be ingredients that are included in the dispensing system and / or chewing structure due to the desired end-effect that they create for the consumer. In some embodiments, the active substances may include drugs, nutrients, nutraceuticals, herbal supplements, food additives, pharmaceuticals, drugs, and the like. and their combinations.

Examples of useful drugs include angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, antianginal drugs, antiarrhythmic drugs, anti-asthma drugs, hypocholesterolemic drugs, analgesics, anesthetics, anticonvulsants, antidepressants, antidiabetic agents, anti-diarrhea drugs, antidotes, anti-inflammatory drugs , antilipidic agents, antimanic agents, remedies for nausea, against co-stroke agents, antithyroid drugs, anticancer drugs, antiviral agents, acne drugs, alkaloids, amino acid drugs, antitussive drugs, anti-uricemic drugs, antiviral drugs, anabolic drugs, systemic and non-systemic anti-infective agents, anticancer drugs, anticancer drugs, anticancer drugs agents, appetite stimulants, biological response modifiers, blood modifiers, regulate bone marrow metabolism, cardiovascular agents, central nervous system stimulants, cholinesterase inhibitors, contraceptives, decongestants, dietary supplements, dopamine receptor agonists, endometriosis control agents, erectile dysfunction medications such as sildenafil citrate, which is sold under called Viagra ™, sex factors, gastrointestinal agents, homeopathic medicines, hormones, anti-hypercalcemia and hypocalcemia agents, immunomodulators, immunodep essants, anti-migraine drugs, anti-motion sickness drugs, muscle relaxants, anti-obesity agents, anti-osteoporosis drugs, rhodostimulating drugs, parasympatholytics, parasympathomimetics, prostaglandins, psychotherapeutic agents, respiratory agents, sedatives, smoking cessation drugs such as bromkrip or nicotine, sympatholytics, anti-tremor drugs, agents for the treatment of urinary tract, vasodilators, laxatives, antacids, ion exchange resins, ant antipyretics, appetite suppressants, expectorants, sedatives, antiulcer agents, anti-inflammatory agents, coronary dilators, cerebral dilators, peripheral vasodilators, psychotropic drugs, stimulants, antihypertensive drugs, vasoconstrictors, antibiotics, drugs for treatment drugs, anticancer drugs, anticoagulants, antithrombotic drugs, drugs aromatics, antiemetics, anti-nausea drugs, anticonvulsants, neuromuscular drugs, hyper- and hypoglycemic agents, thyroid and antithyroid drugs, diuretics, antispasmodics, uterine relaxants, anti-obesity drugs, erythropoietic drugs, anti-asthma drugs cough suppressants, mucolytic drugs, drugs that modify DNA and genetic material, and combinations thereof.

Examples of active ingredients contemplated for use in some embodiments may include antacids, H2 antagonists, and analgesics. For example, doses of antacids can be prepared using ingredients such as calcium carbonate, alone or in combination with magnesium hydroxide and / or aluminum hydroxide. In addition, antacids may be used in combination with H2 antagonists.

Analgesics include opiates and opiate derivatives such as Oxycontin ™, ibuprofen, aspirin, acetaminophen, and combinations thereof, which optionally may include caffeine.

Other medicinal active ingredients for use in embodiments may include antidiarrheal agents, such as Immodium ™ AD, antihistamines, antitussives, decongestants, vitamins, and breath fresheners. Also for use in the present invention are anxiolytic agents such as Xanax ™; antipsychotics such as Clozaril ™ and Haldol ™; non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen, naproxen sodium, Voltaren ™ and Lodine ™, antihistamines such as Claritin ™, Hismanal ™, Relafen ™ and Tavist ™; antiemetics such as Kytril ™ and Cesamet ™; bronchodilators such as Bentolin ™, Proventil ™; antidepressants like Prozac ™, Zoloft ™ and Paxil ™; migraine suppressants such as Imigra ™, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors such as Vasotec ™, Capoten ™ and Zestril ™; anti-Alzheimer's agents such as Nicergoline ™; and CaH antagonists such as Procardia ™, Adalat ™ and Calan ™.

Widespread H2 antagonists contemplated for use in the present invention include cimetidine, ranitidine hydrochloride, famotidine, nizatidien, ebrotidine, mifentidine, roxatidine, pisatidine and aceroxatidine.

Active antacid ingredients may include, without limitation, the following: aluminum hydroxide, dihydroxy aluminum amino acid acetate, amino acetic acid, aluminum phosphate, sodium dihydroxy aluminum carbonate, bicarbonate, bismuth aluminate, bismuth carbonate, basic bismuth carbonate, basic bismuth gallate, basic nitrate bismuth, calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate, citrate ion (acid or salt), aminoacetic acid, magnesium sulfate hydrate-aluminate, magaldrate, magnesium aluminum silicate, magnesium carbonate, magnesium glycinate i, magnesium hydroxide, magnesium oxide, magnesium trisilicate, dry milk residue, mono- or dibasic calcium-aluminum phosphate, tricalcium phosphate, potassium bicarbonate, sodium tartrate, sodium bicarbonate, magnesium aluminum silicates, tartaric acids and salts.

A variety of nutritional supplements may also be used as active ingredients, including virtually any vitamin or mineral. For example, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin K, vitamin B ₆ , vitamin B ₁₂ , thiamine, riboflavin, biotin, folic acid, niacin, pantothenic acid, sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium can be used, phosphorus, sulfur, chlorine, iron, copper, iodine, zinc, selenium, manganese, choline, chromium, molybdenum, fluorine, cobalt, and combinations thereof.

Examples of food additives that can be used as active ingredients are described in US Patent Application Publications No. 2003/0157213 A1, 2003/0206993 and 2003/0099741 A1, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for any purpose.

As an active ingredient, various herbal supplements having different medicinal properties or nutritional supplement properties can also be used. Herbal supplements are usually aromatic plants or parts of plants and / or their extracts, which can be used for medicinal purposes or for aromatization. Suitable herbal supplements can be used individually or in various mixtures. Commonly used herbs include echinacea, hydrastis, calendula, rosemary, thyme, cava pepper (Kava Kava), aloe, direct cinquefoil, grapefruit sunflower extract, black cohosh racemose, ginseng, guarana, cranberries, gingko biloba, St. John’s wort, yellow tea, green tea, ephedra (Ma Huang), poppy (Masa), blueberries, lutein, and combinations thereof.

Effervescent System Ingredients

The effervescent system may include one or more food acids and one or more food alkaline materials. Food acid (s) and food alkaline material (s) can react with each other, causing violent gas evolution.

In some embodiments, alkaline materials may be selected, without limitation, from alkali metal carbonates, alkali metal bicarbonates, alkaline earth metal carbonates, alkaline earth metal bicarbonates, and combinations thereof. Food acids can be selected, without limitation, from citric acid, phosphoric acid, tartaric acid, malic acid, ascorbic acid, and combinations thereof. In some embodiments, an effervescent system may include one or more other ingredients, such as, for example, carbon dioxide, oral care ingredients, flavorings, etc.

Examples of the use of effervescent systems in chewing gum are given in provisional patent US No. 60/618222 of October 13, 2004, entitled "Effervescent compositions for pressed confectionery pads", the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. Other examples can be found in US Pat. No. 6,235,318, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

Anti-appetite ingredients

Means for suppressing appetite can be ingredients such as fiber and protein, the function of which is to inhibit the desire to eat food. Appetite suppressants may also include substances such as benzfetamine, diethylpropion, mazindol, fendimetrazin, phentermine, hoodia (hoodia, P57), Olibra ™, ephedra, caffeine, and combinations thereof. Appetite suppressants are also known under the following trademarks: Adipex ™, Adipost ™, Bontril ™ PDM, Bontril ™ Slow Release, Didrex ™, Fastin ™, Ionamin ™, Mazanor ™, Melfiat ™, Obenix ™, Phendiet ™, Phendiet-105 ™, Phentercot ™, Phentride ™, Plegine ™, Prelu-2 ™, Pro-Fast ™, PT 105 ™, Sanorex ™, Tenuate ™, Sanorex ™, Tenuate ™, Tenuate Dospan ™, Tepanil Ten-Tab ™, Teramine ™ and Zantryl ™. These and other suitable anti-appetite suppressants are described in more detail in the following US patents, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties: US 6838431 (Portman), US 6716815 (Portman), US 6558690 (Portman), US 6468962 (Portman) US 6436899 (Portman).

Micronutrients

Micronutrients can include substances that affect the nutritional well-being of the body, even if the amount needed by the body to achieve the desired effect is small compared to macronutrients such as proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Micronutrients may include, without limitation, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, phytochemicals, antioxidants, and combinations thereof.

In some embodiments, vitamins may include fat soluble vitamins such as vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E and vitamin K, and combinations thereof. In some embodiments, vitamins may include water-soluble vitamins such as vitamin C (ascorbic acid), B vitamins (thiamine or B ₁ , riboflavin or B ₂ , niacin or B ₃ , pyridoxine or B ₆ , folic acid or B ₉ , cyanocobalamin or B ₁₂ , pantothenic acid, biotin) and combinations thereof.

In some embodiments, the minerals may include, without limitation, sodium, magnesium, chromium, iodine, iron, manganese, calcium, copper, fluoride, potassium, phosphorus, molybdenum, selenium, zinc, and combinations thereof.

In some embodiments, micronutrients may include, but are not limited to, L-carnitine, choline, coenzyme Q10, alpha lipoic acid, omega-3 fatty acids, pepsin, phytase, trypsin, lipases, proteases, cellulases, and combinations thereof.

In some embodiments phytochemicals can include, without limitation, carotenoids, chlorophyll, chlorophyllin, fiber, flavanoids, anthocyanins, cyanidin, delphinidin, malvidin, pelargonidin, peonidin, petunidin, flavanols, catechin, epicatechin, epigallocatechin, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), theaflavins, thearubigins, proanthocyanins, flavonols, quercetin, kempferol, myricetin, isoramnetin, flavonones, hesperetin, naringenin, eriodiktiol, tangeretin, flavones, apigenin, luteolin, lignans, phytoestrogens, resverena, resverena, resverena Enistein, glycitein, soy isoflavones and combinations thereof.

Oral moisturizing ingredients

Oral moisturizers may include, without limitation, salivary stimulants, such as acids and salts, and combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the acids may include acetic acid, adipic acid, ascorbic acid, butyric acid, citric acid, formic acid, fumaric acid, glyconic acid, lactic acid, phosphoric acid, malic acid, oxalic acid, succinic acid, and tartaric acid thereof combinations. In some embodiments, salts may include sodium chloride, calcium chloride, potassium chloride, magnesium chloride, sea salt, sodium citrate, and combinations thereof.

Means for moisturizing the oral cavity may also include hydrocolloid materials that are hydrated and can adhere to the surfaces of the oral cavity to create a sensation of moisturizing the oral cavity. Hydrocolloidal materials may include natural materials such as plant exudates, seed confectionery and seaweed extracts, or they may be chemically modified materials such as cellulose derivatives, starch or derivatives of natural confectionery. In some embodiments, the hydrocolloid materials may include pectin, gum arabic, gum arabic, alginates, agar, carrageenans, guar gum, xanthan gum, locust bean gum, gelatin, gellan gum, galactomannan, gum, gum, gum, gum, gum, chitosan, xyloglucan, beta-glucan, furtsellaran, gatti gum, tamarin, bacterial resinous substances and their combinations. Additionally, some embodiments may include modified natural resins such as propylene glycol alginate, carboxymethylated locust bean gum, low methoxylated pectin, and combinations thereof. In some embodiments, modified celluloses may be contained, such as microcrystalline cellulose, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), methyl cellulose (MS), hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) and hydroxypropyl cellulose (MPC), and combinations thereof.

Similarly, moisturizers may be included that can provide a sensation of hydration of the oral cavity. Such wetting agents may include, without limitation, glycerin, sorbitol, polyethylene glycol, erythritol, and xylitol. In addition, in some embodiments, fats may provide a sensation of moisturizing the oral cavity. Such fats may include medium chain triglycerides, vegetable oils, fish oils, mineral oils, and combinations thereof.

Ingredients for throat hygiene

Sore throat ingredients may include analgesics, anesthetics, emollients, antiseptics, and combinations thereof. In some embodiments, analgesics / anesthetics may include menthol, phenol, hexylresorcinol, benzocaine, diclonin hydrochloride, benzyl alcohol, salicylic alcohol, and combinations thereof. In some embodiments, emollients may include, without limitation, rust elm bark, pectin, gelatin, and combinations thereof. In some embodiments, antiseptic ingredients may include cetylpyridinium chloride, domifen bromide, dequalinium chloride, and combinations thereof.

Cough ingredients such as clofedianol hydrochloride, codeine, codeine phosphate, codeine sulfate, dextromethorphan, dextromethorphan hydrobromide, diphenhydramine citrate and diphenhydramine hydrochloride, and combinations thereof may be included in some embodiments.

In some embodiments, throat softening agents such as honey, propolis, aloe vera, glycerin, menthol, and combinations thereof may be included. In other embodiments, cough suppressants may be included. Such cough suppressants can be divided into two groups: those that change the consistency or production of sputum, such as mucolytic agents and expectorant drugs; and those that suppress the cough reflex, such as codeine (cough suppressants), antihistamines, dextromethorphan, and isoproterenol (non-narcotic cough suppressants). In some embodiments, ingredients from any one or both of these groups may be included.

In other embodiments, antitussive agents may include, without limitation, a group consisting of codeine, dextromethorphan, dextrorphan, diphenhydramine, hydrocodone, noscapine, oxycodone, pentoxiverin, and combinations thereof. In some embodiments, antihistaminic agents may include, without limitation, acrivastine, azatadine, brompheniramine, chlorpheniramine, clemastine, cyproheptadine, dexbrompheniramine, dimenhydrinate, diphenhydramine, doxylamine, hydroxyzine, meclizine, phenindamine, phenyltoloxamine, promethazine, pyrilamine, tripelennamine, triprolidine and combinations thereof . In some embodiments, non-sedative antihistamines may include, without limitation, astemizole, cetirizine, ebastine, fexofenadine, loratidine, terfenadine, and combinations thereof.

In some embodiments, expectorants may include, but are not limited to, ammonium chloride, guaifenesin, Ipecac fluid liquid extract, potassium iodide, and combinations thereof. In some embodiments, mucolytic agents may include, without limitation, acetylcysteine, ambroxol, bromhexine, and combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the analgesic, antipyretic, and anti-inflammatory agents may include, but are not limited to, acetaminophen, aspirin, diclofenac, diflunisal, etodolac, phenoprofen, flurbiprofen, ibuprofen, ketoprofen, ketorolac, nabumetone, naproxen, coffee pyroxene. In some embodiments, local anesthetics may include, without limitation, lidocaine, benzocaine, phenol, diclonin, benzonotate, and mixtures thereof.

In some embodiments, anti-nasal congestion agents (decongestants) and ingredients that provide a feeling of a cleaned nose may be included. In some embodiments, nasal decongestants may include, without limitation, phenylpropanolamine, pseudoephedrine, ephedrine, phenylephrine, oxymetazoline, and combinations thereof. In some embodiments, ingredients that provide a feeling of a cleaned nose can include, without limitation, menthol, camphor, borneol, ephedrine, eucalyptus oil, peppermint oil, methyl salicylate, bornyl acetate, lavender oil, wasabi extracts, horseradish extracts, and combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the feeling of a cleared nose can be created by aromatic essential oils, extracts of wood, gums, flowers and other plant materials, resins, animal secrets and synthetic fragrances.

In some embodiments, optional or functional ingredients may include breath fresheners, dentifrices, active ingredients, herbal supplements, effervescent systems, appetite suppressants, vitamins, micronutrients, mouth moisturizing agents, oral hygiene products, and enhancing agents energy, means of increasing concentration and their combinations.

In some embodiments, the modified release kinetics component comprises at least one ingredient selected from the group consisting of flavors, sweeteners, sensitizers, breath fresheners, dentifrices, active substances, herbal supplements, effervescent systems, agents appetite suppressants, potentiating components, food acids, micronutrients, mouth moisturizers, throat care products, and combinations thereof. These ingredients may be in encapsulated form, in free form, or both.

Examples of formulations of finished chewing gum

Table 1
Chewing gum composition Component % by weight Formula 1 Formula 2 Formula 3 Formula 4 Formula 5 Formula 6 Formula 7 Formula 8 Gum base * 28-42 28-42 28-42 28-42 28-42 28-42 28-42 28-42 Lecithin 0.25 0.25 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 Maltitol 52-55 45-50 0 50-54 52-57 45-55 47-52 0 Sorbitol 0 0-10 0 0-5 0-5 5-10 0-5 0 Likazin ™ 0 0 0 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0 Erythritol 0 0 15-30 0 0 0 0 0 Sugar 0 0 20-40 0 0 0 0 30-55

Corn syrup 0 0 2-15 0 0 0 0 2-15 Flavors 2,50 2,50 2.26 2.26 2.26 2,50 2,50 2,50 Cooling agent 0.08 0.08 0 0 0 0.08 0.08 0.08 Acidifiers 1,2 1,2 0 0 0 1,2 1,2 1,2 Intensive Sweetener 3.40 3.40 1.70 3.40 3.40 3.40 3.40 0 * gum base may contain 3-11 wt.% fillers, such as, for example, talc, dicalcium phosphate and calcium carbonate (the amount of filler in the gum base is calculated on the weight fraction of the composition in the gum zone, for example, in the above Y-FF compositions, if the composition the gum zone includes 5% of the filler, the amount of gum base will be 5% less than the range indicated in the table, i.e., 23-37%).

Chewing gum compositions are prepared by first combining talc, if any, with the gum base when heated to about 85 ° C. This combination is then mixed with bulk sweeteners, lecithin and sweetener syrups for 10 minutes. Add a mixture of flavors, including premixes of flavors and coolants, and mix for 1 minute. Finally, acids and intense sweeteners are added and mixed for 5 minutes.

It should also be understood that in addition to the various chewing gums mentioned above, the systems and methods discussed below can be used to form and calibrate confectionery or sweets, combinations of gum components with components of confectionery or sweets, and combinations of gum with confectionery or sweets as described in the patent publication US 2008/0166449, international publication WO 2011/044373 and international publication WO 2010/092480, the ideas and description of which are hereby incorporated by reference in full in part, do not mind Recean present invention.

General information about chewing gum mixers

The present invention can be used for molding and / or cooling or heating a chewing mass or structure containing various ingredients. Any conventional mixer can be used to mix the chewing structure, although the different types of mixers used can affect the power characteristics of the new gum molding system 106 of FIG. 1. For example, various types of preconditioning and low shear extruders can be used to modify the raw material performance of the mixer and create a regular flow and / or continuous flow. In any case, it is contemplated that the new gum molding system 106 is easily applicable to various mixing systems used in industry.

Mixing system 102 may include one or more mixers depending on the composition of the desired chewing structure. This one or more mixers may provide different types of mixing, depending on the ingredients being mixed or the conditions under which the ingredients are mixed. The two main types of mixing include distribution and dispersion mixing. Dispersion mixing is typically a high shear mixture that breaks down the individual ingredients and aggregates of the ingredients of the composition into smaller pieces. Distribution mixing typically represents mixing at a lower shear than dispersion mixing, which is used to distribute the individual ingredients in the composition to provide a more uniform composition. A more thorough distribution and dispersion mixture is described and discussed in US Pat. No. 5,562,936, the ideas and contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

The mixers of the mixing system 102 may be continuous mixers or batch mixers. As used herein, a “continuous mixer,” which may also be referred to as a “continuous processing device," is a process equipment that uses various ingredients to produce a stream that are substantially continuously fed into the device by mixing these ingredients and removing or pushing them out of the mixing system. For example, in a continuous mixing extruder, the ingredients are substantially continuously introduced through the various front and rear loading ports, and all the time the screws, blades, pins, vanes or other mixing elements continue to pass the mixture through the system, continuously mixing it. In the downstream part of the extruder, the fully or partially collected mass from the exhaust side is pushed out of the extruder by the force generated by the mass, propelled substantially continuously or continuously. The removal of the mass from the extruder can be facilitated by introducing an external or additional deposit.

A continuous mixer can provide dispersion mixing, distribution mixing, or a combination of both dispersion and distribution mixing. For example, a continuous mixer in the form of an extruder may have all the elements of dispersion mixing, all elements of distributive mixing, or a combination of elements of dispersion mixing and elements of distributive mixing. Due to the characteristics and requirements for agitated gum compositions, dispersion mixing elements are typically upstream than distribution mixing elements, however, continuous mixers according to the present invention are not limited to such a configuration.

As used herein, a “batch agitator," which may also be referred to as a “batch process device," is a process equipment used to produce a composition that, once prepared, is ejected from the device all at once, or at least at least discrete non-continuous portions of the composition will be output at some time intervals, but the composition will not be continuously output during mixing. Typically, the individual ingredients or portions of the individual ingredients used to prepare the composition are supplied to the device substantially simultaneously or in discrete quantities in a predetermined time sequence. The individual ingredients added to the batch mixer can be added at different times during the entire mixing cycle, so that for some ingredients the residence time is essentially equal to the full duration of the mixing cycle, while the residence time of the other ingredients is only part of the total duration of the mixing cycle. In addition, for individual ingredients that are used for different purposes in the mixing cycle, different discrete portions of these ingredients can be added at different times during the mixing process. For example, one ingredient may be used to facilitate compounding of an elastomer, and may also be used as a filler. In this case, the first portion of such an ingredient can be added at the beginning of the mixing cycle, so that it has a residence time equal to the total duration of mixing, while the second portion of the same ingredient can be added to the mixing cycle later, so that the second portion has a residence time less than the total duration blending.

A batch mixer will typically provide either dispersion mixing or distributive mixing. The batch mixer used to practice the present invention can be designed to provide both dispersion and distribution mixing. For example, it is contemplated that a mixing apparatus that contains inner blades may be configured to switch between dispersive and distributive mixing by changing the pitch or orientation of the blades. Alternatively, the mixing apparatus may include several sets of blades, so that one set is made for dispersive mixing and the other for distributive mixing. It is assumed that the mixer is most likely to use only one set of blades at a time to provide one type of mixing at a time.

In some embodiments, the gum mixing system 102 may comprise one continuous mixer or one batch mixer. In other embodiments, the gum mixing system 102 may comprise one or more continuous mixers and / or one or more batch mixers installed in series and / or in parallel. Various parallel and serial configurations of the mixing system are described in US patent applications Ser. Nos. / 338,428 and 12 / 338,682 (Applicant), the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Let us now turn more specifically to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, where the chewing structure 130 exiting the gum mixing system 102 may be generally irregular, or otherwise have a non-uniform material thickness. Gum forming system 106 may process an elastomer, or a finished gum, or any intermediate chewing structures containing any number of gum base ingredients and / or chewing gum ingredients. Although the exit chewing structure 130 may be any chewing structure, in this embodiment, the exit chewing structure 130 is preferably a finished gum. Depending on the composition of the chewing structure, the non-uniform outgoing chewing structure 130 may be supplied as chewing mass 182 directly to the gum forming system 106 to obtain a substantially flat sheet of chewing gum 184 having a desired uniform thickness. However, as shown in the embodiment of FIG. 1, the non-uniform exit chewing structure 130 may be further processed into a slightly more uniform shape or width prior to entering the gum molding system 106 as chewing mass 182.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the exit chewing structure 130 is preformed into bars 132 before being further formed into a continuous web or sheet 184 of the desired width and thickness in the gum molding system 106. Essentially, this embodiment is shown with the optional dough forming machine 104 above the forming system 106. The dough forming machine 104 is shown as an extruder 134 with low shear. The extruder 134 pushes the exit chewing structure 130 through the forming head, thereby forming an exit block 136 from which individual bars 132 can be periodically cut (alternatively, a continuous flow of a generally uniform size without cutting into the bars can be provided). The bars 132 can be almost parallelogram-shaped or have a slight variation in shape in width and length, but the thickness of the individual bars 132 is preferably from about 12 to 127 mm (vertical), with a length and width from about 100 mm to 460 mm. Typically, the outlet of the dough-forming extruder 104 is quite large so that the extruder can be considered a “low shear extruder", in contrast to prior art calibration extruders. As a result, the maximum thickness of the outlet product is greater than about 25 mm (for example, 25-50 mm), and / or the width in the illustrative embodiment is less than 460 mm. In addition, the shape does not have to be perfectly rectangular (or trapezoidal). Such a test-forming system is described in US patent application Ser.No./352,110, assigned to this assignee, the full description of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. The formation of the outgoing chewing structure 130 to produce bars 132 allows the flexibility of the chewing gum production line. For example, the molding process that follows the diagram can be carried out later, or the bars can be moved to another place for further processing or conditioning.

The bars 132 are then transferred to the gum molding system 106, wherein the bars 132 can be compressed to the desired thickness. Alternatively, and as previously discussed, the exit chewing structure 130 can be directly fed to the gum molding system 106 without molding into bars 132. In yet another embodiment, the mixing system 102 may include an extruder equipped with a molding head with a large outlet (which minimizes shear stress in molding head and temperature in the obtained tow) to produce a chewable tourniquet having a fairly uniform shape. For example, the molding head may be configured to provide a continuous web or gum tow having a thickness of more than about 20 mm. The forming head may be adjustable to obtain various continuous web widths in accordance with the desired width of the chewing gum sheet 184.

As shown in FIG. 1, it is noteworthy that the first illustrated embodiment of the system 100 as a whole does not contain a calibration extruder or several rollers to gradually reduce the thickness. Thus, one distinguishing feature and advantage of some embodiments is that the gum molding system 106 can be used in place of systems with a calibration type extruder, which may require large shear forces to extrude the gum; and can also be used to eliminate the need to use traditional thickness reduction roll sequences that were previously used to gradually reduce thickness after a calibration extruder. Conventional chewing gum production lines including such a calibration extruder are limited to producing a chewing gum sheet having a maximum width of from about 220 mm to 460 mm, due to the nature of the process using high shear forces.

When forming a continuous sheet 184 using the gum molding system 106, it is no longer necessary to force the gum out through a rectangular hole of a certain width. As a result, one advantage that can be realized is that the shear force exerted on the rubber can be significantly reduced. As a result of the following, some shear-sensitive ingredients may remain much more unaffected, so either the resulting final product may contain more unaffected shear-sensitive ingredients, or less shear-sensitive ingredients will need to be added to the gum in the mixing operations, thereby creating potential to reduce the cost or improve the characteristics of chewing gum for the consumer. It is believed that shear and temperature sensitive ingredients as described above, including specific encapsulated sweeteners, flavorings, and various active pharmaceutical ingredients, will especially benefit from treatment with a potentially lower shear.

In addition, due to the potentially low shear in the gum forming system 106, the system 106 can operate at substantially lower power, for example, potentially less than about 1/3 of the power needed to operate a conventional rolling and marking line, containing a calibration type extruder and a series of rollers for size reduction, which potentially leads to significant energy savings. In addition, when replacing the calibration extruder and the sequence of reducing the thickness of the rollers with the gum forming system 106, an embodiment of the present invention can significantly reduce the number of moving parts, which can minimize downtime due to malfunctions of the moving parts.

The gum molding system 106 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 includes a pair of movable walls 142. In this embodiment, the walls 142 are the surface 144 of the conveyor belt 190 and the surface of the roller 146. The belt conveyor 190 and roller 146 are driven by an external drive , for example, functionally coupled engine. In one illustrative embodiment, each of the walls 142 is equipped with a motor, so that the surface speed 144 of the conveyor belt 190 can be adjusted regardless of the speed of the roller 146.

It is important that at least one of the walls 142 contains a flat surface 147 at the point of contact with the chewing mass 182, this surface continuously contacting and transporting the chewing gum sheet 184 (i.e., the deformed chewing mass 182) from the outlet area of the hopper 154 ( i.e., mass 182) to a point beyond the border of the roller 146 (i.e., sheet 184). In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the surface 144 of the conveyor belt 190 has a substantially flat conveying surface 147, although both walls 142 can be such a surface.

Hopper 154 can be used for surge protection upstream, to control performance and feed control. The hopper 154 restrains, accumulates and delivers the chewing mass 182 to the inlet zone 164, usually between the walls 142. The hopper 154 can be configured to receive the outgoing chewing structure 130, the bars 132 and / or a fairly uniform chewable web having a different width, and to glow the resulting the gum as a nonuniformly shaped chewing mass 182. The width of the inlet zone 164 of the hopper 154 can be adjusted according to the desired width of the chewing gum sheet 184. In one embodiment, the conveyor surface 144 and the roller 146 in made with the possibility of placing a sheet of chewing gum 184 with a width of about 25 mm to 1 m or possibly more. It may be desirable to have a wider sheet of chewing gum wider than about 0.6 m wide so that a substantial amount of chewing mass can be obtained that can be operated at lower speeds, providing sufficient performance.

7 shows a top view of a hopper 154 in one illustrative embodiment. As shown, hopper 154 optionally contains a pair of feed rolls 220, 222 to facilitate pushing the gum mass 182 through hopper 154 to a pair of rolls 142. The feed rolls 220, 222 in this embodiment are screw rolls having spiral knives 221, 223 and capable of rotating in opposite sides, so if you look from the left side 224 of the hopper 154 in Fig.7, the feed roller 220 rotates counterclockwise, and the feed roller 222 rotates clockwise. When the chewing mass 182, which may initially be in the form of bars 132, or irregular shaped products 130 from the mixer, or any other shape, is fed into the hopper 154, the chewing mass 182 falls in the direction of the feed rollers 220, 222 by gravity. Then, the feed rollers 220, 222 are rotated in opposite directions inward to the center, thereby promoting the chewing mass 182 between the feed rollers 220, 222 and towards the entrance zone 164. In addition, the spiral knives 221, 223 of the feed rollers 220, 222 advance the chewing mass 182 along the axis of rotation, thereby directing the gum mass 182 to each end of the feed rolls 220, 222, as the gum mass 182 is supplied between the feed rolls 220, 222. Thus, the gum mass 182 is distributed, providing the desired exit width chewing mass 182 corresponding to the width of the feed rollers 220, 222.

Then, the chewing mass 182 is transported on the conveyor surface 144 to the roller 146, the conveyor surface 144 and the roller 146 moving in the same linear direction, pushing the chewing mass 182 between the walls 144, 146, shaping and calibrating the chewing mass 182 to obtain a chewing gum sheet 184, as will be explained in more detail below. In other embodiments, hopper 154 may include more than one pair of feed rolls to further facilitate the feeding and expansion of chewing mass 182 in hopper 154.

In this embodiment, the pair of walls 142 is offset vertically. In particular, the roller 146 has a horizontal axis that is offset horizontally from the flat surface 147 on the surface 144 of the conveyor. The walls 142 are positioned so that a space or gap 162 is formed between them, which allows the rubber to pass between them. A pair of walls 142 and a gap 162 are made for applying a compressive or deforming force to the chewing mass 182 to form a continuous sheet of chewing gum 184 having a generally uniform thickness corresponding to the gap 162. The term "generally uniform thickness" of the chewing structure is used here in a wide sense to describe the transverse shape of the transverse fabric of the chewing structure emerging from the pair of walls 142. As mentioned above, the conveyor surface 144 conveys and remains in continuous contact with the rubber in the mold e from the masticatory mass at the entrance zone immediately before the gap 162 to the sheet shape in the zones below the gap 162 (i.e., behind the roller 146).

The surface 144 of the conveyor and the roller 146 move in the same linear direction at the gap 162, which can be narrow, up to 0.1 mm, which allows the chewing mass 182 to be forced through them. The feed rollers 220, 222 can also transport the chewing mass entering the hopper 154 to the conveying surface 147. When the masticatory mass 182 is pushed through the minimum width of the gap 162, the masticatory mass 182 is deformed between the walls 142, this deformation / calibration being essentially tensile.

Immediately prior to calibration by the rollers 142 (i.e., at the outlet of the hopper 154), the chewing mass 182 is essentially not defined. It should be noted that a “shapeless” chewing mass or sheet 184 can be defined as any mass or sheet 184 that, in its current state, has not been calibrated or molded by extrusion, deformation, or any other means, although the chewing mass could be calibrated or molded such a method earlier, before being in this current state. In other words, the dimensions of the chewing gum sheet 184 are created regardless of the shape and size of the shapeless chewing mass 182. It should be noted, however, that the width of the product exiting the hopper 154, the gap 162, and the width of the sheet 184 can be essentially the same. In addition, in one illustrative embodiment, the chewing mass 182 may have three times as much thickness in the entrance zone 164 as the chewing gum sheet 184, more specifically 10-70 thicker than the chewing gum sheet 184. In an illustrative embodiment close to that shown 12, the thickness of the chewing mass 182 immediately before the gap 162 is 500-800 mm, and the thickness of the sheet of chewing gum 184 immediately after the gap 162 is 0.1-60 mm, more specifically 3-10 mm.

A pair of walls 142 compresses, deforms and pushes the chewing mass 182 through the gap 162, giving a generally uniform thickness, so that the thickness of the chewing gum sheet 184 preferably lies in the range of about 20% transverse dispersion, more preferably about 10%, most preferably within about 5 %% transverse dispersion or less. For example, when the desired thickness of the chewing gum sheet 184 exiting the pair of walls 142 is 3 mm, the gap 162 (and, in particular, the minimum gap width) between the walls 142 is selected so that the thickness across the width of the chewing gum sheet 184 is preferably from about 2.4 to 3.6 mm, more preferably from about 2.7 to 3.3 mm. More preferably, the dispersion is less than 0.2 mm and may be about 0.1 mm. As a result, with the walls 142, a significant degree of accuracy and accuracy of the gum can be achieved. Some fluctuations can be expected with different gum recipes due to varying recovery and shrinkage due to changes in the elasticity, viscosity and elasticity of this gum composition. A chewing gum sheet having a generally uniform thickness can then be increased or decreased in thickness depending on the formulation of the gum. In addition, a chewing gum sheet 184 having a generally uniform thickness can later be molded, textured and / or stamped, which can change the generally uniform thickness.

The roller 146 may be configured to have different diameters and widths depending on the physical properties of the gum, the desired thickness and width of the chewing gum sheet 184, the desired temperature of the chewing gum sheet 184 emerging from the walls 142. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the roller 146 is located above the conveyor surface 144, although in other embodiments, the roller may be at the same height or below the conveyor surface. Preferably, the roller 146 has a diameter of from about 0.25 m to 3 m and a width of from about 0.3 m to 1.3 m.

Although narrower rollers and conveyor surfaces are possible, a width of about 0.3 m to 1.3 m or more makes it possible to obtain a strip or sheet of chewing gum having about the same width, typically at least slightly narrower. Thus, walls of this width can provide a significant improvement in rubber performance compared to conventional methods for reducing thickness, including calibration type extruders. Thus, a pair of walls 142 can produce 125-300% (or more) wider strips or sheets of finished calibrated gum than a conventional gauge type extruder with rollers that gradually reduce size, and as noted throughout this document, at a significantly lower consumption energy. In addition, the hopper 154, which is made with feed rollers 220, 222, and the walls 142 can produce a chewing gum sheet 184 having a desired width with a relatively small deviation. In one embodiment, hopper 154 and walls 142 can provide chewing gum sheet 184 having a desired dispersion width, preferably within 20%, more preferably within 10%, and most preferably within 5% or less.

With a wider chewing material, the speed of the gum forming process can be substantially reduced, if desired, however, by processing the same amount of gum as in traditional rolling and scribing lines, or higher speeds can be used to obtain a higher gum output in volume. Traditional lines of rolling and marking can work at a feed rate of the gum 22-25 m / min, the same amount of product can be obtained at speeds that are correspondingly less due to the increase in width.

Depending on the desired thickness of the resulting chewing gum, the walls 142 are made so that the gap 162 can be adjusted, preferably from about 0.3 mm to 10.0 mm, although a narrow gap such as 0.1 mm can be set. In one embodiment, the conveyor surface 144 and the roller 146 are capable of having a smooth finishing surface, and the gap 162 is less than 0.5 mm to produce a gum web that is as thick as a paper sheet, with a silky smooth surface and a thickness of less than about 0.5 mm. It should be understood that the roller 146 can be made with any desired control devices, such as, without limitation, servo mechanisms, in order to control the vertical position of the rollers 146 relative to the surface 144 of the conveyor and thereby establish a gap or gap 162.

The hopper 154 is located up to the wall 142, so that part of the upper roller 146 and part of the conveyor surface 144 near the gap 162 defines the input zone 164. The hopper 154 has a conical outer wall 166, as well as an opposite inner wall that borders the surface of the roller 146 with a very small gap allowing rotation of the roller 146. The conical outer wall 166 is configured to guide the masticatory mass 182 into the hopper 154 to the feed rollers 220, 222. The hopper 154 may also include surfaces that are resting directly on the surface 144 of the conveyor.

The roller 146 can operate at different rotational speeds, which leads to different linear velocities at or near the gap 162 (linear velocities vary tangentially to the surface of the roller 146 near the gap 162). The walls 144, 146 can move at the same speeds or different speeds (rotation for the roller 146 and linear for the surface 144 of the conveyor) and can be selected depending on the physical properties of the incoming gum and on the desired degree of heat transfer through the walls 144, 146. In addition, the relative frequency the rotation and linear speed of the walls 144, 146 can be adjusted to obtain the desired quality of the chewing gum sheet 184, such as surface characteristics, thickness tolerances, temperature, etc. In one illustrative embodiment, walls 144, 146 may be adjustable to move at linear speeds from 5 m / min to 40 m / min.

In one illustrative embodiment, one wall is set to move at a constant linear speed, while the linear speed of the other wall can vary within ± 30% of the constant linear speed of the other wall. For example, you can set the linear speed of the surface 144 of the conveyor from 3 m / min to 20 m / min, while the linear speed of the roller 146 is controlled between 3 m / min and 20 m / min. In such an embodiment, the linear speed of the roller 146 is set within a predetermined range in order to obtain a smoother gum surface and minimize creasing of the gum. Alternatively, roller 146 can be set to move at a constant linear speed, while the linear speed of conveyor surface 144 can be controlled in the desired range. The linear velocity of one wall may vary relative to the linear velocity of the other wall within ± 40%, ± 30%, ± 20%, or ± 10%, depending on the characteristics of the gum and the desired thickness and width of the chewing gum sheet 184 to maximize smoothness and reduce the formation of folds and other irregularities on the surface of the gum.

The dimensional characteristics and material for the walls 144, 146 and the supporting structures of the walls 144, 146 are designed to minimize or eliminate the deviation of the walls 144, 146. Figure 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the walls 144, 146 and the frame structure 149 when removed hopper 154. As shown, the roller 146 is mounted on the frame structure 149 using the shaft 143. In this illustrative embodiment of FIG. 5, the conveyor 190 and its surface 144 are mounted below the roller 146.

As shown in FIG. 5, walls 144, 146 are mounted to give a generally uniform transverse gap 162 between walls 144, 146 from one end to the other. However, some highly viscous and / or low-elastic gum compositions can cause high stress on the walls 144, 146 when the walls 144, 146 deform the chewing mass 182. Some very viscous chewing structures may require additional efforts, such as, for example, additional screws in the hopper 154 pushing the gum mass 182 into the gap 162 between the walls 144, 146. Such viscous chewing structures can exert high stresses on the walls 144, 146. Such tension can lead to the deflection of the walls 144, 146, as shown 6, where the deviation is shown to be excessively large for purposes of illustration. As you can see, the deviation of the walls 144, 146 can lead to an uneven gap 162 across the walls 144, 146, and the gap 162 near the middle of the walls 144, 146 is larger than the gap 162 near the edges of the rollers. Such a non-uniform gap 162 will produce a chewing gum sheet 184 with a non-uniform thickness across the web, which is very undesirable since this will produce chewing gum product sheets 184 with inappropriate sizes.

Therefore, in one embodiment, the roller 146 is reinforced by providing additional support structures and / or supporting the roller closer to its ends in order to minimize or eliminate the deflection of the roller. In one embodiment, the roller 146 is reinforced and supported so that when processing highly viscous and / or low elastic chewing structures, the maximum deviation between the walls is kept at less than 0.5 mm, preferably less than 0.1 mm. In addition, the deflection of the roller can also be minimized or eliminated by increasing the diameter of the roller or making it of a material with increased strength or stiffness to withstand the stress exerted by the rubber. A wider roller requires more substantial strength to withstand stress, and a larger diameter roller can be advantageous in that it provides sufficient roller strength to minimize deflection. Thus, the ratio of the diameter of the roller to the width should be selected appropriately, taking into account the physical properties of the gum and the desired thickness of the chewing gum sheet, in order to minimize the deflection of the roller 146.

In some embodiments, where a viscous chewing structure having low deformability is molded by a pair of walls reinforced to minimize deflection, high compressive pressure may be applied to the gum, which in turn creates high stress on the walls.

Alternatively, the physical properties of the chewing structure can be adjusted to minimize deflection of the walls 144, 146 during molding and calibration under pressure. For example, it is possible to increase the temperature of the chewing structure 130 exiting the mixer 102 and / or the temperature of the bars 132 in order to improve the compressibility of the chewing mass 182 included in the pair of walls 144, 146. In other embodiments, one or both walls 144, 146 can be heated to heat transfer to the chewing mass 182, thereby reducing viscosity and improving the compressibility / formability of the chewing gum sheet 184. The degree of pressure and heat applied to the chewing mass 182 can have different effects on the final gum. Therefore, the deviation of the walls is controlled taking into account the final product of chewing gum, since the strengthening of the walls can lead to an increase in pressure exerted on the gum.

Another distinguishing feature of the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 1 is to control the temperature of the surface 144 of the conveyor and the roller 146. In some embodiments, each of the conveyor 190 and the roller 146 may be provided with internal channels in which a heating or cooling medium flows to heat or cool the rollers. for example, recycled water or a liquid with a lower freezing temperature (the surface 144 of the conveyor can also rest on a plate with a controlled temperature or near and upstream of it). Thus, it is possible to set the surface temperature of the walls 144, 146 from about -15 ° C to 90 ° C. In one embodiment, the surface temperature of the walls 144, 146 can be controlled within about 0 ° C-90 ° C by circulating a cooling or heating medium having a temperature of about 0-90 ° C inside the walls 144, 146, or by adjusting the temperature of the plate located together with conveyor. According to one embodiment, the forming walls (in particular, the surface 144 of the conveyor behind the gap 162) are cooled to a surface temperature of from about 5 ° C to 25 ° C, preferably about 15 ° C. This has several advantages, such as reducing or eliminating later conditioning / cooling, and reducing the volatilization of heat-sensitive ingredients, such as flavors, since the gum cools in the process much earlier. In another embodiment, the forming walls (in particular, roller 146) are heated to a surface temperature of from about 40 ° C to 60 ° C, which can facilitate the formation of a chewing gum sheet and reduce deviations in the thickness of the sheet. It should be noted that in one illustrative embodiment, the mechanism for monitoring the temperature of the surface of the conveyor 144 (i.e., channels or plate) can be adjusted along its length (and therefore along the length of the surface 144), so that the temperature of the surface 144 can change when the chewing gum sheet 184 moves further beyond the gap 162. For example, the surface 144 of the conveyor can be heated in areas near the gap 162 (in particular, directly in front of and inside the gap 162) to facilitate molding, and cool behind the gap 162 to reduce evaporation e and reduce the need for air conditioning / cooling.

In one illustrative embodiment, the mass of the finished gum 182, having an average temperature of about 40 ° C-60 ° C, is fed between a set of forming or calibrating walls 142. One or both walls 144, 146 are heated to a surface temperature of about 30 ° C-70 ° C , more preferably about 40 ° C-60 ° C, to better match the temperature of the mass of 182 finished gum. Such heating of the wall or walls facilitates the formation of the gum and controls the viscosity of the gum transported by at least the surface 144 of the conveyor. If the wall surface temperature (s) 144, 146 is too high, in some embodiments, the gum may become hot and thus become too sticky and stick to the rollers. If the surface temperature of the walls 144, 146 is too low, the local viscosity of the gum may increase to the point where the gum becomes difficult to form, or it cannot remain on the roller 146. Thus, depending on the composition of the finished gum, the wall surface temperature (s) 144 146 can be set to help prevent the gum from sticking to the walls 144, 146 and to facilitate the formation of the gum.

As mentioned above, in order to provide heating or cooling of the walls 144, 146, heating / cooling medium is pumped through the walls 144, 146. For example, FIG. 8 shows a cross section of a roller 146 having an inner channel 206. In this embodiment, the inner channel 206 of the roller 146 is shown as a hollow space between the outer layer 207 and the inner center portion 208, with the outer layer 207 being held by a plurality of ribs 209 (a plurality of ribs may be made for maximum support, for example, ribs can be installed as a honeycomb structure). As discussed, the heating / cooling medium may flow in the hollow space forming the channel 206 to cool the outer layer 207. In other embodiments, the cooling channel may be formed differently, for example, the cooling channel may be formed as a thinner spiral channel.

In addition, FIG. 10 schematically shows a cooled conveyor belt 190 having a surface 144. As shown, the conveyor belt 190 includes an outer belt 230, a liquid line 232, a plurality of spray nozzles 234 and a support or plate 236. The outer belt 230 can be made of any suitable material, such as a polymeric material. In this embodiment, the outer tape 230 is formed of nylon. The support 236 is made of any suitable material having a relatively high thermal conductivity, such as metal. In this embodiment, the support 236 is formed of stainless steel. Liquid line 232 is configured to circulate a suitable cooling or heating medium. In this embodiment, chilled water flows through line 232, with a plurality of spray nozzles 234 spraying chilled water onto the steel support 236, thereby cooling the stainless steel support 236. The cooled stainless steel support 236 supports nylon tape 230. Thus, when the chewing gum sheet 184 is conducted on the upper surface of the conveyor belt 190, heat from a chewing gum sheet 184 having a higher temperature than the cooled stainless steel support 236 is transferred through the nylon tape 23 0 onto the cooled stainless steel support 236, thereby cooling the chewing gum sheet 184. In this embodiment, the thickness of the nylon linen is such as to allow proper heat transfer between the chewing gum sheet 184 and the support 236, while providing a suitable tensile strength support. In one embodiment, the support 230 has a thickness in the range of 0.5-5 mm, preferably 1-2 mm.

In some embodiments, only one of the walls 144, 146 (e.g., roller 146) may be provided with a temperature control mechanism, or none of the walls may have internal channels. Conveyor surface 144 and roller 146 may be cooled or heated to the same temperature or to different temperatures. For example, the roller 146 may not be cooled or cooled to a temperature higher than the surface temperature of the conveyor 144. A roller 146 having a higher temperature can facilitate the molding process of the gum, and a conveyor surface 144 cooled to a lower temperature can facilitate cooling of the chewing gum sheet 184. In one embodiment, the roller 146 is heated above the temperature of the chewing mass in hopper 154 to reduce viscosity and increase compressibility / formability. The surface 144 of the conveyor is cooled to provide cooling when the chewing mass 182 is compressed between the walls 144, 146. The surface 144 of the conveyor can also be made of non-sticky material.

A chewing gum sheet molded, calibrated and cooled or heated using walls 144, 146 may have a temperature gradient across the thickness of the chewing gum sheet 184. The fact is that the gum, of which the elastomer is a significant part, does not conduct heat well, so the middle part of the gum may remain at a different temperature than surfaces that are in direct contact with the rollers. Such a temperature gradient may increase when the walls 144, 146 are maintained at different temperatures. For example, in one embodiment, the roller 146 is heated to a surface temperature of about 50 ° C, and the surface of the conveyor 144 is cooled to a surface temperature of about 5 ° C, and the chewing mass having an average temperature of about 40 ° C is molded, calibrated and conditioned a chewing gum sheet 184 having a thickness of about 2 mm. In this embodiment, the chewing gum sheet 184 may have a large temperature gradient, wherein the temperature of the surface of the gum in contact with the cooled surface of the conveyor 144 is close to the temperature of the surface of the conveyor 144 of about 5 ° C, and the temperature of the surface of the gum in contact with the heated roller 146, close to the surface temperature of the roller 146, about 50 ° C, and the temperature of the gum between them varies from about 5 ° C to about 50 ° C. In such embodiments, the crystallization of the cooled surface of the gum may differ significantly from the crystallization of the heated surface of the gum, since cooling the gum to a low temperature by heat conduction through the cooled roller may lead to a completely different crystallization compared to slowly cooled gum, for example, convection. Even in embodiments where both walls 144, 146 are cooled to the same temperature, the gum may have a temperature gradient in thickness, although much less than that of gum formed by walls with different temperatures.

Fluctuations in the temperature of the chewing mass 182 included in the gum molding section 106 can have a significant effect on the temperature consistency of the incoming chewing gum sheet 184. The fact is that the temperature change of the chewing mass 182 as a result of thermal conductivity through the forming wall (s) 144, 146 (in in particular, through the roller 146, which is not in contact with the rubber, while it is transported on the surface 144 of the conveyor), it takes only part of the time required for traditional cooling and conditioning of the rubber by nvektsii, which may be hours or even days. Thus, the temperature change in the incoming chewing mass can be simultaneously transferred to the temperature change of the chewing gum sheet, which is quickly cooled, for example, in less than one minute, by the cooled wall (s) 144, 146. Thus, some embodiments may include measures for control temperature fluctuations in the supplied chewing mass within the desired range. For example, a mixing extruder for preparing the supplied chewing mass may be equipped with complex temperature control modules to extrude the gum in a desired temperature range. In other embodiments, the chewing gum production line 100 may include an optional conditioning unit between the dough forming machine 104 and the gum forming section 106 to condition the chewing bars 132 to a desired temperature range.

The cooled forming walls 144, 146 can effectively lower the temperature of a relatively thin sheet of chewing gum 184 when it is held by a cooled forming wall or walls (in particular, the moving surface 144 of the conveyor). Thus, in one exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the distance between the gap 162 and the scribe 192 can be increased if desired to allow longer residence time to facilitate heat transfer from the chewing gum sheet 184 to the chilled roller due to contact and thermal conductivity. The speed of the surface 144 of the conveyor can also be reduced to facilitate obtaining a longer residence time. In addition, the chewing mass 182 may exit the hopper 154 in such a way (for example, at a height) to allow the gum to contact the roller 146 for several degrees of rotation to the gap 162. In this embodiment, it is desirable to provide a relatively large diameter roller on which the chewing a mass of 182 is carried out at least about ¼ revolution (at least about 90 degrees and up to about 180 degrees) to allow even longer residence time. Again, the speed of the roller 146 can also be reduced to obtain a longer residence time. The cooling medium circulating through the walls 144, 146 perfectly supports the forming roll (s) at a surface temperature of from about 5 ° C to 25 ° C, preferably about 15 ° C. Cooled forming walls having a cold metal surface with high thermal conductivity effectively act to lower the temperature of a relatively thin chewing gum, preferably having a thickness of less than 10 mm, more preferably 0.5-6 mm, facilitating heat transfer from the gum to the cold metal surface. Heat transfer can preferably take place through one or both of the pair of forming walls, or, independently, it can also be a separate roller or rollers that ultimately come in contact with the rubber. In some embodiments, cooling the chewing gum sheet may also be facilitated by blowing cold air from the chewing gum sheet from the air nozzle.

FIG. 9 shows an embodiment including an autonomous cooling roller 600 (not a forming wall), wherein a continuous chewing gum sheet 602 is guided to the roller 600 using a guide 604. As shown, the chewing gum sheet 602 extends about 270 ° around the roller 600 roller for cooling. Although this embodiment is shown so that a continuous sheet of chewing gum 602 is transferred to and from the cooling roll 600 90 ° to the side to maximize the residence time on the cooling roll 600 (the residence time may be even greater if the angle between the inlet and outlet is still to reduce more), a continuous sheet of chewing gum 602 can be transferred to the cooling roller 600 at different points and exit at different points, depending on the configuration of other components in the chewing gum production system and the place of cooling Waiting roller 600 in a chewing gum manufacturing system. The chill roller 600 may be installed at various locations in the chewing gum system. For example, a cooling roll 600 may be placed before or after the forming walls 144, 146, or before, or after, or between conventional gradually decreasing rolling rollers, etc. If it is located after, the surface 144 of the conveyor can be made so as to carry the gum behind the cooling roller 600, in contrast to the marking mechanism.

In some embodiments, the gum molding system may include several heat transfer rollers. 11 shows a gum forming system 700 comprising four heat transfer rollers 702, 704, 706, 708. In this embodiment, one or both of the forming rollers 702, 704 may be heated to reduce the viscosity of the masticatory mass when the rollers 702, 704 are molded with obtaining the desired width and thickness. The continuous sheet of chewing gum sheet 710 leaving the surface of the conveyor 704 is then transferred by chilled rollers 706, 708, where the chewing gum sheet is cooled to the desired temperature. In other embodiments, the pair of forming walls 702, 704 may also be cooled.

In one illustrative embodiment, a roller 146 having a diameter of about 1 meter and a conveyor surface 144 are cooled to about 15 ° C. The walls 144, 146 move, shaping and cooling the chewing mass 182, having a temperature of from 40 ° C to 60 ° C, with a linear speed of about 15 m / min, to provide the chewing gum sheet 184 with a residence time of about 3/4 minute on the conveyor surface. The walls 144, 146 are configured to have a gap 162 of a width of about 3 mm to form a chewing gum sheet 184 having a generally uniform thickness of about 3 mm, the temperature of the chewing gum sheet being reduced by 5 ° C. In other embodiments, the gum forming system 106 is configured to form and cool a chewing gum sheet 184 at a line speed of about 5 m / min to about 30 m / min.

Walls 144, 146 can also dispense with dusting the gum with talcum powder or other dispersion preventing agent, which is used in more conventional rolling thickness reduction operations. This avoids the need for dust collection equipment used on traditional rolling and scribing lines, and can also be used to create a more aesthetically satisfying product that has a more vibrant color, since dusting operations dampen the color of the final product. In addition, by eliminating the use of dusting powders, the cleaning process of the chewing gum production line 100 can be greatly facilitated, since a substantial part of the remaining dirt requiring long-term cleaning in conventional rolling and marking lines is due to the use of powders and a large number of rollers. Thus, the cleaning time for switching, which was hours, up to 10 hours in some conventional rolling and marking lines for the production of chewing gum, according to some variants of implementation of the present invention can be reduced to minutes. Therefore, the implementation of the present invention can increase the productivity of the gum production line due to a significant reduction in cleaning / switching time compared to traditional rolling and marking lines of chewing gum.

In one illustrative embodiment, the walls 144, 146 may be provided with a release coating or grease using, for example, a grease roller 174. The coating or grease may be a vegetable or mineral oil that prevents adhesion. Thus, the gum molding system 106 eliminates the need for powder release agents, such as talc or polyol. Although each of the walls 144, 146 may be provided with a lubricating roller 174, 176, as in this embodiment, in other embodiments, only one (or none) of the walls 144, 146 may be provided with a lubricating roller if one or both of the walls 144 , 146 have a sufficiently low surface tension to release the chewing gum sheet without the aid of a release agent, and the chewing gum sheet is non-sticky enough for subsequent marking, cutting and packaging processes. In addition, other lubrication systems may be used, for example, a spray nozzle or a dipping pool to apply a suitable liquid lubricant.

As shown in FIG. 1, the roller 146 is provided with a scraper 188 immediately behind the gap 162 to separate the chewing gum sheet 184 from the surface of the roller 146 and transfer it to the conveyor belt 190.

The molding system 106 of FIG. 1 may also comprise a pinch roller 192. After exiting the pair of walls 142, the conveyor surface 144 advances the chewing gum sheet 184 to the pinch roller 192. The pinch roller 192 is preferably mounted at a distance of about 0.5 m to 3 m from roller 146, more preferably at a distance of about 1-1.5 m. The pinch roller can remove surface defects, bends and can further reduce the thickness of the chewing gum sheet 184, however, usually any additional reduction can be limited to 10% or less Shae, thus ensuring attainment of benefits that do not require a gradual reduction of rolling. In this embodiment, a pair of walls 142 may be capable of delivering a continuous sheet of chewing gum 184 with a thickness deviation within 10% of the desired final thickness of the final product, and pinch roller 192 is able to adjust the thickness of the chewing gum 184 sheet by less than 10%. For example, in one embodiment where the desired final thickness of the sticky chewing product is 2.0 mm, the gap 162 between the pair of walls 142 can be set so that the continuous sheet of chewing gum 184 has a generally uniform thickness of about 2.1 mm. In this embodiment, the pinch roller 192 is positioned relative to the surface of the conveyor 190 so as to reduce a generally uniform thickness to about 2.0 mm.

Depending on the composition of the molded gum, the chewing mass formed by the pair of walls may expand after leaving the pair of walls, thereby leading to an increase in the thickness of the chewing gum sheet. For example, a chewing mass can be molded using a pair of walls having a gap of 3 mm, where the gum is compressed to a thickness of about 3 mm. After leaving a pair of walls, the chewing gum sheet may increase in thickness to about 3.3 mm. In such an embodiment, the pressure roller further installed may be configured to apply sufficient pressure to compress the enlarged chewing gum sheet layer again to 3 mm. In other embodiments, the chewing gum sheet may be compressed (for example, due to the composition of the gum) after leaving a pair of walls. For example, a chewing gum sheet may shrink about 10% in thickness after the release. In such an embodiment, a gap of about 10% greater than the desired final thickness, or even greater, can be set. For example, when the final desired chewing gum sheet thickness is 3 mm, the clearance between the pair of rollers can be set to about 3.5 mm. A chewing gum sheet is compressed to a thickness of about 3.5 mm between a pair of walls and shrinks after leaving a pair of walls to a thickness of about 3.1-3.2 mm. Then, the seated chewing gum sheet is further compressed by the next pinch roller to the desired final thickness of about 3 mm. In some embodiments, the pinch roller 192 may be configured to be a cooled roller to provide additional cooling.

In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1, system 100 further includes a scribe roll 194, a side divider roll 196 behind the pinch roll 192, and a cooling tunnel 200. The scribe roll 194 and the side splitter roller 196 are labeled and the chewing gum sheet 184 is divided into separate spaced sheets 198. The marked sheets 198 are conducted to a cooling tunnel 200, where they are cooled from the upper and lower sides by forced air. When the marked sheets 198 are further conditioned in the cooling tunnel 200, the stiffness of the chewing material of the marked sheets 198 is sufficiently increased for stacking in order to maintain shape and minimize creep of the material. In one embodiment, the cooling tunnel 200 is capable of conditioning the chewing gum sheet 184 to temperatures as low as about 0 ° C-15 ° C. Then, the marked sheets 184 are cut and stacked 202 and moved for subsequent packaging processes. In other embodiments, a cooling tunnel 200 may be located elsewhere in the chewing gum manufacturing system 100. For example, a cooling tunnel 200 may be placed between the pinch roll 192 and the scribe roll 194 so that the chewing gum sheet is cooled before marking and / or cutting. Alternatively, the chewing gum manufacturing system 100 may include additional dividing and / or cutting rollers and packaging equipment to produce packaged chewing gum products in a single line.

The cooling tunnel 200 may be any conventional type of tunnel, for example, a cooling chamber disclosed in US Pat. No. 6,214,389, assigned to the predecessor of the interests of this assignee, the ideas and description of this patent are hereby incorporated by reference to the extent that this does not contradict the present invention. The cooling tunnel 200 may also be similar to the cooling towers described in US Pat. No. 5,756,133, assigned to the predecessor of the interests of this assignee, the ideas and description of this patent are hereby incorporated by reference to the extent that this does not contradict the present invention. The cooling tunnel 200 may use a cooling mechanism based on injection air and / or liquid-cooled parts, such as chilled rollers, chilled tapes, chilled steel strips, etc. In addition, the cooling tunnel 200 may be partitioned, including different chambers or zones having different internal temperatures and / or humidity, for example, due to the introduction of compressed air with different temperatures and / or humidity.

In some embodiments, the scribing roller 194 and the indexing roller 196 may be replaced by other gum forming solutions, such as a lowering roll, a die cutter, a granulator, or other related gum forming equipment (provided that the sheet is sufficiently cooled). Thus, the chewing gum manufacturing system 100 can produce chewing gum with various final shapes, such as tiles that can be packaged later, or pads, which can then be coated.

In one embodiment, the marking roller 194 and the indexing roller 196 are replaced by a rolling / marking system, such as the traditional rolling and marking systems described in US Pat. The cooling tunnel 200 may be placed before or after the equipment for the final molding of the rubber or the rolling / marking system.

In one embodiment, the marking roller 194 and the indexing roller 196 are replaced by a conventional rolling / marking system without rolling / calibration rollers, since the forming / calibration of the elastic is completed in the elastic forming system 106. The cooling tunnel 200 is located after the rolling / marking system. In this embodiment, the finished gum 182 in the hopper 154 has an average temperature of 40 ° C-60 ° C. Walls 144, 146 are equipped with temperature control mechanisms in which a heating / cooling medium can circulate to heat walls 144, 146. Walls 144, 146 are equipped with temperature control mechanisms in which a heating / cooling medium can circulate for heating walls 144, 146. B In one illustrative embodiment, the temperature of the medium is controlled to maintain walls 144, 146 at a surface temperature of 40 ° C-60 ° C. Presumably, the temperature of the fluid is 40 ° C-60 ° C, respectively. Walls 144, 146 facilitate the formation of a continuous sheet of chewing gum 184 and control the local viscosity of the gum to give the gum the desired thickness and width and draw it onto the conveyor surface 144 (further beyond the gap 162). A chewing gum sheet 184 exiting a pair of walls 144, 146 has a temperature on the surface of contact with the surface of the conveyor 144 in the range of 35 ° C-60 ° C, and on a surface not in contact with the surface of the conveyor 144 in the range of 35 ° C-60 ° C. Depending on the thickness and composition of the continuous chewing gum sheet 184, the temperature gradient across the thickness of the sheet may be from about 0 ° C to plus or minus 5 ° C. A continuous chewing gum sheet having a temperature of 35 ° C-60 ° C is then included in the rolling / marking system, where it is marked and / or cut into sheets, bundles, strips, pads, etc. Marked gum, having a temperature of 20 ° C-30 ° C and a temperature gradient in thickness from 0 ° C to plus or minus 5 ° C, enters the cooling tunnel 200.

The temperature inside the cooling tunnel 200 is maintained at a temperature of 0 ° C-25 ° C, and pump air having a temperature of 0 ° C-25 ° C and / or other cooled rollers, tapes, steel strips, etc. having a temperature are used 0 ° C-25 ° C. The relative humidity inside the cooling tunnel 200 is maintained at 30% -50%. The residence time of the gum in the cooling tunnel can be from 30 seconds to 10 minutes, depending on the desired temperature of the gum and / or the downstream processes of final molding / packaging, as well as on the processing capabilities of the gum in the cooling tunnel 200 and the shape of the gum, when it passes through the cooling tunnel 200. The gum leaving the cooling tunnel 200 has a temperature of 5 ° C-20 ° C and a temperature gradient over the thickness of the rubber of 0 ° C-1 ° C. In one embodiment, a continuous sheet of chewing gum is laid out on pads and cooled by a cooling tunnel 200, where the cooled sheet is hard enough to break when dropped into the hopper.

Although the chewing gum manufacturing system 100 includes a cooling tunnel 200, this cooling tunnel 200 is optional. In other embodiments, a pair of walls 142 provided with cooling mechanisms can sufficiently reduce the temperature of the chewing gum sheet 184, so further conditioning may not be necessary. In addition, as discussed above, a gum molding system comprising chilled roll (s) and an optional cooling tunnel provides sufficient cooling and conditioning of the resulting gum, and for some gum formulations, subsequent conditioning in the conditioning chamber prior to packaging is not required. Eliminating prolonged conditioning in the conditioning chamber can significantly reduce the evaporation of volatile gum ingredients such as flavors, thereby preserving more flavors for the enjoyment of the consumer. In addition, the ability to dispense with a molding extruder allows the gum molding system 106 to reduce the amount of shear and mechanical forces applied to the gum product, thereby better preserving the shear-sensitive gum ingredients like encapsulated flavors and sweeteners.

Although the mixing system 102 of FIG. 1 is shown as a continuous line including a gum mixing system 102, a dough forming machine 104 and a gum molding system 106, in other embodiments, one or more of these components of the chewing gum production system 100 may be on other sections of a manufacturing facility or even another manufacturing facility. For example, in one embodiment, the gum mixing system 102 and the dough forming machine 104 are in one plant, and the gum molding system 106 and subsequent components, such as scribing and dividing rollers 194, 196 and packaging components, are in another plant, with bars 132 the gums molded in the dough forming machine 104 are transferred from one factory to another for further processing.

Other Illustrative Embodiments

As mentioned above in the discussion of the first embodiment, there are many other embodiments of a chewing gum production system including a gum molding system such as system 106, some of which will be introduced below. These other embodiments will be explained in much less detail with respect to the components of the first embodiment. It should be understood that the options, description, and discussion made above regarding the forming system 106 and the system 100 as a whole are also applicable to the embodiments described below.

The chewing gum system 300 shown in FIG. 2 includes a mixing system 302, a molding or calibration system 306, a pinch roller 308, a marking roller 310, a cooling tunnel 312, and a packaging section 314. In this embodiment, the chewing gum system 300 preferably produces the finished gum, although other chewing structures can also be processed in system 300. The mixing system 302 may include one or more mixers, as well as the mixing system 102, however, here the mixing system 302 is shown as an extruder made to dispense a heterogeneous mass of finished rubber 304. The heterogeneous mass 304 of the finished gum is then sent directly to the molding system 306, without being previously converted to a uniform shape. The finished gum mass 304 is marked and cooled by the walls of the forming system 306, as described in detail in connection with the forming system 106. Then, the finished gum is processed by the pressure roller 308 and the marking roller 310, similarly to the first embodiment of FIG. 1. In this embodiment, the marking roller 310 is configured to trim the edges of the continuous web of finished rubber, the cut edges being returned to the forming system 306 to reduce or eliminate waste. The marked fabric of the finished gum can optionally be additionally conditioned to the desired temperature and humidity in the cooling tunnel 312 before entering the packaging section 314, where the marked fabric of the finished gum is further divided and wrapped to obtain the final product - the elastic 316.

The chewing gum system 300 provides a continuous line from mixing gum ingredients to packaging the final product. Thus, any delays due to pre-production and / or transportation of unfinished products are significantly reduced or eliminated. In addition, the rollers of the forming system 306 and the cooling tunnel 312 provide sufficient cooling and conditioning, so that the finished gum can be immediately packaged without conditioning in the conditioning chamber for a relatively long time. Such a continuous production and packaging system without prolonged conditioning is particularly beneficial for retaining volatile ingredients such as flavors by reducing evaporation.

Figure 3 shows another embodiment of a chewing gum system. The chewing gum manufacturing system 400 includes a mixing system 402, a pre-extruder 404, a molding or calibration system 408, a scribing roller 420, and a dividing roller 422. In this embodiment, the mixing system 402 is a batch mixer that produces a non-uniform chewing structure. The inhomogeneous chewing structure is then fed to a low shear preform molding extruder 404 having a large outlet to minimize shear stress introduced into the chewing structure when it is formed into a generally uniform continuous web of chewing structure 406 having a thickness greater than about 20 mm (in other related embodiments, the thickness of the fabric of the chewing structure may be greater or less than 20 mm.) The continuous fabric of the chewing structure 406 is supplied as a chewing mass and 407 to the hopper 412, with the inclined wall 410 of the hopper 412 directing the accumulated chewing mass 407 to the walls 414, 418, the walls 414, 418 calibrating and cooling the chewing mass 407 to obtain a chewing gum sheet 416 of the desired thickness and temperature. Hopper 412 can provide backpressure control and feed control functions, and can also allow sagging of the chewing mass 407, which can be controlled to suitably feed the walls 414, 418. Then, the chewing gum sheet 416 is laid out and divided by a marking roller 420 and a dividing roller 422. Marked and the chopped gum is then stacked in a stack 424 for further processing below according to the scheme as in the first embodiment of FIG. 1 (provided that the gum was cooled and / or dusted).

The chewing gum production system 400 provides a mechanism for continuously feeding a generally uniform chewing gum web to the forming system 408. Such a system may be advantageous to produce a chewing gum sheet 416 having an appropriate width, and may further reduce the force required to calibrate the gum so as a uniform feed, it can be easier to push through the fervor between the rollers than an inappropriate inhomogeneous chewing mass.

Figure 4 shows another embodiment of a system for producing chewing gum. The chewing gum system 500 includes a mixing system 502, a pre-molding extruder 504, a molding or calibration system 508, an applicator 512, a pinch roller 514, a scribe roller 516, and a dividing roller 518. In this embodiment, the chewing gum system 500 preferably produces a finished product gum containing other confectionery, sprinkled and embedded in the upper surface. The mixing system 502 in this embodiment is shown as an extruder yielding a heterogeneous mass of finished gum. The inhomogeneous mass of the finished gum is then fed to the low shear pre-molding extruder 504, where the heterogeneous mass of the finished gum is molded to produce a generally uniform continuous web of finished gum 506, similar to the embodiment of FIG. 3. Then, the continuous web of finished gum is calibrated and cooled in a forming system 508, as described in connection with the forming system 408. The canvas of the finished gum 510 exiting the forming system 508 is sprinkled with confectionery chips, caramel sprinkles or other confectionery materials using an applicator 512. Although here a single applicator is shown; two or more applicators may be provided for sprinkling with more than one confectionery material. In other embodiments, edible materials can be imprinted into the fabric of the finished gum 510 at this point. The fabric of the finished gum 510, sprinkled with confectionery material, passes through the pinch roller 514, where the poured confectionery materials are embedded in the upper surface of the finished gum when the pinch roller 514 smoothes the surface of the sprinkled fabric of the finished gum. The web of sprinkled finished gum is then marked and divided using the scribing roller 516 and the dividing roller 518, and stacked in a stack 520 for further downstream processing, as was the case with the embodiment of FIG. 1.

System 500 for the production of chewing gum allows you to get a variety of products containing various edible pieces embedded in the surface of the chewing gum. Thus, the composition of the finished gum can be used for the production of, for example, various chewing gums, including various flavoring caramel crumbs.

Referring to the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 12, a system 800 is shown in which both moving walls 802 are conveyors 804 and 806. Although it is shown that these conveyors 804 and 806 have a specific shape, any or all of the desired walls 802 may be used. forms (for example, which are shown in FIG. 1). These walls can be actuated (at various speeds) and temperature controlled by any desired means, which are discussed in connection with the system 106.

Particular examples of molding gum

In a laboratory system, each wall is driven by a separate engine. The gap between the upper and lower forming wall is adjusted by means of a servo system. Any roller used can be made of well polished stainless steel. The roller has a diameter of about 650 mm. The roller and conveyor have the same width a little more than about 230 mm, which allows the formation of a chewing gum sheet with a width of 9 inches (228.6 mm). Each wall is adapted to circulate a cooling or heating medium or to achieve a change in the temperature of the gum.

The pinch roller is mounted on a conveyor belt. The gap between the pinch roller and conveyor belt is manually adjusted to match the thickness of the chewing gum sheet formed by the upper and lower forming rollers. The pinch roller is also made of well polished stainless steel. The pinch roller has a diameter of about 464 mm and a width of slightly more than about 230 mm to process a chewing gum sheet up to 9 inches wide (22.8 cm). The pinch roller is also designed as a heat transfer roller with internal channels for circulating a cooling or heating medium.

In these laboratory experiments, the desired finished gum is obtained higher according to the scheme in the form of a tow, and the tow of the finished gum is fed into the hopper. However, the gum can be fed continuously in the form of a generally uniform web or in portions in the form of pieces of irregular shape. In the laboratory system, the finished gum harness fed to the hopper has a temperature of from about 45 ° C to 55 ° C and a viscosity of about 1,000,000 cps with an accuracy of ± 10%.

In a laboratory system, forming walls are driven independently by motors. So, the walls can be made so as to have the same or different linear speed at the gap. Each of the forming walls can move at a linear speed of about 1-40 m / min, preferably about 3-35 m / min, more preferably about 5-16 m / min. The pinch roller can rotate at the same or different linear speed than the forming walls. The pressure roller may have a linear speed of 1-40 m / min, preferably about 3-35 m / min, more preferably about 5-16 m / min.

In the laboratory system, the walls are capable of having the same surface temperature from about 5 ° C to 90 ° C, preferably from about 15 ° C to 70 ° C, more preferably from about 45 ° C to 60 ° C. The pinch roller may have the same or different surface temperature than the upper and lower forming rollers. The pressure roller may have a surface temperature of from about 5 ° C to 50 ° C, preferably from about 10 ° C to 40 ° C, more preferably from about 14 ° C to 22 ° C.

Using a laboratory system, sheets of finished gum were obtained having various thicknesses from about 1 mm to 6 mm. The thickness and thickness dispersion were optimized by selecting the temperature of the forming walls, the linear velocity of the walls, the temperature of the pressure roller, and the gap between the walls. The results for a typical experience in the formation of gum are summarized in table 2.

table 2 Input variables Output Temperature (° C) of at least one forming wall Speed of the upper forming wall (m / min) Speed of the lower forming wall (m / min) Pressure roller temperature (° C) The gap between the upper and lower walls (mm) The average thickness of the chewing gum sheet (mm) RMS Deviation (mm) CV (%) 60 16 16 40 1,50 1,409 0.147 10,431 fifty 10.5 10.5 25 1,50 1,625 0.209 12,877 60 5,0 5,0 10 1,50 1,313 0.116 8,822 60 5,0 5,0 40 1,50 1,171 0.113 9,629 60 10.5 10.5 25 3.25 2,926 0.183 6,258 fifty 10.5 10.5 25 3.25 3,098 0.169 5,448 40 16,0 16,0 10 5.50 5.69 0,305 5,361 fifty 10.5 10.5 40 3.25 5.16 0.160 3,102 60 16 16 40 5.50 5,593 0.189 3,378 60 16,0 16,0 10 5.50 5,645 0.196 3,474 fifty 10.5 10.5 10 3.25 3,166 0.159 5,023 40 5 5 10 5.50 5,527 0.172 3,019 fifty 10.5 10.5 25 5.50 5,707 0.181 3,174 40 10.5 10.5 25 3.25 3,545 0.170 4,783 60 5,0 16,0 40 4.00 2,864 0.249 8,683 40 5,0 16,0 40 1,50 1,046 0.118 11,272 40 5,0 16,0 10 4.00 3,252 0.420 12,921 60 5,0 8.67 10 5.50 4,996 0.322 6,449

All references, including the publications cited here, patent applications and patents, are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if for each reference it was individually and specifically indicated that it was introduced by reference and was fully set forth herein.

The use of the singular and plural in the description of the invention (especially in the context of the following formula) should be construed as encompassing both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated or unless otherwise clearly contrary to the context. The expressions “comprising”, “having”, “including” and “covering” should, unless otherwise indicated, be interpreted as unlimited expressions (ie, meaning “containing, but not limited to”). The ranges of values given here merely serve as a brief way of designating individually each individual value within this range, unless explicitly stated otherwise, and each individual value is entered into the description as if it were individually listed in it. All methods described herein may be carried out in any suitable order, unless otherwise indicated or otherwise clearly contrary to the context. The use of all the examples or illustrative formulations available here (for example, “such as”) is made only for a better interpretation of the invention and does not impose restrictions on the scope of the invention, unless otherwise stated. No expressions in the description should be construed as indicating any undeclared element as essential for the practical implementation of the invention.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are described herein, including the best known embodiment to the authors. Modifications to these preferred embodiments may become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the foregoing description. The inventors expect qualified people to apply such modifications appropriately, and the authors assume that the invention may be practiced differently than is specifically described herein. Accordingly, the present invention includes all modifications and is equivalent to the object set forth in the attached formula, as permitted by applicable law. Moreover, the invention encompasses any combination of the above elements in all possible variations thereof, unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicts the context.

Claims (40)

1. A method of forming a chewing gum, including:
- providing a pair of movable walls containing the first wall and the second wall,
- advancing the collected chewing mass continuously to said pair of movable walls, and
- calibrating said chewing mass into a chewing gum sheet having a uniform thickness of 0.3 mm to 10 mm using said pair of walls, said chewing mass being kept in continuous contact with at least one of said walls before and after said calibration. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said chewing mass is maintained in said continuous contact with at least one of said walls beyond the further extent of at least one of said walls. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein said first wall is a roller and said second wall is a conveyor belt. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said mixed chewing mass is in the form of a heterogeneous mass; moreover, the calibration includes holding the specified pair of walls in the same direction in the zone of the specified calibration, to drag the specified inhomogeneous chewing mass through the gap between the specified pair of walls, and deformation of the specified heterogeneous chewing mass to obtain the specified sheet of chewing gum. 5. The method according to p. 1, further comprising installing the specified pair of walls, and the installation includes:
- placing said first wall vertically above said second wall, wherein the gum entry area is provided up to said wall;
- providing a gap between the specified first and second walls in accordance with the desired thickness of the continuous sheet of chewing gum;
- power supply of the specified pair of walls using at least one engine having an energy consumption of less than 5 horsepower; and
- advancing said first wall and said second wall in the same direction to conduct said chewing mass into said gum entry zone to said gap between said pair of walls. 6. The method according to p. 1, in which the calibration gives the specified continuous sheet of chewing gum, having a width of from 0.6 m to 1.2 m and a thickness of 2 mm to 6 mm 7. The method according to p. 1, further comprising lubricating the specified sheet of chewing gum with liquid lubricant, thereby obtaining the specified sheet of chewing gum without powder dusting material. 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising heating said chewing mass by heating at least one of the first and second walls to reduce the viscosity of said chewing mass and to increase the deformability of said chewing mass during said calibration. 9. The method according to p. 1, in which the specified calibration includes the movement of the specified first wall and the specified second wall with different linear speeds. 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising changing the temperature of said chewing mass by at least 5 ° C using at least one of said first wall and said second wall. 11. The method according to p. 1, in which at least one of the specified pair of walls moves at a speed of from 50% to 150% of the speed of the specified sheet when the specified sheet leaves the specified walls, and wherein the linear speed of these walls in the zone of the specified calibration ranges from 5 m / min to 40 m / min. 12. The method according to p. 1, in which the chewing mass has a thickness of at least 10 times the thickness of the specified sheet of chewing gum. 13. The method according to claim 1, wherein said chewing mass is collected immediately before said calibration by means of said pair of walls. 14. A method of forming a chewing gum, including:
- providing a pair of movable walls comprising a first wall and a second wall;
- advancing the collected chewing mass continuously to said pair of movable walls, and
- calibrating said chewing mass into a chewing gum sheet having a uniform thickness of 0.3 mm to 10 mm using said pair of walls, at least one of said walls having a flat surface. 15. The method of claim 14, wherein said first wall has said flat surface and said second wall has a circular surface. 16. The method of claim 14, wherein said first wall is a roller and said second wall is a conveyor belt. 17. The method according to p. 14, in which the specified chewing mass is in the form of a heterogeneous chewing mass; moreover, the calibration includes advancing the specified pair of walls in the same direction in the zone of the specified calibration, to push the specified inhomogeneous chewing mass through the gap between the specified pair of walls, and compressing the specified inhomogeneous chewing mass to obtain the specified sheet of chewing gum. 18. The method according to p. 14, further comprising installing said pair of walls, the installation comprising:
- placing said first wall vertically above said second wall, wherein the gum entry area is provided up to said wall;
- providing a gap between the specified first and second walls in accordance with the desired thickness of the continuous sheet of chewing gum;
- power supply of at least one of the specified pair of walls using at least one engine having an energy consumption of less than 5 horsepower; and
- advancing said first wall and said second wall in the same direction to conduct said chewing mass into said gum entry area to said gap between said pair of rollers. 19. The method according to p. 14, in which the calibration gives the specified continuous sheet of chewing mass having a width of from 0.6 m to 1.2 m and a thickness of 2 mm to 6 mm 20. The method according to p. 14, further comprising lubricating the specified sheet of chewing gum with liquid lubricant, thereby obtaining the specified sheet of chewing gum without powder dusting material. 21. The method of claim 14, further comprising heating said chewing mass by heating at least one of the first and second walls to reduce the viscosity of said chewing mass and to increase the deformability of said chewing mass during said calibration. 22. The method of claim 14, wherein said calibration comprises moving said first wall and said second wall with different linear velocities. 23. The method according to p. 14, further comprising changing the temperature of said chewing mass by at least 5 ° C, using at least one of said first wall and said second wall. 24. The method according to p. 14, in which the specified pair of walls moves at a speed of from 50% to 150% of the speed of the specified sheet when the specified sheet leaves these walls, and wherein the linear speed of these walls in the zone of the specified calibration is from 5 m / min to 40 m / min. 25. The method according to p. 14, in which the chewing mass has a thickness of at least 10 times the thickness of the specified sheet of chewing gum. 26. The method according to p. 14, in which the specified chewing mass is collected immediately before the specified calibration through the specified pair of walls. 27. A rubber forming system, comprising:
- a hopper made to receive and feed a continuous chewing mass into the system,
a pair of movable walls behind said hopper, said pair of movable walls comprising a first wall and a second wall, and
- a gap between the specified first and second walls, and the specified gap is made for calibrating the chewing mass in a chewing gum sheet having a width of from 0.3 mm to 10 mm,
moreover, at least one of these walls is made to continuously contact with a sheet of chewing gum, transporting it to and beyond the specified gap. 28. The system of claim 27, wherein at least one of said walls is configured to continuously contact a chewing gum sheet, transporting the chewing gum sheet from said inlet to at least one of the marking device and the roller behind said walls. 29. A system for forming an elastic band comprising:
- a hopper made to receive and feed a continuous chewing mass into the system;
- a pair of movable walls behind the specified hopper, and the specified pair of movable walls contains a first wall and a second wall; and
- a gap between the specified first and second walls, and the specified gap is made for calibrating the chewing mass in the chewing gum sheet with a width of 0.3 mm to 10 mm, and at least one of these walls has a flat surface. 30. The method of claim 29, wherein said first wall has said flat surface and said second wall has a circular surface. 31. A method of forming a chewing gum, including:
- providing a pair of movable walls containing the first wall and the second wall,
- advancing the collected chewing mass continuously to said pair of movable walls, and
- calibrating said chewing mass into a chewing gum sheet having a uniform thickness of 0.3 mm to 10 mm using said pair of walls, the chewing mass immediately before said calibration being shapeless. 32. The method according to p. 31, in which the chewing mass has a thickness of at least 10 times the thickness of the specified sheet of chewing gum. 33. The method according to p. 31, in which the specified chewing mass is collected immediately before the specified calibration through the specified pair of walls. 34. A system for forming a gum comprising:
- a hopper made to receive and feed a continuous chewing mass into the system;
- a pair of movable walls behind the specified hopper, and the specified pair of movable walls contains a first wall and a second wall; and
- a gap between the specified first and second walls, the specified gap being made for calibrating the chewing mass into a chewing gum sheet having a width of 0.3 mm to 10 mm, the hopper being made to supply the chewing mass in a shapeless form immediately before the specified gap. 35. A method of forming a confectionery, including:
- providing a pair of movable walls containing the first wall and the second wall,
- promoting the collected confectionery mass continuously to the specified pair of movable walls, and
- calibrating said confectionery mass into a confectionery product in the form of a sheet having a uniform thickness of 0.3 mm to 10 mm using said pair of walls, said confectionery mass being kept in continuous contact with at least one of said walls before and after said calibration . 36. A method of forming a confectionery, including:
- providing a pair of movable walls comprising a first wall and a second wall;
- promoting the collected confectionery mass continuously to the specified pair of movable walls, and
- calibrating said confectionery mass into a confectionery product in the form of a sheet having a uniform thickness of 0.3 mm to 10 mm using said pair of walls, at least one of said walls has a flat surface. 37. A confectionery molding system comprising:
- a hopper made to receive and feed a continuous confectionery mass into the system;
- a pair of movable walls behind the specified hopper, and the specified pair of movable walls contains a first wall and a second wall; and
- a gap between the specified first and second walls, and the specified gap is made for calibrating the confectionery mass into a confectionery product in the form of a sheet having a width of from 0.3 mm to 10 mm, and at least one of these walls is made for continuous contact, transferring the confectionery the product in the form of a sheet above and downstream from the specified gap. 38. A confectionery molding system comprising:
- a hopper made to receive and feed a continuous confectionery mass into the system;
- a pair of movable walls behind the specified hopper, and the specified pair of movable walls contains a first wall and a second wall; and
- a gap between the specified first and second walls, and the specified gap is made for calibrating the confectionery mass in the confectionery product in the form of a sheet having a width of from 0.3 mm to 10 mm, and at least one of these walls has a flat surface. 39. A method of forming a confectionery, including:
- providing a pair of movable walls containing the first wall and the second wall,
- promoting the collected confectionery mass continuously to the specified pair of movable walls, and
- calibrating said confectionery mass into a confectionery product in the form of a sheet having a uniform thickness of 0.3 mm to 10 mm using said pair of walls, the confectionery mass being shapeless immediately before said calibration. 40. A confectionery molding system comprising:
- a hopper made to receive and feed a continuous confectionery mass into the system;
- a pair of movable walls behind the specified hopper, and the specified pair of movable walls contains a first wall and a second wall; and
- a gap between the specified first and second walls, and the specified gap is made for calibrating the confectionery mass in the confectionery product in the form of a sheet having a width of from 0.3 mm to 10 mm, and the hopper is made for feeding the confectionery mass in a shapeless form immediately before the specified gap.

Images