Frito-lay North America, Inc.

Scott Alan Richey

Eugenio Bortone

Richard James Ruegg

Edward Leon Ouellette

Jorge C Morales-Alvarez

Lewis Conrad Keller

Rogers Williams

Timothy Allen Johnson

Sidharth Sambashivan

Akhilesh Gautam

Michelle Latrese Barnett

Dimitrios Lykomitros

The invention is an improved process and system for producing a shaped snack chip. A shaping oven, which uses a chain edge conveyor having transverse slats with at least one spring affixed to the slats, is used to convert dough pieces into shaped pre-forms, which can optionally be further dehydrated to form shaped snack chips.

Method for making a shaped snack chip

The improved apparatus includes an improved extruder die assembly comprising a forming section, an injection section, and a converging nozzle section having axially aligned ridgelines which gradually project into the bore of the nozzle as the nozzle converges to gradually disrupt the axial flow of an extrudate at specific peripheral points thereby altering the extrudate's velocity profile. By gradually disrupting the axial flow in close proximity to the projecting ridgelines prior to its extrusion, the dimensional quality of the resulting direct expanded food piece is greatly improved. Moreover, by carefully positioning the capillary channels of the injection section into that portion of the flowing extrudate not affected by the axially aligned ridgelines, a distinct colored and/or flavored pattern is imparted into the extrudable food mass during the extrusion process while improving the quality of dimensional design aspects of the resulting extruded, complexly shaped, direct expanded food products.

Apparatus for imprinting lines on direct-expanded food products having complex shapes with improved dimensional quality

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Plano, TX, United States of America

Scott Alan Richey