The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 15, 2000
Filed:
Mar. 05, 1998
Hans G Franke, Incline Village, NV (US);
Donald R Bittner, Irving, TX (US);
Standard Starch, LLC, Tampa, FL (US);
Abstract
An extrusion die for extruding biodegradable material into a flexible, pliable and non-brittle structure, the extrusion die including: a cylindrical mandrel; a cylindrical outer ring positioned concentrically around the mandrel; an annular extrusion orifice between the mandrel and the outer ring; and a flow control device which controls flow of biodegradable material through the extrusion die, wherein the flow control device comprises a mechanism which translates the outer ring to adjust the width of the annular extrusion orifice, and wherein the flow control device further includes a flow control channel upstream of the extrusion orifice which throttles flow of the biodegradable material through the die. A process for extruding biodegradable material into a flexible, pliable and non-brittle structure, the process including: pressurizing biodegradable material in an extruder; cooking biodegradable material in the extruder; charging an extrusion die with biodegradable material from the extruder; controlling the flow rate of biodegradable material through the extrusion die, wherein the controlling includes adjusting a width of an extrusion orifice, and wherein the controlling comprises throttling the biodegradable material upstream of the extrusion orifice through a flow control channel.