MXPA00009774A - Gum processing and packaging system - Google Patents

Abstract

A process and apparatusfor the continuous production, processing and packaging of a final chewing gum product. The product is extruded as a continuous tape or ribbon (44) of material, the material is flattened into an approximate final cross-sectional size and shape, and then inserted into a final sizing apparatus (48). The sizing apparatus maintains the gum product in its final cross-sectional size and shape. Thereafter, the continuous strip of final chewing gum product is scored, cut into individual pieces, and individually wrapped by a standard packaging machine (49-50). The individually wrapped pieces of gum can then be assembled into sets and packaged into packs of gum.

Description

RUBBER PACKING AND PROCESSING SYSTEM FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the improved manufacture, packaging and processing of chewing gum products of the chewable and dissolving type in the mouth.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The process of manufacturing and packing chewing gum products of the chewable and dissolving type in the mouth takes a significant time and involves an important manual handling. Chewing gum and mouth-dissolving gums, such as Trident® gum produced by Warner Lambert, are typically processed in batch treatment boilers, manually divided into pieces, formed into a flat, broad web by a machine. die-cut and subsequently passed through laminators, striating and cutting machines. The fluted rubber sheets are kept in cold conditioning rooms before they are wrapped and packaged. The sheets of the rubber product are placed in a baler where they are first divided into long strips and then into individual pieces of rubber and subsequently wrapped and packed.

Some gum-type rubber products, such as rubber pump products, are formed in a rope-like configuration and fed directly from an extruder in a baler. The product is generally a roll formed in a square transverse configuration and divided into individual pieces by a cutting mechanism. The individual pieces are then wrapped and packed. A process that forms rubber cords is shown, for example in the U.S. Patent. No. 4,940,594. So far, it has not been possible to use a continuous packaging and processing system for chewable and mouth-dissolving chewing products packaged in standard chewable rubber wrappers. This is due to the fact that standard packers require conditioned rubber pieces of exact size to be wrapped.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved process and apparatus for the preparation and packaging of chewing gum of the chewable and dissolving type.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a process and apparatus for continuously stretching, processing and packaging a chewing gum product of the chewable and dissolving type in the mouth. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method and an apparatus that eliminates much of the lost time and manual handling of certain chewing gum products.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a process and an apparatus for forming a final chewing gum product in an extended tape or strip of material, cooling and holding said tape within certain transverse dimensions and subsequently feeding said tape directly to a wrapping and packaging machine. It is still a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus that sizes and maintains a final chewing gum product in a configuration similar to a flat ribbon, so that it can be fed directly to a standard packaging machine.

The present invention provides a process and apparatus for the improved production, processing and packing of chewing gum products of the chewable and dissolving type in the mouth. The rubber product is preferably produced by a continuous extrusion process. The resulting molten rubber product is formed in a continuous strip or strip of material by a second extrusion apparatus. The strand of the rubber material is passed through the cooling apparatus and into a final sizing mechanism. The sizing apparatus keeps the material in a precisely sized configuration and size. The sizing apparatus includes a plurality of parallel and perpendicular rollers which form the rubber material continuously fed to a final size and finished with high dimensional tolerances. The resulting material leaving the sizing apparatus has the specified cross-sectional shape and size.

After this, the tape continues cooled and exactly formed of the material; it is fed to a cutting and packaging machine, where the rubber product is divided into individual pieces of the rubber product and wrapped individually. The individual wrapped pieces of the rubber product are formed into packages by the packing machine and the packages of the rubber material are subsequently assembled together for commercial sale.

The present invention achieves some or all of the following advantages over current systems for the production and packaging of chewing gum products of chewable type and dissolution in the mouth: faster process, less work, ability to process and pack several flavors at the same time, better control of the process, reduced labor cost, reduction of repetitive labor-intensive operations, reduced material handling and less complexity. These and other aspects and features of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, analyzing them in accordance with the drawings and appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a flow chart illustrating a prior art process for the processing of a chewing gum product of the dissolution type in the mouth, Figure 2 is a flowchart representing the preferred novel process according to the present invention, Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, Figure 3A shows an alternative embodiment of a part thereof, Figure 4 is a side view of a chewing gum sizing apparatus according to the present invention, Figure 5 is a top plan view of the sizing apparatus shown in Figure 4, Figure 6 is a schematic view illustrating a portion of the sizing apparatus shown in Figures 4 and 5 and Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus shown in Figure 6, with the cross sections taken along the length of the line 7-7 in Figure 6 and in the direction of the arrows.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is an improvement in known apparatuses and processes for the production of chewing gum end products of the chewable type and of dissolution in the mouth in a standard casing. These chewing gum products typically comprise small flat pieces of chewing gum of the order of 3.18 cm in length, 0.8 cm in width and 0.42 cm in thickness. Commercial products of this type include Trident® and Dentyne®; products marketed by Warner Lambert Company.

Figure 1 illustrates a process known for the production of a chewing gum product of the dissolution type in the mouth. The process is generally referred to by the number 10. An example of a known process is described, for example, in the U.S. Patent. No. 4,555,407.

Chewing gum is typically produced in melts in batch treatment boilers 12, such as a Sigma leaf boiler. Processes of this type are well known in the art and are shown, for example, in U.S. Patents. Nos. 4,329,369 and 4,968,511.

The chewing gum base for the chewing gum end product can be produced separately, or added to the final ingredients of the chewing gum in the same boiler. Typically, the chewing gum base product is produced by another process, either a continuous extrusion or batch type process and supplied to the boilers of the final chewing gum in solid or liquid form. Known processes and apparatuses for the production of gum bases are shown, for example, in the Patents of E.U.A. Nos. 4,187,320; 5,397,580 and 5,419,919. The base of the chewing gum is mixed with various ingredients of the chewing gum end product, such as flavoring agents, sweeteners, fillers, coloring agents, softeners and the like and processed into the final product.

The mass of the final chewing gum product is removed from the Sigma foil boilers and processed by a pre-extruder 13 in a continuous load of material. The material is then manually cut and divided into pieces or "individual nougat" 14. The material nougat is subsequently placed in an extrusion machine 16, directly by hand, or by conveyor belt means that inserts the nougat in the extruder . The extrusion machine flattens the chewing gum product into flat, wide, continuous sheets of the product 18. These gum sheets are typically approximately 43.82 cm wide and approximately 0.42 cm high.

The web of the rubber product is then fed into a flute and lamination machine 20, wherein the material slab is longitudinally fluted at a number equal to the extended strips, about 3.18 cm wide. After being laminated, the flat, wide and flat sheet of the material is cut and divided by a rotary cutter into individual sheets of approximately 47.13-45.72 cm in length. The leaves are transported through a tunnel or cold chamber 23, where they are cooled sufficiently for handling. The individual sheets are then stacked by hand in wooden trays and moved in a cold conditioning room 24. The conditioning room controls the humidity and temperature of the product. The stacked fluted sheets of the rubber product are kept in the cooling room for a few hours, up to 4-7 days, depending on the time needed to adequately condition the material for packaging.

When an additional process and packaging of the chewing gum product is desired, the stacked sheets are manually transported to a packing station 26. At that point, the sheets are divided manually (along the fluted lines) into extended strips 28 approximately 3.18 cm wide and the strips are manually fed to the packaging machine 30. The machine 30 divides and cuts the rubber material into individual rubber pieces of the dissolvable type in the mouth of the final size and shape (3.18 cm x 0.95 cm x 0.32 cm) and wraps them individually 32. After this, the packing machine assembles the individually wrapped rubber pieces into sets and packs them into a rubber package 34. Then, if desired, the rubber packs they are assembled into several individual packages (not shown) for sale and commercial deployment.

It is important that the individual pieces of rubber are provided to the wrapping section of the packaging machine 30 in a precise size, shape and finish. If the pieces are not exactly dimensioned, then the wrappers will not be applied properly or efficiently to them.

The processing steps in accordance with the present invention are shown in Figure 2 and a schematic diagram of the processing equipment is shown in Figure 3 (with an alternative embodiment shown in Figure 3A). The novel process is generally referred to by the reference numeral 40. As a first step, the final chewing gum material 42 is produced by conventional batch treatment boilers or preferably in a continuous extrusion process. Apparatus and processes for continuously extruding a fine chewing gum product are shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,045,325 and 5,135,760.

Subsequently, the mass of the chewing gum material is fed into an extrusion machine which extrudes it into a continuous belt or strip of the material 44. Preferably, the belt is approximately 3.18 cm wide and approximately 0.42 cm high. After this, in accordance with the present invention, the continuous strip or strip of the material is subjected to cooling 46. The chewing gum product is continuously fed into and through the freezing or tunneling chamber 46., where its temperature is reduced from above 38 ° C to less than 27 ° O Once the rubber product tape is cooled, it is powdered 47 with a powdery material, such as mannitol / trilite to aid subsequent handling . After this, the continuous strip (strip) of the final chewing gum material is sent through a sizing apparatus 48 that exactly controls the size and transverse shape of the gum. (The sizing apparatus is shown in more detail in Figures 4-6).

The tape or dimensioned strip of the material is subsequently divided into lengthwise strips of material by a rotary cutter and is sent to a standard packing machine 49-50.

The packaging machine divides the material with a rotary cutter into individual pieces of rubber 49. The individual pieces of rubber are individually wrapped.

Finally, the individually wrapped pieces of the chewing gum product are assembled in sets and packaged in rubber packs 52. The individual packs of rubber are placed in boxes or packaged in bags in a conventional manner for commercial display and sale, as it is known in the art.

Figure 3 schematically illustrates the preferred equipment and apparatus used with the novel process. Figure 3A shows an alternative process, wherein a process of the batch treatment type is used to make the final chewing gum product.

As shown in Figure 3, the ingredients of the final gum base, such as gum base, flavoring agents, sweeteners, fillers, coloring agents, softeners and the like; they are added to a continuous extrusion apparatus 41. The rubber end product 42 is fed into a second extrusion apparatus 43 which produces a tape or an extended strip 44 of the material. The rubber product 42 can be fed directly into the extruder 43, as shown, or similarly extruded and subsequently emptied or otherwise fed into the extruder 43. The downward end of the extruder 43 has a die mold 43 'which causes the material to be punched in the desired shape. At this point, the ribbon 44 is continuous and has a cross section of approximately 3.18 cm wide and 0.42 cm high.

The ribbon 44 coming out of the extruder 43 is at an elevated temperature (approximately 37 ° C) and needs to be cooled to approximately the ambient temperature (approximately 21-23 ° C) for further processing. Therefore, the tape of material 44 is passed through a cold chamber or tunnel 46. The cold chamber may be of any conventional type, but preferably it is a 9-Pass Dx unit from Greer. Upon exiting the cold chamber 46, the material tape is lightly sprinkled by a spray apparatus 47. The continuous material 45 is subsequently passed through the sizing apparatus 48 and transported directly to a conventional or standard packing machine 49-50. . In the packaging machine, the material is cut into individual pieces by a rotary cutter (not shown) and subsequently the separated pieces are wrapped individually.

In an alternative procedure, the web of material 45 leaving the cold chamber 46 or the sizing apparatus 48 can be cut into lengths of 73.8 cm in length. For this purpose, a rotary cutting apparatus (not shown) can be placed downstream, either in the chamber 46 or in the sizing apparatus 48. Some conventional packaging machines need a fixed length of a strip of rubber product for the additional processing.

As indicated above, the present invention can be used with a final chewing gum material that has been manufactured by a continuous extrusion process (as shown in Figure 3), or that has been produced by a batch process . The latter is shown in Figure 3A. The chewing gum product 42 'is produced in a batch treatment boiler 54 and emptied into a cart 56 or in a similar transport apparatus. The material is subsequently deposited in a die-cutting machine, such as extruder 43, where it is punched out as a strip or strip 44 of a pre-specified size or shape. The remainder of the batch process is the same as that shown above with reference to Figure 3. Although it was not previously noted that the gum base material was added to the continuous extruder 41 or to the batch treatment boiler 54, together with the other ingredients of the final rubber material, it is also possible to use a continuous extrusion processor and prepare the final gum material in a continuous process. This is shown, for example, in the Patents of E.U.A. No. 5,045,325 and 5,135,760. Also, if the gum base is produced separately, it can be produced by any conventional or known process, such as a continuous extruder or batch-type apparatus. The production of gum bases with these processes is shown, for example, in the Patents of E.U.A. Nos. 4,187,320; 5,397,580 and 5,419,919.

A comparison of the processes shown in Figures 1 and 2, show that the present invention substantially simplifies the rubber packing and processing process. The invention is significantly more efficient and much less intensive in terms of labor, than the processes of the previous art. Immediately after the rubber product is produced, it is punched into a belt or strip, cooled in a cold chamber, perfected in size in a sizing apparatus and subsequently cut and packed immediately. The process of formation-cooling-packing takes minutes and not hours or days, as it happens with the processes of the previous art.

The present invention is not only more efficient than the prior art processes, but it improves the quality and life of the final rubber. The quality of the final rubber product is improved because it is not subject to the effects of weather or contamination risks known in the prior art processes. The potential for the product to mix or contaminate with other flavors of the chewing gum products in the conditioning room is eliminated. It will also reduce the space of the plant dedicated to the production and inventory of chewing gum products of the dissolution type in the mouth.

In addition, the number of packaging machines required for a continuous packaging operation is reduced compared to the prior art processes.

The reduction is partly due to the increase in packing efficiency from the increased production time and higher production rates. If the batch treatment boilers are replaced with the extrusion processing equipment and the multiple striation and lamination mechanisms are removed, then the amount of capital, equipment and plant space necessary to produce the final product of chewing gum is reduced similarly This also simplifies operation and maintenance by reducing the amount of equipment that needs to be maintained.

In addition, the benefits and advantages of the present invention include: faster cycles, minimization or elimination of work, ability to process rubber products of various flavors at the same time, better process control, reduced material handling and less complexity.

A preferred sizing apparatus used to perfect the chewing gum product of the dissolution type in the mouth in its final form before packaging is shown in Figures 4-7. The apparatus is generally referred to by the number 48.

As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the strip or strip 45 of the chewing gum end product is placed in a first conveyor belt apparatus 64. The upper part of the conveyor belt is flanked by the side rails 66 which they help keep the material online. A first roller 68 is placed on the transport belt 64 and is used to firmly hold the ribbon of the final rubber material 45 in its continuous flat strip form of material 45 '. A second conveyor belt apparatus 70 is used to transport the material in the sizing apparatus 48. A second set of side rails 72 are used to help maintain the flat strip of the material in the conveyor belt 70.

Preferably, the entry sections 67 and 71 indicated by lights or angles are used in combination with the side rails 66 and 72, respectively. The sizing apparatus 48 is preferably made of a food grade metal, such as stainless steel and has an upper member 74 and a lower member 76. The two members 74 and 76 are placed, one on top and the other, as shown in Figure 4 and guided and held in place by a plurality of extended guide pins 77 (one shown in Figure 4) and a plurality of coil tension springs 78. Bolts 77 hold the two pieces 74 and 76 in alignment. The springs 78 are used to assist in the positioning of the lower and upper portions 74 and 76 uniformly relative to one another, so that the space 80 therebetween has a constant dimension.

The two parts 74 and 76 are first maintained at a similar distance apart by a uniform leveling mechanism 82. Said mechanism includes a series of threaded bolts 84 placed at the four corners of the apparatus 48 and along both sides. A continuous chain 86 operated by an adjusting wheel 88 is used to rotate and simultaneously adjust all the threaded bolts 84. A pair of tension wheels 90 are also used as part of the leveling mechanism 82 to keep the chain 86 in tension. The coil springs 78 are placed in the cutting sections 92 that are provided along both ends of the apparatus 48. The springs 78 maintain a constant tension between the upper and lower parts 74 and 76 and act in cooperation with the mechanism of 82 leveling to maintain the width accuracy of the space 80.

Three sets of parallel rollers 94, 96 and 98 are used to wind and regulate the thickness of the strip of material 45 'within the apparatus 48. The sets of rollers 94, 96 and 98 are led by toothed members 100, 102 and 104, respectively, which, in turn, are driven by the primary drive gear 106 and a second secondary drive gear 108. In this respect, the drive gear 106 is driven by the chain 110 connected to motor 112. The motor 1 2 drives the gear 114 which , alternatively, through the chain 110, the gear 106 drives. The gear 106, in turn, drives the gears 102 and 104 and therefore drives the sets of rollers 96 and 98. The gear 102 also drives the gear 108 which, in turn, it drives the gear 100 and the roller set 94.

The upper member 74 of the apparatus 48 has a metal plate 120 connected thereto which is placed in axial alignment with the strip of the material 45 (see Figure 6). Similarly, the lower member 76 of the apparatus 48 has an extended metal corresponding plate 122 connected thereto. The plates 120 and 122 are opposite one from the other and are used to define the space 80 through which the chewing gum product 62 is passed. The plates 120, 122 have openings 115 for positioning the rollers 92, 94 and 96 To facilitate entry and exit of the chewing gum material 45 'in and out of the space 80, the front and rear edges of the plate 120 and 122 are angled or chamfered, as shown by numerals 124 and 126, respectively, in Figure 6. A plurality of sets of vertically arranged guide / roller members 128 are placed in the openings 129 in the flat plates 120 and 122. In this regard, for ease of understanding, the drawings only show a roller 128 in FIG. Figure 6 and two rollers 128 in Figure 7, however, the rollers are placed in pairs and preferably four sets of rollers are placed at the ends of the rubber material in the space 80. The roller members are preferably manufactured of a metallic material, such as stainless steel. Guide members / roller 128 define the precise width of the chewing gum end product 62 '.

After this, the continuous strip of the chewing gum end product 45 ', which has its final size in cross section, its shape and finish; it is passed in a standard chewable and mouthwash type rubber wrapping machine 49-50. The strip or tapes of the material 62 'are divided by a rotary cutter into individual pieces and wrapped. Once the individual pieces are wrapped, they are placed in games or packages. After this, the final rubber packages are subjected to additional processing and conventional handling.

While the best ways to carry out the invention have been described in detail, those familiar with the art to which this invention refers will recognize that various alternative designs and different modalities are possible for the practice of the invention, as defined. by the following claims.

Claims (18)

1. A process for the production, processing, sizing and packing of chewing gum of the chewable and dissolving type in the mouth, said process comprising the steps of: producing a portion of a chewing gum material; forming said material in a continuous web of material, said web having a generally predetermined cross-sectional shape and size, cooling said web of material; sizing said material to preserve such predetermined shape and size in cross section; dividing said continuous strip of material into individual pieces of material and individually wrapping said individual pieces of material.

2. The process according to claim 1, further comprising assembling said individually wrapped pieces of material in a chewing gum pack.

3. The process according to claim 1, wherein said step of dividing said material comprises cutting the material with a rotary cutter.

4. A process for continuously packaging the chewing gum material comprising the steps of: continuously extruding a continuous ribbon of said material; continuously forming said web of material into a substantially continuous flat strip of said material having a predetermined cross-sectional shape and size; cooling said continuous flat strip of material; continuously dividing said flat strip of material into individual pieces of said material and continuously wrapping said individual pieces of said material.

5. The process according to claim 4, further comprising the step of continuously preserving said continuous flat strip of material in said predetermined shape and size.

6. The process according to claim 5, wherein said material is conserved in the sizing apparatus having a flow path for the flat strip of material with said predetermined shape and size.

7. The process according to claim 6, wherein said sizing apparatus comprises at least one set of vertically disposed roller members and at least one set of horizontally disposed roller members.

8. The process according to claim 7, further comprising a set of forming plates that move in relation to one another.

9. An apparatus for dimensioning a continuous strip of chewing gum material comprising: a housing having a first member and a second member forming a prolonged plane passage; said passage has a predetermined shape and size corresponding to the size and shape of the final product of chewing gum and at least one pair of roller members.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said first member has a first plate member forming a first portion of said passage and said second member has a second plate member forming a second portion of said passage.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising means for positioning said first and second plate members substantially parallel to one another.

12. The apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising tension means for tensioning said first and second members being relative to one another.

13. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein at least two pairs of roller members are provided.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein one of said sets of roller members is placed vertically and the other of said sets of roller members is placed horizontally.

15. The apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising at least two pairs of roller members in said housing for maintaining said continuous strip of material in said predetermined shape and size in said passage.

16. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein three pairs of roller members are provided in said housing.

17. A system for the continuous production, processing and packaging of chewing gum material of the dissolution type in the mouth, said system comprising: an extruder for continuously forming said gum material in a continuous continuous ribbon of material; a forming member for the continuous forming of said web of material in a continuous flat narrow strip of material; a cooling mechanism for cooling said flat strip of material; a sizing mechanism for sizing said flat strip of material in a predetermined size and shape; a splitting mechanism for cutting and stitching said continuous flat strip of material into individual pieces of material and a first packing mechanism for wrapping said individual pieces of material.

18. The system according to claim 17, further comprising a second packing mechanism for assembling said individual pieces wrapped in material in chewing gum packets. The system according to claim 17, wherein said cooling mechanism comprises at least one set of roller members for forming and preserving said continuous strip of material in said predetermined size and shape.