Patent Application
20240016189
The invention generally pertains to the art of edible pet products and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for extruding and cutting a spiraling intermediate product having a radially in-turned outer terminal end portion, with the intermediate product being dried to establish a pet treat, such as rawhide-type chew treat(s).
It is known in the food art to form pet chew treats by forming a dough, sheeting the dough, cutting the sheet in to strips, rolling the strips to create individual spiral products and drying the spiral products to establish hard, rawhide-type pet chew products. Although such pet treats are popular, these products, as well as the manner in which they are made, present various drawbacks. For instance, the overall process is quite labor intensive, particularly as the products are typically rolled by hand. In addition, each formed product includes an outer longitudinal edge which, upon drying, becomes spaced from the adjacent layer of the spiral product. As the product dries hard, this entire edge establishes a series of sharp contact points which, when being consumed, can be hazardous to a pet. Furthermore, it is quite common to package multiple such products together by wrapping the products in sealed flexible packaging. However, the sharp contact points can readily poke holes in the packaging, potentially causing mold or other microbial issues.
With the above in mind, it is desired to provide a method and apparatus for mass producing pet chews treats, particularly employing a continuous, non-labor intensive extrusion production operation in creating products without sharp outer contact points, thereby avoiding packaging damage and pet issues experienced with the known prior art.
The present invention is concerned with a method and apparatus for producing pet treats comprising spiraling cross-sectional bodies with extrusion technology. More particularly, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, various laterally spaced dough ropes are extruded and fed to a cutter assembly, such as a rotary, linear, ultrasonic or the like cutter assembly, wherein each rope is cut in at least two longitudinally spaced locations to create intermediate products of predetermined length. The intermediate products are then exposed to a drying operation to establish the pet treats, such as in the form of hard, spiraling rawhide-type chew treats for dogs, with each pet treat having a plurality of radially spaced, spiraling layers and an outer terminal end portion which is radially in-turned and conjoined with an adjacent one of the plurality of radially spaced layers. With this construction, the outer terminal end portion of the spiral pet treat body lacks an exposed terminal edge, thereby avoiding the potential for sharp protruding contact points along the length of the product.
Additional objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts in the several views.
As indicated above,
Downstream of extruder 2 is provided a cutting assembly which is generally indicated at 90 extending across conveyor 87. Cutting assembly 90 includes a roller 110 having an associated motor driven drive shaft (not shown) for rotating roller 110 and an outer surface 115 from which project one or more cutting members, such as a blade indicated at 120. With this arrangement, each rope 80-82 passing beneath roller 110 upon moving conveyor 87 will be cut by the one or more cutting members in forming individual, spiral shaped (in cross-section) intermediate products 150. The length of each intermediate product 150 will depend on various factors, including the speed of extrusion and conveyance, the rotational speed of roller 110 and the number of cutting members 120 provided circumferentially spaced about roller 110. Overall, the length can vary significantly but, in most preferred forms of the invention, the resulting pet treat has a length in a range of approximately 5-30 cm.
After being cut to a desired length, the intermediate products 150 need to be dried. Although drying could proceed under ambient conditions,
A pet treat 180 produced in accordance with the invention is illustrated in
As indicated above, pet treats 180 can be produced in various lengths without departing from the invention. In addition, the particular composition of the extruded to produce pet treats 180 can also vary. In one preferred embodiment of the invention, a known dough formulation, including ingredients derived from rice, potatoes, peas and chicken in combination with gelatin, glycerin, stabilizers and flavorings, is employed to result in pet treats 180 in the form of hard, spiraling rawhide-type chew treats for dogs. In this instance, the at least one rope is formed by extruding a dough having a moisture content of approximately 20-45% (preferably and, more preferably, 25-27%) and dryer unit 175, as well as potentially another dryer (not shown) upstream of cutting assembly 90, is employed to expedite the drying and hardening of the dough to a moisture content of approximately 9-15% (preferably 10-12%). During the drying process, the relative uniformity of layers 187-190 and the inclusion of gap 200 reduces variations in drying. The lack of an exposed terminal edge is particularly advantageous considering pet treats 180 are intended to be hard when initially consumed (chewed). Still, even with somewhat softer final products, the lack of a terminal edge is considered advantageous for other reasons, such as minimizing any unraveling of the spiral product. The use of extrusion increases the overall product formation efficiency, resulting in more uniform products with preferred layering gaps and, again, enabling the avoidance of an exposed outermost terminal spiral edge, while being reminiscent of rolled spiral chew pet treats.
Although described with reference to preferred embodiments of the invention, it should be understood that various changes and/or modifications can be made to the invention without departing from the spirit thereof. Certainly, the invention is not intended to be limited by only the description of the exemplary embodiment described. For instance, various cutting assemblies known in the art could be equally employed, such as linear or guitine, ultrasonic or the like cutting assemblies. In addition, as indicated above, the disclosed processing steps can vary, such an additional or alternate drying step after the extrusion but before cutting. In any case, the invention is only intended to be limited by the scope of the following claims.
