Claims
- 1. An apparatus for making a seamless capsule comprising a shell material encapsulating a center-filled core material comprising:
- a concentrically aligned multiple nozzle system having at least an outer nozzle and an inner nozzle for simultaneously extruding a shell material through the outer nozzle and a core material through an inner nozzle, thereby forming a coaxial jet of the shell material surrounding the core material;
- means for supplying the shell material to the outer nozzle and the core material to the inner nozzle;
- a first duct located beneath the multiple nozzle system for receiving the coaxial jet;
- means for delivering a heated carrier liquid to the first duct to form a flow of the heated carrier liquid surrounding the coaxial jet, thereby allowing the shell material to encapsulate the core material to form capsules in the heated carrier liquid;
- a second duct, at least a part of which is located beneath the first duct, for receiving the flow of the heated carrier liquid carrying the capsules from the first duct;
- means for delivering a cooled carrier liquid into the second duct to form a flow of the cooled carrier liquid surrounding the capsules, thereby allowing the capsules to solidify.
- 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the upper part of the first duct is surrounded by a heating cylinder in a concentric alignment.
- 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the heating cylinder has an overflow over the top of the first duct.
- 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lower end of the first duct extends into the second duct.
- 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the upper part of the second duct is surrounded by a cooling cylinder in a concentric alignment.
- 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cooling cylinder has an overflow over the top of the second duct.
- 7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second duct is connected to a recovery pipe.
- 8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said multiple nozzle system further comprises at least one intermediate nozzle positioned between the inner and outer nozzles.
- 9. A seamless capsule comprising a shell material encapsulating a center-filled core material, wherein the shell material comprises a carbohydrate in glassy state.
- 10. The seamless capsule according to claim 9, wherein the carbohydrate is selected from sucrose, glucose, fructose, isomalt, hydrogenated starch hydrolysate, maltitol, lactitol, xylitol, sorbitol, erythritol, mannitol, and mixtures thereof.
- 11. The seamless capsule according to claim 9, wherein the core material is selected from coconut oil, peppermint oil, cinnamon oil, fennel oil, clove oil, wheat-germ oil, vegetable oil, vitamins, pharmaceutical solutions, natural and artificial sweeteners, fruit flavors, menthol, and mixtures thereof.
- 12. The seamless capsule according to claim 9, wherein the shell material encapsulates at least one intermediate shell material which encapsulates the core material.
- 13. A seamless capsule comprising a shell material encapsulating a center-filled core material made according to a method comprising the steps of:
- providing a concentrically aligned multiple nozzle system having at least an outer nozzle and an inner nozzle:
- supplying a shell material to the outer nozzle and a core material to the inner nozzle:
- simultaneously extruding the shell material through the outer nozzle and the core material through the inner nozzle, thereby forming a coaxial jet of the shell material surrounding the core material;
- introducing the coaxial jet into the flow of a heated carrier liquid or air, thereby allowing the shell material to encapsulate the core material to form capsules in the heated carrier liquid: and
- introducing the capsules into a flow of a cooled carrier liquid, thereby allowing the capsules to solidify.
Parent Case Info
This is a divisional of copending application Ser. No. 08/412,672 filed on Mar. 29, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,595,757.
US Referenced Citations (13)
Foreign Referenced Citations (5)
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Date |
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0339958 |
Nov 1989 |
EPX |
0513563 |
Nov 1992 |
EPX |
0525731 |
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Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
412672 |
Mar 1995 |
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