Plodder Outlet Assembly

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to apparatus for manufacturing detergent bars and, more particularly, to a plodder nozzle assembly for producing a bicolored detergent bar.

2. Description of the Prior Art

In the past, bicolored soap and detergent bars have been produced. One procedure for producing a multicolored bar was to provide inserts and mold the bar about the inserts. Another procedure was to partially mix colored soap chips in a mass of soaps of a different color so a variegated bar would be produced. U.S. Pat. No. 3,884,605 discloses a device for producing striped soap bars. U.S. Pat. No. 4,201,743 discloses a method of making soap bars wherein indicia are formed by forcing soap material through dies into another mass of soap material. U.S. Pat. No. 2,296,842 discloses indicia provided in a soap bar.

Numerous problems have beset the manufacture of bicolored soap bars generally caused by minimal pressure at the nozzle orifice. This usually leads to a variety of troubles, including hazy or foggy inserts, distortion of one material by the other, irregular internal shapes being formed and a slow rate of production.

The present invention has for its object to produce a bicolored soap or detergent bar wherein the problems of the prior art are overcome.

In carrying out the invention, a plodder outlet assembly is used in connection with plodders delivering two different soap or detergent masses. A compaction chamber is provided into which a first material mass is delivered. Four equally spaced pipes extend into, but terminate short of, the end of the compaction chamber. The pipes abut against the inner walls of the compaction chamber so as to leave a cruciform-shaped space for the first mass. Since the second mass is delivered through the pipes spaced from the inner walls of the compaction chamber, due to the thickness of the pipes, further movement of the two different materials will cause the first material to envelope the material from the pipes with minimum or no distortion due to the minimum inwardly-extending pressure on the material from the pipes. The pipes and the compaction chamber are circular in cross section for equalization of focus and the compaction chamber is slightly tapered. The pipes terminate no more than one-third the length of the compaction chamber.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a detergent bar made in accordance with the concepts of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view through the plodder outlet assembly; and

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view, taken along the plane of line 3--3, in FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a bicolored detergent bar 10. The terms "detergent" and "soap" are to be considered interchangeable within the limits of this invention.

The detergent bar 10 has a cylindrical body 12 of substantially circular cross section and has ends 14 and 16. Embedded in the body 12 are four separate cylindrical bodies 18, 20, 22 and 24 of a different color from the body 12.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, therein is disclosed a plodder outlet assembly 30. A plodder outlet 32 is connected to one barrel of a conventional two barrel Mazzoni plodder, the other barrel of the plodder being connected to four equally spaced pipes 34, 36, 38 and 40.

Threadedly detachably secured to the extruder outlet 32 at 42 is a compression chamber 44, the inner walls of which taper slightly as they project away from the plodder outlet 32, and thus is of a truncated conical configuration, though the taper is only very slight; i.e., on the order of about 5.degree..

The pipes 34, 36, 38 and 40 extend into the compaction chamber 44, but terminate within the first third of the length thereof.

An important feature of the present invention is that the pipes 34, 36, 38 and 40 abut against the inner walls 46, leaving a cruciform-shaped space 50, into which material from the outlet 32 and first extruder barrel is delivered.

Since the pipes 34, 36, 38 and 40 terminate in the first third of the length of the compaction chamber, the pressure on the first mass of material forces material into the space between the second material coming from the pipes to envelope the four cylindrically-spaced masses of the second material. This space between the second material masses and the inner walls is due to the thickness of the walls of the pipes 34, 36, 38 and 40. Due to the relief of stresses on the first mass of material because of the space to envelope the second mass of material, there is no perceptable cracking of the detergent bar while a firm bond between the material masses is achieved. Since the material masses are of different colors, the bicolored detergent bar 10 is achieved.