阅读说明：本技术 硬墨西哥卷饼壳以及用于生产硬墨西哥卷饼壳的方法和设备 (Hard mexican tortilla shells and method and apparatus for producing hard mexican tortilla shells ) 是由 S·埃拉耶达思 J·J·芬斯克 S·伊戈 A·D·金 D·M·拉塞尔 S·怀特摩尔 M· 于 2018-06-27 设计创作，主要内容包括：使用旋转刀具(120)生产墨西哥卷饼壳(600),所述旋转刀具包括轴(200)、从轴(200)径向向外延伸的外刀片(220)以及从轴(200)径向向外延伸的第一内刀片(221-223)。外刀片(220)限定由外刀片(220)围住的内部区域(230)并限定外部区域(235)。第一内刀片(221-223)位于内部区域(230)中并且包括多个齿(240)。利用外刀片(220)从面团片(100)切割面团块(125,126),并且利用多个齿(240)在面团块(125,126)中产生凹陷部的第一弧形排列线(520-522)。折叠面团块(125,126)以形成成形的面团块,并且将成形的面团块烘焙以生产硬墨西哥卷饼壳(600)。(A mexican tortilla shell (600) is produced using a rotary cutter (120) comprising a shaft (200), an outer blade (220) extending radially outward from the shaft (200), and a first inner blade (221) extending radially outward from the shaft (200). The outer blade (220) defines an inner region (230) enclosed by the outer blade (220) and defines an outer region (235). The first inner blade (221-. The dough pieces (125, 126) are cut from the dough sheet (100) with the outer blade (220), and a first arcuately arranged line of depressions (520) 522 are created in the dough pieces (125, 126) with the plurality of teeth (240). The dough pieces (125, 126) are folded to form shaped dough pieces, and the shaped dough pieces are baked to produce hard mexican tortilla shells (600).)

1. A hard mexican tortilla shell comprising:

a first side wall;

a second side wall; and

a first arcuately arranged line of depressions extending along both the first and second sidewalls.

2. The hard mexican tortilla shell of claim 1, further comprising: a second arcuately arranged line of depressions extending along both the first and second sidewalls.

3. The hard mexican tortilla shell of claim 2, further comprising: a straight row of recesses extending along both the first and second sidewalls.

4. The hard mexican tortilla shell of claim 3, wherein the straight alignment of the depressions is located in the middle of the first and second arcuately arranged lines of the depressions.

5. The hard mexican tortilla shell of any one of claims 1-4, further comprising: a base interconnecting the first and second sidewalls, wherein the first and second sidewalls are substantially parallel to each other.

6. The hard mexican tortilla shell of claim 5, wherein the hard mexican tortilla shell is U-shaped.

7. A hard mexican tortilla shell comprising:

a first side wall;

a second side wall;

a first set of depressions, wherein the first set includes at least one alignment line of depressions, and each alignment line of depressions of the first set extends along both the first and second sidewalls;

a second set of depressions, wherein the second set comprises at least one alignment line of depressions, each alignment line of depressions of the second set extending along both the first and second sidewalls, the first set being located between the first end of the hard mexican tortilla shell and the midpoint of the hard mexican tortilla shell, the second set being located between the second end of the hard mexican tortilla shell and the midpoint, and the first end, second end, and midpoint being spaced apart from each other along the longitudinal axis of the hard mexican tortilla shell;

a first region between the first group and the midpoint that is free of depressions; and

a second region without depressions between the second set and the midpoint, wherein the first and second regions are sized such that the first and second sets appear as different groups of depressions.

8. The hard mexican tortilla shell of claim 7, wherein the first group includes a single line of depressions and the second group includes a single line of depressions.

9. The hard mexican tortilla shell of claim 7, wherein the first group includes three aligned lines of depressions and the second group includes three aligned lines of depressions.

10. The hard mexican tortilla shell of any of claims 7-9, wherein a first width of the first region is greater than a first spacing between the alignment lines of the first set of depressions and a second width of the second region is greater than a second spacing between the alignment lines of the second set of depressions.

11. The hard mexican tortilla shell of any one of claims 7-9, further comprising: a third set of depressions, wherein the third set comprises at least one alignment line of depressions, each alignment line of depressions of the third set extends along both the first and second sidewalls, and the third set is located between the first and second regions.

12. A method of producing a hard mexican tortilla shell using a rotary cutter comprising a shaft, an outer blade extending radially outward from the shaft, and a first inner blade extending radially outward from the shaft, wherein the outer blade defines an inner region enclosed by the outer blade and defines an outer region, the first inner blade is located in the inner region, and the first inner blade comprises a plurality of teeth, the method comprising:

cutting dough pieces from the dough pieces using the outer blade;

creating a first arcuately arranged line of depressions in the dough piece with the plurality of teeth;

folding the dough piece to form a shaped dough piece; and

baking the shaped dough pieces to produce the hard mexican tortilla shells.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the mexican tortilla shell includes a first sidewall and a second sidewall, and folding the dough piece includes folding the dough piece such that the first arcuate alignment line of the depression extends along both the first and second sidewalls.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the rotary cutter includes a second inner blade extending radially outward from the shaft, the second inner blade being located in the interior region and the second inner blade including a plurality of teeth, the method further comprising creating a second arcuately arranged line of depressions in the dough piece with the plurality of teeth of the second inner blade.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein folding the dough piece comprises folding the dough piece such that the second arcuate alignment line of the depressions extends along both the first and second sidewalls.

16. The method of any of claims 14 and 15, wherein the rotary cutter includes a third inner blade extending radially outward from the shaft, the third inner blade being located in the interior region and the third inner blade including a plurality of teeth, the method further comprising creating inline lines of depressions in the dough piece with the plurality of teeth of the third inner blade.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein folding the dough piece comprises folding the dough piece such that straight rows of lines of depressions extend along both the first and second sidewalls.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein creating inline lines of depressions comprises creating inline lines of depressions such that the inline lines of depressions extend from a front edge of the dough piece to a rear edge of the dough piece.

19. The method of any of claims 12-15, wherein creating the first arcuately arranged line of depressions comprises creating the first arcuately arranged line of depressions such that the first arcuately arranged line of depressions extends from a front edge of the dough piece to a rear edge of the dough piece.

20. An apparatus for producing mexican tortilla shells, the apparatus comprising:

a conveyor system;

a dough sheet supported on the conveyor system; and

a rotary cutter, the rotary cutter comprising:

a shaft;

an outer blade extending radially outward from the shaft, wherein the outer blade defines an inner region enclosed by the outer blade and defines an outer region, the outer blade configured to cut dough pieces from the dough pieces; and

a first inner blade extending radially outward from the shaft, wherein the first inner blade is located in the interior region and the first inner blade comprises a plurality of teeth configured to create a first arcuately arranged line of depressions in the dough piece.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the rotary cutter further comprises a second inner blade extending radially outward from the shaft, the second inner blade being located in the interior region, and the second inner blade comprising a plurality of teeth configured to produce a second arcuately arranged line of depressions in the dough piece.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the first and second inner blades are configured such that the first and second arcuately arranged lines of the depression are not concentric.

23. The apparatus of any one of claims 21 and 22, wherein the shaft has a midpoint, the first inner blade is located on a first side of the midpoint, and the second inner blade is located on a second side of the midpoint.

24. The apparatus of any one of claims 21 and 22, wherein the rotary cutter further comprises a third inner blade extending radially outward from the shaft, the third inner blade being located in the interior region, and the third inner blade comprising a plurality of teeth configured to produce a straight row of depressions in the dough piece.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the third inner blade is configured such that the straight rows of depressions bisect the dough piece.

26. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the outer blade and the third inner blade are configured such that straight rows of the depressions extend from a front edge of the dough piece to a rear edge of the dough piece.

27. The apparatus of any one of claims 20-22, wherein the outer blade and the first inner blade are configured such that the first arcuately arranged line of depressions extends from a front edge of the dough piece to a rear edge of the dough piece.

28. The apparatus of any one of claims 20-22, wherein the outer blade and the first inner blade are configured such that a center point of the first arcuately arranged line of depressions is located outside the dough piece.

29. The apparatus of any one of claims 20-22, wherein the outer blade is configured such that the dough pieces cut from the sheet of dough are rounded.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the first inner blade is configured such that the first arcuate alignment line of the recesses is semi-circular.

31. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the first inner blade is one of a first plurality of inner blades, each of the first plurality of inner blades extends radially outward from the shaft, each of the first plurality of inner blades is located in the interior region, and the first plurality of inner blades is configured to produce a first plurality of concentric arcuately arranged lines of concavity in the dough piece, the rotary cutter further comprising:

a second plurality of inner blades extending radially outward from the shaft, wherein each of the second plurality of inner blades is located in the interior region and the second plurality of inner blades are configured to create a second plurality of concentric arcuate alignment lines of depressions in the dough piece that is not concentric with the first plurality of concentric arcuate alignment lines of depressions; and

a third plurality of inner blades extending radially outward from the shaft, wherein each of the third plurality of inner blades is located in the interior region and the third plurality of inner blades are configured to create a plurality of straight rows of depressions in the dough piece.

32. A rotary cutter, comprising:

a shaft;

an outer blade extending radially outward from the shaft, wherein the outer blade defines an inner region enclosed by the outer blade and defines an outer region, the outer blade configured to cut dough pieces from the dough pieces; and

a first inner blade extending radially outward from the shaft, wherein the first inner blade is located in the interior region and the first inner blade comprises a plurality of teeth configured to create a first arcuately arranged line of depressions in the dough piece.

33. The rotary cutter of claim 32, further comprising a second inner blade extending radially outward from the shaft, wherein the second inner blade is located in the interior region and the second inner blade comprises a plurality of teeth configured to produce a second arcuately arranged line of depressions in the dough piece.

34. The rotary cutter according to claim 33, wherein the first and second inner blades are configured such that the first and second arcuately arranged lines of the recesses are not concentric.

35. The rotary cutter of claim 33, wherein the shaft has a midpoint, the first inner blade is located on a first side of the midpoint, and the second inner blade is located on a second side of the midpoint.

36. The rotary cutter of any one of claims 33-35, further comprising a third inner blade extending radially outward from the shaft, wherein the third inner blade is located in the interior region and the third inner blade comprises a plurality of teeth configured to produce a straight row of depressions in the dough piece.

37. The rotary cutter according to claim 36, wherein the third inner blade is configured such that the straight row of depressions bisects the dough piece.

38. The rotary cutter of claim 36, wherein the outer blade and the third inner blade are configured such that straight rows of the depressions extend from a front edge of the dough piece to a rear edge of the dough piece.

39. The rotary cutter according to any one of claims 32-35, wherein the outer blade and the first inner blade are configured such that the first arcuate line of depressions extends from a front edge of the dough piece to a rear edge of the dough piece.

40. The rotary cutter according to any one of claims 32-35, wherein the outer blade and the first inner blade are configured such that a center point of the first arcuately arranged line of depressions is located outside the dough piece.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of food production and more particularly to the production of hard mexican tortilla shells.

Background

Due to the time requirements of consumers from the daily activities of modern life, food and meals have been prepared less and less from scratch and the popularity of pre-prepared or partially pre-prepared food products has increased significantly. One such product is a mexican tortilla shell. The mexican tortilla shell is basically a hard, generally U-shaped tortilla that is designed to hold various fillings. Due to the hardness of the mexican tortilla shell, the placement of the filling, and the typical eating pattern of such mexican tortillas, the mexican tortilla shell tends to break away beyond the exact location where it is bitten. This often results in a dirty and sloppy eating experience, wherein filling falls out of the mexican tortilla shell. Since one of the advantages of mexican tortillas is that no cutlery is required, it would be desirable to provide a mexican tortilla shell that minimizes the tendency of the filling to fall out during consumption.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention achieves the above objects by providing weak points at predetermined locations in the hard mexican tortilla shell. When the mexican tortilla shell is bitten, it ruptures at these artificial weak points, rather than at the natural weak points of the mexican tortilla shell. The artificial weakness is positioned to reduce the extent to which the filling falls out of the mexican tortilla shell (as compared to a standard mexican tortilla shell).

A rotary cutter was used to create an artificial weak spot in the mexican tortilla shell. The rotary cutter includes a shaft and an outer blade extending radially outward from the shaft. The outer blade defines an inner region enclosed by the outer blade and defines an outer region. The outer blade is configured to cut a dough piece (dough piece) from a dough sheet (dough sheet). The rotary cutter further includes a plurality of inner blades extending radially outward from the shaft. The inner blade is located in the inner region. Each inner blade includes a plurality of teeth configured to create an array of lines of depressions in the dough piece. It is these depressions that form artificial weak points in the mexican tortilla shell. After cutting the dough pieces from the sheet of dough and forming depressions in the dough pieces, the dough pieces are folded to form a U-shaped or flat-bottomed dough piece. The shaped dough pieces are baked to produce mexican tortilla shells. The mexican tortilla shell includes first and second sidewalls, and each alignment line of the depressions extends along both the first and second sidewalls.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments thereof, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views.

Drawings

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a production line for producing mexican tortilla shells in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a rotary cutter constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a side view of the rotary cutter.

Fig. 4 is a top view of the rotary cutter.

FIG. 5 is a top view of a dough piece cut by the rotary cutter.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a mexican tortilla shell formed from the dough pieces.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a rotary cutter constructed in accordance with another embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a mexican tortilla shell formed using the rotary cutter of fig. 7.

Detailed Description

Detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein. However, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale and some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention. In addition, terms such as "parallel" and "perpendicular," as used in connection with the present invention, do not necessarily require, for example, that the associated items be perfectly parallel. Rather, these terms include a margin of error of +/-5 (whether due to design or inherent manufacturing limitations) provided that the error does not prevent the invention from functioning as intended. The modifier "substantially" increases the margin of error to +/-10 °.

Referring first to figure 1 there is shown a portion of a production line for producing tortilla shells in accordance with the present invention. Specifically, FIG. 1 shows a dough sheet 100 being conveyed in a direction 105 by a conveyor system 110. In the illustrated embodiment, the conveyor system 110 includes a conveyor belt 115, and the dough piece 100 is supported on the conveyor belt 115. However, other conveyor systems known in the art may also be used with the present invention. Preferably, the dough sheet 100 is made using corn flour. However, the dough sheet 100 may be made using various types of flours, including wheat flour, if desired.

The sheet of dough 100 passes under a rotary cutter 120, which rotary cutter 120 is configured to repeatedly cut dough pieces from the sheet of dough 100 as the sheet of dough 100 is conveyed in direction 105. For example, FIG. 1 shows cut dough pieces 125 and 126. The rotary cutter 120 is supported above the dough sheet 100 by supports 130 and 131. The supports 130 and 131 are located on opposite sides of the conveyor belt 115, and the rotary cutter 120 extends between the supports 130 and 131 such that the rotary cutter 120 is arranged to rotate about an axis extending perpendicular to the direction 105.

The rotary cutter 120 is configured such that contact between the rotary cutter 120 and the dough piece 100 or the conveyor belt 115 causes the rotary cutter 120 to rotate in a direction 135 as the dough piece 100 and the conveyor belt 115 travel in the direction 105. Alternatively, a motor and transmission (collectively 140) may be provided to rotate the rotary cutter 120 in the direction 135. In either case, each complete rotation of the rotary cutter 120 results in one dough piece being cut from the sheet of dough 100.

Fig. 2-4 show the rotary cutter 120 in more detail. The rotary cutter 120 includes a shaft 200, the shaft 200 being coupled to the supports 130 and 131 using two holes located at opposite ends of the shaft 200. In particular, the shaft 200 has a first end bore 205 at a first end 210 of the shaft 200, the first end bore 205 extending into the shaft 200 in a longitudinal direction. A second end hole (not visible) is located at the second end 211 of the shaft 200. The second end aperture is configured in the same manner as the first end aperture 205. Each of the supports 130 and 131 includes a rod or other protrusion (not shown) configured to fit within either the first end aperture 205 or the second end aperture. At this time, the rotary cutter 120 can rotate with respect to the supports 130 and 131. With respect to the motor-driven embodiment described above, after the protrusions are inserted into the first end hole 205 and the second end hole, pins (not shown) are inserted through the holes 215 and 216 of the shaft 200 into corresponding holes formed in the protrusions, thereby removably coupling the shaft 200 to the motor and transmission 140. Holes 215 and 216 extend through the shaft 200 in the transverse direction. Of course, other coupling mechanisms known in the art may be used to couple the rotary cutter 120 while enabling the shaft 200 to rotate.

The rotary cutter 120 further includes a plurality of blades 220 and 229 extending radially outward from the shaft 200. Outer blade 220 defines an inner region 230 enclosed by outer blade 220 and defines an outer region 235. Inner blades 221 and 229 are located in inner region 230. The outer blades 220 are configured to cut dough pieces (e.g., dough pieces 125 and 126) from the dough sheet 100. In other words, the position at which the outer blade 220 cuts in the dough sheet 100 corresponds to the outer periphery of the resultant dough piece. As shown, the outer blade 220 is shaped to cut a round dough piece. However, in other embodiments, outer blade 220 may be shaped to cut non-circular dough pieces.

Each of inner blades 221 and 229 includes a plurality of teeth 240. The teeth 240 are configured to create depressions in the dough pieces cut from the dough piece 100 by the outer blade 220 while cutting the dough pieces. Specifically, each of the inner blades 221, 223, and 227, 229 is configured to create an arcuate array of depressions in a given dough piece, while each of the inner blades 224, 226 is configured to create a straight array of depressions in the dough piece. Thus, each dough piece cut by the rotary cutter 120 includes six arc-shaped arranged lines of depressions and three straight-line lines of depressions.

The inner vane 224 and 226 is located near the midpoint of the shaft 200, the inner vane 221 and 223 is located between the midpoint and the end 211, and the inner vane 227 and 229 is located between the midpoint and the end 210. In particular, the inner leaf 225 is located at the midpoint of the shaft 200, and the inner leaves 224 and 226 are located on either side. For the purposes of the present invention, "midpoint" refers to the midpoint in the longitudinal direction.

With particular reference to fig. 3 and 4, it can be seen that for each inner blade 221 and 223, the end teeth are relatively closer to the end 211, while the middle teeth are relatively closer to the midpoint of the shaft 200. Similarly, for each inner blade 227, 229, the end teeth are relatively closer to the end 210, while the middle teeth are relatively closer to the midpoint of the shaft 200. This is because each of the inner blades 221-. (of course, the inner blades 221-. Instead, for each of the inner blades 224 and 226, the teeth 240 are arranged in a straight line, and are therefore equidistant from the ends 210 and 221, resulting in a straight row of lines forming recesses.

The rotary cutter 120 further includes a plurality of followers 245-249 located in the outer region 235, as shown in fig. 2-4. The followers 245-249 are configured to receive motion from the conveyor 115 either directly (via contact between the followers 245-249 and the conveyor 115) or indirectly (via contact between the followers 245-249 and the dough piece 100). Each of the followers 245 and 249 is substantially a flange extending radially outward from the shaft 200. Thus, each of the followers 245 and 249 has a pair of side surfaces 250 and an outer surface 255. It is the outer surface 255 that contacts the conveyor belt 115 or dough sheet 100.

As discussed above, as the dough piece 100 and conveyor belt 115 travel in direction 105, contact between the rotary cutter 120 and the dough piece 100 or conveyor belt 115 causes the rotary cutter 120 to rotate in direction 135. Specifically, contact between the dough piece 100 or conveyor 115 and the blade 220 and 229 or follower 245 and 249 causes rotational movement. In the illustrated embodiment, the rotary cutter 120 contacts only the dough piece 100 during use, since the dough piece 100 is wider than the spacing between the followers 245 and 249. However, it should be appreciated that the width of the dough sheet 100 and the spacing of the followers 245 and 249 can both vary. Accordingly, in some embodiments, such followers contact the conveyor belt 115 during use. Followers (e.g., followers 246 and 248) located in the longitudinal portion of the shaft 200 containing the blades 220 and 229 contact the sheet of dough.

When the rotary cutter 120 is in the position shown in FIGS. 2-4, the dough piece 100 contacts the follower 245 and 249 but does not contact the blade 220 and 229. As the dough piece 100 moves in the direction 105, the dough piece 100 pulls the followers 245 and 249 in the direction 105. This causes the rotary cutter 120 to rotate, since the rotary cutter 120 is mounted to rotate rather than translate. After some rotation, the dough piece 100 stops contacting the follower 246 and begins contacting the blade 220 and 229. In particular, the dough sheet 100 first contacts the outer blade 220 and the inner blades 224 and 226. Continued rotation causes the dough sheet 100 to also stop contacting the followers 245 and 249. At this point, the dough sheet 100 is pulled only in direction 105 along with blade 220 and 229. Finally, the dough piece 100 begins to contact the follower 245 once again, and stops contacting the blade 220, 229. The cycle is repeated for each dough piece cut from the dough sheet 100.

Referring now to FIG. 5, the dough piece 125 is shown in greater detail. The dough piece 125 has an outer perimeter 500 that defines a circle. However, as noted above, other shapes may be made in accordance with the present invention. For purposes of the present invention, half of the outer perimeter 500 is considered the front edge 505 of the dough piece 125, and the other half is considered the rear edge 510 of the dough piece. The designation of these edges is based on the direction of travel of the dough piece 125 during formation, direction 105. The leading edge 505 is the edge at the front of the dough piece 125 that is first cut by the rotary cutter 120. The rear edge 510 is the edge at the rear of the dough piece 125, which is finally cut by the rotary cutter 120.

The dough piece 125 has a plurality of depressions 515. Specifically, the alignment lines 520 and 528 of the depressions 515 extend from the front edge 505 to the rear edge 510. When the second end 211 of the rotary cutter 120 is connected to the support 130 and the first end 210 is connected to the support 131, the inner blade 221-.

The arcuate alignment lines 520 and 522 are concentric with each other, and the arcuate alignment lines 526 and 528 are concentric with each other. However, any of the arced alignment lines 520 and 522 are not concentric with any of the arced alignment lines 526 and 528. The center points of the arced alignment line 520 and 522 and the center points of the arced alignment line 526 and 528 are both located outside the dough piece 125 (i.e., outside the outer perimeter 500). To illustrate this, the center point 530 of the arced alignment lines 520 and 522 is shown in FIG. 5. In the illustrated embodiment, the arcuate alignment lines 520 and 522 and 526 and 528 are semi-circular. However, other arcuate shapes may be used with the present invention. The straight row lines 523 and 525 are parallel to each other, while the straight row line 524 bisects the dough piece 125.

After the dough pieces 125 are cut from the dough sheet 100 and the depressions 515 are formed, the dough pieces 125 are folded along lines perpendicular to the straight line 523 and 525 to form U-shaped dough pieces (not shown), in which the depressions 515 are located at the outside. The depression 515 may extend partially through the dough piece 125 or completely through the dough piece such that the depression 515 in effect defines a perforation. The U-shaped dough pieces are then baked to produce a mexican tortilla shell that retains the "U" shape. In this regard, it should be appreciated that the dough pieces may take other shapes depending on the mold (not shown) used to hold the dough pieces during the cooking process. Most notably, the dough pieces can be shaped to produce flat-bottomed mexican tortilla shells. In any event, the U-shaped mexican tortilla shell is shown in FIG. 6, wherein it is labeled with reference numeral 600. The mexican tortilla shell 600 has a first sidewall 605 and a second sidewall 606. The mexican tortilla shell 600 also has a first end 610 and a second end 611 spaced apart from each other along the longitudinal axis of the mexican tortilla shell 600.

The alignment lines 520 and 528 extend along the sidewalls 605. Although not visible in FIG. 6, it should be understood that, based on the foregoing description, alignment lines 520 and 528 also extend along sidewalls 606. Thus, when a consumer bites on, for example, end 611, mexican tortilla shell 600 tends to break along one of alignment lines 526-528, and the particular alignment line depends on the size of the bite. This is because the presence of the depression 515 weakens the sidewalls 605 and 606. Without the recess 515, the mexican tortilla shell 600 may break at a relatively far distance from where it is bitten, resulting in a dirty, sloppy eating experience in which the filling falls out of the mexican tortilla shell 600. As the consumer continues to consume the mexican tortilla shell 600, the mexican tortilla shell 600 will break at the other alignment lines 520-528 near where the mexican tortilla shell 600 was bitten, which will minimize the tendency for the filling to fall out.

Although the rotary cutter 120 has nine inner blades 221-. As an example, fig. 7 shows a rotary cutter 700, which differs from the rotary cutter 120 only in that the inner inserts 221, 223, 224, 226, 227, and 229 are omitted. Since the remaining structures are the same (and are labeled with the same reference numbers), they will not be discussed in detail. Fig. 8 shows a mexican tortilla shell 800 produced using a rotary cutter 700. Thus, the mexican tortilla shell 800 differs from the mexican tortilla shell 600 only in that the alignment lines 520, 522, 523, 525, 526, and 528 are no longer present. The remaining structures are the same (and are labeled with the same reference numbers). As such, it will not be discussed in detail.

In summary, it should be understood that the present invention provides a hard mexican tortilla shell comprising a first sidewall, a second sidewall, a first set of depressions and a second set of depressions, as shown in fig. 6 and 8. The first set includes at least one alignment line of recesses, and each alignment line of recesses extends along both the first and second sidewalls. The second set also includes at least one alignment line of recesses, each alignment line of recesses extending along both the first and second sidewalls. The first group is located between a first end of the hard mexican tortilla shell and a midpoint of the hard mexican tortilla shell, and the second group is located between a second end of the hard mexican tortilla shell and the midpoint. The first end, the second end, and the midpoint are spaced apart from one another along a longitudinal axis of the hard mexican tortilla shell. The hard mexican tortilla shell further includes a first region between the first set and the midpoint that is free of depressions. A second region without depressions is provided between the second set and the midpoint. The first and second regions are sized such that the first and second sets appear as different groups of depressions. As shown in fig. 8, each of the first and second groups may include a single aligned line of recesses. Alternatively, as shown in fig. 6, each of the first and second groups may include a plurality of aligned lines of recesses. Fig. 6 also shows that the width of the first region is larger than the pitch between the arrangement lines of the first group of recesses. Similarly, the width of the second region is larger than the interval between the arrangement lines of the recesses of the second group. The hard mexican tortilla shell may further include a third set of depressions, as shown in fig. 6 and 8, the third set including at least one alignment line of depressions, and each alignment line of depressions extending along both the first and second sidewalls. The third group is located between the first and second regions.

Based on the foregoing, it should be readily apparent that the present invention provides a mexican tortilla shell and an apparatus and method for producing a mexican tortilla shell that minimizes the tendency of filling to fall out during consumption. Although certain preferred embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated, it will be understood that various changes or modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. In general, the invention is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.