Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B25/00—Packaging other articles presenting special problems
  • B65B25/02—Packaging agricultural or horticultural products
  • B65B25/04—Packaging fruit or vegetables
  • B65B25/041—Packaging fruit or vegetables combined with their conservation
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B31/00—Packaging articles or materials under special atmospheric or gaseous conditions; Adding propellants to aerosol containers
  • B65B31/02—Filling, closing, or filling and closing, containers or wrappers in chambers maintained under vacuum or superatmospheric pressure or containing a special atmosphere, e.g. of inert gas

Definitions

• the invention which relates to a device for treating products under controlled atmosphere and temperature, in particular food products, relates more precisely to the inerting of the zone of production of said products as well as the particular means associated with it for the introduction of the product into the area and its extraction.
• metabisulfite When metabisulfite is used in massive doses, it whitens the potato which is impregnated with it and which can then absorb oxygen which can eventually migrate through the wall of its packaging, which allows the use of a permeable packaging bag. oxygen, therefore thinner and less expensive.
• metabisulfite treatment has the drawback of making the potato spongy when it comes to cooking, but also of releasing enzymes which affect the quality of the product consumed. It was therefore preferred to move towards a precooked refrigeration process which has the main advantage of blocking the process of release of enzymes mentioned above. But then the fried obtained becomes crumbly. And then, if the use of metabisulfite is limited by directives from the control services, we are then obliged to compensate for this by important precautions in the packaging of the product. product treated to prevent oxygen from acting on the product.
• One of the merits of the invention lies precisely in that it makes it possible to very significantly limit the quantity of meta bis ulfite used before the treatment and packaging of the food product by the fact that it proposes to provide inerting. of the entire product development zone, zone towards which, in which, and leaving from which the product is treated continuously to obtain a final product, which does not have the drawbacks mentioned above.
• An object of the present invention therefore consists in a device for treating products under controlled atmosphere and temperature, in particular food products, comprising a plurality of machines or mechanisms capable of ensuring washing, mechanical treatment and the conditioning of the treated product, a device according to which inerting of the atmosphere enveloping the machines and the mechanisms for processing said product is ensured and maintained, in the zone of its preparation from its introduction into said zone until its extraction from the zone and in that means of the type of airlock are provided to allow the introduction of the product at the entrance to the production zone, and its extraction from said zone after its treatment.
• a sealed box delimits a chamber filled with an inert atmosphere at low overpressure inside which is a succession of treatment and transfer stations, the box being provided with an airlock. 'introduction and an airlock.
• the introductory airlock is an immersion airlock consisting of a tank filled with a rinsing liquid, placed both outside and inside the box, which it passes through an opening provided in one of its walls, said wall at the edge of this opening plunging into the liquid and forming a barrier between the outside air and the inerted chamber.
• a bagging machine of a type known per se, is associated with a hopper tightly connected to one of the last transfer devices provided in the production zone, and constitutes an airlock. extraction of the product outside the production area.
• a zone 1 for developing the product essentially comprises a sealed box 2 of parallelepipedal shape which rests on supports 3.
• One end of the box, at its lower part, has an opening 4 in one of its side walls. This opening made it possible to position on the bottom of the box and inside thereof a tank 5 filled with a rinsing liquid 6.
• the level of the liquid is such that the upper edge of the opening 4 on the wall side of the box, plunges into the liquid which then forms a barrier between the outside air, and the chamber 7, inside the box.
• the container 5 on its longitudinal edges seals the lateral parts of the opening 4, for example using seals 8 (visible in FIG. 2) so that there is no communication between room 7 and the outside.
• This tank 5 filled with liquid thus constitutes a submerged airlock at the entrance to the inerted zone formed by the box 2.
• the bottom of the tank 5 has a pit 9 which serves as a housing for the lower end of a continuous belt elevator 10 returning to a lower drum 11 embedded in the liquid 6 and an upper drum 12 located inside and at the top 13 of the box 2 and driven by an external motor 15.
• the strip 10 carries buckets or pallets 13 which can extract the potatoes which have been poured into the tank 5 outside the box, as shown by the arrow in FIG. 1 and which, washed by the liquid 6, will be oriented by the guide plate 13 towards the pit 9 to be taken up by said belt elevator 10.
• a fixed lower plate 17 for collecting the rinsing liquid and returning it to the tank 5.
• a drip conveyor 14 also consisting of an endless belt with continuous unwinding 16 which is obviously formed of flexible meshes allowing the flow of the rinsing liquid, as can be seen more precisely in FIG. 2.
• This liquid is advantageously recycled to the rinsing bath 6.
• the drip conveyor 14 pours the drained potatoes into an inlet chute 18 to a cutting machine 19.
• the band 21 develops upwards inside a waterproof cover 27 which communicates with the box 2.
• the strip 21 is driven by a motor 28 external to the box 2 (FIG. 2).
• the cut potatoes are, during their movement on the strip 21 subjected to a new rinsing by a spraying device 22 which projects a mixture of water and metabisulfite, or any other antioxidant product, all skilfully dosed. Potatoes thus cut and treated are discharged at the top of the lifting strip 21 and poured into a hopper 23 which is tightly connected to the cover 27 just below the upper end of the strip 21. This hopper orients the cut potatoes towards a tube 24 at the bottom of which they are collected in a packaging bag 25.
• a bagging machine 26 of a type known per se which also performs the role of an airlock as the plastic film constituting the packaging bag, reconstitutes, after sealing, and by its shape, a supply tube identical to the tube 24 and a minimal laminar slot between the tube and the outside is created.
• an inert atmosphere for example nitrogen
• This relative overpressure is established in the tube 24 and prevents air ambient to enter the sachet subjected to the same nitrogen pressure, the end of the sachet having been previously sealed.
• This extraction station which constitutes a final airlock also aims to. keep the product isolated during its transfer from the manufacturing enclosure to its packaging bag, before it is sealed at its upper part by the machine 26.
• the treatment of the product in question is carried out continuously inside an enclosure inerted 7.
• the inerting of the box for example as was said by virtue of a nitrogen atmosphere with low overpressure, is conventionally provided by a source of inerting using inlet and outlet pipes. flow of fluids provided with suitable valves, not shown.
• maintaining the inert atmosphere of chamber 7 at a rigorously controlled predetermined temperature is ensured by conventional means not described or shown.
• a number of mechanisms are also provided outside of the sealed box 2. In the example of embodiment shown, in this case, the drive motors 15 and
• the invention has been described on a preferred embodiment for the treatment of potatoes with a view to their freezing and refrigeration and / or their packaging. It goes without saying that the invention is not limited to this particular application, but also finds use for other products in the food sector and in particular for the treatment of food emulsions.
• the product could be introduced into the inerted preparation zone using an entry airlock which would, for example, be placed upstream of a grinder.
• An entry airlock for empty packaging as well as an exit airlock for filled packaging, that is to say pots or containers containing the product, would then be provided at the entry and exit from the zone d 'development which would contain, in addition to the crusher, the appropriate packaging machine.
• the invention would also find use in fields other than the food industry, such as the chemical industry, pharmacy, cosmetology and for all applications which require continuous product treatment in an inert atmosphere, with airlock. 'entry and exit.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Agronomy & Crop Science (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Dispersion Chemistry (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Preparation Of Fruits And Vegetables (AREA)
• General Preparation And Processing Of Foods (AREA)
• Food Preservation Except Freezing, Refrigeration, And Drying (AREA)
• Vacuum Packaging (AREA)
• Control And Other Processes For Unpacking Of Materials (AREA)
• Apparatuses For Bulk Treatment Of Fruits And Vegetables And Apparatuses For Preparing Feeds (AREA)
• Auxiliary Devices For And Details Of Packaging Control (AREA)
• Vending Machines For Individual Products (AREA)

Priority Applications (1)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Publications (2)

Family

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Family Applications (1)

Country Status (9)

Families Citing this family (9)

Family Cites Families (12)

• 1988
  • 1988-10-28 AT AT88909772T patent/ATE78449T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1988-10-28 EP EP88909772A patent/EP0383818B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1988-10-28 JP JP63509059A patent/JPH03500762A/ja active Pending
  • 1988-10-28 AU AU26296/88A patent/AU633806B2/en not_active Ceased
  • 1988-10-28 HU HU886701A patent/HUT63106A/hu unknown
  • 1988-10-28 DE DE8888909772T patent/DE3873092T2/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1988-10-28 US US07/499,493 patent/US5074104A/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1988-10-28 WO PCT/FR1988/000529 patent/WO1989004277A1/fr active IP Right Grant
• 1990
  • 1990-04-24 DK DK100790A patent/DK100790A/da unknown

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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