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
  • B65B31/00—Packaging articles or materials under special atmospheric or gaseous conditions; Adding propellants to aerosol containers
  • B65B31/006—Adding fluids for preventing deformation of filled and closed containers or wrappers

Definitions

• the invention relates to a method for filling and closing a container. It is an object of the invention to cause the filling and closing of a container, in particular for food or a drink, to take place such that the danger of bacterial contamination of the content of the can is limited to a minimum during filling and closing.
• the invention provides a method for filling and closing a container, comprising the steps of: (a) providing an open container and placing thereof such that the mouth opening of the container is situated at the top;
• the liquid nitrogen introduced into the can ensures during its boiling evaporation that a gas flow takes place which is directed outward and moves through the gap partly caused by this gas flow between the mouth rim of the can and the cover laid loosely thereon. This effectively prevents bacterial contamination by germs in the environment. These are blown away from the access to the can by said gas flow.
• the air initially present in the container can be effectively expelled by the evaporation of the nitrogen.
• the oxygen content in the can is hereby effectively reduced. Particularly in respect of the wish to prevent oxidation of foodstuffs by oxygen, this is a very desirable effect of the invention.
• the method can have the particular feature that the can according to (a) is a metal container.
• This latter method is preferably embodied such that the coupling according to step (e) takes place by seam-folding.
• the method can be embodied such that the chosen quantity according to step (c) lies in the order of 1-10 droplets.
• a very practical embodiment of the method according to the invention which lends itself particularly well to implementation in an automatically operating device, has the special feature that the chosen time interval corresponds with the time in which the container is transported from a station in which step (d) is performed to a station in which step (e) is performed.
• the method according to the invention as specified above can be performed with a for instance automatically operating device for filling and closing a container, which device comprises: means for providing an open container and placing thereof such that the mouth opening is situated at the top; means for filling the open container with product for packaging, for instance food or a drink, such that a space remains between the surface of the product and the mouth; means for introducing into said space a chosen quantity of sterile liquid nitrogen; means for placing a cover loosely on the mouth rim and maintaining the loose placing of the cover on the mouth rim for a chosen time interval ; and means for sealingly coupling the peripheral zone of the cover to the mouth rim zone of the container.
• the invention further relates to a container filled with product, for instance food or a drink, and a certain quantity of nitrogen gas, obtained by applying the method in accordance with any of the methods as specified above.
• figure 1 shows a schematic representation of a known method for filling and closing a container
• figure 2 shows a representation corresponding with figure 1 of a method according to the invention.
• Figure 1 shows in a first stage a metal container 1 consisting of a bottom (not shown) and a standing body. This has at its top a mouth opening 2 with a mouth rim 3. After transport as according to an arrow 4, filling of the can 1 with food product 6 takes place as according to arrow 5. As will be apparent, a certain space 7 remains free between the surface of the product and the mouth 3. After further transport a quantity (for instance several drops) of liquid nitrogen 8 are applied to surface 6 via a dispensing device 7. This nitrogen has a temperature of almost -200 ⁇ C and in these free conditions is in a state in which the liquid boils and thereby evaporates rapidly while releasing gaseous nitrogen.
• a cover is then placed onto mouth rim 3 and sealingly connected to mouth rim 3 by rotation 11 through a schematically designated seam-folding device 12. It will be apparent that while in this manner a certain pressure is created in the filled container which can contribute for instance to the total rigidity of the filled container, penetration into the container of germs from outside is in no way prevented and oxygen is not expelled. It is noted that the transport between dispensing device 7 and seam-folding device 12 will take some time and that the dangers referred to occur during this period.
• figure 2 shows that a cover 10 is temporarily placed loosely on mouth rim 3 , whereby gaseous nitrogen can escape as according to arrows 13 via the gap 14 which is created partly by the nitrogen pressure in space 7 after cover 10 has been loosely placed. Bacterial contamination is effectively prevented hereby and air, and therewith oxygen, present in space 7 is expelled. Only after expiry of a chosen time interval does a seam-folding operation in accordance with the last illustration of figure 2 take place. It is noted that the invention is of course not limited to a metal embodiment of the container and/or the can. Glass containers for instance with screw covers or the like also fall within the scope of the invention.
• the distance between the station where the covers are laid on loosely and the station where the covers are seam-folded into place in combination with the transporting speed according to arrow 4 corresponds with a desired chosen time for which the liquid nitrogen is able to perform its described action, for instance such that after the seam- folding a certain amount of liquid nitrogen still remains which can subsequently evaporate in order to effect a certain overpressure in the filled container.

Landscapes

• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Dispersion Chemistry (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Vacuum Packaging (AREA)
• Basic Packing Technique (AREA)
• Filling Of Jars Or Cans And Processes For Cleaning And Sealing Jars (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=19763490

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (8)

Families Citing this family (9)

Family Cites Families (2)

• 1996
  • 1996-09-11 NL NL1004001A patent/NL1004001C2/nl not_active IP Right Cessation
• 1997
  • 1997-09-11 AU AU42243/97A patent/AU720563B2/en not_active Ceased
  • 1997-09-11 CA CA002265602A patent/CA2265602A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1997-09-11 EP EP97940477A patent/EP1021337B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1997-09-11 BR BR9711756-0A patent/BR9711756A/pt not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1997-09-11 DE DE69717684T patent/DE69717684T2/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1997-09-11 JP JP51352698A patent/JP2001505513A/ja active Pending
  • 1997-09-11 WO PCT/NL1997/000518 patent/WO1998010988A1/en active IP Right Grant

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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