RU2255039C1 - Method of and device for filling drinks into vessel - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: food industry.

SUBSTANCE: invention can be used for dispensing liquids into vessels made of material whose softening point is lower than temperature of liquid product filled into vessels. Proposed method of filling vessels with hot drink comes to cooling of outer surface of vessels before, in process of and after filling-in. Cooling can be provided by running water in limited volume at intensive stirring of cooling liquid. Method is implemented by device containing conveyor for delivery of empty vessels, filling machine, sealing machine, conveyor for sealed vessel, cooling tunnel and conveyor for delivery of glasses. Device has unit for fitting vessels into glasses, unit to separate vessels and glasses and system to deliver cooling liquid into glasses in form of system of pipelines connecting tray, switch and distributing pipelines secured on drum of filling machine and connected by flexible hoses to branch pipes for delivering cooling liquid into glasses. Glasses can be provided with holes for circulation of cooling liquid and guides for aligning the vessel.

EFFECT: simplified and reduced cost of process of hot dispensing at required high biological cleanness of drink filled into vessels of nonmodified polyethylene terephthalate.

5 cl, 4 dwg

Description

Technical field

The invention relates to the food industry, and can also be used in the chemical, microbiological and medical industries, where the task is to pour liquid into containers made of material whose softening temperature is lower than the temperature of the liquid product being poured.

Of current importance for the food industry, especially in the juice industry, is the development of technologies and equipment that increase the shelf life of products, preserve their chemical and physical properties, which is ensured mainly as a result of intensive exposure to microflora, and the possibility of extending the shelf life of products is largely carried out the use of packaging materials and the degree of their bacteriological purity.

To maintain the microbiological purity of the spilled and sealed liquid (juices; drinks containing juice; milk, milk drinks; drinks containing natural additives), a high temperature of the liquid to be dispensed is required, at which a hot spill of the beverage guarantees microbial stabilization and does not impair the quality indicator.

When the liquid product is hot bottled, the inner surface of the wall of the filled container is heat treated due to the fact that the drink has a temperature of about 85-97 ° C, and after cooling the drink in a container filled and sealed in a hot way, the absence of bacteria and microorganisms is ensured inside the container, which allows you to store drinks for a long period of time (about twelve months).

State of the art

A known method of bottling liquids (see Prep. Food, 1981, 150, No. 1, pp. 76-80, GB), based on the hot bottling of a drink of high order 90-97 ° C temperature in a glass container.

The disadvantage of this method is the inefficiency of glass containers, which increases the cost of this method of bottling, in addition, the consumer qualities of glass containers have a number of restrictions on the application, for example, in schools, at sports events, and this limits the use of the glass container and requires its replacement with more safe packaging.

A known method of bottling a hot drink in a container of modified polyethyleneterephthalate, based on pasteurization of the drink; sterilization of containers and container covers; filling containers with a pasteurized drink with a temperature of about 85-97 ° C; capping and cooling to room temperature.

This process of bottling a hot drink, at a temperature of about 90 ° C, is developed using special types of containers that are resistant to high temperatures, allowing hot bottling of drinks in a container made of modified polyethylene terephthalate, without the occurrence of defects in containers or deformation of the container (see, for example, polymer US patent No. 4877141, IPC B 65 D 23/00, from 10.31.89, made by pneumoforming of polyethylene terephthalate with a 2-axis oriented molecular structure and having an increased resistance to internal and external pressure after lowering the temperature of the hot product, and the bottle body has 6 longitudinal stiffeners and flat sections elongated along the axis of the bottle; in each section, a diamond-shaped recess is formed symmetrically to its geometric center with an upper and lower apex along the major axis parallel to the axis of the bottle , the recess relative to the plane of the large section does not exceed 1 mm, the combination of these sections with stiffeners allows the wall thickness of the bottle of the order of 0.33-0.35 mm to be avoided apparently deformation after cooling the food product spilled at a temperature of about 90 ° C).

The disadvantage of filling in containers made of modified polyethylene terephthalate is its high cost due to the complexity of production and the high cost of materials, as well as limitations in the design of the bottle.

A known method of pouring liquid into a container (see Austral. Pagkag, 1983, 131, No. 5, p. 21, GB), based on filling a hot drink with a temperature of about 95 ° C, in a package type package in a box made of heat-resistant plastic, providing reliable aseptic process and long shelf life of the liquid without the addition of preservatives.

There is a method of filling castings in containers of unmodified polyethylene terephthalate (see patent FR No. 2772365, IPC B 67 C 03/14, 06/18/99), based on pasteurization of the drink; cooling the pasteurized beverage to a temperature lower than the temperature at which the deformation of the containers occurs; sterilization of containers and container covers; filling containers with pasteurized chilled drink; clogging sterilized and filled containers and additional pasteurization of filled and clogged containers at a temperature lower than when the containers are deformed under the influence of excessive heat.

The prepared beverage is piped to the pasteurization unit, where the liquid is pasteurized at a temperature of about 96-97 ° C for 15-45 seconds, after which the pour is cooled in the installation to a temperature of about 35 ° C, followed by transferring it through the pipeline to the filling machine, the container of unmodified polyethylene terephthalate and the lid are sterilized in a "hot environment" at a temperature of about 85 ° C and transported to the filling machine, where the drink is bottled and the container is sealed, and then filled s containers are transported to an apparatus for secondary pasteurization at a temperature of about 65 ° C for 30 minutes.

The known method is rather complicated due to the multi-stage operation: pasteurization of the drink, cooling to a very low temperature, separate sterilization of bottles and corks, bottling at low temperature and repeated pasteurization at a temperature of 65 ° C, which is not always sufficient.

As the closest analogue, the method of hot filling of a beverage was selected, which involves filling a container with a beverage from a material whose softening temperature is lower than the temperature of the beverage, cooling the outer surface of the container before, during and after filling (see FR 2432991 A1, B 67 C / 14 from 1980 g.).

In the known method, the coolant is supplied from an annular nozzle located on the neck of the bottle, the cooling is carried out in a thin layer of cooling fluid flowing down the walls of the tank, which cannot provide a stable cooling mode: with fluctuations in the flow rate of the coolant, temperature, etc. In this case, local overheating of the vessel wall and its deformation are possible.

Known equipment for bottling a high-performance line (see Food Process, bid., 1979, 48, No. 557, pp. 51-59, GB), comprising a washer, a filling machine such as Veloce, a capping machine and a bottle cooler with juice in the form of a single-flow Semonazzi Vesubio IT tunnel cooler, Semonazzi.

Filling is based on washing containers and feeding on a modular conveyor to a filling machine, where hot filling with a liquid product (juice) is carried out in a glass container, then the container is sealed and cooled in a tunnel.

A device for hot filling of a beverage (see Beverages, 1983, 43, No. 1, pp. 14-16, GB), which fills glass containers with hot liquid, was selected as the closest analogue.

The high quality of the drinks is maintained due to the fact that the drinks are bottled at a high temperature of about 85-97 ° C, which ensures full heat treatment of the beverage containers, and hot-sealed containers can be stored for a long time without compromising their quality, however, the known device has the disadvantages of hot filling in a glass container (see above).

The technical problem to which the claimed invention is directed is to increase the reliability, simplify and reduce the cost of the hot bottling process at the required high biological purity of the bottled beverage, carried out in a container of unmodified polyethylene terephthalate.

Disclosure of invention

1. The specified technical problem is solved due to the fact that in the method of filling drinks, involving filling the container with a hot drink, the outer surface of the container, the softening temperature of which is lower than the temperature of the beverage, is cooled with liquid before, during and after the filling process. In addition, cooling is carried out by a liquid in a flowing medium in a limited volume with vigorous stirring of the coolant, and turbulent movement of the coolant can be generated.

Previously, experimentally, for given parameters of the capacity and temperature of the drink, the technological modes of supplying the coolant are determined: temperature and flow rate, and the moment of softening is determined by the loss of form stability automatically and / or visually.

In addition, the stated technical problem is solved due to the fact that the device for implementing the method, comprising a conveyor for supplying empty containers, a casting machine, intermediate stars, a capping machine, a conveyor of sealed containers, a cooling tunnel, is additionally equipped with a conveyor for supplying glasses, a unit for inserting the container into glasses, a unit for separating containers from glasses and a system for supplying coolant to glasses.

In the device for implementing the method, the system for supplying coolant to glasses is made in the form of a system of pipelines closed through a cooler connecting, respectively, a pallet, switch and distribution pipelines mounted on a drum of the filling machine and connected by flexible hoses to pipes for supplying coolant to glasses, as well as systems pipelines and nozzles for supplying coolant to glasses, respectively, on the stars, capping machine and conveyor of corked bottles, and in openings for coolant circulation and guides for centering the container are made in the pots.

The essence of the proposed technical solution lies in the fact that the most popular container made of polyethylene terephthalate (polyethylene terephth alate) has good technological and mechanical properties, the cost of manufacturing the container is 2-3 times less and it is 10 times lighter than glass containers, optically transparent and is not inferior in terms of this indicator to glass containers, and containers made of polyethylene terephthalate have an excellent appearance, there are no additives, impurities, it is resistant to chemicals, has high strength and Darnay viscosity, has low thermal shrinkage and creep, it lacks the toxic impurity, it is operated at a temperature of from -40 ° to + 60 ° C. Tanks made of this material cannot be used when filling hot liquids, they are unsuitable for this, since the softening temperature of the material lies below the temperature of the filled hot liquid, and there is a significant decrease in the strength characteristics of the tank. However, due to external cooling of the walls, the surfaces of the container are unevenly heated along the wall thickness, and since the internal and external surfaces of the walls are heated to a temperature close to the temperature of the fluid being filled and the temperature determined by external cooling, therefore, with a pre-selected cooling mode: temperature of the coolant and the rate of heat removal, the outer surface will have a temperature below the softening temperature of the material of the container and retains strength, sufficient ryu to maintain a given shape during the entire filling process and the subsequent cooling of the drink filled into the container.

In addition, the proposed bottling of drinks in containers of unmodified polyethylene terephthalate retains the entire procedure of the technological process of hot filling into glass containers, possessing its advantages.

The essence of the proposed technical solution will be clear from the following description and the attached graphic material.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 shows a device that implements the proposed method, figure 2 - a system for supplying coolant to glasses, figure 3. shows a container placed in a glass, figure 4. - dependence obtained experimentally to set the required technological mode: temperature and coolant flow rate per glass.

The best embodiment of the invention

The device comprises: a filling machine 1; intermediate stars 2; capping machine 3; conveyor of sealed containers 4; cooler tunnel 5; conveyor of refrigerated containers with glasses 6; conveyor for feeding empty containers with glasses 7; a device for separating containers and glasses 8; node for inserting containers into glasses 9; cup return conveyor 10; conveyor for feeding empty containers 11; conveyor for supplying containers to packaging 12; a glass with an enclosed capacity of 13; glass 14; capacity for filling 15; a pipeline with pipes for supplying coolant to glasses 16; coolant flow switch 17; guard of the filling machine 18; trays for collecting circulating coolant 19; pipelines providing through the cooler a system for supplying coolant to glasses 20 (supply) and 21 (return); coolant cooler (chiller) 22; openings for circulating fluid 23 and guides for centering the reservoir 24 are made in the glass.

Previously, before the bottling of the beverage, for the known parameters of the container: the volume and shape of the container, material, wall thickness, temperature of the beverage to be poured, experimentally determine the flow rate and temperature range of the coolant. Allowable combinations of flow rate and initial coolant temperature are determined visually or automatically by the loss of form stability of the tank. Figure 4 shows an experimentally obtained graph of the temperature and flow rate of the coolant based on one container with a volume of 0.5 l, made of unmodified polyethylene terephthalate and a beverage temperature of 95 ° C.

After establishing the required temperatures and coolant flow, technological modes of the filling process are created, which occurs as follows.

Empty container 15 is transported via conveyor 11 to the container insertion unit in glasses 9. Next, the container 15, inserted into the glass 14, is fed to the filling machine 1, where before the supply of hot product, the container 15 is pressed by the filling valve of the filling machine to the bottom of the glass 14. After whereby the switch 17 includes the supply of coolant into the glass 14, which is filled before the start of the supply of hot (85-97 ° C) beverage in the container. The switch switches the flows in such a way that the coolant is not supplied to the glass only when the container is not pressed by the valve to the bottom of the glass. After filling the glass 14 with cooling liquid, the container 15 enters the bottling of the hot product.

Throughout the entire path of movement of the container 15 after pressing the valve through the filling machine 1, the intermediate stars 2, the capping machine 3, the conveyor 4, the coolant constantly enters the glasses 14. The flow of coolant provides intensive mixing in the glass 14, which contributes to the effective removal of heat from the walls of the tank. The cooling fluid is circulated through the glass by overflowing through the upper edge of the glass and flowing out through openings 23 in the bottom, and the flow rate and temperature of the cooling liquid, selected in advance, provide the necessary and sufficient heat removal from the outer surface of the container 15 and creates a homogeneous liquid medium in glass 14 (a small temperature gradient in different parts of the glass). Maintaining the temperature and flow rate of the coolant is carried out by an automation system that is standard for the chiller 22.

Filled containers 15 with cups 14 are fed to the capping machine 3, then conveyor 4 is fed into the cooler tunnel 5, where, with a slow movement of the container 15, the containers are additionally cooled by irrigation from above. Cooling in the cooler tunnel 5 is carried out by irrigation with cooling water with a temperature of about 20-25 ° C coming from the cooling tower. After cooling in the tunnel - cooler 5, the temperature of the product in the tank 15 is about 25-35 ° C and further, the tank 15 does not need cooling.

The cooled containers 15 with glasses 14 enter the separation device 8, where they are separated from the glasses 14.

The empty glasses 14 enter the insertion unit 9, and the cycle of the filling process is repeated.

Thus, the non-obviousness of the behavior of a container made of the well-known unmodified polyethylene terephthalate with preserving form stability when creating technological modes for the implementation of the proposed invention was experimentally confirmed: hot fluid temperature + 95 ° C with a wall thickness of 0.35 mm and a coolant temperature of + 5 ° C at a flow 4 l / min for a 0.5 l tank.

The technical and economic effect of the invention is the possibility of using hot drinks for bottling in a container of unmodified polyethylene terephthalate, which significantly reduces the cost and simplifies the process.

Claims (5)

1. A method of bottling drinks, comprising filling a hot beverage container made of a material whose softening temperature is lower than the temperature of the beverage, providing for cooling the outer surface of the container with liquid before, during and after the bottling process, characterized in that the outer surface is cooled in a flowing turbulent flow in a limited volume . 2. The method of bottling according to claim 1, characterized in that the temperature range and flow rate of the coolant are determined experimentally by the shape stability of the container. 3. The device for implementing the method according to claim 1 or 2, comprising a conveyor for supplying empty containers, a casting machine, intermediate stars, a capping machine, a conveyor of sealed containers, a cooling tunnel, characterized in that the device is further provided with a conveyor for supplying glasses, a container insertion unit into glasses, a unit for separating containers from glasses and a system for supplying coolant to glasses. 4. A device for implementing the method according to claim 3, characterized in that the coolant supply system is made in the form of a piping system closed through a cooler, connecting the drip tray, switchboard and distribution pipes, respectively, mounted on the drum of the filling machine and connected by flexible hoses to the supply pipes coolant into glasses, as well as piping systems and nozzles for supplying coolant to glasses installed on intermediate stars, capping machine and conveyor e corked containers. 5. The device for implementing the method according to claim 4, characterized in that the glasses are made with holes for circulating the coolant and with guides for centering the container.

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