US1104990A

US1104990A - Process for popping corn.

Info

Publication number: US1104990A
Application number: US73321312A
Authority: US
Inventors: Charles Knox Harding
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1912-11-23
Filing date: 1912-11-23
Publication date: 1914-07-28
Anticipated expiration: 1931-07-28

Description

C. K. HARDING.

PROCESS POR POPPING CORN.

APPLICATION FILED NOV Patented July 28, 1914 CHARLES KNOX HARDING, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

'Pnocnss ron roz'erING coRN.

Specification of- Letters Patent.

' Patented July 2s, 1914..

` Application led November 23, 1912. Serial No. 733,213.

n To all whom it may concern f 1 .terior vapor' ressure attainable is limited rapidly as possible to a high temperature,

Be it known that I, CHARLES KNOX HARD- ING, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of (Jook and State l of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes for Popping Corn, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates generally to improvements in the art of treating starchy cereals for food, especially which it is particularly fitted. s l

The object of my invention is to cook, disrupt, enlarge and expand the starchy interior of-the pop-corn to as great an extent as possible, and to facilitate, regulate, control and insurev uniformity in maintaining improved conditions in popping corn.

'My invention further comprises new and| useful features of the process, as will be hereinafter shown, described and pointed out in the claim. i l

The embodiment of my invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings shows an apparatus adapted for continuous workingthat is, feeding the unpopped corn in a continuous stream, passing it steadily to a point in the popping chamber, while it is subject to the action of both the heat and a rapidly flowing current of a gaseous medium, such as air, preferably rareied much below the atmospheric pressure, at the point where the grains explode into many times their original volume; the currentof rarefied air immediately carries them out of the popping chamber and the zone ofhighest temperature, which may be heated more intensely than in the old intermittent process, where the popped and unpopped corn bothl were exposed for a time together. Y

I have'found that the best results are produced by heating up the grains of corn as thereby preventing the high pressure vapors from leaking or diffusing through. the eX- terior hull of the kernel. The maximum inby attaining t at temperaturel at which the tial destructive distillation breaks down the mechanical strength of the hull and the kernel explodes, or ops, at Ithis temperature.

As it is desira le to disrupt, distend and pop-corn 4for ,y

expand the starchy interior as much as possible, and it is difficult to increase the internal vapor pressure beyond 'a certain temperature, according to my invention I reduce the external lgaseous pressure to which the kernel is exposed at the moment of popping to a pointwhere the volume assumed by the libera ted vapor becomes many times as large as it would be if suddenly liberated against the atmospheric pressure. It is well known that steam at. 1.47 lbs. absolute pressure occupies ten ltimes the volume it would at ordinary atmospheric pressure, 14.7 pounds.

The drawings showl a central vertical secchamber 2, which may be constructed of glass. e

Fig. 4 shows a heating chamber for applyingheat to the circulating air, one end of which communicates with the inlet opening* of the blower 3, and the other end is continued to the top of the receiving chamber 2, which forms a part of-a continuous passage through which the current of air circula'tes. Theheater tube 4 is heated by the gas burner shown at 5. The lower portion of the popping chamber 1 is provided wi the electric heater 6 which is shown as being formed vfrom coils of vhigh resistance wires backed by a lining of refractory and insulating materialadapted to radiate heat into the popping chamber and rapidly impart a high temperature to the kernels.

In operation, the unpopped corn is fed through the feeding valve 9 and is subjected to the action of the radiant heat from heater 6, at the same time the fan produces a rapid flow of air which is drawn through the heater tube 4 and heated to a relatively high temperature. The velocity of the flowing air "tion of an apparatus in which my .process 1s suiicient to carry the popped corn out of the `popping chamber and into the receiver,

where its velocity is materially reduced and the popped corn falls to the lower portion of the receiver tube, the heated air continues upwardly and finally passes downward and back through the heater tube 4, and is thus continuously passing through the blower and thus maintained in circulation and enough heat applied to it to maintain its temperature so that it will not have a cooling effect. Fig. 1l shows an outlet which communicates through a cooling coil with an air pump for removing a large part of the air and pressure from the interiorof the apparatus and to remove the excess air which enters by leakage and the operation of the feeding valve 9 and also the operation of the discharging valve 7 which operates in a well known manner for removing the popped corn from the lower part of the receiving chamber 2 while allowin the minimum amount of air to enter. y of the corn which fails to pop is passed on through the .CHARLES KNoX HARDING.

Witnesses E. GREATHEAD, W. HARDING.