US1272276A - Process of vinegar-making. - Google Patents

Description

E KLEIN.

PROCESS OF VINEGAR MAKING.

APPLICATION FILED JAN- l2. l9l6.

Patented July 9, 1918.

4 SHEET$SHEET 1.

\H A TTOR/VEV E. KLEIN.

PROCESS OF VINEGAR MAKING.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 12. 191s.

Patented July 9, 1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

uunrrlll I III wrrllrlipllrrlpllll' "INTI" I i l/ .4

2 l I I I I l WIT/V588 A TTORA/EY E. KLEIN.

PROCESS OF VINEGAR MAKING.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. I2. 1916.

Patented July 9, 1918.

4 SHEETSSHEET 4-.

,4 TTOR/VEY rnocnss oF'vINEcAn-MAnme.

' Application filed iTanuary 12, 192l6. Serial No. 71,692.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, ERWIN KLEIN, a subject of the Emperor of Austro-Hungary, residing at Peekskill, in the county of West- '5 chester and State of -New York, have invented certain new and useful Improve I ments in Processes of Vinegar-Making, of

which the following is a specification, reference being had to the @accompanying 1c drawings.

larly to improvementsin -the Schutzenbach process of'making vinegar. -As is well known to all persons skilled in this art, the Schutzenbach process of vinegar-making is car ried out by causing a fluid mixture capable of undergoing acetlc fermentation (hereinaflutionpf heat and the heat thus developed by the change just referred to produces a sc draft (or chimney efi'ect), whereby freshair is caused to enter the generator. through air holes formedsinjhe bottom thereof and flow upwardly over the mix Thus the m x is brought into contactwith. the counter- 35 'currentof fresh air, which is gradually deprived of much of its oxygen and isfinally discharged through'the'top of the generator as. spent air. The Schut'zenbach process .herinbefore briefly described is imperfect in two important directions or features, namely: i (1) The draft or chimney fiect is dependent upon the difference between'the temperature of the external atmosphere and the temperatureexisting within the genera-v tor; and 2) the ascendin current of air j tilize. One object of this invention =is to providea process of makmg YlIlBgaQWhlCh will be susceptible of being so carried out and otherexternalconditions. 'Anotherobfect of this invention is to standardize the conditionsunder wh h e V qg is mad Specifications! Letters Patent.

' i, This invention relates to improvements'ing processes of making vinegar, and,part1cuincreases t-e tendency of t e. mix to vola as to be independent of external conditions, suchas the temperature of the atmosphere I rawm nmnxr, or rEn sKiL L, NEW YORK.

Patented and therebyto diminish greatly the losses aul e, leis.

due to evaporation and to lncrease the yield of Vinegar and the general eflicien'cy of the ,In the drawings illustrating the principle of this invention and the best mode now knfiwn to me of app'lying that principle,

Figure 1 is an elevation, partly in section ,and somewhat diagrammatic in-character,

of a vinegar-makingplant arranged and dc signed to .carry out my new process; Fig. 2

is an'elevation, partly in section, of the generator; Fig. 3 is a plan ofthesame; Figs. 4,

5 and -6 are'sections on the lines 4- 1, 5 5

and 6- 6, respectively, of Fig. 2; Fig. 7 is a plan of one-of the-siphons with the cap removed; Fig.- 8 is a sectionon'the line 8 2-8 of Fig.7; Figsi9 and 10 are sections onthe lines .99' and l0 10,"respectively, of Fig.-

8; Figs. l'land- 12 illustrate'in perspective" two shapes of the wooden bars orrails form ingthe falsebottoms of the compartments;

of recorders for recording the quantity of mix (or Wash) used and Figs. 16 andl7 i illustrate different forms of thermo-regulator.

the pump 0 through thepipes d, e, f, g. Thepipe d extends or projects "above the pipe e,--:with which it communicates, and is connected with the pipe d, so that any ex cess', surplus or overflow of themix maybe conducted by the pipe (1, back to the tank 6.

The pipe 9 has, in the form illustrated, three rhe mix (bi wash) is forced through the pipe at which discharges into the tank 6 from which the .mix is drawn and forced by 1Figs.'13,-14 and15illustrate diiferentforms 5 outlets h e'achof which is controlled by a valve 2'. The mix (or wash) is, whenever necessary, cooled to a; certain predetermined temperature in thefollowing manner: The

pipe 0 is surroundedv by a water-jacket j through which flows' waterthat is forced' "into the pipe k and led therefrom\ to the water-jacket j by the water-pipes m, m.

The water is led from the water-jacket j by the'waterrpipes'n, n; the pi e n; discharges into 1 the sewer (notshown A refrigerating. engine 0 forces a refrigerating fluid through vthe-coil. 10 that is mounted 1n the tank I; and serves to chill the mix (or wash) to any desired predetermined temperature before the mix is forced a to the generat0r A by e We P loW the levelof which acidified liquid the pipe 9 extends. -.The air .is thus cleansed, sterilized and moistened. From the tank 1', the air is drawn through a pipe 8 by an aircompressor (shown diagrammatically at t) which forces the air through the pipe a that .10 passes through the Water-j acket o and brineand through the latter to the" sewer.

cooler '11:. The water-jacket o is fedby water that is led throughthe pipes k, 00,-

and water flows from the water-jacket 4) through the pipe y to the vertical pipe n The j brine-cooler w is fed by a salt solution, that is forced through it by the refrigerating engine 0 the circulation of the brine occurs through the pipes w, w". A damper 'u/ permits theflow of airthrough the air-pipe a to be controlled.

' Beneath each outleth,-there is arranged an intermediate tank 2 (Figs."( to 10) which is automatically emptied by a siphon .25 3. The mix flows from the annular space flows into the vertical passages 3*. The latter passages form thexlonger leg ofthesi V phon. The central passage 4 is filled by mix flowing through the horizontal passages 3" 2 through the holes-2 in-the cap 2* and then upwardly through "the annular passage 2", which forms one of the shorter legs of the siphon. From the passage 2*, the mix and forms the other shorter leg of the si- -35 phon. The mix flows from thecentral passage 4 into-the vertical passages 3",. The .mix, flowing from these passages 3", drops uponthe curved surfaces 5- of the pyram-' idal-shaped base 5, which supports the intermediate tank 2; These curved surfaces 5 serve to distribute the Wash or mix over the T perforated distributing top or cover 6( The mix flows through the holes 7 therein down into the'upper compartment 8 which, like -the compartments 8", 8", below it, is filled I with shavings 9, of wood or the like. The floor-beams 10 support the false bottoms which 'are made of the spaced wooden bars or strips 11 having the shape shown in Fig;

11; that is, these strips of wood are rounded .hear the bottom so that the lower face '11 is devoid" of *-corners to which drops of liquid might adhere. An alternative wedge- .shaped form of strip is shown at 12 in Fig.

'12 and may be used instead of the form shown at 1 The air-pipe u' discharges into a vertical -a1r-pipe-u from which lead the horizontally-disposed air- pipes 13, 13, v13 conpipes 13,= 13, 13", respectively, and into these openings 14, 14f, 14, pro ect the ends of the spaced wooden bars '11 that form the trolled by the valves u. The front and back J walls A of the generator A- are formed with openings 14, 14', 14f, opposite the air-.

false bottonis or floors of the compartments 8, 8', 8". The inside walls of-the air- conduits 13, 13", 13 (that is, the walls thereof opposed to the openings 14, 14, 14", respectively) are formed with apertures 13 the degree of opening of which is controlled by slides 15, 15, 15", respectively, which regulate the flow ofthe air from the pipes 13, 13', 13", through the opienings 13 into the Spaces 11 between the fioor strips 11 and, therefore, into the several compartments of the generator through these spaces 11*. "The position of each of the slides 15,15, 15, is separately controlled and, for this purpose, there is provided for each slide a shaft 16 upon which+are mounted the gears 17, each of which engages a rack 18 that is fastened to the slide. By turning one of the shafts Y 1 6,there will be moved that slide thatcarries the racks 18 in mesh with the gears 17 fast .upon the actuated shaft 16. The fresh air that flows into the air-conduits 13" escapes,

ment 8", becomes spenfiand on leaving this lowermost compartment, the spent a1'r meets the fresh air that flows into the air-conduit 1'3 and, through the apertures 13 therein, issues therefrom and passes upwardly through the intermediate compartment 8'.

In its passage through this middle compart--,

ment 8 the mixture of fresh and spent air becomes more-and more exhausted. of its oxygenyand upon issuing from the intermediate compartment 8, the air current meets the. fresh air flowing from the air-- conduit 13 through the apertures 13 therein. This mixture of spent and fresh air flows upwardly through the-topmost compartment 8 and meets therein the inflo'wing mix. The temperature of the latter is low, in fact, so low as to condense the vapors that are carried by the air current; and, by the condensationof these vapors, the loss due to evap-' oration is greatly reduced. As the mix progresses downwardly, it becomes less and less cool and soon is raised to a temperature at -which an oxidizing reaction takes place. From the compartment 8, the air flows through the holes 7 in the perforated dis- 1 tributing top or cover 6 and thence flows upwardly through the chimney 18 past the damper 19 therein,

- and "thereby to facilitate the multiplication chimney 18, a fan of acid-resisting material is rotatably mounted therein and is driven by a cone-pulley 22 belt-connected with another cone-pulley '23 mounted upon a shaft 24 that is \driven by a propeller 25 actuated by the flow of the mix through the l pipe f. The action of the fan 20 is further- "more to reduce the pressure existing Within the generator A upon the vinegar microbes of the latter. The roof A ofthe generator A is kept cool by an annular sprinkler 26 'fed'by'water led through a pipe-27 that is connected with the pipe m. The water flows from the sprinkler over the roofA of the eneratorA and into the gutters 23 that 7 disc arge,v into the leader-29. In order to kee the generator compartments 8,8, 3", as ee from atmospheric temperature m P fluenc'es as -possible, the outside of the walls A .of these compartments consists of heat-insulating covering A". The inner side'of the walls A" are furthermore lined with an acid-proof material, which may be made of a fibrous substance combined with tar, asphalt and paraflin products; but it is to be understood that any suitable acid-resisting lining may be used in carrying out this invention. Betweenfltghe acid-proof lining 30 and the heatins,ul ing covering A", i there. are interposed boards 21.

In order to record the amount of mix that passes in a given time interval-through the siphon 3 shown in section in Fig. 8, a recording mechanism may be used; and three different formsfof recording-"mechanisms for this purpose are illustrated in V the drawings (Figs 13 to 15).. In Fig; 13,

one arm 31' of a spring-controlled bellcrank lever 31 projects into the path of flow ofthe mix while the .other arm 31" of this i lever 31 carries a marker 32. When no flow is taking place, the marker 32 is held against therecordingdisk 33 by a spring 34;.but, when aflow ofthe'mixis taking place, the marker 32 will be withdrawn 1 r cm the face of this disk 33, which is driven In Fig. 14, an electric electric contacts 35, 35', by'the mix when he same reaches the level of theelectric contact 35 mounted in but insulated'from the wall of the intermediate tank '2; and

:the current flowing through this circuit energizes the magnets 36, which thereupon attract the armature 31 forming one arm of the bell-crank lever 31; and, when this armature 31' "is attracted, the marker 32 isjwithdrawn as before, from the face of the recording. disk-33. In Fig.' 15, there is,

-shown a float buoyed up by the mix in the intermediate tank 2 and connected by'acord 38 with a rotatably mounted disk 39 to wh ch is connected a Weigh 43.- The and the disk 39 carries a pivotally mounted pawl 40 one end of which is controlled'by a spring 40" and the other end or toe ofwhich'is arranged to" engage the teeth '44" of a ratchet-wheel 44 on the same shaftv with which is mounted a pinion 45 that drives the toothed wheels of the counter46.

A. stop '40 limits theupward throw of the. longer arm of the pawl 40 under the action of the spring 40". As the level of the mix rises in the intermediate tank 2, the disk 39 is turned clockwiseby the pull of the Weight 43 hung from the disk 39;by the cord 43" a'nd the toe of the pawl 40 engages the ratchet teeth 44 and turns the ratchet wheel44 and the pinion45. When the mix. is discharged fro'mfthe intermediate tank 2- by the "siphon 3, the float 37 falls and turns the disk 39 counter-clockwise and .winds up thereon'the cord 43 carrying the Weight 43. During this-backward movement of the disk 39, the toe of the pawl' 40 rides over the ratchet 43- without ,engaging the teeth 43' of the same; and a guard-pawl 47 prevents any movement of the ratchet 43-during the retrograde movement of the disk 39. A spring 48 holds the. pawl 47 against the stop 47.

In order to control with great nicety the temperature of the mixin the storage tank I), there may be provided a thermo-regulator 49, the temperature-controlled element'52 of which rojects into thetank band'the flowcontrol ing element 56 of which controls'the passage of the refrigerating fluid through the coil p from the refrigerating engine 0. In a manner entirely similar, the flow of the brine throughthe pipe o may be controlled by the thermo-regulator 50 and the temperature of the air flowing through the pipe u may beregulatefi with great accuracy. In Figs. 16 and 17, there are 'illustrated'two forms ofthermo-regulator' capable of use incarrying out this invention. In the form shown in Fig, 16, the bulb 52 contains mercury 53 ontop of whichrests a liquid 54 of low boiling point; that is, the boiling point of this liquid 54 is practically the maximum' temperature permissible in the tank 6, so

that, when that temperature is reached therein, the liquid 54 will boil and its vaporwill increase the pressure in the bulb 52 to such: a'degree that the mercury will be forced out of the bulb 52 and through the conduit 55. In the pipe 0', leading from the refrigerat ing machine 0 to the coil p, there is mounted a slide-valve 56 formed with an opening 57 andfhaving an upwardly-projecting 'arm 58.and a downwardly-extending leg or post 59'around which there is coiled a spring; 60 that normally forces the 'slide-valve 56 upwardly so that its opening 57 is thrown out i of register with the inlet end 0 of the pipe 0 from the refrigerating machine; but,

50 4 with advantage be used in efl'ecting this when the liquid 54 boils and the mercury 53' is thereby forced through the conduit 55 and against the upper end of the arm 58, the pressure of themercury 58 forces the slidevalve 56 downwardly, until the opening 57 formed therein registers with the inlet end i o of the pipe whereupon the refrigerating fluid is free to flow therethrough from the refrigerating machine 0. When this the temperature 0 form of thermo-re ulator'is used to control the air flowing through the air-conduit u, the bulb 52 is mounted in thelatter and the slide-valve 56 controls the flow of the refrigerating fluid through the pipe w. I

In the form of thermo-regulatorshown in Fig. 17, the thermometer 61 is mounted in the tank 6 and the mercury 53 serves to complete the electrical circuit between; the

contact-plates-62, 6.3, when the temperature,

thetank b has risen to thepermissible maximum. The electrical circuit having been completed, current will flow therethrough from the dynamo 64 and will drive the motor 65 which will, in turn, propel the centrifugal pump 66. 'This pump 66 will then draw the refrigerating fluid from the machineo through the pipe 0' -andwill force that fluid through the coil 17. Or'the -dynamo 64 may be used to drive'the refrigerthe building only to be fed to the generator aga n without having its oxygen fully replenished' by mixing with the outer-atmosphe're.- The air is carefully treated and thereby prepared for the reaction that takes placein the generator 5" thus, it'is cleansed, sterilized and moistened by being sucked through acidulated' water in the tank 1" or filtered through cotton orthe like and is brought tolexactly the proper temperature by coolers o, w; a thermo-regulator may purpose. Moreoyer, if the temperature .of

the outside air be already too low, heaters may be substituted for the coolers o, w, of,

course. The mix is likewise brought to the proper temperature by-means of the cooler y and coil p. The generator is divided vby horizontally-disposed false-bottoms into sections or compartments 8, 8', 8", one above the other in a vertical'seriesthrough which" the mix is allowed to flow from the top to the bottom of the generator, The topmost compar'tment 8 is used principally for the 'condensation of the vapors carried by the aircurrent that flbwsupwardly and passes but through a flue-1s 'draft is. maintained in which an upward; by ,a fan 20 driven by;

the inflowing mix. It is furthermore to be noted' that, while fresh air is led to each compartment separately and in quantities controlled by slides 15, 15, 15", that are moved independently of one another, all the airintroduced into the'generator eventually flows through the topmost section where con-' densation of the vapors carriedby the air is effected. ,The mix which flows into the lowermost compartment and has already been atleast in part oxidized meets there and is acted upon by the absolutely fresh air supplied to that compartment, whereby the mix is fully oxidized and transformed into vinegar, when it isdrawn off through i i the outlet spigot 51. Not only is separate .controleflected, as has been hereinbefore explained, of thequantity of the fresh air admittedto the several compartments but volume. of mix admitted to the generator and a record of the quantity of mix so supplied isautomatically made, to the end that control is also effected by the valves iof the accurate control thereof may be had. Again,

instead of supplyingthe mix by one siphoh of large capacity, several siphons 3 of small capacity are used and this arrangement re- I i mix over the surface of the perforated dissults in the more even distribution of the tributin top or cover 6; andthe distribul ;tion of t e mix thereover is made stillmore "even by the use of surfaces 5 of the pyramidal-shaped bases 5- that support the s1- phons 3-. The downward flow of the mix through the, generator is facilitated by roundingv ofi' the lower edges of'the, strips 11 that make up the false-bottomsthat se'p arate the compartments and ofthe floorbeams 10 that support these "false-bottoms. To makethe reactions that take" lace within the generator-still more indepen ent oftemperature conditions external thereto, and to make more complete the condensation of the vapors carried upwardly-by the current of practically spent air, the roof A of the generator A iskept wetted by water flowing over the roof, while. the generator is in operation;- and the walls A of the latter are covered with a heat-insulating. mhterial A It may be further pointed out that,

starting, -which danger is present when the siphoni's one of large diameter.

As will be evident to all skilled in this art, changes ma be' made without departing from the spirit of this invention; thus, the air maybe, passed through a filter of cotton, in addition to the tank 1" of acidulated water and a nozzle discharging steam into the flue 18 may be used instead'of or in addition to tHe mix-controlled fan 20 f r c ea ing a draft. Other hanges wi1 1 by using several siphons 3 of small capacity,

there is eliminated the danger of improper readily suggest themselves and all such changes are deemed by me to be covered by the claims which follow hereinafter.

' I claim:v

1. A-step in the Schutzenbach process of vinegar-making, comprising automatically controlling the draft of spent air by the inflowing fluid mixture capable of undergoing acetic fermentation." I

2. A step in the Schutzenbach process of vinegar-making, comprising condensing in a generator by meansof the artificially precooled inflowing fluid -mixturecapable of undergoing acetic fermetation the vapors carried by the spent 3. A subprocess in the herein described Schutzenbach process of vinegar-making, consisting in condensing in a generator by means of the artificially; precooled inflowing the spent air, by introducing the precooled,

fluid mixture capable of undergoing acetic fermentation the vapors carried by the spent air; and finally subjecting the mixture nal temperature of the generator by passing the precooled fresh air therethrough in an ascending current; precooling the fluid mixture capable of undergoing acetic fermentat on; and condensing the vapors carried by mixture near the top of the generator.

6. A subprocess in the Schutzenbach process of vinegar-making, comprising precooling the fresh air; controlling the internal temperatuieof the generator by passing the precooled fresh air therethrough in an ascendin current; precooling the fluid mixture capa leof undergoing acetic fermentation; condensing the vapors carried by the spent air, by introducing the precooled mixture near the top of the generator; and exhausting the spent air from the generator.

7. A, subprocess in the Schutz enbach process of vinegar-making, comprising precooling the fresh air; controlling the internal temperature of the generator by pass ing the precooled'fresh air therethrough in an ascending current; precooling the fluid mixture capable of undergoing acetic fer mentation; condensing the vapors carried by the spent air, by introducing the pre cooled mixture near the top of the generator; and controlling the outflow of the spent. air bythe inflowing mixture.

8. A subprocess in the Schutzenbach process of vinegar-making, comprising artificially-cooling the generator by flowing portions thereof with cold fluid; introducing near the top of the generator the fluid mixture capable of undergoing acetic fermentation; and condensing the vapors carried by the spent air by bringing the same' into contact with the cooled mixture and theartificially-cooled portions of the genrator,

9. A subprocess in the Schutzenbach process of vinegar-making, comprising precooling the fresh air; regulating the' temperature to which the latter is precooled; and controlling the internal temperature of the generator by passing the precooled fresh air therethrough in an ascending current.

l0.- A subprocess in the Schutzenbach process of vinegar-making, comprising precooling the fluid mixture capable of undergoing .acetic, fermentation; regulating the temperature to which the latter is precooled; and condensing the vapors carried by the spent air, by introducing the precooled mixture near the top of the generator.

Signed at Peekskill, N. Y.; this seventh day of January, 1916, in the presence of the two undersigned Witnesses.

ERWIN KLEIN.

Witnesses OWEN MORAN,- A. KNIGHT. I

Images