US2408107A - Apparatus for mixing and filling beverages - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 24,1946. STEWART I 2,408,107

" APPARATUS FORMIXING AND FILLING BEVERAGES Filed Feb. 14, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 v Sept. 24, -l946.' R. J. STEWART 4 3 APPARATUS FOR MIXING AND FIELLINGBEVERAGES Filed Feb. 14,' 1940 31Sheets-Sheet' 2 W=WW ch62,

Sept. 24, 1946. T W 7 2,408,107

APPARATUS FOR MIXING AND FILLING BEVERAGES Filed Feb. 141 1940 s sheet -sways- Patented Sept. 24, 1946 APPARATUS FOR MIXING AND FILLING BEVERAGES Robert J. Stewart, Baltimore, Md., assignor to Crown Cork & Seal Company, Inc., Baltimore, Md., a corporation of New York Application February 14, 1940, Serial No. 318,964

8 Claims.

The present invention relates to apparatus for mixing and filling beverages.

In the production of beveragessuch as soft drinks, consisting of carbonated water and syrup, it has been .usual to separately flow syrup and carbonated water into a bottle or other container and then bodily move the container in some manner, either by hand or by machine, to. cause the two liquidsto be properly mixed. Such subsequent bodily movement of the container has been nec'essary'to obtain mixing because of the factthatthe body of heavier syrup tends to re main at the bottom of the bottle.

In order to avoid the necessity of the mixing step discussed above, as well as the labor and provision of a method and apparatus of the type referred to above which is readily adapted to handle various mixtures without the necessity of flushing a large number of the elements of the apparatus. I

A further object of the invention is the provision of an apparatus and method for mixing apparatus required thereby, various methods of mixing'the two liquids prior to the flowing of the same into a bottle have been proposed.

. It has been iound'that by mixing the syrup and water prior to flowing into a container, the

'Byone such process, syrup and plain water have been mixed and then carbonated together. Such an arrangement causes the syrup to come into contact with the interior of the carbonator as well as' a substantial extent of the piping included in the mixing apparatus. Bottling concerns ordinarily handle several soft drinks, each including a different syrup. Obviously, it is desirable to keep the amount of surface or piping with which the syrup comes in'contact at a minimum, since all such surface must be washed or flushed before the apparatus can be used to handle a different soft drink. T 4

Another objection to prior methods for mixmg carbonated beverages is that they have too tion' is to provide a method and apparatus where-.

by liquids may be mixed and filled without undue agitation thereof.

f Another object of the invention is to provide 'a method and apparatus for mixing liquids which are so designed that the proper ratios of the liquids comprising the mixture will be accurately maintained f c I ,Still another object of the invention is the liquids under varying pressures while maintaining the proper proportion of each liquid.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following specification and drawings, wherein:

Figure lis a diagrammatic view of the apparatus of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a view diagrammatically showing the wiring system used in the apparatus of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a detail section on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view through a mixingdevice included in the present invention.

Figure 5 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 5-5 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view through a settling tank included in the invention.

Figure 7 is a top view of a gas trap included in the present invention.

Figure 8 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the gas trap of Figure 7, and

Figure 9 is a side elevation of a second form of gas trap.

- Referring to Figure 1, the numeral lfl designates a carbonator for carbonating water delivered thereto through the line H from a pump l2 operated by a motor I3. The carbonator I0 is of any well-known form including a liquid level control' for the motor I3, and the water carbonated thereby will flow from the same through the pipe M to a gastrap 1-5, hereinafter described in detail, and thence to a water pump l6.

Water pump I 6 is driven by a shaft 1 driven through a belt l8 by a variable speed transmission device l9, hereinafter fully described,

The speed transmission device I9 is driven through a belt 20 from the shaft 2| of gear reduction unit 22 which is in turn driven through a belt 23 by a motor 24. v

" The driven shaft 2l of the gear reduction unit 22 extends to a pump 26 to which the syrup supply line 21. is connected through a gas trap 28.

Water flows from the water pump l6 through a line 30 to a water meter 3! and syrup flows from'the syrup pump 26 through a line 32 to a syrup meter 33. The two meters 3| and 33 may be of any well-'known type, forexaniple of the 3 construction disclosed in Hosmer Blum Patents Nos. 1,423,597, issued July 25, 1922, and. 1,977,424, issued October 16, 1934. However, each meter should be of such type that it will accurately measure a liquid, regardless of changes in the delivery pressure of the liquid.

The shafts 314 and of meters 3| and 33 which are driven by the meters toregister or indicate the flow of liquid therethrough are extended from the respective meters and, as shown in detail in Figure 3, the shaft 34 of one of the meters, in the present instance, the water meter 3|, carries a slip clutch 36 through which it is connected to a splined shaft 3-1. The shaftffli of the other meter carries a slip clutch=38-through which it drives a threaded shaft 38 which extendsco-axially with the shaft 31, the adjacent endsof shafts 37 and 39 being substantially in abutting relation. A collar or traveling nut bridges the two abutting shafts,.the end portion of nut 41!; which engages splined; shaft. 3.! being keyed and. the other. end portion of the nut being t'hr-ead'ed to engageshaft 39..

Collar. 49'. isengagedby ayoke lit carriedby a. lever 42 extending to the speed changezdevice l9 and pivoted intermediate. its ends as indicated art-d3; At itsefar end the lever 42 engages. the operating handle 4% of the speed: change. device. By this arrangement, if o-neof shafts 37s. and 35 is driven by. itsmeter to rotate at. atdiiferent Speed from the other the traveling-unit: 4 5L will move in a direction further along the faster rotating. shaft, thereby shifting. lever 4-2 with a resulting actuationof the operatinghandle 4 f speed-change device 19 During such movement the clutches-St and 38 will notsl-ip, but onl -upon extreme movement of the nut as hereinafterde-- scribed.

The speed change device l9 may be of any well known type whereby gradual changes of speedcan: be obtained. However, in'thepresent embodiment it is of. a type including a driving and a driven pulley connected byabelt; one pul- Icy comprisingfacing convex: discs urgedi together ontheir'common shaft by a-coi1 spring. Whenthedistance of either pulley axisfromr the other is varied, the belt connecting the two-pul-- leys will be caused to engage a different diameter of the tapered faces-of the multidisc pulley'with tharesultwthat a change in speed of the driven pulley will be obtained.

l Itwillbeobvious from the above that the speed change device" IE will. thus control. the speed of operation of. the water. pump E6 $0 as-tohold the supply of'water flowing fromthe water-meter 3511 at the proper proportion? with respect to the supply: of: syrup leaving thexsyrupmeter 33-; In: mostisoft drinks; oneipart ofsyrup. is mixed with five: partsofrwater, but the arrangement provided hereinimayxbe varied:to maintaimwhatever ratio is desired.

- The outletiiof' the; water meter 3| is connected by a pipes lfizt0therinlet of. the mixing device Q7: and the outlet ofv thesyrup meter 33 is connected by a line 43: to. a second. inlet 49. of't'h'e; mixingidevice.

Referring to Figure 4, which. illustrates the mixingdevice 47in detail, it will be. noted that thewater: inlet Minis. of relatively large'diameter and; as best shown in Figure 5, is arranged eccentrically-with respect. to a vertical tube. portion 5trof theinlet, with the result that the water willhavea swirling motion: as it moves down through tube portion 50. Thesyrup line 48, of smaller bore than; water: line; 45 is, connected to a tube 5| of small bore which extends downwardly through the center of tube 50. Thus the water and the syrup will enter the mixing device 47 from the same direction and in generally concentric streams. The fitting or tube 50 is formed in the top wall 53 of a cylindrical chamber 54, the body of' which is preferably'of glass. A rotating cylindrical e1ement'55 of substantially less length than the chamber 54 is fixed upon a shaft 55--extending down through the lower wall of the chamber. Element '55 is of such diameter that a relatively small space will be left between its periphery and the inner surface of chamber 54 andtheouter surfaces of the cylinder are smooth 3 was to min'imiza agitation. Exteriorly of the chamber'E' r shaft56 is provided with a pulle 5'! driven through a belt'58 by a motor 59.

The lower wall 60 of chamber 54 includes an extension 6! surrounding the shaft 56 and through which the mixed liquid will flow to a line 62. extendingtoa settling tank 6-3.

The rotary element;55.:within the. mixing device cylinder 54 is rotated at a. relatively-high. speed in order. that the incoming syrup andwaterwill be. thoroughly mixed. However;. since. the. element 551s perfectly. smooth, its rotation will not; cause. releasezofigas in the carbonated water be.- ingmixed. That is, the, syrup andwaterentering: the chamber 54 in a generally concentric; stream. will. move down; upon. the. upper. surface of the drum 55 rotating in; the. same: direction. as the liquids. are. swirling. However sincethe' drum 55 is rotatingat amorerapidspeeditiwill cause. the relatively thin body of liquid: between its upper surface. and; the undersurface. of the top wal1..53 of thechamber'to swirlwithafaster motionso that the two;liq.uids2'will. be furtherintermingled. Then,.. when the. liquids. move; down between thearelatively narrow space between the side surface of the rotating. drum 55: andthe inner. wallof the chamber: 58,. they will. be completely mixed due. to'ithei opposing. frictional action exertediby. the stationary chamber wall. and that of the rotating drum,

It is desirable: to provide a. check valve. in the syrup inlet tube-5|. so that shouldthe sup-' ply of syrup fail for'anyreason, water will not. enter the. syrup line. 481 Check1valve64- is so. mountedland controlled thatit will notinterfere 50 with. the. flow. of syrup. under pressure past the:

same.

The. settling; chamber: 63;. is. illustrated in' detail. in Figure 6' and is. of. cylindricallform, the. syrup and water line 62 opening. to. the. lower 55 wall 61: of. the: device; to a pipefiilz whichextends.

a substantial. distance" up into the. chamber;. A-

float 69 is pivotedin; the chamberJE3 in such .po-:

sition that. the level of theliquid within the settling: chamber will normally be above the inlet 69 extension 68 but will also be a substantial dis.-

tance below the upper end of the: cylinder.

' Chamber 63*is provided with. anzoutlet 19 in its; lower. wall. from: which. a line H extends to the-reservoir. 12. of: the. filling'ma'chin'e T3. The:

65 float 69 is connected exteriorly of the settling chamber. 63: withiia switch, preferably a mercury typeswitch, Withina? casing 15, thepurposeof switch15 being to control the'main driving motor 24 so that should the level of the liquid in chamm berr63 rise to an extreme extent, the motor 24 will;.be stopped. The float. rodis' also connected within casing 15 to. a valve mechanism, not shown, connected to a pressurei fluid line-l6 to control flow through lines 16a and 76b to a. pres-- 75. sure cylinder. 11 adjacent motor Z'kas-shown in The operation of the valve mechanism in casing 'I5'is such that if the level of the liquid in chamber 63 drops, the valve mechanism will be actuated to cause pressure flow through line'16a so that this pressure will act upon one side of the piston in cylinder I! to draw motor-24 closer to the cylinder TI and also closer .to the gear reduction unit 22. Motor pulley 24a includes two tapered discs as described above in connection with the speed-change device I9 and a decrease in the distance between motor 24 and the gear reduction unit 22 will therefore cause unit 22-'to be driven at a higher speed so as to increase the speed of the pumps I6 and 26 to supply more liquid to settling chamber 63. V

'If the float 69 in the settling chamber is raised slightly by the liquid level, the valve mechanism controlled thereby will cause pressure to 'act through line 16b upon the opposite side of the piston in clinder I1, thereby moving piston rod 18 to slide the motor 24 away from unit 22 so that the speed ofthe pumps I6 and 26 will beidecreased. As stated above, if the float 69 rises too far; the circuit to the motor 24 will be closed untilthe float again drops somewhat.

The provision of the settling chamber 63 enables the liquid to move to the reservoir 12 of the lower chamber 85 to such an extent that the level of the liquid'normally inupper chamber '86 dr'ops,'fioat 89 will drop to'open the'valve 92 so as to permit the'escape of 'gas through port 93. Should the float 89 drop to a markedextent, a switch in a casing '95 adjacent the upper'chamber 86 will be'operate'd Iby rod '9I to an opened position to open the circuit to the motor 24, thereby stopping the entire apparatus.

'Thegas trap' I5 provided upon the water pump I6 is illustrated in Figure 9 and includes a lower chamber 85a and an upper chamber 86a. Carbonated water enters the lower chamber 85a from line H through an inlet port 96 which is offset with respect to the axis of the lower chamberso that the incoming water will be given a swirling motion. In order that the swirlingmotion will Ibe continued throughout the movement of the water through the chamber, the outlet line 91 which conducts the carbonated water to the;

water pump I6 isalso offset with respect to the axis of chamber 85. The gas trap I5 is otherwise identical to the syrup gas trap 28.

Figure 2 diagrammatically illustrates the man.- ner in which the various elements of the apparatus are electrically connected so that the motor Liwhich operates the water pump I6 and syrup pump 26 will be stopped in the event that the apthe filling machine in a quieter condition than would be the case if the reservoir received the liquid direct from the mixing device 46.

- In order thatthe fluid in filling machine reservoir 12, settling tank 63 and carbonator II) will be under the same pressure,'the top portions of these three elements are connected by pressure equalizing lines as indicated in Figure 1. This willv prevent a pressure lock at any point in the system.

Settling chamber 63 is of such capacity that liquid will be held in the same for approximately ten minutes. That is, in normal operation, the chamber will be filled, and the pumps I6 and 26 will then stop until the level in'chamber 63 falls. During this settling period any fine bubble in the mixture willeither rise out of the mixture or will go into solution. This action will be aided by reason of the fact that the pressure in chamber 63 is the same asin the carbonator ID, by reason of the connecting lines 80. Also, the settling chamber is insulated to maintain the mixture at the proper cool temperature. It is desirable to provide such insulation at other parts of the apparatus as is necessary to maintain the liqulds at proper temperature throughout travel through the various elements of the system.

The gas trap 28 illustrated in Figure 1 as associated with the syruppump 26 is shown in detail in Figures 7 and 8 and comprisesa lower chamber and an upper chamber 86. The syrup inlet line 2''! enters the upper portion of the chamber 85 at a point offset with respect to the axis of the chamber so that the syrup will have a, swirling motion as it moves downwardly through thatchamber to the line 81 which extends to the inlet of pump 26; The swirling motion of the liquid will allow any entrained gases to collect at the center and rise through-the short tube 88 extending from the central portion of the top of chamber 85 to the upper chamber 66., Chamber 86 has a float 89 therein including an arm 90 fixed to a rod 91 journaled in the chamber. Arm. 96 carries a valve 92 normally adapted tov close an. escape port 93.. If gas or. air entersv paratus is producing too great a quantity of mixed beverage, or if the supply of water or syrup fails. Referring to Figure 2, it will be noted that a main I291 is connected to one connection of the motor 24 while another main I2I is connected to the float operated control switch within the casing 15 of the settling chamber 63. Fromthis latter switch a series lead I22 extends to the'float control switch associated'with the gas trap l5 of the water pump and a series lead I23 extends from this switch to the switch associated with the gas-trap 28 of the syrup pump. A lead I 240011- nects the last-mentioned switch with a normally closed trip switch I25 arranged at one side of I the meters 3I and 33 either drops or increases to a marked extent, the motor 24 will be stopped byreason of the fact that the lever 42 will actuate one of the two trip switches to opened position. The slip clutches 36 and 36 illustrated in Figure- 3 insure that the shafts 31 and 39 which carry the traveling nut 40 will slip with respect to the meter shafts 34 and 35 when the lever 42 contacts with a trip switch and further swinging movement of the lever is prevented. This arrangement will prevent damage to the meters.

I and speed-change arrangements included in the present apparatus will insure that so long as the apparatus is operating, a mixture of the proper proportions of the constituent liquids will be pro-' duced and that if conditions become such that the apparatus cannot produce the proper mixture, operation will immediately terminate. This is, of course, highly important in the production of soft drinks because the failure to maintain the exactly proper ratios will not be apparent from a mere viewing of the bottled product and it is not practicable to test the mixture from time to time. Therefore, unless a mixing apparatus is fully controlled as described above, a large number of bottles might (be filled with a mixture of improperly proportioned constituent liquids, involving a substantial waste in both ingredients and labor.

' The operation of the apparatus and method isv as follows:

The water flowed to the carbonator I is preferably filtered and de-aerated in accordance with the usual practice and is cooled to a temperature just above freezing. The syrup flowed to the apparatus throughout line 21 is also cooled to the proper temperature to cause it to properly mix and so that it will not raise the water temperature too markedly. After carbonation the water flows to the gas trap 15 and is then forced by the pump IE to the meter 3 l The incoming syrup moves through the gas trap 28 and is then delivered by the pump 26 to the syrup meter 33. The meters 3| and 33 will deliver the proper proportions of syrup and Water, usually at the rate of one ounce of syrup to five ounces of water, to the mixing device 41 where the two ingredients will be thoroughly mixed without agitation and will then flow through the line 62 to the settling chamber 63 from which the mixture will move through line 'H to the usual reservoir 12 of the filling chamber. 7

Since the entire system will be kept at the water carbonating pressure, the mixture in the settling tank and in the filling machine reservoir will be under an excessive gas pressure so as to increase its stability and permit filling at a greater range of temperatures. This renders the system applicable to numerous types of filling machines.

The provision of the settling chamber 63 at a point in advance of the filling machine reservoir 12 will permit the fine bubbles which may possibly be formed in the metering and mixing operations to pass either into solution or out of the liquid, insuring that the liquid can subsequently be quietly flowed into the bottles by the filling machine.

The inclusion in the system of a positively acting mixing device will insure that the syrup will be uniformly dispersed throughout the carbonated Water. However, it will be noted, as stated in detail above, that the mixing device 41' disclosed herein is of such type that the mixture will not be unduly agitated. The method included in the present invention of controlling the mixture by changing relative pump speed also contributes to smoother operation and decreases churning and agitation of the liquids moving through the system.

Althoughv the present method and apparatus have been generally described as adapted to handle the mixing of carbonated water and syrup, it will be appreciated that the invention is applicable to the mixing of numerous other liquids, particularly those which must be mixed under pressure or which contain gas in solution.

The terminology used in the specification is for the purpose of description and not of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the claims.:

8 Iclaimt' l. A device formixing liquids comprising a chamber provided with a cylindrical bore including an uninterrupted cylindrical surface, inlets for liquid adjacent one end of the chambergan outlet for liquid adjacent the opposite end of the chamber, a cylinder including a smooth peripheryrotatable in the chamber, means to rotate the cylinder, the cylinder being of less'length than the chamber and positioned closely adjacent the inlet end thereof and being oi such diameter with respect to the inner diameter of the chamber as to provide an area of limited radius between the cylinder and chamber walls in which liquids may be swirled together to mix, the radius of the area being so limited as to preclude foaming.

2. A device for mixing liquids comprising a cylindrical chamber, a cylinder rotatable in the chamber and spaced from each end thereof, means to rotate the cylinder, and inlets for the liquids to be mixed at one end of the chamber, at least one of the inlets being arranged to deliver liquid to the chamber at a point ofiset with respect to the axis of the rotatable cylinder.

3. A device for mixing liquids comprising a cylindrical chamber, a cylinder rotatable in the chamber and spaced from each end thereof, the cylinder being provided with a smooth periphery, means to rotate the cylinder, and inlets for liquids at one end of the chamber, at least one of the inlets being arranged to deliver liquid to the chamber at a point offset with respect to the axis of the rotatable cylinder.

4. In an apparatus for mixing liquids, a plurality of sources of liquids to be mixed, a liquid mixing means, a plurality of liquid flow lines, each flow line extending between one of said sources and said liquid mixing means, means in each line to move a liquid therethrough, a measuring means in each line, and means controlled by said measuring means to hold all of said liquid moving means at such relative speeds as to maintain a predetermined ratio of flow from said measuring means.

' 5. In an apparatus for mixing liquids, a plurality of sources of liquids to be mixed, a liquid mixing means, a plurality of liquid flow lines, each flow line extending between one of said sources and said liquid mixing means, means in each line to move a liquid therethrough, a measuring means in each line, means controlled by said measuring means to hold all of said liquid moving means at such relative speeds as to maintain a predetermined ratio of flow from said measuring means, a settling tank to receive the mixed liquid from said mixing means, and means associated with said settling tank to control the operation of said liquid moving means.

6. In a liquid mixing apparatus, a casing provided with a vertically extending cylindrical bore of uniform diameter, an inlet tube for one liquid arranged concentric with the axis of the casing bore and opening to the upper end of the casing bore, a second inlet tube for a second liquid surrounding and arranged concentrically with respect to the first-mentioned tube, means to flow liquid tangentially into said second tube whereby the second liquid will move into and downwardly in said second tube and thence into the casing bore with a swirling motion, a rotary drum mounted concentrically in the bore of said casing, said drum being of such diameter that only a small space will be provided between the drum periphery and the casing bore, the upper end of said drum being positioned adjacent said concentric inlets so that the incoming liquids will move down upon the top of the drum, and means to rotate said drum with a movement faster than the swirling motion of the liquid entering through said second tube so that the liquids will be thoroughly intermingled during movement downwardly between said drum and casing bore.

'7 A liquid mixing apparatus of the character described in claim 6 wherein the rotary drum is of substantially less length than the casing bore and has its lower endspaceda substantial distance from the lower end of the casing bore.

8. In an apparatus for mixing liquids, a plurality of sour es of liquids to be mixed, a liquid ROBERT J. STEWART.

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