US2907081A

US2907081A - High temperature short time sterilizer

Info

Publication number: US2907081A
Application number: US660937A
Authority: US
Inventors: Hosman David Fay
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1957-05-22
Filing date: 1957-05-22
Publication date: 1959-10-06
Anticipated expiration: 1976-10-06

Description

Oct. 6, 1959 D. F. HOSMAN HIGH TEMPERATURE SHORT TIME STERILIZER I5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 22, 1957 ATTD RN EYS Oct. 6, 1959 D. F. HOSMAN HIGH TEMPERATURE sEoET TIME STERILIZER 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 22, 1957 INVENTOR.

A'I'I'D RN EYS Oct. 6, 1959 o. F. HOSMAN HIGH TEMPERATURE SHORT TIME STERILIZER 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 22, 1957 I N VEN TOR.

ATTD RN EYS HIGH TEMPERATURE SHORT TIME STERILIZER David Fay Hosman, Omaha, Nebr.

Application May 22, 1957, Serial No. 660,937 Claims. (CI. 21-80 This invention relates to sterilizing devices of the continuously operating type wherein a plurality of sterilizing containers are carried by a'wheel whereby as each container completes a revolution products and any accumulated liquid or condensate may be drained from the container, and in particular a plurality of elongated tubes or autoclaves carried by plates or spiders rotatably mounted on a tubular shaft providing a reel with each tube provided with conveying and sealing means whereby upon opening one end of a tube at a discharging station objects are removed by the conveyor of the tube and upon the tube arriving at a receiving station other objects are placed in the tube by the same conveyor and wherein steam or other sterilizing means injected into the tube after sealing the product therein remains in the tube throughout a partial revolution of the sterilizer.

The purpose of this invention is to provide a continuously operating sterilizer for cans of products, either sealed, open or partially sealed, and the like in which open or partially open cans are conveyed in such positions that accumulated condensate or liquid drains from the cans, wherein the cans are subjected to high temperatures for a comparatively short period of time and wherein the cans are readily removed and replaced.

variation.

The object of this invention is, therefore, to provide a sterilizing machine that is adapted to operate substantially continuously with products being removed and replaced periodically.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sterilizing machine wherein, by permitting the cans to be completely open or partially sealed live steam comes directly into contact with the material being sterilized.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sterilizing machine in which the material being sterilized is not surrounded with water, syrup, brine or other heat conducting material.

A further object of the invention is to provide a continuously operating sterilizing machine which is of a simple and economical construction.

With these and other objects and advantages in view the invention embodies a plurality of radially disposed longitudinally positioned tubular containers, each having a conveyor and a material retaining tray therein carried by spiders rotatably mounted on a shaft with means for sealing the tubular containers and also means for injecting steam into the tubular containers.

Other features and advantages of the invention will United. States Patent "ice ,v 2,907,081 Patented Oct. 6,. 1959 appear from the following description taken in connection with the drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through the sterilizer taken on line 1-1 of Fig. 2.

Figure 2 is a cross section through the sterilizer looking toward one end thereof being taken on line 22 of Fig. 1.

Figure 3 is a cross section through the opposite end of the sterilizer as shown in Fig. 2 being taken on line 33 of Fig. 1.

Figure 4 is a cross section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 1 illustrating the supporting stand at one end of the machine.

Figure 5 is a side elevational view of the supporting stand shown in Fig. 4 being taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 4, a hearing at the upper end of the stand being shown in section.

Figure 6 is a side elevational view of one of the tubular containers with the parts shown on an enlarged scale and with parts broken away illustrating the interior of one end of the cylinder or container and also with a hydraulic cylinder for closing the container shown in section.

Figure 7 is an end elevational view of one of the tubular containers being taken on line 77 of Fig. 6.

Figure 8 is a cross section through the closed end of one of the cylinders being taken on line 88 of Fig. 6.

Figure 9 is a plan view of one of the cylinders.

Figure 10 is a sectional view showing a steam connection at the end of one of the cylinders.

. Figure 11 is a plan view of the transmission assembly positioned below the sterilizer, the transmission being provided with gears that mesh with gears on conveyor shafts of the tubular sterilizing containers whereby with the containers in the lowermost position the conveyors therein are actuated by the gear assembly to remove and replace cans or other containers therein.

Figure 12 is a longitudinal section through the transmission taken on line 1212 of Fig. 11.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters denote corresponding parts the improved sterilizer of this invention includes elongated tubular or cylindrical containers or autoclaves 10 having product retaining trays 11 in lower parts thereof and guards 12 for retaining products in cans positioned on the trays 11 in upper parts thereof, chains 13 trained over sprockets 14- and 15 for conveying productsinto the containers and also for removing products from the containers, gears 16 positioned to mesh with gears 17 of a transmission as-, sembly below the sterilizer and adapted to operate the conveyors for placing products in the containers, the gears 16 also being adapted to mesh with gears 18 for reversing the direction of travel of the conveyors to remove products from the containers,

spiders

19 and 20 on which the containers 10 are mounted,

standards

21 and 22 in which end sections 23 and 2 1 of a tubular center shaft 25 are rotatably mounted, solid flanges 26 providing sealing means for one of the ends of the containers, removable heads 27 carried by arms 23 for sealing the ends of the containers opposite to the ends on which the flanges 26 are positioned, hydraulic cylinders 29 for clamping the heads against the ends of the cylinders through an assembly of toggle links and levers, a motor 30 for advancing the containers of the sterilizer step by step and a steam valve 31 for admitting steam through the containers and which is also adapted to provide a blow-off for exhausting steam from the containers.

The cylinders 10 are positioned in rings 32 on thespiders or plates 19 and .33 of the spiders or plates 20, with rollers 34 on the ring 32 positioned to contact the outer surfaces of the containers 10 and 35 on the ring 33, the roller 35. also being positioned to engage outer surfaces ofvthe containers 10. By this means the cylinf di'ical'containers IO'are adapted to rotate in the spiders or supporting elements.

As illustrated in Figs. 6 and 9 the cylindrical containers 10 are provided with flanges 36 to which the discs 26' are secured with bolts 37 and similar flanges 38 on the opposite end of the cylinders are positioned to receive the head 27. The flanges 38 are provided with recesses for Orings 39 and a cover or a head 27, which is carried by the arm 28 is adapted to swing to a closed position against the face of the flange 38 for sealing the container.

The arm 28 is rotatably mounted in a bearing 40 carried'by a bracket 41 secured to the outer surface of the cylinder 10 and bolts 42 by which the bracket 41 is secured to the cylinder also support arms 43 that extend beyond the end of the container and to which vertically disposed

fingers

44 and 45 are pivotally mounted with pins46 and 47. The fingers 44 and- 45 extend from cross bars 48 of yokes for clamping heads of the cylinders in position and, as shown in Fig. 7, the cross bars 48 are provided with lugs 49 to which sections of a bi furcated end 50 of a link 51 are secured with a pin 52. The opposite end of the link is pivotally connected by a pinto a rocker arm 54, pivotally mounted by a pin 55 in the bracket 56- and pivotally connected by a pin 57 to a link 58. The opposite end of the link 58 is pivotally connected by a pin 59 to one end of a rocker 60 which is pivotally mounted by a pin 61 on the bearing 62 on the upper side of the cylindrical container 10 and which is connected by a pin 63 to a link 64 extended from a piston rod 65 to which it is connected by a' pin 66. The piston rod 65 extends from a piston 67 in the cylinder 29 and with fluid, such as. steam or compressed air, under pressure applied to the piston the levers and rocker arms are actuated to clamp the lower ends of the

arms

44 and 45 against the outer surface of the head 27. The toggle levers are returned to the released positions by springs 68 and 69 one of the ends of which are connected to the pin 61 and the opposite ends of which are connected to the pin 66.

Hydraulic, steam or pneumatic pressure applied to the cylinder 29 through a connection 70 drives the piston 29 toward the opposite end of the cylinder, drawing the rocker 60 over the pivot pin 61 and the rocker arm 54 to a horizontal position whereby the yoke 48 is forced over the pins 46 and 47 with the lower ends of the

arms

44 and 45 clamping the head 27 against the base flange 38.

Each cylinder is provided with an elongated box or casing 71 for the return strand of the conveyor chain 13, the casing including side plates 72 and 73, an outer plate 74 and end plates 75 and 76. The sprocket 14 is positioned on a shaft 77 that is rotatably mounted in the side plates 72 and 73 and the sprocket is mounted on a similar shaft 78 that is also rotatably mounted in the side plates, and the shaft 78 is provided with an extended end 79 that is supported by a bearing 80.

The gear 17 is mounted on a shaft 81 which is positioned above a shaft 82 on which a similar gear 83 is positioned and the shaft 81 is rotatably mounted in bearings 84 and 85 on

side beams

86 and 87, respectively, of a supporting frame. The gears 17 and 18 operate in opposite directions and when the spiders carrying the tubular containers come to the point to be loaded and unloaded at the same time, then gear17 meshes with gear 16 and gear 18 meshes with another gear 16, thus while one tube is discharging its products sterilized the preceding tube is receiving its products to be sterilized. The'ends of the

beams

86 and 87 are connected with cross beams 88 and 89. The shaft 82 is rotated by a chain 90 trained over sprockets91 and 92 with a motor 93' through a reduction gear 94, the reduction gear being'driven by a belt 95trained over apulley 96 on the motor and a pulley 97 on the reduction gear. The chain 90 is trained over the sprocket91positioned on the reduction gear and also over the sprocket 92 on the shaft 82, which is directly below the shaft 81.

The gear 17 meshes with the gear 83 on the shaft 82 and the gear assembly is adapted to be positioned whereby the gear 17 meshes with the gear 16 of the cylindrical containers.

The gear 16 is also adapted to mesh with the gear 18 on a shaft 98 which is driven from the shaft 81 with a chain 99, the chain being trained over a sprocket 100 on the shaft 81 and also over a sprocket 101 on the shaft 98. The gear assembly is mounted on rollers 102 so that it may be shifted to bring either of the gears 17 and 18 into meshing relation with the gears 16, one of the gears actuating the conveyor chain 13 to place cans or other objects in the cylindrical containers and the other being adapted to actuate the conveyor chain in the opposite direction, to remove cans or other objects from the containers.

Steam is supplied to a steam chest or ring 103 through the hollow shaft 25 and

end sections

23 and 24 and from a supply connection 104 with the inlet valve 31 of each of the containers connected to the chest 103 With-a tube 105. The valves 31 are adapted to be opened and closed by a button 106 on extended ends of stems 107 that extend from a sliding valve member 108 and the buttons are positioned to ride on a ring 109, as shown in Fig. 3, which is provided with a gap extended from the point 110. to the point 111.

The sterilizer may be rotated by hand, however,. it may also be actuated step by step by a motor, such as the motor 30 mounted, as illustrated in Figs. 4 and- 5 wherein the motor drives a shaft 112 through a wire 113 carried by the motor shaft and a worm gear-.114 mounted on the shaft 112. The shaft 112 is-provided with an eccentric arm 115 that is pivotally connected by apin 116 to a link 117, the opposite end of which is pivotally connected by a pin 118 to an arm 119 rotatably mounted on the section 24 of the tubular shaft 25 and provided with a pawl 120 that is positioned to;en-' gage teeth 121 of a ratchet wheel 122 also mountedon the shaft 24.

The motor is adapted to be controlled by a suitable push button switch so that it may operate continuously or may be started after each container is supplied-with cans or other products.

The arm 119 is carried by a hub 122 which is rotatably mounted on the shaft 24.

The extended end of the shaft 24 is rotatably mounted in the bearing 123 and the upper end of the upright 22 and the extended end of the section 23 of the shaft is rotatably mounted in a bearing 124 at the upper endof theupright or standard 21. The inner side of the hearing 124 is provided with a packing gland 125 and the'end of the shaft is provided with slots 126 through which steam from the connection 104 passes through the shaft to the steam chest 103 at the opposite end. From the steam chest the steam passes through tubes 105 to the valve 31 which holds the steam in the cylindrical containers as the button 106 travels from the points 110 to the points 111 and upon reaching the point 111 springs 127 urge the button inwardly opening the valves and-providing blow-off means for steam in the containers.

Operation A sterilizer is rotated until one of the tubes 10 arrives at the lowermost position, in which position, the gear 16 of the tube or container meshes with the gear 18 whereby the conveyor chain 13 is actuated to convey articles in the. containers from the open end. After all articles are removed from the containers the sterilizer is moved until the gear 16 meshes with the gear 17 whereby the direction of travel of the conveyor chain is reversed and cans or other articles are placed in the chain-and-carried-into the container.

With the container filled with articles the head 27 is moved against the flange 38 and with hydraulic, steam or pneumatic pressure applied to the cylinder 29 the

arms

44 and 45 grip the headsecuring the head in sealing relation with theend of the container. With the container sealed the steam is admitted through the valve 31 andthe steam is retained in the container as the sterilizer travels through substantially 360 degrees and until the button 106 of the valve 31 drops from the ring or cam 109, at which time the valve 31 is actuated to shut off the steam supply and open the container to the atmosphere.

In this comparatively short time products in the cans or other containers positioned in the cylindrical containers are subjected to high temperatures whereby complete sterilization of products in the cans or containers is accomplished.

It will be understood that modifications, within the scope of the appended claims, may be made in the design and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a multiple container sterilizer, the combination which comprises an elongated tubular shaft, spaced uprights in which the tubular shaft is rotatably mounted, spaced circular plates mounted on the tubular shaft, elongated tubular containers carried by the circular plates, one end of each of said containers being closed, heads provided on the ends of the containers opposite to the closed ends, toggle lever assemblies mounted on each of said containers for clamping the heads against the ends of the containers, pressure cylinders also mounted on the containers for operating the toggle levers, longitudinally positioned product retaining trays in the containers,

sprockets rotatably mounted on the ends of the containers positioned with portions thereof extended into the containers, endless chains mounted on the sprockets for sliding product containers on the trays, elongated casings for covering outer or return sections of the chains and sprockets, head shafts rotatably mounted in the ends of the tubular containers on which the heads of the containers are positioned, gears carried by extended ends of said head shafts, a gear assembly positioned below the sterilizer and having gears positioned to mesh with the gears on extended ends of the head shafts of the conveyors of the containers for actuating the conveyors to place objects in and also to remove objects from the containers, and means for steam sterilizing products in the containers.

2. In a multiple container sterilizer, the combination which comprises an elongated tubular shaft, spaced uprights in which the tubular shaft is rotatably mounted, spaced circular plates mounted on the tubular shaft, elongated tubular containers carried by the circular plates, one end of each of said containers being closed, heads provided on the ends of the containers opposite to the closed ends, toggle lever assemblies mounted on each of said containers for clamping the heads against the ends of the containers, fluid pressure cylinders also mounted on the containers for operating the toggle levers, longitudinally positioned product and can retaining trays in the containers, guards also mounted in the containers and positioned in opposed relation to the trays for retaining products in cans positioned on the trays, sprockets positioned on outer portions of the tubular containers and spaced inwardly from ends thereof, endless chains trained over the sprockets, elongated casings carried by the tubular containers and extended over the return sections of the chains and enclosing said sprockets, tail shafts rotatably mounted in the elongated casings and on which sprockets at the closed ends of the tubular containers are positioned, head shafts rotatably mounted in the elongated casings on which the sprockets in ends of the tubular containers on which the heads are positioned are mounted, the head shafts having extended ends, gears on the extended ends of the head shafts, a gear assem- 6 bly positioned below the'sterilizer and having gears P0! sitioned to mesh with the gears on extended ends of the head shafts of the conveyors of the containers. for actuating the conveyors to place objects in and also to remove objects from the containers, elongated guards inthe tubular containers positioned to urge product retaining containers on trays in the tubular containers and also designed to retain products in said product retaining containers and means for steam sterilizing products in the containers.

3, In a multiple container sterilizer, the combination which comprises an elongated tubular shaft, spaced uprights in which the. tubular shaft is rotatably mounted, spaced circular plates mounted on the tubular shaft, elongated tubular containers carried by the circular plates, one end of each of said containers being closed, heads provided on the ends of the containers opposite to the closed ends, toggle lever assemblies mounted on each of said containers for clamping heads against the ends of the containers, hydraulic cylinders also mounted on the containers for operating the toggle levers, longitudinally positioned product retaining trays in the containers, guards also mounted in the containers and positioned in opposed relation to the trays for retaining products in containers on the trays, endless chains providing conveyors mounted inside of the containers, casings surrounding said chains, head shafts of the conveyors having extensions with gears thereon at one end of the sterilizer, a gear assembly positioned below the sterilizer and having gears positioned to mesh with the gears on extended ends of the head shafts of the conveyors of the containers for actuating the conveyors to place objects in and also to remove objects from the containers, a steam chest positioned on the circular plates at the end of the sterilizer opposite to the end on which the heads of the containers are positioned, cam actuated control valves positioned on the closed ends of the containers, tubes connecting the valves to the steam chest, and means for actuating the valves by the cam for retaining steam in the containers and also for exhausting steam from the containers.

4. In a sterilizer, the combination which comprises an elongated tubular horizontally disposed shaft, spaced uprights in which the shaft is rotatably mounted, circular plates mounted on the shaft and spaced inwardly from the uprights in which the shaft is rotatably mounted, elongated cylinders carried by the circular plates, one of the ends of the cylinders being closed, heads removably mounted on the ends of the cylinders opposite to the closed ends, hydraulic cylinders carried by the elongated cylinders operatively connected to the heads through lever assemblies for closing the heads on open ends of the elongated cylinders, endless chains for conveying containers into the cylinders and also for removing containers from the cylinders, an operating gear assembly positioned to engage conveyor operating gear means of the cylinders upon arrival of the cylinders to loading and discharging positions by actuating the conveying means, spring means for actuating the elongated cylinder heads to open positions, a steam chest for supplying steam to interiors of the elongated cylinders, and valve means for exhausting steam from said elongated cylinders.

5. A sterilizer comprising a tubular shaft, spaced standards in which the shaft is rotatably mounted, spiders mounted on and spaced inwardly from ends of the shaft and also spaced from said standards, radially disposed circumferentially spaced elongated cylinders carried by the spiders, outer ends of the elongated cylinders being closed, product container guides positioned in the elongated cylinders, endless chains extended through the elongated cylinders and positioned to convey product containers on the guides, closures for the ends of the elongated cylinders opposite to the closed ends, a ratchet wheel mounted on the shaft and spaced from the ends of the cylinders on which the closures are positioned, a

7 mam: carrid By the standards at tfie en6 of th cyl indem on which the" closures are positioned mbun'td to co'ac'uwitlmhe ratchet wheel for rotatin th'o' cylifidr 'as s'amblies step by*step',' a; motor opeiativ'ly c'onnected to the ratchet for intermittently rotating'the sha'fis, sp'id'eis' and cylinders,- V and for stopping 1 the elongatd dylindefs at: pointsfon receiving product retainingwont'a'iner and also at points" for discharging the containers; fluid pres shrezmeans: mounted on'the. cylindersion a'ctila'ting the closures at the ends of the cylinders, a steam chest for adnx'itting steam to the elongated cylindersand valve means for cutting off the supply of: steam and' pi'niitting' the steam to escape from the cylinders;-

UNITED STATES FATENTS Baker Feb; 12-, 1952' FOREIGN PATENTS1 France Jigne 29 IQDB France Jan. 19,1948