US3529977A

US3529977A - Steam pasteurizing articles

Info

Publication number: US3529977A
Application number: US804507A
Authority: US
Inventors: Schuyler M Hibbard
Original assignee: Lohmann Foods Corp
Current assignee: Lohmann Foods Corp
Priority date: 1966-04-12
Filing date: 1969-03-05
Publication date: 1970-09-22
Anticipated expiration: 1987-09-22

Description

Sept. 22, 1970 s. M. HIBBARD STEAM PASTEURIZING ARTICLES Original Filed April 12 1966 ENTR ANC E ECCENTRKI DRWE MECHANISM 0 RM J, 03 M mw k w dm W 4 W United States Patent 3,529,977 STEAM PASTEURIZING ARTICLES Schuyler M. Hibbard, Penn Yan, N.Y., assignor to LOII- mann Foods Corporation, Gorham, N.Y., a corporation of New York Original application Apr. 12, 1966, Ser. No. 542,010, now Patent No. 3,457,851, dated July 29, 1969. Divided and this application Mar. 5, 1969, Ser. No. 804,507

- Int. Cl. A2311 3/02 US. Cl. 599-216 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A method of pasteurizing articles with steam involving the transportation of the articles through an open ended steam chamber which is sealed at its open end by the formation of an unrestrained curtain or sheet of liquid at the open end.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a division of allowed application Ser. No. 542,010, filed Apr. 12, 1966, for treatment apparatus, now Pat. No. 3,457,851, issued July 29, 1969. The present application is filed in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 121, as a result of a requirement for restriction issued in the parent application, and incorporates essential material by reference to the allowed parent application in accordance with the notice published in 34 RR. 883 (Ian. 18, 1969).

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to the treatment of articles, particularly the treatment of articles with a fluid medium such as steam for pasteurization. In such treatment, articles to be treated, such as canned goods, are passed through a treatment zone in which they are subject to the action of a pasteurizing fluid, such as steam or hot water. A disadvantage of most prior art devices is that they are subject to considerable heat loss out of the ends of the treatment chamber, which are normally left open to permit the continuous passage of articles through the chamber. Other prior art devices not involving open ended chambers include elaborate sealing arrangements which are complicated, cumbersome, and expensive to build.

An object of the invention accordingly is to provide for the improved pasteurization of articles subject to relatively little heat loss and not involving complicated heat sealing arrangements.

This and other objects of the present invention are attained by providing an open ended chamber into which steam is admitted for pasteurization, passing the articles for pasteurization into the chamber through an open chamber end, and forming an unrestrained curtain or sheet of liquid at the open chamber end so as to form an effective seal for the chamber. The chamber is typically open at entrance and exit ends thereof, and the articles are continuously transported into and out of the chamber, in which case unrestrained curtains or sheets of liquid are formed at both entrance and exit ends of the chamber so as to form effective seals for the chamber. Further, steam may be supplied only to one portion of the chamber, and coolant to another chamber portion. In such a case an unrestrained curtain or sheet of liquid may be formed within the chamber so as to separate these two chamber portions.

The allowed parent application referenced above dis- 3,529,977 Patented Sept. 22, 1970 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a representative treatment apparatus in accordance with the invention, shown in diagrammatic form.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a portion of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, partly broken away and to an enlarged scale, showing some of the details of the treatment apparatus.

In FIG. 2, a trough receives water from a perforated pipe 48b. Water supplied to the pipe 48b passes through the perforations in the pipe and fills the trough so as to overflow the trough in a uniform unrestrained curtain or sheet of water. The curtain of water so provided elfectively seals the end of the chamber 40.

What is claimed is:

I. The method of pasteurizing articles by steam comprising:

(a) transporting the articles through an open-ended chamber into which steam is supplied for pasteurization, and

(b) forming an unrestrained sheet of liquid flowing across an open end of the chamber so as to form an effective seal for the chamber.

2. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the chamber is open at entrance and exit ends thereof and wherein the articles are continuously transported into and out of the chamber, and in which unrestrained sheets of liquid are formed at both entrance and exit ends of the chamber so as to form effective seals for the chamber.

3. The method as defined in claim I, wherein the chamber has two portions, steam is supplied only to one portion of the chamber, and a coolant is supplied to the other portion of the chamber, and including the further step of forming anunrestrained sheet of liquid flowing across the chamber so as to separate said two portions of said chamber.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,282,187 5/1942 Herold et a1. 99-214 2,660,512 11/1953 Webster.

2,719,478 10/1955 Van Der Winden 99-360 2,806,423 9/ 1957 Van Der Winden 99-362 X 2,968,232 1/ 1961 Carvallo 99-360 3,211,275 10/1965 Van Der Winden 99-214 X 3,377,173 4/1968 Van Der Winden 99-214 3,445,179 5/1969 Jansen 99-360 3,101,995 8/1963 Beauvis 99-216 X FOREIGN PATENTS 431,844 7/ 1935 Great Britain.

NORMAN YUDKOFF, Primary Examiner F. E. DRUMMOND, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R.