US3531299A

US3531299A - Process of washing and filling containers with beverage using inert gas

Info

Publication number: US3531299A
Application number: US732400A
Authority: US
Inventors: Lucas Benjamins
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1965-01-05
Filing date: 1968-05-27
Publication date: 1970-09-29
Anticipated expiration: 1987-09-29
Also published as: DE1482608A1; NL6500035A; DE1482608C3; GB1096875A; ES318213A1; DK117616B; DE1482608B2

Description

Sept. 29, 1970 BENJAMINS 3,531,299-

PROCESS OF WASHING'AND FILLING CONTAINERS WITH BEVERAGE USING INERT GAS Filed May 27, 1968 WASH WATER FZTROGEN GAS fi l-Z 1 25 7 i Mi WK NITROGEN GAS l A INVENTOR WASH WATER I 1O LUCAS BENJAM/NS BY vamkcgwb H18 nrrmwer United States Patent Office 3,531,299 Patented Sept. 29, 1970 3,531,299 PROCESS OF WASHING AND FILLING CON- TAINERS WITH BEVERAGE USING INERT GAS Lucas Benjamins, Clairionlaan 9, Santpoort, Netherlands Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 500,154, Oct. 21, 1965. This application May 27, 1968, Ser. No. 732,400 Claims priority, application Netherlands, Jan. 5, 1965, 6500035 Int. Cl. A23b 1/14 US. Cl. 99-189 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A process for filling a bottle or can with a beverage, particularly beer, including the step of washing the container, introducing nitrogen gas into the container simultaneously with washing water used in the washing step, and displacing the nitrogen by introducing the beverage into the container.

This application is a continuation-in-part of United States application Ser. No. 500,154, filed Oct. 21, 1965.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In a known process for filling beverage into containers, the air in the container is evacuated and thereafter nitrogen gas is introduced into the container. Alternatively, the air may be flushed out of the container by rinsing out the container with nitrogen gas. These known processes are complicated, and the nitrogen gas introduced into the container is easily contaminated by air left behind in the container or by air which is drawn into the container by the nitrogen flow thereinto.

In processes where the container is rinsed with nitrogen to remove the air, a relatively long rinsing time is necessary and a large quantity of nitrogen gas is required to fill the container with nitrogen with a purity of at least 98%. In this connection, it should be noted that when the container is filled with pure nitrogen, any oxygen which may be dissolved in the beverage is withdrawn from the beverage; in contrast, when filling with impure nitrogen, the impure nitrogen gas only prevents air from entering the container during the introduction of the beverage, but does not affect the oxygen dissolved in the beverage. In the known processes, it is not possible to introduce pure nitrogen into the container during the short time interval which exists in the mechanical bottling processes between the washing of the container and filling with the beverage.

It is an object of the invention to remove the disadvantages of the known method for filling bottles or cans with a beverage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided a process for filling a container with a beverage, which process comprises the steps of washing the container, introducing nitrogen into the container simultaneously with the washing water used in said washing step, and displacing the nitrogen by introducing the beverage into the container.

In this manner, the free air present in the bottle is driven out and also the oxygen dissolved in the washing water is liberated by the interaction with the nitrogen gas and then driven out so that the bottle after the washing is filled with nitrogen gas and possibly minute amounts of wash water with a very low oxygen percentage.

According to another feature of the invention, the bottle is washed with nitrogen immediately preceding the filling. The container is preferably a bottle or can while the beverage is preferably beer. The nitrogen gas may be introduced into the container in various ways, for example, centrally through a spraying nozzle and surrounded by an annular stream of washing water delivered by the same nozzle. Preferably, the nitrogen gas is held, according to a following feature of the invention, at an overpressure in the bottle or the can, and driven out by the beverage pouring in during the filling. As a result, the oxygen which might be dissolved in the beer is liberated by the interaction between the beer pouring in in a thin film along the bottle wall, according to a known process, and then driven out together with the nitrogen gas.

According to a known process for filling bottles or cans with beverages, the beverage is allowed to flow from a filling container in the filling machine to the lowerpositioned bottle or can by gravity.

According to a feature of the invention, only, or substantially only, nitrogen gas is present over the beverage in the filling container. The beverage may be pressed from the container by the pressure of the nitrogen gas, so that the beverage neither in the storage containers, nor during the storing up in the bottles or the cans has the opportunity to pick up oxygen. The nitrogen gas driven away during the filling may be removed in various manners.

According to another feature of the invention, the nitrogen gas is forced from the bottle or the can to be filled to the gas supply container of the filling machine during the filling step.

A bottle filled in accordance with the invention may be closed simply or after a foam generation in the bottle neck in which latter event the beer is stored with an extremely low oxygen content.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate apparatus which may be used for the introduction of wash Water and an inert gas simultaneously into each bottle or container for the beverage.

' It should be understood that the gas which is to be used must be one which contains substantially no free oxygen, and preferably the gas used is nitrogen. FIG. 1 shows two rows of bottles 1 which are placed upside down over respective spraying nozzles 2 of a bottle-washing machine during the bottle-washing operation. The side view of FIG. 2 further illustrates each bottle which has been positioned above a respective one of the spray nozzles 2.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of a spraying nozzle 2 together with a portion of a bottle 1 which is placed upside down above the nozzle during the washing operation. Each nozzle is provided with a central opening 11 for introducing nitrogen gas into the bottle 1 from a source of nitrogen gas designated by the reference numeral 8. The spraying nozzle 11 is surrounded by an annular spraying nozzle 9 by means of which the wash Water which is supplied to the nozzle at 10 may be sprayed into the interior of the bottle 1.

For the arrangement shown in FIG. 1, the wash water is introduced into the conduits 4, each of which fits a plurality of nozzles 2. Disposed between the conduits 4 is a single conduit 6 which supplies nitrogen gas to both of the rows of spraying nozzles, the nitrogen gas being 3 supplied from the conduit 6 to the individual nozzles 2 by means of flexible tubes 7.

During the washing operation, each bottle is thoroughly washed by the wash water entering into the inverted bottle from the nozzle 2, and at the same time is filled with a quantity of nitrogen gas. Any oxygen remaining in the bottle is substantially entirely removed from the bottle during this process. When the bottle is removed from a position directly above the nozzle, or when the supply of wash water is cut 01?, the Wash water remaining in the bottle runs out by gravity, but the nitrogen stays inside because of its having a lower specific gravity than the surrounding air. Subsequently, the bottle is inverted to an upright position and filled with the beverage which displaces the nitrogen then occupying the bottle. Preferably, this filling operation takes place in a nitrogen atmosphere, so that the beverage does not in any way come into contact with oxygen during the filling operation.

The process of this invention is not limited to the filling of; containers such as bottles or cans with beer, but may also be applied to the filling of containers with other beverages whether or not containing carbon dioxide and whether or not containing alcohol.

What I claim is:

1. A process for filling a container with a beverage the filling operation being carried out in an atmosphere of nitrogen gas to prevent contact of the beverage with oxygen during the filling operation.

2. A process for filling a container with a beverage which comprises the steps of,

thoroughly washing the container with wash water introduced in the form of an annular stream,

introducing into the container simultaneously with the wash water, and while said container is inverted, nitrogen gas, said nitrogen gas being introduced as a jet internally of the annular stream of wash water,

and while said container is positioned upright introducing the beverage into the container to thereby fill the container and concurrently displace the nitrogen gas.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 490,524 1/1893 Werner 99-49 X 1,361,498 12/1920 Ruif. 1,608,634 11/1926 Taylor 2179 2,424,049 7/1947 Parker et al 99l82 X 2,897,082 7/1959 Kaiser 99-482 X 2,993,246 7/1961 Haloski et al. 2179 3,088,831 5/1963 Fauth et al. 99-49 X 2,771,645 11/1956 Martin 21-80 2,973,267 2/1961 Keller et a1 99-49 NORMAN YUDKOFF, Primary Examiner F. E. DRUMMOND, Assistant Examiner US. 01. X.R. 2149; 99 2s; 134 22; 141-4, 5