USRE11875E - bright - Google Patents

Description

Raisaued Dec. 4, I900.

No. |l,875.

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F W BRIGHT PROCESS OF PRESEBVING IEA'IS.

(Application filed Sept. 24, 1900.)

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Rgissuad Dec. 4, I900.

r. w. BRIGHT.

PROCESS OF PRESEBVING HEATS.

(Application filed Sept. 24:, 1900.)

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No. ll,875. Raissuad Dec. 4, I900.

F. w. BRIGHT. PROCESS OF PBESERVING MEATS.

(Ayplication filed Sept. 24, 1900.)

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WITNESSES: m7 VEN To'R,

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Toabt whom it may concern:

F-REJL RICK BRIGHT, OF KANSAS CITY, KANsAs, ASSIGNOR TO ARMOURVPAQKINGCOMPANY, or SAME PLACE.

THE

PROCESS OF PRESERVIING MEATS.

'YBPEGIFIGVATION forming part of Reissued Letters Patent No; 1 1,875. dated December-1,1900.

; I Original to. 654,563, amt Jo e- 1900. Application for reissue and September 24,1900. Serial no. 30,966.

;Be it known. that :I, FREDRICK W. BRIGHT,

a citizenof the United States, and a resident of Kansas City, in the county of Wyand otte and-State'of Kansas, have invented new and useful Improvementsin Processes of Preserving Food Products in Metallic Cans, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a process for sealing,.washing, and cooling cans containing food products, such as meats, fish, oysters,

soups, poultry, vegetables, fruits, or any pirodluctof-any character which can be preserved by using my herein-described process. .One object of my invention is to provide a process by which such products after being placed and sealed in such cans and the cans being'passed through my processing arrangements the contents therein will be preserved indefinitely.

A further object which I have in view in producing my. invention is that all of the sealing,z.preserving, cooling, and handling is automatically accomplished, thereby effecting a saving of time and labor; and a still further object of my invention is to prevent lossof weight of the product during the preserving process; and a still further object is toefiectja saving of. steam used in the pre-.

serving .of the products; and a still further object is to provide means by which the cans are conveyed throughout the diiferent operations to which they are subjected without the agency of manual labor; and a still further object of my invention is to provide more efficient means for washing, cooling, and preserving canned products than have been heretofore employed.

' 'Izdonot claim, broadly, the machine y ployed in ,the process; to be described; but said machinery is illustrated by dra'wingsin order: to admit ofla more explicitdescription ofisaid.process cans through said tanks.

, Reference is made to the accompanyihg.-

drawings, in which- Figure l is a diagrammatic plan view of an equipment for carrying my invention into eifect. Fig. 2 is a central'vertica'l longitudinal section of a processing-tank and the end,-.

less conveyer which carries the cans, through said tanks. Fig. 3 is a central vertical longitudinal section of three can-washing tanks 5' and the endless conveyer which carries the longitudinal section of a machine for cooling the cans when they leave the washing-machine. of conveyers for carrying freshly-sealed cans from the sealing-machines into the processing-tanks. The number of processing-tanks required depends partly on the variety of cans Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a set Fig. 4 is a vertical tobe processed and partly on the ditfere nces' I in the size in said cans. In Fig.1 four of such machines are represented. Fig. 6 is an elevation of the receiving end of one of said process-tanks, together with part of the apparatus shown by Fig. 5.

The process-tanks and their conveyers will be referred to herein as processmachines. The washing-tanks and their conveyer will be referred to as the washing-machine.

Heretofore the procedure in processing canned products has been to leave open the vents in the lids of said. cans until the contents were partially processed. Then the cans were removed from the processing apparatus, the vegts closed .or sealed, and the contents processed again. This first processing involved a loss of several ounces of jellies from each'can through thevent thereof.

The two separate processings involved a loss of time in handling the cans. My process p'rovents the escape of jelly from the cans and requires less' time and labor than the old process. I seal the vents of the cans before processing. The scaling is done by soldering 'u'p thevents in a vacuum created in vacuum-chambers of soldering-machines :1 '2' 35,4. When sealed, v he .cans are pushed uponchutes 7, leading from said -rma.chi ne to a table 8, providedwith openings in its top through lwhich the cans descend,landing. .9 2 a conveyer-belt Q1 The op of. ta et has eres s fflirmn j wer IO i machines 1.

side a plurality of longitudinal partitions 10, running parallel with and close to top of belt 9. The object of said partitions is to keep separate the ditferent sorts and sizes of cans turned out from the ditit'erent soldering-machines. Side guards 15, secured to table 8, prevent the cans in the .outer channels from falling ofi the belt 9. By this arrangement (shown in Figs. 5 and 6) the cans to be proc essed in machine No. 1 are sealed in vacuum- Cans to .be processed in machine No. 2 are sealed in vacuum-machines 2, and so on.

The devices shown in the drawings for conveying the cans from belt 9 to the process machines will next be described.

The partitionslO extend downwardly at the discharge end of table 8 and guide the cans to an elevator-belt 1'2, driven by a pulley 11. Extensions of partitions l0 are secured close above belt 12 and extensions of side guards 15 are secured at the sides thereof. Belt 12 is of the same width as belt 9 and is provided between said partitions and guardswith sets of flights 13 fore'ngaging the cans. The cans are raised by said elevator-belt to the upper pulley 14, from which they descend into four chutes 16, 17, 18, and 19. Chute 17 terminates directly above the receiving end of' process-machine2, as shown in Fig. 6. The other three chutes deposit cans upon dififerent portions of a' -horizontal distributing-belt 20, mounted on pulleys journaled to a frame suitably supportedabove the receiving ends of the process-machine. Said frame consists of two central longitudinal partitions 21 and 22, cross-bars 23 for bracing same, and four outer guard- plates 24 and 25 for preventing cans from leaving belt 20, except at certain points to be mentioned. .Said partitions 21 and 22 divide. this conveyer into four compartments, three of which receive cans from the chutes 16, 18, and 19, respectively. Cans from chute 16 are carried by belt 20 until they come in contact with a vertical oblique plate,

16 and are diverted thereby into a chute which feeds them into process-machine 1. In the same way cans fromchutes 18 and 19 are diverted by plates 18 and 19 and are fed into process-machines 3 and 4, respectively.

Each process-machine consists of an endless-chain and basket conveyor and a tank through which the conveyer is driven at a vvery slow rate of motion. Each of said. machines is driven independently and is pro- Vided with a reducing-gear and a variablespeed device connected with a son rce of power. Said process-conveyers move on tracks attached to the inner sides of the process-tanks:

The baskets 13 of said conveyer become inverted when they are carried underneath the process-tanks. (See Fig. 2.)

An important feature of my invention is the use of a liquid for processing the cans, so

that theprodncts in the cans will be proserved. Prior to the employment of liquid applied to the exterior of the cans the contents in them were processed by admitting into the cans live steam in suitable retorts.

'These retorts had to be opened whenever a batch of cans were placed therein or withdrawn, and during this time theretorts became partially cooled. When they were closed, more steam was required in order to raise the temperature in them to the required point. Iattain a high economy of steam by confining the steam in coils of pipe located at or near the bottom of the process-tank. Processing liquid is heated by contact with said pipes at a temperature approximating 240 Fahrenheit. The essential characteristic or property of the liquid is that it shall vaporize but very slowly at the temperature named. No. l tallow possesses this property and is preferred by me for a processing liquid; yet inferior grades will answer and other fatty substances may be employed which will produce good results. Said liquid is maintained at the height of about nine (9) inches above the tops of the conveyer-baskets in the tanks. Each proeess-conveyer is run at a speed suitable for processing the kind of product and the size of cans carried byit in the time during which any particular conveyer-basket is submerged in the processing, liquid. The cans after being processed are withdrawn from the tanks by the conveyers, from which they fall upon a transverse conveyer 26, (see Fig. 1,) which conveys them to a point above the receiving end of a washing-machine 5. This machine consists of a plurality o5 tanks, three being a preferred number, arranged end to end, but .not in contact with one another and an endless-chain and basket conveyer carried by sprocket=whecls mounted on said tanks and rails secured to the inner sides of said tanks upon which the conveyerchains travel The baskets of said conveyor become inverted when they are drawn underneath the washing-tanks. The tank through which the cans are first (See Fig. 3.)

dium carbonate in hot water. The next tank is filled with a somewhat weaker solution of the same elements. The third tank contains hot water only. i The cans are carried through and below the level of said liquids in the order named and'are thereby thoroughly cleansed. The washingmachine conveyer descends around a pair of sprocket-wheels at the dis charge endol' said machine, and here the clean cans descend and lodge upon a trans verse conveyor-belt 27, (see Fig. 1,) which carries them to a cooling-machine 6, where they are discharged into a chute 28. (See Fig. 4;.) The cooling arrangement consists of a spray of cold water, which discharges into a cooling-tank 32, a pan 36, and an end1 less-chain and basket conveyor mechanism driving the conveyor, and devices for receiving and discharging the cans into and from 32, which receives a continual supply of cold 'wnter at the end from which the baskets emerge and is provided near the opposite end with an overflow-outlet 35, located several inn-hes above the tops of said conveyorbaskets in the tank. The reason for placing said outlet at the point where the hot cans enter the water will be readily perceived. By the time the cans are withdrawn from tank 32 they are partly cooled, and the conveyer passing ovcra pair of sprocket-wheels at this point the cans move slowly through a spray 33 of cold water falling from a perforated pipe 3+. Said spray completes the cooling, of the cans and their contents and is received by a pan 36, open at one end, as shown in Fig. at. The water falls from said open end into the tank 32.

The eonveyer-baskets are driven at a rate of motion adapted to the time required for cooling the quantities and sizes of cans carried in said baskets. When the eonveyerbaskets arrive at a point above the belt 3], they are successively tilted or swung rearwardly by the action of a cam (not shown) secured to the eonveyer-tracks. By this means the cans in the baskets are dumped upon a conveyor-belt 31, driven by gearing, From the driving-shaft of the basket conveyor. Holt .il carries the cans to the upper end of ihechulo 37, down which they slide to a sorting-table 38, being then ready for painting and labeling.

Having now fully described my process, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. In a process for preserving food products in metallic cans, which consists in first hermetically sealing said cans containing the products in a vacuum, then processing the same in a liquid, which does not vaporize appreciably at a temperature of 240 Fahrenheit, said liquid being maintained at approximately said temperature; then automatically washing said packages in a solution of sodium carbonate and hot water, then passing them through a body of hot Water, then cooling them in cold water, and further cooling them in a stream or spray of cold wate13'substantially as set forth.

2. In a process for preserving food prod nets in 1i [1 cansoreases, which consists in first hermetically sealing said cans in a vacuum, then processing the same by passing them through a bath No. l tallow having a temperature of 240", more or less, Fahrenheit, said temperature being, maintained bya volume of steam confined in pipes in said bath of tallow; next, in aummatically removing the grease from said cans by passing them through three cleaning-baths in succession; the first being a strong, solution of sodium carbonate in hot' water, the next being a weaker solution of the same, and the last consisting of hot Water only; linallyiu :intmnatieally passing'the cans so cleaned, Llll'OUgll a body of cold water and then through a st ream or spray of cold water, substantially as set forth.-

l ltEl RIGK \V. BRIGHT.

\Vitnesses' (inonon W. floun'rnuio'r, A. Jones.

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