WO2000039408A1 - A method and an apparatus for utilising glacier ice as drinking water - Google Patents

Abstract

The method comprises cutting or drilling the ice from the deposit into units of a unit size suitable for immediate packing and for later distribution to and used by end consumers. While the units still are in the form of ice, they are packed in sealed containers suitable for distribution to and use by end consumers. The apparatus comprises conveyor line (1, 6). One conveyor line (1) for conveying (3, 4, 5) and a second conveyor line (6) with means for conveying containers (8a, 8b) for packing the ice unit portions.

Description

A METHOD AND AN APPARATUS FOR UTILISING GLACIER ICE AS DRINKING WATER

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for utilising naturally occurring ice, such as glacier ice arctic ice from the polar caps or Greenland inland ice, as drinking water resource, while retaining the very high degree of purity which such ice deposits possess to such a great extent.

DE-A-32 17 560 discloses a method for providing countries having poor water resources, in particular desert countries, with fresh water by packing icebergs drifting in the Antarctic in watertight flexible wrappings, pumping undesired sea water out from the wrappings, closing the wrappings, allowing the wrapped icebergs to drift towards the Equator and, upon partial or complete melting of the icebergs and attainment of a desired latitude, towing the resulting huge water bags to the countries in question.

It has been known for many years to utilise, e.g., Greenland inland ice as a drinking water resource within the field of refreshing drinks or soft drinks based on the recognition that upon melting, the inland ice may be distributed to consumers as some of the purest naturally occurring water in the world. However, known methods have been disadvantageous, /t7ter alia because some of the natural purity of the ice has been lost in the preparation of the ice as drinking water, as, after ice has been taken out from its natural occurrence, such as an iceberg, it has been necessary to melt it and then bottle or pack the water in containers permitting transport and distribution of the water to consumers.

The inland ice is formed by the yearly snowfall of a thickness of, on the average, 1 meter, being compressed by the snowfall of following years until the snow, in a depth of about 70 meters, has been converted into ice filled with small air bubbles. The ice layers are compressed, an in the course of thousands of years, moves down the bedrock and towards the ice rim in glaciers which calve and at short interval yield an iceberg which floats out to sea. If such icebergs are "caught" shortly after their formation from the glacier and before they are decomposed into undrinkable sea water, their ice may be utilised for the production of drinking water of a very high purity. It is also possible to obtain glacier ice by mining of the glacier before it has calved. However, melting of the ice in order to pack the resulting water in a package suitable for distribution involves a substantial exposure to the surroundings of the water formed from the ice, the exposure taking place during the melting process and during the subsequent packing processes and therefore contributing to impair the purity and increase the germ count in the water so that its quality and shelf-life are impaired. Even though the melting and packing operations may be performed under conditions counteracting pollution and increase of the germ count in the water, such as an ozone-containing atmosphere and/or UV irradiation, and with measures for removing germs, such as sterile filtration, it will hardly be possible to guarantee that a pollution, once introduced, can be removed with certainty. In addition, the melting of the ice in arctic environments and the bottling or packing of the water are, in themselves, highly resource-demanding processes.

The invention provides a method and an apparatus which do not have the above- mentioned disadvantages associated with the methods used hitherto to utilising naturally occurring ice, such as glacier ice, arctic ice masses or inland ice as drinking water resources.

It is contemplated that the drinking water obtained according to the invention will be of special interest in the field of "luxury drinking water", comparable to known international brands of bottled pure water, or in the field of refreshing drinks or soft drinks, but because of the good economy of the method of the invention, it also seems realistic to use the drinking water obtained according to the invention as everyday drinking water supply where access to pure drinking water is otherwise limited.

The method of the invention for utilising glacier ice or other natural ice deposits as drinking water comprises cutting or drilling the ice from the deposit, or from ice blocks taken from the deposit, into units of a unit size suitable for immediate packing and for later distribution to and use by end consumers, and packing, while the units are still in the form of ice, the units in sealed containers suitable for distribution to and use by end consumers.

Thus, the special new feature of the invention is that after the cutting out or drilling out of the units, , preferably immediately subsequent to the cutting out or drilling out, the units are packed in the form of ice in an airtight and preferably light-impervious containers without the exposure to potential pollution and to bacteria which would be possible in a melting and subsequent bottling or packing of the water. Thereby, the very low germ count of the ice is retained in the packing after it has been closed and will be retained as long as the packing remains closed, irrespective of the further treatment of the packed ice, or the water formed from the ice, by stacking, transportation and distribution of the consumer unit portions. Due to the of the packing being sealed, a melting of the ice inside the packing during the distribution of the packing to shops or consumers will not result in any substantial change of the low germ count of the product which, accordingly, will be drinking water of a very high degree of purity. The method and the apparatus of the invention also avoid the above-mentioned ressource-intensive melting of ice in order to tap as drinking water prior to bottling or packing and the reduction of the purity of the product associated therewith.

Glacier ice which has been formed prior to the industrialisation and which has not been in contact with, e.g., soil or sea water is extremely pure. It is sterile or substantially sterile, and it has a very low content of ions. In these regards, it can be compared to triple distilled water.

The method of the invention will preferably be performed under such conditions that the high degree of purity made possible by the fact that the interior of the ice units is unavailable to the surrounding is retained without any particular treatment of the ice, that is, without the necessity of using special precautions such as UV irradiation, ozone atmosphere, sterile filtration, etc.

Such conditions comprise the use of cutting or drilling tools made of materials which inherently have smooth surfaces where possible and thus a low tendency to absorb impurities or germs and which is easy to clean, such as, e.g., tools of suitable ceramics or stainless steel or other suitable alloys. Stainless steel are the presently preferred tools. It is also preferred that all or substantially all other equipment which contacts any surface of the final ice units is made of such materials, e.g., stainless steel, suitable ceramics or other suitable and easily cleaned materials.

It is especially noted that while ice, as pure frozen water without any surface film of molten water, does not have any pronounced tendency to absorb impurities or germs from the surrounding air, this does not apply to water, and thus, it is important to avoid that a water film is present on the exterior of the ice units when they are packed into the containers. This may be done by performing the operations cautiously and without any unnecessary heat generation at the ice surface. It is also preferred, as indicated above, that the cutting of the surfaces that will be the exterior surfaces of the ice unit packed is performed as late as possible and preferably substantially immediately before the ice unit becomes enclosed and sealed in its container. If there is danger of the formation of a water film, it would also be possible to cut or scrape off the water film and possibly a thin layer of the ice with a clean tool immediately prior to the packing.

The cutting or drilling and packing of the ice is preferably performed under strict hygienic conditions, which involved that where possible, the operations are performed by means of automates or robots to avoid or reduce the risk of contamination from humans. Also, it is preferred to perform the operations under an increased atmospheric pressure, and where staff must be present during the operations, the staff should preferably wear special clothing adapted to the purpose, caps, masks, etc. Preferably the cutting or drilling and the packing are performed in accordance with FDA Current Good Manufacturing Practice for processing and bottling of bottled drinking water, 21CFR129.

The identification of a suitable source of pure ice is normally easy and may be assisted by chemical analysis and flow studies and/or other knowledge about origin of the ice. In most cases, it will be possible for persons having expertise in glaciology and/or related sciences to establish, based on the above-mentioned and other assessments, that the ice is pure and has an age of at least 2000 years.

One special feature of high quality pure glacial ice is an extremely low conductivity, reflecting a very low content of ions which again reflects the desired lack of contact with soil, sea water and even lack of contact with organic life. Thus, the ice is preferably an ice which, when thawed, has a conductivity of at the most 10 mS/m, which means that the water reaching the consumer will have a conductivity of the same low order of magnitude. It is often found that the ice, when thawed, has a conductivity of at the most 5 mS/m or even as low as at the most 3 mS/m. Ice samples suitable sources from glaciers from the Greenland inland ice have been found to have a conductivity, when thawed, of less than 2 mS/m.

An important indicator of purity of the ice and an origin going back to prior to industrialisation is the lead content of the ice. While, e.g., Greenland inland ice formed at the time of the Industrial Revolution (1770-1780) has been found to have a lead concentration close to 10 picograms per gram of ice, increasing to about 250 picograms per gram of ice in the 1960'ies, ice formed in pre-industrial time, e.g. 2000-5000 years ago, will have a lead concentration of about 1 picogram per gram. Thus, it is preferred that the ice used in the method of the invention has a lead concentration of at the most 5 picograms of lead per gram of ice, more preferably at the most 2 picograms of lead per gram of ice and most preferably at the most 1 picogram of lead per gram of ice.

As indicated above, it is an important feature of the present invention that due to the fact that the interior of the ice will not get into any substantial contact with the surroundings during the operations performed, the original very high purity of the ice will be retained. This also means that the during the operations, the ice should preferably not crack or become crushed because this would expose a much larger surface to the surroundings. Therefore, it is preferred that the ice, prior to the processing, has been stored at a constant temperature, such as a temperature in the interval of minus 2°C to minus 20 °C, for at least 48 hours, preferably for at least a week, and in practice often several weeks. Thereby, internal stresses in the ice caused by the temperature variations between the situation where the ice was positioned in the glacier or the iceberg and the situation during mining/transportation will be levelled out, and the ice will become in equilibrium with its "new" surroundings.

The temperature of the ice subjected to cutting or drilling is preferably a temperature at which the ice has a relatively low tendency to cracking during these operations. It is known that the plasticity of ice and thus its capability of resisting cracking under external influences varies with the temperature, the plasticity being relatively higher at higher temperatures. Therefore, is preferred that the temperature of the ice subjected to cutting or drilling is in the range of minus 1°C to minus 20°C, a preferred interval being minus 2°C to minus 12°C, and a presently more preferred interval being minus 5°C to minus 10°C. In spite of these specific intervals being mentioned, it should be noted that it will be possible for a person skilled in the art, based on simple preliminary tests, to assess which processing temperature will be the optimum for a particular lot of ice.

While it is, of course, preferred to utilise the inherent purity of the ice to avoid measures like UV irradiation, ozone atmosphere, sterile filtration, etc., it is within the scope of the invention to combine one or more such measures with the packing in ice form, the inherent advantage of the packing in ice form being retained and guaranteeing that the interior of the ice unit is substantially free from influences from man-made or man- influenced surroundings. It will also be preferred that the production of the packed ice units is continuously monitored by frequent withdrawal of samples and determination of their purity parameters, including germ count. For preventing ice with built-in foreign bodies from being included in the ice packed, the ice deposit or the ice blocks may be transilluminated or scanned by other means prior to the cutting out/drilling out. Another possibility is to continously or intermittently withdrawing very small samples of the ice under controlled conditions and subject them to an analysis by suitable fast methods, such as using automated microscopic methods such as automated fluorescence- microscopic methods.

Although it is presumed that the most important exploitation of the method according to the invention will be the embodiment where the natural ice is packed without any addition or modification, it is within the scope of the invention to combine the packing in ice form with addition of desired additives such as minerals, carbon dioxide, flavour additives, etc. In the case of such additives it is, of course, preferred that they are of a high quality and purity and have a low germ count, preferably the same extremely low germ count as the ice itself. The retention of the inherent advantage of the method of the invention can also be utilised in these cases as the interior of the ice will still be substantially without influence from man-made or man-influenced surroundings, and the economic advantages of avoiding the melting which is particularly expensive in arctic environments are also still obtained. It will also be within the scope of the present invention to combine the ice being packed with a larger or smaller amount of an alcohol product such as an alcoholic liquor product such as whisky or other liquor product which may be diluted with water before consumption. In such case, it will normally be preferred to adapt the ratio between the alcohol product and the ice so that the combination corresponds substantially to the dilutions of the alcohol product normally consumed, such as with 5-25% by volume of the alcohol liquor product, calculated on the combined volume of ice and the alcohol product. Whenever the ice packed is combined with one or more such added components, the volume of the ice unit packed should be reduced to compensate for the volume of the added component or components, the preferred total degree of filling of the container mentioned herein preferably being retained.

The containers used for the packing may be metal containers, suitably metal cans, such as made of steel sheet, aluminium or other suitable metal which has preferably been provided with an interior coating protecting the metal against the corroding effect of the ice/the water. Especially, the water formed by the melting of the ice inside the containers may have a high content of so-called aggressive carbon dioxide. However, it is within the scope of the invention to use other containers, such as containers of tight plastic or containers of the type of plastic-treated/plastic-coated cartons sold under the trade mark Tetra Pak. Also glass containers may, of course, be used. Normally, however, the above- mentioned internally coated metal containers are suitable, in particular where the containers are subjected to substantial influence between the time of packing and the time of consumption. When relatively stiff packing materials are used, a certain vacuum may be developed by the melting of the ice in the packing, as ice has a higher volume than the water formed by the melting of the ice. In addition, it may be suitable to perform the packing at a reduced pressure so that also for this reason, there may be a reduced pressure in the closed container. As explained in the following, a particularly preferred type of container is a triangular or other prismatic shape container made of a plastics material, such as food grade polyethylene or polypropylene, such as random copolymer polypropylene from Amoco, or any other suitable food grade plastics material.

The container is suitably adapted so that it facilitates the introduction of a large volume of ice in the total volume of the packing. It is preferred that the ice packed constitutes at least 80% of the total interior volume of the container, more preferred at least 90% most preferred at least 95% of the total interior volume, and it is still more preferred that the ice constitutes 98% or more, such as at least 99%, of the interior volume.

When the patent claims mention unit portions or consumer units, this is to be understood as the portions acquired by the individual consumer, whether this consumer uses the packed product as a "unit dosis" of the size of, e.g., 0J litre to 1.5 litre or as as "dispenser unit" of a size of, e.g., 2-10 litres from which the water may be tapped over a very short period of time, such as from less than one day to a few days, preferably from inserted tapping units ensuring tightness and preventing germs from entering. However, because of the character of the product as pure and "noble", the typical consumer portion will be one which is opened and consumed in the course of at the most some hours.

Because of the desirability of packing the ice portions as fast and easily as possible after they have been cut out or drilled out, it is highly preferred that the ice portions and the containers to be filled have such shapes relative to each other that any cross-section of the ice portion being moved into the container can be accommodated in the container. In practice, it is, therefore, preferred that the ice portions are cylindrical or prismatic with sides that are parallel to their longitudinal axis, and that the containers have a corresponding interior shape, with a narrow fit between the ice portion and the interior of the container, just allowing the air in the container to escape as the ice portion is being moved into the container. A circular-cylindrical shape of the ice portions is preferred when the containers are conventional cans such as metal cans of types conventionally used for drinking water and may be obtained by suitable drilling as described herein. Another highly preferred shape is a prismatic shape, in particular such a prismatic shape that it can be easily cut out of a block of ice without much waste being formed. Preferred shapes in this regard are shapes with rectangular cross-section and with quadratic, hexagonal, pentagonal or triangular cross-section.

A presently preferred container of this kind is a container comprising a bottom wall and a tubular container body extending upwardly therefrom, said tubular body having a substantially polygonal cross-sectional shape and being defined by a plurality of substantially trapezoidal side walls, adjacent rectilinear upper edges of the side walls opposite to said bottom wall defining a plane defining an acute angle with a longitudinal axis of the tubular container body and extending upwardly therefrom to a vertex of the polygonal tubular container body so as to define a spout. Thus, despite its attractive stringent geometrical shape, such as a prism having an upper end cut at an oblique angle, the container has a functional spout defined by an upper vertex of the tubular container body.

The container may have any practical polygonal cross-sectional shape, such as hexagonal, pentagonal or quadrangular. In the preferred embodiment, however, the tubular container body has a triangular cross-sectional shape.

The acute angle defined between the longitudinal axis of the container body and the plane extending upwardly to the spout-defining vertex may in principle have any practical value between 5° and 89°, for example. Preferably, however, said acute angle is 30°-85° and more preferred 45°-80°, for example about 75°.

The container may, for example, contain a single beverage portion, such as about 33 cl, suitable to be consumed at one time. In such case, the tubular body of the container may have a relatively small cross-sectional shape, such that any of the side surfaces may be safely gripped. If, however, the container is to be able to contain a substantially greater amount, such as for example 100 cl, the cross-sectional shape of the container body may conveniently be an equilateral triangle, so that the side surface of the container body forming the shorter side of the triangle may be safely gripped.

For any cross-sectional shape of the tubular body of the container according to the invention the width of at least one of the side walls of the container body should preferably substantially correspond to the length of the palm of the hand of a grown up person so as to allow a user to safely grip the opposite parallel sides of such side wall.

The container body is closed at its upper end by means of a closure or lid, which may be opened or removed by the consumer. If the amount of ice packed in the container is so small that it is usually consumed at one time, the closure may be of the "tear off" type, such as a film or foil closing at least part of the upper end of the container body. Thus, such tear off type of closure may cover only an opening formed at the spout-defining edges, while the remaining part of the upper end of the tubular container body may be closed by a permanent end wall part formed integrally with the side walls of the container body.

If the size of the container is such that its contents is usually consumed in portions over a period of time, the closure or lid of the container is conveniently of the re-closable type. Such closure may form a hermetic seal till the closure is opened for the first time, and thereafter it may be closed again so as to prevent spillage of the liquid contents. As an example, the closure or lid may be hinge connected to the upper edge of a side wall of the container body opposite to the spout defining vertex. When the lid has been opened for the first time it may be retained in its closed position, for example by means of a lock of the snap fastener type.

By performing the process of the invention at the site of mining of the ice, that is, in arctic surroundings, the natural low temperature of these surroundings is utilised in the process, which, together with a preferred use of tools of stainless steel contributes further to retention of the low germ count of the product. In one preferred embodiment, cylindrical drills in the cutting or drilling unit of an apparatus for performing the method are, e.g., of the type of spoon bits known per se, arranged as two identical, mutually oppositely oriented sets at each side of a matrix which is rotatable around its longitudinal centre axis so that the drill not inserted is directed away from the ice block treated an may be made ready, e.g., emptied of ice residues, prior to insertion. Each set consists of a predetermined number of cylindrical drills which are mutually axis- parallel and perpendicular to the matrix.

The invention also relates to apparatuses for performing the method.

In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises first and second mutually crossing, intermittently operating conveyor lines (1 , 6) arranged at two respective levels, the first conveyor line (1) being provided with means (1 a) for conveying pre-formed ice blocks (2a) to a cutting station (2b) having cutting means for cutting or dividing the preformed ice blocks into unit portions, so that these portions remain interconnected at one end, the second conveyor line (6) being provided with means (9) for conveying containers or packagings (8a, 8b) for packing of the ice unit portions (2b), a packing and cutting station (10, 11) being arranged at the crossing of the conveyor lines and having means for moving open ended containers or packagings conveyed by the second conveyor line into encircling engagement with each of the mutually interconnected ice portions (2b), and means for subsequently cutting the interconnected ice portions from the remaining part (2c) of the ice block, whereby the packed ice portions may be further conveyed by one of said conveyor lines.

34. In another embodiments, related to the prismatic cross-section, such as a triangular cross-section, the apparatus comprises first and second mutually crossing, intermittently operating conveyor lines (1 , 6) arranged at two respective levels, the first conveyor line (1) being provided with means (1a) for conveying pre-formed ice blocks (2a) to a cutting station having saw means for cutting or dividing the preformed ice blocks into unit portions, the unit portions being kept together in a tray (2), the second conveyor line (6) being provided with means (9) for conveying containers or packagings (8a, 8b) for packing of the ice unit portions (6), a packing and cutting station being arranged at the crossing of the conveyor lines and having means for moving each of the ice portions (6) in the tray so that they get into surrounding engagement with open ended containers or packagings conveyed by the second conveyor line. In the following, the method of the invention be explained in greater detail in connection with non-limiting examples of apparatuses for performing the method and containers for use in the method and with reference to the drawing, in which

Fig. 1 shows a perspective diagram of an apparatus for performing the method of the invention, and

Fig. 2 is a side view of the apparatus,

Figs. 3-7 show views of a preferred container for use in the method of the invention, Fig. 3 being a front perspective view of the container, Fig. 4 being a side perspective view of the container, Fig. 5 being a perspective view seen from the back side of the container, Fig. 6 being a side view of the container, and Fig. 7 being a top view of the container, and

Figs. 8-14 are diagrams illustrating a cutting and packing method and device adapted to cut out ice portions to be packed in containers of the type illustrated in Figs. 3-7

The apparatus comprises of two stepwise operating and synchronised conveying lines 1 , 6, which cross each other and, in the example shown, are perpendicular to each other, a cutting or station 3, 4, 5, a packing device 7,9and a cutting device 10,1 1.

An ice block 2a has been cut out, in a manner known perse and with dimensions adapted to the capacity of the apparatus, from a naturally occurring ice deposit, such as an iceberg towed to the production site, whereupon the block 2a has been arranged, by means of holding means 1a, hanging under the conveyor line 1 in step I of the conveyor line. By means of a drive means (known per se and not shown) for the conveyor line 1 , the block is moved to step II of the conveyor line, the said step II additionally comprising the cutting or drilling station 3, 4, 5 which consists of a base structure 5 in which a matrix 3 is suspended rotatably around its longitudinal centre axis, and a predetermined number of hollow, identical cylindrical drills 4 axis-parallel to each other are arranged in the matrix 3 in such a manner that they are perpendicular to the matrix with their hollow end facing outwardly. The base structure 5 and the matrix 3 are connected or have built-in a drive means (not shown) for the drills for synchronous activation of the drills. The base structure 5 is also provided with a lifting/lowering means (not shown) for the matrix 3 and the drills 4, so that each of the drills may be made to drill out a portion 2b of ice in step II from the block 2a, and controlled in such a manner that the portions 2b, after withdrawal of the drills 4 from the ice, remain fixed to the remaining part 2c of the block 2a. The interior dimensions of the cylindrical drills 4 correspond to the size of a consumer unit portion of ice, e.g., 0.33, 1.0 or 1.5 litre. The then partially cut out ice block consisting of the remaining part 2c of the block and the portions 2b fixed thereto is conveyed by the conveyor 1 to step III of the conveyor line for packing and cutting-off. In the example shown, the matrix 3 carries a set of cylindrical drills on each of its sides. In a manner known per se, the matrix 3 may be made to rotate around its longitudinal centre axis so that the two sets of drills 4 can be interchanged, thereby freeing the non-inserted set for being made ready prior to being mounted again.

Step III in the line 1 constitutes the crossing with the other conveyor line 6 with trays 9, each of which carries a number of container units 8a corresponding to the number of cylindrical drills 4 inserted in the drilling unit 3. In the crossing field, each tray 9 with appertaining container units 8a is lifted by a lifting device 7, so that each of the container units will surround a cut-out ice portion 2b. The cutting-off device 10, 11 , in the example shown as a band saw which co-operates with the conveyor line 1 in that it is mounted movably along the conveyor line 1 in step III, has a cutting edge which is parallel to the direction of movement of the conveyor line 1 and is arranged so that the band saw cuts off the ice portions 2b after they have become surrounded by the container units 8a, the cutting off being immediately along the open ends of the container units 8a. The tray 9 with the now filled container units 8a, 2b is then lowered by means of the device 7 to the level of the conveyor line 6 and is moved by means of the conveyor line 6 to a station for airtight and lightproof sealing of the open ends of the containers 8a in a manner known perse. The now sealed containers 8b are now ready for further transportation for distribution to consumers. The containers 8a, 8b may be cans of aluminium or steel or a corresponding material with the same properties. The units should be internally coated in a manner known per se for counteracting reaction between the contents and the metal.

The remaining part 2c of an ice block is moved away from the stet III of the conveyor line 1 for possible other use, e.g., as crushed ice, or for discarding. In the example described, the conveyor lines are in the form of conveyor bands. It will be obvious to the person skilled in the art that the term "lines" in connection with the apparatus according to the invention is to be understood in a broad sense without 5 departing from the scope of the invention. As an example, the conveyor lines may just as well be robot-controlled crane devices which advance the ice and the containers, respectively, to the respective treatment stages or stations.

With reference to Figs. 3-7 in which like numerals designate like parts, a container 10 10 comprises a tubular container body 11 having a pair of identical trapezoidal side walls 12 joining at an axially extending front edge 13, and a rectangular back wall 14 joining the trapezoidal side walls 12 at side edges 15 extending parallel with the front edge 13. The bottom end of the container body 1 1 is closed by a bottom wall 16, which extends at right angles to the axis of the container body and to the front and side edges 13 and 15, 15 respectively. The bottom wall 16 is preferably formed integrally with the side and back walls 12 and 14, for example by blow moulding, e.g., from random copolymer polypropylene

The upper end of the tubular container body 1 1 is defined by upper edges 17 of the 20 trapezoidal side walls 12 and by an upper edge 18 of the rectangular back wall 14.

Because the front edge 13 is substantially longer than the side edges 15, the upper edges 17 and 18 define a plane extending upwardly from the upper edge 18 of the back wall 14 towards the upper end of the front edge 13. Thus, the said plane defines an acute angle α with the longitudinal axis of the tubular container body 11 or the longitudinally extending 25 front edge 13 as shown in Fig. 4. Consequently the upper edges 17 adjacent to the front edge 13 defines a spout 19. This spout 19 may be more or less upwardly protruding depending on the size of the acute angle α.

In a preferred embodiment, in which the spout 19 is a pouring spout, the angle α is about 30 75°. However, if it is to be possible to drink a beverage directly from the container so that the consumer is able to insert the spout into the mouth, the angle α is preferably smaller so as to obtain a more protruding spout 19.

The container with the ice block may be stored in a frozen condition till a customer wants 35 to consume the contents, and then kept at room temperature for a period of time sufficient to thaw the ice block, or the container with the ice block may just be stored under normal storage conditions, such as in a refrigerator until consumption. Thereafter the fresh, virgin drinking water may be poured into a glass from the spout 19, or the spout may be inserted directly into the consumer's mouth.

The device shown schematically in Figs. 9-14 in which like numerals designate like parts is used in an alternative method for cutting ice portions, suitable for cutting portions in prismatic cross-sections, in the figures a triangular cross-sectional shape suitable for being packed in the container shown in Figs. 3-7. The apparatus shown in the figures would, e.g., replace the cutting or drilling station 3, 4, 5 in Fig. 1 and also constitute part of the packing station in Fig. 1. -

As shown schematically in side view in Fig. 8, a block of ice 1 is cut into a height suitable corresponding to the height of containers into which individual ice portions are to be packed. The ice block has already been cut to a plane upper surface V by means of a saw with stainless steel saw blade, and a cutting is being performed using the saw so that the resulting block 5 now has parallel upper and lower surface parts 1' and 1". The block 5 is then placed in a special tray 2 of stainless steel shown in Figs. 9, 10 and 12-14 and having a rim part 2' and a bottom part 2". Figs 9, 12, 13 and 14 are top views of the frame 2, in Figs. 12, 13 and 14 with the ice block 5 in place. Fig. 10 is a side view of a section of the tray with the ice block 5 in place. The ice block 5 rests on protrusions 4 extending upwardly from the bottom part 2" and having top surface parts 4' seen in Fig. 9. The ice block 5 is then sawn into prisms in the following manner: By means of a saw or a plurality of parallel saws (which parallel saws are either band saws having parallel cutting edges or circular saws arranged on the same shaft), first cuts 9 are made. Then spacers 14 are inserted in the cuts or kerfs 9 to keep the resulting ice blocks in place in the tray 2. (Fig. 10 indicates how spacers14 are raised from the bottom part 2" of the tray 2 from a lower inactive position and inserted into the ice block). Then second cuts 10 are made, and further spacers 14 are raised and inserted into these cuts. Finally, third cuts 11 are made, and further spacers 14are raised and inserted into these cuts. Then, the final prismatic ice blocks with triangular cross-section are moved upwardly individually or several at a time by means of rods (not shown) which are pushed upwardly from the centre parts of the top surfaces 4' of the protrusions 4, and the ice blocks moved and thus protruding upwardly are moved into corresponding containers (not shown), e.g. by being gripped by holders moving them into the containers or by simply being pushed into containers arranged above the ice blocks and having open ends facing the ice blocks. The spaces between the protrusions 4 allow that the saw blade or saw blades can cut the ice block along the lines 9, 10 and 11 (shown in Figs. 12, 13 and 14 and indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 9) without cutting the protrusions 4 when the saw blade or saw blades reach down through the ice block 5. Also, slits 12 (indicated in Fig. 14) in the rim part 2' of the tray 2 allow the saw blades to pass in the various directions corresponding to the various cuts. Fig. 1 1 shows the pattern in which the ice block will finally be cut into prisms 6 with triangular cross-section, and the (small) volume of waste is indicated by numeral 13 in Fig. 14.

Claims

1. A method for utilising glacier ice or other natural ice deposits as drinking water, comprising cutting or drilling the ice from the deposit, or from ice blocks taken from the deposit, into units of a unit size suitable for immediate packing and for later distribution to and use by end consumers, and packing, while the units are still in the form of ice, the units in sealed containers suitable for distribution to and use by end consumers.

2. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the units have a volume in the range between 0.1 liter and 10 liters.

3. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the units have a volume in the range between 0.25 and 2 liters.

4. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the units have a volume in the range between 0.5 and 1.5 liters.

5. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the packing of the units is performed substantially immediately after the cutting or drilling.

6. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the packing of the ice units after the cutting or drilling is performed substantially without any further treatment of the ice.

7. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the containers are substantially impervious to light.

8. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the packing of the units cut or drilled from the natural ice deposits is per ormed at a temperature of the ice below 0°C.

9. A method according to claim 8, wherein the temperature of the ice is a temperature at which the ice has a reduced tendency to cracking during the cutting or drilling.

10. A method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the temperature of the ice is in the range of minus 1°C to minus 20°C.

11. A method according to claim 10, wherein the temperature of the ice is in the range of minus 2°C to minus 12°C.

5 12. A method according to claim 10, wherein the temperature of the ice is in the range of minus 5°C to minus 10°C.

13. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the cutting or drilling tools are of stainless steel.

10

14. A method according to claim 13, wherein substantially all equipment which contacts any surface of the final ice units is of stainless steel.

15. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the cutting or drilling and 15 the subsequent packing are performed so that substantially no water is present on the exterior of the ice units when they are packed into the containers.

16. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the cutting or drilling and the subsequent packing are performed so that no water is present on the exterior of the

20 ice units when they are packed into the containers.

17. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the cutting or drilling and the packing are performed under hygienic conditions.

25 18. A method according to claim 17, wherein the cutting or drilling and the packing are performed in accordance with FDA Current Good Manufacturing Practice for processing and bottling of bottled drinking water, 21CFR129.

19. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the ice is an ice which, 30 when thawed, has a conductivity of at the most 10 mS/m.

20. A method according to claim 19, wherein the ice is an ice which, when thawed, has a conductivity of at the most 5 mS/m.

21. A method according to claim 19, wherein the ice is an ice which, when thawed, has a conductivity of at the most 3 mS/m.

22. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the ice is an ice 5 containing at the most 5 picograms of lead per gram of ice.

23. A method according to claim 22, wherein the ice is an ice containing at the most 2 picograms of lead per gram of ice.

10 24. A method according to claim 23, wherein the ice is an ice containing at the most 1 picogram of lead per gram of ice.

25. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the ice is an ice which, based on chemical analysis and flow studies and/or other knowledge about origin has an

15 age of at least 2000 years.

26. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the ice units are shaped as circular cylinders and are packed in containers having circular cylindrical shape.

20 27. A method according to any of claims 1-25, wherein the ice units are shaped as tubular bodies having substantially polygonal cross-sectional shape and are packed in containers having substantially polygonal cross-sectional shape.

28. A method according to claim 27, wherein the individual container is a container 25 comprising a bottom wall (16) and a tubular container body (11) extending upwardly therefrom, said tubular body having a substantially polygonal cross-sectional shape and being defined by a plurality of substantially trapezoidal side walls (12, 14), adjacent rectilinear upper edges (17, 18) of the side walls (12, 14) opposite to said bottom wall defining a plane defining an acute angle (α) with a longitudinal axis of the tubular 30 container body and extending upwardly therefrom to a vertex of the polygonal tubular container body so as to define a spout (19).

29. A method according to claim 28, wherein the tubular container body (11) has a triangular cross-sectional shape.

35

30. A method according to claim 29, wherein the triangular cross-section defines an equilateral triangle.

31. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the ice units are cut from 5 ice blocks taken from the ice deposits, and the ice blocks have been stored at a constant temperature in the interval of from minus 2°C to minus 20°C for at least 48 hours.

32. A method according to claim 31 , wherein the ice blocks have been stored at the constant temperature for at least a week.

10

33. An apparatus for use in performing the method according to any of claims 1-26 and comprising first and second mutually crossing, intermittently operating conveyor lines (1, 6) arranged at two respective levels, the first conveyor line (1 ) being provided with means (1a) for conveying pre-formed ice blocks (2a) to a cutting station (2b) having cutting

15 means for cutting or dividing the preformed ice blocks into unit portions, so that these portions remain interconnected at one end, the second conveyor line (6) being provided with means (9) for conveying containers or packagings (8a, 8b) for packing of the ice unit portions (2b), a packing and cutting station (10, 11) being arranged at the crossing of the conveyor lines and having means for moving open ended containers or packagings

20 conveyed by the second conveyor line into encircling engagement with each of the mutually interconnected ice portions (2b), and means for subsequently cutting the interconnected ice portions from the remaining part (2c) of the ice block, whereby the packed ice portions may be further conveyed by one of said conveyor lines.

25 34. An apparatus for use in performing the method according to any of claims 1-25 and 27-30 and comprising first and second mutually crossing, intermittently operating conveyor lines (1 , 6) arranged at two respective levels, the first conveyor line (1) being provided with means (1a) for conveying pre-formed ice blocks (2a) to a cutting station having saw means for cutting or dividing the preformed ice blocks into unit portions, the

30 unit portions being kept together in a tray (2), the second conveyor line (6) being provided with means (9) for conveying containers or packagings (8a, 8b) for packing of the ice unit portions (6), a packing and cutting station being arranged at the crossing of the conveyor lines and having means for moving each of the ice portions (6) in the tray so that they get into surrounding engagement with open ended containers or packagings conveyed by the

35 second conveyor line.

35. An apparatus according to claim 33 or 34, further comprising means for sealing the open ends of the containers or packagings encircling the ice portions.