WO2008113782A2

WO2008113782A2 - Device for injecting brine, liquids or suspensions into food products

Info

Publication number: WO2008113782A2
Application number: PCT/EP2008/053160
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yvon Corveler
Original assignee: Kaufler
Priority date: 2007-03-16
Filing date: 2008-03-17
Publication date: 2008-09-25
Also published as: FR2913565B1; WO2008113782A3; FR2913565A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for injecting brine, liquids or suspensions into food products, that comprises an injection head (1) with multiple needles. The device is characterised in that the injection head (1) is attached to an overhanging arm (2) that is in turn attached to a slider (3.1) guided by a vertical column (3) and vertically driven by a mechanism (3.2).

Description

DEVICE FOR INJECTING BRINE, LIQUIDS OR SUSPENSIONS IN FOOD PRODUCTS

The present invention relates to a device for injecting brine, liquids or suspensions into food products.

The brine injecting machines consist of an injection head provided with a number of needles, for example two hundred and four, as in the machine which is the subject of the patent FR 2 577 108 in the name of the plaintiff, to which we can refer for a better understanding. This injection head is generally driven in reciprocating vertical movement using columns and guides placed on both sides of the injection head, in a bridge assembly, above a conveyor for conveying the meat. These machines also generally include a brine tank with a device for recovering and filtering the brine in excess. Specifically concerning the outer surface of the needles and because of the mechanical mounting of the head, it is almost impossible to carry out a cleaning of the injection head during production. It is also physically impossible to clean the inside of the brine circuit, including the needles. In fact, to implement these operations, it is necessary to interrupt or more exactly to have finished the production, and to have completely drained the brine tank and the brine circuit.

However, especially when injecting highly viscous brines or suspensions, it is common that the production is disrupted by needle clogging. It is therefore not only the health aspect that is concerned, but also the qualitative aspect of the operation. Finally, it is easy to understand that the difficulties mentioned above increase with the increase in the number of needles.

In addition to an injection head, it also happens that this type of machine has a head equipped with a multitude of blades, the cleaning is also very difficult for reasons identical to those set out above.

Finally, in known brine injection machines, the stroke of the injection head is generally limited to about 200 mm and it is difficult to increase considerably, except to lead to a gigantic and expensive construction.

The invention aims to overcome the various disadvantages of the state of the art.

A first object of the invention is to provide a device for the injection of liquids, such as brine or even very viscous liquids, into food products such as meats or cheeses, which makes it possible to obtain a very high level of access. improved to the injection head and also to set up much larger displacement of the injection head.

Another objective is to allow the establishment of cleaning phases without severely interrupting the production, or in any case that these phases are made possible because operating in a physical position other than where the injection takes place.

Another objective is to allow the implementation of a very large number of needles, for the dual purpose of obtaining a high injection density and cover a large target area, in order to significantly increase the capabilities of production.

Another objective is to allow such a device to be able, by its own means, to remove the tool which it is equipped with, for example an injection head, and to carry out its own refitting, or on the contrary, substitution with a new tool.

The injection device according to the invention comprises, as is known per se, an injection head comprising a multitude of needles.

The objectives mentioned above are achieved thanks to the fact that the injection head is fixed to a cantilevered arm, itself attached to a slide guided by a vertical column and driven vertically by a mechanism.

Furthermore, according to a number of non-limiting advantageous features of the invention taken alone or in combination: said column is mounted on a rotating base so that the injection head can reach different angular positions; the various angular positions are the position where the injection takes place, and the positions where the washing, emptying or substitution operations of the injection head take place; the injection head is fixed to the cantilever arm by mechanical means allowing their mutual attachment and disengagement, instantaneously and / or automatically; a rotating connection for feeding the liquid to be injected is placed in the axis of the column and at the top thereof; the device comprises a tank containing the liquid to be injected, connected to said injection head by a pump and a pipe; the device comprises a second pipe looped on the tank, said second pipe comprising a Venturi disperser and an ingredient hopper, said pump for circulating the liquid to be injected into said second pipe.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from the description and the accompanying drawings, which represent, by way of non-limiting example, a preferred embodiment. In these drawings: FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of the invention, in which the tank is moved 90 ° with respect to the position it occupies in FIG. 2, FIG. 2 is a view from above, intended to locate schematically and by way of example the possible angular positions of the device.

The device represented in FIG. 1 comprises an injection head 1 equipped with a multitude of needles. The product P receiving the injection is shown contained in a container R, conveyed by an intermittent conveyor C, but it could equally well rest directly on the conveyor C provided that the latter is for example made with side edges, in order to retain P. A device called "stripping" D is placed as a bridge over the product P. It consists for example of a mesh for the passage of needles, its function is to maintain the product P while the needles are withdrawing.

The injection head 1 is fixed under an arm 2 itself mounted cantilevered on a column 3. The cantilevering of an arm on a column is known per se and an example will be found in the utility certificate FR 2 638 441 in the name of the applicant, describing a vertical lift with remote load.

Briefly described, the column 3 is for example a hollow structure within which moves a slider 3.1 to which is fixed the arm 2, which slider 3.1 is driven in vertical movement for example by a chain 3.2 itself driven by an electric motor or gear motor 3.3. The arm 2 is thus moved vertically alternately from top to bottom and from bottom to top, this movement possibly being itself controlled in position, speed, acceleration and deceleration by an electronic variator itself possibly assisted by an automaton not shown on the figures.

Column 3 is itself mounted on a rotating base 4, firmly fixed to the ground. This rotating base comprises for example a ring gear 4.1 driven by a motor 4.2, fixed in the axis of the column 3, mounted on rollers. It's about mechanical means known per se, which the Applicant commonly applies in the construction of handling devices of multiple molds hams, marketed under the brand AUTOSTACKER. The function of these devices is to stack and depilate multiple molds containing hams, weighing up to 300 kg, these stackings and unstackings running in several angular positions, usually offset by FI / 2 radiant (or 90 °).

It goes without saying that the construction is calculated and dimensioned to admit the corresponding efforts.

Figure 1 also shows a tank 5 intended to constitute a reserve of the liquid to be injected. It is connected to the injection head 1 by a pump 5.1 and a pipework 5.2 possibly comprising a flexible section 5.2.1, while there is interposed in the axis of the column 3, a rotating connection 5.3, preferably positioned at the top of column 3.

In a possible variant of the invention, said vessel 5 is also intended to prepare, for example, brine intended for injection. To do this, it is equipped with an ingredient hopper 5.4, at the base of which is disposed a Venturi disperser 5.5. The pump 5.1 is in this case looped on the tank 5, with the aid of a pipe 5.6, the water contained in the tank 5 being propelled by the pump 5.1 through the disperser 5.5, which, by Venturi effect causes the suction of the salt contained in the hopper 5.4. Pump 5.1 then continues to stir the brine for a few minutes to ensure complete solubilization of the salt. At the end of this phase it is obvious that, by the actuation of possibly automated valves, the pump 5.1 is reconnected to the pipework 5.2, and that it is thus again ready to feed the injection head 1 .

Moreover, said injection head 1 is a device known per se, which is not shown here in detail. It comprises a chamber or collectors or nannies for feeding the needles under a specific pressure. This injection head 1 can be permanently attached to the cantilevered arm 2, and of course fixedly connected to the pipe 5.2.1, but it can also be designed separable from the arm 2. To achieve this, it It suffices that said arm 2 is provided with gripping and locking means, such as pneumatic cylinders coming to engage horizontal holding fingers provided in the structure of the injection head. Similarly, the connection to the pipe 5.2.1 can be a means of rapid connector type, whose principle for example is based on the sealed application of two pipe ends one on the other. It is understood that thus provided with these complementary means, the device according to the invention can ensure, thanks to vertical displacement of the cantilevered arm 2, the gripping, the introduction and the connection of the injection head 1, that is to say its attachment to the arm 2 or conversely its disengagement.

The control of the operation of the motors 3.3 and 4.2, means for gripping and blocking the injection head 1, the pump 5.1 and the valves regulating the passage of the liquid in the different pipes is preferably provided by a programmable controller and / or any other control or control means possibly provided with microprocessors, not shown in the figures.

The device according to the invention thus makes it possible to precisely control the operation of the pump 5.1 and the motor 3.3, so as to perfectly synchronize the injection of the liquid to be injected with the displacement of the slider 3.1 and thus that of the head of the injection 1. The injection can thus be adapted to the thickness of the product P to be treated and it is also possible to vary the amount of liquid that is injected at different depths.

Figure 2 schematically shows several angular positions of the device of the invention.

Thus, for example, there is the angular position A1 in which the injection head 1 is in line with the product P, which is here shown circular for purposes of illustration only. In the angular position A _{2 is} carried out, in this example, the external cleaning of the needles. The cleaning means are not illustrated, but may include for example a tray and washing ramps arranged in such a way that the needles can pass between these ramps, the vertical movement being obtained here obviously thanks to the column 3 and its mechanisms described above. It goes without saying that during such an operation, the pump 5.1 is stopped, or an appropriate valve obstructs the piping 5.2

In contrast, in position A3, for example, it is preferred to produce a flow in the brine circuit and therefore in the needles. This operation may be necessary to empty the circuit, including the needles, or empty the tank. In this case, it is interesting to provide a sort of collection funnel that will recover the liquid either for reuse later, or separate from the general treatment of effluents. This is an important point because brines, in particular because of their chloride load, require a particular process according to the regulation of effluent treatment. It is understood that as regards the position A ₂ as the position A ₃ , the operations that it is possible to practice there would be impossible to achieve if the injection head 1 remained in the Al position only, since the various flows would have the effect of seriously polluting the products P and / or the conveyor C.

Furthermore, it is also possible to reserve one of the positions A ₂ or A3, or even a fourth position, not shown in FIG. 2, at the removal of the injection head 1, using the provisions relating to the mutual separation. of the injection head 1 and the cantilever arm 2 described above. Deposited in the A2 or A3 position, the injection head 1 can be cleaned there, while a second injection head waiting in another position (for example the fourth position, not shown, further shifted by II / 2 radiant (90 °) relative to A ₃ , which is quite possible by moving the tank 5 of the column 3) can be grasped, fixed, and connected by the cantilevered arm 2. In this way, the device is again almost instantly able to inject.

Here we describe a situation in which the device is able to exchange itself the tool (namely the injection head) which it is equipped. It is also understood that in the same spirit the device could add by its own means a second tool (for example a head equipped with blades).

It thus clearly appears that the device described in the invention, in addition to achieving the objectives stated above, offers new possibilities in the practice of the injection process, with almost instantaneous implementation capacity and consequently , further automation and increased production capacity.

It also appears that the means used to obtain the rectilinear displacement of the injection head 1 can be easily extended dimensionally without much damage to the size of the device. Thus, for example, it is possible to easily obtain a linear vertical displacement stroke of 1000 mm, this of course subject to adapt the injection needles accordingly, which is almost impossible in the machines described in the current state of the art, except to lead to monstrous and very expensive achievements. The device according to the invention makes it possible to dispense with known bridge arrangements. As furthermore the architecture of the device easily accepts that the product to be treated P namely, in the example, to be injected, is presented content and conveyed by various means, it is easy to understand that the latter means could be simply a container of fairly large capacity, for example from 200 to 1000 liters. The treatment, that is to say the injection could take place directly over the entire depth, that is to say the entire height of the product P contained therein. The invention is susceptible of application in the food industries, such as for example the cured meat industry or cheese factories.

Claims

1- Device for injecting brine, liquids or suspensions into food products comprising an injection head (1), with a multitude of needles, characterized in that said injection head (1) is fixed with a cantilever arm (2) itself fixed to a slide (3.1) guided by a vertical column (3) and driven vertically by a mechanism (3.2).

2- Device according to claim 1, characterized in that said column (3) is mounted on a rotary base (4) so that the injection head (1) can reach different angular positions.

3- Device according to Claim 2, characterized in that the different angular positions are the position (Ai) where the injection takes place, and the positions (A ₂ , A3) where washing, emptying operations take place or substitution of the injection head (1).

4- Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the injection head (1) is fixed to the cantilever arm (2) by mechanical means for their interconnection and mutual separation, instantaneously and / or automatic.

5. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a rotating connection (5.3) for feeding the liquid to be injected is placed in the axis of the column (3) and at the top of the column. this.

6. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a tank (5) containing the liquid to be injected, connected to said injection head (1) by a pump (5.1) and a pipe ( 5.2).

7- Device according to claim 6, characterized in that it comprises a second pipe (5.6) looped on the tank (5), said second pipe (5.6) comprising a Venturi disperser (5.5) and an ingredient hopper ( 5.4), said pump (5.1) for circulating the liquid to be injected in said second pipe (5.6).