Pasteurizer

• US 6,588,327 B2
• Filed: 06/25/2002
• Issued: 07/08/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/25/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mayekawa Manufacturing Company Limited (Mayekawa Holding AG)
• Original Assignee: Mayekawa Manufacturing Company Limited (Mayekawa Holding AG), Showa Tansan Co., Ltd. (Resonac Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Kawabata, Yoshifumi, Kohama, Masami, Wakabayashi, Norimitsu, Komatsu, Fujio, Aika, Ryosuke
• Primary Examiner(s): Simone, Timothy F.
• Application Number:
  US10/048,006
• Publication Number:
  US 20020170440A1
• Time in Patent Office: 378 Days
• Field of Search: 993/30, 993/59--71, 994/67, 994/68, 994/70, 994/77--79, 994/83, 993/52--55, 134/72, 134/131, 422/21, 422/22, 422/25-29, 422/38, 422/105, 422/292, 422/300, 422/307, 422/308, 422/304, 422/114, 426/510, 426/511, 426/520, 426/521, 426/523, 426/397, 165/66
• US Class Current: 99/470
• CPC Class Codes: A23L 3/003 Control or safety devices for sterilisation or pasteurisation systems
• CPC Class Codes: A23L 3/02 by heating materials in packages which are progressively transported, continuously or stepwise, through the apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: A23L 3/04 with packages on endless chain or band conveyors A23L3/022 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A23L 3/18 while they are progressively transported through the apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2/04 Heat A61L2/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2/07 Steam
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 55/025 Packaging in aseptic tunnels

Abstract

An energy and water saving pasteuriser capable of maintaining a stable temperature distribution pattern even when transfer work are interrupted during the operation, or a tunnel type refrigerator (10) allowing hot work such as bottles and cans filled with the products sterilized at a high temperature of generally 75° C. to allow temperature of generally 25° C., wherein plural cooling vessels (11a, 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, 13a, 13b) are disposed in a row from the upstream side to the downstream side so as to form a first cooling region (11), an intermediate cooling region (12), and a final cooling region (13), an adsorption freezing machine (19) is installed between the first cooling region (11) and final cooling region (13), and a cooling tower (20) is installed in the intermediate cooling region (12).

Claims

1. In a pasteurizer having a countercurrent means which flows reversely a rinse water sprayed in a cooling vessel of end side existing in the most downstream side to a cooling vessel of upstream side utilizing overflow function or circulating-spraying and cooling function while work containers such as cans and bins and so forth filled with product liquid, after high-temperature sterilization, are carried in one after another to plural cooling vessels disposed in serial array, a pasteurizer for cooling work containers comprising:

an adsorption freezing machine between a high temperature cooling vessel disposed at carry-in side of work containers and a low temperature cooling vessel disposed at downstream side wherein a cooling liquid obtained by supplying a stored liquid of the high temperature cooling vessel of carry-in side as a heating source liquid to the adsorption freezing machine disposed at the downstream side; and

a means for halting or flowing liquid to stop supplying the heating source liquid in case of no-load state.

2. In a pasteurizer having a countercurrent means which flows reversely a rinse water sprayed in a cooling vessel of end side existing in the most downstream side to a cooling vessel of upstream side utilizing overflow function or circulating-spraying and cooling function while work containers such as cans and bins and so forth filled with product liquid, after high-temperature sterilization, are carried in one after another to a plurality of cooling vessels disposed in serial array, a pasteurizer for cooling work containers comprising:

a cooling tower disposed between the high temperature side cooling vessel at the relatively upstream side position along the cooling direction of the work containers and the cooling vessel at the downstream side thereof; and

a means for halting or flowing a liquid to stop supplying the heating source liquid in case of no-load while, when loaded by the carried-in work containers, the stored liquid of the comparatively upstream side cooling vessel is supplied to the downstream side cooling vessel through the cooling tower.

3. In a pasteurizer having a countercurrent means which flows reversely a rinse water sprayed in a cooling vessel of end side existing in the most downstream side to a cooling vessel of upstream side utilizing overflow function or circulating-spraying and cooling function while work containers such as cans and bins and so forth filled with product liquid, after high-temperature sterilization, are carried in one after another to a plural cooling vessels disposed in serial array, a pasteurizer for cooling work containers comprising:

an adsorption freezing machine between a high temperature cooling vessel disposed at carried-in side of work containers and a low temperature cooling vessel disposed at downstream side; and

a cooling tower disposed between the high temperature side cooling vessel at the relatively upstream side position along the cooling direction of the work containers and the cooling vessel at the downstream side thereof, such cooling vessels being within a group of intermediate cooling vessels disposed among cooling vessels connected through the adsorption freezing machine.

4. A pasteurizer for cooling work containers according to claim 3 wherein a cold heat energy of the downstream side cooling vessel in a group of the cooling vessels is supplied to the primary side of a heat exchanger so as to make capable of supplying a cold heat from the secondary side thereof as a cold heat energy spraying liquid to the adjacent upstream side cooling vessel while circulating to the storage tray of the same temperature as the primary side stored liquid which is heated by giving cold heat.

5. In a pasteurizer which sterilizes a liquid filled in work containers with heat energy having a preheating region, heating region, sterilizing region, precooling region and cooling region, which form heat-exchanging function by circulating-spraying between storage trays and spraying parts spraying liquid to work containers such as cans, bins and so forth along a transporting path from the upstream to the downstream, a pasteurizer for sterilization comprising:

a line for supplying a cold heat or heat energy which forms and holds each temperature region in the each storage tray;

a cross-linked circulating path for spraying liquid which is formed between a circulating spray liquid of the preheating region sprayed in the precooling region and a circulating spray liquid of the precooling region sprayed in the preheating region;

a line for supplying a low temperature which makes a low temperature circulating spray by supplying a cold heat energy to a heat-exchanging chamber of the cooling region; and

a line for replenishing a stored liquid replenishing a stored liquid to an upstream side storage tray by cooling and storing overflow liquid of each storage tray.

6. A pasteurizer for sterilization according to claim 5 wherein a ratio of heat treating time of preheating, heating, sterilizing, precooling and cooling is 1:

1;

2;

1;

1.

7. A pasteurizer for sterilization according to claim 5 wherein water is used as a spraying liquid and a storage liquid in a line for supplying a cold heat or heat energy and a water supplying line is used for supplying cold heat energy and a steam supplying line is used for supplying heat energy.

8. A pasteurizer for sterilization according to claim 5 wherein cold heat is supplied from a cooling part which supplies cold heat energy to the line for supplying a low temperature and the line for replenishing the stored liquid through the cooling tower.