Refrigeration – Processes – Congealing flowable material – e.g. – ice making
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-20
2001-05-22
Capossela, Ronald (Department: 3744)
Refrigeration
Processes
Congealing flowable material, e.g., ice making
C062S052100, C062S511000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06233950
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(i) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for injecting a refrigerant into a product mixer.
Such a mixer, also known as a “churn,” equipped with a device for injecting a refrigerant, for example nitrogen, is used especially in the field of the agri-foodstuffs industry for separately deep-freezing each ingredient of ready-cooked dishes or for coating with sauce and simultaneously deep-freezing deep-frozen products.
(ii) Description of Related Art
In the related art, a device for injecting refrigerant into a product mixer generally comprises a pipe for injecting the refrigerant equipped with an injection nozzle intended to be connected to the mixer and with at least one region of reduced cross section suitable for creating an expansion in the fluid. In this type of device, the region of reduced cross section consists of a calibrated orifice positioned at the end of the injection nozzle, at the inlet of the vessel of the mixer. The refrigerant, conventionally consisting of liquid nitrogen, is then injected, via the region of reduced cross section, into the vessel by means of the injection nozzle.
This construction makes it possible to create an expansion in the refrigerant at the inlet of the churn. However, it has a number of drawbacks, especially because of the fact that the calibrated orifice made in the injection nozzle causes a relatively large dispersion of the flow, which adopts a cone shape. It therefore does not allow a stream of liquid nitrogen to be obtained which penetrates deeply into the churn.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the invention is to alleviate this drawback and to provide a device for injecting refrigerant into a product mixer capable of creating a stream of refrigerant of approximately cylindrical shape and precisely positioned with respect to the inlet of the mixer.
The subject of the invention is therefore an injection device of the aforementioned type, wherein the or each region of reduced cross section is located upstream of the injection nozzle with respect to the direction of flow of fluid in the pipe.
The injection device according to the invention may furthermore comprise one or more of the following characteristics, taken separately or in any technically possible combination;
it furthermore comprises a liquid and gas phase separator, the separator being located downstream of the or each region of reduced cross section;
the separator comprises a sharply-bent part of the pipe extending between the at least one region of reduced cross section and the injection nozzle;
the pipe extends, upstream of the injection nozzle, so as to slope downward toward the latter;
since the mixer comprises a vessel provided with a rotary blade located near a region for connecting the injection nozzle, the device furthermore comprises a valve which is mounted on the pipe and operated by a control member for injecting the refrigerant cyclically in phase with the rotation of the blade;
since the injection nozzle is designed to be mounted on a door for access to the vessel, the pipe is fitted with a rotary seal located upstream of the nozzle;
the rotary seal is located upstream of the separator;
it furthermore comprises a pressure detector, such as a pressure gauge, mounted on the pipe upstream of the nozzle;
it furthermore comprises a shutoff valve mounted on one end of the pipe, on the opposite side from the injection nozzle, intended to be connected to a supply of refrigerant under pressure; and
the refrigerant comprises liquid nitrogen.
With regard to mixers fitted with rotary blades, it will be noted that the vessel can therefore be stationary or else it can also rotate.
Further features and advantages of the invention will emerge from the following description, given solely by way of example, and the drawings, without a limiting character.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3273356 (1966-09-01), Hoffman
patent: 3672182 (1972-06-01), Stowasser et al.
patent: 4406134 (1983-09-01), Vakil
patent: 4476686 (1984-10-01), Madsen et al.
patent: 4640099 (1987-02-01), Gibot
patent: 5104232 (1992-04-01), Lennox, III
patent: 5231851 (1993-08-01), Adolfsson
patent: 5261243 (1993-11-01), Dunsmore
patent: 5603567 (1997-02-01), Peacock
patent: 6079215 (2000-06-01), Wisniewski
patent: 0 166 655 (1986-01-01), None
patent: 0 252 312 (1988-01-01), None
patent: 0 711 511 (1996-05-01), None
patent: 1 416 735 (1966-02-01), None
patent: 1 541 325 (1968-10-01), None
patent: 2 302 479 (1976-09-01), None
patent: 2 532 821 (1984-03-01), None
Burns Doane Swecker & Mathis L.L.P.
Capossela Ronald
L'Air Liquide, Societe Anonyme pour l'Etude et l'
LandOfFree
Device and process for injecting a refrigerant into a... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Device and process for injecting a refrigerant into a..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Device and process for injecting a refrigerant into a... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2471197