Fluent material handling – with receiver or receiver coacting mea – Filling means with receiver or receiver coacting means – With receiver and supply securing means
Reexamination Certificate
2001-04-25
2003-07-29
Maust, Timothy L. (Department: 3751)
Fluent material handling, with receiver or receiver coacting mea
Filling means with receiver or receiver coacting means
With receiver and supply securing means
C141S105000, C141S255000, C141S286000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06598631
ABSTRACT:
This application claims priority to the foreign application filed on Apr. 25, 2000, in Europe and having a serial number of 00303430.3.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a device and process for product reconstitution.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Methods of product reconstitution are known in the art wherein liquid concentrates are mixed with a diluent by means of an aspirator containing a venturi. In this method, the venturi draws liquid concentrate into contact with the diluent stream, thereby mixing concentrate and diluent together. In such a method, any number of concentrates may be envisaged.
Other methods exist in the art, wherein concentrates are dosed into a container and a diluent added.
Yet another existing method entails the dissolution of a concentrate by active mixing of a concentrate dosed into a diluent and agitation by using a mechanical device such as a paddle or a rotating rod.
Filling machines may dispense a wide variety of products from the same machine. Such machines may include production line filling machines and vending systems that are designed to fill containers at sites located in, for example, retail outlets, offices and other workplaces.
By “vending system” in the present invention, is meant a filling machine that dispenses product in response to one or more selections that are input into the machine by the user. Such a system may be operated by coin, token, card, or other suitable means.
In another method of product reconstitution, typically used in filling machines, a concentrate diluent are dosed into a storage container located in said machine through a common nozzle or aperture prior to dispensing into a storage container located in said machine. In such a method there is the potential for contamination of the product with residual product from the previous vend.
In a situation where multiple vends of a variety of concentrate combinations are required from the same machine, the potential for contamination is increased.
Typically, the design of filling machines, such as vending machines, avoids the contamination issue by isolating the concentrates and filling them directly into the container prior to adding the diluent. This method is effective in avoiding contamination but does not allow the effective mixing and reconstitution of the concentrate.
The mixing of concentrates with diluents and/or the addition of customised combinations of concentrates adds complexity and the potential for contamination in filling machines.
The alternative method of dispensing concentrates into the container and adding the diluent does not provide a consistently well mixed product and limits the range of concentrate formulations possible by such a method to those formulations that have an inherently high solubility.
Methods that attempt to improve reconstitution through the introduction of turbulence or shear in the concentrate and/or the diluent can induce foaming in the product that reduces product fill rates.
Solutions to the problems noted above result in filling nozzles of greater complexity and greater cost than the dispense mechanisms typically used in filling machines such as vending systems, thereby rendering solutions to the problems impractical on cost grounds.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention there is provided a device for the mixing of one or more concentrates and/or diluents at an interface between a container and a filling head. In one embodiment, a combination is provided, comprising:
(i) a filling head component, comprising one or more concentrate and/or diluent inlet tubes, said inlet tubes being in fluid communication with a central chamber, said chamber comprising therein a diverter, said diverter being such that the difference between the diameter of the diverter and that of the surrounding chamber is such that the cross-sectional area of the nozzle section gradually increases in the direction of flow of the filling head component; and
(ii) a component located in a fill aperture of a container,
said components being engageable with one another so as to provide a direct path from said filling head to the interior of the container.
There is further provided a device for the mixing of one or more concentrates and/or diluents at an interface between a container and a filling head as the container is filled using said filling head, comprising the combination of:
(i) a filling head component comprising one or more concentrate and/or diluent inlet tubes, said inlet tubes being in fluid communication with a fill aperture of a container; and
(ii) a diverter located in the fill aperture of said container, said diverter being such that the difference between the diameter of the diverter and that of the surrounding aperture is such that the cross-sectional area of the aperture section gradually increases in the direction of flow of the filling head component, said filling head component and said fill aperture being engageable with one another so as to provide a direct path from said filling head to the interior of the container.
In a further aspect, a process is provided for the mixing of one or more concentrates and/or diluents at an interface between a container and a filling head as the container is filled using said filling head, wherein said process comprises:
(i) engaging said filling head and a fill aperture of said container so as to provide a direct path from said filling machine to the interior of the container;
(ii) passing one or more concentrates and/or diluents to said filling head component, so as to mix said concentrate(s) and/or diluent(s) at the interface between the container and the filling head; and
(iii) passing the product thereby mixed at said interface to the interior of the container.
In a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a container comprising a component located in the fill aperture of the container, said component being engageable with a filling head component of a filling machine, said filling head component comprising one or more concentrate and/or diluent inlet tubes, said inlet tubes being in fluid communication with a central chamber, said chamber comprising therein a diverter, said diverter being such that the difference between the diameter of the diverter and that of the surrounding chamber is such that the cross-sectional area of the nozzle section gradually increases in the direction of flow of the filling head component, so as to provide a direct path from the filling head of the filling machine to the interior of the container, thereby allowing mixing of one or more concentrates and/or diluents at an interface between the container and said filling head as said container is filled.
As will be described below, product passes through the chamber between said component and the fill aperture.
By “interface between a container and a filling head”, is meant a chamber formed by the filling head and the optional diverter therein and/or the chamber formed by the fill aperture and the component or diverter therein.
The component located in the fill aperture of said container according to the present invention, may be designed so that the chamber between the fill aperture and said component remains closed until connected to the filling head component. However, it will be appreciated that in the case where the fill aperture also acts as the dispense aperture, said component may be designed so that the chamber may be opened manually by the user, in addition to automatic opening when in connection with the filling head.
The nature of the component is not limited in the present invention, provided that the chamber between the fill aperture and said component may open and re-close by some function of the filling process, by the action of the filling machine, or a mechanism thereof, or by the inherent nature of the fill aperture, and that said component fits together with the filling head nozzle so as to provide a direct path from the filling head to the interior of the container. The surface of said component may be straight, tapered or flared with respect
Hewlitt Timothy
Kelsey Steven
Maskell William
O'Brien Jerard
Maust Timothy L.
Shell Oil Company
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