Coating apparatus – Projection or spray type – Plural projectors
Reexamination Certificate
1998-04-20
2001-02-13
Edwards, Laura (Department: 1734)
Coating apparatus
Projection or spray type
Plural projectors
C118S317000, C118SDIG003, C422S302000, C422S304000, C099S362000, C099S455000, C099S483000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06187097
ABSTRACT:
DESCRIPTION
This innovation relates to a device for spraying liquids onto containers by means of at least one spray tube which has a plurality of outlet openings distributed over its longitudinal extent and is supplied through a liquid inlet.
Such devices are used in tunnel pasteurizers, through-coolers or warming installations so that heated or cooled liquid can be made to trickle over cans, bottles, etc. containing foods or beverages. In pasteurizers, a predetermined number of so-called Pasteur units (PE) are to be achieved by a precisely defined energy transfer. If the PE number is too high, it can have a negative effect on the taste of the food, whereas if the PE number is too low, adequate shelf-life is not ensured, i.e., a uniform energy transfer is the goal. The basic design of such machines is known from German Patent 2,142,124 (FIGS. 1 and 2) or U.S. Pat. No. 4,704,958 (FIGS. 1 and 3), for example.
Cooling and heating installations for bottles or cans are necessary when beverages are bottled hot or cold, for example, because otherwise problems can occur in subsequent packaging operations (labeling, film sheathing) due to condensation or the like.
In the aforementioned machines, the containers to be treated are usually conveyed by a conveyor system in multiple lines side by side beneath spray tubes which are oriented with their longitudinal extent across the direction of conveyance and which have a multitude of spray openings or jets along the bottom of the tube. One design of a corresponding spray tube is known from German Patent 2,907,916 C2. The spray tube described in this document has a uniform cross section over its entire length. The spray tube is supplied with liquid through an inlet line from one end in the axial direction. One disadvantage is that the liquid delivery through the individual spray openings which are different distances away from the inlet connection is not uniform due to the unequal quantity distribution and pressure conditions inside the tube.
This innovation is thus based on the object of creating a spray tube with improved delivery.
This object is achieved by an inside cross section of the spray tube which decreases with increasing distance from the liquid inlet. This ensures a uniform delivery of liquid, regardless of the distance of the outlet openings from the inlet connection. The measure of the reduction in inside cross section based on the distance from the inlet connection depends on the spacing between outlet openings, i.e., the number of openings per unit of length, their outlet capacity and optionally also the frictional losses in the tube, and it is designed so that the total pressure prevailing in the spray tube is approximately the same in the area of each outlet opening.
If the outlet openings are distributed at regular intervals along the longitudinal extent of a spray tube and if they all have the same open cross section, a continuous reduction in the inside cross section of the spray tube with increasing distance from the inlet connection is advantageous. Such a spray tube may be provided with an interior that tapers conically or in a wedge or pyramid shape starting from the inlet connection.
If the liquid supply is not over one of the ends of the spray tube but instead in the area in between, then the maximum inside cross section is at the point of the inlet connection, decreasing from there toward the ends of the spray tube. The inside cross section of a spray tube supplied by an inlet line at each end simultaneously would be exactly the opposite. In this case the inside cross section would decrease from the ends of the tube toward the center.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4704958 (1987-11-01), Braymond
patent: 5264036 (1993-11-01), Haas et al.
patent: 5334352 (1994-08-01), Johnson
patent: 5759627 (1998-06-01), Kokubo et al.
patent: 2142124 (1973-03-01), None
patent: 2907916 (1985-04-01), None
Edwards Laura
Krones AG
Tilton, Fallon, Lungmus & Chestnut
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