Package making – Methods – Sterilizing cover only
Reexamination Certificate
1998-07-16
2001-02-13
Vo, Peter (Department: 3172)
Package making
Methods
Sterilizing cover only
C053S281000, C134S073000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06185910
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention refers to a method and an apparatus for high-purity bottling of beverages.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
As is generally known, it is of essential importance in beverage bottling processes that the beverages are bottled such that they keep as long as possible, i.e. bacteria, for example, must be prevented from impairing the keeping time of the products. Certain products, especially microbiologically susceptible products, require a heat treatment so as to achieve a sufficiently good keeping quality. In the case of some products a heat treatment of less than 100° Celsius will suffice (this is referred to as pasteurization), in the case of other products temperatures exceeding 100° Celsius must be applied so as to achieve a good keeping quality of these products. This is referred to as sterilization or autoclaving.
Other beverages, such as lemonades or mineral waters containing CO
2
, do, however, not require an increased temperature of the product at the time of bottling. When this type of beverages is bottled, it will suffice to take care that adequately hygienic operating conditions are guaranteed so as to be able to produce packages with keeping quality in the microbiological sense. However, if beverages containing alcohol and/or CO
2
are of such a nature that specific microorganisms may develop and the beverages in question may, consequently, perish, they require an additional equipment of the plant for controlling these microorganisms, e.g. external rinsing, disinfection possibilities and sterile media. Such bottling methods normally comprise the bottling of products such as wine, champagne or beer and also microbiologically susceptible refreshing drinks containing CO
2
.
Finally there are so-called cold-sterile or aseptic bottling methods, which are actually the methods dealt with in the present invention. Normally, these methods are used for non-alcoholic beverages and for beverages containing no CO
2
. As far as this type of beverages is concerned, not only the classic beverage pests, such as yeasts, moulds, acetic-acid and lactic-acid bacteria, but also pathogenic bacteria (e.g. salmonellae) must be taken into account as pests causing the beverages to perish, especially in the case of products whose main characteristic is a pH value that exceeds 4.5. Hence, these bottling methods require a high-purity bottling process, i.e. in particular also special plants and special measures in the field of process engineering, especially ventilation measures, in order to guarantee a high-purity bottling process. The term “high-purity” in the sense of this application describes a bottling process in an atmosphere which contains only germs in the order of up to a few 100 per cubic meter of air, and especially less than 100; in the following, this will also be referred to as “ultraclean-room conditions”. If the terms “clean” or “clean-room conditions” are, however, used, this means a number of germs in the order of 10,000, especially, however, less than 10,000 germs per cubic meter air.
The present invention refers to methods and apparatuses of this type. A characteristic of these methods and apparatuses is also that such methods are normally used for bottling products containing no preservative agents at room temperature and that the packages are not subjected to any thermal aftertreatment.
A known method of this type is described e.g. in European patent application 0120 789. In the case of this European patent application, the stream of bottles is first conducted to a first rinser in a building which is under clean-room atmosphere in its entirety. The area in which the rinser is arranged is under sterile air itself. The bottles are treated in such a way that they are ultraclean. Following this, the bottles are transported along an L-shaped transport path of considerable length through the clean room, whereupon they encounter a second rinser arranged in a room which is again under an ultraclean-room atmosphere. The germs and the bacteria which the bottles picked up on their way through the clean room from the first rinser to the second rinser are here e.g. neutralized. Subsequently, the stream of bottles moves into the filling machine, which is also arranged in the ultraclean room. In addition, a closing machine is provided in the ultraclean room downstream of the filling machine. Since the whole plant, comprising several rinsers with intermediate treatment paths, the filling machine and the closing machine, is arranged in a clean room or ultraclean room atmosphere in its entirety, this has the effect that the measures which have to be taken for observing the respective air conditions are very complicated and expensive. The large volumes of the rooms which must here be maintained ultraclean necessitate high operating expenses. In addition, it is disadvantageous that a second rinser must be used so as to neutralize the germs which the bottles picked up on their way from the first rinser to the second.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Starting from this prior art, it is the object of the present invention to provide a method and an apparatus for high-purity bottling of beverages by means of which the expenditure can substantially be reduced and by means of which it is especially possible to operate a plant of the type in question at a much more moderate price but nevertheless with a higher degree of purity than has hitherto been the case.
The method according to the present invention comprises the steps of conducting the bottles first from normal surroundings into the dirt side of a immersion bath sterilizer comprising a dirt side and a ultraclean-room side, where said bottles run on a path through various immersion baths which are, at least partially, arranged one on top of the other and/or side by side, and, in so soing, they also pass at least one wall separating the dirt side from the ultraclean-room side. At the outlet of the ultraclean-room side of the immersion bath sterilizer, they are then transferred to the feed star of a rotary filling machine, and from said rotary filling machine to a closing machine. The filling machine and the closing machine are arranged in a room in which at least clean-room conditions prevail, whereas ultraclean-room conditions are created in the direct area of the filling members and in the direct area of the closing members. According to the present invention, the bottles only pass through one immersion bath sterilizer. The immersion bath sterilizer is divided into at least two rooms having different degrees of cleanliness. By means of at least one suitable partition, the inlet side can be separated from the outlet side in such a way that, when moving out of the immersion bath sterilizer, the bottles will have the highest degree of cleanliness. Other than in the case of the prior art, the bottles are then not conducted along a path of considerable length through a clean room, where they could pick up germs again, but they are transferred directly to the rotary filling machine. It will suffice to provide the filling machine and the closing machine in a room in which clean room conditions prevail, i.e. in which the highest degree of cleanliness does not exist, provided that it is guaranteed that ultraclean-room conditions prevail at least in the direct area of the filling members and in the direct area of the closing members. This can be realized by measures accomplishing a suitable local sterile air supply.
Due to the combination of the immersion bath sterilizer and the rotary filling machine which is connected directly to said immersion bath sterilizer, the transport paths are kept as short as possible and a possible renewed contamination of bottles which are already in a high-purity condition is therefore avoided. The plant as a whole has a very compact structural design. Since it is only the filling machine and the closing machine that are to be accommodated in one room, in which only clean-room conditions must prevail provided that ultraclean-room conditions are produced locally in the area of the bottles at the
Huynh Louis L.
Krones AG
Tilton, Fallon, Lungmus & Chestnut
Vo Peter
LandOfFree
Method and an apparatus for high-purity bottling of beverages does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Method and an apparatus for high-purity bottling of beverages, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Method and an apparatus for high-purity bottling of beverages will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2613507