Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Measuring – testing – or controlling by inanimate means – Involving packaged product or preparation thereof
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-10
2001-02-20
Bhat, Nina (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Measuring, testing, or controlling by inanimate means
Involving packaged product or preparation thereof
C426S329000, C426S330300, C426S395000, C426S397000, C426S477000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06190713
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a process for headspace foaming of containers filled with carbonated beverages, in which the beverage is foamed in the container after filling so that the volume previously contained in the headspace is displaced from it due to the ascending foam, and a device for carrying out this process.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In bottling plants, beverages are filled into containers in such a way that a residual gas volume remains in the headspace of the containers. This residual volume is at first filled with carbon dioxide in the case of beverages containing CO
2
. Since the containers are exposed to ambient air during transfer form the bottling station to the sealing station, there is a risk of oxygen entering the headspace during this transfer, which promotes germ formation in such beverages and thus greatly reduces their storage stability.
For the afore-mentioned reason, beverages are conventionally foamed during transfer from the bottling station to the sealing station by introducing a gaseous or liquid medium into the headspace onto the surface of the beverage so that the resultant foam expels the gas volume, and thus also the oxygen that has entered, from the headspace. Thus, the oxygen content in the headspace will be reduced at the moment the container is sealed.
One example of such a foaming device is disclosed in German Utility Model No. 91 16 815 U1. A jet of liquid, here in particular water, is introduced into the headspace of the filled containers at a pressure of 40 bar by means of the device described therein. The pulse of the water jet can be regulated.
It is in particular disadvantageous in such process and devices according to the prior art that after the high-pressure water injection the beverage foam has relatively large pores so that, despite large overfoam volumes (2 to 5 ml/container), the average oxygen values that can be achieved in the headspace are not better than 0.018 to 0.12 mg per liter. The disadvantageously large overfoaming results in a high waste water pollutant load and thus substantial liquid waste disposal costs; also, the large overfoam volumes are equivalent to net beverages losses which, of course, are expensive per se.
A further main disadvantage of this known foaming process resides in the fact that water, and thus foreign media, is injected into the beverage, thereby diluting it. There is danger of germs being injected into the beverage together with the water, while, to avoid this danger, special equipment for preparing germ-free water must be provided.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to create a method and a device for headspace foaming of containers filled with carbonated beverages, which overcome the aforementioned disadvantages of the prior art. In particular, the invention is intended to achieve a good storage stability of the contained beverages and very low foaming losses.
The advantage of foaming the beverage according to the invention is first that the foam ascending from electromagnetic beam foaming has much finer pores than, for instance, foam resulting from water injection, and thus becomes substantially more gas-tight. The amount of oxygen remaining in the headspace after foaming with an electromagnetic beam is very low, and in a range that conventional high-pressure injection systems with comparable overfoaming losses cannot even approach.
Another advantage is that the microporous foam arising from the irradiation with a controlled electromagnetic beam can be regulated very well with regard to the resultant foam quantity and therefore foaming losses can be minimized. Thus, the overfoam volumes, which are expensive and waste-water polluting per se, can be greatly reduced.
A further advantage of the foaming according to the invention resides in the fact that special plant technologies for preparing germ-free water are no longer required since, as a matter of course, water is not used as a foaming agent. As a further result of the fact that the introduction of water can be dispensed with is that the beverage no longer experiences dilution or contamination with residual germs in the water.
The electromagnetic beam may be, for example a micro wave beam or the like. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the electromagnetic beam comprises a laser beam.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the containers pass along a bottling conveyor, a transfer conveyor and a sealing conveyor, with the point of foaming by means of laser irradiation being located immediately upstream of the point of sealing of the containers. According to such a development, the foaming of the beverage is carried out shortly before the sealing of the containers, i.e. there is little time for the oxygen-containing ambient air to enter the headspace after the foam has displaced the gas therein.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention the laser beam is radiated into the headspace in a pulsed fashion, while it may preferably be triggered by a triggering means such as an ultrasonic switch or a light barrier at a triggering rate adapted to the speed of the containers that pass through. As an alternative to triggering by external triggering means, the laser beam may be pulsed per se.
However, the laser beam may, alternatively, also be radiated into the headspace in a continuous fashion.
The laser beam radiated onto the surface of the beverage may be adjusted in its intensity, pulse shape, length and/or frequency; according to the requirements of the specific application.
According to a further embodiment of the invention, the level of foam in the headspace is measured or detected, respectively, by measuring means and the intensity, pulse shape, length and/or frequency are adjusted dependent on the detected level.
By means of controlling devices as usually employed in laser technology the following parameters for the laser radiation may be set for a preferred embodiment of the invention.
The average power of the laser beam irradiated onto the surface of the beverage may be adjusted in the range of about 10 to 20000 W; the frequency of the laser beam may be adjusted in the range of about 5 to about 2000 Hz, and the shutter opening time should be in the range of 5 ms to 2000 ms.
The foaming of the beverage is induced by the energy of the laser beam. Since different beverages also foam differently, the power of the laser beam irradiated into the headspace can in each case be adjusted so accurately that foaming losses are minimized while, at the same time, the greatest possible amount of oxygen is expelled.
Advantageously, the vicinity of the laser beam radiation point may be surrounded by a haze of an inert gas, provided by a corresponding apparatus, in order to avoid the entry of ambient air into the headspace.
The device according to the invention preferably has a laser beam emitter comprising a CO
2
laser with a maximum performance of 10 to 20000 W, a duty cycle of 5 to 100%, an optical guiding system for the laser beam, and a focusing means with a lens having a diameter of about 3.81 cm (1.5 in.) and focal point diameter of 300 to 500 &mgr;m.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5473161 (1995-12-01), Nix et al.
patent: 5683732 (1997-11-01), Baxter et al.
patent: 19 61 876 (1969-12-01), None
patent: 91 16 815 U 1 (1991-10-01), None
patent: 44 15 852A (1995-11-01), None
patent: 2 026 689A (1970-09-01), None
patent: 63-104620 (1988-05-01), None
Bhat Nina
Tilton, Fallon, Lungmus & Chestnut
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