Foods and beverages: apparatus – Cooking – With stirring
Patent
1991-07-17
1992-10-06
Simone, Timothy F.
Foods and beverages: apparatus
Cooking
With stirring
99455, 99470, 99472, 99483, 366104, 366136, 366139, 366144, 366153, A23G 100, A23G 104, B01F 716
Patent
active
051522128
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention concerns a reaction vessel for treating a solution of cocoa and its derivatives, comprising: designed to maintain the solution below a pre-determined maximum level; vat, stirring means attached to said shaft and drive means connected to said shaft; and said pump, the pump drawing off solution from the base of the vat and the spray device being designed to project this solution into an upper portion of the vat, above said maximum level.
Such a reaction vessel is designed to perform one or preferably more than one of the following treatments on a solution containing cocoa and/or similar products such as hazelnut or almond pastes, etc.: amino acids and reduced sugars;
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Patent Application No. DE-A-3 112 994 describes a reaction vessel of this type in which the rotatable shaft has, in addition to stirring means, several helicoidal baffles which turn within a fixed tubular case, thus forming axial pumps which create various circulations of the solution inside the vat. One of these axial pumps has the effect of sending a current of solution into a pallet dispersion device projecting the solution by centrifugal force against obstacles, especially for mixing it thoroughly with additional water or other liquid, as well as for aerating the solution in order to extract volatile substances from it. This type of reaction vessel allows an entire series of treatments to take place on the cocoa solution, such as thermal, mechanical and chemical treatments to sterilize it and also to obtain various improvements in its rheological, chemical, gustatory and other properties.
However, this apparatus has various disadvantages. Aside from its complicated construction and the cumbersome helicoidal pumps attached to the shaft, the presence of a stationary tubular structure around the pumps, particularly between the shaft and the heating coils submerged in the cocoa solution, prevents the solution from being stirred effectively near the coils and thus limits heat transmission to them. Furthermore, pump speed is limited by the stirring devices and thus varies considerably with the viscosity of the solution. Finally, this entire pumping mechanism complicates cleaning the reaction vessel.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The goal of the present invention is to provide a reaction vessel designed to eliminate the disadvantages described above, capable of further improving the effectiveness of certain cocoa solution treatments in the reaction vessel.
To achieve this the invention concerns a reaction vessel of the type described in the preamble, characterized in that the pump for the circulation means is located outside the vat and is activated by drive means which are distinct from those for the rotatable shaft.
Preferably, the circulation means comprise a suction pipe connecting said vat outlet to the pump and a delivery pipe going from the pump to the inside of the vat, and means for introducing liquids into the solution are connected to said suction pipe. Said means for introducing liquids may comprise means for introducing water or aqueous solutions, and/or means for introducing air.
In a particular embodiment, the rotatable shaft comprises a central canal extending upward from the lower end of the shaft, the delivery pipe extends into said central canal, and the spray device is disposed on or in the shaft.
In this case, the spray device may be attached to a stationary axial tube forming the delivery pipe inside said central canal and may be located across from a series of lateral openings in the shaft. A conical plate may be coaxially attached to the rotatable shaft at an intermediate level between the spray device and said maximum level so that at least a portion of the sprayed solution falls onto this plate.
Preferably, the circulation means are connected on command by a first triple outlet valve to an evacuation pipe through which the solution may be evacuated from the vat by means of said pump.
In order to empty the vat easily, a particular embodiment provides for a reversible pump a
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SERVCO S.p.A.
Simone Timothy F.
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