Refrigeration – Processes – Packaging
Reexamination Certificate
2000-07-10
2002-07-16
Esquivel, Denise L. (Department: 3744)
Refrigeration
Processes
Packaging
C062S077000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06418731
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of food and beverage containers and to processes for manufacturing such containers. More specifically the present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a self-cooling container apparatus holding a carbonated beverage or other food item as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,065,300 and to an improved container apparatus. The containers preferably contain a beverage, but other products are contemplated.
The apparatus includes an improved plastic receptacle which deforms laterally into a substantially cylindrical shape to fit into a plastic bottle or a metal container during manufacture. The receptacle is designed to be handled easily for manufacturing the self-cooling container, so that the processes that would be encountered during the manufacturing would be easily accomplished because of the way the receptacle is designed. The receptacle is further configured to match the shape of the bottom dome of a metal container to fully abut said bottom dome of the container so that during the beverage filling process, nitrogen or carbonation pressure transmitted from the beverage filler head to the inside space of the receptacle is fully transmitted to the bottom dome of the container and the pressure within the receptacle makes the receptacle rigid and stiff, and gives the container and receptacle combination the same column strength as pressurized container without a receptacle. The pressurization of the container with carbon-dioxide gas is important when carbonated beverage are being filled to ensure that the carbonation of the beverage occurs during the filling process. The beverage itself is usually uncarbonated until it enters the container, where, because of the absorption of pressurized carbon-dioxide gas, it becomes carbonated. For a container without the receptacle, the container column strength is obtained by the filler head firmly forming a seal with the empty open container rim and pressurizing the container directly with a blast of carbon-dioxide gas. The column strength of the container is obtained by the internal pressure of the container. This allows the filler head to firmly seal the rim of the container to maintain the pressure of the beverage during the filling process. However with the receptacle inside the container, the container no longer holds the carbonation pressure, and thus has very little column strength. By abutting the receptacle base directly, firmly and uniformly over the bottom inside base dome of the container and the bottom rim, the receptacle becomes rigid, strong and slightly taller than the container due to the pressure. Thus, during filling, the receptacle advantageously transmits the filler head forces directly to the container bottom dome wall without subjecting the container walls to deformation stresses. The slight elevation of the receptacle during the carbonated beverage filling process helps prevent direct contact of the weak unpressurized container walls with the filler head seal.
Other improvements to the apparatus include a refrigerant valve mounting structure centrally located on the receptacle bottom wall. The method of manufacture generally involves the broad steps of injection molding preforms from plastic material, blow molding the receptacle to a shape of particular form; cutting the top blow-domes of the manufactured receptacle with a laser or with a knife edge to obtain a uniform flange; orienting the receptacles for insertion into containers; inserting each receptacle into a container; filling the receptacle with beverage; seaming the container lid onto the receptacle and container flanges; checking for carbonation column strength of the filled and seamed container; and charging the annular space between the receptacle and container with refrigerant mixture; checking for refrigerant mixture leaks.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There have previously been self-cooling containers for food items including flexible and deformable beverage receptacles with widely spaced apart, rigid receptacle walls, and methods of manufacturing these containers. These prior art do not address the real issues of manufacturing and beverage plant operations that are crucial for the success of a self-cooling beverage container program. All prior art designs fail when subjected to the immense pressures (about 45 psi) of the carbonated filling process and fail to maintain the container column strength. The sudden blast of carbon-dioxide inside a container during filling, can destroy any thin-walled internal container, and collapse its walls so that the functionality of the apparatus will be impaired. Also, the sudden collapse of such internal containers, can cause the container itself to loose column strength, and collapse under the clamping force that is applied for sealing the container during filling. Many trials and designs were done to obtain the present configuration of the disclosed receptacle of this invention.
For example when an internal receptacle is used as a refrigerant storage receptacle, the beverage filler head pressurizes its external walls and crushes the receptacle, since such receptacles are generally made from thin walled materials for rapid heat transfer, they can be easily crushed by external pressure and cannot survive the forces of the high speed manufacturing process. Thus, failure of the internal receptacle, can also result in the sudden collapse of the container walls. Even with prior designs of co-seamed internal receptacles such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,065,300 to the present inventor the problem was still not solved. Also, the high speed beverage plants require high speed compatible operations for manufacture of an online self-cooling beverage container. For example, prior art designs do not address easy valve insertion, self-aligning of the receptacle with the container and so on. Further, most prior art relies on a separate unintegrated manufacturing process for the attachment of the receptacle to the container.
Thus, a program to develop a self-cooling container that can address the rigors of the filling and the seaming stresses, as well as the tensions of processes such as beer pasteurization, must include the embodiments of the present improved invention. To operate the present invention for use as a self-cooling container, a valve is provided that is opened and a refrigerant mixture is progressively discharged from the receptacle, extracting heat from the container contents.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a self-cooling container and method of manufacturing a self-cooling container apparatus, the apparatus containing a beverage receptacle with a shape changing section, to either expand or contract the receptacle for easy insertion into the container.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a self-cooling container apparatus containing a beverage receptacle which is designed in a pre-expanded shape with a maximal volume, and with a pressure transfer bottom wall that transmits the carbonation beverage filling pressure directly to the container bottom wall to prevent the container side wall from collapsing.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method of manufacture, that uses a receptacle that can contract to a smaller volume for easy insertion into the container, and then receptacle be re-expanded back to its original maximum volume state and that does not substantially expand after said re-expansion during the pressurized filling process to maintain stiffness and column strength.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus in which a smaller volume of refrigerant mixture is exposed to a larger heat transfer surface area such as by corrugating the beverage receptacle wall, to increase the evaporation rate of the liquid refrigerant mixture.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method of manufacture, that uses a beverage receptacle that can be seamed with the
Drake Malik N.
Esquivel Denise L.
Oltman Flynn & Kubler
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