Fluid handling – With cleaner – lubrication added to fluid or liquid sealing... – Cleaning or steam sterilizing
Patent
1994-10-21
1996-07-23
Chambers, A. Michael
Fluid handling
With cleaner, lubrication added to fluid or liquid sealing...
Cleaning or steam sterilizing
137558, 2511496, F16K 3700
Patent
active
055380301
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a coupling for removably connecting a conduit for cleaning liquid to a conduit in an automatic device for distributing a liquid or semi-liquid food product, which coupling comprises a first male connection piece with a body provided with a passage to which the conduit connects and a female connection piece formed by a recipient which is opened at one end, removably connecting with its open end in a leak-proof way to the body of the male connection piece but surrounding with its closed end, with an interval, an extremity of the body of the male connection piece on which the passage in this connection piece gives, while the recipient is provided in its wall and laterally with respect to the passage through the body, with an opening for connecting the cleaning conduit, which opening gives on said interval.
Such couplings can be used with automatic devices for distributing soft-ice and the like. During normal operation the male connection piece is connected to a reservoir containing a liquid composition to connect the automatic device conduit to the reservoir. The composition is pumped from the reservoir, eventually whipped with air and cooled in a cooling element.
A coupling of this kind is disclosed in CH-A-400.047. The body of the male connection piece is formed by the dispensing tube of a whipped cream dispenser, the lower end of which tube is always open. Additional food products possibly contained in the tube can drop down when the dispensing tube, removed from the dispenser body, is brought to the female connection piece. While the dispensing tube in a whipped cream dispenser cannot contain large quantities of food product and can easily be emptied before the dispensing tube is removed from the dispenser body. In soft-ice distributing devices and the like large quantities of food product are present in the conduit connected to the male connecting piece. Dropping of the food product will dirty the inside of the distributing device. This can be partly avoided by holding a container under the male connection piece when transporting it from the reservoir containing the liquid composition towards the female connection piece, but that complicates the cleaning.
A coupling comprising anon-return valve in one of the connection pieces is known as such from EP-A-270.302. However this coupling is not for connecting to a conduit for cleaning liquid and non of the connection pieces is a recipient surrounding the other connection piece. The cleaning of the outside of the connection piece which services to be introduced in a reservoir with a liquid food composition is not possible.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention aims at providing, in such a coupling for connecting conduits in an automatic device for distributing a food product, for a simple and efficient way of cleaning the automatic device conduit as well as the male connection piece.
To this end, a recoil valve is mounted in the passage of the body of the male connection piece, which valve, when the male connection piece is free or connects the automatic device conduit to a reservoir, only allows a flow towards the automatic device conduit, and the recipient forming the female connection piece is provided at its bottom and opposite the passage with a pin which automatically pushes the recoil valve in the passage towards an open position when the recipient is connected to the male connection piece.
The passage is open when liquid is pumped from the reservoir, and the passage is automatically closed if the male connection piece is disconnected from the reservoir, so that no liquid can flow out of the conduit which is connected to it. The recoil valve has no effect whatsoever on the cleaning as during cleaning the connection pieces are connected together and the recoil valve is pushed in open position.
In a particular embodiment of the invention, at least one electrode is mounted inside the body of the male connection piece, said electrode being electrically isolated from the body and having one extremity
REFERENCES:
patent: 1602647 (1926-10-01), Carr
patent: 1942241 (1934-01-01), Duhme
patent: 3677220 (1972-07-01), Ostwald et al.
patent: 4144901 (1979-03-01), Stevenson
patent: 4186759 (1980-02-01), Stevenson et al.
patent: 4848381 (1989-07-01), Livingston et al.
patent: 5311899 (1994-05-01), Isayama et al.
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