ELLIPSOIDAL PASTEURIZER FOR FOOD MIXTURES

Abstract: A pasteurizer for foodstuff mixtures comprises a tank with which are associated heating, cooling and mixture circulation means. The tank (11) is ellipsoidal in shape with a bodyshell (12) and a base (13), and the said mixture circulation means comprise an auger-type device (15) mounted adjacent to the base (13), which is in the form of a disc (16) and is slightly drawn so as to have a tapered circumferential edge (17). From the upper side of the disc (16) there extend tabs (18) which form respective mixture aspiration ports (19), while below the ports (19) there extend respective centrifugal blades (20), which move the aspirated mixture through the ports (19).

Description: The present invention relates to an ellipsoidal pasteurizer for foodstuff mixtures, in particurarly mixtures for the production of icecream. Persons with ordinary skill in the art are aware of the requirements that a food pasteurizer should satisfy: it should within a reasonably brief period of time bring the entire mixture to a uniform pasteurization temperature ― which if high, i.e. in the region of 85°C ― is maintained for a few second and ― if less high, i.e. in the region of 65°C ― is maintained for about 30 minutes. The heating has to be followed by an as rapid as possible cooling to the storage temperature, generally about 4°C. The cooling must be very rapid in order to quickly cover the spore reproduction range, which is between 45°C and 25°C. It is thus evident that, to meet the aforesaid requirements, the shape of a pasteurizer must be such as to ensure a uniform and continuous circulation of the mixture within it, and must be equipped with adequate heating, cooling and mixture circulation means. The problems connected with pasteurizing a food mixture, especially one for icecream production, are for example considered in Italian patent 970.644 and industrial model 175.557. The overall object of the present invention is to embody a pasteurizer that will solve the said problems and that has a very straightforward and compact structure and is thus economical to manifacture. To attain the said object, the present invention embodies a pasteurizer for food mixtures of the type comprising a tank with which there are associated heating, cooling and mixture circulation means, wherein the tank (11) has an ellipsoidal shape with a bodyshell (12) and a base (13) and the said mixture circulation means comprise an auger-type device (15) mounted adjacent to the base (13) and is in the form of a disc (16) which is slightly drawn so as to have a tapered or slenderized circumferential edge (17), there extending upwards from the disc (16) deflector tabs (18) which form respective mixture aspiration ports (19), while below the ports (19) there extend respective centrifugal blades (20) which move the aspirated mixture through the ports (19). The structural and functional characteristics of the invention, and its advantages over the know art, will become more apparent from an examination of the following description referred to the appended diagrammatic drawings, which show an example of a pasteurizer in accordance with the innovative principles of the invention. In the drawings: Figure 1 is a vertical section illustrating the pasteurizer of the invention; Figure 2 is a partially cutaway and sectioned plan view of the pasteurizer of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a top plan view of the device 15; Figure 4 is a bottom plan view of the device 15; Figure 5 is a section taken on the line V-V of Figure 4; Figure 6 is a section taken on the line VI-VI of Figure 4; Figure 7 is an illustration of a particular. With reference to the drawings, the pasteurizer in question is indicated overall by 10 and consists structurally of a tank 11 which in plan view has a characteristic ellipsoidal shape. The bodyshell 12 and the base 13 of the tank are provided with appropriate insulation 14. The mixture circulates correctly and uniformly inside the tank 11, with no stagnation, as a direct result of the ellipsoidal shape of the tank 11 and by the agency of a characteristic auger-type device 15 mounted adjacent to the base 13. The device 15 (Figures 3 to 6) consists structurally of a disc 16 slightly drawn so as to have a tapered or slenderized circumferential edge 17. From the disc 16, by shearing and drawing, there are formed upwardly a pair of dome-shaped deflector tabs 18, which form respective mixture aspiration ports 19, while there are formed below a pair of centrifugal blades or paddles 20 which move the aspirated mixture through the ports 19. As a result of the presence of the tapered or slenderized edge 17, the mixture is first sent, with a centrifugal laminar movement, to lap the entire base of the tank 11, and then rises along the interior of the bodyshell 12, as shown by the arrows. For the purposes of rotation, the auger-type device 15 is fixed to a tabular shaft 21 mounted and coupled in a freely removable manner onto the output shaft of an electric motor 22 disposed below the tank 11. In the example shown, the ports 19 and the blades 20 are disposed in diametrically opposite pairs, but their number and disposition can be varied according to needs. The mixture is heated rapidly and uniformly by means of foil-type resistances 23 applied externally to the base 13 and, optionally, by wire-wound resistances 24 applied externally to the bodyshell 12. The resistances 23 are obtained by an electric intensity that decreases according as the distance from the auger-type device 15 increases, as indicated by the hatched areas 25, 26 and 27. In the area 25, proximal to the device 15, the electric intensity of the resistances 23 is maximal, inasmuch as the mixture circulation rate is greatest in such area. The electric intensity is of middling degree in the area 26, and lower in the peripheral area 27 where mixture circulation rate is less. The turns of any wire-wound resistances 24 are on the other hand inserted into respective annular grooves 28 in an evaporator 29 of the cooling circuit; in this way, the heat exchange surface between the resistances 24 and the bodyshell is augmented. A further characteristic of the evaporator 29 is that it consists of two half-shells 30, 31, which are welded together and force-fitted to the bodyshell 12 of the tank so as to conform to its shape perfectly and thus promote heat exchange; to this end, both the bodyshell 12 and the half-shells 30, 31 are slightly conical in shape. The evaporator and the tank are welded together only in the region of the upper and lower edges of the evaporator, resulting in a large heat exchange surface area which promotes a rapid and uniform cooling of the mixture, and at the same time prevents ice from forming on the bodyshell 12. The pasteurized mixture can be withdrawn either through a conduit 32 extending from the base of the tank 11, which is supplied with a tap 33, or by means of a transfer and metering pump 34 which is mounted in place of the device 15 (Figure 7). The pump 34 transfers the boiling mixture from the pasteurizer to another container vessel; alternatively, by using a timed system, constant doses of mixture can be sent repeatedly to the close-lying whisking device. As the pump is located in the controlled temperature tank, the problem of the heating-up of the transfer line, with consequent increase of the microbial count within it, is in part obviated.

Claims: 1. Pasteurizer for food mixtures of the type comprising a tank with which there are associated heating, cooling and mixture circulation means, wherein the said tank (11) has an ellipsoidal shape with a bodyshell (12) and a base (13) and the said mixture circulation means comprise an auger-type device (15) mounted adjacent to the base (13) and is in the form of a disc (16) which is slightly drawn so as to have a tapered circumferential edge (17), there extending upwardly from the disc (16) deflector tabs (18) which form respective mixture aspiration ports (19), while below the ports (19) there extend respective centrifugal blades (20) which move the aspirated mixture through the ports (19). 2. Pasteurizer as described in claim 1, wherein the said heating means comprise foil-type resistances (23) applied externally to the base (13); the said resistances (23) being obtained by an electric intensity that decreases according as the distance from the device (15) increases. 3. Pasteurizer as described in claim 2, wherein the said heating means also comprise wire-wound resistances (24) inserted into respective annular grooves (28) in an evaporator (29) forming part of the said cooling means and also applied externally to the bodyshell (12). 4. Pasteurizer as described in claim 2, wherein the evaporator (29) consists structurally of two half-shells (30, 31) which are welded together and force-fitted onto the bodyshell (12) of the tank (11) so as to conform exactly to its shape. 5. Pasteurizer as described in claim 1, wherein the said auger-type device is interchangeable with a transfer and metering pump (34).

Inventors: BRAVO, FRANCESCO
Applicants: BRAVO S.P.A.
Application year: 1988
Main classification: A23L3
IPC codes: A23G9, A23L3