Patent GB-861993-A (GB)
Title: Apparatus for the treatment of the contents of bottles or other containers
IPC: A23C3/027
Filed: 1958-05-28
Abstract: 861,993. Apparatus for sterilizing milk &c. in bottles &c. GRAHAM-ENOCK MANUFACTURING CO. Ltd., and ENOCK, A. G. May 28, 1959 [May 28, 1958], No. 17023/58. Class 49. [Also in Group XXX] In an apparatus for the treatment of the contents of bottles &c., e.g. the sterilizing or pasteurizing of milk, by which stacked crates of filled bottles are delivered on to a conveyer and intermittently moved into and through a treatment chamber, the chamber is partitioned off into a number of treatment zones by a plurality of partitions which are moved to and from a closed position in the intervals between the intermittent movements of the conveyer. Four stacks 3 of coated, milk-filled bottles are fed in turn on to a roller conveyer Z and pushed off on to an intermittentlyoperated series of conveyer chains c by which the bottles are moved through a treatment tunnel a mounted above a pit b and divided by partitions a<SP>1</SP> to a<SP>5</SP> into a water treatment zone (a<SP>1</SP>, a<SP>2</SP>) wherein heated water is drawn from a lower tank f and delivered to an overhead spray tank f<SP>1</SP>, a vapour-steam zone (a<SP>2</SP>, a<SP>3</SP>) and a heated air zone (a<SP>3</SP>, a<SP>4</SP>) in which blowers g circulate vapour steam and heated air, respectively, and, finally, a further water treatment zone (a<SP>4</SP>, a<SP>5</SP>) in which water drawn from lower tanks h is sprayed from overhead tanks h<SP>1</SP> at a temperature which decreases from tank to tank for cooling of the milk. In order to agitate the milk, portions of adjacent channel guides e, Fig. 2a, for the chains c are united to form agitation sections i which are given a small back and forth movement transversely of the chains on balls or rollers j so as to agitate them and the crates thereon; clamping members o are pivoted at each end for clamping the crates during their agitation. The partitions a<SP>1</SP> to a<SP>5</SP> are of slat form and may be raised simultaneously from the closed, vertical position shown in Figs. 1 and 1a to a horizontal inoperative position by chains passing over sprocket wheels, chain S being driven from chain p through a chain connector. In a further form, the shutters may be in sections with pairs of the sections arranged to be withdrawn sideways to an inoperative position within compartments at each side of the tunnel a, The crates are fed from the roller conveyer Z on to the conveyer chains c by a pusher bar 6 connected by side plates 6a, Fig. 2, to roller chains 7 passing over sprocket wheels 8 mounted on the machine frame at either side. The chains 7 are reciprocated intermittently in synchronism with intermittent movement of the conveyer chains c and for this purpose are connected by driving plates 9 to side arms 10 carried by a carriage 11 extending transversely of the tunnel between the upper and lower runs of the chains c and connected at each end through a piston-rod 12a to an hydraulic cylinder 12 attached to the machine frame. In a movement of the carriage 11 from right to left, pawls 13 advance the chains for a distance somewhat greater than the width of a crate, but ride over the chain rollers during the return movement of the carriage. At the delivery end of the tunnel, the stacked crates are discharged on to a series of rollers 14a carried by frames 14 rockable on a shaft 15; the frames are then lowered to deposit the crates on a transverse conveyer 17 which may convey them either to storage or to a palletizing unit. Fig. 3 (not shown) depicts diagrammatically an hydraulic power circuit for automatically controlling the operation of the apparatus.