Looking for breakthrough ideas for innovation challenges? Try Patsnap Eureka!

Apparatus and process for heat treating a packaged food product

a technology for packaging food products and apparatuses, which is applied in the direction of transportation and packaging, packaging, electric/magnetic/electromagnetic heating, etc., can solve the problems of not efficiently integrating energy into the system, and many prior art systems are not able to (efficiently) heat treat packaged food products, so as to achieve efficient energy and energy efficient

Inactive Publication Date: 2013-11-28
KK TOPCON
View PDF5 Cites 30 Cited by
  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent describes an apparatus for heat treating packaged food products. The apparatus creates a cavity where energy can be efficiently provided to the food product without energy loss. The food product is surrounded by a liquid during processing, which allows for uniform heating. The apparatus uses an electrode configuration to create an RF field that is confined within a cavity, resulting in efficient energy application. The impedance matching circuit can adjust the electrical input to maximize energy input and minimize energy loss. The apparatus can be used in a continuous process.

Problems solved by technology

A disadvantage of prior art prior art systems may be that they do not efficiently couple energy into the system.
Further, many prior art systems are not able to (efficiently) heat treat packaged food products, such as for instance (packaged) meals.

Method used

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
View more

Image

Smart Image Click on the blue labels to locate them in the text.
Viewing Examples
Smart Image
  • Apparatus and process for heat treating a packaged food product
  • Apparatus and process for heat treating a packaged food product
  • Apparatus and process for heat treating a packaged food product

Examples

Experimental program
Comparison scheme
Effect test

Embodiment Construction

[0064]FIG. 1a schematically depicts an embodiment of the apparatus, indicated with reference 1 for heat treating a packaged food product (not depicted, however see amongst others FIGS. 1b-1c) in e.g. a continuous packaged food heat treating process. The apparatus 1 comprises a channel 100 with a channel length L, a channel axis 110 and a channel wall 103 (of insulating material, except where the electrodes are; see also below). The channel wall 103 surrounds a channel interior 105. Here, the channel interior is empty, but during processing, the channel interior 105 will be in general be filled with (pressurized) liquid (such as de-ionized a water). The apparatus also comprises a pressurizer (schematically depicted) configured to control the pressure of the liquid (not depicted, however see amongst others FIGS. 1b-1c) within the channel 100. Further, the apparatus comprises a transport unit 300 configured to transport the packaged food product in a propagation direction 102 through t...

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
Login to View More

PUM

No PUM Login to View More

Abstract

The invention provides an apparatus (for heat treating a packaged food product), comprising (a) a channel surrounding a channel interior, (b) a pressurizer, (c) a transport unit, (d) a first electrode, surrounding at least part of the channel interior over a first electrode length, (e) an electrode configuration comprising (i) a second electrode surrounding at least part of the channel interior over a remote part surrounding length (for shielding at least part of the channel), and (f) a radio frequency wave generator configured to generate RF-waves between the first and second electrode. With such apparatus efficiently energy may be coupled into the packaged food product, for instance for heating a meal and / or for pasteurizing a food product. A further advantage of the present apparatus and such process is that it may be configured to be used in a continuous process.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application claims the benefit of International Application No. NL 2008879 filed May 25, 2012. The contents of this application are incorporated herein by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The invention relates to an apparatus for heat treating a packaged (food) product, as well as to a process for heat treating a packaged (food) product with such apparatus.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Processes to heat treat food products are known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 4,956,532, for instance, describes a method and apparatus for even and rapid heating, pasteurization or sterilization of products contained in a package, such as, for example, pharmaceutical products or food, which are conveyed through a microwave treatment chamber on a continuous conveyor belt. In order to heat components of the products having different heat absorption for the purpose of reaching the pasteurization temperature rapidly and evenly, the temperature of the c...

Claims

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
Login to View More

Application Information

Patent Timeline
no application Login to View More
Patent Type & Authority Applications(United States)
IPC IPC(8): A23L3/01A23L3/04A23L5/10A23L5/30
CPCA23L3/01A23L3/045H05B6/54H05B6/60A23L3/005A23L3/02Y02P60/85A23L5/15A23L5/17A23L5/36A23V2002/00
Inventor VAN DER VOORT, AART-JANVAN DEN BOSCH, HENRICUS FRANCISCUS MARIASCHUTEN, HENRICUS JOHANNES
Owner KK TOPCON
Who we serve
  • R&D Engineer
  • R&D Manager
  • IP Professional
Why Patsnap Eureka
  • Industry Leading Data Capabilities
  • Powerful AI technology
  • Patent DNA Extraction
Social media
Patsnap Eureka Blog
Learn More
PatSnap group products

Browse by: Latest US Patents, China's latest patents, Technical Efficacy Thesaurus, Application Domain, Technology Topic, Popular Technical Reports.

© 2024 PatSnap. All rights reserved.Legal|Privacy policy|Modern Slavery Act Transparency Statement|Sitemap|About US| Contact US: help@patsnap.com