Tubular heating device

Abstract

The application discloses a tubular heating device, comprising: a pipe; a heater arranged outside the pipe for heating the pipe wall of the pipe and heating fluid food by heating the pipe wall; a plurality of disturbance components arranged in the pipe along the axial direction of the pipe, each of the disturbance components comprising a columnar disturbance body and a valve component; the axial direction of the disturbance body is consistent with the axial direction of the pipe, and at least one outer circumferential surface of the disturbance body is provided with a spiral groove; a guide rod axially penetrating through the plurality of disturbance components so that the plurality of disturbance components are connected in series; an inner flow channel axially penetrating through the disturbance body is arranged in the valve component, and when the pressure in the pipe is greater than a preset pressure, the valve component is opened to allow the fluid food in the pipe to discharge pressure through the inner flow channel.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of food processing technology, and in particular to a tubular heating device. Background Technology

[0002] In the production of liquid foods (such as milk), sterilization is an important step, and high-temperature sterilization is widely used because it requires less time and has high efficiency.

[0003] In the prior art, tubular heating devices are typically used to sterilize fluid foods. These devices usually include pipes and heaters arranged around the pipes. The fluid foods flow along the pipes, the heaters heat the pipes, and the heat is transferred through the pipe walls to sterilize the fluid foods.

[0004] It is easy to understand that the temperature of the fluid food in the radial center region of the pipe is lower than that of the fluid food near the pipe wall, which results in a poorer sterilization effect on the fluid food in the center region.

[0005] To ensure uniform heating and temperature balance in liquid foods, existing technologies incorporate agitators within the pipe. These agitators alter the flow direction of the liquid food to achieve the same heating effect. Two types of agitators are provided in the prior art.

[0006] The first type of disturbance component is a propeller driven by an electric motor. This disturbance component is placed in the pipe and the propeller is driven by the electric motor to rotate, thereby disturbing the fluid food and changing the flow direction of the fluid food. However, because this disturbance component requires electric motor drive and rotation, it is easy to be damaged and difficult to replace after damage.

[0007] The second type of disturbance component is configured as a column with spiral grooves machined on its outer circumference. This disturbance component is placed in the pipe and is not driven by a motor. When the liquid food passes through the disturbance component, the disturbance component guides the liquid food through the gap between the disturbance component and the pipe wall under the guidance of the spiral grooves, thereby bringing the liquid food closer to the pipe wall. This is beneficial for the rapid heating and uniform heating of the liquid food. This type of disturbance component has a wider range of applications.

[0008] However, the second type of disturbance component has the following drawbacks in use:

[0009] If, for some reason, the flow rate of the fluid supplied to the pipeline increases, the disturbance component, being a solid columnar structure, will cause the flow cross-section between the disturbance component and the pipeline to remain unchanged. The throttling pressure of the disturbance component on the fluid may rise sharply, resulting in excessive pressure fluctuations inside the pipeline. This could lead to excessive vibration in the pipeline, failure of the sealing area at the pipeline connection, and failure of related valve components on the pipeline due to impact. Summary of the Invention

[0010] To address the aforementioned technical problems in the prior art, embodiments of the present invention provide a tubular heating device.

[0011] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the technical solution adopted in the embodiments of the present invention is as follows:

[0012] A tubular heating device, comprising:

[0013] Pipes, used to transport liquid food;

[0014] A heater disposed outside the pipe for heating the pipe wall and thereby heating the fluid food.

[0015] The disturbance component includes multiple disturbance components, which are spaced apart along the axial direction of the pipe inside the pipe. Each disturbance component includes a columnar disturbance body and a valve component. The axial direction of the disturbance body is consistent with the axial direction of the pipe. At least one section of the outer peripheral surface of the disturbance component is provided with a helical groove.

[0016] A guide rod, through which multiple disturbance components are axially inserted, such that the multiple disturbance components are connected in series; wherein:

[0017] The disturbance body has an axially penetrating inner flow channel, and the valve component is disposed in the inner flow channel. When the pressure in the pipe is greater than the preset pressure, the valve component opens to allow the fluid food in the pipe to pass through the inner flow channel to release pressure.

[0018] Preferably, the valve component includes:

[0019] A retainer is fixed to the disturbance body, and the retainer is provided with circumferentially arranged guide grooves;

[0020] The valve core component includes a plurality of circumferentially arranged elastic plates. The valve core component is fixed to the retainer. The plurality of elastic plates correspondingly cover the plurality of flow guide grooves. The elastic plates open the flow guide grooves by elastic deformation, thereby opening the valve component. The flow guide grooves are closed by resetting, thereby closing the valve component.

[0021] Preferably,

[0022] The cage is configured in a conical shape, the flow guide groove is formed on the conical surface of the cage, the radial dimension of the front end of the cage is greater than the radial dimension of the rear end of the cage, and the front end of the cage is fixed to the front end of the disturbance body, while the rear end of the cage is located in the inner flow channel, and the flow guide groove extends along the generatrix of the conical surface of the cage.

[0023] The valve core component is configured in a tapered shape to match the cage, and the valve core component is located radially inward of the cage. The elastic sheet is configured in a strip shape to adapt to cover the flow channel from the radially inward side; wherein:

[0024] When the elastic sheet opens the guide groove through elastic deformation, the elastic sheet guides the fluid food passing through the guide groove so that at least a portion of the fluid food flows toward the pipe wall.

[0025] Preferably, the material agitation component further includes a conical disc, the radial dimension of the front end of the conical disc being greater than the radial dimension of the rear end, the front end of the conical disc being connected to the rear end of the agitation body, thereby the rear end of the conical disc being oriented opposite to the flow direction of the fluid food; the conical disc is covered with flow holes.

[0026] Preferably, the diameter of the flow hole near the radial edge of the conical disk is larger than the diameter of the flow hole near the radial center.

[0027] Preferably, both the rear end of the conical disk and the rear end of the cage are provided with guide holes, and the guide rod passes through the guide holes at the rear ends of the conical disk and the cage; wherein:

[0028] A first slot is provided on the guide rod at the rear end of the conical disc, and a second slot is provided on the guide rod at the front end of the cage. A retaining ring is installed on both the first slot and the second slot.

[0029] Preferably, the disturbance body includes a front section, a middle section, and a rear section, the radial dimension of the front section is larger than the radial dimension of the rear section, the middle section is configured in a conical shape to transition between the front section and the rear section, and the helical groove is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the middle section and the front section.

[0030] Preferably, the front end of the cage is formed with a flange, which is attached to the front end face of the disturbance body and fixed by a retaining spring.

[0031] Preferably, the rear end of the retainer is formed with a threaded sleeve, and the rear end of the valve core component is sleeved on the threaded sleeve and fixed by a nut.

[0032] Preferably, the heater is a heating tube that extends spirally around the pipe.

[0033] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the tubular heating device disclosed in this invention are:

[0034] This invention creates an inner flow channel within the disturbance body and adds a valve component within the inner flow channel. When the flow rate of the fluid food suddenly increases undesirably, causing an increase in the throttling pressure of the disturbance component, the valve component opens. A portion of the fluid food upstream of the disturbance component enters the inner flow channel through the flow holes of the conical disc, and then flows downstream of the disturbance component via the guide groove of the valve component. This suppresses the increase in throttling pressure, thereby suppressing the pressure increase of the fluid food upstream of the disturbance component, and preventing excessive upstream pressure fluctuations that could cause pipeline vibration and damage to related seals and control valves.

[0035] The overview of various implementations or examples of the technology described in this invention is not a complete disclosure of the full scope or all features of the disclosed technology. Attached Figure Description

[0036] In drawings that are not necessarily drawn to scale, the same reference numerals may describe similar parts in different views. The same reference numerals with or without letter suffixes may indicate different instances of similar parts. The drawings generally illustrate various embodiments by way of example rather than limitation and, together with the description and claims, serve to explain embodiments of the invention. Where appropriate, the same reference numerals are used in all drawings to refer to the same or similar parts. Such embodiments are illustrative and not intended to be exhaustive or exclusive embodiments of the apparatus or method.

[0037] Figure 1 A perspective view of the disturbance component of the tubular heating device provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0038] Figure 2 A perspective sectional view of the disturbance component of the tubular heating device provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0039] Figure 3 This is a perspective sectional view of a tubular heating device provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0040] Figure 4 This is a first usage view of the tubular heating device provided for an embodiment of the present invention.

[0041] Figure 5 This is a second usage view of the tubular heating device provided for an embodiment of the present invention.

[0042] Figure label:

[0043] 100-Disturbance component; 10-Disturbance body; 11-Front section; 12-Middle section; 13-Rear section; 14-Helical groove; 15-Inner flow channel; 20-Valve component; 21-Cage; 211-Guide groove; 212-Flange; 22-Valve core component; 221-Elastic sheet; 23-Second guide hole; 24-Nut; 25-Snap ring; 30-Conical disc; 31-Flow hole; 32-First guide hole; 200-Guide rod; 201-First retaining ring; 202-Second retaining ring; 300-Pipeline; 400-Heater. Detailed Implementation

[0044] Unless otherwise defined, the technical or scientific terms used in this invention shall have the ordinary meaning understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains. The terms "first," "second," and similar terms used in this invention do not indicate any order, quantity, or importance, but are merely used to distinguish different components. Terms such as "comprising" or "including" mean that the element or object preceding the word encompasses the elements or objects listed following the word and their equivalents, without excluding other elements or objects. Terms such as "connected" or "linked" are not limited to physical or mechanical connections, but can include electrical connections, whether direct or indirect. Terms such as "upper," "lower," "left," and "right" are used only to indicate relative positional relationships; when the absolute position of the described object changes, the relative positional relationship may also change accordingly.

[0045] To keep the following description of the embodiments of the present invention clear and concise, detailed descriptions of known functions and known components are omitted.

[0046] like Figures 1 to 3 As shown, an embodiment of the present invention discloses a tubular heating device for heating fluid foods such as milk. The tubular heating device includes a pipe 300, a heater 400, and a plurality of agitator components 100.

[0047] Liquid food flows through pipe 300. A heater 400 is located outside pipe 300. The heater 400 heats the wall of pipe 300 and, through heat transfer via the pipe wall, heats the liquid food inside pipe 300 for sterilization. In some preferred configurations, the heater 400 is configured as a spiral tube extending helically around pipe 300, and the spiral tube heats pipe 300 by electrothermal heating.

[0048] Multiple disturbance components 100 are disposed in the pipe 300 and arranged at intervals along the axial direction. Specifically, multiple disturbance components 100 are simultaneously inserted through the guide rod 200, so that the guide rod 200 can transport multiple disturbance components 100 from the end of the pipe 300 into the pipe 300.

[0049] Each disturbance component 100 includes: a disturbance body 10, a valve component 20, and a conical disc 30.

[0050] The disturbance body 10 is configured as a columnar structure, and an inner flow channel 15 is formed at the center of the disturbance body 10. The inner flow channel 15 extends axially through both ends of the disturbance body 10. After the disturbance component 100 is placed in the pipe 300, the axial direction of the disturbance body 10 is aligned with the axial direction of the pipe 300. In some preferred structures, the disturbance body 10 is divided into three sections axially: a front section 11, a middle section 12, and a rear section 13. The outer peripheral surfaces of the front section 11 and the rear section 13 are cylindrical, while the middle section 12 is conical. The middle section 12 connects the front section 11 and the rear section 13, allowing a transition between them. The radial dimension of the front section 11 is larger than that of the rear section 13. Spiral grooves 14 are machined on the outer peripheral surfaces of both the front section 11 and the middle section 12.

[0051] A conical disk 30 is disposed on the rear side of the disturbance body 10. The front end of the conical disk 30 is connected to the rear end of the disturbance body 10, and the radial dimension of the front end of the conical disk 30 is larger than the radial dimension of the rear end of the conical disk 30. Multiple flow holes 31 are machined on the surface of the conical disk 30, and the diameter of the flow holes 31 near the radial edge of the conical disk 30 is larger than the radial dimension of the flow holes 31 near the radial center of the conical disk 30.

[0052] The valve component 20 is disposed in the inner flow channel 15 of the disturbance body 10. Specifically, the valve component 20 includes a retainer 21 and a valve core component 22. Both the retainer 21 and the valve core component 22 are enclosed in a conical structure, and the radial dimension of the front end of the retainer 21 is larger than the radial dimension of the rear end of the retainer 21. The retainer 21 has a conical surface, on which a plurality of guide grooves 211 are formed. The plurality of guide grooves 211 are arranged circumferentially, and each guide groove extends along the generatrix direction of the conical surface. A flange 212 is disposed at the front end of the retainer 21. The flange 212 is attached to the front end face of the disturbance body 10 and fixed by a snap ring 25, thereby fixing the retainer 21 in the disturbance body 10 and the rear end of the retainer 21 is located in the inner flow channel 15.

[0053] The valve core component 22 is configured with a tapered angle consistent with that of the retainer 21, and multiple elastic plates 221 are machined into the valve core component 22. The valve core component 22 is located radially inside the retainer 21, and its rear end is aligned with the rear end of the retainer 21. A stud is machined into the rear end of the retainer 21, which passes through the rear end of the valve core component 22. The rear end of the valve core component 22 is fixed to the rear end of the retainer 21 by fitting a nut 24 onto the stud and tightening the nut 24. After the valve core component 22 is fixed to the retainer 21, the multiple elastic plates 221 of the valve core component 22 correspondingly cover the multiple guide grooves 211 of the retainer 21. Thus, the elastic plates 221 open the guide grooves 211 through elastic deformation, thereby opening the valve component 20, and the elastic plates 221 close the guide grooves 211 by resetting, thereby closing the valve component 20.

[0054] The working principle of the tubular heating device described above will be explained below.

[0055] like Figure 4 As shown, during normal operation, the fluid food flows within the pipe 300 at a relatively constant flow rate and pressure. When the fluid food flows past the disturbance component 100, the elastic plate 221 of the valve core component 22 in the valve component 20 closes the guide groove 211 of the retainer 21, so the fluid food hardly enters the inner flow channel 15 through the flow hole 31 of the conical disk 30, and therefore does not flow through the valve component 20. At this time, when the fluid food flows to the conical disk 30, the conical surface of the conical disk 30 causes the fluid food to change its axial flow direction, causing the fluid food to flow radially outward, and then through the spiral groove 14, and move forward along the spiral groove 14. When flowing through the spiral groove 14, the fluid food is closer to the pipe wall of the pipe 300, thereby fully heating the fluid food, so that the fluid food previously located in the radial center area can also be fully heated.

[0056] It should be noted that the three-section structure of the conical disk 30 and the disturbance component 100 can reduce the impact on the fluid food when it flows through the disturbance component 100.

[0057] like Figure 5As shown, when the flow rate of the fluid food suddenly increases undesirably, causing the throttling pressure of the disturbance component 100 (the throttling pressure is the difference between the upstream and downstream pressures of the disturbance component 100) to increase, the elastic plate 221 of the valve core component 22 of the valve component 20 undergoes elastic deformation due to the throttling pressure exceeding the preset pressure. As a result, the guide groove 211 of the retainer 21 of the valve core component 22 is opened, thereby opening the valve component 20. A portion of the fluid food upstream of the disturbance component 100 will enter the inner flow channel 15 through the flow hole 31 of the conical disk 30, and then flow downstream of the disturbance component 100 through the guide groove 211 of the valve component 20. This suppresses the increase in throttling pressure, thereby suppressing the increase in pressure of the fluid food upstream of the disturbance component 100, so as to avoid excessive upstream pressure fluctuations that could cause the pipeline 300 to vibrate and damage the relevant seals and control valves.

[0058] The more beneficial function of the valve component 20 is that, since both the retainer 21 and the valve core component 22 are conical structures, the elastic plate 221 guides the fluid food passing through the guide groove 211 so that at least part of the fluid food flows toward the wall of the pipe 300, thereby guiding this part of the fluid food passing through the inner flow channel 15 to the area close to the wall of the pipe 300, thereby heating this part of the fluid food also by the wall of the pipe 300.

[0059] It should be noted that by making the diameter of the flow hole 31 near the radial deformation of the conical disk 30 larger than the diameter of the flow hole 31 near the radial center of the conical disk 30, more liquid food enters the inner flow channel 15 through the flow hole 31 near the edge, thereby making the liquid food closer to the wall of the pipe 300 to a certain extent, which is beneficial to the heating of the liquid food to a certain extent.

[0060] In some preferred configurations, a first guide hole 32 is provided at the rear end of the conical disc 30, and a second guide hole 23 is provided at the rear end of the retainer 21 of the valve component 20. The guide rod 200 passes through the first guide hole 32 and the second guide hole 23. Slots are machined on both the guide rod 200 at the rear of the first guide hole 32 and the guide rod 200 at the front of the second guide hole 23. A first retaining ring 201 and a second retaining ring 202 are respectively installed in the two slots. Thus, when it is necessary to connect the disturbance components 100 in series, the guide rod 200 passes through the guide hole of the disturbance component 100, and then the first retaining ring 201 and the second retaining ring 202 are installed in the corresponding slots, thereby restricting the axial movement of the disturbance components 100.

[0061] Furthermore, although exemplary embodiments have been described in this invention, their scope includes any and all embodiments based on the invention that have equivalent elements, modifications, omissions, combinations (e.g., schemes involving intersections of various embodiments), adaptations, or alterations. Elements in the claims will be interpreted broadly based on the language used in the claims and are not limited to the examples described in this specification or during the implementation of this application, and such examples will be interpreted as non-exclusive. Therefore, this specification and examples are intended to be considered illustrative only, and the true scope and spirit are indicated by the full scope of the following claims and their equivalents.

[0062] The above description is intended to be illustrative and not restrictive. For example, the above examples (or one or more of them) can be used in combination with each other. Other embodiments can be used by those skilled in the art when reading the above description. Furthermore, in the above detailed description, various features may be grouped together to simplify the invention. This should not be construed as an intention that a disclosed feature, which is not claimed, is necessary for any claim. Rather, the subject matter of the invention may be less than all the features of the particular disclosed embodiments. Thus, the following claims are incorporated herein by reference as examples or embodiments, wherein each claim is independently considered as a separate embodiment, and these embodiments are contemplated as being able to be combined with each other in various combinations or arrangements. The scope of the invention should be determined by reference to the appended claims and the full scope of their equivalents.

[0063] The above embodiments are merely exemplary embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. The scope of protection of the present invention is defined by the claims. Those skilled in the art can make various modifications or equivalent substitutions to the present invention within its spirit and scope of protection, and such modifications or equivalent substitutions should also be considered to fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A tubular heating device, characterized in that, include: Pipes, used to transport liquid food; A heater disposed outside the pipe for heating the pipe wall and thereby heating the fluid food. The disturbance component includes multiple disturbance components, which are spaced apart along the axial direction of the pipe inside the pipe. Each disturbance component includes a columnar disturbance body and a valve component. The axial direction of the disturbance body is consistent with the axial direction of the pipe. At least one section of the outer peripheral surface of the disturbance component is provided with a helical groove. A guide rod, through which multiple disturbance components are axially inserted, such that the multiple disturbance components are connected in series; wherein: The disturbance body has an axially penetrating inner flow channel, and the valve component is disposed in the inner flow channel. When the pressure in the pipe is greater than the preset pressure, the valve component opens to allow the fluid food in the pipe to pass through the inner flow channel to release pressure. The valve component includes: A retainer is fixed to the disturbance body, and the retainer is provided with circumferentially arranged guide grooves; A valve core component includes a plurality of circumferentially arranged elastic plates. The valve core component is fixed to the retainer. The plurality of elastic plates correspondingly cover the plurality of flow guide grooves. The elastic plates open the flow guide grooves by elastic deformation, thereby opening the valve component. The flow guide grooves are closed by resetting, thereby closing the valve component. The cage is configured in a conical shape, the flow guide groove is formed on the conical surface of the cage, the radial dimension of the front end of the cage is greater than the radial dimension of the rear end of the cage, and the front end of the cage is fixed to the front end of the disturbance body, while the rear end of the cage is located in the inner flow channel, and the flow guide groove extends along the generatrix of the conical surface of the cage. The valve core component is configured in a tapered shape to match the cage, and the valve core component is located radially inward of the cage. The elastic sheet is configured in a strip shape to adapt to cover the flow channel from the radially inward side; wherein: When the elastic sheet opens the flow channel through elastic deformation, the elastic sheet guides the fluid food passing through the flow channel so that at least a portion of the fluid food flows toward the pipe wall. The disturbance component further includes a conical disk, the radial dimension of the front end of the conical disk being larger than the radial dimension of the rear end, the front end of the conical disk being connected to the rear end of the disturbance body, thereby the rear end of the conical disk being oriented opposite to the flow direction of the fluid food; the conical disk is covered with flow holes; The disturbance body includes a front section, a middle section, and a rear section. The radial dimension of the front section is larger than that of the rear section. The middle section is configured in a conical shape to transition between the front section and the rear section. The spiral groove is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the middle section and the front section.

2. The tubular heating device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The diameter of the flow-through holes near the radial edge of the conical disk is larger than the diameter of the flow-through holes near the radial center.

3. The tubular heating device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The rear end of the conical disk and the rear end of the retainer are both provided with guide holes, and the guide rod passes through the guide holes at the rear ends of the conical disk and the retainer; wherein: A first slot is provided on the guide rod at the rear end of the conical disc, and a second slot is provided on the guide rod at the front end of the cage. A retaining ring is installed on both the first slot and the second slot.

4. The tubular heating device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The front end of the cage has a flange, which is attached to the front end face of the disturbance body and fixed by a snap ring.

5. The tubular heating device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The rear end of the retainer is formed with a threaded sleeve, and the rear end of the valve core component is fitted onto the threaded sleeve and fixed by a nut.

6. The tubular heating device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The heater is a heating tube that extends spirally around the pipe.

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