Staged Vacuum Packaging for Liquid-Containing Food
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vacuum packaging of liquid-containing objects, such as soup or stewed foods, faces challenges where liquids can boil and escape during the vacuum process, potentially causing the packaging bag to become dirty and affecting the degasifier's performance due to vaporized gases being drawn in.
Innovation Solution
A vacuum packaging method and apparatus that decompresses the packaging bag in stages, setting specific pressures to prevent boiling liquids from escaping and using inflation detection to manage the degassing process, ensuring the packaging bag remains sealed and minimizing gas entry into the degasifier.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the chamber is decompressed to a low pressure to sufficiently degas the packaging bag, then the degassing effect is improved, but the liquid inside the packaging bag boils and escapes, causing contamination and affecting the degasifier's performance
Solution Approach 1:
The decompression process is divided into multiple stages with different target pressures. The first stage decompresses to a first target pressure (higher) to prevent boiling, while the second stage decompresses to a second target pressure (lower) to achieve sufficient degassing. This segmentation allows the system to achieve both goals by separating the process into distinct phases.
Solution Approach 2:
The packaging bag is sealed before the decompression process begins. This preliminary sealing action prevents liquid from escaping during the subsequent decompression stages, allowing the system to safely achieve low pressures for effective degassing without the harmful effect of liquid contamination.
2Productivity
If the chamber is rapidly decompressed to reduce processing time, then productivity is improved, but the liquid inside the packaging bag boils violently and escapes more easily
Solution Approach 1:
The rapid decompression is segmented into two stages: a first rapid decompression to the first target pressure, and a second rapid decompression to the second target pressure. Each stage is optimized to be rapid while preventing violent boiling through the staged pressure reduction approach.
Solution Approach 2:
The packaging bag is sealed before rapid decompression begins, preventing liquid escape even during the rapid pressure changes. This allows the system to maintain high productivity through rapid decompression without the harmful effects of violent boiling and contamination.
3Reliability
If the packaging bag is sealed immediately after degassing to maintain vacuum, then the vacuum quality is improved, but any remaining gas is trapped inside, reducing degassing effectiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The decompression process is segmented into two stages with different target pressures. The first stage decompresses to a first target pressure to remove most gas, and the second stage decompresses to a lower second target pressure to remove remaining gas. This segmented approach allows thorough degassing while maintaining vacuum quality through subsequent sealing.
Solution Approach 2:
The decompression process continues continuously through both stages without interruption, maintaining the vacuum environment throughout. This continuous action ensures that gas is progressively removed at both pressure levels, achieving thorough degassing while the final sealing maintains the achieved vacuum quality.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method effectively prevents liquids from boiling out of the packaging bag and reduces the risk of gas entering the degasifier, ensuring thorough degassing without residue air, thus maintaining the integrity of the packaging and extending the life of the vacuum equipment.
Implementation Method 1
degassing inside the packaging bag by decompressing inside the chamber
Implementation Method 2
heating the packaged object with a heating element
Data Source
AI summary
The invention provides a vacuum packaging method and a vacuum packaging apparatus that can sufficiently degasify the inside of a packaging bag without any trouble and in which bubbles are less likely to remain inside the packaging bag after vacuum packaging, even if a liquid is included in a packaged object.