CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority to co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/346,229, filed May 26, 2022, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to the bottling of liquid products, and more particularly to the preparation of ingredients prior to bottling of the liquid products.

BACKGROUND

[0003] Ingredients for the bottling of liquid products are typically manually combined prior to introduction into a bottling line. The manual combination of ingredients creates a batch that can be tested for quality and tracked by the bottler to ensure the proper combination of ingredients. The manual batching process is subject to operator error and can be inefficient. Furthermore, it is possible for a bottling line, which fills bottles with the combined ingredients, to utilize the batch of ingredients faster that a new batch can be made by the manual process. A faster batching technique (e.g., ingredient combination technique) is therefore needed to maintain pace with the bottling line and avoid pauses in production.

SUMMARY

[0004] The present disclosure provides, in one aspect, a production line for bottling a liquid product. The production line includes an ingredient preparation and batching system. The ingredient preparation and batching system includes a pre-mix station including a holding tank configured to store a hydrated ingredient. The ingredient preparation and batching system also includes a batch tank fluidly coupled to the pre-mix station and configured to receive a predetermined quantity of the hydrated ingredient from the holding tank. The production line also includes a bottling line fluidly coupled to the batch tank and configured to receive a batch of the liquid product from the batch tank and dispense the batch of the liquid product into a plurality of containers.

[0005] The present disclosure provides, in another aspect, an ingredient preparation and batching system for use with a liquid bottling line. The ingredient preparation and batching system includes a first pre-mix station including a first holding tank configured to store a first hydrated ingredient. The ingredient preparation and batching system also includes a second premix station including a second holding tank configured to store a second hydrated ingredient different from the first hydrated ingredient. The ingredient preparation and batching system further includes a batch tank fluidly coupled to the first pre-mix station and the second pre-mix station. The batch tank is configured to receive a predetermined quantity of the first hydrated ingredient from the first holding tank. The batch tank is also configured to receive a predetermined quantity of the second hydrated ingredient from the second holding tank. The batch tank is further configured to store a batch of a liquid product comprising the first hydrated ingredient and the second hydrated ingredient.

[0006] The present disclosure provides, in yet another aspect, a method of preparing a batch of a liquid product for a bottling line. The method includes hydrating a major ingredient at a premix station to produce a hydrated major ingredient. The method also includes storing the hydrated major ingredient in a holding tank of the pre-mix station. The method further includes conveying the hydrated major ingredient from the holding tank to a batch tank. The method also includes combining the hydrated major ingredient with a minor ingredient within the batch tank to produce a batch.

[0007] Other features and aspects of the disclosure will become apparent by consideration of the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] FIG. l is a schematic illustrating an ingredient preparation and batching system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0009] FIG. 2 is a schematic illustrating an ingredient preparation and batching system according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. [0010] FIG. 3 is a schematic illustrating an ingredient preparation and batching system according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0011] Before any embodiments of the disclosure are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The disclosure is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0012] Liquid products, such as isotonic, high-acid beverages, are dispensed into individual bottles by a bottling line which pulls pre-mixed ingredients from a batch tank to fill the bottles. Prior to the filling process, a manual batching process is used to pre-mix the ingredients based on a supplied recipe. The pre-mixed ingredients (i.e., the batch) are stored in the batch tank until bottling. The manual batching process involves at least one operator combining multiple ingredients based on the recipe. The ingredients must be manually weighed and mixed into the batch to allow for testing and to ensure the quality and safety of the end product.

[0013] In some instances, the bottling lines used to bottle the batch of ingredients can utilize an aseptic line which operates at a high rate of speed. For example, the bottling line may be capable of filling around 66,000 bottles per hour. When such a high speed bottling line is used, it is possible for the bottling line to deplete the batch of pre-mixed ingredients before the operators can prepare a new batch. Much of the time required to prepare the new batch is spent measuring (e.g., weighing) the ingredients to be included. The present disclosure improves the batching process by preparing some ingredients in bulk and supplying the ingredients quickly and accurately to the batch tank.

[0014] Recipes for liquid products to be bottled include major and minor ingredients. Major ingredients are common to a number of different recipes (e.g., citric acid or sugar (e.g., sucrose, dextrose, etc.)). Minor ingredients are specific to a certain recipe (e.g., coloring additive). Recipes typically have greater quantities of major ingredients than minor ingredients. The terms major and minor refer only to the above-described categories of ingredients and not to the importance of any individual ingredient in a recipe. The present disclosure provides a system for decoupling the preparation of major ingredients and minor ingredients to more efficiently prepare a batch.

[0015] FIG. l is a schematic illustrating an ingredient preparation and batching system 10 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The ingredient preparation and batching system 10 allows the batching process to keep pace with a high speed bottling line 14. In particular, the ingredient preparation and batching system 10 includes a plurality of major ingredient pre-mix stations 18 fluidly coupled to at least one batch tank 22. The number of major ingredient pre-mix stations 18 is dependent upon the number of major ingredients that are common to the recipes being bottled. In the present embodiment, the system 10 of FIG. 1 includes four major ingredient pre-mix stations 18. The embodiment of FIG. 1, however, is provided as an example and it should be understood that fewer (e.g., three, two, or even one premix station) or more than four pre-mix stations are also contemplated. Each major ingredient pre-mix station 18 is fluidly coupled to the batch tank 22. The batch tank 22 is fluidly coupled to the bottling line 14 to distribute the batch into individual bottles.

[0016] With continued reference to FIG. 1, each major ingredient pre-mix station 18 includes a holding tank 26. In some embodiments, the pre-mix stations 18 further include a mixer 28 operable to mix (or, dissolve) the major ingredient into water to produce a hydrated major ingredient. The holding tank 26 stores a relatively large quantity (e.g., a quantity sufficient for more than one batch) of a major ingredient in a hydrated state. In other words, each holding tank 26 holds a single major ingredient in a fluid form at a designated concentration. The use of individual holding tanks 26 allows each major ingredient to be traced and tested for quality and safety, and allows for individual control over each ingredient in a recipe.

[0017] An arrangement of pipes 30 couples each holding tank 26 to the batch tank 22. The system 10 also includes one or more flow meters 34 (e.g., mass flow meters) disposed at one or more locations within the arrangement of pipes 30 and adapted to detect a flow rate within the pipes 30. Each holding tank 26 is further coupled to at least one pump 38 via the arrangement of pipes 30 to convey the hydrated major ingredient from the holding tank 26 to the batch tank 22. The flow meters 34 measure the quantity of hydrated major ingredient that is transferred from the holding tank 26 to the batch tank 22 so that the system 10 can ensure proper adherence to the recipe.

[0018] In the illustrated embodiment, the system 10 also includes a hopper 40 fluidly coupled to the batch tank 22. The hopper 40 can receive one or more minor ingredients and dispense predetermined quantities of the one or more minor ingredients contained therein into the batch tank 22 for mixing into the batch according to the recipe. In other embodiments, the hopper 40 can be uncoupled from the batch tank 22, and the minor ingredients contained therein can be manually measured and added into the batch tank 22 during the batching process.

[0019] With continued reference to FIG. 1, the system 10 further includes a heat treatment apparatus 41 fluidly coupled to the batch tank 22. The system 10 conveys a prepared batch from the batch tank 22 to the heat treatment apparatus 41 prior to bottling at the bottling line 14. The heat treatment apparatus 41 heat treats the prepared batch (e.g., via a pasteurization process, an ultra-high temperature (UHT) treatment process, or the like).

[0020] The system 10 also includes a user interface 42 operable to receive user input and display information relating to control of the system 10. Via the user interface 42, the user may input, retrieve, or modify at least one recipe for at least one consumable liquid product. The user interface 42 is operable to communicate the recipe to a controller 50 that is electrically coupled to the user interface 42, the pumps 38, and the flow meters 34. The controller 50 is operable to convey, via the pumps 38, a predetermined quantity of each major ingredient (i.e., based on the recipe) into the batch tank 22. The controller 50 is further operable to monitor the flow meters 34 during the pumping process to ensure an accurate amount of each major ingredient is supplied to the batch tank 22. The controller 50 is also electrically coupled to the hopper 40 and operable to dispense, via the hopper 40, a predetermined quantity of minor ingredients into the batch tank 22 according to the recipe.

[0021] To create a new batch for bottling, the operator first selects the desired recipe via the user interface 42 and initiates a batching process. The controller 50 then actuates the pumps 38 and flow meters 34 to convey predetermined quantities of each hydrated major ingredient from the holding tanks 26 to the batch tank 22. In the illustrated embodiment, the controller 50 also actuates the hopper 40 to dispense predetermined quantities of the minor ingredients into the batch tank 22. In other embodiments where the hopper 40 is uncoupled from the batch tank 22, the operator manually adds the minor ingredients to the batch tank 22. The hydrated major ingredients and the minor ingredients are mixed in the batch tank 22 (e.g., via jet mixing) to create a batch. The operator may then test the batch for quality and accuracy as compared to the recipe. At this point, a new batch has been created and is ready for bottling. The process of creating a new batch with the ingredient preparation and batching system 10 described above is more efficient and requires less operator input than the traditional manual batching process. The above-described system 10 requires between 30 and 60 minutes to complete the mixing of a new batch. More particularly, the system can create a new batch in about 40 minutes and is 30% - 40% more efficient than a manual batching process. The ingredient preparation and batching system 10 is capable of creating a new batch in less time than the bottling line 14 requires to deplete the entire previous batch.

[0022] The increased efficiency of this system is realized (at least in part) by decoupling the preparation of the major ingredients from the end stage mixing of the overall batch. By utilizing pre-mix stations 18 with holding tanks 26 that are separated from the batch tank 22, to the system 10 is able to continuously prepare the major ingredients independently of one another and of the final batch preparation process. When the batch tank 22 is ready to receive the ingredients for a batch, the system 10 conveys predetermined quantities of each hydrated major ingredient from the dedicated holding tanks 26 quickly (via the pumps 38) on demand (i.e., with no delay for major ingredient preparation). The system 10 does not require an operator to individually weigh and mix each ingredient at the time of batching.

[0023] The ingredient preparation and batching system 10 as described above is scalable based on the number of major ingredients shared by recipes, the number of batch tanks 22 needed for each recipe, and the number of bottling lines 14 available. FIGS. 2 and 3 are schematics illustrating further embodiments of the ingredient preparation and batching system, with like features having like reference numerals plus the letters “b” and “c” respectively, and having the following differences. FIG. 2 illustrates an ingredient preparation and batching system 10b in which one holding tank set 54b, having four holding tanks 26b, is fluidly coupled to a batch tank set 58b having a plurality of batch tanks 22b. Each batch tank 22b is fluidly coupled to the same bottling line 14b. The plurality of batch tanks 22b are adapted to hold batches of the same or different recipes. When the batch tanks 22b hold batches of the same recipe, the bottling line 14b can quickly shift to another batch tank 22b when the batch in one batch tank 22b is depleted.

[0024] FIG. 3 illustrates an ingredient preparation and batching system 10c in which one holding tank set 54c, having four holding tanks 26c, is fluidly coupled to two batch tank sets 58c. Each batch tank set 58c includes three batch tanks 22c, and each batch tank set 58c is fluidly coupled to a different respective bottling line 14c. Each batch tank set 58c holds batches of a different recipe, while each batch tank 22c within a batch tank set 58c holds a batch of the same recipe. Therefore, the ingredient preparation and batching system 10c is capable of creating batches of various recipes and providing the batches to two distinct bottling lines 14c.

[0025] Although the disclosure has been described in detail with reference to preferred implementations, variations and modifications exist within the scope and spirit of one or more independent aspects of the disclosure as described. More particularly, one of ordinary skill in the art will understand the scalability of the above-described ingredient preparation and batching system. The system is scalable to accommodate any number of desired production lines.

[0026] Various features of the disclosure are set forth in the following claims.