Systems for cooling hot-filled containers
View Patent ↗Systems and methods using container holders configured to provide a stable support for containers held therein in order to efficiently cool the containers after a hot-fill or elevated temperature operation. The container holders can allow a fluid to pass from an inner volume of the container holder to outside the container holder through side apertures and/or an open bottom end of the container holder. Groups of containers and container holders also may be cooled. Groups of containers in container holders can be processed through the cooling operation at a speed different from a speed for holderless containers.
1. A system for processing plastic containers, comprising:
a hot-filling station to hot-fill a plurality of plastic containers with a product;
a capping station to cap the hot-filled plastic containers; and
a cooling station to cool the plurality of hot-filled and capped plastic containers from a hot state to a predetermined warm state, each of the plastic containers being positioned in a respective container holder,
wherein each of said container holders includes:
at least one sidewall forming an inner volume, a first open end, and a second open end, the at least one sidewall including at least one opening defined therein to allow fluid to transfer between the inner volume and outside the inner volume;
a support structure to support a plastic container positioned thereon, the support structure being formed in one piece with the at least one sidewall at the second open end, so as to extend from the at least one sidewall into the inner volume; and
spacing members formed in one piece with the sidewall to space apart from the at least one sidewall the plastic container placed in the inner volume, wherein each spacing member is formed as a fin and includes an upper portion, a bottom portion, and at least one horizontally-extending protruding portion formed between and spaced from the upper portion and the bottom portion, wherein the at least one horizontally-extending protruding portion is facing the support structure and is configured to prevent a container placed in the inner volume from being removed from the inner volume.
2. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the hot state is about 185 degrees Fahrenheit and the predetermined warm state is about 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein a time period for the hot-filled and capped plastic containers to cool from the hot state to the predetermined warm state is about fourteen minutes to about eighteen minutes.
4. The system of claim 1 , wherein said cooling station subjects the hot-filled and capped plastic containers to at least one of room temperature water or water cooler than room temperature.
5. The system of claim 4 , wherein said cooling station subjects the hot-filled and capped plastic containers to room temperature water for no more than about eighteen minutes.
6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one opening is configured to allow water to flow from the inner volume to the outside of the sidewall to assist in the cooling.
7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one opening is located intermediate the first and second open ends, and
wherein the at least one opening is configured to allow water to flow from the inner volume to the outside of the sidewall to cool a container placed in the inner volume on the support structure.
8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the horizontally-extending protruding portion comprises at least one horizontally-extending engagement surface, with an upper vertically-configured portion defined between the horizontally-extending engagement surface and the upper portion, and a lower vertically-configured portion defined between the horizontally-extending engagement surface and the bottom portion, wherein the at least one horizontally-extending engagement surface is facing the support structure.
9. The system of claim 8 , wherein said at least one horizontally-extending engagement surface is formed by a cut-away portion extending from the bottom portion to the engagement surface of each said spacing member, and
wherein the spacing members are formed by a vertically-extending protruding portion.
10. The system of claim 8 , wherein the upper portion of each said spacing member includes a sloped portion, and wherein the sloped portion is arcuate.
11. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a placing station to place the plastic containers on respective container holders for holding the plastic containers.
12. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a positioning station to position said container holders having respective hot-filled and capped plastic containers placed thereon, such that each said container holder is in contact with at least three other of said container holders, and such that each hot-filled and capped plastic container is in a spaced-apart relationship with all other of the positioned hot-filled and capped plastic containers.
13. A system for processing plastic containers, comprising:
a hot-filling station to hot-fill a plurality of plastic containers with a product;
a capping station to cap the hot-filled plastic containers; and
a cooling station to cool the plurality of hot-filled and capped plastic containers from a hot state to a predetermined warm state, each of the plastic containers being positioned in a container holder,
wherein each of said container holders includes:
at least one sidewall forming an inner volume, a first open end, and a second open end, the at least one sidewall including at least one opening defined therein to allow fluid to transfer between the inner volume and outside the inner volume;
a support structure to support a plastic container positioned thereon, the support structure being formed in one piece with the at least one sidewall at the second open end, so as to extend from the at least one sidewall into the inner volume; and
spacing members formed in one piece with the sidewall to space apart from the at least one sidewall the plastic container placed in the inner volume, wherein the spacing members include an upper portion, a bottom portion, and at least one horizontally-extending engagement surface formed between and spaced from the upper portion and the bottom portion with an upper vertically-configured portion defined between the horizontally-extending engagement surface and the upper portion, and a lower vertically-configured portion defined between the horizontally-extending engagement surface and the bottom portion, wherein the at least one horizontally-extending engagement surface extends at a right angle with respect to the lower vertically-configured portion and is configured to prevent a container placed in the inner volume from being removed from the inner volume.