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EP-4458159-B1 - TEMPERATURE CONTROL DEVICE, USE AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING A TEMPERATURE CONTROL HOUSING

EP4458159B1EP 4458159 B1EP4458159 B1EP 4458159B1EP-4458159-B1

Inventors

  • HUCH, THEOBALD

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20230502

Claims (15)

  1. Tempering device (1) for continuously tempering a mass, comprising a) a stator (2) and a rotor (3) which is rotatable relative to the stator (2), wherein the mass can be arranged in an interior space (17) limited by the stator (2), the mass being conveyable, formed or shaped and/or mixed by the relative rotation of the rotor (3), and b) a tempering housing (18) formed by the stator (2), which comprises a tempering inner housing wall (19) and a tempering outer housing wall (20), between which a tempering chamber (9) is formed through which a tempering fluid flows, c) wherein the tempering inner housing wall (19) or the tempering outer housing wall (20) forms a working surface (21) which comes into contact with the mass for tempering the mass and interacts with the rotor (3) for detaching the mass, characterized in that d) the tempering inner housing wall (19) and the tempering outer housing wall (20) are connected to one another in a state in which they lie against one another via a plurality of welded connections (25), and e) the tempering chamber (9) of the tempering housing (18) is produced by a plastic deformation of the tempering inner housing wall (19) and/or the tempering outer housing wall (20) between the welded connections (25) by means of internal high-pressure deformation, wherein the working surface (21) is provided by the tempering inner housing wall (19) or tempering outer housing wall (20) subjected to the internal high-pressure deformation, and the radius of the working surface (21) varies by less than +/- 1 mm in a region in which the working surface (21) interacts with the rotor (3).
  2. Tempering device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the tempering inner housing wall (19) is formed as a tempering inner housing sheet (22) and the tempering outer housing wall (20) is formed as a tempering outer housing sheet (23), which in a flat state lie against one another and are welded to one another via welded connections (25) and in the welded state are bent by means of a bending process into a cylinder segment (36).
  3. Tempering device (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that adjoining end faces (31, 32) of at least one cylinder segment are welded to one another by means of a weld (44).
  4. Tempering device (1) according to claim 3, characterized in that post-processing of the weld (44) of the end faces (31, 32) is carried out.
  5. Tempering device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the tempering inner housing wall (19) and/or the tempering outer housing wall (20) is post-processed in the region of the working surface (21) after the internal high-pressure deformation by means of a machining, grinding and/or bending material processing.
  6. Tempering device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a) in the case that the tempering inner housing sheet (22) forms the working surface (21), the tempering inner housing sheet (22) as a result of the internal high-pressure deformation - is plastically deformed to a smaller extent than the tempering outer housing sheet (23), or - is not plastically deformed at all, wherein preferably the tempering outer housing sheet (23) and the tempering inner housing sheet (22) consist of the same materials, the tempering inner housing sheet (22) has a thickness of at least 2.5 mm and the tempering outer housing sheet (23) has a thickness of less than 2 mm, b) in the case that the tempering outer housing sheet (23) forms the working surface (21), the tempering outer housing sheet (23) as a result of the internal high-pressure deformation - is plastically deformed to a smaller extent than the tempering inner housing sheet (22), or - is not plastically deformed at all, wherein preferably the tempering outer housing sheet (23) and the tempering inner housing sheet (22) consist of the same materials, the tempering outer housing sheet (23) has a thickness of at least 2.5 mm and the tempering inner housing sheet (22) has a thickness in the range of less than 2 mm, or wherein preferably the tempering outer housing sheet (23) and the tempering inner housing sheet (22) consist of the same materials and the thicknesses of the tempering inner housing sheet (22) and the tempering outer housing sheet (23) differ from one another by a factor of at least 2.
  7. Tempering device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the welded connections (25) between the tempering inner housing wall (19) and the tempering outer housing wall (20) are embodied as welding rings (29).
  8. Tempering device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one axial end face (45, 46) of the tempering inner housing wall (19) and/or of the tempering outer housing wall (20) is welded to a flange (47, 48).
  9. Use a) of an internal high-pressure deformation process b) for producing a tempering chamber (9) of a tempering housing (18) for a tempering device (1) according to one of the preceding claims.
  10. Method for producing a tempering housing (18) for a tempering device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 7, the method comprising the following method steps: a) providing the tempering inner housing sheet (22), b) providing the tempering outer housing sheet (23), c) welding the tempering inner housing sheet (22) and the tempering outer housing sheet (23) together by means of welded connections (25), thereby forming a tempering housing plate (30), d) bending the tempering housing plate (30) into a cylinder segment (36), e) producing a weld (44) of the adjoining end faces (31, 32) of the bent tempering housing plate (30), f) producing a tempering chamber (9) formed between the tempering inner housing sheet (22) and the tempering outer housing sheet (23) by plastic deformation by means of internal high-pressure deformation.
  11. Method according to claim 10, characterized in that the providing is carried out with cutting by means of a laser.
  12. Method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that bending is carried out by means of a 4-roll bending machine (34).
  13. Method according to one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that post-processing of the weld (44) is carried out.
  14. Method according to one of claims 10 to 13, characterized in that an end face of the tempering outer housing sheet (23) and/or an end face (45, 46) of the tempering inner housing sheet (22) is welded to a flange (47, 48).
  15. Method according to one of claims 10 to 14, characterized in that stress-relief annealing is carried out.

Description

TECHNICAL AREA OF INVENTION The invention relates to a temperature control device used for tempering a mass, which is preferably continuously conveyed through the device and thereby tempered. The temperature control device can serve to heat and/or cool the mass. The mass can be heated using a temperature control fluid, which could be, for example, steam, thermal oil, hot water, or high-pressure hot water. Conversely, cooling can be achieved using, for example, (cold) water, a glycol mixture, or any known refrigerant, preferably without direct evaporation of the refrigerant within the temperature control device. The mass to be heated can be a foodstuff, in particular a confectionery mass or a fruit mass, wherein the mass preferably tends to stick or burn when heated. It can also be a mass with high viscosity and thus poor flow properties. A mass to be heated can be, for example, a protein-containing product (in particular a milk-containing product), a starch-containing mass (in particular a starch gel), a mass that tends to thicken during the process, a caramel mass, a fruit mass (in particular fruit-containing products or fibrous products or fiber bar products), a sugar-glucose solution mass (in particular hard caramel mass, pourable candy mass, temperature-sensitive masses such as sugar-glucose solution masses with short-term boiling at high temperatures, for example in the range of 145°C-160°C), a butter toffee mass (in particular masses with a high fat content and high temperatures above 160°C), or a vegan thermally sensitive mass, to name just a few that do not fall within the scope of the invention. To give some limiting examples: Chilled masses are primarily temperature-sensitive foods that require gentle cooling, such as caramel masses, fondant masses, jelly masses, or shear-sensitive products. It is also possible that a mass consists of several different sub-masses of the masses described above and/or contains any additives. The temperature control device serves not only for temperature control, but also, for example, for conveying the mass, changing the shape of the mass, changing the phase of the mass (e.g., crystallizing or evaporating) and/or mixing the mass, which can take place simultaneously with the temperature control or subsequently, in time and space, after the temperature control in the temperature control device. The temperature control device can, for example, temperature control a thin film or a falling film, and can be designed in particular as a (thin) film cooker, evaporator, or cooler, or as a rotary cooker. Depending on the application, a vertical, horizontal, or inclined arrangement is possible. The invention can be applied, for example, to temperature control devices such as those currently marketed by the applicant under the designations "SUCROFILM", "SUCROTHERM", "ROTORSTAR" (trademarks of the applicant) (see www.chocotech.de). Furthermore, the invention relates to a novel use and a method for manufacturing a temperature control housing. STATE OF THE ART DE 10 2006 043 338 B4 This describes a process and a processing line for a fruit mass. In this process, fruit mass is conveyed from a storage container via a pump, a flow meter, a thin-film cooker, and an evaporation chamber to a vacuum screw conveyor. From the vacuum screw conveyor, the fruit mass is again conveyed via a pump, often with the addition of color and/or flavorings, to a forming station. The thin-film cooker has a rotor and a stator. The fruit mass flows through a gap between the rotor and stator. The rotor is equipped with scrapers that repeatedly remove the mass from the inner surface of the Remove the stator and mix. The thin-film cooker has a jacket that surrounds the interior of the stator, which houses the rotor. The jacket defines a temperature control chamber through which steam flows, condenses, and releases heat, which warms the fruit mixture in the thin-film cooker. EP 2 111 762 B1 discloses a tempering device for the continuous tempering of a confectionery mass, which may, for example, be intended for the production of halva. According to Fig. 1 The temperature control device 1 comprises a stator 2 and a rotor 3. The mass to be temperature controlled and processed (e.g., mixed or shaped) is conveyed through an interior 17 of the stator 2 as a result of the rotation of the rotor 3. The stator 2 has a temperature control housing 18. The temperature control housing 18 has an inner tube 4, which carries axially offset rings 5 and 6, to which an outer tube 7 is attached. The inner tube 4, the rings 5 and 6, and the outer tube 7 are welded together. A hollow cylindrical interior 8, radially bounded by the inner tube 4 and the outer tube 7, forms a temperature control chamber 9 through which a temperature control fluid flows. The inner tube 4 and the outer tube 7 form a temperature control inner housing wall 19 and a temperature control outer housing wall 20, respectively. In the first part of a processing