阅读说明：本技术 用于快速冷却包装食品产品的系统和方法 (System and method for rapidly cooling packaged food products ) 是由 普拉纳夫·V·戈德博尔 乔治·克拉克·梦露四世 瑞恩·布莱恩·利文斯顿 小罗伯特·伯顿·布劳内 于 2018-10-15 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种包装食品产品加工机器。所述机器包括：食品消费者界面,所述食品消费者界面被配置成接收识别食品产品的最终状态的食品消费者选择；包装冷却子系统,所述包装冷却子系统包括致冷流体浴；抓持器部件,所述抓持器部件被配置成在所述致冷流体浴中搅拌容纳所述食品产品的包装；以及控制器,所述控制器被配置成命令所述抓持器基于接收到来自所述食品消费者界面的识别最终状态选择的输入并基于接收到包含来自所述抓持器部件的所述食品产品的物理参数的值的输入来控制从所述包装到所述致冷流体浴的热传递速率。(A packaged food product processing machine. The machine comprises: a food consumer interface configured to receive a food consumer selection identifying a final state of a food product; a package cooling subsystem comprising a bath of cryogenic fluid; a gripper assembly configured to agitate a package containing the food product in the bath of cryogenic fluid; and a controller configured to command the gripper to control a rate of heat transfer from the package to the bath of cryogenic fluid based on receiving input from the food consumer interface identifying a final state selection and based on receiving input comprising a value of a physical parameter of the food product from the gripper components.)

1. A rapid refrigeration system comprising:

a cooling fluid reservoir having a cooling fluid therein, wherein the cooling fluid is cooled to a cooling fluid temperature within the cooling fluid reservoir;

a package handling system comprising a gripper mechanism adapted to grip a food product package, the package handling system being configured to rotate the food product package in a cooling fluid of the cooling fluid reservoir according to a rotation scheme having a rotation profile; and

a product identification system configured to determine an identity of the food product package, wherein the package processing system is configured to select the rotation scheme or the rotation profile based on the identity of the food product package.

2. The rapid refrigeration system of claim 1, wherein the rotation profile includes a stopping angular velocity, an acceleration profile of rotation in a first direction, a maximum angular velocity value, a maximum angular velocity duration, a deceleration profile for the stopping angular velocity, and a dwell time between rotations at the stopping angular velocity.

3. The rapid refrigeration system of claim 2, wherein the spin profile specifies that the dwell time is less than 0.1 seconds.

4. The rapid refrigeration system of claim 2, wherein the rotation scheme is a direction and pattern in which the food product packages are rotated in a clockwise and/or counterclockwise direction in the cooling fluid by the package handling system.

5. The rapid refrigeration system of claim 4, wherein the rotation scheme is selected from the group of rotation schemes consisting of: the food product package is rotated clockwise in an indexing pattern; the food product package is rotated counterclockwise in an indexing pattern; and the food product package is rotated clockwise and counter-clockwise in a reciprocating mode.

6. The rapid refrigeration system of claim 3, wherein the residence time is less than 0.05 seconds.

7. The rapid refrigeration system of claim 3, wherein the residence time is less than 0.01 seconds.

8. The rapid refrigeration system of claim 3, wherein the maximum angular velocity duration is less than 0.5 seconds.

9. The rapid refrigeration system of claim 3, wherein the maximum angular velocity duration is less than 0.05 seconds.

10. The rapid refrigeration system of claim 3, wherein the acceleration is greater than or equal to 10,000 revolutions per minute per second.

11. The rapid refrigeration system of claim 10, wherein the maximum angular velocity is greater than or equal to 1500 revolutions per minute.

12. The rapid refrigeration system of claim 1, wherein the package handling system is configured to select the rotation profile based on whether the food product package is for a carbonated food product or a non-carbonated food product.

13. The rapid refrigeration system of claim 1, wherein the package handling system is configured to select an indexing rotation profile when the product identification system identifies the food product package as being for a carbonated food product.

14. The rapid refrigeration system of claim 1, wherein the package handling system is configured to select a reciprocating rotation profile when the product identification system identifies the food product package as being for a non-carbonated food product.

15. The rapid refrigeration system of claim 1, wherein the package handling system is configured to select a rotation profile in which the maximum angular velocity duration is less than 0.1 seconds when the product identification system identifies the food product package as being for a carbonated food product.

16. The rapid refrigeration system of claim 1, wherein the package handling system is configured to select a rotation profile in which the maximum angular velocity duration is greater than 0.1 seconds and less than 0.6 seconds when the product identification system identifies the food product package as being for a non-carbonated food product.

17. The rapid refrigeration system of claim 1, wherein the package handling system is configured to select a rotation scheme in which a direction of rotation of the food product package is in a same direction as a direction in which a label is applied to the food product package.

18. The rapid refrigeration system of claim 1, wherein the rotation domain specifies a rotation of the food product package within a first time period associated with the rotation domain according to a rotation scheme having the rotation profile.

19. The rapid refrigeration system of claim 18, wherein the first time period is a predetermined fraction of a total cooling time of the food product package.

20. The rapid refrigeration system of claim 19, wherein the rotational domain is one of a plurality of rotational domains associated with the food product package, each of the plurality of rotational domains comprising a different rotation scheme and/or rotation profile.

21. The rapid refrigeration system of claim 1, further comprising:

a temperature sensor configured to sense an initial temperature of the food product package, wherein the package handling system is configured to rotate the food product package in the cooling fluid for a total amount of time determined based on the initial temperature of the food product package and the cooling fluid temperature.

22. The rapid refrigeration system of claim 21, wherein the total amount of time is determined further based on a heat transfer constant associated with the identity of the food product package.

23. The rapid refrigeration system of claim 22, wherein the total amount of time is determined further based on a scaling factor associated with a size of the food product package, associated with an identity of the food product package.

24. The rapid refrigeration system of claim 21, further comprising:

a nucleation system configured to initiate nucleation in the food product package after rotating the food product package in the cooling fluid.

25. The rapid refrigeration system of claim 24, wherein the nucleation system is configured to initiate nucleation through cold contact with the food product package.

26. The rapid refrigeration system of claim 25, wherein the nucleation system comprises compressed CO for supplying the cold contact₂A source.

27. The rapid refrigeration system of claim 24, wherein the nucleation system is configured to initiate nucleation by a mechanical stimulus selected from the group consisting of: mechanical shock, sharp brief linear acceleration of the food product package, sonic or ultrasonic mechanical stimulation.

28. The rapid refrigeration system of claim 24, wherein the gripper mechanism comprises:

a rigid product contact clip; and

a compliant bellows coupled to the product contact clip.

29. The rapid refrigeration system of claim 28, wherein the rigid product contacting clip comprises a plurality of contacting ridges circumferentially spaced in an alternating arrangement with spaces therebetween.

30. The rapid refrigeration system of claim 29, wherein the compliant bellows includes friction pads circumferentially spaced in an alternating arrangement and adapted to fit into spaces between the contact ridges.

31. The rapid refrigeration system of claim 24, further comprising:

a drying system configured to direct a flow of air at the food product package to remove cooling fluid from the food product package after rotating the food product package in the cooling fluid.

32. The rapid refrigeration system of claim 31, further comprising:

a wash reservoir having a wash fluid therein, wherein the packaging handling system is configured to continuously rotate the food product packaged in the wash fluid of the wash fluid reservoir in a single direction.

33. The rapid refrigeration system of claim 32, wherein the cooling fluid reservoir comprises:

a cooling fluid input;

a weir having a central region defined by an inner diameter of the weir, the central region of the weir being in fluid communication with the cooling fluid input; and

a cooling fluid output disposed within the cooling fluid reservoir outside an outer diameter of the weir.

34. The rapid refrigeration system of claim 33, wherein the weir has a bellows shape so that the height is adjustable.

35. The rapid refrigeration system according to any of claims 1 to 34, wherein the cooling fluid temperature is equal to or lower than-10 ℃.