Continuous pressure cooker and cooler with controlled liquid flow

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The preferred embodiment of the continuous pressure cooker and cooler of the present invention includes a pressure vessel having an inlet and an outlet pressure lock.
Carts, each including means defining a tunnel filled with the containers to be processed, are moved through the inlet lock into a processing chamber and are maintained at superatmospheric pressure by high pressure air or a steam-air mixture while in the processing chamber.
While in the processing chamber and within the inlet pressure lock, the carts are filled with a heat treatment liquid, hereinafter referred to as hot water, to a level above the level of the uppermost containers.
The hot water is circulated through the tunnel from one end to the other and overflows from the cart into a shallow pool in the bottom of the pressure vessel.
This hot water is then reheated and recirculated through the tunnel in the cart, as the cart is progressively advanced toward the outlet pressure lock and until the product within the containers is sterilized and cooked the desired amount.
The cart is then advanced into the outlet pressure lock which serves as a pressure mini-cooler at which time a cooling liquid, hereinafter referred to as cold water, is circulated through the tunnel until the vapor pressure within the containers is reduced to a pressure approaching or below atmospheric pressure by condensation of the steam within the containers.
The cart is then moved out of the pressure vessel into the atmosphere for processing by an atmospheric cooler at which time cooling is continued by directing cold water through the tunnels until the product itself is cooled below the boiling point of water at atmospheric pressure thus completing the processing cycle.
The carts used for supporting the containers and controlling the flow of liquid therepast may be either of a non-agitating or an agitating type depending upon the type of food product being processed.
A second embodiment of the continuous pressure cooker and cooler includes a third pressure lock for positively dividing the pressure vessel into a pressure cooking chamber and a pressure cooling chamber; while a third embodiment substitutes a plurality of baffles for the third pressure lock thereby effectively dividing the vessel into pressure cooking and cooling chambers