Coors Brewing Company

Coors Global Properties, Inc.

Standard Oil Company (indiana)

Graphic Packaging Corporation

Millercoors LLC

Philip J Lucas

William Patrick Apps

Jon P Hassell

Cham Ocondi

Leo W Mayer

Gerald P Leffler

Charles P Reese

An apparatus and method are provided for cooling a dispensed beverage. Direct cooling of the beverage is achieved by circulation of a refrigerant in contact with a reservoir that holds the beverage just prior to being dispensed. The reservoir is disposed within a dispense font. The open space within the font acts as an evaporator of a closed refrigeration loop thereby achieving cooling without having to use a separate heat transfer loop. A refrigeration subsystem is mounted directly adjacent the dispense font to provide a controlled flow of refrigerant to the open space within the font. Evaporated refrigerant is recycled in the refrigeration subsystem.

Apparatus and method for cooling a dispensed beverage

An apparatus and method for rapidly chilling a beverage-filled container and the beverage therein is disclosed. The apparatus includes a housing having a cylindrical inner surface that generally conforms to the cylindrical outer surface of a beverage-filled container. A cooling coil surrounds the housing, and a refrigeration unit is operatively connected thereto. When a beverage-filled container is positioned within the housing, the beverage-filled container and the beverage therein is rapidly chilled substantially by conduction.

Rapid chilling apparatus and method for a beverage-filled container

A pallet system for supporting a load of packages is disclosed. The pallet system is comprised of a plurality of pallet units. Each pallet unit may have a load support portion, a plurality of side portions attached thereto, and a flange portion attached to the side portions. The load support portion is adapted to be placed directly adjacent to the bottom surface of the load. The side portions have openings sufficiently sized to receive forks of a forklift. The flange portion is flexible and extends continuously around the periphery of the pallet unit. A method for supporting a load of packages utilizing a plurality of pallet units is also disclosed.

Disposable/recyclable pallet system and method

A method of sealing a container including a container and a closure member for sealing the container over a range of internal pressure.

Method of sealing a container

The disclosure is directed to a system and method for producing a load of packages supported by a disposable/recyclable pallet. The system may comprise at least one palletizing station for producing a plurality of unwrapped palletized tiers of packages, a horizontal wrapping station for producing at least one horizontally wrapped palletized tier of packages, a stacking station for stacking the unwrapped palletized tiers of packages on the horizontally wrapped palletized tier of packages, and a base applicator for fixedly applying a base to a bottom surface of the horizontally wrapped palletized tier of packages.

System and method for producing a disposable/recyclable pallet

A sealed container including a container and a closure member for sealing the container over a range of internal pressure.

Container and plastic threadless closure member

A pallet for supporting a load of packages is disclosed. The pallet includes a support structure comprising flexible film wrapped around at least one of the layers of the load. The flexible film is wrapped around two axes which are generally perpendicular to one another and preferably located within the same plane such that the flexible film covers at least a majority of the layer(s). The pallet also includes a base positioned adjacent to the support structure which is adapted to receive forks of a forklift. The base may have an elongate tubular configuration and be constructed from a disposable/recyclable material.

Disposable/recyclable pallet and method

A bottle inspection apparatus and method are disclosed in which an improved housing contains an imaging device which is focused at a target area through an unobstructed window opening formed in a wall of the housing. The housing includes a sleeve member which may be attached to the housing in the vicinity of the unobstructed window opening and which may be positioned in close proximity to the imaging device, thus creating a restricted air path between the sleeve member and the imaging device which restricts the flow of cooling air exiting the housing. The imaging device may be mounted on a slide mount system such that it is adjustably moveable toward and away from the sleeve in order to adjustably control the amount of air restriction imposed and, thus, adjustably control the rate at which cooling air exits the housing.

Hot bottle inspection apparatus and method

A vacuum conveyor for transporting articles across a space wherein the conveyor belt for the vacuum conveyor has a plurality of equally spaced apart fluid passageways formed therein and wherein a one way valve is installed in each fluid passageway so that when one of the fluid passageways is exposed to a vacuum source to hold an object on the conveyor belt the object will be held on the conveyor belt until a sufficient force is applied to the object to separate the object from the conveyor belt.

Acoustic bottle tester and conveyor therefor

A method is disclosed for detecting flaws in translucent objects. An image generating device is used to form an image of the object. A target area and a control area of the image are then compared to determine the relative brightness of each. If the relative brightness is not within an acceptable range, then this indicates that a defect exists in the target area and the object may be rejected. The acceptable range may be determined by performing the above method on an object known to be non-defective, thus producing a relative brightness between the target and control areas which is indicative of a non-defective condition. Also disclosed is a method for detecting flaws in translucent objects in which two images of the object are obtained from differing perspectives. The two images are then compared pixel by pixel to determine if any variation in image brightness exists between the two images.

Method for inspecting translucent objects using imaging techniques

A bottle testing apparatus for testing bottles for flaws of a predetermined magnitude, the bottles having a predetermined bottle configuration and having at least one natural frequency comprising a sound system which produces sound of a character sufficient to rupture one of the bottles having a flaw of at least a predetermined magnitude but insufficient to rupture one of said bottles not having a flaw of at least said predetermined magnitude.

Acoustic bottle tester

A bottle inspection method is provided which is capable of compensating for random variations in the orientation and position of objects being inspected, such as glass bottles on a conveyor. The inspection device creates an image of the object and then analyzes the image to determine the amount of variation in orientation and position. The desired measurements are made from the image and then adjusted relative to the variation previously determined. Also provided is an improved housing for the imaging devices which eliminates the need for clear panels which are prone to dirtying.

Object inspection method utilizing a corrected image to find unknown

A method is disclosed for detecting the cycling of a manufacturing machine, such as a bottle manufacturing machine, without the need for a mechanical detection device. An imaging device, which may also be used to inspect products manufactured by the manufacturing machine, monitors a portion of the manufacturing machine in order to determine when the machine cycles. Also disclosed is a method for correlating a product being inspected to its point of origin, e.g., correlating a bottle to its mold cavity of origin in the case of a bottle manufacturing machine. The manufacturing machine cycle time is divided by the number of origin points, e.g., the number of bottle mold cavities in the case of a bottle manufacturing machine, to derive a product interval time. The arrival time of each product being inspected may then be divided by the product interval time in order to predict the point of origin from which the product originated.

Method for inspecting manufactured articles

Apparatus and method for locating a portion of a continuous web of material having graphics printed thereon at a correct location in a cutting and creasing machine for forming carton blanks by comparing the location of a section of the graphics on a portion of the continuous web with a preset location of where the section of graphics should be and generating a control signal for moving the portion in vector and parallel paths to the correct location in the cutting and creasing machine. The continuous web is moved by applying a force on opposite sides of the center line of the continuous web along a linear line wherein the linear lines are located so that the included angle between the linear lines in the direction of movement of the continuous web is less than 180 degrees. Also, the linear lines can be located so that the included angle between each linear line and the center line of the continuous web in the direction of movement of the continuous web is less than 90 degrees.

Growing community of inventors

Lakewood, CO, United States of America

Philip J Lucas