Bbc Brown, Boveri & Company, Limited

Aluminiumwerke Ag. Rorschach

Robert Bachmann

Gernot H Gessinger

Charley Buxbaum

Gerold Brandli

Pieter Bearda

Winfried Sturm

Rudolf Rieder

Walter Stoidl

The automatic filling and packaging of foodstuffs under aseptic to low-bacterial count conditions is accomplished by disinfecting a packaging material for at least one second by means of high-intensity ultraviolet radiation, generated by a high-current, low-pressure mercury discharge with a current density of more than 1 A/cm.sup.2 and a mercury pressure of 5.times.10.sup.-3 to 5.times.10.sup.-1 Torr, wherein the spectral radiation intensity of the 253.7 nm line of the ultraviolet radiation UV on the packaging material 1, 2, 3 is set to at least 0.05 W/cm.sup.2.

Method for automatic low-bacteria to aseptic filling and packing of

The automatic filling and packaging of foodstuffs under aseptic to low-bacterial count conditions is accomplished by disinfecting a packaging material for at least one second by means of high-intensity ultraviolet radiation, generated by a high-current, low-pressure mercury discharge with a current density of more than 1 A/cm.sup.2 and a mercury pressure of 5 .times. 10.sup.-3 to 5 .times. 10.sup.-1 Torr, wherein the spectral radiation intensity of the 253.7 nm line of the ultraviolet radiation UV on the packaging material 1, 2, 3 is set to at least 0.05 W/cm.sup.2.

Apparatus for automatic low-bacteria to aseptic filling and packing of

A thermionic cathode of tungsten or molybdenum is made with an activating content of lanthanum oxide and is supplied with a carbonaceous reducing agent either by incorporation in the bulk material of the cathode body or by carburizing, so that the reducing agent comprises at least in part a carbide of the carrier metal. Lower operating temperatures and higher emissivity are obtained compared to thoriated tungsten filaments and longer useful life compared to other cathodes activated by other rare earth oxides. The temperature-emissivity characteristics are such that good results are obtainable even within the temperature range in which molybdenum is usable as a carrier material.

Lanthanated thermionic cathodes

Apparatus for generating ultraviolet radiation of high spectral radiance whereby the radiation is produced in a discharge tube having a thermoemissive cathode and a discharge space and filled with mercury/argon by means of a wall-stabilized direct-current gas discharge at a mercury pressure p.sub.Hg of between 5 .times. 10.sup.-.sup.3 and 5 .times. 10.sup.-.sup.1 Torr and a current density j of the discharge current I of between 1 and 25 A/cm.sup.2. The discharge tube incorporates a pressure-equalizing space connecting the cathode space to the anode space whereby the sum of the volumes of the cathode space, anode space and pressure-equalizing space is greater than the volume of the discharge space. The pressure of the argon is maintained between 0.01 and 10 Torr. A first control element is provided which regulates the current density j of the discharge current I to a constant value j.sub.O between 1 and 25 A/cm.sup.2. A second control element is provided which regulates the pressure p.sub.Hg of the mercury to such a value that the yield .eta. of the line of wavelength 2537 A, i.e. the ratio of the spectral radiation power for the wavelength .lambda.= 2537 A to the electrical power stored in the discharge, is at least 80% of the maximum yield .eta..sub.max for the chosen current density j.sub.O.

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Dottingen, Switzerland

Robert Bachmann