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Patent 1286888 Summary

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Claims and Abstract availability

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(12) Patent: (11) CA 1286888
(21) Application Number: 572586
(54) English Title: METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR COOLING FISH ON BOARD A SHIP
(54) French Title: METHODE ET DISPOSITIF DE REFRIGERATION DU POISSON A BORD D'UN BATEAU
Status: Deemed expired
Bibliographic Data
(52) Canadian Patent Classification (CPC):
  • 62/8
(51) International Patent Classification (IPC):
  • A23B 4/07 (2006.01)
  • F25C 5/20 (2018.01)
  • A23B 4/09 (2006.01)
  • B63B 35/24 (2006.01)
  • B63J 2/12 (2006.01)
(72) Inventors :
  • GOLDSTEIN, VLADIMIR L. (Canada)
  • LA, DAVID (Canada)
(73) Owners :
  • SUNWELL ENGINEERING COMPANY LIMITED (Canada)
(71) Applicants :
(74) Agent: MCCARTHY TETRAULT LLP
(74) Associate agent:
(45) Issued: 1991-07-30
(22) Filed Date: 1988-07-20
Availability of licence: N/A
(25) Language of filing: English

Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT): No

(30) Application Priority Data:
Application No. Country/Territory Date
075,465 United States of America 1987-07-20

Abstracts

English Abstract


ABSTRACT

An apparatus for cooling fish on board a ship is provided. The apparatus
includes an ice-making machine for producing fine particles of ice in a brine solution
to form an ice-brine sluury. Coupled to the ice-making machine are means for
directing the ice-brine slurry from the ice-machine machine to either a vessel containing
brine solution or to a catch of fish. A method of cooling fish on board a ship
comprising the steps of producing a slurry of fine particles in brine solution in an ice-
making zone and directing the slurry onto either a catch of fish or into a vessel
containing brine solution is also provided.


Claims

Note: Claims are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.



We Claim:
1. An apparatus for cooling fish on board a ship comprising:
an ice-machine machine for producing fine ice particles in a brine
solution to form an ice-brine slurry, said ice-making machine having an inlet
and an outlet, said outlet for dispensing said ice-brine slurry;
a vessel for containing seawater, said vessel having an inlet for
receiving said ice-brine slurry and an outlet, the inlet of said ice-machine
machine being connected to the outlet of said vessel via conduit means to
permit ice-brine slurry held in said vessel to be conveyed to said ice-machine
machine; and
transport means connected to the outlet of said ice-making
machine, said transport means being operable to direct said ice-brine slurry
along one of at least two paths to either said vessel containing seawater or to
a catch of fish.

2. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 further including agitation
means located in said vessel.

3. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said ice-making
machine has a condenser and wherein said apparatus further includes a
connection between the outlet of said vessel and the inlet of said condenser,
and wherein the outlet of said condenser is connected to said vessel.

4. An apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein said transport means
comprises a pump connected to a flexible hose.

5. An apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein the outlet of said ice-
making machine is connected by a three-way valve to both a flexible hose
and to a line leading to said vessel.

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6. An apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein an ice and liquid separator
is associated with said transport means to separate ice from brine.

7. An apparatus as defined in claim 6 wherein said separator is connected
to a line leading from an outlet of said ice-making machine, and wherein an ice outlet
of said separator is connected to a flexible hose and a brine outlet of said separator is
connected to said vessel.

8. An apparatus as defined in claim 4 wherein said flexible hose includes
means for separating ice from brine.

9. An apparatus as defined as defined in claim 8 wherein said means for
separating ice from brine includes a cylindrical sieve having longitudinally extending
slots formed therethrough.

10. An apparatus as defined in claim 9 wherein said sieve is provided in ahousing, said housing having a sloped bottom wall and a drain formed in said bottom
wall, said bottom wall directing brine passing through said slots towards said drain.

11. An apparatus as defined in claim 10 wherein said housing further
includes a closure flap pivotally connected at the outlet end thereof.

12. A method of cooling fish on board a ship comprising the steps of:
producing a slurry of fine ice particles in a brine solution in an ice-
making machine located on said ship;
directing said slurry from said ice-making machine onto a either a catch
of fish or into a vessel containing seawater for storing fish; and
recirculating pre-chilled slurry held in said vessel to said ice-making
machine.

-9-
13. The method of claim 12 wherein at least some of the brine solution is
removed from said slurry prior to directing said slurry onto said catch of fish.
14. The method of claim 13 wherein the removed brine solution is sent to
said vessel.

15. The method of claim 12 wherein the contents of said vessel are agitated.

16. The method of claim 12 wherein the pre-chilled brine solution
recirculated from said vessel is directed to a condenser in said ice-making machine and
wherein warmed brine solution from said condenser is directed to said vessel.

17. In combination a ship and an apparatus for cooling fish, said apparatus
comprising:
an ice-making machine disposed on said ship for processing fine ice
particles in a brine solution to form an ice-brine slurry, said ice-making machine
having an inlet and an outlet, said outlet for dispensing said ice-brine slurry;a vessel disposed on said ship for containing seawater, said vessel having
an inlet to receive said ice-brine slurry and an outlet, the inlet of said ice-machine
machine being connected to the outlet of said vessel via conduit means to permit the
ice-brine slurry held in said vessel to be conveyed to said ice-making machine; and
transport means disposed on said ship and being connected to the outlet
of said ice-making machine, said transport means being operable to direct said ice-
brine slurry along one of at least two paths within said ship to either said vessel
containing seawater or to a catch of fish.

18. The combination of claim 17 further including agitation means located
in said vessel.

- 10-
19. The combination of claim 17 wherein said ice-making machine has a
condenser and wherein said apparatus further includes connections between the outlet
of said vessel and the inlet of said condenser and the outlet of said condenser and the
inlet of said vessel.

20. The combination of claim 18 wherein said transport means comprises a
pump and a flexible hose.

21. The combination of claim 18 wherein the outlet of said ice-making
machine is connected by a three-way valve to both a flexible hose and a line leading
to said vessel.

22. The combination of claim 18 wherein an ice and liquid separator is
associated with said transport means to separate ice from brine.

23. The combination of claim 22 wherein said separator is connected to a
line leading from an outlet of said ice-making machine and wherein an ice outlet of
said separator is connected to a flexible hose and a brine outlet of said separator is
connected to said vessel.

24. The combination of claim 21 wherein said flexible hose includes means
for separating ice from brine.

Description

Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.




The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method of cooling
fish on board a ship.

It is desirable in fishing operations on board ships to cool fish soon after
5 they are caught to ensure that they do not spoil. Conventionally, this is done by
manually spreading large pieces of ice over the fish on board the ship. The
disadvantages of doing this are that the fish are not cooled quicldy, because the contact
area between the ice and the fish is small. Furthermore, the ice tends to freeze the
fish because of the large amount of salt that is generally trapped in large pieces of ice.
10 This freezing of the fish may result in spoilage of the fish due to later thawing and
refreezing of the fish.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate
the above-mentioned disadvantages by providing a novel apparatus and method for
lS cooling fish on board a ship.

Accord;ng to the present invention there is provided an apparatus for
cooling fish on board a ship comprising:
an ice-making machine for processing fine ice particles in a brine
20 solution to form an ice-brine slurry, said ice-making machine having an inlet and an
outlet, said outlet for dispensing said ice-brine slurry;
a vessel for containing seawater9 said vessel having an inlet for receiving
said ice-brine slurry and an outlet, the inlet of said ice-making machine being
connected to the outlet of said vessel via conduit means to permit ice-brine slurry held5 in said vessel to be conveyed to said ice-making machine; and
transport means connected to the outlet of said ice-making machine, said
transport means being operable to direct said ice-brine slurry along one of at least two
paths to either said vessel containing seawater or to a catch of fish.

In another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of
cooling fish on board a ship comprising the steps of:

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- 2 -
produc;ng a slurry of fine ice particles in a brine solution via an ice-
making machine located on said ship;
directing said slulTy from said ice-making machine onto either a catch
of fish or into a vessel containing seawater for storing fish, and
S recirculating pre-chilled slurry held in said vessel to said ice-making
machine.

In still yet another aspect of the present invention there is provided in
combination, a ship and an apparatus for cooling fish, said apparatus comprising:
an ice-making machine disposed on said ship for producing fine ice
particles in a brine solution to form an ice-brine slurry, said ice-making machine
having an inlet and an outlet, said outlet for dispensing said ice-brine slurry;a vessel disposed on said ship for containing seawater, said vessel having
an inlet for receiving said ice-brine slurry and an outlet, the inlet of said ice-making
machine being connected to the outlet of said vessel via conduit means to permit ice-
brine slurry held in said vessel to be conveyed to said ice-making machine; and
transport means disposed on said ship and being connected to the outlet
of said ice-making machine, said transport means being operable to direct said ice
brine slurry along at least one of at least two paths within said ship to either said
vessel containing seawater or to a catch of fish.

The present method and appartus allow fish to be cooled in situ on board
a ship, either by spraying ice directly ehereon or by immersing the fish in a vessel
containing salt water with ice on the surface thereof. Different types of fish require
one or the other of these different methods of cooling. Also, the use of fine ice
particles provides for better cooling of the fish because the particles have a larger
surface area and the brine drains quicldy therefrom. The brine quickly cools the fish
while it drains and the fine ice particles completely cool the fish without freezing
them.


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12B6888
- 3 -
Moreover, the use of A vessel containing salt water and ice provides a
thermal storage unit which can increase the capaci~y of the ice-making machine. Pre-
chilled seawater optionally containing ice particles can be obtained from this vessel to
provide pre-chilled water for the ice-making machine and/or to provide chilled water
S for the condenser of the ice-making machine.

Preferred embodiments of the invention will be further described, by way
of illustration only, with reference to the ~llowing figures in which:
Figure 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of an apparatus for cooling fish
on board a ship;
Figure 2 is a diagrammatic illustration of an alternative embodiment of
an apparatus for cooling fish on board a ship;
Figure 3 is a diagrammatic illustration of another alternative embodiment
of an apparatus for cooling fish on board a ship;
Figure 4a is a partial sectional view of a portion of the devices illustrated
in Figures 1, 2 and 3; and
Figure 4b is a cross section of the portion illustrated in Pigure 4a taken
along line A-A.

Referring first to Figure 17 it can be seen that an apparatus 10 for
cooling fish on board a ship comprises an ice-making machine 12 capable of producing
a slurry of fine particles of ice in a brine solution to form an ice-brine slurry. The
ice-making machine is of one of the designs disclosed in either U.S. Patent No.
4,551,159 issued November 5, 1985 (Goldstein) or U.S. Patent No. 4,796,441 issued
on January 10, 1989 (Goldstein).

Brine enters the machine 12 through an inlet 14, and a slurry of fine ice
particles in a brine solution exits the machine through an outlet 16. The ice-making
machine preferably produces a slurry of 30-60% ice. The outlet is connected to apump 18 which is connected to a flexible hose 20. This hose 20 can be carried to

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~Z8~888


either a vessel 22 containing salt water or to a catch of fish 24 to direct the ice-brine
slurry produced by the ice-making machine 12 directly to the catch of fish 24 or (as
indicated by the dotted line) to the vessel 22.

S Figure 2 shows an alternative embodiment of the apparatus for cooling
fish on board a ship. Components similar to those in Figure 1 will be given the same
reference numeral, followed by the suffix "A". In this embodiment, the outlet 16A
of the ice-making machine 12A is connected by a three-way valve 26 to either thevessel 22A or to the catch of fish 24A.
A line 28 leads from the three-way valve 26 to the vessel 22A to transfer
ice-brine sluITy to the vessel 22A. A second line 30 leads from the valve 26 to a
separator 32 in which ice is at least partially separated from brine and is directed
through the flexible hose 20A to the catch of fish 24A. The separator 32 comprises
a screw conveyor with a screen disposed therebelow. The brine from the separator32 is sent by a line 34 to line 28 via a pump 35 and is thereby sent to the vessel 22A.

Makeup brine is sent to the vessel 22A via a direct seawater line 36 or
from a brine storage unit 38. An outlet 40 in the lower portion 42 of the vessel 22A
is connected to the ice-making machine 12A to transfer pre-chilled brine to the ice-
10 making machine. Agitators, such as water jets 44, are optionally provided in thevessel 22A to agitate the ice so that some ice is entrained in the pre-chilled`brine sent
to the ice-making machine 12A.

In this embodiment, the efficiency of the ice-making unit is increased,
15 resulting in substantial cost savings and reduced space requirements for the ice-making
machine, by using pre-chilled brine in the ice-making machine.

Figure 3 shows an alternative embodiment of the apparatus of Figures
1 and 2. Elements similar to those shown in Figures 1 and 2 will be referred to by

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1zt3~888

the same reference numeral followed by the suffix "B". In this embodiment, some of
the pre-chilled brine is sent to a condenser 46 of the ice-making machine 12B by a line
48. The warmed brine from the condenser 46 is then returned to the top of the vessel
22B for cooling via line 50. The use of the pre-chilled b~ne as a heat exchange
S medium for t~e condenser of the ice-making machine results in further increased
capacity of the ice-making machine.

Referring to Figures 4a and 4b, an embodiment of the discharge end 60
of the flexible hose 20 used in any of the above-mentioned systems 10 is shown. This
10 embodiment includes an ice slurry drier 62 comprising a housing 64 of circular cross-
section having a sloped bottom wall 66, the bottom wall being provided with a drain
67. The housing includes an inlet 68 connected to the flexible hose 20 having a
diameter greater than the diameter of the flexible hose 20. An outlet 70 is alsoprovided in the housing and has a diameter larger than that of the hose but less than
that of the inlet 68. A closure flap 72 is pivotally connected to the outlet 70 ~o cover
the housing outlet when ice-brine slurry is not being pumped therethrough.

A cylindrical sieve 74 is provided in the housing 64 and extends between
the inlet and outlet 68 and 70 thereof. The sieve 74 has a diameter substantially the
20 same as the flexible hose 20 and directs the ice-brine slurry through the housing. The
sieve 74 is also provided with a plurality of spaced slots 76 on a portion of its
circumference that extend along the entire length of the sieve 74.

In operation, the ice-brine slurry produced by the ice-making machine
25 12 that is being discharged through the flexible hose passes from the hose 20 into the
sieve 74. The longitudinally extending slots 76 do not impede the flow of the ice-
brine slurry but allow excess brine to be drained from the ice-brine slurry. Theexcess brine passes through the slots 76 as ~e slurry moves along the sieve 74 and
falls to the bottom of the housing 64. The sloped bottom wall 66 directs the excess
30 brine to the drain 67 so that the brine can be released from the housing. The drained


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28615~88
- 6 -
ice-brine slurry passes through the sieve 74 to the outlet 70 causing the flap 72 to open
thereby allowing the ice-brine slurry to be applied to the catch of fish 24 or to the
vessel 22. It should be noted that the drained brine can be re-circulated into the
system 10 or the drain can be closed to prevent the drained brine from being released
5 from the housing 64.

It should also be realized that the drier 62 can be used in combination
with the separator 32 to increase further the drying of the ice-brine slurry or can be
used in the systems 10 without the separator to permit the drainage of brine from the
10 ice-brine slurry if desired.
B

Representative Drawing
A single figure which represents the drawing illustrating the invention.
Administrative Status

For a clearer understanding of the status of the application/patent presented on this page, the site Disclaimer , as well as the definitions for Patent , Administrative Status , Maintenance Fee  and Payment History  should be consulted.

Administrative Status

Title Date
Forecasted Issue Date 1991-07-30
(22) Filed 1988-07-20
(45) Issued 1991-07-30
Deemed Expired 2007-07-30

Abandonment History

There is no abandonment history.

Payment History

Fee Type Anniversary Year Due Date Amount Paid Paid Date
Application Fee $0.00 1988-07-20
Registration of a document - section 124 $0.00 1989-03-13
Maintenance Fee - Patent - Old Act 2 1993-07-30 $50.00 1993-07-26
Maintenance Fee - Patent - Old Act 3 1994-08-01 $50.00 1994-07-18
Maintenance Fee - Patent - Old Act 4 1995-07-31 $50.00 1995-07-31
Maintenance Fee - Patent - Old Act 5 1996-07-30 $75.00 1996-07-29
Maintenance Fee - Patent - Old Act 6 1997-07-30 $75.00 1997-06-12
Maintenance Fee - Patent - Old Act 7 1998-07-30 $75.00 1998-06-17
Maintenance Fee - Patent - Old Act 8 1999-07-30 $75.00 1999-07-22
Maintenance Fee - Patent - Old Act 9 2000-07-31 $75.00 2000-07-24
Maintenance Fee - Patent - Old Act 10 2001-07-30 $100.00 2001-06-07
Maintenance Fee - Patent - Old Act 11 2002-07-30 $100.00 2002-07-17
Maintenance Fee - Patent - Old Act 12 2003-07-30 $100.00 2003-06-25
Maintenance Fee - Patent - Old Act 13 2004-07-30 $125.00 2004-07-19
Maintenance Fee - Patent - Old Act 14 2005-08-01 $125.00 2005-06-13
Owners on Record

Note: Records showing the ownership history in alphabetical order.

Current Owners on Record
SUNWELL ENGINEERING COMPANY LIMITED
Past Owners on Record
GOLDSTEIN, VLADIMIR L.
LA, DAVID
Past Owners that do not appear in the "Owners on Record" listing will appear in other documentation within the application.
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Document
Description 
Date
(yyyy-mm-dd) 
Number of pages   Size of Image (KB) 
Representative Drawing 2000-07-26 1 6
Drawings 1993-10-21 4 62
Claims 1993-10-21 4 136
Abstract 1993-10-21 1 19
Cover Page 1993-10-21 1 14
Description 1993-10-21 6 247
Fees 2000-07-24 1 51
Fees 2002-07-17 1 53
Fees 2003-06-25 1 49
Fees 1999-07-22 1 54
Fees 2005-06-13 1 53
Fees 2001-06-07 1 51
Fees 1997-06-12 1 69
Fees 1998-06-17 1 51
Fees 2004-07-19 1 52
Fees 1996-07-29 1 36
Fees 1995-07-31 1 39
Fees 1994-07-18 1 40
Fees 1993-07-26 1 37