# US 9,451,782 B2 · Depositing device > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 9,451,782 B2 - Document ID: US9451782B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 14/498,463 - Filed: 2014-09-26 - Published: 2015-01-08 - Granted: 2016-09-27 - Earliest claimed: 2003-12-22 - Assignees: Nestec S.A. - Applicants: Nestec S.A. - Inventors: Roy B. Nelson; William Walter Coatesworth; John Howard Walker; Jonathan Sutton; Richard Johnson Craggs - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9451782B2 ## CPC - A23G 1/208: {Moulding or shaping of cellular or expanded articles} - A23G 1/56: Liquid products; Solid products in the form of powders, flakes or granules for making liquid products, e.g. for making chocolate milk {, drinks and the products for their preparation, pastes for spreading or milk crumb (A23G1/305 takes precedence)} - A23G 3/02: Apparatus specially adapted for manufacture or treatment of sweetmeats or confectionery; Accessories therefor - A23G 3/0294: {Moulding or shaping of cellular or expanded articles} - A23G 3/346: {Finished or semi-finished products in the form of powders, paste or liquids (A23G3/343 takes precedence)} - A23G 9/28: for portioning or dispensing - B05B 12/087: {Flow or presssure regulators, i.e. non-electric unitary devices comprising a sensing element, e.g. a piston or a membrane, and a controlling element, e.g. a valve} - B05C 5/0225: {characterised by flow controlling means, e.g. valves, located proximate the outlet (B05C5/0258, B05C5/0275 take precedence; supply valves upstream the coating head B05C11/1036)} - B29C 44/3492: {Expanding without a foaming agent} - B65B 39/004: {moving linearly} - A23G 2220/02: Foamed, gas-expanded or cellular products - B29K 2105/04: cellular or porous - A23G: COCOA; COCOA PRODUCTS, e.g. CHOCOLATE; SUBSTITUTES FOR COCOA OR COCOA PRODUCTS; CONFECTIONERY; CHEWING GUM; ICE-CREAM; PREPARATION THEREOF - B05B: SPRAYING APPARATUS; ATOMISING APPARATUS; NOZZLES (spray-mixers with nozzles B01F25/72; processes for applying liquids or other fluent materials to surfaces by spraying B05D) - B05C: APPARATUS FOR APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL (spraying apparatus, atomising apparatus, nozzles B05B; plant for applying liquids or other fluent materials to objects by electrostatic spraying B05B5/08) - B29C: SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING (making preforms B29B11/00; making laminated products by combining previously unconnected layers which become one product whose layers will remain together B32B37/00 - B32B41/00) - B65B: MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING (bundling and pressing devices for cigars A24C1/44; devices for tensioning and securing binders adapted to be supported by the article or articles to be bound B25B25/00; applying closure members to bottles, jars or similar containers B67B1/00-B67B6/00; concurrent cleaning, filling and closing of bottles B67C7/00; emptying bottles, jars, cans, casks, barrels or similar containers B67C9/00) - B29K: INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES B29B, B29C OR B29D, RELATING TO MOULDING MATERIALS OR TO MATERIALS FOR {MOULDS, } REINFORCEMENTS, FILLERS OR PREFORMED PARTS, e.g. INSERTS ## Abstract The invention is a depositing device for depositing flowable food containing gas comprising a pressurized feed N line conveying flowable food containing gas under pressure into the food; piston means operatively connected to the feed line comprising a piston and a chamber; an outlet to deliver food at the atmospheric pressure into molds. The device comprises a pressure retaining means arranged to retain the product in the chamber at the same pressure as the line pressure and to deliver the product through the outlet as pressure in the chamber increases from the line pressure upon descent of the piston in the chamber. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method for aerating and depositing an aerated food comprising: pumping a food from a source of liquefied food; adding gas from a source of gas in controlled amounts in the liquefied food to produce a gasified food; maintaining a constant pressure of the gasified food from the adding of the gas until a piston is activated to deposit the gasified food and retaining the product at said pressure in a chamber before a depositing point to prevent a decrease in the pressure of the gasified food and prevent the product from expanding; and depositing amounts of the gasified food by descending the piston in the chamber toward the depositing point to open an aperture leading to the depositing point and force the product through the depositing point. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the constant pressure is between 6 and 15 bars. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the descending of the piston comprises descending the piston in multiple steps to deliver discrete volumes of the gasified food. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the depositing of a first portion of the gasified food through the depositing point concurrently draws a second portion of the gasified food through the aperture into the chamber. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the pumping of the food comprises using a first pump and a second pump located in series along a portion of a feed line which leads to the chamber. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The method of claim 5, wherein the constant pressure is generated entirely by the first pump. ### Claim 7 (depends on 5) The method of claim 5, wherein the adding of the gas comprises directing the gas into the feed line from a gas inlet that emerges into the feed line downstream from the first pump and upstream from the second pump. ### Claim 8 (depends on 5) The method of claim 5, wherein the first pump comprises an exit, and the constant pressure is present from the exit of the first pump to the depositing of the gasified food to prevent the gasified food from expanding until completion of the depositing. ### Claim 9 (depends on 5) The method of claim 5, wherein a valve is located between the feed line and the chamber, and the method comprises operating the valve between an opening position in which the chamber is filled with the gasified food and a closed position in which the chamber is isolated from the feed line. ### Claim 10 (depends on 5) The method of claim 5, comprising driving the second pump at a greater speed relative to the first pump. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10 wherein the driving of the second pump comprises controlling a ratio of the speed of the first pump to the speed of the second pump to be between 1:1.1 and 1:2.