Claims
- 1. In apparatus for automatically controlling the feed rate of an alcohol solution as raw material in a process for producing vinegar from a fermenting broth in a fermentation tank, the improvement comprising:
- an automatic alcohol analyzer for measuring the alcohol concentration in said fermenting broth in said fermentation tank;
- feeding means for feeding alcohol solution as raw material to said fermentation tank;
- control computer means coupled to said analyzer and to said feeding means for energizing said alcohol analyzer to initiate an automatic alcohol concentration measurement and for receiving an output signal from said analyzer corresponding to the measured alcohol concentration, said control computer means including calculating means for calculating a feed rate of alcohol solution as raw material to said fermenting broth responsive to said output from said alcohol analyzer, and for generating an output signal responsive to said calculations to control operation of said feeding means to feed alcohol solution as raw material to said fermenting broth so as to control the alcohol concentration in said fermenting broth at a desirable concentration, said control computer means including means for periodically causing said analyzer to measure said alcohol concentration in said fermenting broth at given intervals over a plurality of cycles of measurement.
- 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said control computer means includes means for calculating said feed rate and for controlling the alcohol concentration in said fermenting broth on the basis of a difference between a measured alcohol concentration in said fermenting broth and a desirable alcohol concentration and the alcohol consumption rate calculated during each of said cycles by said control computer means.
- 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said control computer means includes means for calculating said feed rate of alcohol solution as raw material to said fermenting broth so as to control the alcohol concentration in said fermenting broth at a predetermined desirable concentration according to acetic acid concentration on the basis of increasing rate of acetic acid concentration, acetic acid concentration and total concentration in said fermenting broth which are calculated by said control computer means during each of said cycles.
- 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said analyzer, feeding means and control computer means are electrically interconnected.
- 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said control computer means includes means for causing said analyzer to measure said alcohol concentration at an interval of two hours or less.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein said interval is between fifteen minutes and one hour.
- 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said apparatus comprises a plurality of fermentation tanks, each containing a fermenting broth, and wherein said analyzer is coupled to each of said tanks for selectively measuring the alcohol concentration in respective tanks responsive to signals from said control computer means, and said feeding means is selectively coupled to each of said tanks to feed said alcohol solution as raw material to said respective tanks responsive to control signals from said control computer means.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein said control computer means causes said analyzer and feeding apparatus to be associated with each of said plurality of tanks on a cyclical basis at different respective times.
- 9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a titration apparatus for measuring the acetic acid concentration in said fermenting broth.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
59-80306 |
Apr 1984 |
JPX |
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Parent Case Info
This is a division of application Ser. No. 722,783 filed Apr. 12, 1985, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,654,215, issued Mar. 31, 1987.
US Referenced Citations (6)
Foreign Referenced Citations (3)
Number |
Date |
Country |
3514634 |
Nov 1985 |
DEX |
57-181685 |
Nov 1982 |
JPX |
0116673 |
Jul 1983 |
JPX |
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
722783 |
Apr 1985 |
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