JP3695261B2 - Heat sterilization / cooling device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Industrial application fields]
The present invention is suitable for heat sterilization / cooling devices, particularly for heat sterilization / cooling of inner and outer surfaces of lids such as bottles in aseptic filling lines or hot filling lines for foods and beverages, or for similar articles. The present invention relates to a heat sterilization / cooling device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, ultraviolet sterilization methods or dry heat sterilization methods using infrared rays or microwaves are known as sterilization methods for aseptic filling lines or hot filling lines for aseptic filling or hot filling of containers and containers such as bottles and cans. (For example, Japanese Patent No. 2782021). A wet heat sterilization method using steam or hot water is also known.
[0003]
By the way, in the case of ultraviolet sterilization or the like, there is a problem in terms of reliability, such as a portion that is not irradiated by shadows, or there is no sterilizing effect depending on the type of bacteria. In particular, since the lid is generally incorporated with a bottle seal and liner material on the inner surface of the lid and has a structure that is difficult to sterilize, sterilization leakage is likely to occur without being uniformly irradiated with ultraviolet rays. There were drawbacks. On the other hand, in the case of steam sterilization, not only the heat is efficiently transferred to the object to be treated, but also the steam reaches every corner, and uniform and reliable sterilization is performed in a relatively short time. There are many excellent points in terms of reliability.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the heat-sterilized lid is in a high temperature state after sterilization, and has a drawback that it takes time to drop to a steady temperature. Conventionally, the heat-sterilized lid is supplied to the sealing device as it is, and when the line is slow, it cools until it is attached to the container with the sealing device, but as the line becomes faster, it does not have time to cool. It is in a state where it is mounted on the container at a high temperature. In that case, there is no problem if the container is a glass bottle, etc., but if the container is susceptible to thermal deformation such as plastic bottles, the cap will be deformed in the handling process due to the high temperature when the bottle is covered with a high temperature lid. There is a risk that the sealing performance may be impaired due to the cap temperature being changed when the line is stopped during normal operation and when the line is stopped. This phenomenon has become a major problem as the filling / sealing line speeds up.
[0005]
The present invention was devised in order to solve such problems, and can efficiently heat and sterilize the object to be processed such as a lid, and can efficiently cool the object to be processed after the heat sterilization in a short time. It is an object of the present invention to provide a heat sterilization / cooling device that can cope with high-speed sealing / filling lines.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The heat sterilization / cooling device of the present invention that solves the above-described problems has a transport path for an object to be processed such as a lid, and sprays a heating material so as to face the inner and outer surfaces of the object to be processed along the transport path. and heat sterilization unit the heating material injection means is arranged comprising the, arranged downstream of the heating sterilization unit has a conveyance path of the workpiece, the workpiece which has been heat sterilized by the heat sterilization unit clean Composed of a cooling unit that cools with a coolant, the heat sterilization unit is a turret type heat sterilization unit having a turret that receives an object to be processed in a pocket and rotationally conveys it along a jet line of high-temperature steam . The cooling unit is provided with a coolant outlet for injecting a coolant to the workpiece being transported along the transport path, the upstream side constitutes an accumulation part, and the downstream side constitutes a cooling part. The却部is characterized in that which is denser than the arrangement of the coolant ejection ports said accumulating unit.
[0007]
In the cooling unit, it is preferable that a transport path is formed in a spiral shape in the vertical direction, and a coolant jet port is disposed along the transport path to inject the coolant onto the object to be processed. As the coolant, clean air is desirable, but clean cooling water can also be used. Further, the cooling unit comprises a cooling unit subsequent to the accumulation unit, thereby adjusting the processing capabilities of the upstream heat sterilization unit and the downstream sealing device, and at least a residence required for cooling the lid. It is desirable that time can be maintained and that control can be easily performed so as not to cause cooling failure.
[0008]
Further, the heat sterilization unit is preferably a turret type heat sterilization unit having a turret for rotating and transporting an object to be processed in a pocket along a high-temperature steam jet line so that the apparatus can be miniaturized. . In order to save space, it is desirable that the heat sterilization unit be a rotary turret type and the cooling unit be a spiral type so that both are coaxially stacked vertically and stored in an integral frame.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the heat sterilization / cooling device of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. The illustrated embodiment shows an example of a lid heat sterilization / cooling device applied to a hot filling line for bottles as shown in FIG. 4, for example. The hot filling line in FIG. 4 includes a container cleaning device 101, a subsequent hot filling device 102, and a sealing device 103, and is supplied to the sealing device 103 from the lid supply device 104 through the lid sterilization device 105. . Reference numeral 106 denotes a line conveyor that connects the apparatuses, and reference numeral 107 denotes a lid transport conveyor such as a chute that transports the lid.
[0010]
The heat sterilization / cooling device of the present invention is applied to the lid sterilizer 105 in the filling line, and the lid is heat sterilized in the sealing device 103 that seals the bottle filled with the internal solution, and cooled to near room temperature. To supply. The heat sterilization / cooling device according to the present embodiment is configured by combining a turret type heat sterilization unit 1 that sterilizes a lid with steam and a helical cooling unit 2 that cools a cover sterilized with cooling air. ing.
[0011]
The turret-type heat sterilization unit 1 has a turret 11 having a pocket 12 for receiving a lid 3 supplied from a lid feeder (not shown) via a lid supply chute 10, and holds the lid 3 in the pocket 12. Then, it is structured such that it is conveyed along the heating unit 13 to the discharge port 14 that is sent out to the cooling unit 2. In FIG. 1, M is a drive motor for the turret 11, 15 is a lid introduction stopper for temporarily stopping the lid supply when necessary, such as when the lid 3 is full in the cooling unit. , 21 is a removal chute that discharges and removes things that are inappropriate to proceed to the next step, for example, when the sterilization of the lid is stopped halfway or when other inconvenience occurs. Reference numeral 27 denotes a switching gate that switches the lid discharged from the heat sterilization unit 1 to the cooling unit 2 or the removal chute 21.
[0012]
In the present embodiment, the heating unit 13 is adapted to sterilize by heating by jetting high-temperature steam from the steam pipe toward the inner surface and the outer surface of the lid, and is conveyed by the turret 11 as shown in FIG. An upper steam pipe 16 on the upper side, a lower steam pipe 17 on the lower side, and a side steam pipe 18 on the side side are supported by appropriate brackets 20 along the lid passage. A steam supply pipe 22 connected to a steam supply source is connected to the upstream side of each of the steam pipes, and a plurality of sections in the direction facing the cover transporting path of the turret are arranged in a direction toward the transporting cover. Are formed, and while the lid is transported from the inlet portion to the outlet portion by the turret 11, high-temperature steam is jetted toward the inner surface, the upper surface, and the peripheral surface of the lid body so as to cover the inner and outer surfaces of the lid body. Sterilize by heating. If the steam pipes are arranged on the lower side and the upper side of the lid conveyance path and high temperature steam is jetted toward the inner and outer surfaces of the lid body, the inner side of the lid body is not necessarily provided without the side steam pipe. Although the outer surface can be sufficiently sterilized, in the present embodiment, a side steam pipe 18 is also provided in advance so as to positively eject steam to the outer circumferential surface of the lid body.
[0013]
In FIG. 2, reference numeral 23 denotes a lower plate that supports the lid when the turret 2 transports the lid, and the steam ejected from the lower steam 17 pipe along the center of the lower plate is applied to the inner surface of the lid that is being transported. A steam passage groove is appropriately formed so as to reach. Reference numeral 24 is a lid side guide, and 25 is a lid upper guide. Reference numeral 26 denotes a turret drive shaft.
[0014]
On the other hand, the helical cooling unit 2 is disposed substantially coaxially on the lower side of the turret type heat sterilization unit 1, and is made vertical as a whole to save space. The cooling unit 2 has a cooling drum 31 extending along the center thereof, and a path 32 made of a spiral chute through which the heat-sterilized lid 3 travels is disposed around the cooling drum. A cooling air supply pipe 40 is connected to a clean air supply source via a sterilization filter 43 to the cooling drum 31 of the cooling unit 2 so that sterilized cooling air is supplied. In addition, a nozzle 33 is disposed on the surface of the lid 33 at a position facing the path 32, and aseptic cooling air is sent to the lid body 3 in which the cooling air travels along the path 32. The cooling may be performed not by cooling air but by cold water, but in many cases, cooling air is preferable. The directions of the nozzles 33 are adjusted so as to inject cooling air toward the inside of the lid body that travels along the path 32.
[0015]
The upper half of the cooling unit 2 is an accumulating part 2 ', and the lower half is a cooling part 2 ". The lid 3 rapidly drops over the accumulating part 2', and the cooling part 2 becomes dense. The cooling unit 2 ″ is therefore more densely arranged in the nozzle than the accumulating unit 2 ′. The accumulating unit 2 ′ absorbs fluctuations in the supply / discharge speed of the lid of the cooling unit 2 and the heating unit 1, and always stores a certain amount of lids in the cooling unit for a sufficient time required for cooling, The lid body cooled to substantially room temperature can be supplied to the sealing device without interruption. Although not shown, lid sensors for detecting the lid are arranged at appropriate intervals in the lid transport path of the cooling unit as will be described later. The lid 3 cooled by the cooling unit is sent from the discharge port 34 to the sealing device via an appropriate conveyor 35 such as a chute.
[0016]
Further, the cooling drum 31 is connected with a steam supply pipe 44 connected to a steam supply source for supplying steam to the heat sterilization unit 1, and the steam is periodically supplied into the drum, so that the inside of the drum is periodically The sterilized state in the drum is maintained by sterilizing. In the illustrated embodiment, the steam supply pipe 44 is connected to the cooling air supply pipe 40 via the sterilization filter 43, and supplies steam or cooling air to the cooling drum by switching and controlling the valves 45 and 46. However, the piping can be changed as appropriate. Reference numeral 37 denotes a drain pipe, which is normally closed by a valve 38.
[0017]
The heat sterilization / cooling device of this embodiment is configured as described above, and the lid supplied from the lid supply device is sterilized by spraying steam onto the inner and outer surfaces while being transported by the turret. The sterilization temperature, the heating time (turret rotation speed), and the like are determined so that the sterilization is completed, for example, by heating at a temperature of about 90 ° C. for 2 seconds or the like until the turret is supplied and discharged. The sterilized lid is supplied from the connection chute 28 to the cooling unit 2 and passes through a spiral path disposed on the outer periphery of the cooling drum 31 while rolling. In the meantime, cooling air is blown from the nozzle 33 to the lid and cooled. The spiral pitch of the path becomes smaller as it goes from the accumulation part to the cooling part, and the arrangement of the cooling nozzles becomes denser. In the cooling part, cooling air flows intensively and is intensively injected to cool it to near room temperature. Then, send it out to the sealing device.
[0018]
Although the above is a normal driving | running state, more detailed control is demonstrated by other embodiment shown in FIG. 3 which expand | deployed the spiral path | route into the linear path | route.
The sterilization / cooling device 50 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is different from that of the above-described embodiment in that the cooling unit is cooled while transporting the lid 3 through a linear transport path. The same members as those in the embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals.
[0019]
Also in this embodiment, the upper half portion of the cooling unit 51 is the accumulation portion 51 ′, and the lid 3 is cooled in the cooling portion 51 ″ substantially in the lower half portion. In this embodiment, the cooling drum Instead, a small-diameter cooling pipe 52 is disposed obliquely from upstream to downstream, and a nozzle 33 for injecting cooling air toward the inner surface of the lid that rolls along the linear conveyance path is provided on the outer periphery thereof. The nozzles are also arranged so that the accumulating part has a large pitch and the cooling part has a small pitch, as in the previous embodiment.
[0020]
Then, as a control means, along the path arranged in the cooling unit 51, lid body detection sensors are arranged at positions (1) to (6) as shown in the figure of the accumulating unit 51 ′ and the cooling unit 51 ″. The detection by the lid detection sensor determines, for example, that the lid has been stored up to this position by continuously detecting the lid for a certain period of time. Therefore, the cooling unit is supplied with the same amount of the lid as it is discharged into the sealing device, so that the cooling unit is heated and sterilized. In order to earn time until the lid body cooled to a predetermined temperature, a predetermined range of lid bodies must always be stored.
[0021]
Therefore, for example, when the lid is only up to the acceleration position {circle around (1)} of the accumulation section, the rotational speed of the turret 11 of the sterilization unit 1 is increased to increase the storage amount in the accumulation section, and the deceleration When it reaches position {circle around (2)}, it decelerates and adjusts the amount stored in the accumulation section. When the full position (3) is reached, the lid introduction stopper 15 is closed, the supply of the lid to the turret type heat sterilization unit 1 is stopped, and only the portion currently in the turret is supplied to the cooling unit. So that
[0022]
If a trouble occurs, such as a lid, the lid reaches the upper limit position (5), the lid introduction stopper 15 is closed, the rotation of the turret 11 is stopped, and the switching gate 27 is moved to the removal chute 21 side. Switch. Thereafter, the turret is operated and the lid in the turret is removed from the line. When the operation is resumed and the lid of the accumulating portion 51 'is reduced to the empty position (4), the lid introduction stopper 15 is opened by the signal and the introduction of the lid is resumed. On the other hand, if it is detected that there is only a lid to the lower limit position (6) of the cooling part 51 ″, the lid will reach the position for a short time and the cooling device will be insufficient, so the sealing device is stopped. To do.
[0023]
As described above, the turret-type heat sterilization unit and the cooling unit are integrally controlled in conjunction with each other, and the lid is always heated and cooled appropriately and supplied to the sealing device. Accordingly, it is possible to reliably prevent an accident in which a lid body having poor sterilization or poor cooling is supplied to the sealing device. Note that similar control is performed in the embodiment shown in FIG.
[0024]
Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various design changes can be made within the scope of the technical idea. For example, in the above embodiment, the lid sterilization / cooling device has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the lid, and the present invention can be applied to a similar lid-like article, for example, a cup-shaped molded container sterilization / cooling device. Applicable. The sterilizing medium in the sterilizing unit is not limited to steam, and hot water is also possible. The coolant in the cooling unit is preferably clean air, but aseptic cooling water can also be used.
[0025]
【The invention's effect】
The heat sterilization / cooling device of the present invention has a simple configuration as described above, and can be easily installed on the filling line, and reliably sterilizes the inner and outer surfaces of the object to be processed such as a lid supplied to the filling line. And can be efficiently cooled to a predetermined temperature in a short time. In addition, this cooling unit can also be used as an accumulator unit, and even when applied to a high-speed line, the lid can be cooled sufficiently, and in particular, the production line for container-packed foods such as plastic bottles that are easily deformed by heat is accelerated. Can be achieved.
[0026]
In particular, by spraying high-temperature steam on the inner and outer surfaces of the lid as a sterilizing material in the heat sterilization unit, it is possible to reliably sterilize the inner surface of the lid that is difficult to sterilize, and clean cooling air as a coolant in the lid body on the inner surface of the lid By injecting toward the container, the inner surface of the lid contacting the container can be efficiently and reliably cooled.
Further, by arranging the heat sterilization unit coaxially with the turret type and the cooling unit spirally, space can be saved and handling is easy.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an embodiment of a heat sterilization / cooling device of the present invention.
2 shows an outline of a heating / cooling unit in the apparatus of FIG. 1, wherein (a) is a plan view and (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA.
FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing another embodiment of the heat sterilization / cooling device of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing the configuration of a filling line in which the heat sterilization / cooling device of the present invention is disposed.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Turret-type heat sterilization unit 2 Spiral cooling unit 2 'Accumulation part 2 "Cooling part 3 Lid (object to be processed)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Turret 12 Pocket 13 Heating part 14 Discharge port 15 Cover body introduction stopper 16 Upper steam pipe 17 Lower steam pipe 18 Side steam pipe 19 Steam ejection hole 21 Removal chute 22 Steam supply pipe 27 Switching gate 28 Connection chute 31 Cooling drum 32 Path 33 Nozzle 34 Discharge port 35 Conveyor 37 Drain pipe 40 Cooling air supply pipe 43 Disinfection filter 50 Heat sterilization / cooling unit 51 Linear cooling unit 51 'Accumulation part 51 "Cooling part 52 Cooling pipe 101 Container cleaning device 102 Filling device 103 Sealing device 104 Lid supplying device 105 Lid sterilizing device 106 Line conveyor

Claims (2)

A heat sterilization unit having a transport path for the object to be processed such as a lid, and a heating material spraying means for spraying the heating material facing the inner and outer surfaces of the object to be processed along the transport path; The heating and sterilization unit is arranged downstream of the heating sterilization unit, has a conveyance path for the workpiece, and includes a combination with a cooling unit that cools the workpiece to be processed and sterilized by the heating and sterilization unit with a clean coolant. The sterilization unit is a turret-type heat sterilization unit having a turret that receives the object to be processed in a pocket and rotates and conveys the object along a jet line of high-temperature steam , and the cooling unit supplies a coolant to the object to be treated. The coolant outlet for injecting the coolant is disposed along the transport path, the upstream side constitutes an accumulation portion, the downstream side constitutes a cooling portion, and the cooling portion has an arrangement of the coolant outlets. rate Heat sterilization and cooling unit, characterized in that become dense than.   The heat sterilization / cooling device according to claim 2, wherein the conveying path of the cooling device is spiral in the vertical direction.

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