JP5789978B2 - Hollow body sterilization method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a hollow body sterilization how to sterilize bottles and inner surface of the preform in the sterilizing heating fluid.

  Conventionally, when filling a bottle made of plastic such as PET (polyethylene terephthalate) with a liquid content, a sterilizing heating liquid such as hot water is sprayed into the bottle in advance to sterilize the bottle.

  As a method of injecting hot water into the bottle, the bottle is reversed and a cylindrical nozzle is inserted from the mouth facing downward, and hot water is injected into the bottle from the tip of the nozzle. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  In addition, a double pipe nozzle is inserted into the inverted bottle from the mouth, hot water is injected from the inner cylinder of the nozzle into the bottle, and pressurized air is injected from the outer cylinder into the bottle. It has been broken. The bottle is sterilized while keeping the inside of the bottle at a positive pressure with pressurized air so that the bottle does not shrink due to hot water (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

JP-A-9-124010 International Publication No. WO2007 / 015586

  The former method of sterilizing the inside of the bottle by inserting the cylindrical nozzle into the bottle is, for example, when the bottle is made by blow molding, the hot water is in contact with the bottle body and the temperature is lowered. Since it comes into contact with the mouth portion, the mouth portion may be insufficiently sterilized. This is because the mouth of the blow-molded bottle is thicker than the body and is difficult to raise the temperature.

  In order to sufficiently sterilize the mouth, hot water as high as possible should be supplied. However, if the hot water is too hot, the thin-walled body of the bottle may be deformed by heat shrinkage. In particular, when the bottle is made of a non-heat resistant plastic such as PET, the possibility of deformation is high.

  In addition, it is conceivable to supply hot water having a relatively low temperature for a long time, but in this case, the productivity of the bottled product is lowered.

  In the latter method using a double tube nozzle, the hot air is prevented from contacting the bottle wall by the injection of pressurized air, and sterilization may be insufficient. For that purpose, it is sufficient to sterilize over time, but in this case, there is a problem that productivity is lowered. Moreover, since hot water and pressurized air must be prepared, there is a problem that the production cost of bottled products increases.

  This invention makes it a subject to eliminate the above problems.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention employs the following configuration.

  In addition, in order to make this invention easy to understand, a reference code is attached in parentheses, but the present invention is not limited thereby.

  That is, the invention according to claim 1 turns the hollow body (1) into an inverted state and supplies the sterilizing heating liquid (a) from the first channel located at the central axis of the mouth portion (4) that faces downward. While spraying into the hollow body (1) to sterilize the inside of the hollow body (1), another sterilizing heating liquid (b) is supplied from the second channel surrounding the first channel to the mouth (4 ), The sterilizing heating liquid (b) sprayed from the second flow path is inverted in the mouth (4) and sprayed from the first flow path into the hollow body (1). A hollow body sterilization method is employed in which the mouth part (4) is sterilized while being joined to the sterilizing heating liquid (a) and flowing outside the hollow body (1) along the inner surface of the mouth part (4).

  As described in claim 2, in the hollow body sterilization method according to claim 1, sprayed from the second flow path rather than the temperature of the sterilizing heating liquid (a) sprayed from the first flow path. It is also possible to increase the temperature of the sterilizing heating liquid (b).

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the hollow body sterilization method according to the first aspect, after the sterilizing heating liquid is ejected from the first flow path, aseptic air is discharged from the first flow path into the hollow body. It is also possible to inject.

  According to the present invention, the hollow body (1) is turned upside down, and the sterilizing heating liquid (a) is supplied from the first flow path located at the center axis of the mouth part (4) facing downward to the hollow body (1 ) And sterilizing the inside of the hollow body (1), and another sterilizing heating liquid (b) is injected into the mouth (4) from the second channel surrounding the first channel. The sterilizing heating liquid (b) sprayed from the second flow path is inverted in the mouth (4) and sprayed from the first flow path into the hollow body (1). Since it is a hollow body sterilization method of sterilizing the mouth part (4) while flowing outside the hollow body (1) along the inner surface of the mouth part (4) by joining with (a), the hollow body (1) The relatively thin body (3) can be sterilized in a short time without causing thermal contraction by the sterilizing heating liquid (a) from the first flow path, and the hollow body (1) is relatively thick. Mouth that is meat (4) can be properly sterilized warmed in a short time by sterilization heating fluid from the second flow path (b). In addition, the sterilizing heating liquid (a) from the first flow path and the sterilizing heating liquid (b) from the second flow path can use the same type of hot water, leading to an increase in cost. Nor.

  Further, in the present invention, when the sterilizing heating liquid is injected from the first flow path and then aseptic air is injected from the first flow path into the hollow body, the sterilizing heating liquid is discharged from the container. It becomes possible to discharge quickly, and the time of a sterilization process can be shortened.

It is a front view which shows the bottle in sterilization by the sterilization method which concerns on this invention. It is an expanded sectional view of the principal part in FIG.

  The form for implementing this invention is demonstrated below.

  In FIG. 1, the code | symbol 1 shows the bottle which is a hollow body of the sterilization object, and the code | symbol 2 shows the nozzle for sterilization.

  The bottle 1 is a plastic bottle, and in this embodiment is made of PET. Of course, the bottle 1 is not limited to PET, but may be made of other plastics such as polypropylene and polyethylene.

  The bottle 1 is obtained by blow-molding a heated preform (not shown). The molded bottle 1 includes a relatively thin barrel 3 for storing contents such as beverages, and a relatively thick mouth 4 for putting the contents in and out of the barrel 3.

  The thick mouth 4 is formed with a male screw 4a that is screwed with a female screw of a cap (not shown), and a support ring 4b that is gripped by the gripper 5 when the bottle 1 is held and transported.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the sterilizing nozzle 2 has inner and outer double injection cylinders 6 and 7. This nozzle 2 can enter the bottle 1 in an inverted state from its mouth 4, and the sterilizing heating liquids a and b flow out between the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle 2 and the inner peripheral surface of the mouth 4. The size is such that the path 8 is formed.

  The inner injection cylinder 6 is formed as an elongated cylindrical body, and a central cavity is a first flow path that is a flow path for the sterilizing heating liquid a. When the inner injection cylinder 6 enters the bottle 1 from the mouth portion 4 of the bottle 1, the opening at the tip thereof becomes the discharge port 6 a for injecting the sterilizing heating liquid a into the bottle 1.

  The sterilizing heating liquid a sprayed from the inner spray cylinder 6 contacts the inner surface of the body portion 3 of the bottle 1 and heats the inner surface of the body portion 3 to sterilize. Then, the sterilizing heating liquid a flows down to the mouth 4 of the bottle 1 while the body 3 of the bottle 1 is deprived of heat.

  The outer injection cylinder 7 is formed as a cylindrical body surrounding the inner injection cylinder 6 from its outer periphery, and an annular gap formed between the outer injection cylinder 6 and the inner injection cylinder 6 is a second flow path that is a flow path for the sterilizing heating liquid b. It is assumed to be a road. When the outer injection cylinder 7 enters the mouth portion 4 of the bottle 1, the annular opening at the tip thereof becomes a discharge port 7 a for injecting the bactericidal heating liquid b into the mouth portion 4 of the bottle 1.

  In front of the discharge port 7 a of the outer injection cylinder 7, a reversing unit 9 that reverses the sterilizing heating liquid b discharged from the discharge port 7 a of the outer injection cylinder 7 in the mouth 4 of the bottle 1 is provided.

  The reversing part 9 is formed, for example, as a hook-shaped protrusion and is fixed to the outer surface of the inner injection cylinder 6. The bowl-shaped protrusion is provided so that a passage 10 for the sterilizing heating liquid a flowing down from the body 3 side of the bottle 1 is formed between the inner surface of the bottle 1.

  The sterilizing heating liquid b discharged from the outer injection cylinder 7 in the mouth part 4 of the bottle 1 collides with the reversing part 9 and is reversed toward the opening of the mouth part 4. The sterilizing heating liquid b reversed by the reversing unit 9 and the sterilizing heating liquid a discharged from the inner spray cylinder 6 into the bottle 1 are joined together to form the inner peripheral surface of the mouth 4 of the bottle 1. And out of the bottle 1 from the outflow path 8 between the outer peripheral surface of the outer injection cylinder 7.

  The sterilizing heating liquid b reversed by the reversing unit 9 comes into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the mouth part 4 of the bottle 1 immediately after being ejected from the discharge port 7a of the outer injection cylinder 7, and heats the inner peripheral surface of the mouth part 4. And sterilize. The heating liquid b for sterilization is deprived of heat while sterilizing the mouth part 4 of the bottle 1 and flows down from the body part 3 side. Moreover, it merges with the heating liquid a for sterilization and flows out of the bottle 1 from the mouth 4 of the bottle 1.

  The sterilizing heating liquids a and b discharged from the inner spray cylinder 6 and the outer spray cylinder 7 are both sterilized hot water. Both hot waters may be at the same temperature, but the hot water discharged from the inner jet cylinder 6 hits the thin barrel 3 so that it does not cause thermal contraction to the barrel 3, for example, relatively at a temperature of 70 ° C. The hot water discharged from the outer injection cylinder 7 can be set to a relatively high temperature such as 80 ° C. in order to heat and sterilize the thick-walled mouth 4 as quickly as possible.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, pipes 11 and 12 for supplying heating liquids a and b for sterilization are connected to the inner injection cylinder 6 and the outer injection cylinder 7 respectively, and flow control valves 13 and 14 are provided. It is provided in each pipeline 11, 12.

  Further, a switching valve 15 is provided in the pipe line 11, and a pipe line 16 serving as a flow path for aseptic air branches therefrom. After the sterilizing heating water is injected into the bottle 1 from the inner injection cylinder 6, when the pipe 11 is switched to the pipe 16 by the switching valve 15, aseptic air is injected from the inner injection cylinder 6 into the bottle 1. Is done. Thereby, the heating water for sterilization and the chemical | medical solution for sterilization will be discharged | emitted rapidly from the inside of the bottle 1, and the time of a sterilization process is shortened.

  Next, a method for sterilizing the bottle 1 using the sterilizing nozzle 2 will be described.

  (1) The bottle 1 is prepared by blow molding in advance, and the mouth 4 is gripped by the gripper 5 as shown in FIG.

  (2) As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the bottle sterilizing nozzle 2 is inserted into the bottle 1 by a predetermined length from the mouth part 4 that is directed downward, and the discharge port 6 a of the inner injection cylinder 6 is The bottle 1 stops at a position near the mouth portion 4 in the body portion 3 of the bottle 1, and the discharge port 7 a of the outer injection cylinder 7 stops in the mouth portion 4 of the bottle 1.

  (3) As shown in FIG. 2, the sterilizing heating liquids a and b are respectively supplied to the first flow path in the inner injection cylinder 6 and the second flow path in the outer injection cylinder 7, and both discharge ports The sterilizing heating liquids a and b are simultaneously discharged from 6a and 7a.

  The sterilizing heating liquid a discharged from the discharge port 6a of the inner injection cylinder 6 contacts the inner surface of the barrel portion 3 of the bottle 1, and heats and sterilizes the inner surface of the barrel portion 3 along the inner surface of the barrel portion 3. Then flows down to the mouth 4. Further, the inner surface of the body portion 3 is washed simultaneously while flowing down.

  The sterilizing heating liquid b discharged from the discharge port 7a of the outer injection cylinder 7 into the mouth part 4 of the bottle 1 hits the reversing part 9 and flows back through the mouth part 4 of the bottle 1 toward the opening side.

  The sterilizing heating liquid b that flows backward merges with the sterilizing heating liquid a injected into the body portion 3 of the bottle 1 and flows down along the inner surface of the mouth portion 4 of the bottle 1 while flowing down the inner surface of the mouth portion 4. Sterilize. At the same time, the inner surface of the mouth 4 is cleaned.

  (4) The sterilizing heating liquid a is discharged from the discharge port 6 a of the inner spray cylinder 6, and the sterilizing heating liquid b is sprayed from the outer spray cylinder 7 to sterilize the inner surface of the bottle 1 and the inner surface of the mouth 4. When the air travels to some extent, the conduit 11 is switched to the conduit 16 and aseptic air is injected into the bottle 1 from the inner injection cylinder 6. Due to the pressure increase in the bottle 1 by the aseptic air, the used sterilizing heating water a and b are quickly discharged out of the bottle 1.

  (5) After all of the sterilizing heating liquids a and b sprayed into the bottle 1 are discharged out of the bottle 1, the bottle 1 is returned to an upright state and subjected to other processing if necessary. After that, contents such as beverages are filled. Then, a cap is put on the mouth 4 of the bottle 1, and the bottle 1 is sealed by screwing of male and female screws.

  The present invention can be implemented in various forms without being limited to the above-described embodiments. For example, a bottle that is a hollow body to which the present invention is applied is not limited to PET, and can be applied to bottles made of various materials. The hollow body to which the present invention can be applied may be a preform that is a preformed product before being formed into a bottle. The heating liquid for sterilization is not limited to hot water, and may be a sterilizing agent such as peracetic acid, hydrogen peroxide, alkali, ozone water, hypochlorous acid water, or acidic water.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Bottle 2 ... Nozzle for sterilization 4 ... Mouth part 6 ... Inner injection cylinder 7 ... Outer injection cylinder 6a, 7a ... Discharge port 9 ... Reversing part a, b ... Heating liquid for sterilization

Claims (3)

  Inverting the hollow body and sterilizing the hollow body by injecting a sterilizing heating liquid into the hollow body from the first flow path located on the center axis of the mouth facing downward, the first flow path The other sterilizing heating liquid is injected into the mouth from the second flow path surrounding the sterilizing liquid, and the sterilizing heating liquid sprayed from the second flow path is reversed in the mouth, from the first flow path. A hollow body sterilization method comprising: sterilizing a mouth portion while merging with a heating liquid for sterilization injected into the hollow body and flowing along the inner surface of the mouth portion to the outside of the hollow body.   The hollow body sterilization method according to claim 1, wherein the temperature of the sterilizing heating liquid sprayed from the second flow path is set higher than the temperature of the sterilizing heating liquid sprayed from the first flow path. A hollow body sterilization method characterized by the above. 2. The hollow body sterilization method according to claim 1, wherein after the sterilizing heating liquid is sprayed from the first flow path, aseptic air is sprayed from the first flow path into the hollow body. Sterilization method.

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