JPS5912538B2 - Method for manufacturing a package filled with sterile liquid - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention H5 The present invention sterilizes the inside of the enclosure with a liquid disinfectant,
Then, a sterile gas is continuously fed into this, a sterilizing agent is applied to both sides of the strip, the strip is bent to form a tube open in the longitudinal direction, and the lowest part of the longitudinal gap is A tube to be filled with a sterile liquid is inserted into the tube 30 opened from the tube, and the tube is fused first in the longitudinal direction and then laterally below the filling tube inserted into the longitudinal gap of the tube, introducing a sterile liquid into the longitudinally fused tube above the lateral fusion;
35 cutting the fused wrapper across the lateral fused portion;
The present invention relates to a method for producing a package filled with a sterile liquid from a flexible strip of at least one pressure-sealable synthetic plastic material.

The air in different parts of the enclosure is steamed under reduced pressure (up to 100%
Various methods of this type are known, in which sterilization is performed using a mixture of heated gas or heated air and steam, or a mixture of heated air and a chemical sterilizer.

Although all of these known methods are excellent Pasteur sterilization methods, the vapor phase does not completely sterilize the surfaces within the enclosure that come into contact with the sterile liquid. Therefore, it was not possible to destroy the bacterial spores. Sterilization methods that avoid the vapor phase and circulate hot water at high pressure are superior to complete sterilization of the interior of the enclosure.

In this method, the entire surface is in complete contact and the heat is distributed more evenly. The present invention is directed to a new method for producing sterile packages filled with sterile liquids. This new method can improve the disadvantages of known methods. According to the present invention, the inside of the enclosure is sterilized with hot water at a temperature of 120 to 150°C at a pressure of 3 to 5 kg/d for 10 to 40 minutes, and then the hot water is replaced with cooling water to bring the temperature inside the enclosure to room temperature. Cooling.

Next, this water is discharged, and sterile high-pressure air at a temperature of 60 to 70° C. is continuously blown into the water to dry the inside of the enclosure. Note that the flexible strip may be set in advance when sterilizing the inside of the enclosure. The interior of the enclosure is thus completely sterilized, the strip is shaped into a tube, filled with sterile liquid, and kept sterile while it is sealed, thereby ensuring complete sterility. be done.

A feature of the invention is that the valve is sterilized prior to filling the tube with sterile liquid by passing hot water through the valve.
According to another feature, both sides of the flexible strip are immersed in an aqueous solution bath of hydrogen peroxide at a concentration of 5-30% and heated to a temperature of 40-60°C, so that the disinfectant vapor becomes supersaturated. The flexible strip is sterilized by heating both sides of the strip at a temperature of 60 to 100° C. in a sterilization chamber.

A final feature of the method is the ability to sterilize pipes and valves in a disinfectant medium without removing them.

Sterilization within this enclosure is faster and more reliable and does not require any manual intervention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other characteristics and details of the invention can be learned from the description of the accompanying drawings, which are merely exemplary embodiments and represent only one form of apparatus for carrying out the method according to the invention. FIG. 1 is a reduced perspective schematic diagram of the device.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway side elevational view.

3 is a partially cut away elevational view of the front side of the apparatus of FIG. 2; FIG.

Like symbols refer to like elements in these figures.

This device is used for producing sterile packages filled with liquid sterile fluids, in particular sterile milk. The package consists of at least one synthetic plastic material which can be heat-sealed under pressure and is made from a strip of composite flexible material which is longitudinally and transversely scored in a known manner.
This composite is made by laminating the following various materials under heat.

- A polyethylene film with a ratio of 609/Trl for the back of the strip - An aluminum film with a ratio of 9 Mμ (millimicrons) or 259/I - A polyethylene film with a ratio of 209/M2 - A carton sheet of 260 g/7 TI 159/M2 polyethylene membrane The apparatus used in the method according to the invention consists of an enclosure 2 which is gas-tight and capable of withstanding pressures higher than at least 61 < g/d atmospheric pressure.

This enclosure includes a device 3 for sterilizing the flexible strip, a device 4 for longitudinally folding the strip, a device 5 for unfolding the strip folded into a longitudinally open tube, and a device 5 for displacing the tube with sterile liquid. It includes a filling tube 6 and a device 7 for longitudinally welding the tube.

The enclosure 2 also contains a liquid disinfectant, viz.
There is a device for inflowing and outflowing hot water at a temperature of 120-150° C. at a pressure of ~51<g/CIL.

The device for introducing hot water consists of a tube 6 for filling the tube with preferably sterile liquid. The filling tube 6 is provided with a liquid sterilizer for controlling the outflow amount of a liquid sterilant introduced to sterilize the enclosure 2 and for controlling an outflow amount of a sterile liquid introduced into the tube for filling the tube 1. A valve 8 is provided. A liquid sterilant is directed through the valve and tubing that fills the tube while simultaneously sterilizing the enclosure without disassembling it. At the bottom of the enclosure, there is a valve 1 for discharging the hot water after sterilization inside the enclosure.
There is a conduit 9 with 0.

During operation, it is known to fill the enclosure with sterile gas through conduit 11 in order to maintain sterile conditions. This gas, for example sterile air, escapes through a slit-like inlet passage 12 introducing the flexible strip into the enclosure and an outlet passage 13 through which the tube 1 exits the enclosure, while the enclosure is under high pressure. kept below. These passageways preferably match the cross section of the strip and the tube to be filled.

The sterile gas continuously discharged from these passages causes unsterile air to flow into the enclosure while the strips are successively introduced into the enclosure and the filled tubes are continuously evacuated. to prevent

The apparatus for sterilizing the strip on both sides comprises a sterilization bath 15, a stainless steel container 14 containing an aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution, for example with a concentration of 5 to 30%. This hydrogen peroxide is maintained at a temperature of 40-60 DEG C. by a device, not shown, such as an electrical resistor made of nichrome wire. Although not shown, a device is provided for activating the hydrogen peroxide bath. The strip introduced from passage 12 is introduced vertically into a heated hydrogen peroxide bath and is placed in a vertical, flush plane in order to apply hydrogen peroxide vapor on both sides before and after immersion into the bath. It moves on one or many parallel rolls 16 with respect to two transfer rolls 17 arranged in parallel above.

The device for sterilizing strips also includes a device for heating the strips after immersing them in the bath. The device includes an airtight sterilization chamber 19 having an inlet passage 26 and an outlet passage 29 for the strip.
It has a drum 18 inside which freely rotates on a shaft 27. The drum 18 is provided with a concentric internal jacket defining a hollow annular space 20 in which a heated fluid, such as oil, circulates. This oil is heated to a temperature of 90-95°C in a heating tank separate from the enclosure. For this purpose, it is connected to the tank by an inlet conduit 21 and an outlet conduit 22 through two concentric hollow shafts 23 and 56 arranged around the central axis 27 of the drum. These hollow shafts 2
3 and 56 are connected to the annular space of the jacket by two flexible conduits 24 and 25. Hollow shafts 23 and 56
and in order to maintain the relationship of the conduits 24 and 25, these shafts consist of fixed parts 23a and 56a mounted on the sterilization chamber and parts 23b and 56b rotating with the drum. The movable part and the fixed part are sockets 23c and 5 with joints.
6c. After being immersed in the hydrogen peroxide bath, the strip 1 is brought into close contact with the outer surface of the drum 18 via the passage 26 and by means of a roll 17 provided in the bath and a mounting roll 28 arranged parallel to the roll 17. , at least 2
700 Moves while remaining in close contact with the heating surface of the drum.

To complete the sterilization, the strip 1 after heating leaves the drum and is guided through a channel 29 by means of transfer rolls 30 to a device 4 for longitudinally folding the strip. A tube 11 introducing sterile gas into the enclosure is placed in the sterilization chamber 19 near the passage of the hydrogen peroxide-moistened strip so that this gas mixes with the residual vapor of hydrogen peroxide and dries the strip. installed at the exit.

A device 4 for folding the strip into a sheath is provided in a part of the enclosure. At its lower part, the folded strip is connected to a device for sterilizing the strip, and at its upper part, it communicates with a device for unrolling the strip. The strip is dried by the action of sterile air flowing through the sheath. 9 towards the direction of the entrance of the pod.
In order to impart a rotation of 0.00 degrees to the strip, this sheath has three guide rolls 31, 32, 33 at its bottom.

Roll 31 is 45 for rolls 30, 32 and 33
It is attached so that it can be adjusted to one angle. Rolls 32 and 33 transport the strips to a folding device located in the middle of the sheath. The folded portion of the strip is then bent approximately 900 degrees. The folding device has four rolls 3
It consists of 4, 35, 36, and 37.

The rolls 34 and 35 are located on an extension line of a distance corresponding to the unfolded portion of the strip separated by a fold line prepared in advance in the strip,
The rolls 36 and 37 are located parallel to each other and perpendicular to the horizontal plane to the free ends of the rolls 34 and 35 and the first roll and are sensitive to the thickness of the part of the strip bent vertically at that location. separated by a corresponding distance. Inside the enclosure, there is a folded part of the strip of approximately 1,800 mm at the top of the strip.
It has a pair of first rolls 38, 39 that can be bent.

The roll 39 transfers the folded strip to a pair of second rolls 4.
Transfer between 0 and 41. These are placed on the lowering step of this strip after the previous pair of rolls and before the expansion step. Rolls 38 and 40 are eccentric and are provided with manual adjustment levers 42 and 43 on the axes of the rolls. This exerts pressure on the strips on rolls 39 and 41, which rotate in opposite directions. Manual handling of the strip within the enclosure is accomplished by means of an air-tight glove located outside the enclosure in an orifice 44 in its inner wall.

This orifice is provided with a valve 45 which, under the pressure within the enclosure, creates a counterpressure and which, under the influence of the internal pressure, closes the outlet of the globe through this orifice. This valve 4
5 consists of a removable plate on the inner wall. Incidentally, shutters 46 and 47 are similarly installed in the inlet passage 12 of the strip 1 and the outlet passage 13 of the filled tube.
These are removable from the inner walls 48 and 49, respectively, and can be temporarily sealed when filled with liquid disinfectant.

The device for spreading the strip 1 into a longitudinally open tube is a pair of second rolls 4 perpendicular to the bottom surface of the enclosure.
0.41 and has a fixed separating plate 50 above the lowering stroke of the folded strip.

In the case of a strip within an enclosure, the folds of the strip are unfolded manually by means of a glove and both are placed on the plate. Then, as the strip advances, this plate unfolds the tube-shaped strip. Two crosses 51, 52 made of stainless steel with variable tension, infinite movement in the direction of tube advancement, and variable spacing spread toward the bottom and are unrolled during filling with sterile liquid. Both are attached to a plate 50, which controls the inner wall of the tube. The device for vertically welding the tubes consists of two devices located above the descending part of the strip, after the plate 50, after the filling tube 6, between a pair of rolls 40, 41 and a pair of crosses 51, 52. It consists of pressure rolls 53 and 54.

These pressure rolls fuse the longitudinal lines of the tube, closing the tube longitudinally and keeping it airtight for sterile liquids introduced into this section of the tube. A device 55 for successively transversely welding, cutting and individually packaging the tubes is provided below the inner wall 49. The packaging is then completed at the next station. Known sensing devices are also installed to control the level of sterile liquid within the tube.
Sterile heated air heats the air to a temperature of 300-350 °C over electrical resistance, with thermal uniformity and temperature of 300 °C for at least 1 second.
It is obtained by passing it over a steel metal filter to obtain a holding time of ~350°C. This sterile heated air is then passed through a water column cooler to obtain the desired temperature before being pumped into the sterile enclosure. The method according to the invention is carried out as follows.

Before introducing the strip 1 into the enclosure, the enclosure 2, the valve 8 and the filling tube 6 are continuously sterilized. First, the shutter 4
6 and 47 close the inlet passage 12 for introducing the strip into the enclosure and the outlet passage 13 for discharging the tube, thereby stopping the outflow of air from the enclosure. Then, a counterpressure plate 45 is placed on the orifice communicating with the airtight glove. 3kg/CIL~ through valve 8 and filling pipe 6
Hot water of 120-150° C. is introduced at a pressure of 5 kg/d. Continuously circulate hot water through the enclosure for 20-40 minutes. Cooled sterile water is then introduced to cool the device to ambient temperature.
Sterilized water is drained by gravity through valve 10 and via conduit 9. In order to maintain sterility within the enclosure, high pressure sterile air is continuously blown into it, maintained at a temperature of 60-70 DEG C., and is continuously evacuated through the inlet passage 12 of the strip and the outlet 13 of the tube. 40-60 in advance
The bath is filled with an aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution with a concentration of 5-30% heated to a temperature of °C. This temperature is maintained by a suitable heating device, such as an electrical resistance at the bottom of the bath. The drum 18 is heated to a temperature of 90-95 DEG C. by circulating heated oil through the annular space of the jacket. Then, using a known device (not shown), the composite strip, which has been pre-formed with narrow vertical and horizontal grooves, is passed 1 into the sterilized enclosure.
Introduced through 2. The strip is guided by rolls 16, 17 through a heated hydrogen peroxide bath, through an orifice 26, and into close contact with the heated surface of a drum 18. At this time, the inner surface of the strip is heated by the drum surface, and the outer surface is dried by radiation from the inner wall surface of the sterilization chamber. After more than 270 revolutions with the drum, the still relatively wet strip is transported by rolls 28 and 29. Next, roll 31,
32 and 33, it receives a rotational movement of 90 degrees and is directed in a certain direction. After that, it is dried, and the folding roll 34,
By the action of 35, 36 and 37, folding is performed along the longitudinal folding line. The folded strip then passes between the pairs of rolls 38, 39 and 40, 41 and reaches the descending section, where the strip passes through the plate 50.
It is expanded into a vertically open tube. It is then fused vertically between pressure rolls 53, 54 and filled with sterile liquid by means of a filling tube 6 inserted into this fused tube. The tube filled with sterile liquid is continuously discharged through orifice 13.

They are then laterally fused in a known manner, separated into individual cushions and packaged in the form of parallelepipeds at a later station. The invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiments.

Furthermore, in carrying out the invention, modifications may be made in the shape, arrangement, and arrangement of some of the intervening elements, provided that they do not depart from the scope of the invention and are consistent with each of the following claims. can.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a reduced perspective schematic diagram of an apparatus for carrying out the method of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway elevational view of the side of this apparatus, and FIG. 3 is a partial front view of the apparatus of FIG. 2. FIG. 1...band-shaped body, 2...enveloping body, 3...
... Sterilizer, 4... Device for folding the strip, 5... Device for unfolding the strip, 6...
... Sterile liquid filling tube, 7 ... Fusion device, 8 ...
... Valve, 9 ... Conduit, 10 ...
・Valve, 11... Conduit, 12... Inlet passage, 13... Outlet passage, 14...
Container, 15... Sterilization bath, 16, 17...
・Roll 18... Heating drum, 19...
... Sterilization room, 20 ... Annular space, 21, 22.
... Conduit, 23, 56 ... Hollow shaft, 24
, 25... Conduit, 26, 29... Passage, 27... Central axis, 28, 30-41...
・Roll, 42, 43...adjustment lever, 44・
... Orifice, 45 ... Valve, 46
, 47... Shutter, 48, 49... Inner wall,
50... Separation plate, 51, 52... Cross, 53, 54... Pressure roll, 55...
...Packaging equipment.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A method for manufacturing a package filled with a sterile liquid from a flexible strip made of pressure-sealable synthetic plastic material, the method comprising: a step of sterilizing the container; and a step of continuously delivering sterile gas into the enclosure;
applying a disinfectant to both sides of the flexible strip; forming a longitudinally open tube from the flexible strip;
inserting a fill tube for sterile liquid into the tube from the lowest part of this longitudinal opening, first longitudinally and then laterally below the fill tube inserted into the longitudinal opening of the tube; introducing a sterile liquid into the longitudinally fused tube above the lateral weld, and welding the tube across the lateral weld. In the method, the step of sterilizing the inside of the enclosure is performed by sterilizing the inside of the enclosure with boiling water at a pressure of 3 to 5 kg/cm^2 and a temperature of 120 to 150°C for 10 to 40 minutes. Then, the hot water is replaced with cold water to cool the inside of the enclosure to room temperature, and this water is discharged from the enclosure, and the step of introducing sterile gas is at 60-70℃
A method characterized in that the method comprises drying the interior of the enclosure by continuously blowing sterile, high-pressure air at a temperature of . 2. In the method according to item 1 above, the hot water is introduced through a valve for filling the tube with a sterile liquid, whereby the valve is sterilized before filling the tube with the sterile liquid. A method characterized by: 3. In the method described in paragraph 1 or 2 above,
The step of applying a disinfectant to both sides of the flexible strip is to immerse both sides of the flexible strip in a bath of an aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution heated to a temperature of 40 to 60°C at a concentration of 5 to 30%, and then sterilize. A method characterized by drying and sterilizing both surfaces at a temperature of 60 to 100°C in a sterilization chamber where the agent vapor is supersaturated. 4. In the method described in item 3 above, the inner surface of the flexible strip is dried by contacting with the heating surface of a drum provided in the sterilization chamber, and the outer surface is heated by radiation from the inner wall surface of the sterilization chamber. A method characterized by drying.