JPH0655612B2 - Aseptic filling and packaging equipment - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an aseptic filling and packaging apparatus for continuously filling and sealing a container such as a box-shaped pack filled with beverage food such as juice in an aseptic state. .

(Prior Art) Conventionally, in this type of aseptic filling and packaging apparatus, a container whose bottom is sealed and whose upper end is opened is prepared, which is filled with contents such as juice, and then the opening is sealed. The so-called aseptic chamber that completely encloses the entire device or part of it is used to prevent bacteria from mixing inside the container during these steps. .

(Problems to be solved by the invention) However, in the conventional aseptic chamber thus completely enclosed in the entire device or a part thereof, the device itself becomes large-scale, and the device cost becomes high.
The running cost for maintaining a sterile atmosphere also increases,
Further, when a trouble occurs on the apparatus or the container inside the aseptic chamber, the repair is extremely troublesome, and there is a problem that the entire aseptic chamber must be sterilized again.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an aseptic filling and packaging apparatus equipped with an aseptic air chamber that does not require a large scale in terms of equipment, facilitates maintenance inside the aseptic chamber, and can reduce running costs. .

Another object of the present invention is to provide an aseptic filling and packaging apparatus capable of stabilizing the flow and flow rate of the aseptic air flowing in the aseptic air chamber.

(Means for Solving the Problem) As a means for solving the above problems, the present invention is an aseptic filling and packaging apparatus for filling and packaging the contents while sequentially transporting the containers with the top of the container opened upward. A sterilization step for spraying a sterilizing medium into the container in an open state, a drying step for drying the sterilizing medium adhering to the container, and a filling step for filling the contents through the opening. Part and a sealing process part for sealing the opening are sequentially provided, and a series including at least the sterilization process part, the drying process part, the filling process part, and the sealing process part is spread over the process area. A sterile air chamber with an open lower end is provided to cover at least the upper part of the container in the transport state and each device portion located in the vicinity thereof, and the sterile air chamber is provided upstream of the sterile air chamber. Aseptic filling package, wherein positive air aseptic air is introduced into the aseptic air chamber through the air reservoir and is discharged from the open lower end of the aseptic air chamber. A device is provided.

Furthermore, the present invention, as a means for solving the above problems, in the above-mentioned aseptic filling and packaging apparatus, a partition plate for dividing the air reservoir together with the aseptic air chamber is provided.
Provided is a device characterized in that a conduit for introducing aseptic air into each of the divided air reservoirs is connected in series, and a valve for adjusting the flow rate of aseptic air is provided in each of the conduits. To do.

(Operation) According to the aseptic filling and packaging apparatus of the present invention having the above configuration,
An aseptic air chamber is attached so that it at least covers the part of the aseptic filling and packaging device that needs to be kept in a sterile atmosphere, and the lower part of this chamber is left open. Since aseptic air having a pressure is made to circulate, an aseptic atmosphere can be easily formed at low cost.

Furthermore, since the air reservoir provided in the present invention is used to store the sterile air just before it is introduced into the sterile air chamber, there is no carton sleeve on the carrier or the carton has missing teeth. It is possible to avoid the turbulence of the air flow or the backflow of aseptic air due to the turbulence of the air flow even when a dynamic change occurs. Further, the partition for separating the air reservoir and the sterile air chamber, and the valve provided in the conduit are useful for making the sterile air flow in the sterile air chamber uniform.

(Example) Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the illustrated examples.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example in which the present invention is applied to an aseptic filling and packaging apparatus for a paper container in which a continuously supplied carton sleeve is automatically formed, filled with a content liquid, and then sealed.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a carton sleeve, which is inserted into a madrel 4 of a container bottom molding machine 3 by a feeder 2 and then a bottom folded portion is formed at the position of the bottom breaker 20 which is fed back. The bottom of the container is sealed in the part 5. In this way, the carton sleeve 1 whose bottom surface is sealed has a carrier 6 that intermittently rotates from the madrel 4 with its opening facing upward.
First, the outer wall surface of the carton sleeve 1 is sterilized by the cart external sterilization steam nozzle 7.
Then, the inner wall surface of the carton sleeve 1 is sterilized by the sterilizing steam nozzle 8 inside the carton. Next, after passing through the hot air blowing section 9, hot air is applied to the inner and outer wall surfaces of the carton sleeve 1, and the sterilizing liquid is dried.
The carton sleeve 1 is then moved beneath the filling nozzle 10 so that any content, such as fruit juice, can be dispensed.
The carton sleeve 1 is filled with a certain amount. Then, the carton sleeve 1 is transferred to below the top breaker 11, where the top of the carton is bent downward, and the top of the carton is heated by the hot air blowing part 12 in the next stage, and then the top press device 13 is used. A heat seal is made on the top of the carton. Finally, heating for attaching the stopper to the top of the carton is performed by the hot air blowing unit 14, and then the stopper 16 is attached by the stopper setting unit 15 and then discharged onto the turntable.

By the way, in this aseptic filling and packaging apparatus, an aseptic air chamber 17 is attached so as to continuously include the area from the carton external sterilization steam nozzle 7 to the top press device 13, and the sterilization process of the inner wall portion of the carton sleeve 1 is performed. The carton sleeve 1 is designed not to be contaminated with bacteria from the outside until the top opening is completely sealed after filling the contents. More specifically, the sterile air chamber 17 has a substantially U-shaped cross section, and the upper surface has the steam nozzles 7 and 8, the hot air blower 9, the filling nozzle 10, the top breaker 11, the hot air blower 12, and the top press device 13.
On the other hand, the side walls of the chamber 17 along the flow of the carton sleeve 1 of the chamber 17 cover at least the upper part of the carton sleeve 1 and leave some space between the carton sleeve 1 and the side surface thereof. It is hanging. The other pair of side walls, that is, the side walls orthogonal to the flow of the carton sleeve 1 are cut out in an inverted U shape so as not to interfere with the passage of the top of the carton sleeve 1. Therefore, the aseptic chamber 17 is the carton sleeve 1 that flows in the area from the steam nozzle 7 to the top press device 13.
It only covers from above and the bottom is open.

An air reservoir 21 is connected to the upper part of one side of the aseptic chamber 17 along the carrier 6. As shown in FIG. 2, the air reservoir 21 has a box-like shape having a relatively large capacity and communicates with the aseptic chamber 17 through a narrow passage 22 over the entire length of the aseptic chamber 17, and the bottom surface is slightly inclined. It is designed to prevent water etc. from accumulating inside during cleaning operations. A pair of conduits 23a and 23b are erected on the upper surface of the air reservoir 21 so as to be spaced apart from each other and communicate with the air reservoir 21, respectively. That is, the air reservoir 21 is, as shown in FIG.
Together with the partition plate 24, they are divided at their intermediate portions into two chambers, 21a, 21b, 17a and 17b, respectively, and conduits 23a and 23 are provided at the substantially center of these chambers.
b is installed in a row.

Plate-shaped valves 25a and 25b are provided at substantially intermediate portions of these conduits 23a and 23b through a rotary shaft 26 so as to be rotatable by 0 to 90 degrees. This valve 25a, 2
5b can independently control the flow rates of aseptic air introduced into the air reservoirs 21a and 21b. The valves 25a and 25b can be opened and closed by, for example, the module motor 27. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the upper portions of the conduits 23a and 23b are in communication with another conduit 18, through which sterile air is introduced into the conduits 23a and 23b. Aseptic air then passes through conduit 18 to conduit 2
3a and 23b, and then to the air reservoirs 21a and 21b through the valves 25a and 25b. Here, the sterile air kept under a constant positive pressure is guided to the upper portion of the sterile air chamber 17 through the passage 22, and then discharged from the lower opening portion to the outside of the apparatus. Such a sterile air flow can completely prevent bacteria from entering the sterile air chamber 17 from the outside.

A carrier sterilizing spray nozzle 19 is provided at an appropriate position in the rotation passage of the carrier 6 for preventing the carrier 6 from being contaminated by the scattering of the contents to be filled and the like.
A sterilizing solution such as an aqueous solution of hypochlorous acid is constantly sprayed onto the carrier 6. Similarly, the base portion of the entire apparatus is always rinsed with sterile water containing a bactericide. Cleaning and sterilization of the internal structure of the aseptic air chamber 17 are carried out by a spray bowl (not shown) provided at the main part of the chamber 17.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing each step in the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the mouth plug setting and mouth welding steps are carried out by a sterilizing steam carton outside. It may be brought before the sterilization step.

(Effect of the Invention) According to the aseptic filling and packaging apparatus of the present invention, since the contents (filling material) are completely filled in a container such as a carton in an aseptic state, the entire apparatus is completely kept in a sterile chamber as in the prior art. Since it is only necessary to partially cover the necessary parts of the device instead of surrounding it, it is possible to significantly reduce the equipment cost.
In addition, maintenance inside the open chamber becomes easy.
In addition, equipment parts that often cause troubles, such as the bottom molding part, spout seal part, and carton transfer part, are not covered by the sterile air chamber, so troubles can be quickly recovered, and therefore the operation rate of the device can be improved. Can be increased.

Further, in the present invention, since the air reservoir is provided on the upstream side of the sterile air chamber, the sterile air to be introduced into the sterile air chamber is once maintained at a constant pressure in the air reservoir, and then the sterile air chamber. Since there is no carton sleeve on the carrier at all, or even if there is some external change such as carton missing teeth, the turbulence of the air flow in the sterile air chamber, a remarkable flow rate Phenomena such as change and backflow can be avoided in advance.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, the air reservoir and the sterile air chamber are divided into two or more, and the conduits with valves are connected to each of them, so that it is possible to make the sterile air flow in the sterile air chamber uniform. For example, at the start of operation, if there is a carton sleeve in only one of the aseptic air chambers and no carton sleeve in the other chamber, adjusting this valve prevents a large amount of aseptic air from flowing into the other chamber. It becomes possible to do. Therefore, it is possible to maintain a stable sterile condition in the sterile air chamber.

In addition, aseptic air is simply passed through the aseptic air chamber of the present invention, and it is not necessary to use a drug, so there is no fear of adverse effects on the environment around the device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a main part of an aseptic filling and packaging apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an aseptic air supply device such as an air reservoir for an aseptic air chamber part from the aseptic filling and packaging apparatus. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken out together with FIG. 3, and FIG. 3 is III-III in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line, and FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing steps in the case of using the aseptic filling and packaging apparatus. In the figure, 1 ... Carton sleeve, 2 ... Feeder, 3 ...
… Container bottom molding machine, 4 …… Mandrel, 5 …… Bottom press, 6 …… Carrier, 7 …… Carton external sterilization steam nozzle, 8 …… Carton internal sterilization steam nozzle,
9 ... Hot air blowing part, 10 ... filling nozzle, 11 ...
Top breaker, 12 ... hot air blowing part, 13 ... top press device, 14 ... hot air blowing part, 15 ... spout setting part, 16 ... spout, 17 ... aseptic air chamber, 18 ... conduit, 19: Carrier sterilization spray nozzle, 21: Air reservoir, 22: Passage, 23 (23
a, 23b) ... conduit, 24 ... partition plate, 25a, 2
5b ... Valve.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An aseptic filling and packaging apparatus for filling and packaging contents while sequentially transporting a container with the top of the container opened upward, wherein a sterile medium is sprayed on the container in the opened state. A sterilization process unit, a drying process unit for drying the sterilizing medium attached to the container, a filling process unit for filling the contents through the opening, and a sealing process unit for sealing the opening. In a series, at least the sterilization process section, a drying process section, a filling process section, and a series including a sealing process section over a process area,
Provide a sterile air chamber with an open lower end that covers at least the upper part of the container in the transport state and each device portion located in the vicinity thereof, and connect an air reservoir of sterile air to the upstream side of the sterile air chamber, and positive pressure. The aseptic filling and packaging apparatus, wherein the aseptic air of 1. is introduced into the aseptic air chamber through the air reservoir and is discharged from the opened lower end of the aseptic air chamber. 2. A partition plate for dividing the air reservoir together with a sterile air chamber into a plurality of compartments is provided, and a conduit for introducing aseptic air into each of the partitioned air reservoirs is connected in series, and each of the conduits is provided. The aseptic filling and packaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a valve for adjusting the flow rate of aseptic air is provided.