JPH07110659B2 - Sterilizer - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a sterilizing apparatus for sterilizing a tubular blank such as a paper bell container for storing milk or juice called a Gobeltop type.

[Prior Art] FIG. 7 shows a Gobel-top type paper container 1. In the case of manufacturing this container 1, after sterilizing a cylindrical blank 4 having a fixed length with both ends opened, the bottom portion 2 is formed into a flat bottom shape through heating, temporary folding, and sealing steps. After this, the required beverage is filled, the upper part 3 is formed into a gable shape as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, and the container 1 is completed.

The sterilization process of this container is generally performed by spraying a sterilizing solution on the inner and outer peripheral surfaces of the open blank and drying with hot air. Further, it is also practiced to mold the bottom of the blank into a flat bottom shape, spray a sterilizing solution on a transport chain, and dry with hot air.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in sterilization by spraying a sterilizing solution, the spraying of the sterilizing solution may be non-uniform or the amount of spray may be insufficient, in which case sterilization failure may occur. . On the other hand, if the entire blank is immersed in the sterilizing solution, the fear of sterilization failure is eliminated, but the subsequent removal of the sterilizing agent by hot air drying is not easy and a very large space is required.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a sterilizer that can completely sterilize a blank and efficiently remove a bactericide from the blank.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The sterilizing apparatus according to the present invention holds a hollow beverage container blank having both ends open in the lateral direction, and rotates intermittently to sequentially dispose in a sterilizing agent tank arranged below. A disinfectant tank circulation device to be dipped and a plurality of mandrels for receiving a blank from this disinfectant tank circulation device are radially arranged, and the carrier path of the disinfectant tank circulation device for moving the blank upward from the disinfectant tank is included. A transfer device that rotates in-plane in synchronism with this sterilizing agent tank circulation device and transfers a blank that has passed through the sterilizing agent tank, and a hot air drying device that receives the blank from this transferring device and dry-removes the sterilizing agent The hot-air drying device has a blank circulation device that holds a blank in a horizontal direction and circulates the blank vertically, and a hot-air ejection device having a plurality of hot-air ejection nozzles arranged along a running surface of the blank circulation device. To do.

At the tip of the mandrel, it is preferable to form an outward nozzle that blows sterile air to the inner surface of the blank to remove the sterilizing agent.

Further, a disinfectant removing device having an inward nozzle for blowing sterile air to the outer peripheral surface of the blank is provided at least between the transfer device and the disinfectant tank circulation device and between the transfer device and the hot air drying device. It is preferable to install it.

[Operation] According to the sterilizer of the present invention, the hollow blank is entirely sterilized by being immersed in the sterilizer tank by the sterilizer tank circulating device. The blank immersed in the germicide tank is transferred to the hot air drying device by the transfer device. In this hot-air drying device, the sterilizing agent is dried and removed by hot air ejected from the hot-air ejection nozzles of the hot-air ejection device arranged along this running surface while being circulated in the vertical direction by the blank circulation device.

If sterile air is blown on the inner and outer surfaces of the blank by the inward and outward nozzles in advance, the sterilizing agent of the blank is quickly and completely removed by hot air.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[Embodiment] FIG. 1 shows a sterilizing apparatus 5 according to an embodiment of the present invention. This sterilizing apparatus is used, for example, in an aseptic filling and packaging machine for filling and packaging the Goebel top type container 1 shown in FIG. .

The sterilization apparatus 5 has a sterilization chamber 6, to which a hollow prismatic blank 4 is supplied from an inlet portion 5a on the right side of the figure through an appropriate paper feeding mechanism, and the sterilized blank 4 is Is sent to the next process from the outlet 5b. Inside the aseptic chamber 6, for example, a sterilizing agent tank 7 containing hydrogen peroxide solution and a sterilizing agent tank circulating device 9 are provided.

The disinfectant tank circulation device 9 is formed, for example, in a chain shape in which a plurality of link plates are connected endlessly, and a holding member for holding the hollow blank in a horizontal direction at predetermined intervals is attached to the outside thereof. When the blank 4 is intermittently rotated by an appropriate sprocket provided on the upper side of the germicide tank 7, the blank 4 is sequentially immersed in the germicide tank 7 and pulled up from this germicide tank. The blank 4 is completely sterilized because it is immersed in the sterilizing agent tank 7 with both ends in the horizontal direction open.

The blank 4 pulled up from the disinfectant tank 7 is sent to the transfer device 10 side by an appropriate carry-out mechanism while the disinfectant tank circulation device 9 is stopped, and is arranged radially around the transfer device 10. The mandrel 15 is installed in sequence. The blank 4 is mounted from the tip portion 15a of the mandrel along four guide rails 16 arranged on the periphery of each mandrel 15.

The transfer device 10 rotates intermittently in synchronization with the disinfectant tank circulation device within a plane including the transfer path of the disinfectant tank circulation device 9,
In the stopped state, the mandrel 15 arranged on the sterilizer tank circulation device side is arranged at a position slightly inclined downward from the horizontal axis. Therefore, the bactericide attached to the blank 4 does not fall by gravity and does not collect inside. The inclination angle of the mandrel is preferably about 5 ° so that the disinfectant can be easily dropped and the mandrel can be smoothly attached.

As shown in FIG. 2, when the sterilizing agent tank circulating device 9 is mounted on the mandrel 15 of the transfer device, the sterilizing agent is removed from the outer peripheral surface of the blank 4 by the sterilizing agent removing device 20, and the inner peripheral surface is sterilized. The agent is removed by the mandrel tip 15a.

That is, the blank 4 is horizontally taken out from the sterilizer tank circulating device by an appropriate carrying-out mechanism and mounted on the mandrel 15. This carry-out mechanism may be, for example, one in which locking claws 31 are attached to the chain 30 at regular intervals, one end of the blank is locked by this locking claw, and the blank is conveyed by movement of the chain. In this case, the locking claw 31 is retracted by a certain distance after the blank is conveyed so as not to interfere with the blank.

The mandrel 15 to which the blank 4 is attached has its tip
At 15a, the bactericide attached to the inner peripheral surface of the blank 4 is removed. In order to remove the disinfectant more efficiently, the tip portion 15a of the mandrel 15 is formed to correspond to the inner diameter of the blank 4, and the tip portion 15a is provided with four outward facing nozzles 17 that open to the outer peripheral surface. . The outward nozzle 17 is formed so as to be inclined in the tip direction, and aseptic air is blown in the direction opposite to the traveling direction of the blank 4 to blow off the germicide. The sterile air ejected from the outward nozzle 17 can be supplied to a mandrel at a required position, that is, the outward nozzle through an appropriate distribution mechanism.

A disinfectant removing device 20 for removing the disinfectant adhering to the outer peripheral surface of the blank 4 is provided between the disinfectant tank circulation device and the transfer device 10, that is, adjacent to the tip of the mandrel 15.

The disinfectant removing device 20 has a U-shaped nozzle frame 22 and a rod-shaped nozzle frame 26, and these nozzle flares 22 and 26 are fixed to a machine frame or a rear wall via supporting members 21 and 25, respectively. Has been done. Since the nozzle frame 22 is formed in a U-shape, the chain 30 and the locking claws 31 can freely move through the opening, which does not hinder the carry-out mechanism.

Inward nozzles 23 for ejecting aseptic air toward the outer peripheral surface of the blank 4 are provided on the three inner surfaces of the nozzle frame 22, and a similar inward nozzle 27 is provided at the tip surface of the nozzle frame 26.
Is provided. These inward nozzles 23, 27 are formed to be inclined, and aseptic air is jetted in the direction opposite to the traveling direction of the blank 4 to remove the sterilizing agent, and the blank is smoothly transferred by this air. be able to. The air ejected from the inward nozzle is supplied through the air passages in the support members 21 and 25 during the passage of the blank 4.

Although the nozzle frames 22 and 26 are formed separately in this embodiment, they may be integrated according to the shape of the blank 4. In addition, the disinfectant removal device 20 may be provided between the transfer device 10 and a blank circulation device 11 described later, instead of being provided between the transfer device 10 and the disinfectant tank circulation device 9, and In order to make the removal of the bactericide more complete, it is arranged both between the transfer device 10 and the bactericide tank circulation device and between the transfer device 10 and the blank circulation device 11 as shown in FIG. May be.

By this transfer device 10, the blank 4 is transferred to the hot air drying device arranged on the left side of FIG. This hot-air drying device is circulated in the hot-air drying tank 8 by a blank circulation device 11 similar to the germicide tank circulation device 9 and dried with hot air ejected from the hot-air ejection device 12.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the hot air jetting device 12 jets hot air into the aseptic chamber 6 through the partition wall 34 on the side of the outlet portion 5b, and the hot air jetting device 12 laterally crosses the blank circulating device 11 which vertically circulates. Hot air is blown to the held blank 4. This hot air jetting device 12 has a large-diameter hot air supply pipe 37 formed in a J shape by a long pipe portion 35 and a short pipe portion 36 whose bottoms are connected to each other, and the long pipe portion 35 supplies an appropriate hot air. Connected to the source, the upper end of the short pipe portion 36 communicates with the middle of the long pipe portion 35. In this long pipe part 35, a hot air jet nozzle is provided along the upper traveling surface of the blank circulation device 11.
39 is attached, and a hot air jet nozzle 39 is also attached to the short pipe portion 36 along the lower traveling surface. The tips of these nozzles 39 project into the aseptic chamber through openings formed in the partition wall 34 and are arranged adjacent to the ends of the blank 4 held by the blank circulation device 11. The opening of the partition wall 34 through which the hot air jet nozzle 39 penetrates is sealed by a seal member 45.

As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the hot air jet nozzle 39 is formed in a hollow tubular shape, and is provided inside the distal end portion attached to the long pipe portion and the short pipe portion via the attachment portion 39a. And a control valve 40. This control valve is screwed into a screw 41 fixed in the tip portion through a support member 42, and moves back and forth along the screw 41 to adjust the spread or flow of hot air.

When hot air is supplied to the supply pipe 37 from an appropriate hot air supply source,
Hot air is supplied from the long pipe portion 35 and the short pipe portion 36 to each hot air jet nozzle 39. The blank 4 circulated in the vertical direction by the blank circulation device 11 is blown with hot air on the inner peripheral surface and the outer peripheral surface,
The bactericide is removed by drying. In this case, since the upper end of the short pipe portion 36 is communicated with the middle of the long pipe portion 35, each nozzle
The pressure difference of the hot air blown from 39 is small. Further, the spread angle or the flow of the hot air from the hot air jet nozzle 39 is adjusted by the adjusting valve 40 according to the size of the blank 4 or the interval held by the circulating device.

From the hot-air drying device, a carry-out mechanism similar to the carry-out mechanism provided between the sterilization tank circulation device 9 and the transfer device 10 carries the product to the next step from the outlet 5b.

According to the sterilizing apparatus of the above-mentioned embodiment, the blank 4 which has passed through the sterilizing agent tank 7 by the sterilizing tank circulating device 9 is sent out toward the transfer device 10 by the carry-out mechanism at the stop position. While the blank 4 passes through the disinfectant removing device 20, the disinfectant on the outer peripheral surface of the blank 4 is removed by the sterile air ejected from the outward nozzles 23 and 27.

Transfer device 10 that rotates intermittently in synchronization with the sterilization tank circulation device 10
When the blank 4 is mounted on the mandrel 15, the sterile air from the outward nozzle 17 of the tip portion 15a is blown to the inner surface, and the sterilizing agent on the inner surface of the blank is removed. Since the mandrel 17 is inclined downward about 5 ° with respect to the horizontal axis, the mandrel 17 is smoothly inserted and the germicide is completely removed by the action of gravity as well as the action of sterile air.

After the blank 4 is completely inserted on the mandrel 17, the transfer device 10 is further rotated, transferred to the blank circulation device 11 and rotated in the drying tank 8.

In the drying tank 8, the hot air jet nozzle 39 of the short pipe portion 36 along the downward traveling surface and the hot air from the hot air jet nozzle 39 of the long pipe portion 35 along the upward traveling surface cause the blank 4 to circulate inside during circulation. The surface and the outer peripheral surface are dried with hot air.

Since the inner peripheral surface and the outer peripheral surface of the blank 4 have the sterilizing agent previously removed by sterile air, they are rapidly dried by the hot air from the hot air blowing device 12. As a result, the sterilizing agent such as hydrogen peroxide solution is completely removed, and the drink can be filled.

[Effect] As is apparent from the above, according to the present invention, the entire blank can be completely sterilized by being immersed in the sterilizing agent tank, and when mounted on the mandrel of the intermittently rotating transfer device and when unloading from the mandrel. In at least one case, the sterilizing agent is removed and further dried with hot air while circulating in the vertical direction, so that the sterilization can be efficiently performed and the sterilization apparatus as a whole can be made compact. Further, the sterilizing agent removing device smoothly transfers the blank from the sterilizing agent tank circulating device to the transferring device or from the transferring device to the hot air drying device, and there is no possibility of damaging the blank.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing an entire sterilizing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a state in which a blank is mounted on a mandrel of a transfer device, and FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory view taken along the line III-III of FIG. 4, FIG. 4 is an explanatory view as seen from the direction of line IV-IV of FIG. 3, and FIG. FIG. 6 is an explanatory view taken along the line VI-VI in FIG.
7 to 9 show a beverage container to be sterilized by the sterilizing apparatus of this embodiment, FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a completed state, FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the upper part of the blank, and FIG. It is a perspective view of the upper part of the bent state. 1 ... Beverage container, 4 ... Blank, 5 ... Sterilizer, 6
... Aseptic chamber, 7 ... Sterilizer tank, 8 ... Drying tank, 9
…… Disinfectant tank circulation device, 10 …… Transfer device, 11 …… Blank circulation device, 15 …… Mandrel, 17 …… Outward nozzle, 20
…… Sterilizer removal device, 23,27 …… Inward nozzle, 35 …… Long pipe part, 36 …… Short pipe part, 38 …… Connection pipe part, 39 …… Hot air jet nozzle, 40 …… Control valve.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Jun Yuzawa 1-5-1 Taito, Taito-ku, Tokyo Toppan Printing Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Masaaki Takada 1-5-1 Taito, Taito-ku, Tokyo Toppan In Printing Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Kiichiro Okano 1-5-1 Taito, Taito-ku, Tokyo Toppan Printing Co., Ltd. (56) Reference JP-A-63-67229 (JP, A) JP-A-62- 260636 (JP, A) JP 62-7049 (JP, B2)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A sterilizing agent tank circulating device for holding horizontally a hollow beverage container blank having both ends opened, and intermittently rotating it to successively immerse it in a sterilizing agent tank disposed below, and this sterilization. A plurality of mandrels for receiving a blank from the chemical tank circulating device are radially arranged, and the blanks are moved upward from the inside of the germicidal tank in synchronization with the germicidal tank circulating apparatus in a plane including a conveying path of the germicide tank circulating apparatus. It is rotated, and is equipped with a transfer device for transferring the blank that has passed through the sterilizing agent tank, and a hot air drying device for receiving the blank from the transfer device and drying and removing the sterilizing agent. A sterilizer having a blank circulation device for holding and circulating it, and a hot air jetting device having a plurality of hot air jetting nozzles arranged along a running surface of the blank circulation device. 2. The sterilizing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the mandrel has a distal end formed with an outward nozzle which is open to the peripheral portion and blows sterile air to the inner surface of the blank to remove the sterilizing agent. 3. Between the transfer device and the germicide tank circulation device,
The sterilizer according to claim 2, wherein a sterilizer removal device having an inward nozzle for blowing sterile air on the outer peripheral surface of the blank is provided on at least one of the transfer device and the hot air drying device.