JPH0723148B2 - Inert gas replacement liquid filling method and apparatus - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial field of application] The present invention relates to filling a container with a liquid content such as a liquid such as soft drink or a liquid containing a solid such as fruit juice containing granules. The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for replacing air existing in a head space of a container or air existing in bubbles formed by a liquid content with an inert gas and filling the same.

[Prior Art] When a container is filled with a liquid content such as soft drink or fruit juice with granules, air remains in a headspace formed on the upper part of the container. The oxygen in the air reacts with the liquid contents, causing deterioration of the quality of the liquid contents such as deterioration, discoloration, and flavor deterioration, and the volume of the air decreases by the amount of the reacted or dissolved oxygen. As a result, there is a problem that the inside of the container is depressurized and causes deformation of the container.

In particular, in the case where the container has a mouth smaller than the body, in addition to this, foaming is severe when the contents are filled, and a large amount of air-containing bubbles are generated in the head space. Removal of this bubble was extremely difficult. And
The oxygen in the bubbles has the same adverse effect on the liquid content.

In order to solve this problem, attempts have conventionally been made to remove air or air-containing bubbles existing in the head space. For example, there is an attempt to replace air by using an inert gas such as nitrogen, carbon dioxide, or argon, or an inert gas liquid obtained by liquefying these.

For example, in Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 42-23476, a liquefied gas of an inert gas system is injected at the same time as or before and after the contents are filled in a bottle to utilize the volume expansion due to the removal of air and the vaporization. A method for preventing deformation of the container is disclosed.

However, in this method, the air in the head space of the bottle cannot be sufficiently replaced, and it was extremely difficult to remove the filled air bubbles. Therefore, it was not possible to prevent the deterioration of the liquid contents due to the remaining oxygen.

To improve the replacement of air or air bubbles with inert gas,
There is also a method of injecting an inert gas after filling the contents and immediately closing it with a cap, but this method blows off the remaining air and some of the bubbles, but a considerable amount of bubbles remain and oxygen is generated. The adverse effects could not be removed.

Therefore, the applicant of the present invention has proposed a method of previously filling an inert gas in a container and then filling the liquid content (Japanese Patent Application No. 62-
No. 156318 (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 64-9196) has been proposed.

According to this method, the air in the container can be replaced in advance with a replacement rate of 95% (the amount of the inert gas replaced / the amount of air in the original container), and the replacement after filling and sealing is performed. Rate is
Increase to 60%.

However, with this method, it is not possible to completely prevent the entrainment of air when filling the liquid contents, and it is not possible to substantially prevent the invasion of external air from the container mouth by the end of the sealing. It was

Further, in order to solve this problem, the applicant of the present invention fills the container with an inert gas in advance and then fills the liquid contents with the inert gas in the gap between the liquid filling nozzle and the container mouth. A method for supplying gas (Japanese Patent Application No. 63-105248 (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 01-279018)) has been proposed.

According to this method, the replacement rate of air in the head space after filling and sealing can be increased to about 82 to 85%.

However, when air bubbles are present in the head space, this method cannot sufficiently expel the air bubbles, and there is a fear that air bubbles may be generated on the liquid surface due to the blowing of the inert gas.

Moreover, this method requires two steps of filling the container with an inert gas in advance and supplying the inert gas through the gap while filling the liquid content, which is a drawback that the process is complicated.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The present invention is a method for filling a liquid content in a container, and in order to prevent deterioration of the liquid content due to residual oxygen after filling and sealing, air in the head space of the container is not generated. Or bubbles
A method of filling a liquid content by sufficiently replacing it with an inert gas, in which a container after filling and sealing does not undergo deformation such as swelling or dent, and it can be performed in one step. is there.

[Means for Solving the Problems] That is, the present invention provides "1. An inert gas obtained by liquefying a liquefied inert gas liquid and an inert gas into the container from the container mouth after filling the liquid contents. Head space above the liquid contents in the container, with the active gas liquid being the center and surrounded by an inert gas to prevent the introduction of air from above and to the surface of the contents inside the container. The air present in the interior and the bubbles of the liquid contents enclosing the air are expelled while being defoamed, the air in the headspace is replaced with an inert gas, and the liquefied inert gas liquid is vaporized and generated. A method for filling an inert gas replacement liquid, characterized in that the inert gas is continuously and continuously prevented from flowing in air from the container mouth after the replacement, and the mouth is sealed.

2. The inert gas replacement liquid filling method according to claim 1, wherein the container is a plastic container having an opening smaller than the body of the container.

3.Inert gas is nitrogen gas, carbon dioxide gas, argon gas,
3. The inert gas replacement liquid filling method according to claim 1 or 2, which is neon gas or helium gas.

4. The inert gas replacement liquid filling method according to any one of items 1 to 3, wherein the liquid content is only liquid.

5. The inert gas replacement liquid filling method according to any one of items 1 to 3, wherein the liquid content is a mixture of a mixed liquid and a solid in which a solid content is dispersed and contained in the liquid.

6. The inert gas replacement liquid filling method according to any one of items 1 to 5, wherein the liquefied inert gas liquid and the inert gas surrounding it are the same inert substance.

7. The inert gas replacement liquid filling method according to any one of items 1 to 5, wherein the liquefied inert gas liquid and the inert gas surrounding it are different inert substances.

8. Liquefaction comprising an inert gas gas-liquid supply device and an inert gas gas-liquid supply device connected to the inert gas gas-liquid supply device, the inert gas gas-liquid supply device having a liquefied inert gas liquid discharge port 2. Around the liquefied inert gas liquid supply nozzle 5, an liquefied inert gas liquid supply nozzle 5, a liquefied inert gas liquid supply nozzle 5, a liquefied inert gas liquid amount adjusting needle 8 which is vertically slidably installed inside the liquefied inert gas liquid supply nozzle 5. And the inert gas supply nozzle 7 disposed in the above, and the inert gas discharge port 3 of the inert gas supply nozzle 7 is arranged so as to surround the liquefied inert gas liquid discharge port 2 of the liquefied inert gas liquid supply nozzle 5. It is an inert gas gas-liquid feeder that is installed,
Inert gas replacement liquid filling device. It is.

As the inert gas, an inert gas such as nitrogen gas, argon gas, neon gas, or helium gas can be used, as well as an inert gas such as carbon dioxide gas, and liquid nitrogen is suitable as the liquefied inert gas liquid. The inert gas and the liquefied inert gas liquid can be used in an appropriate combination, but the combination of the nitrogen gas and the liquid nitrogen is particularly effective.

[Operation] In the inert gas displacement filling method of the liquid content configured as described above, first, a predetermined amount of the liquid content is filled from the filling nozzle into the inside of the container sent to the filling port of the filling machine. It

At this time, the liquid content is filled so that a space called a head space is formed between the upper portion of the container and the surface of the liquid content so that the liquid content is not ejected due to a temperature difference. Therefore, air remains in this portion.

Also, in the case of a container with a mouth smaller than the body, a large amount of air bubbles containing air are generated on the surface of the liquid contents during filling, and it is difficult to expel these bubbles. The vicinity of the mouth of the container is likely to be contaminated with liquid contents.

As a result of various studies on such problems, the present inventor has found that when a liquefied inert gas liquid is poured, a part of bubbles, especially bubbles on the liquid surface can be eliminated by the defoaming effect, but It was found that air bubbles in the vicinity of the mouth cannot be erased, and rather the injection of liquefied inert gas liquid tends to entrain air.

It is not clear why the liquefied inert gas liquid is entrained and brought in when it is injected, but the liquefied inert gas liquid tends to bring in air during injection.
It has been confirmed in actual filling that it is larger than the injected inert gas.

In addition, just blowing an inert gas does not have a defoaming effect by merely blowing air bubbles, but rather tends to generate new air bubbles on the liquid surface, and it is expected that air in the headspace will be sufficiently replaced. Can not.

As a result of various studies conducted by the present inventor on such a problem, it is impossible to completely replace air in the head space by simply injecting a liquefied inert gas liquid or an inert gas into the head space. As a result of the examination of the injection state and the efficiency of substitution, when the liquid liquefied inert gas is surrounded by an inert gas and injected from above toward the surface of the contents in the container into the head space of the container, The present invention has been completed with the new knowledge that it is possible to prevent air from being brought in by a liquefied inert gas liquid and to sufficiently replace air and bubbles in the head space.

That is, in the method of the present invention, a liquefied inert gas liquid surrounded by an inert gas flow is injected from above toward the surface of the contents in the container, and air and bubbles in the head space simultaneously flow into the inert gas. The bubbles expelled by the gas and remaining are defoamed by the defoaming effect of the injected liquefied inert gas liquid.

In addition, the vicinity of the container mouth is surrounded by the liquefied inert gas liquid and flows in from above toward the surface of the contents in the container. Air is not blocked and entrained, and a thin layer of liquefied inert gas liquid is generated on the surface of the filled liquid content, and even if the inflowing inert gas collides with the liquid surface. Since bubbling does not occur, the substitution rate is significantly improved.

After a predetermined amount of liquefied inert gas liquid and inert gas are supplied, the inert gas is continuously generated due to the volatilization of the liquefied gas, and continuously prevents the inflow of air from the container mouth, Air does not flow in until the end of sealing, and the replacement rate after filling and sealing becomes extremely high.

As described above, according to the present invention, by enclosing the liquefied inert gas liquid with the inert gas and injecting it from above toward the surface of the contents in the container, both exhibit a synergistic effect and exhibit an excellent action. .

To inject oxygen into the container from above so that it surrounds the liquefied inert gas liquid and directs it to the surface of the contents in the container, inject the inert gas around the outlet of the liquefied inert gas liquid. It is necessary to open the discharge port and arrange both of the discharge ports so as to discharge while the liquefied inert gas liquid is surrounded by the inert gas.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, liquid contents that can reach a gas replacement rate of 80% or more in the head space after cap closure in one step without previously replacing the interior of the container with an inert gas. Can be provided. Therefore, less air and bubbles remain in the headspace, and it is possible to reduce the deterioration of the quality of the liquid contents caused by the reaction of oxygen in the air and bubbles with the liquid contents, and to maintain the quality of the liquid contents. Is advantageous to. Moreover, the deformation of the container due to the reduced pressure does not occur.

Embodiments Details of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings illustrating one embodiment.

Example 1 FIG. 1 shows a state in which when the container 1 sent to the filling port of the filling machine is filled with the liquid content 6, bubbles 10 made of the liquid content are generated to fill the head space. Show.

In FIG. 2, the nozzle portion of the inert gas gas / liquid feeder 9 is brought close to directly above the container mouth portion 4, and the liquefied inert gas liquid 12 is injected from the liquefied inert gas liquid supply nozzle 5, and at the same time, the inert gas is inert. The gas 11 is ejected from the inert gas supply nozzle 7, the filled bubbles and air are expelled from the container mouth 4 with the inert gas 11, and the bubbles on the liquid surface are defoamed with the liquefied inert gas liquid 12. Indicates that

That is, when the liquefied inert gas liquid 12 is injected from the liquefied inert gas liquid supply nozzle 5, the liquefied inert gas liquid 12 spreads over the surface of the liquid content 6 to eliminate bubbles on the liquid surface and volatilize the inert gas to head space. The air and air bubbles inside are gradually replaced.
At the same time, the inert gas ejected from the inert gas supply nozzle 7
The reference numeral 11 encloses and surrounds the liquefied inert gas liquid 12 at an ultra-low temperature, and shuts off the air sucked at the ultra-low temperature from the gap of the container mouth portion 4,
On the contrary, air and bubbles in the headspace are expelled vigorously,
It works to replace the air in the headspace in a very short time.

Moreover, since the ejected inert gas 11 does not directly collide with the surface of the liquid content 6 but hits a thin layer of the liquefied inert gas liquid spreading on the surface thereof and is buffered, the liquid content foams. There is therefore no air left.

Then, the container mouth 4 is sealed with a cap to complete the filling.

What is important here is that there is a gap between the nozzle portion of the inert gas vapor-liquid feeder 9 and the container mouth portion 4. This gap serves as a flow passage through which bubbles and air in the head space are pushed out.

Further, by keeping the nozzle portion and the container mouth portion 4 out of contact with each other, ace boutique (sterile) filling can be performed.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the inert gas gas / liquid feeder 9. The liquefied inert gas liquid supply nozzle 5 is internally provided with a needle 8 that is slidable up and down for performing adjustment so as to drop an appropriate amount of liquid. The discharge port 3 of the liquefied inert gas liquid supply nozzle 5 is surrounded by the discharge port 3 of the inert gas 7, and the liquefied inert gas liquid is injected while being surrounded by the inert gas.

FIG. 4 is a view of the inert gas gas / liquid supply device 9 as seen from below, and shows the arrangement of the discharge ports of the liquefied inert gas liquid supply nozzle 5 and the inert gas supply nozzle 7.

The discharge port 3 of the inert gas supply nozzle 7 may be a circular hole,
It may be an arcuate slit.

Experimental Example In the example shown in FIG. 2, the liquid liquefied inert gas liquid injected from the liquid liquefied inert gas liquid supply nozzle 5 was liquid nitrogen, and the injection amount was 0.21 g. This is 177 ml when converted to nitrogen gas.

However, liquid nitrogen 1 g = 1.237 ml (liquid) = 844 ml (gas) In addition, the amount of nitrogen gas ejected from the inert gas ejection port 7
It was set to 60 L / min.

Under this condition, the present invention was carried out using orange juice as a liquid content and a head space of 70 ml to examine the residual oxygen amount and the substitution rate in the head space of the capped container.

The results are shown in Table 1.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a state in which the head space of the container is filled with bubbles of liquid contents. FIG. 2 shows the method for filling an inert gas replacement liquid according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a sectional view of an inert gas vapor-liquid feeder used in the present invention. FIG. 4 is a view of the nozzle portion of the inert gas vapor-liquid feeder used in the present invention as seen from below. 1 ... Container, 2 ... Liquefied inert gas liquid discharge port, 3 ... Inert gas discharge port, 4 ... Container port, 5 ... Liquefied inert gas liquid supply nozzle, 6 ... Liquid contents, 7 ... Inert gas supply nozzle, 8 ... Needle, 9 ... Inert gas gas / liquid feeder, 10 ... Bubbles, 11 ... Inert gas, 12 ... Liquefied inert gas liquid.

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-56-4521 (JP, A) JP-A 64-9196 (JP, A) JP-A 1-279018 (JP, A) JP-A 63-67275 (JP , A) JP 58-183417 (JP, A) JP 42-23476 (JP, B2)

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A container is filled with a liquid content, and then a liquefied inert gas liquid and an inert gas are introduced into the container from the mouth of the container with an inert gas around the liquefied inert gas liquid. In the enclosed state, it is injected from above to the surface of the contents in the container while preventing air from being carried in, and the air existing in the head space above the liquid contents in the container and the liquid enclosing the air The air in the headspace is replaced with an inert gas while expelling the bubbles of the contents, and at the same time, the inert gas generated by vaporizing the liquefied inert gas liquid causes the air from the container opening after replacement. A method for filling an inert gas replacement liquid, which comprises sealing the mouth while continuously and continuously preventing the inflow. 2. The container is a plastic container having a mouth smaller than the body of the container. The inert gas replacement liquid filling method according to claim 1. 3. The inert gas according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the inert gas is one or more selected from nitrogen gas, carbon dioxide gas, argon gas, neon gas and helium gas. Replacement liquid filling method. 4. The inert gas replacement liquid filling method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the liquid content is only liquid. 5. The liquid content according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the liquid content is a mixture of a mixed liquid and a solid in which a solid content is dispersed and contained. Active gas replacement liquid filling method. 6. The inert gas according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the liquefied inert gas liquid and the inert gas surrounding it are the same inert substance. Gas replacement liquid filling method. 7. The inert gas according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the liquefied inert gas liquid and the inert gas surrounding it are different inert substances. Replacement liquid filling method. 8. An inert gas gas-liquid supply device and an inert gas gas-liquid supply device connected to the inert gas gas-liquid supply device,
A liquefied inert gas liquid supply nozzle 5 having an liquefied inert gas liquid discharge port 2 in an inert gas gas-liquid supply device, and a liquefied inert gas inside the liquefied inert gas liquid supply nozzle 5 slidably arranged vertically. It comprises an active gas liquid amount adjusting needle 8 and an inert gas supply nozzle 7 arranged around the liquefied inert gas liquid supply nozzle 5, and the inert gas discharge port 3 of the inert gas supply nozzle 7
Is an inert gas gas-liquid feeder, which is arranged so as to surround the liquefied inert gas liquid discharge port 2 of the liquefied inert gas liquid supply nozzle 5, and an inert gas replacement liquid filling device.