JPH0739943B2 - Method for detecting defective cap seal of stopper with cover cap for infusion container - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method for inspecting a stopper attached to an outlet for contents of an infusion container, and more particularly to a detection method for detecting a sealing failure of a cover cap thereof. .

[Prior Art] A container for infusion has a stopper attached to a content outlet located at the upper end of the container, and the container for infusion is hung upside down when the infusion as the content is taken out from the container for infusion. An infusion solution is dripped through a hollow needle pierced through the stopper.

Conventionally, as such a plug body, there is a plug body 101 as shown in FIG. 8, for example.

That is, the plug body 101 is composed of a plug body 102 and a cover cap 103, and the plug body 102 has a cylindrical body 107 having a partition wall 106 that blocks the flow passage 105 in the direction of the axis 104 (the cylindrical body 107 is composed of, for example, three parts 108, 110, 111). Integrally formed), and an elastic plug member 112 attached to the tubular body 107 to block the flow passage 105, and the cover cap 103 is sandwiched between the partition cap 106 and the elastic plug member 112 in the direction of the axis 104. In the above, it is engaged with the plug body 102 by means such as high-frequency sealing or heat sealing in a state of covering the outer surface of the elastic plug member 112. The infusion solution, which is the content, is filled in a transfusion container, sealed, and then retort processed.

In such a plug body 101, the cover cap 103 may be removed at the time of use, and a liquid collection needle consisting of a hollow needle may be pierced through the surface of the elastic plug body 112. At this time, the elastic plug material 112 is forced to move in the axial direction. It does not fall off, is easy to handle, and is hygienic.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in such a plug of an infusion container, in order to prevent contamination of bacteria and the like during storage, the surface of the elastic plug member 112, the elastic plug member 112, and the cover cap 103 are Air gap between 120
Must be kept clean, and for that purpose, the sealing portion 113 must be sound and the air gap 120 must be completely airtight.

However, in the conventional plug body 101, it is difficult to check whether the seal portion 113 of the cover cap 103 is sound, and it is difficult to check whether the inside is completely sealed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is a cap of a plug body with a cover cap for an infusion container capable of easily and surely checking the sealability of the cover cap and the soundness of the seal portion. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for detecting a defective seal.

[Means for Solving the Problem] To solve this problem, a method for detecting a cap seal defect of a plug body with a cover cap for an infusion container according to the present invention includes a cap body and a ceiling body that is seal-bonded to the body. A method for inspecting a plug for an infusion container, comprising: a cover cap having a plate, wherein the top plate is formed by detecting a depth of an indentation of the top plate formed by the retort process after a retort process with a photoelectric displacement sensor. The feature is that the quality of the seal is judged.

[Operation] According to the present invention, the state of the cover cap on the top of the infusion container conveyed by the conveyor after the retort treatment is observed by the optical sensor, and when the depth of the recess of the cover cap is less than or equal to a predetermined value, When there is a bulge, the seal is judged to be defective.

[Embodiment] Hereinafter, details of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings illustrating an embodiment.

FIG. 1 shows an inspection apparatus used in the inspection method of the present invention.

That is, the inspection device 1 includes the displacement sensor 2 and the photoelectric switch.
A, B, and C are arranged along the conveyor 3 that conveys the infusion solution container 100 that is the object to be measured.

As described above, the plug 101 is attached to the upper end of the infusion container 100, and the cover cap 103 is located on the top of the plug 101.

The displacement sensor 2 is a photoelectric displacement sensor that detects the deformation (dent) of the top plate of the cover cap 103. The photoelectric switches A, B and C detect the cover cap 103 to detect the displacement sensor 2
To operate.

The outputs of the displacement sensor 2 and the photoelectric switches A, B, C are input to the processor 4 and the oscilloscope 5.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 6 is a DC power source and reference numeral 7 is an amplifier. As the displacement sensor 2, for example, PT manufactured by Keyence
160A can be used. As the amplifier, for example, PT165TA manufactured by Keyence Corporation can be used. As the oscilloscope, VP-5740A manufactured by National Corp. can be used.

The inspection method of the present invention is performed as follows using the inspection apparatus 1 as described above.

The present invention is based on the following phenomenon found by the present inventor.

The retort step is performed in a state where the infusion container (not shown) is filled with the content liquid and the stopper body 101 with the infusion container cover cap 103 is sealed at the mouth of the infusion container.
A method of heating in an atmosphere of 115 ° C. for 30 minutes and then cooling can be adopted. After this retort process, the central portion of the top plate portion 121 of the cover cap 103 is deformed inward in the axial direction,
A recess is formed on the upper surface, which is flush with the surface. The depth h of the recess whose upper end is open due to this deformation is determined by the retort condition (heating temperature,
This deformation remains after cooling, as determined by the applied pressure.
The depth of this recess is, for example, about 0.5 mm.

On the other hand, when the seal of the cover cap 3 is incomplete,
Since there is no difference in atmospheric pressure between the void 120 and the external space, such a concave portion is not formed, and therefore it is possible to distinguish it from the completely sealed one and check it.

First, as shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4, the cover cap 103 of the infusion container 101 conveyed by the conveyor 3
Are detected by the photoelectric switches A, B, and C, and the displacement sensor 2 measures the cover cap 103 based on the detection signal. That is, as shown in the time chart of FIG. 5, the photoelectric switch S for start detects the edge of the top plate portion of the cover cap 103 and inputs this start signal to the data processor 4 to prepare it. .

Displacement sensor 2 at point P _A at the same time photoelectric switch A turns ON
Input the voltage output value of.

Next, when the photoelectric switch B is turned on, the voltage output value of the displacement sensor 2 at the point P _B is input.

Next, when the photoelectric switch C is turned on, the voltage output value of the displacement sensor 2 at the point P _C is input.

From the above data, internal calculation is performed to obtain the amount of depression at the point P _B ,
Display the result. As a result, if the dent amount at the point P _B is equal to or less than the predetermined value, it is determined that the seal is defective.

[Experimental Example] (I) Calculated Value of Depression It is assumed that the top plate of the cover cap is made of polypropylene. Considering that the volume V of the void 120 does not change, the Young's modulus of polypropylene is estimated from the visual confirmation during the retort test because permanent deformation (concave) occurs in the cover cap at around 70 ° C. in hot water.

The initial conditions in the sealed volume V are T ₀ = 293 (° k), P ₀ = 1 (Kg
f / cm ² ), temperature at the time of permanent deformation T ₁ = 343 (° k), pressure is P ₁ .

When P ₁ is calculated with volume V = constant, P ₁ = (T ₁ / T ₀ ) P ₀ ＝ (343/293) P ₀ = 1.17P ₀ = 1,17 (Kg f / cm ² ) Retort pressure at this time Is P ₂ = 1.8 (Kg f / cm ² ),
I think that this force pushes the cover cap from above. Therefore the actual pressing force P ₃ is the _{P 3 = P 2 -P 1 =} 1.8-1.17 = 0.63 (Kg f / cm 2) which deflection calculation disc receiving the equal load P ₃ in the circumferential fixed Young's modulus E is approximately calculated.

Deflection δmax of a circular plate with a fixed circumference and subjected to equal load is δmax = {(3m ² -1) PR ² } / 16Em ² t ³ (P: total load, R: plate radius, t: plate thickness 1 / m: Poisson's ratio (PP
Is expressed as 0.40)). Substituting the measured value of 0.80 (mm) for δmax, E = {3 (2.5 ² -1) x 0.63π x 1 ² x 1 ² } / {(16) x (0.08) x (2.5) ² x (0.1) ³ } = 3897 (Kg f / cm ² ) Applying this value to the production conditions, the retort pressure P ₂ = 1.6
Substituting (Kg f / cm ² ) into the above equation for deflection δmax, δmax
Then, the calculated value and the measured value are compared.

δmax = {3 (2.5 ² -1) x 0.43π x 1 ² x 1 ² } / {16 x 3897 x 2.5 x (0.1) ³ } = 0.0546 (cm) = 0.546 (mm), and the average value of the measured values Is δmax = 0.60 (mm),
It is considered that the estimated value of the yang rate is close to the actual deformation process. Therefore, the amount of depression δmax at each retort pressure can be calculated by the following equation.

δmax = 0.127P (unit cm) However, P = P ₂ (retort pressure) -P ₁ (pressure in the sealed volume) (II) Confirmation of linearity of displacement sensor The displacement sensor detects the reflected light from the light source (red LED). The light receiving element receives the light and performs photoelectric conversion. Therefore, if the surface gloss, hue, etc. differ depending on the target object, accurate values cannot be obtained, but the cover cap used here is all white, so gain adjustment and O point adjustment are performed on that sample, and the calibration is performed. I went. The result is shown in FIG. It can be seen that a linear response is obtained when the detection range is the standard value ± 2 (mm).

(III) Waveform processing method A simple calculation was performed on the output waveform (voltage output) obtained by the sensor to measure the amount of depression. FIG. 7 shows the obtained output waveform.

The procedure is as follows.

The sum of the voltages of 1.P _A point and _{P C} point divided by 2 _{(P A} point and _{P C}
The voltage at the M position (P _B point) in the middle of the straight line connecting the
+ C) / 2 (V)).

2. Compare the voltage at point M (M (V)) with the voltage obtained in step 1.

[{(A + C) / 2} -M] <R (where R is an optimum value for the test) A product that satisfies this expression is considered to be a good product.

This time, this {(A + C) / 2} -M was defined as the amount of depression.

(IV) Results A PP cap was high-frequency sealed on a plug body in which a part of the seal ring was shaved off, and the one adhered to the bolt was sterilized by retort.

Since it was not possible to collect detailed data, it was judged whether or not it was possible to make a pass / fail judgment on-line (conveyor-transport). As a result, all defective samples could be detected, and non-defective bolts were sometimes judged to be defective due to problems in transportation (positional deviation).

Good or bad was judged with the standard value of the good product being 0.5 mm or more and the standard value of the defective product being 0.2 mm or less. The threshold may be set between 0.2 and 0.5 mm. In this test, 0.2 mm was used as the threshold value.

Of the 10 sample bottles, 3 were judged to be good and 7 were judged to be defective. The table below shows the comparison with the measured values of each sample bottle.

(A + C) / 2 and M in the table are points P _A and P _{C in} FIG.
It is the value calculated based on the measured values at the points M and P (P _B ).

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to determine whether the seal of the cover cap is good or bad only by measuring the recess of the top plate portion of the cover cap after the retort treatment with the displacement sensor. Since it can be carried out on a conveyor, it is possible to improve the production efficiency of infusion container packing.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a structural explanatory view showing an inspection device used in the inspection method of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view showing a state in which a cover cap of a plug is deformed, and FIG. 3 is a position of a photoelectric switch and a displacement sensor. 4 is an explanatory plan view showing the relationship, FIG. 4 is an explanatory front view showing the positional relationship between the photoelectric switch and the displacement sensor,
FIG. 5 is a timing chart showing the timing of measurement,
FIG. 6 is a graph showing the relationship between the output voltage of the displacement sensor and the displacement of the cover cap, FIG. 7 is a graph showing the output voltage of the displacement sensor, and FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the plug body. 1 …… Inspection device 2 …… Displacement sensor 3 …… Conveyor 4 …… Processor 5 …… Oscilloscope 6 …… DC power supply 7 …… Amplifier 100 …… Infusion container 101 …… Stopper 102 …… Stopper body 103 …… Cover cap 104 …… Shaft 105 …… Flow passage 106 …… Partition 107 …… Cylindrical 108 …… Part 110 …… Part 111 …… Part 112 …… Elastic plug material 120 …… Space 122 …… Seal ring A, B, C ... Photoelectric switch

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A method of inspecting a plug body for an infusion container, comprising a plug body and a cover cap having a top plate sealingly adhered to the plug body, which is formed by the retort treatment after the retort treatment. A method of detecting a cap seal defect of a cap body with a cover cap for an infusion container, characterized in that the depth of the recess of the top plate is detected by a photoelectric displacement sensor to determine the quality of the seal of the top plate.