JPH046029A - Sterilization liquid removing device for container - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a germfree filling system which does not generate unevenness in sterilization by a method wherein a carrying chain holding a container filled with a sterilization liquid by a grip turns upside down by going through a sprocket to remove the sterilization liquid, and then the container is made to stand normally and discharged outside from a chamber. CONSTITUTION:When a container (b) filled with a sterilization liquid in the previous process is sent in a chamber under a normally standing condition and fed under a grip conveyor, a grip 12 attached on a pair of carrying chains 8, 8 turning endlessly grips the body of the container from both sides. At this time, since the grip is attached to both carrying chains while being mutually slipped by one half pitch, the container is gripped at three spots, and even the heavy container filled with the sterilization liquid can be assuredly gripped and carried. As the container on the carrying chain turns upside down by going through sprockets 7, 7 at sterilization liquid removing areas A-B, the container is totally turned upside down, and while being moved under this condition, the sterilization liquid in the container is naturally discharged. When the container enters washing areas B-C, germfree water is jetted on the outer surface of the container by washing water jetting devices 34, 35 arranged in the areas, and the sterilization liquid, etc. adhered on the outer surface is washed away to clean the outside of the container. By this method, germfree filling to various types of containers without generating unevenness in sterilization becomes possible.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a sterilization liquid draining device for discharging a sterilization liquid filled into a container in an aseptic filling line from the container.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, in the production of bottled or canned beverages and other foods, post-sterilization is usually carried out by hot packs or heating after filling for sterilization. In particular, low-acid beverages and foods such as coffee drinks and tea drinks with a pH of 4.5 or higher are required to be retort sterilized at 120° C. for 4 minutes or more to prevent the contents from spoiling or spoiling due to Clostridium botulinum. Therefore,
Containers are also limited to materials that can withstand heat, and the contents must be heated again after being filled into the container, making it unavoidable that the original flavor will be lost.

Therefore, in recent years, aseptic filling methods have been put into practical use as a method for canning even perishable beverages and foods without loss of flavor. Aseptic filling method.

The container is sterilized or sterilized in a clean room before being filled with the contents, thereby preventing contamination from the container or the atmosphere and eliminating the need for heating after filling.

Container sterilization in the conventional aseptic filling method involves spraying a sterilizing agent such as hydrogen peroxide on the inside and outside surfaces of the container, which has been cleaned in the previous process and transported into a clean room, and then heating the container so that it adheres to the inside and outside of the container. This is done by evaporating the sterilizing agent. Another method is to sterilize containers by irradiating them with ultraviolet light. However, these methods have the drawback that it is difficult to uniformly spray the sterilizing liquid over the entire inner surface of the container or to irradiate the container with ultraviolet rays, and uneven sterilization tends to occur. This tendency is particularly noticeable in the case of narrow-mouthed bottles and cans with seams.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As a result of researching various methods for solving the problems of container sterilization in the conventional aseptic filling method, the present inventor discovered that, in place of the conventional sterilization method, a sterilizing solution is added to the container. It was discovered that sterilization could be done evenly by filling the container to its full capacity. However, in that case, a problem arises in that the sterilizing liquid filling the container must be completely drained from the container after sterilization. Draining sterilizing liquid in an aseptic filling line is heavier than, for example, draining cleaning water from a container during container cleaning, because the container is filled with sterilizing liquid, and there is a risk that the sterilizing liquid will be splashed into the clean room. Since the process is carried out in a completely enclosed state to prevent the sterilization and odor from escaping, the container must be able to be turned over reliably without any trouble, and must have strong chemical resistance against sterilization solutions. Ru.

Conventionally, there has been no device for discharging the sterile liquid filled in the container in the aseptic filling line.The object of the present invention is to provide a sterilizing liquid draining device that satisfies the above requirements, thereby providing an aseptic filling system that does not cause uneven sterilization. The aim is to establish the following.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The container sterilization draining device of the present invention achieves the above object by sandwiching the body of the container between a driving sprocket shaft and a driven sprocket shaft arranged horizontally in a chamber. A grip conveyor consisting of a pair of endless conveyor chains running in parallel with grips is disposed, and a container filled with a sterilization liquid and supplied into the chamber in an upright state is held between the grips and A configuration characterized in that the conveyance chain passes through a sprocket and is reversed to invert the container and drain the sterilizing liquid from the container, and after draining the sterilizing liquid, the container is erected and then discharged outside the chamber. achieved by.

The grip is made of an elastic material, one conveyance chain and the other conveyance chain are attached so as to be shifted by a half pitch from each other, and even heavy containers can be securely gripped by gripping the container at three points. By using EPT (ethylene propylene trimer) as the material for the grip, an excellent grip that is not affected by the sterilization solution was obtained.

Further, by providing a chain spacing adjustment mechanism for adjusting the spacing between the conveyor chains, it is possible to easily accommodate changes in container size.

By dividing the inside of the chamber into a sterilization liquid removal area and a container washing area, and providing a washing water injection device in the container washing area to spray washing water onto the containers, sterilization liquid removal and external cleaning of the containers can be performed.

By providing a clean air supply port that supplies clean air into the chamber and an air exhaust port that discharges the air inside the chamber to the outside, odors inside the chamber are discharged to the outside, and the container is sterilized after the sterilization liquid is removed. It can prevent the odor of the liquid from adhering.

(Function) When the container filled with sterilization liquid in the previous process is sent into the chamber in an upright position and supplied to the lower part of the grip conveyor, the container is attached to a pair of endlessly rotating conveyor chains. The grips clamp the body of the container from both sides. At this time, the grips are attached to both conveyance chains at a half-pitch offset from each other, so the container is held at three points, making it possible to reliably grip and convey even heavy containers with sterile droplets poured into them. .

When the conveying chain passes through the sprocket and is reversed, the container is also completely reversed, and the sterilizing liquid in the container is naturally drained while being transferred in this state. When the container enters the cleaning area, sterile water is sprayed onto the outer surface of the container by a washing water injection device disposed in the area, washing away the sterilizing liquid etc. adhering to the outer surface and cleaning the outside of the container. Furthermore, by supplying clean air into the chamber, the odor inside the chamber can be discharged to the outside, and it is possible to prevent the odor of the sterilizing liquid from adhering to the container after the sterilizing liquid has been drained.

Further, the interval between the conveyor chains can be arbitrarily adjusted by the chain interval adjustment mechanism, and even if the size of the container changes, it can be easily accommodated.

As a result of experiments, it was found that EPT, which was used as the material for the grip, was not easily attacked by sterilizing liquid.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

1 and 2 show a plan view and a side view of the entire sterile liquid discharge device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes the sterilizing liquid discharge device of this embodiment, which is a chamber surrounded by a frame 4, and the inlet side is filled with a sterilizing liquid in the previous process (a container b (in this embodiment, PE
A supply conveyor 2 for transporting T-bottles in an upright state is connected to the outlet, and a discharge conveyor 3 is connected to the outlet side for transporting containers from which sterilizing liquid has been discharged in an upright state to the next process.

A grip conveyor device is disposed inside the frame 4 for gripping and conveying a container carried in from the entrance, inverting the container, and discharging the sterilizing liquid. The grip conveyor device consists of two conveyor chains 8.8 that are endlessly stretched and conveyed in parallel, and the details thereof are shown in FIGS. 3 to 9.
As shown in the figure. The conveyor chain 8.8 is stretched between a sleeping sprocket 6.6 and a driven sprocket 7.7 which are supported by the frame 4, and is guided by an upper chain guide 10 and a lower chain guide 11 along the way. As shown in FIG. 3, the lower chain guide 11 is arranged so as to be raised one step in the middle, so that the carry-in conveyor is disposed below it, so that containers can be smoothly transferred from the carry-in conveyor.

As shown in FIG. 5 and FIGS. 7 to 9, the conveyor chains 8, 8 are removably provided with grips 12 made of an elastic material that grip containers, and the pitches of the grips run parallel to each other. The chains are arranged to be shifted by half a pitch from each other, so that the container can be held at three points, and even a container with a circular cross section as shown in the figure can be held securely. In addition, each grip is hollow as shown in the diagram, so it has excellent resilience and can be used even when the bottle is filled with sterilant and heavy.
Even if the container is lightened by inverting it and draining the sterilization liquid, the container can be stably held without being damaged by excessive pressure.

Rubber-based materials are conceivable as the elastic material forming the grip, but in the case of this device, it is required to be particularly resistant to chemicals since it is used in an environment where sterilization fluid is present. As a result of various experiments on materials that meet these requirements, it was found that EPT (ethylene propylene trimer) is the most suitable.

In order to compare the EPT, neoprene rubber and silicone rubber used in conventional grip conveyors, P, Oxonia 30% solution, HNo, 5N solution, NaOH5
Each of the above materials was immersed in an N solution for about 6 days to test the chemical resistance to the chemical. The results are shown in the table above. As is clear from the table, EPT has oxonia resistance, acid resistance,
Excellent alkali resistance and good chemical resistance to sterilization solutions.

Further, the conveyor device is equipped with a spacing adjustment mechanism so that the spacing between the chains can be adjusted depending on the size of the container. The interval adjustment mechanism will be explained with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6.

In the figure, reference numeral 14 denotes guide shafts that support the chain guide, which are rotatably supported by the frame 4 and arranged at predetermined intervals along the axial direction of the conveyor. A left-hand thread and a right-hand thread are formed on the guide shaft at predetermined intervals, and a slider 15 with a left-hand female thread and a slider 16 with a right-hand female thread are screwed into each of the guide shafts. Slider 15.1
An upper bracket 17 to which an upper chain guide is attached and a lower bracket 18 to which a lower chain guide is attached are fixed to the upper and lower sides of 6. A chain sprocket 19 for rotating the guide shaft is fixed to the side end of the guide shaft 14, and each chain sprocket 19
is transmitted by a chain 20. A rotation handle 21 is attached to an arbitrary guide shaft.

In the illustrated embodiment, it is mounted on both the front and back sides of the device for immediate movement from both sides. Thus, when the handle is rotated, all guide shafts rotate synchronously and the sliders 15,16 of all shafts move in opposite directions.

As a result, the upper chain guide 10 and the lower chain guide 11 move synchronously, and their respective intervals can be adjusted at the same time.

Figure 6 shows the sprocket spacing adjustment mechanism on the immediate acting side.
The drive side sprocket 6.6 is slidably keyed to the sprocket shaft 13, and one end of a slide link 25 is rotatably connected to the boss portion thereof. The other end of the link 25 is loosely fitted into a slider 27.degree. 28 provided on a sprocket FA node shaft 26 rotatably supported by the frame 4. Slider 27.28
Similar to the chain guide shaft, the sprocket adjustment shafts are screwed together so that they slide in opposite directions by rotating the sprocket adjustment shaft. Further, the intermediate portion of the link 25 is rotatably fixed to a bracket 29 fixed to the frame 4. Therefore, when the rotation handle 30 fixed to the end of the sprocket adjustment shaft 26 is rotated, both sliders 27 and 28 slide in opposite directions, and accordingly, each link moves in opposite directions with the bracket as a fulcrum. , and the sprockets connected to their ends slide the same distance in opposite directions. Thereby, the distance between the two sprockets 6.6 can be adjusted. A similar spacing adjustment mechanism is also provided on the driven sprocket. Note that 31 is a grip conveyor immediate-acting motor provided on the frame 4, and 32 is a transmission sprocket fixed to a sprocket shaft, which is interlocked with the instant-acting motor.

In the above embodiment, the chain guide spacing and the sprocket spacing are adjusted separately, but a chain sprocket is provided at the end of the sprocket adjustment shaft to transmit transmission with the chain sprocket provided on the guide shaft. If you do it like this.

It can be done simultaneously in synchronization with the guide shaft.

The grip conveyor device with the above structure is the second
As shown in the figure, the container is placed inside a chamber surrounded by a frame 4 on one side so that the sterilizing liquid does not scatter outside and its odor does not leak outside, and is held between containers while the conveyor goes around the conveyor. The sterilization solution is drained and the outside of the container is cleaned. For this purpose, the chamber is divided into a sterilization liquid extraction area and a cleaning area. In FIG. 2, the area from the person's position to the position B is the cleaning liquid drain area, and the area from the position B to the position C is the cleaning area. A partition wall 31 (No. 2.1
0), 32 (Figs. 2 and 11) are provided. 33
is an upper sterilizing liquid receiver provided between the partition walls 31 and 32, which leads the sterilizing liquid to the floor surface of the sterilization area below. The sterilizing liquid that has fallen onto the floor is collected and reused.

In the cleaning area, there is a cleaning water spray nozzle device that sprays cleaning water (sterile water) to clean the outside of the container at two locations: the location where the container is held between the conveyors and the location where the mouth container is released from the grip conveyor. 34.35 are placed.

By placing the nozzle in the position where it is held between the grips, it is possible to clean the bottom of the container, and by placing the nozzle in the position where the container is open, the part that was held by the grips can also be cleaned. The entire exterior can be thoroughly cleaned.

A clean air supply port 36 is provided at the end of the cleaning area above the frame, and an air exhaust port 37 is provided at the end of the sterilization liquid removal area. In addition to keeping the area clean at all times, the odor in the sterilization liquid removal area can be discharged from the air outlet to the outside of the clean room via a duct (not shown).

The drive mechanism of this device is sealed to prevent exposure to sterilizing fluid, and the entire device can be washed if necessary.

In addition, 38 is an internal supply conveyor arranged along the lower part of the raised part of the lower chain guide 11,
Its upstream end protrudes from an inlet 39 opened at approximately the center of the lower front surface of the frame 4 and is connected to the external supply conveyor 2 . 40 is also an internal discharge conveyor, the downstream end of which is connected to the discharge conveyor 3 via an outlet 41 formed on the back side. As shown in FIG. 4, the container is released from the grips at position C' where the distance between the two guide shafts widens, and is transferred onto the internal discharge conveyor 40. While being conveyed by the internal discharge conveyor 40, the cleaning water spray nozzle device 35 sprays cleaning water onto the outer circumferential portion for cleaning. Thereafter, it is transferred to the external discharge conveyor 3 through the outlet 41 and conveyed to the next process.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various design changes can be made within the scope of the technical idea.

(Effects) The present invention has the above-described configuration and provides the following special effects.

The sterilization liquid can be reliably drained from the container filled with sterilization liquid inside the chamber, and the container sterilization method that sterilizes the container by filling it with sterilization liquid can be put into practical use. This enabled aseptic filling of containers.

According to the structure of claim 2, since the container can be held at three points, even heavier containers can be reliably held and transported without damaging the container.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, a highly durable grip that is not damaged by sterilizing liquid can be obtained, and components of the grip can be prevented from eluting to the outside and contaminating the grip.

According to the configuration of claim 4, it is possible to easily cope with changes in the size of containers, and it is possible to process containers of various sizes and shapes with one apparatus.

According to the configuration of claim 5, the sterilization liquid can be drained and the external cleaning of the container can be efficiently performed in the chamber, and the cleanliness of the container can be further improved.

According to the configuration of claim 6, it is possible to discharge the odor inside the chamber to the outside and to prevent the odor of the sterilizing liquid from adhering to the container after the sterilizing liquid has been drained.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a container sterilization drain device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view thereof, FIG. 3 is a side view of a grip conveyor device, and FIG. -r arrow view, Fig. 5 is a II-II arrow view in Fig. 3, Fig. 6 is a plan view of the sprocket interval adjustment mechanism, Fig. 7 is a plan view of the main part of the grip conveyor in a container clamped state, Fig. 8 is a front view thereof, and Fig. 9 is a side view thereof. FIG. 10 is a view taken along the ■-■ arrow in FIG. 2, and FIG. 11 is a view taken along the mV-mV arrow in FIG. 4: Frame 6: Drive side sprocket 7: Driven side sprocket 8: Conveyance chain 10: Upper chain guide 11: Lower chain guide 12 Nigelip 14 Ni guide shaft 15
．． 16.27.28 Varnish slider 26: Sprocket adjustment shaft 21.30: Handle 31.32: Bulkhead
36: Clean air supply port 37: Air discharge port Patent author Toyo Seikan Co., Ltd. Applicant agent Patent attorney Fumio Sato (and 2 others)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1) A pair of endless conveyor chains running in parallel are hung in the chamber between a horizontally arranged driving sprocket shaft and a driven sprocket shaft, each having a grip that holds the body of the container. A grip conveyor formed by a conveyor is arranged, a container filled with a sterile liquid and supplied into the chamber in an upright position is held between the grips, and the conveyor chain passes through a sprocket and is reversed to invert the container. A sterilization liquid draining device for a container, characterized in that the container is drained of sterilization liquid, and after the sterilization liquid has been drained, the container is erected and then discharged outside the chamber. 2) The container sterilization liquid draining method according to claim 1, wherein the grip is made of an elastic material and is attached to one conveyance chain and the other conveyance chain so as to be shifted by a half pitch from each other, so as to grip the container at three points. Device. 3) The container sterilization draining device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the grip is made of EPT (ethylene propylene trimer). 4) Claim 1, 2 or 3, further comprising a chain interval adjustment mechanism for adjusting the interval between the pair of conveyor chains running in parallel.
Sterile draining device for the containers described. 5) Claims 1 and 2, wherein the chamber through which the grip conveyor passes is divided into a sterilization liquid removal area and a container washing area, and the container washing area is provided with a washing water injection device for spraying washing water onto the containers. A sterilization liquid draining device for a container according to 3 or 4. 6) Claim 1, wherein the chamber is provided with a clean air supply port for supplying clean air into the chamber and an air discharge port for discharging the air in the chamber to the outside.
6. A sterilization liquid draining device for a container according to 2, 3, 4 or 5.