JPH0889183A - Method for high-pressure treatment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To sterilize a food under high pressure in a short time and automate the sterilization. CONSTITUTION: In this high-pressure treatment method in which a material to b treated is packed and sealed in a bag made of a plastic film, stored in a cylindrical container, fed to a high-pressure container and pressurized under hydrostatic pressure, the method comprises a process for loading the cylindrical collapsible container with a tray, throwing the loaded cylindrical container into a high-pressure container, treating under pressure and taking out the treated material, a process for removing a cylindrical casing part of the taken out cylindrical container from a bottom part, extracting the casing part and unloading the tray in the interior and a process for extracting the bag made of the plastic film treated under pressure from the unloaded tray.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a high-pressure processing method for sterilizing and modifying foods and other liquid substances containing liquids or solids.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A new cooking, processing and sterilizing method has been put to practical use in which pressure is applied under a high pressure of several thousand atmospheric pressure in order to sterilize microorganisms and denature proteins and starch without destroying the flavor and nutrients of foods. It's starting. When the object to be pressed is a liquid or a liquid containing a solid, a bag container made of a plastic film (hereinafter referred to as a pouch), which is generally provided with a sealing opening, is filled with the liquid object to be sealed and pressed. Is being processed.

This conventional method will be described with reference to FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 5A, a pouch 1 made of a plastic film or the like, which is filled with a liquid to be treated and sealed, is placed in a cylindrical container 2.
It is inserted using a sling belt 3 etc. inside, and the container 2 in which the pouch has been inserted is put into the high-pressure container 5 by the lifting device 4 as shown in (b) and pressurized as shown in (c). Perform processing. The high-pressure container 5 is composed of a cylindrical container body 5a, an upper lid 5b provided with a seal 6 and a lower lid 5c. High-pressure water is supplied by a high-pressure pump 8 through a high-pressure pipe 7 connected to the lower lid 5c, so that the high-pressure container 5 has a high pressure. After the pouch containing the object to be treated is kept under high pressure for a certain period of time and sterilized or modified, the high pressure valve 9 is opened to reduce the pressure, the upper lid 5b is opened and the container 2 is hung up, and the pouch 1 is removed from the inside of the container 2. To extract.

[0004]

The above-mentioned conventional high-pressure processing method has the following problems to be solved.

That is, in the case of the above method, for example, 1
A large pouch 1 containing 0 kg becomes indefinite when the contents are put in, and inserts it into the container 2 one by one,
Alternatively, there is a problem that the work of extracting is difficult and the work takes time, so that the efficiency cannot be improved. There is also a problem that it is difficult to automate this work.

In order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a high-pressure processing method which facilitates the container insertion or extraction work of the pouch 1 and can be automated.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems As a means for solving the above problems, the present invention fills and seals an object to be processed in a plastic film bag, stores it in a cylindrical container, puts it in a high-pressure container, and applies hydrostatic pressure. In the high-pressure treatment method of applying pressure, the plastic film bags filled with the object to be treated are individually inserted, and a stackable cylindrical tray with a bottom is used to extract the filled plastic film bags. The step of inserting into the tray, and using the assembling type container in which the cylindrical casing part and the bottom part are detachably connectable as the cylindrical container, the trays with the plastic film bag body already inserted are vertically arranged in a row on the separated bottom part. Loading the trays into the cylindrical container by stacking them on the cylindrical casing part and fitting the cylindrical casing part together with the bottom part. Put into a pressure vessel, take out after pressurizing treatment, remove the cylindrical casing part of the taken-out cylindrical container from the bottom and unload the internal tray, and pressurize from the unloaded tray And a step of extracting a plastic film bag body, which is intended to provide a high-pressure treatment method.

[0008]

Since the present invention is constructed as described above, it has the following actions.

That is, the step of loading the plastic film bags (hereinafter referred to as pouches) filled with the objects to be processed into individual dedicated stacking trays is performed by, for example, setting the conveyor-supplied object-filled pouches at predetermined positions. 1 in an empty tray
It becomes possible to insert it in a flow work by dropping it one by one. In addition, the pouch-inserted trays can be stacked by placing the separated container bottoms on, for example, an elevator and sequentially dropping them from the conveyor.

Further, the operation of fitting the cylindrical casing parts to the stacked trays and attaching / detaching them to / from the bottom part can be performed mechanically at a fixed position. The separation of the container after the high-pressure treatment and the unloading of the tray can be mechanized in the same manner, and the pouch can be automatically extracted from the unloaded tray by reversing the tray on the conveyor.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the method of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. In the figure, the same members as those of the conventional one are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the conventional FIG.

1 and 2 are a plan view and a side view of a high-pressure processing apparatus according to the method of this embodiment. 1 in both figures
1 to 14 are four sets of high-pressure processing devices arranged side by side, 15
Is a yoke movable between the high pressure processing devices 11 to 14 and a position apart from the high pressure container 5 position, 16 is a container loading / unloading device disposed between the high pressure processing devices 11 and 12 and between 13 and 14, 16a Is an elevating and swiveling type container lifting device of the container loading / unloading device 16.

Further, 17 is a rail on a pedestal 18 provided facing the high-pressure processing devices 11 to 14, 19 is a carry-in / carry-out truck that travels on the rail 17, 20 is a traverse stand on the carry-in / carry-out truck 19, Reference numeral 21 is a traverse rail provided for the traverse table 20, 22 is an assembling cylindrical container that is carried on the traverse table 20, and 23 is a loading / unloading device provided at an end of the pedestal 18, 25c, Reference numeral d is a conveyor for transporting two series of trays.

A cylindrical container 22 mounted on a traverse table 20.
Is a container loading / unloading device 16 when the loading / unloading truck 19 travels.
Stop moving to the position, traverse the carriage 20, and move the yoke 15
And the upper lid 5b is removed by a lid opening / closing device 5d attached to the high-pressure vessel, and the processed cylindrical container 22 in the high-pressure vessel 5 is moved by the elevating and swiveling container lifting device 16a.
Moving upward, on the contrary, the untreated cylindrical container 22 on the traverse table 20 is put into the high-pressure container 5 to be replaced, and the treated cylindrical container 22 is the loading / unloading device 2
It is transported to 3.

Next, FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b) are a side view and a plan view of a concrete example of the process from the loading / unloading device 23 to the conveyors 25a, 25b for carrying pouches. Note that (c) is a perspective view of the tray 26.
The pouch insertion and extraction table 24 shown in the figure can employ either manual work or mechanical work. 26 is a pouch 1
Is a cylindrical tray with a bottom for accommodating individually, and is made of thin stainless steel, aluminum alloy, hard resin, etc. in order to maintain cleanliness of work and reduce weight. There are holes for inflow and outflow of pressurized water on the bottom and / or side.

That is, in the case of manual work, the insertion of the pouch 1 is
From the end of the conveyor 25a, the pouch 1 is manually tray 26
To place it on the receiving conveyor 25c or 25d,
Further, the pouch 1 is extracted by inserting and removing the tray 26 sent from the loading / unloading device 23 side by the pouch insertion / extraction table 24 and manually dropping the pouch 1 on the conveyor 25b. Both can be operated easily and quickly.

Further, it is possible to automate the work by a mechanical work using a robot.

The tray 26 in which the pouch 1 is inserted is sent to the loading / unloading device 23 shown on the conveyor 25c or 25d. The loading / unloading device 23 supports a cylindrical casing supporting / moving device 27 capable of hoisting the cylindrical casing portion 22a of the container 22 by a cylinder 27a or the like by a small distance, and a bottom portion 22b of the container 22 on an upper portion, and a required number of trays 26.
Elevator 28 with loading platform 28a provided so as to move up and down from the conveyor by the stacking height, and cylindrical casing portion 22a
And the attaching / detaching metal fittings 29 provided at a plurality of positions on the lower edge and the peripheral portion of the bottom portion 22b.

The elevator bed 28a is stopped at a height slightly lower than the height of the conveyor, and the tray 26 on the conveyor 25c or 25d is sent onto the bed 28a by guiding the guide rails. The trays 26 are stacked while being lowered by the height for each piece. When a predetermined number of layers have been stacked, the loading platform 28a is raised to the height of the conveyor 25, and the cylinder 27a of the cylindrical casing support device 27 is moved.
The cylindrical casing 22a is moved downward by the driving of the above, and the attachment / detachment metal fittings 29 of both are coupled, and the integrally coupled cylindrical container 22 is moved to the traverse table 20 of the carry-in / carry-out vehicle by the operation of the cylindrical casing support moving device 27. Be done. The carry-in / carry-out vehicle 19 stops moving to the position of the container loading / unloading device 16 in FIG. 1, and the traverse table 20 traverses within the operating range of the lifting / lowering swivel-type container lifting device 16a. It is picked up, put into the high-pressure container 5, or taken out.

Next, FIG. 4 is a flow chart of the steps of the processing method of the present invention performed using the above-mentioned apparatus. Less than,
The procedure of the method of the present invention will be described including the flow chart of FIG.

The pouch 1 loaded and sealed with the material to be treated, which is carried in by the conveyer 25a, is individually loaded into the empty tray 26 on the pouch insertion and extraction table 24 by manual or mechanical work as described above, and then loaded. It also enters the unloading device, is loaded into the squirrel cage 22 in the manner shown in FIG. 3, etc., and the cylindrical casing 22a is attached.

The integrated and loaded cylindrical container 22 is transferred to the crossing table 20 of the loading and unloading truck to be mounted on the gantry 1.
2 is moved to a position of the container loading / unloading device 16 on the rail 17 of FIG.
As described above, after removing the upper lid from the pressure container 5 from which the yoke 15 has been removed by the lid opening / closing device 5d attached to the high-pressure container, the processed container 22 is taken out by the lifting tool 16a of the container loading / unloading device 16 and placed on the traverse table 20. Then, the other unprocessed container 22 on the traverse table 20 is loaded into the high-pressure container 5.

The processed container 22 taken out is moved by the loading / unloading carriage 19 to load and unload device 23.
The cylindrical casing 22a is removed, and the trays 26 are unloaded one by one from the upper side during the intermittent ascent of the elevator 28 from the lowered position, and the empty cylindrical container 22 is loaded for loading. stand by.

The unloading trays 26 are sent one by one onto the pouch insertion and extraction table 24 by the conveyors 25c or 25d, where the pouch 1 is sequentially extracted from the tray 26 by reversing the tray 26. The conveyor 25
By b, it is sent to the post-processing step such as the boxing device section.
The empty tray 26 is sent to the loading side.

According to the above-mentioned method, the operation of loading the pouch filled with the object to be processed into the cylindrical container includes the operation of filling or removing the tray, the operation of loading or unloading the tray at the bottom of the container, and the cylinder. The operation is separated into the operation of attaching or detaching the casing portion 22a to the bottom, each operation is simplified and mechanized, and the operation process of the entire high-pressure processing apparatus can be easily automated.

[0026]

The present invention has the following effects because it is configured as described above.

That is, according to the method of the present invention, the object to be treated is filled and sealed in a plastic film bag, housed in a cylindrical container, placed in a high-pressure container, and subjected to hydrostatic pressing. The plastic film bag filled with the object to be processed is individually inserted, and a cylindrical stacking tray with a bottom plate that can be removed is used to insert the filled plastic film bag into the tray. The pouch becomes irregular and becomes easy to handle, which is difficult to handle. Further, as the cylindrical container, an assembling type container in which the cylindrical casing portion and the bottom portion are detachably connectable is used, and the trays in which the plastic film bag bodies have been inserted are vertically stacked on the separated bottom portion to form the cylindrical casing portion. The step of loading the tray into the cylindrical container coupled with the fitting bottom, the step of charging the loaded cylindrical container into the high-pressure container and taking out after the pressure treatment, and the cylindrical casing part of the taken-out cylindrical container By including the steps of removing from the bottom and unloading the internal tray and extracting the pressure-treated plastic film bag from the unloading tray, a plastic film bag (pouch) Loading of the pouch into the container for the treatment of liquid-type workpieces using Significantly simplify down loading operation, to facilitate the work, can automate the entire process of the high-pressure processing apparatus.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a high-pressure processing apparatus used in the method of the present invention,

2 is a side view taken along the line II-II of FIG.

3A and 3B are views for explaining a main part of a process flow in the method of the present invention, in which FIG. 3A is a side view, FIG. 3B is a plan view, and FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an operating procedure according to the method of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a procedure of a conventional high pressure processing method,
(A) is a diagram showing a state in which the pouch 1 is loaded into the cylindrical container 2, (b) is a diagram showing a state in which the cylindrical container 2 filled with the pouch 1 is being accommodated in the high-pressure container 5, (c) is It is a figure of the state where the high-pressure container 5 is pressurized.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Plastic film bag (pouch) 5 High-pressure container 5a Cylindrical container body 5b Upper lid 5c Lower lid 5d Lid opening / closing device 6 Seal 7 High-pressure pipe 8 High-pressure pump 9 High-pressure valve 11-14 High-pressure processing device 15 Yoke 16 Container loading / unloading device 16a Lifting and swiveling container lifting device 17 Rails 18 Frame 19 Loading / unloading truck 20 Traverse stand 21 Traverse rail 22 Cylindrical container 22a Cylindrical casing part 22b Bottom 23 Loading and unloading device 24 Pouch inserting and extracting table 25a, 25b, 25c, 25d Conveyor 26 Tray 27 Cylindrical casing support device 27a Cylinder 28 Elevator 28a Loading platform (of elevator) 29 Detachable fitting

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A high-pressure treatment method in which an object to be treated is filled and sealed in a plastic film bag, placed in a cylindrical container and placed in a high-pressure container, and hydrostatic pressure is applied to fill the object to be treated. Inserting the plastic film bag body individually, using a stackable tray tray with a bottomed cylindrical shape, the step of inserting the filled plastic film bag body into the tray, and as the cylindrical container Using a prefabricated container in which the cylindrical casing part and the bottom part are detachably connectable, the trays with the plastic film bag bodies already inserted are stacked vertically in a row on the separated bottom part, and the cylindrical casing part is fitted and connected to the bottom part. And loading the tray into a cylindrical container, loading the above-mentioned loaded cylindrical container into a high-pressure container, and removing it after pressurizing. And removing the cylindrical casing of the cylindrical container from the bottom and unloading the internal tray, and extracting the pressure-treated plastic film bag from the unloaded tray. High pressure treatment method.