EP0682622B1 - Process and device for sterilizing and filling liquid packages and their use with a special package - Google Patents

Abstract

PCT No. PCT/EP94/00353 Sec. 371 Date Sep. 22, 1995 Sec. 102(e) Date Sep. 22, 1995 PCT Filed Feb. 8, 1994 PCT Pub. No. WO94/18075 PCT Pub. Date Aug. 18, 1994A process for sterilizing and filling packages (1) for flowable media, open on one side, under the influence of pulsating light and use of a filler pipe (5) is improved to the effect that treatment by chemical media together with its associated disadvantages in avoided. For this, the package (1), enclosing the filler pipe (5) and the light source (7), is moved sufficiently far relatively to the filler pipe (5) and to the light source (7) for the bottom edge (16) of the filler pipe (5) and the light source (7) to be located near to the closed end (3) of the package, sterile gas is blown into the package (1) and the light is allowed to take effect, and after shutting off the light source (7), the light source (7) is moved along in one direction and the package (1), being filled, is moved in the other direction, then closed and transported onwards.

Description

The invention relates to a method for sterilizing and filling one-sided open flux packs under the influence of light and using a filling tube, the pack being moved relative to the light source by enclosing the light source until the lower edge of the light source is close to the closed end of the pack. The invention also relates to a device for the sterilization and filling of one-sided open plastic packaging with a lamp which is movably driven in the space within the packaging wall and with a filling tube.

It is known to sterilize liquid packs before filling, e.g. Milk packs, the tube walls of which have paper as the carrier material and are coated on the surfaces with one or more layers. In the known method, the inside of the pack is treated with chemical sterilizing agents. This sterilization is disadvantageously slow and, in addition, the treatment of the package must take place in closed rooms, i.e. the packs must be enclosed in aseptic compartments. Another disadvantage is that the chemical sterilant must be removed after the process is completed, e.g. by drying to remove residual chemical agents from the surfaces of the packages. This has resulted in complicated and expensive machines and the known method is also expensive to carry out.

From document DE-C-29 14 075 a method and a device similar to the type mentioned are known. Lamps which emit UV radiation are introduced into the interior of a container which is open on one side, in order in this way to carry out the sterilization of the inner walls of the container. So that all angular ranges within the container are now detected, the sterilization takes place in three successive cycles, ie by means of three emitters, each of which is different relative to the container just irradiated Takes up position than the other two spotlights. In this and also in other embodiments, care is taken in the known case that the UV lamp takes up several different positions inside the container. This is obviously necessary, because the UV lamps of the known device are slim and are immersed like a rod in a larger container, so that not all of the inner walls are evenly and completely irradiated and thus sterilized.

The known sterilization device has nothing in common with a filling device and is located separately from it in the conveying direction of the containers behind the sterilization stage. Hot sterilization of the containers with superheated steam can be carried out in the same operation with the irradiation by UV radiation.

From document DE-A-25 10 076 a method and a device for sterilizing and filling a tube made of packaging material are known. A filling pipe is located concentrically in an air supply pipe, both of which are surrounded concentrically by a reflector and a UV radiation source. The sterilization arrangement is stationary and the tube is passed at a predetermined speed for sterilization. Although the hose surrounds both the feed pipes and the UV lamp, it is not a matter of sterilizing individual containers, but of a continuously filled and moving hose in the lower area, which has a hose formation area at the top.

The object of the invention is to provide a new method and a new device of the kind specified in the introduction in such a way that the treatment by chemical means in connection with the associated disadvantages is avoided, while also immersing the UV lamp and sterilizing in three cycles different positions of the emitters are avoided, the device being designed to be more practical and simpler and having a faster effect.

With regard to the method, the object of the invention is achieved in that the package also surrounds the filling tube and is moved relative to the filling tube until the lower edge of the filling tube is close to the closed end of the package, then sterile gas is blown into the package and pulsating light of a high energy content is allowed to act, after switching off the light source arranged next to the outer surface of the filling tube, the light source is moved away from the lower edge of the filling tube in one direction and the packing is filled in the other direction, then sealed and conveyed away. With this process, packs with high performance (large quantities per unit of time) can be packed in a confined space and therefore with compact machines. sterilize and fill, the sterilization preferably being carried out immediately before and during the filling and being kept sterile until the interior of the package standing above the flow agent is closed.

Superplasticizers generally move downwards under the effect of gravity with a more or less large vertical component, which is why the filling is carried out according to the invention predominantly from top to bottom in a preferred embodiment, which is why the light source is immersed in the interior of the package relative to the package downwards and during filling, after the sterilizing action of the light has killed the bacteria, is moved upwards relative to the lower edge of the filling tube, so that no flux splashes against the lamp housing during filling.

It is advantageous if, according to the invention, an atmosphere with sterile gas is maintained in the interior of the package during the entire sterilization, filling and closing process. So that bacteria do not get on the outside of the packaging or on machine parts with which sterilization, filling and sealing take place from the outside after the initial sterilization, the above measure according to the invention ensures that sterile gas, e.g. sterile air is continuously conveyed into the interior of the pack. With appropriate throttling of the discharge lines, one can easily ensure that an overpressure of sterile gas arises and is maintained inside the package. This ensures that the contents are filled into the sterile package and that the space above the upper level of the contents remains sterile as long as the package is still open.

It is particularly advantageous if sterile gas sweeps outside over the surface of the filling tube during the entire operation. It is unavoidable and in some cases even desirable if the outlet opening of the filling pipe on its lower edge and thus some surfaces of the filling pipe come into direct contact with the filling material. If the sterile gas continuously sweeps over the surfaces of the filling tube, bacterial contamination can advantageously be eliminated.

With regard to the device, the above-mentioned object is achieved according to the invention in that the pulsating light of a high energy content-emitting lamp is arranged in a lamp housing which is internally cooled with a coolant, next to the outer surface of the stationary filling tube which is movable relative to the pack and is open at its lower edge, which Lamp housing can be moved in the space between the filling tube and the packing wall is driven and that lines for leading sterile gas are provided in the interior of the package. Lamps for generating pulsed light are known per se, and it is also known to arrange these lamps in a cooled lamp housing. However, the special feature of the present invention lies in the at least partially annular configuration and arrangement of the lamp housing surrounding the stationary filling tube. In this way, the device according to the invention can be designed to be particularly compact and even used in small packages for sterilization, because the arrangement of the lamp housing close to the filling tube requires little space next to a filling tube, which is generally small in the radial direction, almost always smaller than the diameter of a packing tube. You can use differently designed lamps, for example spiral or rod-shaped lamps.

According to the invention, it is not necessary, for example, to arrange rod-shaped lamps close to one another around the filling tube in order to ensure a sterilizing effect over the entire circumference of the filling tube and also to the packing wall arranged further out. Rather, a complete annular space is spanned by a single lamp rod by a rotary movement. The drive of the lamp housing is not only to be understood in the sense of rotation, but you can also translate the lamp housing vertically up and down. This makes it possible to use ring-shaped or partially ring-shaped lamps or even short lamp rods and to cover the entire annular space with them. Furthermore, it is possible to design the holder of the lamp housing with respect to the filling tube in such a way that sterile gas can optionally also be introduced continuously into the interior of the package during the entire operation.

It is also expedient according to the invention if the lamp with the lamp housing is fastened to a lifting and swiveling device which surrounds the filling tube while leaving passage lines, and if the substantially vertical extension of the lamp corresponds approximately to the substantially vertical height of the pack. Although the vertical extension could be shorter, as explained above, the sterilization takes less time if the lamp has its effect over the entire vertical extension of the package. It is then sufficient to pivot the elongated part of the lamp by 90 °, 180 ° or almost 360 °, provided that two or only one essentially vertical part, possibly a rod-shaped part, is specified in the lamp configuration. If one nonetheless Lifting device is useful, then this is used after switching off the lamp for moving away from the lower edge of the filling tube during the filling operation to ensure that no filling material accidentally splashes on the lamp housing.

This is because the lamp housing is advantageously predominantly formed with a quartz glass covering. Also, due to the temperatures that occur during operation of the lamp, it is undesirable to let contents get onto the lamp housing.

The lifting device is of course also used to lower the lamp housing relative to the filling tube, because for the actual sterilization process the lamp housing should completely cover that area of the filling tube which is located in the interior of the package that is open on one side, so that the packaging and the filling tube over their entire height as simultaneously as possible can be sterilized.

It goes without saying that the inner wall of the lamp housing must also be transparent, and it is particularly advantageous if the filling tube has a layer on the outside that reflects the pulsating light, e.g. a layer containing metal. Then bacteria located on the fill tube are subject both to the bombardment of the light from the lamp and then to the bombardment of the reflected light from the surface of the fill tube. In addition, the power of the light rays emitted radially outwards from the entire lamp is thereby additionally increased.

In an advantageous further embodiment of the invention, the filling pipe carries a fixed connection in its upper region at a distance from the lifting and swiveling device, a flexible bellows being attached in a gastight manner between the fixed connection and the lifting and swiveling device and surrounding the filling pipe. Assuming a stationary filling tube, which serves only for the supply of the filling inside, the supply line for sterile gas is as far as possible placed in the space between the lamp housing and the filling tube for the most compact possible configuration of the device according to the invention, because this space then allows both the sterilization of the filling tube outside as well as the passing of the sterilizing gas into the inside of the package. However, so that this generally annular space between the filler tube and lamp housing can be provided with the gas supply, the fixed connection is provided according to the invention in the upper region of the filler tube. By "upper area" is meant an area on the filling tube that is located at a sufficient distance from the highest possible position of the upper edge of the open package. This distance is chosen so that the invention here provided flexible bellows can be accommodated, both in its compressed and expanded form. Because the lamp housing with the lifting and swiveling device is moved up and down translationally as well as swiveled by the specific angle of rotation, the expedient attachment of the bellows to the lifting and swiveling device is in the lower region of the bellows and to the fixed connection in its upper part Area thought. In a preferred embodiment, the fixed connection will be a hollow ring which is attached to the filling pipe and which ensures the transition or distribution of the sterile gas or sterilizing gas from outside through a connecting line down into the bellows. The bellows surrounds the filling tube at a radial distance and is also filled with the sterile gas during operation.

It is also expedient according to the invention if movable sealing jaws are arranged in the region outside the lower edge of the filling tube. The use of the device according to the invention is primarily intended for the intermittent sterilization of packages that have a tube, one end of which, e.g. the later lid is closed, while the other end, e.g. the later floor, is open. In connection with the last-mentioned embodiment, the sterilization device is particularly suitable for the sterilization and filling of packages whose tube consists of a foldable material. This material must be covered with sealable layers, and such a bottom of a package that is then filled is folded and sealed by correspondingly movable sealing jaws. The sealing jaws can be electrically or otherwise heated pressure jaws or counter pressure jaws; the same application is also successful with ultrasound, with the sealing jaw then being the front part of a sonotrode.

If the movable sealing jaws or ultrasonic jaws are arranged in the manner described next to the lower edge of the filling tube, one can advantageously keep the distance between the upper edge of the still open package on the one hand and the lamp housing on the other hand small with the result that only small gaps remain between them. which allow a certain amount of sterile gas to escape before folding and closing the package.

Although the outflow of sterile gas is harmless and in no way renders the operation of the device according to the invention uneconomical, it is provided in another preferred embodiment of the invention that a flexible sleeve is arranged at a radial distance around the lamp housing, which is at the top in the area of the fixed connection attached gas-tight and provided close to the top of the sealing jaws is. As a result, a closed space can be kept above the open package without the sterile gas having to flow continuously in order to maintain the excess pressure of the sterile gas atmosphere. Where the lower part of the sleeve rests on the upper side of the sealing jaws, a gas-tight connection between the sleeve and the tool part at the top next to the packing tube can be ensured by pressing or attaching, and you can even touch this ring area of the sleeve during the movement of the sealing jaws hold it so that the lower part of the sleeve follows the sealing jaws during the folding movement. The space above the packaging can then also be kept closed during the folding and welding movement.

It is particularly advantageous if, according to the invention, the lamp in the lamp housing surrounding it is U-shaped in a side view transversely to the translatory lifting direction, the web connecting the legs of the U being curved, preferably semicircular in plan view, and when the lamp housing has an annular shape. In plan view of the lamp housing, one can easily imagine its shape in the form of a hollow ring which surrounds the fill tube. In this hollow ring there is a cylinder jacket-shaped space; Better: the volume is hollow cylindrical. If you arrange a side view of a U-shaped lamp in this room, the legs of which have approximately the vertical extent over the height of the packing tube, then it is easy to understand that a 90 ° swivel of the lifting and swiveling device in one direction and the other is sufficient to coat the entire surface of the filling tube on the inside and the packing tube on the outside. Such a lamp is quite effective, and yet there is enough space in the remaining hollow cylindrical space for the arrangement of cooling tubes for introducing and distributing a coolant, for example water, between the lamp and the lamp housing.

The use of the method or the device according to one of the above-described embodiments is particularly advantageous in the case of plasticizer packs with tube walls, on the carrier material of which a reflective layer is applied to the inside of the pack. For example, paper or polypropylene foam can be used as the carrier material. A reflective layer is then expediently applied to the surface of the tube wall, which lies on the inside of the pack when it is erected, which should be covered by a transparent polypropene film towards the filling material. Here, too, the sterilizing effect of the light is double, as already described above in connection with the externally reflective filling tube. After emission from the lamp, the light pulse develops its first effect when it hits the reflecting layer, is reflected there and can then have the same sterilizing effect deploy a second time to any bacteria. To protect the reflective layer, it is optionally and for particularly advantageous effects surrounded by a layer containing SiOx, preferably vapor-deposited in the plasma as a base for the reflective layer.

Figur 1

abgebrochen und im Querschnitt eine Ausführungsform einer das Füllrohr umgreifenden Lampe, wobei die zu füllende Packung in einem nicht dargestellten Halter für dieselbe gerade in ihre obere Position gefahren ist,

Figur 2

eine Querschnittsansicht in Heberichtung vertikal von oben nach unten etwa entlang der Linie II-II der Figur 1,

Figur 3

eine stark vergrößerte und abgebrochene Querschnittsansicht des Materials der Tubuswandung,

Figur 4

in verkleinertem Maßstab eine ähnliche Ansicht wie Figur 1, wobei jedoch in den Positionen II bis V zusätzliche, verschiedene Verfahrensstufen dargestellt sind, und

Figur 5

eine abgebrochene und vergrößerte Querschnittsansicht ähnlich der der Figur 1, wobei jedoch eine andere Ausführungsform mit außerhalb des Lampengehäuses angeordneter flexibler Manschette dargestellt ist.

Further advantages, advantageous features and possible applications of the present invention result from the following description in conjunction with the attached drawings.
Show it:

Figure 1

broken off and in cross section an embodiment of a lamp encompassing the filling tube, the package to be filled having just been moved into its upper position in a holder (not shown),

Figure 2

2 shows a cross-sectional view in the lifting direction vertically from top to bottom approximately along the line II-II in FIG. 1,

Figure 3

a greatly enlarged and broken cross-sectional view of the material of the tube wall,

Figure 4

on a smaller scale a similar view to Figure 1, but in positions II to V additional, different process steps are shown, and

Figure 5

a broken and enlarged cross-sectional view similar to that of Figure 1, but another embodiment is shown with the flexible sleeve arranged outside the lamp housing.

A package 1, which is open on one side at the top and is to be sterilized and filled, consists of tube walls 2 and a cover 3, which is arranged here below, because the package is carried upside down by a holder (not shown) so that this is shown in FIG Field indicated filling material 4 can be filled from top to bottom.

Filling is carried out by a filling tube 5 which is circular and stationary in cross section. In its lower region, this is surrounded by a lamp 7 which is mounted in a lamp housing 6 and which, in the side view of FIG. 1, transversely to the paper plane and transversely to the translatory lifting direction 8, 8 'has the shape of a U, the vertical legs 7' of a curved horizontal web 7 '' are connected.

The lamp 7, 7 'with the lamp housing 6 is fastened in a movable lifting and swiveling device 9 which, on the one hand, can be swiveled in the direction of the double arrow 10 in FIG is and on the other hand in the direction of the double arrow 8 in Figure 1 in the vertical direction up and down. With 11 the electrical connections for the lamp 7 are designated. The lamp housing 6 consists of quartz glass.

In the upper area at a distance from the lifting and swiveling device 9, a fixed connection 12 in the form of a hollow annular space is fastened to the filling pipe 5 with a connection line 13 for sterile gas. Between this fixed connection 13 and the lifting and swiveling device 9, a flexible bellows 14 is arranged in a gas-tight manner such that a sterile gas entering the feed line 13 and the annular, hollow connection 12 according to arrow 15 (FIG. 4) enters the interior of the bellows 14 arrives because it defines an annular space around the filling pipe. The sterile gas flows out of the flexible bellows 14, sweeping downwards along the outer surface of the filling tube 5, through the annular space and down next to the lower edge 16 of the filling tube 5 according to arrows 17. The sterile gas flows through the annular space 19 between the filler tube 5 or lamp housing 6 on the one hand and the packing wall 2 on the other hand and escapes according to the curved arrows 18. The sterile gas according to arrow 15 is supplied with a drain according to arrows 17 or 18 in the embodiment according to FIGS. 1 to 4 continuously during all operating stages I to V in FIG. 4.

In the embodiments shown here, the closed lower end 3 of the pack 1 is the later cover, while the bottom is created by folding. This folding is provided by the sealing jaws 20, which are shown in the embodiment of FIG. 5 as a sonotrode 20 'with counter jaws 20' '. These sealing jaws 20, 20 ', 20' 'perform an arc-shaped movement along the arrows 21 (FIG. 4, IV) and back again (not shown) for the closing movement.

During operation, cooling water enters the distribution line 22 at the top (FIG. 2) and exits into the space in the housing 6 via two side branch lines 23 in order to cool the lamp 7.

If the tube wall 2 of the pack 1 in FIG. 1 were cut off and enlarged excessively, a cross-sectional view of the material would be obtained, as shown in FIG. The outside of the packaging on the left and the inside of the packaging on the right. A metal layer 26 is applied to the carrier material 24 coated on the outside with plastic, not shown, via a binder layer 25 on a glass layer 27 vapor-deposited in the plasma onto a transparent polypropylene layer 28.

The embodiment of FIG. 5 differs from that of FIG. 1 only in that a flexible sleeve 29 is arranged on the outside around the entire area of the lamp 7 and is held on the sealing jaws 20 ', 20' 'along an annular line 30, that a space with aseptic gas is kept above the package 1 even when the sealing jaws 20 ', 20' 'are moved downwards to close the bottom of the package towards the center according to the curved arrows 21. For example, the sleeve 29 may be attached to the sealing jaw 20 ', 20' 'at location 32 (e.g. straight line).

The operation of the device according to the invention can best be explained with reference to FIG. 4. In position I, the package 1, which is open on one side above, has been moved so far upward in its lifting direction 8 'via its holder (not shown) that the closed lower end 3 of the package 1 comes to lie close to the lower edge 16 of the filling tube 5. Sterile gas 15 is now introduced into the annular connection 12 and flows through the flexible bellows 14 outside along the filling tube 5 inside the lamp housing 6 in order to emerge according to the curved arrows 17 at the lower closed end 3 of the pack 1 and this end wall, which later becomes the The lid of the package is to be sterilized and then climbed upwards along the tube walls 2 until the sterile air can escape according to the arrows 18.

During this pre-sterilization, the lamp 7 is switched on and emits light pulses of high energy, for example by discharges with a frequency of 20 per second. These emitted light pulses are suitable for killing bacteria present on the lamp housing 6 and in particular in the pack 1. With the aid of the lifting and pivoting device 9, the lamp housing 6 is pivoted back and forth in accordance with the curved double arrow 10 (FIG. 2) in order to intimate as much as possible the rod-shaped, vertically arranged U-legs 7 'of the discharge lamp 7 with all areas of the surfaces to be sterilized Bring light contact. With a cycle time of 1.9 seconds, for example, about 0.3 seconds are required for sterilization by the lamp being switched on. While the sterilizing agent or the sterile gas 15-18 continues to flow, the lamp 7 is switched off and moved upward in the lifting direction 8 ', whereupon liquid flows down through the filling tube 5 and the package 1 begins to fill. The position of position II in FIG. 4 has now been reached.

The pack 1 is moved downward with the inflow of the liquid at a correspondingly coordinated speed, so that the liquid level 31 is always approximately in the region of the lower edge 16 of the filling tube 5. The bellows 14 has compressed because the upper end of the lamp housing 6 has now been moved closer to the fixed connection 12.

In order to reach position III, the lamp 7 is moved downward in a direction opposite the arrow direction 8 ′ until the lower end of the lamp housing lies just above the connecting line of the sealing jaws 20. The upper end of the package 1, which is open on one side at the top, is also at this height, as can clearly be seen in position III. As a result, only a very narrow annular gap or rectangular gap is maintained within the sealing jaws 20, so that only a little sterile gas flows out according to the curved arrows 17. The bellows 14 has now expanded back into its normal elongated shape.

Because the pack 1 is already completely filled with the contents 4, the pack must now also be closed in its later base area, namely by folding. This is accomplished by moving the two sealing jaws 20 in accordance with the curved arrows 21, as shown in position IV. Here the folding floor has just been closed and is sealed liquid-tight.

The sealing jaws 20 then move outward again in the basic position counter to the direction of the arrow 21, and the pack 1 is moved away to the right.

In the meantime, in the V position, a new pack 1 can be brought up in the direction of the arrow 31 shown there under the lamp housing 6 with the filler tube 5, arranged and moved upwards again in the lifting direction 8 ', so that the position I is reached, after which the operating game described is complete repeated.

The pack 1 is arranged according to FIG. 5 next to a sleeve-shaped holder 33 in order to complete the closure of the sterile room at the bottom. It can be seen that this holder 33 is arranged at a small distance next to the sealing jaws 20 ', 20''. While maintaining this distance, it moves together with the sealing jaws and relative to the pack 1.

Reference list

1

pack

2nd

Tube walls

3rd

cover

4th

Product

5

Filling pipe

6

Lamp housing

7, 7 '

Lamp,

7 '

leg

7 ''

web

8, 8 '

Lifting direction

9

Lifting and swiveling device

10th

Double arrow

11

connections

12th

Connection

13

Connection line, supply line

14

bellows

15

Arrow, sterile gas

16

Lower edge

17th

Arrows, gas

18th

Arrows, gas

19th

room

20th

Sealing jaws

20 '

Sonotrode

20 ''

Counter jaws

21

Arrows

22

Distribution line

23

Branch lines

24th

Backing material

25th

Binder layer

26

Metal layer

27

Layer of glass

28

Polypropylene layer

29

cuff

30th

line

31

Liquid level, arrow

32

Attachment point

33

sleeve-shaped holder

Claims (10)

1. Process for stelilising and filling of packages for flowable media (1) open on one side, with exposure to light, and using a filler pipe (5), wherein the package (1), while surrounding the light source (7, 7'), is moved relative to the light source until the bottom edge of the light source (7, 7') is located near to the closed end (3) of the package, characterised in that the package (1) also surrounds the filler pipe (5) and is moved relative to the filler pipe until the bottom edge (16) of the filler pipe (5) is located near to the closed end (3) of the package, then sterile gas is blown into the package (1), and high-energy pulsating light is allowed to take effect, after the light source (7, 7') arranged adjacent to the outside surface of the filler pipe is switched off, the light source (7, 7') is moved away from the bottom edge (16) of the filler pipe (5) in one direction and the package, while being filled, is moved in the other direction, then closed and transported away.
2. Process according to claim 1, characterised in that during the whole sterilising, filling and closing procedure an atmosphere with sterile gas is maintained in the interior of the package (1).
3. Process according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that during the whole operation, sterile gas (15-18) sweeps externally over the surface of the filler pipe (5).
4. Device for sterilising and filling of packages for flowable media (1) open on one side, with a lamp (7, 7') which is movably driven in the space inside the package wall (2), and with a filler pipe (5), characterised in that the pulsating light of a high-energy emitting lamp (7, 7') in a lamp housing (6) internally cooled with a cooling medium is arranged adjacent to the external surface of the stationary filler pipe (5), movable relative to the package (1), and open at its bottom edge (16), the lamp housing (6) is movably driven in the space (19) between the filler pipe (5) and the package wall (2), and that lines (13, 19) for conveying sterile gas (15-19) to the inside of the package (1) are provided.
5. Device according to claim 4, characterised in that the lamp (7, 7') with the lamp housing (6) is fixed to a lifting and pivoting apparatus (9), which surrounds the filler pipe (5) while leaving passage lines, and that the substantially vertical extent of the lamp (7, 7') corresponds approximately to the substantially vertical height of the package (1).
6. Device according to claim 4 or 5, characterised in that the upper area of the filler pipe (5) carries a fixed connection (12) at a distance from the lifting and pivoting apparatus (9), between which a flexible bellows (14) is fitted in a gas tight manner, surrounding the filler pipe (5).
7. Device according to one of claims 4 to 6, characterised in that movable sealing jaws (20, 20', 20'') are arranged in the area outside the bottom edge (16) of the filler pipe (5).
8. Device according to one of claims 4 to 7, characterised in that a flexible sleeve (29) is arranged at a radial distance around the lamp housing (6), which is fixed in a gas-tight manner at the top in the area of the fixed connection (12), and at the bottom lying closely on the top side of the sealing jaws (20', 20'').
9. Device according to one of claims 4 to 8, characterised in that the lamp (7, 7') in the lamp housing (6) surrounding it, is U-shaped when seen from the side at right angles to the translatory direction of lift (8), wherein the web (7'') joining the legs (7') of the U-shape is arcuate in plan view, preferably semi-circular, and that the lamp housing (6) is annular.
10. Use of the process of the device according to one of the preceding claims with packages (1) with tubular walls (2), on the base material (24) of which, facing the inside of the package, a reflective layer is applied (Figure 3).

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