EP2132096B1 - System and method for the sterile packaging of products - Google Patents

Abstract

The plant (1) for sterile packaging of products in packaging bag useful in food- and beverage industry, comprises packing station in clean area, input sluice (5) with sterilization device (4) for supplying the packaging bag and/or packaging raw material, filling station arranged as packing station with sealing station (14) in the clean area, control unit, and blowing-off station arranged in the clean area in transport direction of the packaging bag and/or the packaging raw material on the input sluice and/or on the sterilization device for removing the pressure medium from the packaging bag. The plant (1) for sterile packaging of products in a packaging bag useful in food- and beverage industry, comprises a packing station in a clean area, an input sluice (5) with a sterilization device (4) for supplying the packaging bag and/or packaging raw material, a filling station arranged as packing station with a sealing station (14) in the clean area, a control unit, a blowing-off station arranged in the clean area in transport direction of the packaging bag and/or the packaging raw material on the input sluice and/or on the sterilization device for removing the pressure medium from the packaging bag, and a delivering unit arranged in the clean area for the admission of a supply role serving a flat material, which is wind up to a roll and supplied and sterilized over the input sluice for the production of packaging bag. The sterilization device is formed for a sterilization of the packaging bag and/or the packaging raw material by a high pressure treatment and is formed by a lockable high pressure container (7), in which the packaging bag and/or the packaging raw material are treated by liquid treatment or pressure treatment with pressure medium. The pressure medium is air, nitrogen, carbon dioxide or inert gas. The high pressure container has a first lockable opening for bringing the packaging bag and/or the packaging raw material at the non-sterile side of the input sluice, and a second lockable opening for discharging the packaging bag and/or the packaging raw material at the sterile side of the input sluice. The control unit is arranged for opening or closing the openings of the high pressure container in counter rotation manner. The pressure container is formed for a pressure treatment in the range of 3000-7000 bar. An independent claim is included for a procedure for sterile packaging of products in a clean room.

Description

The invention relates to a system for the sterile packaging of products according to the preamble of claim 1 and to a method for the sterile packaging of products according to the preamble of claim 15.

In the food and beverage industry, sterilization apparatus and sterilization methods are well known. The technology for solid, rigid containers, such as bottles or the like, constituting a monolithic body produced by blown and / or deep drawing methods is very mature. The surfaces are smooth and substantially free from intractable grooves, wrinkles or the like.

In the case of flexible packaging bags, on the other hand, production-related results in a less smooth surface that forms transitions and undercuts. For shaping the bags, bending edges, adhesive surfaces, fold areas must be accepted, through which narrow and difficult to access areas for cleaning or sterilizing liquids, such as grooves, folds, edges and / or the like arise.

For many liquids and products that are commercially packed in flexible bags, thermal treatment of the filled bag is not desirable, as quality degradation of the product is the result of thermal treatment. Therefore, there is a great interest in cold aseptic filling. In addition to known purification steps in water, steam or sterilizing liquids, the sterilization with H ₂ O _{2 is} very common in the field of industrial filling machines for beverages. WO 05/120960 A1 discloses such an aseptic molding, filling and sealing method.

Even if this system works reliably in principle, the degree of wetting of the surface to be sterilized is limited in the shortest possible time and an increase in the flow rate at even lower counts is not or only with unreasonably high effort achievable with such system.

It is further known that the packaging starting material or the film material which is used for the production of packaging bags, to sterilize before processing and to carry out the manufacture of the bags as such in a sterile room or clean room. In the GB 1,166,010 A It is proposed to pass the film material in a first step through a wet cleaning station, in which the film is pre-cleaned, subsequently to pass the thus cleaned film to a UV light source in order to achieve the desired germ killing.

Comparable solutions are in DE 40 07 714 A1 . DE 42 09 838 A1 . DE 196 26 705 A1 or WO 99/21593 A1 described in which case the pre-cleaning in the first step is also carried out by means of a suitable liquid bath. Downstream of this first treatment step, the film is guided in a shaft upwards, so that the liquid can drain, wherein in front of the UV lamp suitable scrapers of the other drying devices are arranged. This wet, partly mechanical cleaning stage is required in order to realize a significant amount of seed removal in a first step, since the sole UV irradiation is not sufficient, especially at high running speeds of the strip material. This wet, mechanical treatment of the films is complicated and represents an optionally incomplete removal of liquid residues and drying also a product deterioration. Also, UV irradiation in many cases, especially in packaging bags does not lead to the desired degree of sterilization, especially if such Bag for the UV radiation heavy or insufficiently accessible areas and / or consist of a UV light not permeable or difficult to transmit material, for example, a multilayer material with one or more diffusion barrier layers.

Also known is a device for sterilizing products by high-pressure treatment, ie by all-round or all-surface loading of the product at high pressure, for example with a treatment pressure in the range of 4000 bar ( EP 1 327 392 A1 ). This known device, which consists essentially of a closable and can be acted upon by the high pressure treatment high-pressure vessel is preferably intended for the treatment of food products.

For the purposes of the present invention, "packaging" is to be understood as any type of packaging of products in packaging materials, in particular also the filling of packaging materials, for example bags with a product, and the subsequent closing of the filled packaging material.

"Packaging" in the context of the invention are packaging of various types and / or elements of packaging, such. Containers, closures or caps, but especially packaging bags and so-called "pouches".

For the purposes of the invention, "packaging raw material" is the semifinished product used for the production or for the molding of the packaging material, in particular flat material (films), especially also in rolled-up form.

"Germs" are within the meaning of the invention are microorganisms of any kind, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, etc.

The object of the invention is to show a system with which a packaging of products using packaging with a high degree of sterilization is possible. To solve this problem, a system according to claim 1 is formed. A method for the sterile packaging of products is the subject of patent claim 15.

With the system according to the invention, a high degree of sterilization (extremely low remaining germ count) is achieved for the packaging starting material or packaging material used and thus for the product produced. This is especially true for such packaging, such as. Packaging bags which have no or hardly accessible areas for the usual cleaning or sterilization processes and the liquid and / or gaseous sterilization media used there and / or for UV light.

With the construction according to the invention a complete all-surface sterilization of the respective packaging material or packaging raw material is achieved on all surfaces, in particular in packaging bags or other three-dimensional or voluminous packaging materials on all areas of the inside and outside.

Further developments, advantages and applications of the invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments and from the figures. In this case, all described and / or illustrated features alone or in any combination are fundamentally the subject of the invention, regardless of their summary in the claims or their dependency. Also, the content of the claims is made an integral part of the description.

The invention will be described below with reference to the FIGS. 1 and 2 , each of which in a simplified schematic representation of a sterilization device for packaging, together with systems for processing of these packaging, explained in more detail.

The in the FIG. 1 generally designated 1 plant is used for sterile filling and sealing of packaging materials in the form of packaging bags 2. The packaging bag 2, for example, made of a single or multi-layer plastic film of the system 1 or a sterilization device 4 of this system via a suitable external conveyor 3, for example as contiguous packaging bag train 2.1 supplied in which the packaging bag 2 are connected via material sections, for example via perforated material sections with each other.

The sterilization device 4 is part of an entrance lock 5, which separates the sterile interior or clean room 6 of the system 1 from the external environment, and essentially consists of a double-side closable high-pressure container 7, in which the sterilization of the packaging bag 2 by treatment with high pressure ie with a treatment pressure P, for example in the range between 3000 and 7000 bar. The high-pressure container 7 may have an inner diameter of up to 500 mm and a length in the range between 3000 mm and 4000 mm. A common inside diameter is in the range of 300 to 400 mm.

For this pressure treatment, the closed interior 8 of the high-pressure container 7 is filled with a pressure-transmitting medium (hereinafter also "pressure medium"), which is in the liquid state at least at the treatment pressure P and the interior 8 of the high-pressure container 7 completely filled out. Particularly suitable as a pressure medium is a sterile, incompressible medium which has a liquid state even at ambient pressure, for example sterile water or pure water. In principle, sterile gases which have a liquid state at the treatment pressure P, for example air, CO ₂ , nitrogen or noble gases, are also suitable as the pressure medium. This is an inert behavior of the gases compared to the packaging of crucial importance. The great advantage of using liquid gases is that buildup of this pressure medium as a result of the pressure drop completely in the gaseous state and thus the packaging materials can be removed dry without a separate drying step is required.

By the at least at the treatment pressure liquid, the high-pressure container 7 and its interior 8 completely filling pressure medium, the pressure treatment of the packaging bag 2 in all areas with the high pressure is possible. The pressure medium and the treatment pressure are provided by a pressure generator or pressure source 9.

The packaging bag 2 are in the at FIG. 1 illustrated embodiment, each as a group consisting of several packaging bags 2 introduced into the at a feed station 10 with a suitable holding / handling device. The high-pressure vessel 7 is for this purpose only open to the outside of the system 1, closed to the clean room 6, however. Thereafter, when the high-pressure container 7 is completely closed, the pressure treatment is effected in which germs present through the treatment pressure P are destroyed by destruction of their cell structure, to the same extent on all surfaces of the packaging bags 2, ie in particular on all inner and outer surfaces, at all bent edges. Adhesive surfaces, fold areas and in all other hard to reach areas.

1. a) der Hochdruckbehälter ist starr angeordnet und das Joch wird vor die Verschlusselemente geschwenkt oder
2. b)der Hochdruckbehälter 7 wird aus dem Joch und in die Förderstrecke gefahren, was idealerweise parallel zum Joch erfolgt.

For high-pressure treatment, the high-pressure vessel 7 is clamped in a yoke, not shown, in order to absorb the forces acting on the closure elements. For this purpose, two known variants are essentially applicable. Either

1. a) the high-pressure vessel is rigidly arranged and the yoke is pivoted in front of the closure elements or
2. b) the high-pressure vessel 7 is driven out of the yoke and into the conveying section, which ideally takes place parallel to the yoke.

After the pressure treatment and after relieving the high-pressure container 7, this is opened only to the clean room 6 of the system 1 out and the sterilized packaging bag 2 are again taken as a group 2.1 at a removal station 11 within the clean room 6 with a suitable holding / handling device the high-pressure vessel 7 and passed to a local in-plant conveyor 12, with which the packaging bag 2 are transported to the also in the sterile clean room 6 arranged filling stations 13 for filling and then to the capping stations 14 (arrow A). The filled and sealed packaging bag 2 leave the system 1 then via a not shown further lock.

After removing the treated packaging bag 2 from the high-pressure container 7, this is in turn closed to the clean room 6 back and only then opened for receiving further, to be treated packaging bags 2 to the environment or to the feed dog 3 out.

In order to ensure the required degree of sterilization in the clean room 6 of Appendix 1, this clean room is constantly subjected to a sterile air above atmospheric pressure, as indicated by the arrows 15. The removal station 11 also serves to dry the packaging bags 2 after the pressure treatment, i. for removing residues of the pressure medium from these bags, by treatment with a sterile stream of air or gas, as indicated by the arrows 15 also.

The packaging bags 2, for example, from a withdrawn from a supply roll in a foil in the FIG. 1 not shown folding and forming machine generates.

The FIG. 2 shows in a very simplified representation of a system 1 a, in which the formation of the packaging bag 2 takes place within the sterile clean room 6, using a previously sterilized supply roll 16 of the for Production of packaging bags 2 used packaging starting material, such as film material. The plant 1a in turn has an entrance lock 5, which in turn is formed by the high-pressure vessel 7, for the sterilization or pressure treatment of the entire supply roll 16. This is at the outside of the system 1 a opened high-pressure vessel 7 in the interior of this container brought in. Subsequently, the high pressure container 7 is closed and there is the pressure treatment of the entire supply roll 16 via the introduced into the high pressure vessel 7 and at least at the pressure P of the pressure treatment liquid pressure medium.

The respective supply roll 16 is introduced as a whole into the open to the environment, the clean room 6a of the system 1a closed high-pressure vessel 7 and sterilized after closing the high-pressure vessel using the pressure medium by high-pressure treatment. After this treatment, the unloaded high-pressure container 7 is opened to the clean room 6 and the supply roll 16 is introduced, for example, with a not shown, also arranged in the clean room 6 manipulator in a local template 17 device. From this, the packaging bag 2 forming flat material is then withdrawn continuously during operation of the system 1a and formed in a folding and forming station 18, which is also located in the clean room 6, to the packaging bags 2, their filling and closing at the filling and closing stations 13 and 14 takes place and leave the system 1 a at a further, not shown lock.

By using an at least in the pressure treatment incompressible or liquid pressure medium, for example by using pure water at a temperature in the range of 30 - 60 ° C, there is the possibility of further improvement of the treatment result and / or a significant reduction in treatment time.

The invention has been described above by means of exemplary embodiments. It is understood that numerous changes and modifications are possible without thereby departing from the inventive concept underlying the invention.

Thus, the invention has been described above in connection with the sterilization of finished packaging bags 2 and with the sterilization of supply rolls 16 of the flat material used for the production of such bags. In principle, the sterilization device 4 can also be used for sterilizing other packaging materials, for example for voluminous containers, caps or container closures, etc.

The packaging may consist of several parts and include caps or any kind of closures, spouts, shoulders, etc. Thus, it is provided in a variant of the method that the packaging material comprises molded parts, such as closure elements, spouts, shoulder elements and the like. These can be treated alone or together with the other packaging material by means of the described method. In a method in which the different parts are treated separately, it is useful to provide for each group of parts of the packaging, in particular for flat material and closures or shoulder parts, separate high-pressure vessels and also the process parameters suitably the materials of the respective group of parts To adapt packaging.

In a variant of the method, only the aforementioned moldings are sterilized by means of a high-pressure step and the flat material or the bag by means of a thermal and / or chemical sterilization process.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1, 1a

investment

2

packing bags

2.1

Strand of a plurality of packaging bags 2

3

carrier

4

sterilization device

5

entry lock

6

Clean room of Annex 1 or 1a

7

High pressure vessel

8th

Interior of the high pressure tank

9

Pressure source for the print medium

10

feeding station

11

removal station

12

plant-internal transporter

13

filling station

14

closing station

15

Electricity from sterile air

16

supply roll

17

advance unit

18

Folding and forming station

A

transport direction

P

treatment pressure

Claims (26)

1. System for the sterile packaging of products in a package, having at least one packing station (13, 14) in a sterile interior system chamber into which the packages (2) and/or a packaging source material (16) are fed through at least one sterilisation device (4) serving as a feed lock (5), characterised in that the sterilisation device (4) is designed for sterilising the package (2) and/or the packaging source material (16) by means of a high-pressure treatment.
2. System according to claim 1, characterised in that the at least one sterilisation device (4) is formed by a closable high-pressure container (7) in which the package (2) and/or the packaging source material (16) is treated using a liquid treatment medium or pressure medium having the treatment pressure (P).
3. System according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the pressure medium is a sterile liquid, for example sterile water or pure water.
4. System according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the pressure medium is a gaseous medium that is liquefied at least at the treatment pressure (P), for example air, nitrogen, CO₂ or a noble gas.
5. System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the high-pressure container (7) has at least one first closable opening for introducing the package (2) to be treated and/or the packaging source material (16) to be treated, on a non-sterile outside of the feed lock (5).
6. System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the high-pressure container (7) has at least one second closable opening for discharging the treated package (2) and/or the treated packaging source material (16) on the sterile side of the feed lock (5).
7. System according to claim 5 or 6, characterised by control means for the contra-rotating opening and closing of the openings of the high-pressure containers (7).
8. System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the packages fed to the clean room (6) via the feed lock (5) are packaging bags (2).
9. System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the packaging source material (16) fed to the clean room (6) is a flat material wrapped into a reel.
10. System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that, in the clean room (6) in the transport direction of the package and/or of the packaging source material (16), following the feed lock (5) or the sterilisation device (4), a station (11) for removing the pressure medium from the package, for example a blow-off station, is provided.
11. System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the at least one high-pressure container (7, 7a) is designed for a pressure treatment at a treatment pressure (P) in the range between 3000 and 7000 bars.
12. System according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that, in the clean room (6), at least one filling station (13) with capping station (14) is provided as a packing station.
13. System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that, in the clean room (6), at least one presenting unit (17) is provided for accepting a supply reel (16) of a flat material serving as a package or used for producing the package (2), said reel being fed through the feed lock (5) and sterilised.
14. System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised by at least one folding and forming station (18), arranged in the clean room (6), for forming the package (2) made of the packaging source material (16).
15. Method for the sterile packaging of products in a clean room (6) having at least one sterilisation device (4) serving as a feed lock (5), through which feed lock the package used during packaging and/or the packaging source material used, after sterilisation, is introduced into the sterilisation device (4) in the clean room (6), characterised in that the sterilisation of the package (2) and/or of the packaging source material (16) is performed by high-pressure application in a pressure medium.
16. Method according to claim 15, characterised in that the pressure treatment is performed at a treatment pressure in the range between 3000 bars and 7000 bars.
17. Method according to claim 15 or 16, characterised in that a liquid medium, for example sterile water or pure water, is used as a pressure medium.
18. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that a gas liquefied at no less than the treatment pressure, for example air, CO₂, nitrogen or a noble gas, is used as a pressure medium.
19. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the packages are bags, for example packaging bags made of a flat material.
20. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the packaging source material is a flat material, preferably flat material wrapped into a reel (16).
21. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the treatment is performed in a high-pressure container (7).
22. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the treatment is performed with a heated pressure medium.
23. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the packaging material comprises mouldings such as capping elements, caps, lids, screw caps, pourers, shoulder elements and the like.
24. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that only one group of parts of the packaging materials is treated by means of the method described.
25. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that, for different groups of parts of the packaging, the treatment is performed in separate high-pressure containers (7).
26. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that, for different groups of parts of the packaging, the treatment in high-pressure containers (7) is not performed for all groups of parts of the packaging.

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