JP2001253415A - Continuous processing method and continuous processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a continuous processing method and a continuous processing device wherein a labyrinth seal is formed by a can container of a magnetic material (so-called ferromagnetic material), i.e., a can container of a magnetic material, which is fed as the container for a product, and also, a retainer is eliminated, and an action effect to eliminate a disadvantage by the usage of the retainer can be obtained. SOLUTION: For this continuous processing method, in a cylindrical structure which has a carrying path having a specified spatial cross section area, and is equipped with a pressure-control section at the intermediate section of the carrying path, a cylindrical can container of the magnetic material, which has a bottom wall or a height and a diameter having slightly smaller dimensions than the spatial cross section area is carried in the cylindrical structure.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a continuous processing method and a continuous processing apparatus, and more particularly, to a sterilization process or a heating and cooking process in a pressurized or depressurized state while maintaining a pressure control state in a predetermined area by a labyrinth seal. The present invention relates to a continuous processing method and a continuous processing apparatus suitable for processing / manufacturing of canned products, wherein the continuous processing is performed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Technologies that require pressure control in order to perform pressure treatment include, for example, alumite treatment (sealing treatment) for aluminum products, resin curing treatment for reinforced plastics, and manufacturing technology for polymer impregnated reinforcing materials. No. 58-18532), synthetic resin foam production technology (Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-55283), and sterilization technology for medical tools and food materials. The apparatus for performing the pressure treatment in a batch system is a structure in which the steps of normal pressure, for example, pressurization for sterilization treatment, decompression, and normal pressure are performed in one pressure treatment apparatus, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-84567. No. 6,086,045. That is, in JP-A-9-84567,
Although a batch-type pressurized heat sterilization treatment apparatus is disclosed,
It is necessary to prepare a sterilization pot equipped with a control mechanism that repeats pressurization of the processing chamber, processing of the object to be processed, and depressurization of the processing chamber, and enormous capital investment is required to increase productivity. In addition, there is a problem that equipment becomes large and control becomes complicated. The batch-type pressurized heat sterilization treatment apparatus further has a stand-by retainer until the solid food contained in the retainer is sterilized and transferred to a product container after being transferred to the product container. Bacterial contamination may occur.

On the other hand, in an apparatus for continuously performing pressure processing, in order to carry an object to be processed into a closed pressure processing apparatus, pressure is adjusted from normal pressure to pressure on the upstream side of the pressure processing apparatus. A pressure control room must be installed. Further, in order to carry out the object to be processed which has been subjected to the pressure treatment from the pressure treatment device, a pressure regulating chamber for adjusting the pressure from pressurized to normal pressure must be provided downstream of the pressure treated device. For example, JP-A-7-
Japanese Patent Publication No. 67595 discloses an apparatus for continuously sterilizing a food material by putting the food material in the retainer. That is, the food material supply unit, the straight tube heater, the straight tube cooler, and the discharge unit are arranged in this order, and a double sealed gate or valve is provided at the inlet and the outlet of the straight tube heater and the straight tube cooler, A configuration is disclosed in which the processing object is supplied to and discharged from the straight tube heater and the straight tube cooler by opening and closing each gate sequentially, and the pressure is maintained. In this device,
The double sealed gate has to be opened and closed alternately each time a workpiece is carried into and out of the straight tube heater and straight tube cooler, which not only complicates the operation but also improves the durability of the device. There was a problem.

On the other hand, techniques requiring pressure reduction as pressure control processing include, for example, a batch-type expanded chocolate production apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 6-191515 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-7255.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-2005-15064 proposes a vacuum fryer capable of continuous processing. Even in these decompression processing apparatuses, it is necessary to prepare a processing chamber equipped with a control mechanism for repeating processing chamber depressurization, processing of an object to be processed, and processing chamber pressurization. There is a problem you need. In addition, there is a problem that equipment becomes large and control becomes complicated. On the other hand, even in a device that performs a continuous decompression process, a pressure regulating chamber that adjusts the pressure from normal pressure to a reduced pressure must be provided upstream of the decompression device in order to carry the workpiece into the decompression device. . Further, in order to carry out the decompression-processed object from the decompression processing device, a pressure regulating chamber for adjusting the pressure from decompression to normal pressure must be provided downstream of the decompression treatment device. The double-sealed gate must be opened and closed alternately, and there is a problem in durability of the device.

[0005] Japanese Patent Application No. 11-237, which is a prior invention of the present inventors.
The invention described in No. 810 has been made in view of the above-described problems of the conventional pressure processing apparatus or decompression processing apparatus,
A tubular structure having a transfer path with a constant space cross-sectional area and having a pressure control unit in the transfer path, and a labyrinth seal is formed on at least one of the upstream side and the downstream side of the pressure control unit of the tubular structure. The present invention relates to a continuous processing apparatus having a retainer provided with a throttle piece having an area slightly smaller than the spatial sectional area as described above, and a retainer transfer device for transferring the retainer in the tubular structure. According to this, the pressure control processing section and the loading / unloading section of the object to be processed for maintaining the pressure control state are formed by a labyrinth seal using a tubular structure, so that the structure of the pressure processing apparatus is extremely simple and the apparatus can be easily sterilized. It has good aseptic maintenance, and does not require an operation step of pressurizing and depressurizing the loading and unloading of the processing object, and the next processing of the processing object is quickly performed. Can be provided. In addition, there is very little wasted space in the pressure processing unit, the loss of water vapor and heat energy required for processing is extremely small, and efficient use is possible. Also, uniform and stable so that pressure and temperature do not vary. It is possible to provide a continuous processing apparatus capable of performing various controls and miniaturizing. Here, the labyrinth seal is a seal that generally provides a large number of throttle pieces to form a narrow flow path and seals. More specifically, a labyrinth seal is used for the loading path and the discharging path of the pressure control processing chamber. An extremely narrow throttle flow path is provided at intervals between the inner wall portion and the transfer section of the object to be processed, thereby substantially preventing fluid leakage. That is, the fluid is gradually leaked from the high-pressure side of the pressure control processing chamber to the low-pressure side of the carry-in path and the carry-out path, thereby maintaining a pressurized or depressurized state in the pressure control processing chamber.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a magnetic material (a so-called ferromagnetic material).
The disadvantage of using a retainer is that a labyrinth seal is formed in place of the retainer in the prior invention, and a retainer is not required, and the retainer is used instead of the retainer in the prior invention. It is an object of the present invention to provide a continuous processing method and a continuous processing apparatus having the function and effect of eliminating the above.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a cylindrical structure having a transfer path having a constant spatial cross-sectional area and having a pressure control section at an intermediate portion of the transfer path and upstream of the pressure control section. A cylindrical can container made of a magnetic material having a bottom wall or a height and a diameter slightly smaller than the space cross-sectional area in the cylindrical structure so that a labyrinth seal is formed on at least one of the side and the downstream side. Is transported. The present invention also has a transport path having a constant space cross-sectional area, has a tubular structure provided with a pressure control unit in the middle of the transport path, and at least upstream and downstream of the pressure control unit. On the other hand, a labyrinth seal is formed so that a bottom wall having a size slightly smaller than the cross-sectional area of the space or a cylindrical can having a height and a diameter is transported into the tubular structure. It is a continuous processing device that is characterized. The embodiments of the present invention are as follows. The tubular structure has a preheating unit upstream of the pressure control unit. A can lid supply section and a seam section are provided downstream of the tubular structure, and at least the can lid supply section and the seam section are accommodated in a clean room. A can lid supply section and a seam section are provided downstream of the tubular structure, and at least the can lid supply section and the seam section are accommodated in a portion of a clean room under a steam atmosphere. In between the tubular structure and the can lid supply unit, there is a can container erecting unit for erecting the horizontal can container so that the opening faces upward.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION As shown in FIG. 1, a continuous pressurizing apparatus, that is, a food heat sterilizing apparatus 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention has a cylindrical or prismatic cavity having a linear and constant cross-sectional area. The preheating unit 12, the labyrinth seal pressurizing unit 14, the pressure control processing chamber 16, and the labyrinth seal depressurizing unit are arranged in the cylindrical pipe structure 10 provided with
18 is provided. As shown in FIG. 4, on both sides of the tubular structure 10, electromagnet belts 17, 19, which will be described later, are provided.

As shown in FIG. 1, a can lid supply section 20 for covering a can lid over an opening of a can container S and a seam section for winding the can lid around the can container S are arranged downstream of the labyrinth seal pressure reducing section 18 in order. Two
2 are installed, and the entirety thereof, including the downstream side of the tubular structure 10, is accommodated in the clean room 120. The can lid supplied by the can lid supply unit 22 is appropriately sterilized by UV sterilization or the like.

As shown in FIG. 2, the can S is a cylindrical metal can (generally used for canning) and is formed in the space of a tubular structure 10 (inner pipe member 100) described below. It has a bottom wall 30 or height 31 and diameter 32 slightly smaller than the cross-sectional area.

The cylindrical structure 10 is, as shown in FIGS.
If necessary, an inner pipe member 100 and an outer pipe member 102
It has a double structure, that is, a jacket structure. Inner pipe member 100
Between the outer pipe member 102 and there is provided a compartment 104 extending in the transport direction on both the left and right sides 45 ° below horizontal from there,
The electromagnet belts 17, 19 for transporting cans are arranged therein. The can container transporting electromagnet belts 17, 19 transport the can container by magnetic force. It is also possible to provide an endless conveyor provided with a permanent magnet separately from the above-mentioned transport device, and to transport the can S by driving this. From the upstream side of the tubular structure 10, a can container
It is also possible to continuously push in and carry in S and transport it to the tubular structure 10.

Returning to FIG. 1, the preliminary heating unit 12 is
The food material to be treated is preliminarily heated by supplying saturated steam to zero. The labyrinth seal pressurizing unit 14 and the labyrinth seal depressurizing unit 18 form a labyrinth seal by providing a gap of about 0.1 mm between the inner tube member 100 of the tubular structure 10 and the can S. Here, there are the following two forms of transport of the can S. The first is the bottom wall 3 of the can S
0 is set to a size slightly smaller than the spatial sectional area of the cylindrical structure 10, and the can S is conveyed in the height direction 33 into the cylindrical structure 10. Second, the height 31 and the diameter 32 of the can container S are set to dimensions slightly smaller than the spatial cross-sectional area (height and width) of the tubular structure 10 and the can 31 is placed inside the rectangular tubular structure 10. Container S
Is conveyed in the radial direction 34 (standing up a can). In these cases, a labyrinth seal can be formed by providing the gap between the bottom wall or the peripheral wall of the can S and the inner wall of the structure 108. As a result, in the labyrinth seal pressurizing section 14, the pressure increases from the normal pressure toward the downstream side of the transport, and the pressurization of the pressure control processing chamber 16 is maintained. In the labyrinth seal depressurizing section 18, a labyrinth seal is formed in the same manner as in the labyrinth seal pressurizing section 14. The labyrinth seal depressurizing section 18 is depressurized to the normal pressure as it goes to the downstream side of the conveyance, and maintains the pressurization of the pressure control processing chamber 16. .

The pressure control processing chamber 16 is, as shown in FIG.
Pressurized steam is supplied from above the tubular structure 10 through the connecting pipe 110 to heat-treat the food material contained in the can S under pressure. The connecting pipe 110 is configured by arranging a plurality of nozzles 111 along the conveying path of the can S, and by changing the conditions of the pressurized steam discharged from each nozzle 111, a desired stage suitable for food material. A pressure heat treatment can also be performed. In addition, by arranging a plurality of nozzles, a section in which heat treatment is performed can be arbitrarily set in accordance with an object to be processed, so that setting and control of heat treatment conditions can be easily performed.

The can lid supply section 20 and the seam section 22 are in a steam atmosphere in order to maintain sterility.
All of these, including the downstream side of 10, are housed in a clean room 120 to prevent bacterial contamination of sterilized food materials, cans S, can lids, etc. in this area. In the present food heat sterilization apparatus, sterilization of the food and filling of the can container S can be performed with an arbitrary configuration. That is, only the can S is carried into the sterilization apparatus, and after sterilizing with steam in the pressure control processing chamber 16, the filling apparatus aseptically provided in an appropriate place in the pressure control processing chamber 16 or the clean room 120. More food can be filled, and the can lid can be further tightened.
Separately, it is possible to fill the solid food into the can S and carry it into the sterilizer, sterilize them with steam inside the pressure control processing chamber 16, fill the liquid food aseptically, and further tighten. I can do it. When only liquid food is filled, the process and the apparatus are simple and practical and easy to use. The filling device is not shown.

When the can S is transported in the height direction inside the cylindrical structure 10, it is necessary to raise the can S so that the opening faces upward before filling the food. A can container erecting device 23 having an appropriate structure can be provided between the tubular structure 10 and the can lid supply unit 20.

[0016]

According to the continuous processing apparatus of the present invention having the above-described structure, the pressure control processing section and the loading / unloading section of the workpiece for maintaining the pressure control state are formed by the labyrinth seal using the cylindrical structure. Since the pressure treatment device is formed, the structure of the pressure treatment device is extremely simple, sterilization of the device is easy, and aseptic maintenance is good. This has the effect that the next process can be started quickly on the processed object without the need for a step. According to the present invention, wasteful space in the pressure processing unit is extremely small, the loss of steam and heat energy required for the processing is extremely reduced, and the pressure processing unit is efficiently used. This has the effect of providing a continuous processing apparatus that can perform stable control and that can be downsized.

In particular, the following advantages are obtained by using a can instead of a retainer. (a) A labyrinth seal is achieved by a can container which is a product container, and the method and apparatus are simplified as compared with the case where a retainer is used. That is, transfer from the retainer to the product container is unnecessary. (b) There is no problem of complicated apparatus and high cost. (C) There is less possibility of microbial contamination (contamination) throughout the entire process. (d) The labyrinth seal is reliably achieved by the strength of the can, etc. (e) Since metal cans can be transported remotely by magnetic force, there is less possibility of microbial contamination. The container can be transported into the apparatus by continuously pushing it. (f) At any stage in the process, solid foods and liquid foods can be filled, and the range of product design can be expanded.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a continuous processing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a can container of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the cylindrical structure according to the present invention, taken along a transport direction.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 3;

[Explanation of symbols]

 S container 1 Food heat sterilizer 10 Tubular structure 12 Preheating unit 14 Labyrinth seal pressurizing unit

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) B65B 55/06 B65B 55/06 C 55/14 55/14 (72) Inventor Takaaki Shimizu Higashi Osaka, Osaka 1-5-7, Mikitei-Sakaecho, Yokohama-shi House Foods Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 4C058 AA21 BB05 BB06 CC04 EE01 EE02 EE23 KK02

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A cylindrical structure having a transport path having a constant space cross-sectional area and a pressure control section provided at an intermediate portion of the transport path, at least one of an upstream side and a downstream side of the pressure control section. In order to form a labyrinth seal, a cylindrical can is transported into the cylindrical structure by a bottom wall or a magnetic body having a height and a diameter slightly smaller than the space sectional area. Continuous processing method. 2. A cylindrical structure having a conveying path having a constant space cross-sectional area, and a pressure control unit provided at an intermediate portion of the conveying path,
A magnetic body having a bottom wall or a height and a diameter slightly smaller than the space sectional area in the tubular structure so that a labyrinth seal is formed on at least one of the upstream side and the downstream side of the pressure control unit. A continuous processing apparatus characterized in that the apparatus is configured to transport a cylindrical can container. 3. The continuous processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the tubular structure has a preheating unit upstream of the pressure control unit. 4. The method according to claim 2, wherein a can lid supply section and a seam section are provided downstream of the tubular structure, and at least the can lid supply section and the seam section are housed in a clean room. The continuous processing apparatus according to the above. 5. A can lid supply section and a seam section are provided downstream of the tubular structure, and at least the can lid supply section and the seam section are accommodated in a portion of a clean room under a steam atmosphere. 5. The continuous processing device according to claim 4. 6. In a question between the tubular structure and the can lid supply section,
3. The continuous processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a can container erecting portion that erects the horizontal can container so that the opening faces upward.