JP2003160111A - Method of washing and disinfecting separate sheet for bulk packing, its equipment, and bulk packing body - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method of washing and disinfecting separate sheets used for bulk packing, which enables attaining of sufficient disinfection effect on the separate sheets, equipment that enables stable washing and simultaneous disinfection thereof, and bulk packing bodies that allow prevention of contaminating containers therein until contents are filled in the containers. <P>SOLUTION: The method of washing and disinfecting separate sheets, its equipment and the bulk packing bodies are characterized in that the separate sheets used for bulk packing are processed in sequence through a process of washing and disinfecting with alkaline washing agent, a process of spraying compressed air from a first air knife, a first washing process, a second washing process, a process of spraying compressed air from a second air knife, and a drying process, after which they are subjected to ultra-violet ray disinfection or pulse disinfection in a following disinfecting process, thereby enabling prevention of contaminating the foregoing containers. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to stacking containers in multiple stages on a pallet via separate sheets.
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for cleaning and sterilizing a separate sheet used for bulk packaging in which an outer sheet or a film is wrapped from the outside, and an apparatus and a bulk package.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, on a pallet, via a separate sheet, a cup-shaped container for filling and packaging foods and medical products is stacked in a plurality of stages, and a bulk packaging for packaging by covering with an exterior sheet or film from the outside. As a separate sheet to be used, a sheet made of a paper base material was used, but hygiene control was insufficient and it was a cause of contaminating the container. A separate sheet made of this paper sheet cannot be sterilized using cleaning water, and methods such as dust removal with a brush and ultraviolet sterilization have been adopted as methods for preventing contamination of the container by the separate sheet. . However, although ultraviolet irradiation is well known as a sterilizing method for packaging materials, sterilization by ultraviolet irradiation is surface sterilization, non-irradiated parts are not sterilized, and if the ultraviolet energy is low, there are obstacles or When the layer of bacteria is thick, there is a problem that ultraviolet rays cannot be transmitted and a sufficient bactericidal effect cannot be obtained.

[0003]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a separate sheet used for bulk packaging in which containers are stacked in a plurality of stages on a pallet via separate sheets and are covered with an outer sheet or a film from the outside. Regarding the cleaning and sterilization of the above, a cleaning and sterilizing method capable of achieving a sufficient sterilizing effect of the separate sheet, an apparatus capable of stable sterilization at the same time as the cleaning, and a separate sheet subjected to the sterilization treatment until the contents are filled An object of the present invention is to provide a bulk package capable of preventing contamination of a container.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object in the present invention, first, the invention according to claim 1 is to stack containers on a pallet in a plurality of stages via separate sheets, and to put an exterior sheet from the outside. Alternatively, in a separate sheet used for bulk packaging covering with a film or the like, a step of washing and sterilizing the separate sheet with an alkaline cleaner, a step of blowing compressed air from a first air knife, a first water washing step, After the washing step 2 of water, the step of blowing compressed air from the second air knife, and the drying step are sequentially performed, ultraviolet sterilization or pulse sterilization is further performed in the sterilization step to prevent contamination of the container. A method for cleaning and sterilizing a separate sheet.

The invention according to claim 2 is the method for cleaning and sterilizing a separate sheet according to claim 1, wherein the separate sheet is made of acrylonitrile / butadiene / styrene copolymer resin (ABS) or polypropylene resin (PP). It is characterized by being a plastic sheet.

The invention according to claim 3 is an apparatus for cleaning and sterilizing the separate sheet, comprising means for cleaning and sterilizing with an alkaline detergent, means for blowing compressed air from a first air knife, and first means. Of the separate sheet, the second water washing means, the means for blowing compressed air from the second air knife, the drying means, and the means for performing ultraviolet sterilization or pulse sterilization treatment. It is a cleaning and sterilizing device.

[0007] According to a fourth aspect of the invention, containers are stacked in a plurality of stages on a pallet via the separate sheets that have been sterilized by the separate sheet cleaning and sterilizing method according to the first aspect, and the containers are stacked from the outside. It is a bulk package characterized by being covered with an exterior sheet or a film and bulk-packaged.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A separate sheet to be washed and sterilized in the present invention is a bulk packaging in which containers are stacked on a pallet in a plurality of stages with the separate sheets interposed therebetween, and are covered from the outside with an exterior sheet or a film. A separate sheet used for, and as the separate sheet, various plastic sheets can be mentioned.
The present invention is particularly effective when a plastic sheet made of acrylonitrile / butadiene / styrene copolymer resin (ABS) or polypropylene resin (PP) is used.

Further, as the container used in the bulk packaging according to the present invention, a tubular container such as a cart can provided with at least an opening for filling contents is preferably used.

Further, the outer covering sheet or film used in the bulk packaging according to the present invention is not particularly limited, but a stretch film can be exemplified.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic side sectional view showing a main part of a cleaning and sterilizing apparatus as one embodiment used in a method for cleaning and sterilizing a separate sheet for bulk packaging according to the present invention. This cleaning and sterilizing apparatus 1 includes a drive roller 13
Belt 15 that is stretched between the driven roller 14 and the driven roller 14.
Of the conveyor belt 1 moves from the left side to the right side in the drawing from the driving roller 13 to the driven roller 14.
The lower running portion 5 moves from the driven roller 14 to the drive roller 13 from the right side to the left side in the drawing. In the present embodiment, the upper running portion of the transport belt 15 corresponds to the transport path for the bulk packaging separate sheet that is the object to be processed.

The cleaning and sterilizing apparatus of the present embodiment comprises a separate sheet supply stage 2 which is an object to be processed, a cleaning stage 3, a stage 4 which blows compressed air with a first air knife, and a first washing machine. Stage 5, second washing and washing stage 6, stage 7 for blowing compressed air with a second air knife, drying stage 8, ultraviolet sterilization or pulse sterilization stage 9, treated separate sheet It is constituted by the take-out stage 10.

The separating device 11 sets the stacked separate sheets 12 one by one on the conveyor belt 15, and the conveyor belt 15 sequentially conveys them to the cleaning / sterilizing apparatus stage 3.

When the separate sheet 12 which is the object to be processed is conveyed to the cleaning / sterilization stage 3, the upper and lower rows of the alkaline cleaner spray nozzles 16, 16 ', 17, 17' clean the front and back sides of the separate sheet 12 with alkali. Cleaning and sterilization is performed by spraying and spraying the agent at high speed. Here, the cleaning agent is a chemical-containing liquid, for example, a hypochlorous acid solution heated to 60 ° C. is used,
Mold and yeast having low heat resistance attached to the separate sheet 12 are sterilized. The cleaning liquid is circulated through a filter (not shown).

Next, the separate sheet 12 has a stage 4 on which compressed air is blown by the first air knife.
And the first pair of upper and lower air knives 18, 1
Blow compressed air from 8 '. Separate sheet 1
By spraying the cleaning liquid sprayed on 2 with compressed air, the cleaning liquid sprayed and adhered to the separate sheet 12 is removed to some extent. Here, it is possible to reduce the carry-out of the cleaning liquid to the next step.

Thereafter, the separate sheet 12 conveyed to the first water washing stage 5 is attached to the pair of upper and lower spray nozzles 19,
Wash with city water sprayed from 19 ', then
In the second water washing stage 6, a pair of upper and lower spray nozzles 20, 2
Tap water is directly sprayed from 0'for final cleaning. The cleaning liquid used in the first water washing stage 5 is circulated, and the water used in the final cleaning of the next step is dropped into a tank (not shown) for reuse to purify the cleaning water and drain the overflow. To do.

Next, after cleaning, the separate sheet 12 is conveyed to the stage 7 which blows the second compressed air, and the compressed air is blown from the pair of upper and lower air knives 21, 21 ', so that the moisture attached to the separate sheet 12 is blown. To a certain degree by blowing compressed air. Here, the drying time in the next step can be shortened.

After that, when the separate sheet 12 enters the drying stage 8, a pair of upper and lower air nozzles 22, 2 are provided.
By 2 ', high temperature dry air is blown to dry the moisture adhering to the separate sheet with hot air.

After the separate sheet 12 is completely dried, it is conveyed by the conveyor belt 15 and sterilized on the stage 9.
It is sent to a sterilization room equipped with the ultraviolet sterilization or pulse sterilization treatment means. Here, ultraviolet sterilization or pulse sterilization is performed to sterilize bacteria having high heat resistance.

In the case of ultraviolet irradiation sterilization, examples of means for generating ultraviolet rays include a high pressure mercury lamp, and the ultraviolet wavelength is 254.
There is no particular limitation as long as it emits ultraviolet rays having a strong sterilizing power of about nm.

When performing pulse sterilization, for example,
High power pulses from a xenon lamp can be used. As a xenon lamp, its spectral characteristics range from the ultraviolet range to the infrared range, especially in the deep ultraviolet range (200-300n).
m), near ultraviolet region (300 to 380 nm), visible light region (380 to 780 nm), infrared region (780 to 1100).
Those having a continuous spectrum of a wide range of wavelengths up to (nm) are preferable. According to this sterilization method, the same sterilization effect can be obtained by increasing the luminescence energy once, even with a small number of times of luminescence. Further, the sterilizing effect of the xenon lamp is affected by the electric energy (voltage) input to the lamp, the capacitor capacity, the pulse width, the irradiation distance, the number of times of irradiation, etc. Since the sterilizing effect increases as the width and the irradiation distance become smaller, the conditions may be set appropriately and are not particularly limited.

The separate sheet 24 that has been subjected to the cleaning and sterilization treatment described above is then conveyed to the take-out stage 10 and the upper running portion of the conveyor belt 27 that is stretched between the driving roller 25 and the driven roller 26. Is the drive roller 2
5 moves from the left side to the right side in the drawing toward the driven roller 26, while the lower running portion of the conveyance belt 27 moves from the right side to the left side in the drawing from the driven roller 26 to the driving roller 25. 24 sheets of stacked separate sheets, which have been subjected to cleaning and sterilization treatment, are stacked on the sheet stacking portion from the apparatus outlet via the roll 28.

The present invention has been described above with reference to the preferred embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the embodiments and can be variously modified within the technical scope described in the claims. For example, the container is not limited to a tubular container, and a container having another shape such as a rectangular tubular container can be used. Further, the cleaning and sterilizing apparatus to which the method for cleaning and sterilizing the separate sheet according to the present invention is not limited to the apparatus having the structure shown in FIG. 1, and includes a conveying device for conveying the separate sheet and the separate sheet. The specific structure is arbitrary as long as it is a cleaning and sterilizing device having a structure in which various stages such as a cleaning and sterilizing stage are sequentially installed along the transport path of

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a bulk package using the separate sheet according to the present invention.
Using the bulk packaging separate sheet that has been sterilized by the cleaning and sterilizing method described above, the container 32 is placed on the pallet 33 as shown in FIG.
Stacked in multiple stages via the outer sheet or film 3
4. A bulk package 30 is obtained, which is wrapped from the outside with a stretch film or the like. This bulk package uses a separate sheet that has been sterilized by the cleaning and sterilizing method of the present invention, so that the packaged container is temporarily in a container state without being contaminated until the contents are filled. Can be stacked and stored. As the container used here, a tubular container such as a cart can provided with at least an opening for filling contents is preferably used.

[0025]

Industrial Applicability According to the present invention, a plastic sheet is used as a separate sheet used for bulk packaging by stacking containers on a pallet in a plurality of stages via separate sheets and covering the outer sheets with an outer sheet or a film. Then, I tried to sterilize the separate sheet by combining washing sterilization and ultraviolet or pulse sterilization,
It is possible to provide a cleaning / sterilizing method capable of reliably exerting a sterilizing effect and a cleaning / sterilizing apparatus applicable to this cleaning / sterilizing method.

Further, in the bulk package of the present invention, containers are stacked in a plurality of stages on a pallet via separate sheets that have been sterilized by the cleaning and sterilizing method of the present invention, and an outer sheet or a film or the like is placed from the outside. The containers packaged and bulk-packaged can be temporarily stacked and stored without being contaminated until the contents are filled.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side sectional view showing an embodiment of a cleaning / sterilizing apparatus applied to a method and apparatus for cleaning / sterilizing a separate sheet according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a bulk package using the separate sheet according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Cleaning and sterilizing device 2 ... Sheet supply stage 3 ... Washing and sterilization stage 4 ... Stage for blowing the first compressed air 5: First water washing stage 6 ... Second water washing stage 7 ... Second compressed air blowing stage 8 ... Drying stage 9 ... Sterilization stage 10 ... Sheet removal stage 11 ... Stepping device 12-Used separate sheet 13, 25 ... Drive roller 14, 26 ... driven roller 15, 27 ... Conveyor belt 16, 16 ', 17, 17' ... Cleaning agent injection nozzle 18, 18 '... the first air knife 19, 19 ', 20, 20' ... Water injection nozzle 21, 21 '... second air knife 22, 22 '... Hot air jet nozzle 23, 23 '... Ultraviolet or pulse irradiation device 24: Separate sheet that has been sterilized 28 ... Guide roller 30 ... Bulk package 31 ... Separate sheet 32 ... Container 33 ... Palette 34 ... Exterior sheet or film

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A separate sheet used for bulk packaging in which containers are stacked on a pallet in a plurality of stages via separate sheets and covered with an outer sheet or a film from the outside to be packaged, wherein the separate sheets are washed with an alkali. After sequentially passing through a step of washing and sterilizing with an agent, a step of blowing compressed air from the first air knife, a first water washing step, a second water washing step, a step of blowing compressed air from the second air knife, and a drying step Further, a method for cleaning and sterilizing a separate sheet, which is capable of preventing contamination of the container by further performing ultraviolet sterilization or pulse sterilization in a sterilization step. 2. The method for cleaning and sterilizing a separate sheet according to claim 1, wherein the separate sheet is a plastic sheet made of acrylonitrile / butadiene / styrene copolymer resin (ABS) or polypropylene resin (PP). 3. An apparatus for cleaning and sterilizing the separate sheet, comprising means for cleaning and sterilizing with an alkali cleaner,
Means for blowing compressed air from the air knife, first water washing means, second water washing means, means for blowing compressed air from the second air knife, drying means, and ultraviolet sterilization or pulse sterilization treatment means A separate sheet cleaning and sterilizing apparatus comprising: 4. A container or the like is stacked in a plurality of stages on a pallet through the separate sheets that have been sterilized by the separate sheet cleaning and sterilizing method described above, and is covered with an exterior sheet or film from the outside. A bulk package characterized by being packaged in bulk.