JP2003261198A - Manufacturing method for beverage-filled bottle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a manufacturing method for a beverage-filled bottle, which enables the outer periphery of a mouth part of a bottle to be washed in a very short time, and enables smooth and sure washing even if one continuous spiral streak is formed on an outer peripheral surface of the mouth part. <P>SOLUTION: This manufacturing method is provided with a beverage filling process 14 for filling the bottle with the beverage by injecting the beverage from the mouth part of the bottle. Next, the manufacturing method is provided with an inside plug attaching process 15 for attaching an inside plug for sealing the bottle in a state in which the outer peripheral surface of the mouth part of the bottle is exposed. Subsequently, the manufacturing method is provided with a mouth-part washing process 16 for washing the outer peripheral surface of the mouth part of the bottle; and after that, the manufacturing method is provided with a cap attaching process 17 for sealing the bottle by attaching a cap to the mouth part of the bottle. <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 a method for producing a beverage-filled bottle in which a beverage is enclosed inside the bottle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A beverage filling bottle of this type is first filled with a beverage from the mouth of the bottle (beverage filling process), and then the mouth of the bottle is capped (cap capping). Process) is manufactured. Then, after that, the beverage attached to the outer periphery of the mouth of the bottle is washed in the beverage filling step (mouth washing step). When a beverage is poured into the bottle in the beverage filling step, the beverage may be scattered and adhere to the outer peripheral surface of the mouth of the bottle. For this reason, a mouth washing step is provided after the cap crowning step, and washing water or hot water is showered from above the cap to wash away the beverage adhering to the outer peripheral surface of the mouth of the bottle. By performing the mouth washing step after the cap capping step, the bottle is sealed by the cap prior to washing, and washing water is prevented from entering the bottle.

By the way, a cap to be capped on a bottle of this type is composed of a circular top plate and a cylindrical skirt portion extending downward from a peripheral edge of the top plate, and an inner peripheral surface of the skirt portion. The formed thread is attached to the mouth of the bottle by screwing the thread formed on the outer circumference of the mouth of the bottle. For this reason, when the mouth portion cleaning step is performed, it is difficult to smoothly flow the cleaning water between the threads of the cap and the bottle, and the beverage attached to the mouth portion may not be surely washed off. is there.

Therefore, conventionally, as shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of vertical grooves 33 extending in the up-and-down direction crossing the threads 32 on the outer peripheral surface of the mouth portion 31 of the bottle 30 are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the mouth portion 31 of the bottle 30. It is performed in advance. This allows
The lower end side of the cap and the bottle 3 which are not shown in FIG.
It is known that the shower water is forced to flow into the space between the threads 32 when showering is performed between the mouth 31 and the mouth 31. However, although the vertical groove 33 promotes the inflow of the cleaning water, the clearance between the threads 32 screwed in the position other than the vertical groove 33 is narrow, and the cleaning water is surely flowed into the clearance. Has the disadvantage that it takes a relatively long time.

A bottle made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) can be cited as a bottle of this type.
In recent years, in PET bottles, heat resistance has been improved by whitening the mouth 31 thereof. However, since the threads 32 are discontinuous by providing the vertical groove 33 in the mouth portion 31, the screw threads 32 are displaced due to heat deformation of the mouth portion 31 during whitening.
Since the accuracy of the thread 32 is lowered, it is difficult to screw the cap. Therefore, the vertical groove 33 cannot be formed in the bottle in which the mouth 31 is whitened, and the vertical groove 3 is formed.
However, there is a disadvantage that a means for urging the inflow of washing water cannot be adopted.

Therefore, as shown in FIG.
The skirt portion 36 is provided with a cleaning hole 37 formed by penetrating the skirt portion 36, and a plurality of vertical grooves 39 extending in the up-down direction intersecting with a thread 38 formed inside the cap 35. What is formed is known (see, for example, JP-A-10-152156). by this,
The washing water by the shower ring can be sent between the cap 35 and the mouth of the bottle (not shown in FIG. 6) through the washing hole 37, and the vertical groove 39 formed inside the cap 35 allows the washing water to flow. It can promote flow. Then, a vertical groove 33 as shown in FIG.
Since it is not necessary, the mouth of the bottle can be washed even with a continuous thread on the mouth.

However, the cleaning hole 37 is provided in the cap 3
5. The hole shape cannot be made too large in order to prevent dust from entering the inside. Therefore, the cleaning water has to be made to flow in through the relatively small cleaning hole 37, and there is an inconvenience that it takes a relatively long time to surely flow the cleaning water.

[0008]

In order to solve such inconvenience, the present invention is capable of cleaning the outer periphery of the mouth of a bottle in an extremely short period of time, and moreover, it is possible to use a continuous thread on the outer peripheral surface of the mouth. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for manufacturing a beverage-filled bottle that can be smoothly and reliably washed even when a strip is formed.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a method for producing a beverage-filled bottle in which a beverage is enclosed in a bottle, wherein the beverage is discharged from the mouth of the synthetic resin bottle. Beverage filling step of injecting and filling the inside, and attaching the inner stopper that seals the bottle with the outer peripheral surface of the mouth of the bottle exposed to the mouth of the bottle filled with the beverage A step, a mouth portion washing step of washing the outer peripheral surface of the mouth portion of the bottle sealed by the inner stopper, and a cap crowning step of capping and sealing the mouth portion of the washed bottle. It is characterized by including.

According to the present invention, first, the beverage is filled in the bottle by the beverage filling step. Beverage is poured into the interior of the bottle through the mouth of the bottle. Then
The inner stopper is attached to the mouth of the bottle by the inner stopper attaching step. The inner plug is of a shape that seals the bottle with the outer peripheral surface of the mouth of the bottle exposed.
Subsequently, the outer peripheral surface of the mouth of the bottle is cleaned in the mouth cleaning step. At this time, since an inner stopper is attached to the mouth portion of the bottle to seal the bottle, the mouth portion can be washed without the washing water entering the inside of the bottle.
Moreover, since the cap of the bottle in the sealed state by the inner plug is uncapped and the outer peripheral surface is exposed, the beverage adhering to the mouth of the bottle can be washed off very easily. As compared with the case where the cap is capped and then cleaned, the cleaning time can be drastically shortened. Then, the cap is applied to the mouth of the bottle by the cap applying step.

As described above, according to the present invention, the mouth portion cleaning step is performed prior to the cap crowning step, so that the mouth portion of the bottle can be reliably cleaned, and the cleaning efficiency is dramatically improved. Can be improved.

Further, in the present invention, the bottle is formed of a flexible synthetic resin, and in the step of attaching the inner plug, the bottle filled with the beverage is pressed and deformed to have a capacity of the bottle. Is reduced by a predetermined amount, and then the inner stopper is attached to the mouth of the bottle while maintaining the state of being deformed by pressing the bottle, and thereafter, the pressing of the bottle is released prior to the step of washing the mouth. It is characterized in that the internal pressure of the bottle is lowered.

According to the present invention, the bottle is pressed and deformed prior to the attachment of the inner stopper, and while maintaining this state, the inner stopper is attached to the mouth portion of the bottle. Then, after attaching the inner stopper, the pressing of the bottle is released. By doing this,
The inner stopper is sucked into the mouth portion as the internal pressure of the bottle decreases, and the inner stopper is attached very firmly. As a result, it is possible to reliably prevent the inner plug from coming off during cleaning, and for example, to increase the amount of water and the water pressure of the cleaning water, so that the cleaning time can be further shortened and extremely efficient cleaning can be performed. .

The present invention also provides a method for producing a beverage-filled bottle suitable for a polyester resin bottle having a whitened mouth. That is, in the present invention, since the mouth portion washing step is performed prior to the cap crowning step, washing is performed in a state in which the mouth portion outer peripheral surface of the bottle is exposed, and the bottle mouth portion outer peripheral surface of the conventional bottle is cleaned. It is possible to completely eliminate the vertical groove that intersects the thread. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to favorably wash a bottle made of a polyester resin in which the thread on the outer peripheral surface of the mouth of the bottle is continuous and the mouth is whitened.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a flow of a method for manufacturing a beverage-filled bottle according to the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing an inside plug attaching step in the present embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a mouth portion washing step and a cap crown in the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing the attaching step, and FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing the mouth portion of the beverage filling bottle in a vertical cross-sectional view.

The beverage-filled bottle 1 manufactured in this embodiment has a PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottle 2 filled with a beverage and sealed with a cap 3 as shown in FIG. Is. PE
The T-bottle 2 has a continuous thread 5 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the mouth portion 4, and the mouth portion 4 is whitened to improve heat resistance.

As shown in FIG. 4, a synthetic resin (for example, polypropylene, polyethylene, etc.) inner plug 6 is fitted into the mouth portion 4 of the beverage filling bottle 1, and the cap 3 is capped from above. It is worn. The inner plug 6 is provided with a disk-shaped closing portion 7 having a diameter larger than the outer diameter of the opening portion 4 that abuts the entire upper edge of the opening portion 4 of the PET bottle 2 to close the opening portion 4. Further, the closed portion 7 is integrally provided with a cylindrical middle leg 8 which is detachably fitted into the mouth portion 4 and maintains a closed state by the closed portion 7. An annular convex portion 9 is formed on the outer circumference of the middle foot 8, and the convex portion 9 is brought into pressure contact with the inner circumference of the mouth portion 4 of the PET bottle 2 to be frictionally engaged,
Inadvertent slipping out of the PET bottle 2 from the mouth 4 is prevented.

As shown in FIG. 4, the cap 3 has a circular top plate 11 and a cylindrical skirt portion 12 extending downward from the peripheral edge of the top plate 11. The skirt part 1
On the inner peripheral surface of 2, there is formed a thread 5 that is screwed to the thread 5 formed on the mouth portion 4 of the PET bottle 2. Further, it is preferable that an inner plug engaging portion 13 that engages irremovably with the peripheral edge of the closing portion 7 of the inner stopper 6 is formed inside the boundary position between the top plate 11 and the skirt portion 12. by this,
When the beverage filling bottle 1 is opened, the inner stopper 6 of the cap 3 can be removed together with the inner stopper 6 of the cap 3 by engaging the peripheral edge of the closing portion 7 of the inner stopper 6. .

Next, the flow of the method for manufacturing a beverage filling bottle of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. First, a beverage is injected into the PET bottle 2 by the beverage filling step 14. The beverage is cooled to room temperature after being heat-sterilized in a pre-process (not shown) of the beverage filling process 14.
Next, the inner plug 6 is attached to the mouth portion 4 of the PET bottle 2 in the inner plug attaching step 15. Then, mouth cleaning step 1
The mouth portion 4 of the PET bottle 2 is washed by 6. Then, the cap 3 is attached to the mouth portion 4 of the PET bottle 2 in the cap crowning step 17.

Next, the inner plug attaching step 15 to the cap crowning step 17 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

In the step 15 for attaching the inner plug, as shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), the PET bottle 2 is transported along the transport path 18, and the pressing means 20 is brought into contact with the body portion 19 of the PET bottle 2. Then, as shown in FIG.
The body portion 19 of the PET bottle 2 on the transport path 18 is pressed by the pressing means 2.
It is pressed with a predetermined pressure by 0. This allows PE
The T-bottle 2 is deformed such that the body portion 19 is constricted, the volume of the pressed portion is reduced, and the head space is reduced.
Further, the inner plug holding means 21 holding the inner plug 6 faces above the mouth portion 4 of the PET bottle 2. The inner plug holding means 2
1 is moved up and down by an elevating means (not shown). Then, as shown in FIG. 2C, the state of being pressed and deformed by the pressing means 20 is maintained, and the inner plug holding means 21 is lowered to P
An inner stopper 6 is attached to the mouth portion 4 of the ET bottle 2.

Immediately before mounting the inner plug 6, PET
Oxidation of the beverage by blowing nitrogen gas, carbon dioxide gas, or steam toward the inside of the mouth 4 of the bottle 2 to replace the air in the PET bottle 2 with an inert gas to remove oxygen. It is preferable to perform a treatment for preventing

Next, as shown in FIG. 2D, the pressing of the body portion 19 of the PET bottle 2 by the pressing means 20 is released, and the inner plug holding means 21 releases the holding of the inner plug 6 and is raised. . The internal pressure of the body portion 19 of the PET bottle 2 from which the pressing by the pressing means 20 has been released decreases due to the restoring force.
Therefore, the inner plug 6 is in a state of being sucked by the mouth portion 4 of the PET bottle 2, and the fitted state of the inner plug 6 is further strengthened.
After that, the PET bottle 2 is transported along the transport path 18 and the mouth portion cleaning step 16 is performed.

In the mouth portion cleaning step 16, FIG.
As shown in (a), showering is performed in which washing water is sprayed from the plurality of nozzles 22 toward the mouth 4 of the PET bottle 2. The beverage scattered at the time of performing the beverage filling step 14 may be attached to the outer peripheral surface of the mouth 4 of the PET bottle 2, but the beverage attached to the mouth 4 is washed by a shower ring. . Moreover, the mouth 4 of the PET bottle 2 has the cap 3 uncapped and the outer peripheral surface of the mouth 4 is exposed, so that the beverage attached to the mouth 4 by the shower ring can be surely secured in a short time. Can be washed. Moreover, as the internal pressure of the PET bottle 2 decreases, the inner stopper 6 is firmly attached to the PET bottle 2
Is reliably sealed, the cleaning efficiency can be dramatically improved by increasing the water pressure of the shower ring, for example.

The PET bottle 2 whose mouth 4 has been cleaned in the mouth cleaning step 16 moves to the cap capping step 17. In the cap crowning step 17, first,
As shown in FIG. 3 (b), the cap capping means 23 holding the inner stopper 6 faces above the mouth 4 of the PET bottle 2 on the transport path 18. The cap capping means 23 is moved up and down by a lifting means (not shown).

Then, as shown in FIG. 3 (c), the cap capping means 23 descends and the cap 3 is attached to the mouth portion 4 of the PET bottle 2. At this time, PET bottle 2
The cap 3 is capped on the mouth portion 4 without removing the inner plug 6. As a result, the beverage is sealed in the PET bottle 2 and the beverage filling bottle 1 is formed. Then, FIG.
As shown in (d), the cap capping means 23 releases the holding of the cap 3 and ascends, and the beverage-filled bottle 1 is dispensed downstream of the transport path 18.

Incidentally, the inner plug attaching step 15 of the present embodiment.
In the above, the method of attaching the inner plug 6 while maintaining the state in which the body portion 19 of the PET bottle 2 is pressed and deformed is shown.
When the inner stopper 6 is firmly fitted to the mouth portion 4 of the PET bottle 2, the inner stopper 6 can be attached without pressing and deforming the body portion 19 of the PET bottle 2.

Although not shown, a drying process for drying the mouth 4 of the PET bottle 2 after cleaning by air blow or the like may be provided between the mouth cleaning step 16 and the cap crowning step 17. Good.

Further, in the present embodiment, the beverage filling bottle 1 is formed by the PET bottle 2 with the mouth portion 4 whitened. As a result, it was shown that even if the continuous thread 5 is formed in order to whiten the thread 5 without deteriorating the accuracy of the thread 5 of the mouth 4, it is possible to surely wash the thread 5. Since it is possible to reliably clean the mouth of other bottles that do not require whitening, it is possible to extremely efficiently manufacture the beverage-filled bottle using the other bottle.

The beverage-filled bottle 1 manufactured according to this embodiment has the inner plug 6 attached while maintaining the state in which the body portion 19 of the PET bottle 2 is pressed and deformed, and in that state is further sealed by the cap 3. Therefore, even if the beverage filling bottle 1 is heated and stored by a hot vendor or a warmer when it is sold, for example, the beverage filling bottle 1
The torso does not bulge excessively. As a result, it is possible to prevent clogging of the transport guides of the hot bender or hot warmer and deterioration of the appearance of the beverage filling bottle 1.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a flow of a method for manufacturing a beverage-filled bottle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing an inner plug attaching step in the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a mouth part cleaning step and a cap crowning step in the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory vertical sectional view of a mouth portion of a beverage filling bottle.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing the appearance of the mouth of the bottle.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a conventional cap.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Beverage filling bottle, 2 ... PET bottle (synthetic resin bottle / polyester resin bottle), 3 ... Cap, 4
... mouth, 6 ... inner stopper, 14 ... beverage filling step, 15 ... inner stopper attaching step, 16 ... mouth washing step, 17 ... cap crowning step.

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Katsumasa Tomizawa             4-5-15 Ueno, Iwatsuki-shi, Saitama Hokkai Seikan Co., Ltd.             Inside the company headquarters F-term (reference) 3E079 AB01 GG01 GG02                 3E080 AA01 BB02 CC03 CF15 FF11                       FF20

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A method for producing a beverage-filled bottle in which a beverage is enclosed in a bottle, wherein a beverage filling step of injecting a beverage into the interior of a synthetic resin bottle from the mouth portion and filling the beverage, and a beverage filling step. In the mouth portion of the bottle, an inner stopper attaching step of attaching an inner stopper for sealing the bottle in a state where the outer peripheral surface of the mouth portion of the bottle is exposed, and a mouth portion of the bottle sealed by the inner stopper. A method for producing a beverage-filled bottle, comprising: a mouth washing step of washing the outer peripheral surface; and a cap crowning step of crowning and sealing a cap on the mouth portion of the washed bottle. 2. The bottle is formed of a flexible synthetic resin, and in the step of attaching the inside plug, the bottle filled with a beverage is pressed and deformed to reduce the capacity of the bottle by a predetermined amount. , Then, while maintaining the state in which the bottle is pressed and deformed, the inner plug is attached to the mouth of the bottle, and then, before the mouth washing step, the pressure of the bottle is released to reduce the internal pressure of the bottle. It reduces, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.
A method for producing a beverage-filled bottle as described. 3. The method for producing a beverage-filled bottle according to claim 1, wherein the bottle is a polyester resin bottle with a whitened mouth.