JP2006111295A - Method and apparatus for sterilizing container - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a container sterilizer capable of reducing energy to be used in sterilization of a container and reducing its dimensions. <P>SOLUTION: The container sterilizer 1 includes a molding part 9 for molding the container with a die while applying heat from the die and a filling part 5 for filling the molded container with contents. The sterilizer 1 includes conveying means 7 and 13 for conveying containers in their molded order from the molding part to the filling part at a predetermined conveyance speed and a sterilizing means provided on the conveyance path of the conveyance means for bringing the container into contact with a bactericide. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a sterilization method and a sterilization apparatus suitable for sterilization of containers, particularly bottle shapes, and bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

An apparatus is known that introduces a mist of a bactericide into a container, discharges the mist from the container while heating the container, and then cleans the container from which the mist has been discharged (see Patent Document 1). In addition, there are Patent Documents 2 to 4 as prior art documents related to the present invention.
JP 2001-39414 A JP 2000-85001 A Japanese Patent No. 3457546 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-278404

  In the conventional apparatus, it is necessary to heat the molded container at the time of sterilization or prior to the introduction of the bactericide mist. Further, in order to heat the container uniformly and quickly, it is necessary to install a large hot air generator or the like before the step of supplying the bactericide.

  Then, an object of this invention is to provide the sterilization method and sterilizer of a container which can make the apparatus compact while reducing the energy used for sterilization of a container.

  The present invention will be described below. In order to facilitate understanding of the present invention, reference numerals in the accompanying drawings are appended in parentheses, but the present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment.

  The container sterilization method of the present invention is a container sterilization method applied to a container (101) molded by the mold while heat is applied from the mold (11). The above-described problem is solved by bringing the container and the bactericide into contact with each other while the applied heat remains.

  According to the container sterilization method of the present invention, the container still in a high temperature is brought into contact with the disinfectant by the heat applied from the mold at the time of molding, so that the container is sterilized using the heat at the time of molding. Can do. Therefore, the energy used for raising the temperature to a suitable temperature range in which the container is brought into contact with the bactericide can be reduced.

  In the container sterilization method of the present invention, the container and the disinfectant may be brought into contact with each other at a temperature of at least a part of the container being 50 ° C or higher. Heat the container to a suitable temperature range in which the container is brought into contact with the sterilizing agent, such as preheating before sterilization, by bringing the sterilizing agent into contact with the container having a temperature of 50 ° C or higher by heat applied during molding. The processing to be performed can be omitted.

  In the container sterilization method of the present invention, a bactericide mist generated by vaporizing and condensing may be brought into contact with the container. In the bactericidal agent mist, the bactericidal agent is present in a high concentration and in a fine granular form, so that a high bactericidal effect can be obtained while suppressing the amount of the bactericide used.

  The first container sterilization apparatus of the present invention includes a molding part (9) for molding the container (101) by the mold while applying heat from the mold (11), and the contents in the molded container. In a container sterilization apparatus (1) provided with a filling section (5) for filling, transport means (7, 13) for transporting the container at a predetermined transport speed in the order formed from the molding section to the filling section. And the sterilization means (4) disposed in the conveyance path of the conveyance means and bringing the container and the sterilizing agent into contact with each other, thereby solving the above-described problems.

  According to the first container sterilization apparatus of the present invention, since the container is transported at a predetermined transport speed in the order in which the container is formed from the molding part to the filling part, the state is almost the same as the sterilization means arranged in the transport path. The containers can be sequentially conveyed. For this reason, for example, a container in which heat applied at the time of molding remains at least partially by the conveying means can be sequentially conveyed to the sterilizing means. Therefore, the container can be sterilized using the heat at the time of molding as in the sterilization method described above.

  In the first container sterilization apparatus of the present invention, the sterilization means may be arranged in the transport path so that at least a part of the container having a temperature of 50 ° C. or more and the sterilizer are in contact with each other. Good. By disposing the sterilizing means at such a position in the transport path, the process of raising the temperature of the container such as preheating before sterilization can be omitted as in the sterilization method described above. Therefore, for example, a large-sized hot air generator used at the time of preliminary heating can be omitted, and the sterilizer can be made compact. Moreover, the cost of the sterilizer can be reduced by reducing the number of devices.

  In the first container sterilization apparatus of the present invention, the sterilizing means includes a sterilizing agent mist supplying means (14) for supplying the container with a sterilizing agent mist generated by condensing the sterilizing agent after vaporizing. May be. By supplying the sterilizing agent mist to the container in this way, a high sterilizing effect can be obtained while suppressing the amount of the sterilizing agent used as in the sterilizing method described above.

  The second container sterilization apparatus of the present invention includes a molding part (9) for molding the container (101) by the mold while applying heat from the mold (11), and the contents in the molded container. In a container sterilization apparatus (1) comprising a filling section (5) for filling, a transport means (7, 13) for transporting the container at a predetermined transport speed in the order molded from the molding section to the filling section. And disinfecting means (4) disposed in the conveying path of the conveying means and bringing the container in a state where at least a part of the temperature is 50 ° C. or more into contact with the disinfectant mist, Solve the above-mentioned problems.

  According to the second container sterilization apparatus of the present invention, the container at least partially brought into contact with the sterilizing agent mist by the heat applied at the time of molding is brought into contact with the sterilizing agent mist, so that the container is heated again before sterilization. There is no need to do. Therefore, the energy used for sterilization of the container can be reduced and the apparatus can be made compact. Moreover, since the bactericide mist is used, a high bactericidal effect can be obtained while suppressing the amount of bactericide used.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the container can be sterilized using the heat applied during molding. Therefore, the energy used for sterilization of the container can be reduced. Furthermore, the preheating and the heating at the time of sterilization can be omitted by bringing the sterilizing agent into contact with the container having a temperature of at least a part of 50 ° C. or more by the heat applied at the time of molding. Therefore, since the apparatus used for the container heating at the time of preliminary heating or sterilization can be omitted, the sterilization apparatus can be made compact. By downsizing the device, the installation area of the device can be reduced. In addition, the cost of the apparatus can be reduced.

FIG. 1 shows a sterilizer according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottle sterilizer is shown. The sterilizer 1 is molded with a PF feeder 2 and a molding machine 3 that sequentially supply a bottomed cylindrical preform (PF) 100 having a mouth part 101a (see step S11 in FIG. 2) at predetermined intervals. The bottle 101 and hydrogen peroxide (H ₂ O ₂ ) as a sterilizing agent are brought into contact with each other to wash the bottle sterilizer 4 as a sterilizing means for sterilizing the bottle 101 and the sterilized bottle 101, And a filling machine 5 as a filling unit for filling and sealing. FIG. 2 shows a procedure of processing performed on the bottle 101 from the time when the bottle 101 is molded in the sterilization apparatus 1 until the bottle 101 is sterilized and washed.

  The PF feeder 2 includes a PF conveyor 6 that sequentially supplies the PF 100 to the molding machine 3 at predetermined intervals (supplied in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1). The molding machine 3 has a plurality of conveyance wheels 7 that convey the PF 100 or the bottle 101, a heating unit 8 that heats the PF 100, and a molding that heat-molds the heated PF 100 into the bottle 101 as shown in FIG. Part 9. In the heating unit 8, the PF 100 is transported in the directions of arrows B and C in FIG. A heater (not shown) is provided on the wall surface of the heating unit 8 to heat the PF 100 being conveyed. The molding unit 9 includes a turntable 10, a mold 11 (see FIG. 2) for molding the PF 100 into the bottle 101, and a blow device 12 (see FIG. 2) that blows gas into the PF 100. The turntable 10 conveys the heated PF 100 in the direction of arrow D in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the mold 11 includes a mold 11a that molds the mouth portion 101a of the bottle 101, a mold 11b that molds the body portion 101b, and a mold 11c that molds the bottom portion 101c. . By combining the molds 11 a, 11 b, and 11 c, the shape of the bottle 101 is formed inside the mold 11. The mold 11 moves integrally with the PF 100 conveyed by the turntable 10 in the circumferential direction of the turntable 10, and forms the PF 100 inflated by the gas blown from the blowing device 12 into the shape of the bottle 101.

The bottle sterilizer 4 includes a plurality of transport wheels 13 for transporting the formed bottle 101 and a plurality of spray tubes 14 serving as a bactericide mist supply means for supplying H ₂ O ₂ mist as a bactericide to the bottle 101. And.

The filling machine 5 includes a plurality of transfer wheels 15, an air rinse section 16 that performs an air rinse process on the bottle 101 supplied with H ₂ O ₂ mist, a hot water rinse section 17 that performs a warm water rinse process on the bottle 101 after the air rinse, A filler 18 for filling the bottle 101 after washing with a content and a capper 19 for sealing the bottle 101 filled with the content by attaching a cap are provided. The air rinse section 16 includes an air rinse turntable 20 that transports the bottle 101 and an air nozzle 21 (see FIG. 2) for sending sterilized hot air into the bottle 101. The air nozzles 21 are provided so as to correspond to the bottles 101 conveyed by the air rinse turntable 20, and each air nozzle 21 is attached to the air rinse turntable 20 so as to be integrated with the bottles 101 for air rinse. It moves in the circumferential direction of the turntable 20. The hot water rinsing unit 17 includes reversing mechanisms 22 and 22 that turn the bottle 101 upside down, a hot water rinsing turntable 23 that transports the bottle 101, and a hot water nozzle 24 that supplies sterile water (hot water) heated to the bottle 101. (See FIG. 2). The hot water nozzle 24 is provided so as to correspond to the bottle 101 conveyed by the hot water rinse turntable 23, and each hot water nozzle 24 is attached to the hot water rinse turntable 23 and integrated with the bottle 101. To the circumferential direction of the hot water rinse turntable 23. In addition, since the filler 18 and the capper 19 may be the same as a well-known apparatus, description is abbreviate | omitted.

  Each conveyance wheel 7, 13, 15 of the sterilizer 1 is driven so that the operation is synchronized by a drive motor (not shown). Further, the turntables 10, 20, and 23 of the sterilizer 1 are also driven so that the operations are synchronized with the transport wheels 7, 13, and 15. As shown in FIG. 3, in the sterilizer 1, the bottle 101 is conveyed from the molding unit 9 to the air rinse unit 16 by the conveyance wheels 7 and 13. Therefore, when one bottle 101 is discharged from the turntable 10 of the molding unit 9 to the conveyance wheel 7, the bottle 101 is transferred to the next conveyance wheel 7, 13 in each conveyance wheel 7, 13 and the air rinse unit 16. One bottle 101 is fed into the box. Therefore, delivery of the bottle 101 from each conveyance wheel 7 and 13 and the turntable 10 to the next conveyance wheel 7 and 13 and the turntable 20 is performed synchronously. That is, the conveyance of the bottle 101 between the molding unit 9 and the air rinse unit 16 can be completely synchronized. By transporting the bottle 101 by the transport wheels 7 and 13 in this manner, the bottle 101 can be transported from the molding unit 9 to the air rinse unit 16 in the order in which the bottle 101 is molded. Therefore, the transport wheels 7 and 13 function as the transport means of the present invention.

The sterilizer 1 is provided with a partition (not shown) inside. The partition is provided at a position of dotted line L ₁ and the dotted line L ₂ in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, is located inside the sterilizing device 1 sterile zone, in the middle of the non-sterile zone and sterile zone and a non-sterile zone, Divided into gray zones. In the sterilizer 1, the PF feeder 2 and the molding machine 3 are arranged in the non-sterile zone, the bottle sterilizer 4 is arranged in the gray zone, and the filling machine 5 is arranged in the aseptic zone.

Next, operation | movement of the sterilizer 1 is demonstrated with reference to FIGS. 1-3.
First, the PF 100 is supplied to the molding machine 3 by the PF conveyor 6. The PF 100 supplied to the molding machine 3 is transported to the heating unit 8 via a plurality of transport wheels 7. In the heating unit 8, the PF 100 is heated so that the entire temperature of the PF 100 rises almost uniformly to a temperature range suitable for molding. In addition, since the temperature range suitable for shaping | molding changes according to the material, shape, etc. of PF100, it sets suitably according to these parameters. The PF 100 heated by the heating unit 8 is then conveyed to the molding unit 9. In the molding unit 9, the PF 100 is transported by the turntable 10 and is molded into the bottle 101 by the mold 11 and the blowing device 12 that move together with the PF 100 during the transport. The bottle 101 is formed by so-called injection blow in which the PF 100 is surrounded by the mold 11 and gas is blown into the PF 100 from the blow device 12 (step S11 in FIG. 2).

Since the molding unit 9 of the sterilizer 1 molds (heat-molds) the bottle 101 while heating, the temperature of the mold 11 is maintained at a substantially predetermined temperature. The predetermined temperature is appropriately set according to, for example, the temperature of the bottle 101 at the time of supplying H ₂ O ₂ mist to the bottle 101, which will be described later, and the material and shape of the bottle 101. For example, 60 ° C. to 100 ° C. is set as the predetermined temperature. Different temperatures may be set for the molds 11a, 11b, and 11c. For example, a lower temperature may be set in the mold 11a of the mouth portion 101a of the bottle 101 than in the other molds 11b and 11c. Since the mouth portion 101a of the bottle 101 is already formed in the PF 100, if the heat is excessively supplied to the mouth portion 101a, the mouth portion 101a may be deformed. Therefore, the temperature of the mold 11a at the portion in contact with the mouth portion 101a is lowered to prevent deformation. Further, a higher temperature may be set in the mold 11c of the bottom 101c of the bottle 101 than in the other molds 11a and 11b. By increasing the temperature at the time of heat formation, the strength of the portion where the temperature is increased can be increased. Therefore, when increasing the strength of the bottom 101c, the temperature of the mold 11c may be set high.

The formed bottle 101 is sent to the bottle sterilizer 4. In the bottle sterilizer 4, H ₂ O ₂ mist produced by vaporizing H ₂ O ₂ and condensing it from a plurality of (two in FIG. 1) spray tubes 14 is supplied to the bottle 101 (step of FIG. 2). S12). Note that when the bottle 101 is conveyed, H ₂ O ₂ mist is continuously supplied from the spray tubes 14 and 14. Therefore, when the bottle 101 passes under the spray tubes 14 and 14 by the conveyance wheel 13, H ₂ O ₂ mist is sprayed on the inner and outer surfaces of the bottle 101 for several seconds. The surface temperature of the bottle 101 at the time of supplying the H ₂ O ₂ mist is desirably 50 ° C. or higher. Therefore, the spray tube 14 is disposed at a position where H ₂ O ₂ mist can be supplied to the bottle 101 having a surface temperature of 50 ° C. or higher in the conveyance path of the bottle 101. The surface temperature of the bottle 101 at this time is determined according to the heat capacity of the bottle 101, the atmosphere around the bottle 101, the amount of heat applied from the mold 11, and the like. Therefore, in the sterilization apparatus 1 of the present invention, the conveyance speed of the bottle 101 from the molding unit 9 to the spray tube 14 so that the surface temperature of the bottle 101 at the time of supplying the H ₂ O ₂ mist is 50 ° C. or higher, The temperature of the mold 11 at the time of molding is set. Since the operations of the transport wheels 7 and 13 are synchronized as described above, the bottles 101 having substantially the same surface temperature can be sequentially fed to the position where the spray tube 14 is disposed.

The surface temperature of the bottle 101 at the time of supplying the H ₂ O ₂ mist is appropriately set so that the bottle 101 is appropriately sterilized according to, for example, the material and shape of the bottle 101 and the type of sterilizing agent. The surface temperature of the bottle 101 may not be 50 ° C. or more for the entire bottle 101. For example, if the temperature of the mold 11a is lower than that of the molds 11b and 11c during molding, the temperature of the mouth portion 101a may be less than 50 ° C. Even in this case, since the high concentration H ₂ O ₂ mist is supplied to the mouth portion 101a as shown in step S12 of FIG. 2, the mouth portion 101a can be appropriately sterilized. The upper limit value of the surface temperature of the bottle 101 is set by the upper limit value of the temperature of the mold 11 at the time of molding, which is set according to the material of the bottle 101, for example. When the upper limit value of the temperature of the mold 11 is 100 ° C., for example, 90 ° C. is set as the upper limit value of the surface temperature.

The sterilized bottle 101 is then sent to the filling machine 5. In the filling machine 5, the bottle 101 is first transported to the air rinse section 16. In the air rinse section 16, while the bottle 101 is conveyed by the air rinse turntable 20, the air nozzle 21 is inserted into the bottle 101, and sterilized hot air is supplied into the bottle 101 to perform an air rinse process (step of FIG. 2). S13). By supplying the hot air in this way, the bottle 101 is heated from the inner surface, and the sterilizing effect by the H ₂ O ₂ mist is enhanced, and the adsorption and penetration of the H ₂ O _{2 into} the bottle 101 is suppressed, and the H ₂ O _2. Becomes easier to float on the inner surface of the bottle 101. Further, H ₂ O ₂ mist drifting inside the bottle 101 is discharged out of the bottle 101 by hot air. At this point, the H ₂ O ₂ mist adhered to the inner surface of the bottle 101 has already been sufficiently sterilized. Therefore, even if the H ₂ O ₂ mist drifting in the inner space of the bottle 101 is discharged, the sterilizing effect is not obtained. Rather, it is possible to suppress excessive adsorption and penetration of H ₂ O _{2 on} the inner surface of the bottle 101 by discharging the excessive mist at an early stage.

The hot air blowing time may be set within a range in which all of the mist drifting inside the bottle 101 can be discharged. When the temperature of the hot air is equal to or higher than the heat resistance temperature of the bottle 101, care should be taken because the bottle 101 may be heated beyond the heat resistance temperature and deformed if the hot air blowing time is too long. In the sterilization apparatus 1 of the present invention, the bottle 101 is molded while applying heat from the mold 11, so that the heat resistance of the bottle 101 is improved. Therefore, the hot air blowing time can be increased as compared with the blowing time into a bottle formed without applying heat from the mold. For example, 20 seconds is set as the hot air blowing time in the sterilizer 1 of the present invention. Instead of hot air, sterilized air at normal temperature may be blown to discharge the H ₂ O ₂ mist. During air rinsing, hot air may be supplied without the air nozzle 21 being inserted into the bottle 101.

The bottle 101 after the air rinsing is conveyed to the hot water rinsing unit 17. In the hot water rinse section 17, the bottle 101 is first turned upside down by the reversing mechanism 22 (the state of step S <b> 14 in FIG. 2), and then sent to the hot water rinse turntable 23. The sterilized water heated from the hot water nozzle 24 is fed into the bottle 101 conveyed by the hot water rinsing turntable 23 (step S14 in FIG. 2). Thereby, H ₂ O ₂ remaining in the bottle 101 is washed away. Note that. The temperature of the sterilizing water may be room temperature. The supply time of the sterilizing water is appropriately set according to the capacity and shape of the bottle 101, for example, 1 to 10 seconds. The bottle 101 after being washed with sterilized water is returned to the state in which the mouth part 101a faces upward by the reversing mechanism 22.

  Thereafter, the bottle 101 subjected to the hot water rinsing process is filled with the content by the filler 18. The bottle 101 filled with the contents is sealed with a cap attached by the capper 19 and discharged from the bottle outlet 1a. In addition, since the filler 18 and the capper 19 may be a well-known apparatus as above-mentioned, description of the filling method of the content to the bottle 101 and the sealing method of the bottle 101 is abbreviate | omitted.

According to the sterilization apparatus 1 described above, since the H ₂ O ₂ mist is supplied to the bottle 101 whose surface temperature is 50 ° C. or higher by the heat applied during molding, the bottle 101 need not be heated again after molding. Good. Therefore, the energy used for sterilizing the bottle 101 can be reduced. Further, the portion of the bottle 101 to which heat is applied from the same mold during molding (for example, the body 101b of the bottle 101 to which heat is applied from the mold 11b) is heated to a substantially uniform temperature. Therefore, it is possible to bring the bottle 101 having at least a part of the temperature substantially uniform into contact with the bactericide. Therefore, the bactericidal effect of the bottle 101 by the bactericide mist can be improved. In the sterilizer 1, the number of devices used for sterilization is reduced, and the molding machine 3 and the bottle sterilizer 4 are arranged close to each other, so that the apparatus can be made compact. Moreover, the conveyance of the bottle 101 from the shaping | molding part 9 to the air rinse part 16 can be completely taken by conveying the bottle 101 with the conveyance wheels 7 and 13. FIG. Further, since the bottle 101 is also transported by the transport wheel 15 after the air rinse section 16, the sterilization apparatus 1 can perform processing without stopping the bottle 101 from molding to sterilization, washing, filling and sealing. Therefore, the installation area of the sterilizer 1 can be reduced and the apparatus cost can be suppressed.

In sterilizer 1, and sterilized by supplying H ₂ O ₂ mist generated by condensing after vaporizing H ₂ O ₂ to the bottle 101. Of _H 2 _O H ₂ O ₂ mist ₂ is present in a fine granular than drops of _H 2 _{O 2} generated by a spray. _Therefore, in the H 2 _{O 2} mist _H 2 _{O 2} is present in high concentration. In the sterilization apparatus 1, in order to sterilize the bottle 101 with this H ₂ O ₂ mist, by supplying the H ₂ O ₂ mist for several seconds, a sufficient amount of H ₂ O ₂ and the bottle 101 are brought into contact with each other. Can do. Therefore, the bottle 101 can be sterilized while the bottle 101 is conveyed. _Moreover, the use of H 2 _{O 2 mist,} it is possible to suppress the amount of H 2 _{O 2.}

In the sterilizer 1, since the bottle 101 is molded while applying heat from the mold 11, the heat resistance of the bottle 101 can be improved. Therefore, the hot air spraying time in the air rinsing process can be made longer than the spraying time of the bottle formed without applying heat from the mold, so that more germicide (H ₂ O ₂ ) is removed by air rinsing. Can do.

The present invention may be implemented in various forms without being limited to the above-described embodiments. For example, containers to which the sterilization method and sterilization apparatus of the present invention are applied are not limited to PET bottles, and can be applied to containers of various thermoplastic resins. The bactericide is not limited to hydrogen peroxide (H ₂ O ₂ ), and various bactericides such as peracetic acid bactericide may be used. Further, the method of bringing the bactericide into contact with the container is not limited to an example in which the bactericide is misted and brought into contact, and the container may be brought into contact with the bactericide by an appropriate method. Washing of the container with sterile water is not limited to that performed while flowing sterile water. The method for forming the container is not limited to injection blow, and the container may be formed by direct blow.

  The conveying means for conveying the container from the molding unit to the position of the spray tube for supplying the sterilizing agent is not limited to the wheel conveying device shown in FIG. Various transport devices that can be transported at a predetermined transport speed in the order in which the containers are formed, that is, can transport the containers synchronously may be used. Examples of such a transport device include a belt transport device and a bucket transport device.

The sterilization conditions were changed with respect to the PET bottle, and sterilization was performed according to the procedure described later. FIG. 4 shows an example of the test result. The changed sterilization conditions are the temperature (initial temperature) of the PET bottle when H ₂ O ₂ mist is supplied, and the amount of H ₂ O ₂ attached to the PET bottle. The initial temperature was changed to 50 ° C, 60 ° C, and 70 ° C. The amount of H ₂ O ₂ adhered was changed to 21 μl / bottle, 29 μl / bottle, and 37 μl / bottle. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the bottle was sterilized under nine sterilization conditions. ^Five PET bottles to which 10 ³ , 10 ⁴ , 10 ⁵ Bacillus subtilis spores were attached for each sterilization condition were prepared as sterilization targets.

The procedure of the sterilization process will be described.
First, the bottle was heated so that the temperature of the bottle at the time of supplying the H ₂ O ₂ mist became the initial temperature (50, 60, 70 ° C.) of each sterilization condition. In this test, the temperature of the bottle was raised, but in the sterilization apparatus of the present invention, the temperature of the mold and the conveyance speed are set so that the temperature of the bottle when the H ₂ O ₂ mist is supplied becomes this initial temperature. Next, H ₂ O ₂ mist was supplied so that the amount of H ₂ O ₂ adhered to each sterilization condition (21, 29, 37 μl / bottle) was adhered to the bottle at the initial temperature.

Thereafter, in order to clean the interior bottle was Earinsu treatment and hot water rinsing process with respect to the bottle after H ₂ O ₂ mist supply. In the air rinse treatment, a nozzle was inserted into the bottle and hot air of 105 ° C. to 125 ° C. was blown for 20 seconds. In the hot water rinsing treatment, the bottle was inverted so that the bottom of the bottle was facing upward, and the hot water nozzle was inserted into the bottle and sterile water heated to 70 ° C. was fed for 8 seconds.

The bactericidal effect shown in FIG. 4 was evaluated by the following method.
A tryptic soy broth medium was aseptically dispensed into the bottle after washing under each sterilization condition. Next, the bottle was kept at 36 ° C. for 7 days to culture the bacteria. Then, the number of surviving bacteria is calculated from the test results under each sterilization condition by the most probable number (MPN, most probable number), and the logarithmic value of the number of adherent bacteria and the number of surviving bacteria is obtained by The bactericidal effect was evaluated. In addition, the bactericidal effect in the table | surface of FIG. 4 has shown that the bactericidal effect is so high that a numerical value is large.

The following points can be confirmed by comparing the sterilization effect in each sterilization condition of FIG. For example, by comparing the conditions 1, 4, and 7, it can be confirmed that the sterilization effect increases as the initial temperature of the PET bottle increases. Moreover, for example, by comparing the conditions 1, 2, and 3, it can be confirmed that the sterilizing effect increases as the amount of H ₂ O ₂ attached increases.

The figure which shows the sterilizer which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the procedure of the process performed with respect to a bottle after a bottle is shape | molded in the sterilizer of FIG. 1 until it sterilizes and wash | cleans. The figure which expands and shows a part of sterilizer of FIG. The figure which shows an example of the test result which implemented the sterilization process by changing sterilization conditions with respect to a PET bottle.

Explanation of symbols

1 Sterilizer 4 Bottle sterilizer (sterilization means)
5 Filling machine (filling part)
7 Conveying wheel (conveying means)
9 Molding part 11 Mold 13 Conveying wheel (conveying means)
14 Spray tube (disinfectant mist supply means)
101 Bottle (container)

Claims (7)

In a container sterilization method applied to a container molded by the mold while heat is applied from the mold,
A container sterilization method, wherein the container and the sterilizing agent are brought into contact with each other in a state where heat applied at the time of molding remains in at least a part of the container.   The container sterilization method according to claim 1, wherein the container and the sterilizing agent are brought into contact with each other in a state where the temperature of at least a part of the container is 50 ° C or higher.   The method for sterilizing a container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a bactericide mist generated by vaporizing and condensing is brought into contact with the container. In a container sterilization apparatus comprising: a molding unit that molds a container with the mold while applying heat from the mold; and a filling unit that fills the molded container with contents,
A transport unit that transports the container at a predetermined transport speed in the order in which it is molded from the molding unit to the filling unit, a sterilization unit that is disposed in a transport path of the transport unit, and that contacts the sterilizer with the container; A container sterilization apparatus comprising:   5. The container according to claim 4, wherein the sterilizing unit is disposed in the conveyance path so that at least a part of the container having a temperature of 50 ° C. or more and the sterilizing agent are in contact with each other. Sterilizer.   6. The container according to claim 4, wherein the sterilizing means includes a sterilizing agent mist supplying means for supplying the sterilizing agent mist generated by condensing the sterilizing agent after vaporizing the sterilizing agent to the container. Sterilization equipment. In a container sterilization apparatus comprising: a molding unit that molds a container with the mold while applying heat from the mold; and a filling unit that fills the molded container with contents,
A conveying means that conveys the container at a predetermined conveying speed in the order in which it is molded from the molding part to the filling part, and a conveying path of the conveying means, and at least a part of the temperature is 50 ° C. or higher. A container sterilization apparatus comprising: sterilization means for bringing the container into contact with a sterilizing agent mist.

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