JP2006188264A - Filling and packaging apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a filling and packaging apparatus capable of cleaning a filling line without temporarily interrupting filling operation. <P>SOLUTION: The filling and packaging apparatus is equipped with a vertical sealing means 13 which applies a vertical seal to form a cylindrical body while a strip of film F while making a packaging material run, horizontal sealing means 14 and 15 which apply horizontal seals on the cylindrical body at a specified interval in the vertical direction to make the cylindrical body into a bag body, filling lines 21 and 22 composed of nozzles 25 and 26 filling contents at filling positions facing the upper opening of an empty bag body whose upper opening is not horizontally sealed during filling, and pipelines for transferring the content connected with the nozzles, and a cleaning apparatus 30 for making a filling line cleaning liquid flow when the nozzles move to the cleaning position from the filling position. A plurality of filling lines 21 and 22 provided in it makes it is possible that each filling line is independently and selectively brought to either the filling position or the cleaning position. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a filling and packaging apparatus, and more particularly, referred to as a vertical filling and packaging machine, which is formed into a cylindrical body by vertical sealing while running a film downward, and then an empty bag before sealing an upper opening by a horizontal seal A filling and packaging apparatus for filling a body with contents from a nozzle, comprising a cleaning device capable of cleaning a filling line to which a nozzle and a filling supply pipe connected to the nozzle are connected when not filled It is.

  Since the empty bag body is formed at the uppermost portion of the cylindrical body and there is only one, the filling and packaging apparatus generally includes one filling line and fills the contents from the nozzle.

The filling line is cleaned regularly or when the device is not in use. At the time of cleaning, in order to clean not only the outer surface of the nozzle but also the inside of the pipe of the filling line, the nozzle is brought from the filling position to another washing position, and the washing liquid is circulated from the upstream to the washing line, from the nozzle. By discharging, the filling line is cleaned to the inside of the pipe.
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  However, in the conventional apparatus, since there is only one filling line, the contents cannot be filled at the time of cleaning the filling line, and the operating rate of the apparatus has to be reduced. This problem is particularly noticeable when the type of contents to be filled is frequently changed.

  An object of the present invention is to solve such problems and to provide a filling and packaging apparatus that can clean a filling line at an arbitrary time and can always fill in spite of this cleaning operation.

  The filling and packaging apparatus according to the present invention includes a vertical sealing means that applies a vertical seal to a film while running a belt-shaped film as a packaging material to form a cylindrical body, and a horizontal space on the cylindrical body at a predetermined interval in the vertical direction. A horizontal sealing means that seals the cylindrical body as a bag body, a nozzle that fills the contents at a filling position where the upper opening faces the upper opening of the empty bag body that is not laterally sealed during filling, and the nozzle And a washing device for circulating the filling line cleaning liquid when the nozzle moves from the filling position to the washing position.

In such a filling and packaging apparatus, the present invention is characterized in that a plurality of filling lines are provided, and each filling line can be independently brought to either a filling position or a washing position. .

  According to the apparatus of the present invention having such a configuration, the filling operation can be performed by at least one filling line even when the other filling line is being cleaned, so that the operation rate is not lowered without stopping the filling and packaging apparatus. it can. In addition, when washing is unnecessary, filling can be performed in all filling lines, and the capacity can be improved.

  In the present invention, the plurality of filling lines may have at least one filling line in the filling position and the other filling line in the washing position.

  In the present invention, the cleaning device has a cleaning line having a cleaning pipe that can be connected to the filling line at the cleaning position, and the cleaning pipe and the nozzle or the vicinity thereof are sealed between both by a sealing means. Is connected to the cleaning liquid supply means for supplying the cleaning liquid to the filling line from the upstream side, and the cleaning liquid is discharged from the outlet of the cleaning pipe through the nozzle and the cleaning pipe. it can. At that time, the filling line is connected to the cleaning line by inserting the nozzle from above to at least a middle position of the cleaning pipe.

  In the present invention, the discharge port can be the lower end opening of the cleaning pipe.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the number of cleaning lines is equal to the number of filling lines. For example, if the number of filling lines and cleaning lines is two each, one filling line is cleaned. Among them, since at least one other filling line can perform the filling operation, it is not necessary to stop the operation.

  In the present invention, the cleaning pipe has, as a discharge port, an intermediate discharge port provided between the sealing means and the nozzle outlet in the vertical direction, and a lower end discharge port formed by the lower end opening. The cleaning liquid after cleaning can be discharged from either one of the intermediate discharge port and the lower end discharge port. By doing so, the valve can be switched, and the inner surface and the outer surface of the nozzle can be cleaned alternately in the cleaning pipe.

  In the present invention, as described above, a plurality of filling lines are provided, and the filling line is selectively filled with any of these, and the other lines can be washed in the meantime, so that the filling line can be washed at any time. In addition, continuous filling is possible without interruption, and the operating rate of the filling and packaging apparatus can be greatly improved.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 of the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The filling and packaging apparatus of the present embodiment has a sterile chamber 1, and a main part for packing and filling is provided in the sterile chamber 1. The apparatus shown in FIG. 1 mainly includes a packaging apparatus 10, a filling apparatus 20, and a cleaning apparatus 30.

  The packaging device 10 includes a direction roller 11 that turns a strip-shaped film F as a packaging material during continuous running, and a plate-like guide that travels down in a state in which the film is folded in two and the side edges are aligned. A member 12, a longitudinal sealing member 13 as means for continuously longitudinally sealing both side edges of the folded film F, and 2 as means for intermittently laterally sealing the film F at two set positions in the longitudinal direction. Two horizontal seal members 14 and 15 and a cutting member 16 for cutting the film at the horizontal seal portion at a position below the horizontal seal members 14 and 15 are provided. The cutting device 16 is for cutting a continuous package into individual packages by transverse seals. However, since the continuous package is already sealed, the cutting needs to be performed in an aseptic condition. But outside the sterile chamber. The two horizontal sealing members 14 and 15 are provided in a reciprocating mechanism that moves downward at the same speed as the film during sealing, and quickly returns to the original position above the film surface after sealing. Since this type of packaging device 10 itself is known, further detailed explanation is omitted.

  The filling device 20 has two filling lines 21 and 22. These two filling lines 21 and 22 have pumps 23 and 24 for filling the contents, respectively, and are provided with nozzles 25 and 26 on the lower end side. In the present embodiment, these nozzles 25 and 26 are bent in a crank shape, and their lower end openings enter between the films from the open side edge of the bi-fold film F before the vertical seal, and the film cylinders after the vertical seal It has entered the body part.

  In the two filling lines 21 and 22, for example, a flexible tube such as a hose is formed between the pumps 23 and 24 and the nozzles 25 and 26, and the two nozzles 25 and 26 are formed of a flexible tube. Due to the flexibility, it is possible to move between the filling position in the film cylinder and the cleaning position outside the film cylinder, and the position can be selected. For example, in FIG. 1, the nozzle 25 indicated by the solid line is in the filling position and the other nozzle 26 indicated by the solid line is in the cleaning position.

  The cleaning device 30 includes two substantially L-shaped cleaning tubes 31 and 32. The cleaning pipes 31 and 32 are opened at the upstream end and the downstream end, respectively, and have upper openings 31A and 32A for inserting nozzles and lower openings 31B and 32B as discharge ports for the cleaning liquid. The upper openings 31A and 32A are in the aseptic chamber 1 and open upward, and the lower openings 31B and 32B protrude outward from the aseptic chamber 1 and open in the lateral direction. These lower openings 31B and 32B may remain open, but are preferably connected to a cleaning liquid supply device (not shown) described later by return paths 33 and 34.

  The nozzles 25 and 26 are selectively moved to the cleaning pipes 31 and 32, respectively, and the nozzles 25 and 26 are inserted into the upper openings 31A and 32A from the filling position. Is possible. The nozzles 25 and 26 are inserted so that the lower ends thereof enter the middle of the cleaning pipes 31 and 32. With the nozzle inserted into the upper opening, the nozzle is in the cleaning position. At this time, the cleaning pipe and the filling line form a cleaning line.

  In this embodiment, the contents supply source (not shown) and the cleaning liquid supply source (not shown) are provided outside the aseptic chamber 1, and any one of the supply sources can be selectively connected to the filling lines 21 and 22. ing.

  Both of the filling lines 21 and 22 are connected to the content supply source when the corresponding nozzles 25 and 26 are at the filling position, and are connected to the cleaning liquid supply source when they are at the cleaning position.

  In that case, the filling operation is continuously performed without stopping by connecting the content supply source to at least one of the two filling lines 21 and 22.

  Hereinafter, the operation and the filling line cleaning procedure in the present embodiment apparatus will be described.

  (1) As an example, when two filling lines are provided, one of the two filling lines 21 and 22 is at the filling position as shown by the solid line in FIG. The other filling line 22 is in the cleaning position.

  (2) In the packaging device 10, one of the filling lines in which the belt-like film F is vertically sealed by the longitudinal seal member 13 during traveling to form a film tubular body, and enters and is placed into the film tubular body from above. The contents are filled into the film cylindrical body from the nozzle 25 of 21.

  (3) The film cylindrical body filled with the contents is intermittently sealed by the lateral seal members 14 and 15 to form a continuous form of a plurality of packages, and then outside the sterile chamber 1 by the cutting member 16 It is cut within the region of the horizontal seal portion and separated into individual packages, and as a result, each package is obtained as a product.

  (4) The one filling line 21 is at the filling position, while the other filling line 22 is at the cleaning position. That is, the filling line 22 is connected to the cleaning liquid supply source at the upstream end, and the nozzle 26 of the other filling line 22 is inserted into the upper opening 32 </ b> A of the cleaning pipe 32. A cleaning liquid is injected into the filling line 22 at the cleaning position from a cleaning liquid supply source. The cleaning liquid is discharged from the cleaning pipe 32 after cleaning the filling line 22 including the pump 24 and the nozzle 26. When the return path 34 is connected to the cleaning pipe 32, the cleaning liquid passes through a filter (not shown), and after being cleaned, is returned to the cleaning liquid supply source and reused.

  In the state shown in FIG. 1, one filling line 21 is in the filling position and the other filling line 22 is in the cleaning position. In the present embodiment, the other filling line 22 is not required for washing. Or after washing | cleaning, it can use for filling with the said one filling line 21, or it can replace this one filling line 21, and can wash this one filling line 21. FIG. In any case, the film cylindrical body can be continuously formed without stopping filling.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention relating to the cleaning pipe will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 shows a state in which one filling line is at the cleaning position arranged in the cleaning pipe. In the filling and packaging apparatus, two filling lines are formed in the same manner, but only one filling line 21 is shown in the figure, and the other filling line and a cleaning pipe for the other filling line are not shown.

  In FIG. 2, the cleaning tube 31 has a lower end discharge port 31 </ b> B as a lower opening and an intermediate discharge port 31 </ b> C at a position corresponding to the upper portion of the inserted nozzle 25 as a discharge port. The lower end outlet 31B and the intermediate outlet 31C are connected to a common return path 33 through valves 35 and 36, respectively.

  The nozzle 25 of the filling line 21 has a large-diameter portion 25A having a cylindrical peripheral surface that is loosely fitted to the cleaning pipe 31 and is substantially the same as the inner diameter of the cleaning pipe 31 at a position above the intermediate discharge port 31C. is doing. On the other hand, the cleaning pipe 31 has an annular groove on the inner diameter surface at a position corresponding to the large diameter portion 25A, and a seal ring 37 such as an O-ring is accommodated in the annular groove. The seal ring 37 enables sealing while allowing the large-diameter portion 25A to slide in the vertical direction.

  In this embodiment, when the cleaning liquid is supplied from the cleaning liquid supply source with the valve 35 opened and the valve 36 closed, the cleaning liquid is cleaned to the inner surface of the nozzle 25 and then discharged to the return path 33 via the lower end discharge port 31B. Is done. Further, when the cleaning liquid is allowed to flow with the valve 35 closed and the valve 36 opened, the cleaning liquid exits from the nozzle 25 because the lower valve 35 is closed, and then rises in the cleaning pipe 31 to move the nozzle 25. The outer surface is washed, and then discharged to the return path 33 through the intermediate discharge port 31C. In this way, the inner and outer surfaces of the nozzle 25 can be cleaned by switching between opening and closing of the valves 35 and 36.

  In this embodiment, since the seal ring 37 for sealing with the nozzle 25 is provided on the inner surface of the cleaning pipe 31 as shown in FIG. 2, the processing of the groove for the seal ring and the installation of the seal ring are troublesome. 3 may be adopted.

  In FIG. 3, a stepped flange 25B is attached to the outer surface of the nozzle 25, and a seal ring 37 is attached to the outer periphery of the lower surface. The seal ring 37 has a diameter in contact with the end surface of the upper opening 31 </ b> A of the cleaning pipe 31.

  In such a configuration, just by inserting the nozzle 25 into the cleaning tube 31, the seal ring 37 contacts the end surface of the upper opening 31A of the cleaning tube 31 to perform sealing. In addition, the processing of the stepped portion for the seal ring and the attachment of the seal ring of the stepped portion are performed on the outer peripheral surface of the flange 25B, so that it is extremely simplified.

  The present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment and can be modified. For example, the number of filling lines is not limited to two, but may be three or more. In that case, at least one filling line is in the filling position and is used for the filling operation of the contents. Further, at least one washing tube is sufficient if it is not the same as the number of filling lines. When there is one washing tube, the filling lines are washed one by one.

It is a schematic block diagram of the apparatus of 1st embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the washing | cleaning pipe | tube as 2nd embodiment. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a modification of the device.

Explanation of symbols

13 Vertical seal means (Vertical seal member)
14, 15 Horizontal sealing means (horizontal sealing member)
21, 22 Filling line 25, 26 Nozzle 31, 21 Cleaning pipe 31B, 32B Lower end opening (lower end discharge port)
31C Intermediate outlet 35, 36 Valve F film

Claims (8)

  A vertical sealing means for making a cylindrical body by longitudinally sealing the film while running a belt-like film as a packaging material, and laterally sealing the cylindrical body at a predetermined interval in the vertical direction to bag the cylindrical body A horizontal sealing means, a nozzle for filling the contents at a filling position where the upper opening faces the upper opening of the non-laterally sealed empty bag body at the time of filling, and a content transfer pipe connected to the nozzle In a filling and packaging apparatus comprising a filling line and a washing device that circulates the filling line washing liquid when the nozzle moves from the filling position to the washing position, a plurality of filling lines are provided, and each filling line is independently washed with the filling position. Filling and wrapping device characterized in that it can be selectively brought into any of the positions.   2. The filling and packaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one filling line is at a filling position and another filling line is at a washing position.   The cleaning device has a cleaning line having a cleaning pipe that can be connected to the filling line at the cleaning position. The cleaning pipe and the nozzle or the vicinity thereof are sealed between them by a sealing means, and the filling line is connected from the upstream side. The cleaning liquid supply means for supplying the cleaning liquid to the filling line is connected to the cleaning line, and the cleaning liquid is discharged from the outlet of the cleaning pipe through the nozzle and the cleaning pipe. Filling and packaging equipment.   4. The filling and packaging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the filling line is connected to the cleaning line by inserting the nozzle from above to at least an intermediate position of the cleaning pipe.   4. The filling and packaging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the discharge port is a lower end opening of the cleaning pipe.   5. The filling and packaging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the number of cleaning lines is equal to the number of filling lines.   The filling and packaging apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the number of filling lines and cleaning lines is two.   The cleaning pipe has, as a discharge port, an intermediate discharge port provided between the sealing means and the nozzle outlet in the vertical direction, and a lower end discharge port formed by a lower end opening. The filling and packaging apparatus according to claim 3 or 5, wherein the cleaning liquid after cleaning can be discharged from either one of the lower end and the lower end discharge port.

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