JP2007106438A - Sterilizing method and sterilizing apparatus for package - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily and surely remove foreign substances stuck on the inner face of a container without using water, a chemical agent or the like by spraying ionized air on the inner face of the container to eliminate static electricity on the inner face of the container before sterilization processing of a PET bottle container by irradiation with electron beams. <P>SOLUTION: Before the sterilization processing is performed by irradiating the bottle container/a cap with the electron beams in electron beams irradiating parts 21 and 22 in a clean room 20, a tip of a nozzle for jetting the ionized air is inserted to a specified position of the bottle container in ionized air jetting parts 13 and 14 to spray the ionized air on the inner face of the bottle container. The foreign substances removal for removing the foreign substances sticking to the inner face of the bottle container is performed thereby. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a packaging body sterilizing method and a sterilizing apparatus for sterilizing a container or a cap by irradiating a packaging body such as a PET bottle container or a container cap with an energy beam such as an electron beam. Prior to the sterilization process by radiation, the inner and outer surfaces of the package are electrostatically removed to remove foreign substances adhering to the surface of the package without using water, chemicals, etc. The present invention relates to a packaging body sterilization method and a sterilization apparatus suitable for an aseptic beverage filling line for plastic bottles.

In general, aseptic filling in which a beverage container such as a plastic bottle is filled with a beverage in an aseptic environment is known.
Aseptic filling is a filling method that sterilizes the container and the beverage that will be the contents individually, and fills and seals in an aseptic environment, compared to the conventional method of heat sterilizing the whole container after filling the contents, Since there is no deterioration due to the heating of the contents and the heat resistance against heat sterilization of the container becomes unnecessary, it is widely adopted as a method for filling beverages into especially PET bottle containers.

In the aseptic filling method, it is necessary to sterilize an empty container in a clean room environment before filling the sterilized contents into the container. In addition, a sterilizing drug solution such as sodium hypochlorite is injected, then the injected drug solution is discharged, and the inside of the container is washed with sterile water.
However, the conventional wet sterilization method using a drug solution or sterile water requires injection / discharge of the drug solution and subsequent cleaning with water, which increases the number of processes and prolongs the processing time. In addition, water-related facilities and costs have been increased, and the environmental load due to waste liquid has been increased, leading to increased costs for chemicals and waste liquid treatment.
Thus, a dry sterilization method for sterilizing containers without using a sterilizing chemical solution or washing water has been proposed.

The dry sterilization method sterilizes a package by irradiating energy rays such as an electron beam onto the inner and outer surfaces of the package such as a PET bottle and a cap to be sterilized (see, for example, Patent Document 1). .
According to such a dry sterilization method, there is no sterilization or cleaning treatment with a chemical solution, and the number of steps is reduced and the treatment time is shortened compared to conventional wet sterilization methods, and water-related sterilization is also performed. It was considered that the equipment and cost of the apparatus could be reduced, and the waste liquid used for sterilization and washing could not be produced, and problems such as environmental burden could be avoided.

JP 2002-205714 A (page 3-4, FIG. 1)

However, in the conventional dry sterilization method as disclosed in Patent Document 1, the sterilization treatment itself is performed by electron beam irradiation, but the electron beam irradiation does not have an effect of removing foreign matters adhering to the package. For this reason, as a pre-process of the sterilization treatment, it is necessary to remove foreign substances adhering to the package. In conventional wet sterilization methods, when the chemical solution is washed away with aseptic water, foreign substances adhering to the package are also removed at the same time, so an independent process for removing foreign substances is unnecessary. In addition, a process for removing foreign matter is required separately.
And as such a foreign substance removal process, in the method disclosed by patent document 1, the washing process by aseptic water etc. was performed as a pre-process of the sterilization process by electron beam irradiation. That is, in the conventional dry sterilization method, even if it is dry type, since sterile water is used in the foreign substance removal in the previous process of electronic sterilization, the foreign substance removal process with water, the subsequent waste water treatment and the container A drying process was required.

At the time of sterilization by electron beam irradiation, if water or the like adheres to the package to be sterilized, the amount of transmission of the electron beam is reduced or attenuated. For this reason, the package must be in a dry state, and the subsequent drying process is necessary as an indispensable step in the conventional method for performing the foreign matter removal process using sterile water.
For this reason, in the conventional method, even if it is a dry sterilization method, equipment and steps for water washing treatment are substantially required, and problems similar to those of conventional wet sterilization treatment methods occur. In addition, the packaging body, which did not exist in the wet sterilization method, is also required to be dried.

Here, regarding foreign matter removal processing performed in a pre-process of electronic sterilization treatment, Patent Document 1 discloses that foreign matter can be removed by spraying sterile air instead of sterile water.
However, since the foreign matter adhering to the dry container adheres to the container surface due to static electricity, it was actually difficult to remove the foreign matter simply by spraying aseptic air. In particular, in a dry environment such as winter, the influence of static electricity becomes even stronger, and the removal of foreign matter by air becomes more difficult.
In addition, when the package to be processed is a PET bottle, the foreign matter adhering to the inner surface of the container will only move inside the container even if air is blown into the bottle, and the foreign matter will be pushed into the bottle by air pressure. In practice, it was impossible to discharge foreign matter out of the container.

  The present invention has been proposed in order to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and in the dry sterilization process of the package, ionized air is applied to the package prior to sterilization by electron beam irradiation. By spraying, the inner and outer surfaces of the package can be removed electrostatically, and foreign substances adhering to the surface of the package can be reliably removed without using water or chemicals. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sterilization method and a sterilization apparatus for a package suitable for an aseptic beverage filling line for plastic bottles.

In order to achieve the above object, a packaging body sterilization method according to the present invention is a packaging body sterilization method for sterilizing a package body by irradiating with energy rays, as described in claim 1. The package body is sterilized by irradiating the energy beam, and before the sterilization process by the energy beam irradiation, the inner surface and / or the outer surface of the package body is electrostatically removed to adhere to the package body. It is configured to perform a foreign substance removal process for removing foreign substances.
Specifically, as described in claim 2, foreign matter removal processing is performed by spraying ionized air on the package.

According to the packaging body sterilization method of the present invention having such a structure, in a dry sterilization treatment step of sterilizing a packaging body to be sterilized by irradiating an energy beam such as an electron beam, sterilization treatment by energy beam irradiation Prior to this, the inner and outer surfaces of the package are electrostatically removed. The electrostatic removal of the package can be realized by spraying ionized compressed air onto the inner and outer surfaces of the package.
Then, when the package is electrostatically removed, the foreign matter attached to the surface of the package due to the action of static electricity falls off and is blown off from the outside of the package by the blown air and removed.

In this way, in the present invention, foreign substances adhering to the surface of the package can be reliably removed without using water, chemicals, etc., and water and chemicals can be used in all processes including the subsequent sterilization process. It is possible to realize a dry sterilization process that does not use any of the above.
Therefore, the packaging body sterilization method and sterilization apparatus of the present invention eliminates the need for water-related equipment and the like, shortens the processing time, does not produce waste liquids at low cost, and does not cause problems such as environmental impact. It is possible to construct an excellent packaging sterilization system.

  In addition, the packaging body sterilization method of the present invention is configured to perform the foreign substance removal processing in a state where the packaging body is inverted, as described in claim 3.

According to the packaging body sterilization method of the present invention having such a configuration, the foreign matter removed from the surface of the packaging body by performing foreign matter removal processing by electrostatic removal in a state where the packaging body such as a bottle container is inverted is It falls due to gravity, and naturally falls from the opening of an inverted bottle container or cap and discharged.
As a result, the foreign matter blown off by the air can be naturally discharged to the outside of the packaging body, and the foreign body can be reliably removed with a low-pressure air in a short time compared to the case where the packaging body is upright. It can be removed, and processing time and cost can be reduced.

  Further, according to the packaging body sterilization method of the present invention, as described in claim 4, when the packaging body is a bottle container, the tip of a nozzle for ejecting ionized air is inserted to a predetermined position in the bottle container. Thus, foreign matter removal processing is performed by spraying ionized air onto the inner surface of the bottle container.

According to the packaging body sterilization method of the present invention having such a configuration, the ionized air is blown in a state where the nozzle for ejecting ionized air is inserted to a predetermined position inside the bottle container to be sterilized. Can be uniformly ejected and refluxed in the bottle container.
The bottle container is usually in a vertically long shape, and the diameter of the mouth opening is smaller than that of the body. For this reason, when ionized air is sprayed from the outside of the container, the air that is ejected shuts off the opening of the mouth, making it difficult for ionized air to reach the inside of the bottle container, and for foreign matter that falls off and falls. It becomes difficult to be discharged from the mouth part.

Therefore, in the present invention, the nozzle for ejecting ionized air is inserted from the bottle container mouth portion to a predetermined position, and ionized air is ejected in a state where the nozzle tip is located inside the bottle container. Thus, the ejected air can be distributed evenly throughout the container along the inner surface of the bottle container, and the refluxed air is naturally discharged from the bottle container mouth portion together with the foreign matter that has dropped off.
As a result, even when the bottle container is vertically long and has a small diameter, the foreign substance removal process using ionized air is smoothly performed, and the foreign substance adhering to the inside of the container can be easily and reliably removed and discharged.

  Moreover, the packaging body sterilization apparatus of this invention is a packaging body sterilization apparatus which sterilizes by irradiating a package body with an energy ray, as described in Claim 5, Comprising: In addition to energy beam irradiation means for sterilizing the package body, before the sterilization treatment by the energy beam irradiation means, foreign matter adhering to the package body by electrostatically removing the inner surface and / or outer surface of the package body A foreign matter removing means for removing is provided.

Specifically, as described in claim 6, the foreign matter removing means includes an ionized air ejecting means for performing the foreign matter removing process by spraying ionized air onto the package.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the foreign matter removing means includes a packaging body inversion means for performing foreign matter removal processing in a state where the packaging body is inverted.
Furthermore, as described in claim 8, when the package is a bottle container, the foreign matter removing means inserts the tip of a nozzle for ejecting ionized air to a predetermined position in the bottle container to insert the inner surface of the bottle container. The nozzle driving means for performing the foreign matter removing process by spraying ionized air on the nozzle is provided.

Thus, the present invention can be implemented not only as a packaging body sterilization method but also as a packaging body sterilization apparatus.
Therefore, for example, the existing sterilization apparatus by electron beam irradiation is equipped with a foreign substance removal means by electrostatic removal, so that the foreign substance removal according to the present invention is used for the processing steps except the foreign substance removal process while using the existing apparatus. It becomes possible to implement a sterilizer equipped with a treatment process, and as a sterilizer excellent in versatility and expandability at low cost, it can be applied to various aseptic beverage filling lines.

As described above, according to the packaging body sterilization method and sterilization apparatus of the present invention, in the sterilization treatment step of the dry packaging body, by spraying ionized air on the packaging body prior to the sterilization treatment by electron beam irradiation, The inner surface and the outer surface of the package can be electrostatically removed, and thereby foreign substances adhering to the surface of the package can be reliably removed without using water or chemicals.
Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a sterilization method and sterilization apparatus for a package that can construct a dry sterilization system that does not use any water, and that is particularly suitable for an aseptic beverage filling line for plastic bottles.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a packaging body sterilization method and a sterilization apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a packaging body sterilizing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The packaging body sterilization apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is a packaging body sterilization apparatus that performs sterilization by irradiating an energy beam such as an electron beam onto a packaging body such as a PET bottle container or a cap of a PET bottle container. Sterilization system).

[Sterilizer]
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the packaging body sterilization apparatus 10 includes a bottle container supply unit 11 that supplies an unsterilized bottle container to a sterilization treatment process, an ionized air ejection unit 12 for the bottle container, Foreign matter detection unit 13, cap supply unit 14 for supplying an unsterilized cap to the sterilization process, ionized air ejection unit 15 for cap, electron beam irradiation unit 21 for bottle container, and electron beam irradiation for cap Each part includes a part 22, a filling part 23, a temporary sealing part 24, a main sealing part 25, a label mounting part 26, a pallet part 27, and the like.
The electron beam irradiation units 21 and 22, the filling unit 23, the temporary sealing unit 24, and the main sealing unit 25 are provided in the clean room 20.
Moreover, each said part is connected via conveyance means, such as a conveyor, and the process process in each part is performed continuously or intermittently.

The bottle container supply unit 11 is supply means for supplying an unsterilized empty bottle container 1 (see FIGS. 2 to 3) formed by an upstream blow molding machine (not shown) to the sterilization process.
The ionized air ejection unit 12 for a bottle container is a foreign substance removing means for removing foreign substances adhering to the bottle container 1 supplied from the bottle container supply unit 11 via a conveyor or the like. In this embodiment, the bottle container The foreign matter removal process is performed by spraying compressed air (ionized air) ionized to 1.
Details of the ionized air ejection portion 12 for the bottle container will be described later with reference to FIGS.

The foreign matter detection unit 13 is a means for detecting the presence or absence of foreign matter in the processed bottle container 1 that has been subjected to foreign matter removal processing by the ionized air ejection unit 12, and includes, for example, a sensor that detects foreign matter using transmitted light. Yes.
About the bottle container 1 from which the foreign material was detected by this foreign material detection part 13, it will be removed from a process as an error.

The cap supply unit 14 is supply means for supplying the bottle container cap 2 (see FIG. 2) formed by an upstream cap forming machine (not shown) to the sterilization process.
The ionized air ejection part 15 for caps removes foreign matter for removing foreign substances adhering to the cap 2 supplied from the cap supply part 14 via a conveyor or the like, similar to the ionized air ejection part 12 for bottle containers described above. In this embodiment, the foreign matter removal process is performed by spraying ionized air onto the cap 2.
The bottle container 1 and the cap 2 from which foreign substances have been removed by the ionized air ejection parts 12 and 15 as described above are conveyed into the clean room 20 via a conveyor or the like, and are subjected to sterilization processing, filling processing, winding tightening processing, and the like. Each process is performed.

The clean room 20 is an area adjusted to a NASA 10,000 class sterilized state, and includes an electron beam irradiation unit 21 for a bottle container and an electron beam for a cap, which are connected to each other via transport means such as a conveyor. The irradiation unit 22, the filling unit 23, the temporary sealing unit 24, and the main sealing unit 25 are provided.
The electron beam irradiation units 21 and 22 are configured to perform sterilization treatment by electron beam irradiation continuously or intermittently on the bottle container 1 and the cap 2 conveyed via a conveyor or the like. A configuration of a mold or a rotary mold (see FIG. 1) can be used. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the bottle container 1 and the cap 2 conveyed by the rotary type conveyance path are sterilized by being irradiated with an electron beam in the same electron beam irradiation area (shaded portion in FIG. 1). Yes.
FIG. 2 schematically shows the state of the sterilization treatment of the bottle container 1 and the cap 2 in the electron beam irradiation area in the shaded portion of FIG.
As an electron beam source for irradiating an electron beam as shown in FIG. 2, known means such as an electron gun type or area beam type electron beam irradiation apparatus can be used.

The electron beam irradiation unit 21 for the bottle container, for example, an electron beam accelerated to 50 kilovolts or more and 500 kilovolts or less with respect to the bottle container 1 conveyed into the clean room 20 via a bottle container conveyor or the like. Sterilization treatment is performed by irradiating about 1 to 100 seconds per bottle container (see FIG. 2).
Similarly, the electron beam irradiation unit 22 for caps uses an electron beam accelerated to, for example, 50 kilovolts or more and 500 kilovolts or less with respect to the cap 2 conveyed into the clean room 20 via a cap conveyor or the like. Sterilization is performed by irradiating about 1 to 100 seconds per piece (see FIG. 2).

Here, irradiation of the electron beam to the bottle container 1 and the cap 2 is performed at a predetermined angle with respect to the bottle container 1 and the cap 2 so that the electron beam is uniformly irradiated on the inner and outer surfaces of the bottle container 1 and the cap 2. Irradiated.
For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the irradiation direction of the electron beam is at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the upright bottle container 1, and the angle at which the opening side surface of the cap 2 is orthogonal to the irradiation direction of the electron beam. It is preferable to irradiate the electron beam with the electron beam source and the cap 2 adjusted to a predetermined angle.
In addition, as an energy ray which sterilizes the bottle container 1 and the cap 2, energy rays other than an electron beam can also be used. As an energy beam having a bactericidal effect, for example, ultraviolet rays, gamma rays, pulsed light, etc. can be used in addition to electron beams.

The bottle container 1 sterilized by electron beam irradiation as described above is transported to the filling unit 23 via transport means such as a conveyor.
The filling unit 23 is provided in a NASA 100 class clean booth, and fills the bottle container 1 with a beverage filling in a state where the bottle container 1 transported by a conveyor or the like is held with its mouth portion facing up. .
The filling unit 23 is a tunnel type as in the case of the electron beam irradiation units 21 and 22 described above so that the bottle container 1 conveyed via a conveyor or the like can be filled with beverages continuously or intermittently. Or a rotary type (see FIG. 1).
And the bottle container 1 in the state filled with the beverage filling, the temporary sealing part (pre-capper) 24 of the next process provided in the NASA 100 class clean booth with the mouth part facing upward, the main sealing The cap 2 that has been transported to the part (capper) 25 and sterilized is sealed.

In the temporary sealing part (pre-capper) 24 and the main sealing part (capper) 25, the foreign substance removal process and the sterilization process carried to the mouth part of the bottle container 1 filled with the beverage filling by the filling part 23 via a conveyor or the like. The used cap 2 is attached in a sealed state.
The sterilized cap 2 is transported to the temporary sealing portion 24 in a state in which the opening portion is in the downward direction, and the bottle container 1 and the cap 2 are moved in the temporary sealing portion (precapper) 24 and the main sealing portion (capper) 25. Sealed.
The bottle container 1 sealed with the cap 2 is then transported to the outside of the clean room 20 and transported to the label mounting unit 26 with the cap 2 in the upward direction.
In the label mounting unit 26, a label such as a shrink film is mounted, and thereafter, the label mounting unit 26 is transported to the pallet unit 27 and can be shipped.

[Ionized air ejection part]
Next, the detail of the ionized air ejection part 12 for bottle containers with which the sterilizer 10 of this embodiment mentioned above is provided is demonstrated, referring FIGS.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the entire ionized air ejection part schematically showing the ionized air ejection part 12 for the bottle container provided in the sterilization apparatus 10 of the present embodiment. FIG. FIG.
FIG. 5 is a front view of the bottle in an inverted state schematically showing a foreign substance removal process using ionized air in the ionized air ejection unit 12 according to the present embodiment.
The ionized air ejection part 15 for the cap is basically the same as the ionized air ejection part 12 for a bottle container described below, except that the ionized air injection target is changed from the bottle container 1 to the cap 2. Therefore, specific description is omitted.

The ionization air ejection part 12 for a bottle container is configured to eject ionized air continuously or intermittently to the bottle container 1 conveyed via a conveyor or the like. For example, a tunnel type or a rotary type Can be used.
The ionized air ejection unit 12 shown in FIG. 3 is configured to perform a foreign matter removal process using a rotary type.
Specifically, the ionized air ejection part 12 has an introduction star wheel 122 for introducing the untreated bottle container 1a conveyed from the left side of FIG. 3 into the ionized air ejection area 121. The foreign substance removal process was performed by the introduction part 123, the introduction side inversion area 124 for inverting the bottle container 1a to the inverted state, the ionized air ejection area 121 for ejecting ionized air to the bottle container 1a in the inverted state, and the ionized air. A discharge side inversion region 125 for returning the processed bottle container 1b to the normal rotation state, a discharge part 127 having a discharge star wheel 126 for discharging the processed bottle container 1b from the ionized air ejection part 12, and the like are provided. Yes.

Further, the ionized air ejection unit 12 is provided with a transport unit 129 including a transport conveyor 128 for transporting the unprocessed bottle container 1a and the processed bottle container 1b, and the transport conveyor 128 of the transport unit 129 includes a transport unit 129. A bottle body presser 130 is provided so that the bottle container 1 being conveyed does not fall down.
The reversal areas 124 and 125 and the ionized air ejection area 121 of the bottle container 1 are provided with a rotary table 131 and a container support 132 provided at equal intervals with respect to the rotary table 131, and the bottle container 1 to be processed. Is conveyed along the rotary table to the inversion areas 124 and 125 and the ionized air ejection area 121, and the process is performed intermittently or continuously.

According to the ionized air ejection part 12 having the above-described configuration, first, the bottle container 1 introduced from the introduction star wheel 122 of the introduction part 123 is supported by the container support 132 and in the introduction side inversion region 124. Before entering the ionized air ejection area 121, the bottle container 1a is inverted so that the mouth of the bottle container 1a faces downward.
Specifically, the turntable 131 is provided with a rotatable container support 132 that turns the bottle container 1 upside down, the neck of the bottle container 1 is supported by the container support 132, and the container support 132 is 180. The bottle container 1 is turned from an upright state to an inverted state by being rotated by a predetermined degree.

A nozzle 133 for ejecting ionized air is inserted through the mouth of the bottle container 1 held in an inverted state, and ionized air is ejected into the container.
Here, the ionized air sprayed onto the bottle container 1 is air charged positively or negatively, and can be generated using a static eliminator or the like.
By spraying the ionized compressed air, the inner and outer surfaces of the bottle container 1 and the cap 2 can be removed electrostatically, and the foreign matter adhering to the surface of the bottle container 1 and the cap 2 is dropped due to the action of static electricity. Then, it is blown off from the inside and outside of the container by the air that is blown out and refluxed (see FIG. 5).

Further, in this embodiment, the foreign matter removal process by ionized air blow is performed in the state where the bottle container 1 is inverted, so that the foreign matter dropped off from the surface of the bottle container falls due to gravity, and the bottle in an inverted state. It naturally falls and discharged from the opening of the container 1.
Therefore, the foreign matter blown off by the air blow can be naturally discharged to the outside of the container as it is, and the foreign matter can be efficiently removed by low-pressure air in a short time.
In the ionized air ejection area 121, a guard 139 is provided at a position facing the rotary table 131 in order to prevent scattering of foreign matters in the bottle due to the ejection of ionized air.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the tip of the nozzle 133 that ejects ionized air is inserted to a predetermined position in the bottle container to spray the ionized air.
The bottle container 1 generally has a vertically long shape, and has a mouth opening with a diameter smaller than that of the body. For this reason, when ionized air is sprayed from the outside of the container, the air that is ejected shuts off the opening of the mouth, making it difficult for ionized air to reach the inside of the bottle container, and for foreign matter that falls off and falls. It becomes difficult to be discharged from the mouth part.
Therefore, in the present embodiment, the nozzle 133 that ejects ionized air is inserted from the bottle container mouth portion to a predetermined position, and ionized air is ejected in a state where the nozzle tip is located inside the bottle container. By doing so, the jetted air can be spread evenly throughout the bottle along the inner surface of the bottle container, and the refluxed air can be discharged naturally from the bottle container mouth part together with the foreign matter that has fallen off. .

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the nozzle 133 is provided with a nozzle raising / lowering drive mechanism 134, and the nozzle 133 is driven up and down by a predetermined distance so that it can be inserted through the mouth of the bottle container 1 in an inverted state. It has become so.
The nozzle 133 that is driven up and down is supplied with compressed air ionized by a spot-type high-speed static elimination head (not shown) or the like via the on-off valve 135, the pipes 136 and 137, and the rotary joint 138. 133 is supplied.
Thereby, ionized air is ejected from the nozzle 133 inserted to a predetermined position in the bottle container, and the inside of the bottle container is uniformly discharged.

Here, as the insertion position of the nozzle 133 into the bottle container, the optimum position differs depending on the size of the bottle container, the air pressure of the air to be blown out, etc., and the optimum position according to the package or apparatus environment to be processed. Can be set to
For example, in the case of a 500 ml bottle, the length L from the bottle mouth portion to the nozzle tip shown in FIG. 5 is preferably about 30 to 100 mm.
Then, the bottle container 1 that has been subjected to the foreign substance removal processing by the ionized air is transported along the rotary table 130 so that the bottle container 1b that has been processed in the discharge-side inversion area 125 rises from the inverted state to the container mouth. And then transferred to the conveyor 128 via the discharge star wheel 126 of the discharge unit 127 and transferred to the next sterilization process in the electron beam irradiation unit 21.

[Foreign matter removal treatment by ionized air]
Next, the details of the foreign matter removal process using ionized air will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 3, the rotary table 131 of the ionized air ejection unit 12 is provided with a rotatable container support 132 that turns the bottle container 1 upside down, and the neck of the bottle container 1 is supported by the container support 132. Supported.
The bottle container 1 supported by the container support 132 is changed from the upright state to the inverted state by the rotation of the container support 132, and ionized air is ejected into the container through the container opening. The nozzle 133 that is driven up and down is inserted to a predetermined position.
The nozzle 133 is provided with a nozzle raising / lowering drive mechanism 134, an on-off valve 135, and the like. For example, compressed air ionized by a spot type high-speed static elimination head (not shown) is converted into pipes 136, 137 and a rotary joint. 138 is supplied to the nozzle 133, and ionized air is jetted into the bottle container.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the bottle container 1 introduced from the introduction part 123 provided along the transport conveyor 128 is first supported by the container neck 132 on the container support 132 of the rotary table, Thereafter, the container support 132 rotates and the bottle container 1 is supported in an inverted state.
Next, the nozzle 133 driven by the elevation drive mechanism 134 is inserted into the bottle container 1 from the mouth into the inverted bottle container 1. At this time, the tip of the nozzle 133 is inserted to a predetermined position in the bottle container (for example, a position of L = 100 mm shown in FIG. 5). In this state, the on-off valve 135 is opened and ionized compressed air is ejected into the container.

As shown in FIG. 5, the ionized air ejected from the nozzle 133 inserted into the bottle container spreads uniformly in the bottle container 1, recirculates inside the container, and is discharged from the mouth to the outside.
As a result, the charge inside the container is released, and the foreign matter adhering to the inner surface of the container due to static electricity falls off, falls inside the container together with the refluxing air, and is discharged from the container mouth to the outside of the container.

The ionization air is ejected into the bottle container 1 for a predetermined time, whereby the static elimination / foreign matter removal processing is completed.
Here, the ejection time of the ionized air is determined in accordance with the capacity of the bottle container, the air pressure to be ejected, and the like. For example, in the case of a 500 ml bottle container, 0.1 to 0. 4 MPa of compressed air is ejected for about 1 to 4 seconds. In the case of a 2 liter bottle container, compressed air of 0.1 to 0.4 MPa is ejected for about 1 to 8 seconds.
After completion of the ionized air ejection process, the on-off valve 135 is closed and the nozzle 133 is lowered by the elevating drive mechanism 134. The processed bottle container 1b is transported to the transport conveyor 128 via the discharge unit 127 and supplied to a sterilization process (not shown) by electron beam irradiation.

In the present embodiment, the bottle container 1 to be subjected to the foreign substance removal process is held in an inverted state with the mouth portion positioned downward, and the ionized air is ejected into the bottle container to remove the foreign substances attached to the container. However, not only the ionized air is ejected to the inner surface of the container, but also the outer surface of the container is discharged at the same time by ejecting ionized air to the outer surface of the container to remove the foreign matter adhering to the outer surface of the container. it can.
It is also possible to remove foreign matter by ejecting ionized air into an upright container without inverting the container. In that case, the foreign matter peeled off by the charge removal with ionized air may be discharged out of the container by air blow.

As explained above, according to the packaging body sterilization method and sterilization apparatus according to the present embodiment, dry sterilization that sterilizes the PET bottle container 1 and the cap 2 to be sterilized by irradiating energy beams such as electron beams. In the processing step, prior to the sterilization treatment by the electron beam irradiation units 21 and 22, the ionized air ejection units 12 and 15 spray the ionized compressed air onto the bottle container 1 and the cap 2, thereby the bottle container 1 and the cap 2 The inner and outer surfaces can be removed electrostatically.
Then, the surface of the bottle container 1 or the cap 2 is electrostatically removed, so that the foreign matter attached to the surface is dropped by the action of static electricity, and is blown off from the inside and outside of the container by the air that is blown out and refluxed.
Thereby, the foreign material adhering to the surface of the bottle container 1 or the cap 2 can be reliably removed without using water, chemicals, etc., including the sterilization treatment process in the subsequent electron beam irradiation units 21 and 22. In addition, it becomes possible to realize a dry sterilization process that does not use water or chemicals at all.
Therefore, in the sterilization method and sterilization apparatus of this embodiment, no water-related equipment is required, the processing time is shortened, waste liquid is not produced at low cost, and no problems such as environmental burdens occur. It is possible to construct a sterilization system.

[Example]
Hereinafter, one Example of the sterilization method of the package which concerns on this invention is described.
In the following examples, a PET bottle (500 ml, 2 L) is filled with 30 pieces of paper and PET pieces of a size of about 3 × 3 mm as foreign substances, and a total of 30 pieces are placed in each bottle, and the outer periphery of the bottle is made of BS ester sponge (manufactured by Kikuron). By rubbing, it was electrostatically charged and each piece of foreign material was electrostatically attached to the inside of the bottle.
The charge amount was rubbed with a sponge so that the charge amount was −4 kV or more, and the charge amount was measured with a charge measuring device (KSD-0103, manufactured by Kasuga Denki Co., Ltd.).
After air blowing using ionized compressed air and normal compressed air under the following conditions, the number of foreign particles remaining in the bottle was counted, and the treatment effect was quantitatively determined as shown in Table 1 below. .

[Example 1]
In Example 1, with respect to an inverted 500 ml bottle, the nozzle tip of ionized air was inserted to a position of 100 mm from the bottle mouth, and the nozzle angle was made straight with respect to the bottle, as shown in Table 2 below. In addition, by changing the air pressure and the blow time, ionized air was ejected to determine the number of foreign particles remaining in the bottle.

[Example 2]
In Example 2, as shown in Table 3 below, ionized air was ejected from the inverted 2 L bottle under the same conditions as in Example 1 while changing the air pressure and the blow time.

[Comparative Example 1]
In Comparative Example 1, normal air instead of ionized air was ejected from the 500 ml bottle under the same conditions as in Example 1 while changing the air pressure and blow time as shown in Table 4 below.

[Comparative Example 2]
In Comparative Example 2, normal air instead of ionized air was ejected from the 2L bottle under the same conditions as in Example 2 while changing the air pressure and the blow time as shown in Table 5 below.

[Comparative Example 3]
In Comparative Example 3, from the state of Comparative Example 2, the nozzle position is located outside the bottle mouth of -2 mm from the bottle mouth, and the nozzle angle is oblique to the bottle, and normal air is supplied to the 2L bottle. As shown in Table 6 below, the air pressure and the blow time were changed for ejection.

In Examples 1 and 2, as a result of blowing with ionized air with the nozzle inserted 100 mm into the bottle, first, in the case of the 500 ml bottle of Example 1, it was blown for 1 second at an air pressure of 0.4 MPa. Almost all the foreign material pieces could be removed.
Similarly, in the case of the 2L bottle of Example 2, almost all foreign matter pieces could be removed by blowing for 4 seconds at an air pressure of 0.4 MPa.

On the other hand, in Comparative Examples 1 and 2, which were blown with normal air that was not ionized, first, in the case of the 500 ml bottle of Comparative Example 1, was blown for 2 seconds at an air pressure of 0.4 MPa? Unless the air pressure was increased and blown at a pressure of 0.6 MPa for 1 second, almost all the foreign material pieces could not be removed.
Further, in the case of the 2L bottle of Comparative Example 2, even if the air pressure was increased to 0.6 MPa and blowing was performed for 6 seconds, the foreign material pieces remained and could not be completely removed.

Furthermore, as shown in Comparative Example 3, when the nozzle is not inserted into the bottle and blown at an angle of −2 mm from the mouth, the air is not blown into the bottle. In comparison with, a larger amount of foreign material pieces remained, and the effect of removing foreign materials was hardly obtained.
From the above, using ionized air and air blowing in a state where the air nozzle is inserted into the bottle can provide a remarkable effect on the foreign matter removal treatment compared with the case of using normal air. all right.

As mentioned above, although the preferable embodiment was shown and demonstrated about the sterilization method and sterilizer of the package of the present invention, the sterilization method and sterilizer of the package concerning the present invention are not limited only to the embodiment mentioned above. Needless to say, various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the PET bottle container and the cap are shown as the package to be sterilized according to the present invention, but the package to be sterilized according to the present invention is not limited to these, and the electronic The shape, size, material, and the like of the container and cap are not particularly limited as long as the package is sterilized by irradiation with energy rays such as a wire. For example, a preform such as a bottle container can be a sterilization target of the present invention.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be suitably used as a container sterilization method or sterilization apparatus in an aseptic beverage filling line for plastic bottles.

It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of the sterilizer of the package which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a bottle front view of the erect state which shows typically the sterilization process by electron beam irradiation in the sterilization method of the package which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows typically the whole ionized air ejection part with which the sterilization apparatus of the package which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention is equipped. It is a front view which shows typically the principal part of the ionization air ejection part with which the sterilization apparatus of the package which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention is equipped. It is a bottle front view of the inverted state which shows typically the ejection process of the ionization air in the sterilization method of the package which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Bottle container 10 Sterilizer of a package body 11 Bottle container supply part 12 Ionized air ejection part (for bottle containers)
13 Foreign matter detection unit 14 Cap supply unit 15 Ionized air ejection unit (for cap)
20 Clean room 21 Electron beam irradiation part (for bottle containers)
22 Electron beam irradiation part (for cap)
23 Filling part 24 Temporary sealing part (Pre-capper)
25 seals (capper)
26 Label mounting part 27 Pallet part

Claims (8)

A package sterilization method for sterilizing a package by irradiating it with energy rays,
While sterilizing the package by irradiating the package with energy rays,
Before the sterilization treatment by the energy ray irradiation, a foreign matter removing process for removing foreign matter adhering to the package by electrostatically removing the inner surface and / or outer surface of the package is performed. Sterilization method. The sterilization method for a package according to claim 1, wherein the foreign matter removal treatment is performed by spraying ionized air on the package. The method for sterilizing a package according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the foreign matter removing process is performed in a state where the package is inverted. When the package is a bottle container,
4. The foreign matter removing process is performed by inserting a tip of a nozzle for ejecting ionized air to a predetermined position in the bottle container and spraying ionized air on the inner surface of the bottle container. 5. The method for sterilizing a package according to claim 1. A sterilization apparatus for a package that sterilizes by irradiating the package with energy rays,
With energy ray irradiation means for sterilizing the package body by irradiating the package body with energy rays,
A packaging body comprising foreign matter removing means for removing foreign matter adhering to the packaging body by electrostatically removing the inner surface and / or outer surface of the packaging body before the sterilization treatment by the energy beam irradiation means. Sterilization equipment. 6. The packaging body sterilizing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the foreign matter removing means includes ionized air ejecting means for performing the foreign matter removing process by spraying ionized air onto the package. The said foreign substance removal means is provided with the packaging body inversion means which performs the said foreign material removal process in the state which inverted the packaging body. The sterilization apparatus of the packaging body of Claim 5 or 6 characterized by the above-mentioned. When the package is a bottle container,
The foreign matter removing means includes nozzle drive means for performing the foreign matter removing process by inserting the tip of a nozzle that ejects ionized air to a predetermined position in the bottle container and spraying ionized air on the inner surface of the bottle container. The sterilizer for a package according to any one of claims 5 to 7.

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