JP2007320616A - Rotary type filling apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rotary type filling apparatus having a sealing structure between rotary side partition faces 8, 10 and fixed side partition faces 16, 18 which is suitable for an aseptic filling. <P>SOLUTION: A plurality of filling means 38 and container supporting means 42 thereunder are provided at an equal interval in the circumference direction of a rotator 6 and a conveying path of a container 4 by the container supporting means 42 is stored in a chamber 2 composed of the rotary side partition faces 8, 10 provided on the rotator 6 and the fixed side partition faces 16, 18 fixed to the outside and a space between the rotary side partition faces and the fixed side partition faces is sealed with liquid sealing devices 26, 30. A penetrating hole 8a is formed at top plate 8 of the rotary side partition face and filling nozzle 38a of the filling means 38 is arranged penetrating the penetrating hole 8a and is allowed to rise and fall with a rising and falling means 36 and further the outer face of the filling nozzle 38a and the circumference of the penetrating hole 8a are connected with bellows 40 and sealed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a rotary filling device for filling in a sterilized chamber, and in particular, a rotary filling device provided with a liquid seal device for sealing between a rotation-side partition screen and a stationary-side partition screen surrounding the chamber. It relates to the device.

  In aseptic filling, the processing space (chamber) of the filling device is surrounded by a partition screen to block it from the external atmosphere, and filling is performed in a sterile chamber. The chamber is sterilized with a sterilizing agent such as a chemical solution before operation, and is maintained in a sterile state by injecting aseptic air during the operation. Conventionally, a rotary filling apparatus that performs such aseptic filling is widely known (see, for example, Patent Document 1 or Patent Document 2).

  In Patent Document 1, a container conveyance path is arranged in a processing space 12 including a rotation-side section screens 7 and 8 and a fixed-side section screens 14, 15, and 16, and the ceiling portion 7 of the rotation-side section screen is displayed. A rotary beverage container processing apparatus is disclosed in which a filling mechanism 9 is fixed through the container and filling is performed in the sealed space. In the configuration of the present invention, the O-rings 17 and 18 seal between the rotation-side partition screen 7 and the fixed-side partition screen 16 and between the rotation-side partition screen 8 and the fixed-side partition screen 15, respectively. is doing.

  Further, the rotary filling machine according to the invention described in Patent Document 2 has a clean room separated by an outer wall, is supplied with aseptic air through a gas inlet opening, and is separated by an outer wall during a filling operation. High purity environment is maintained in a clean room. The bottom of the annular container (filling liquid tank) to which the filling valve is directly attached constitutes the ceiling wall of the clean room, the ceiling wall and the inner wall constitute the rotating side screen, and the outer wall and the bottom wall are the fixed side screen. Is configured.

In the configuration of Patent Document 2, aseptic air is continuously blown into the clean room through the aseptic air supply opening formed in the outer wall. This sterile air is constantly flowing out on the one hand through the air outlet slot between the bottom and inner walls and on the other hand between the outer wall and the lower surface of the annular container.
US 6,830,084 B1 publication (page 4-5, FIG. 1) Japanese Patent No. 2918548 (page 3-4, FIG. 2)

  In the invention described in Patent Document 1, since the partition screen on the rotation side and the partition screen on the fixed side slide through the O-ring, there is a risk that abrasion powder is generated from the O-ring. Is not suitable.

  In addition, the invention described in Patent Document 2 prevents the external atmosphere from entering the processing space by constantly blowing sterile air into the clean room to bring it into a positive pressure state, but the air flow is entangled. Therefore, it may not only flow in one direction at all times, but may enter the inside locally, and is not suitable as a structure for performing aseptic filling.

  The present invention includes a plurality of filling means provided on the rotating body at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, a container support means disposed below each of the filling means, a rotation-side section screen provided on the rotating body, and an external A chamber having a container-side transport path, a sealing means for sealing between the rotation-side section screen and the fixed-side section screen, and an outside of the chamber. An elevating means for elevating and lowering the filling means, and forming a through hole in a ceiling surface of the rotation side section screen, and arranging the filling means through the through hole, and the filling means The periphery of the through hole is connected by a deformable sealing member.

  The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the sealing means is a liquid sealing device arranged at the upper part and the lower part, respectively.

  Furthermore, in the invention according to claim 3, the upper liquid seal device is provided in the annular liquid tank for storing the seal liquid formed on the fixed side section screen, and on the rotation side section screen, A partition member suspended in the liquid, an annular partition wall member provided on each of an inner peripheral side and an outer peripheral side of the annular liquid tank on the fixed side section screen, and between the annular liquid tank and the partition wall member And a suction means for sucking the inside of the space.

  In the rotary type filling device of the present invention, the liquid seal device seals between the rotating side section screen and the fixed side section screen surrounding the container conveyance path in the chamber. In addition, since no air flow is used, aseptic conditions can be reliably maintained.

  A chamber is formed by a rotation-side section screen provided on the rotating body and a fixed-side section screen fixed to the outside of the rotating body, and the space between the rotation-side section screen and the fixed-side section screen is sealed by a sealing means. In this chamber, a plurality of container support means for rotating and transporting the containers provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction are disposed in the chamber, and each of the rotation side section screens is disposed above each of the container support means. The filling means is provided through the through-hole formed in the ceiling surface, and is moved up and down by the lifting / lowering means. The filling means and the periphery of the through-hole are connected by a deformable sealing member. With this configuration, the object of providing a rotary filling device suitable for aseptic filling by reliably sealing the inside of the chamber is achieved.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the overall configuration of a rotary type filling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing the main part (upper liquid sealing apparatus). This rotary filling device has an annular chamber 2 surrounded by a partition screen, and the inside of the chamber 2 is maintained in a sterile state to fill the container 4 being transported with liquid.

  A horizontal disk 8 (which constitutes the ceiling surface of the rotation side section screen) is attached to the upper part of the rotating body 6 arranged at the center of the rotary filling device, and is closer to the inner periphery of the horizontal disk 8. The upright inner peripheral section screen 10 is attached and rotates integrally. An annular base 14 is fixed on the plurality of support columns 12, and a bottom section screen 16 constituting the lower surface of the chamber 2 is fixed on the base 14. Further, an upright outer peripheral section screen 18 is fixed to the outer peripheral side of the bottom section screen 16. The horizontal disc 8 and the inner peripheral section screen 10 constitute a rotating side section screen, and the bottom section screen 16 and the outer peripheral section screen 18 constitute a fixed section screen. The rotating body 6 including the horizontal disk 8 and the inner peripheral screen 10 is rotationally driven via a driving gear 20 attached to the lower end thereof. An air supply means and an exhaust means (not shown) are connected to the outer peripheral section screen 16 on the fixed side, and control is performed so as to keep the inside of the chamber 2 at a positive pressure by supplying and discharging air.

  An annular plate 22 is attached to the outer periphery of the rotation-side horizontal disk 8, while an inward horizontal plate 24 is fixed to the upper end of the fixed-side outer peripheral section screen 18. 22 and a fixed horizontal plate 24 are provided with an upper liquid sealing device (hereinafter referred to as a first liquid sealing device 26), and at the lower end of the inner peripheral section screen 10 on the rotation side, An inclined extension 28 extending to the inside of the chamber 2 is provided, and a lower liquid seal device (hereinafter, second liquid seal device 30) is provided between the inclined extension 28 and the inner peripheral portion of the bottom section screen 16. Called). The first liquid sealing device 26 and the second liquid sealing device 30 seal between the rotation-side partition screens 8 and 10 surrounding the chamber 2 and the fixed-side partition screens 16 and 18.

  A plurality of through-holes 8a are formed at equal intervals in the circumferential direction near the outer periphery of the horizontal disk 8 constituting a part (ceiling surface) of the rotating body 6. A movable rotating disk 34 is disposed further above the horizontal disk 8 and is supported by a plurality of lifting means (lifting cylinders) 36 mounted upright on the horizontal disk 8 so as to be able to move up and down. It has become. Filling means 38 are attached to the outer peripheral portion of the movable rotating disk 34 at positions corresponding to the through-holes 8a of the horizontal disk 8, and the tip of the filling nozzle 38a provided in each filling means 38 is the tip. It faces the chamber 2 from the through hole 8a. A deformable sealing member (bellows) 40 is mounted between the outer peripheral surface of each filling nozzle 38a and the periphery of each through hole 8a of the horizontal disk 8 to seal the through hole 8a.

  A plurality of container support means (neck grippers) 42 for holding the neck portion 4a of the container 4 are arranged on the rotation-side inner peripheral section screen 10 corresponding to the positions of the respective filling means 38. While these neck grippers 42 hold and rotate and convey the container 4 supplied into the chamber 2 from the outside, the container 4 is filled with liquid from the filling nozzle 38a. Liquid is supplied to each filling means 38 from a filling liquid tank (not shown) through a liquid supply pipe 44, and liquid is discharged by opening and closing a liquid valve (not shown) provided in the filling means 38. It is designed to cut off. A flow meter 46 is provided in each liquid supply pipe 44 of each filling means 38 to measure the flow rate of the liquid to be filled. When it is detected that a predetermined amount of liquid has passed, the liquid valve is closed to fill. Exit.

  During the filling operation, the movable rotating disk 34 is lowered by the operation of the elevating cylinder 36 (the state on the right side in FIG. 1), and the tip of the filling nozzle 38a approaches the mouth 4b of the container 4 supported by the neck gripper. When cleaning the rotary filling device, the movable rotating disk 34 is raised by the operation of the elevating cylinder 36 (the state on the left side in FIG. 1), and the filling nozzle 38a is moved backward. The cleaning cup 48 evacuated to a position where it does not interfere with the filling nozzle 38a and the container 4 at the time of filling is moved below the filling nozzle 38a.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 2, the rotation-side annular plate 22 attached to the outer peripheral edge of the upper horizontal disk 8 and the fixed-side horizontal plate 24 fixed to the upper end of the outer peripheral section screen 18 are provided. The configuration of the first liquid seal device 26 will be described. Four upright annular partition wall members 50, 52, 54, and 56 are attached at equal intervals near the inner periphery of the horizontal plate 24. These four partition wall members are arranged in order from the left side in FIG. 2 (in order from the inside of the chamber 2), the first partition wall member 50, the second partition wall member 52, the third partition wall member 54, and the fourth partition wall member. Call it 56. A gap is formed between the upper ends of the first to fourth partition wall members 50, 52, 54, and 56 and the lower surface of the rotating annular plate 22. Further, short ridges 50a, 52a, 54a, 56a facing the inner side of the chamber 2 are provided at the upper ends of the partition wall members 50, 52, 54, 56, respectively.

  An annular seal liquid storage tank 58 is formed between the second partition wall member 52 that is the second sheet from the inner peripheral side and the third partition wall member 54 that is the third sheet. On the other hand, on the lower surface of the upper annular plate 22 on the rotating side, an annular partition member 60 is attached in a substantially intermediate position between the second partition wall member 52 and the third partition wall member 54, The lower end is inserted into the liquid in the annular reservoir tank 58. A gap is formed between the lower end of the partition member (hereinafter referred to as the first partition member 60) and the fixed horizontal plate 24, and the first partition member 60 has two inner and outer peripheral sides. The annular storage liquid tank 58 divided into the liquid tanks 58a and 58b communicates on the bottom side through this gap.

  A level sensor 62 is provided at the upper end of the second partition wall member 52 on the storage liquid tank 58 side, and by detecting the liquid level in the storage liquid tank 58 by this level sensor 62, the storage liquid tank 58. The amount of the chemical inside is controlled. A first chemical liquid supply pump 64 is connected to the storage liquid tank 58 so that a chemical liquid for sealing can be supplied into the storage liquid tank 58. Since the chamber 2 is maintained at a positive pressure during the filling operation, the liquid level of the liquid tank 58a on the inner peripheral side of the storage liquid tank 58 is lower than the liquid level of the liquid tank 58b on the outer peripheral side. ing.

  In addition, an annular partition member 68 (hereinafter referred to as a second partition member) fixed to the annular plate 22 on the upper rotation side in the inner circumferential side annular space 66 between the first partition wall member 50 and the second partition wall member 52. Called). A gap is formed between the lower end of the second partition member 68 and the upper surface of the horizontal plate 24 on the fixed side, so that the inside of the storage liquid tank 58 and the inside of the chamber 2 can communicate with each other. A second chemical liquid supply pump 68 and a first vacuum pump 70 are connected to the inner peripheral annular space 66 between the first partition wall member 50 and the second partition wall member 52, and this inner peripheral side A chemical solution for sealing is supplied into the annular space 66, or the inside of the space 66 can be sucked by a vacuum.

  Further, a second vacuum pump 74 is connected to the outer peripheral annular space 72 between the third partition wall member 54 and the fourth partition wall member 56, and the inside of the outer peripheral annular space 7 is sucked by the vacuum. It can be done. An annular protective wall 73 is provided at the outer peripheral end of the rotating-side annular plate 22 to cover the outer peripheral side upper portion of the fourth partition wall member 56.

  The second liquid seal device 30 provided between the inner peripheral portion of the fixed-side bottom section screen 16 surrounding the chamber 2 and the inclined extension portion 28 connected to the lower portion of the rotation-side inner peripheral section screen 10 includes: As shown in FIG. 1, three upright annular partition wall members fixed on the bottom section screen 16 (first partition wall member 76, second partition wall member 78, and second partition wall member in order from the inside of the chamber 2). 3 partition wall member 80), an annular space between the first partition wall member 76 and the second partition wall member 78, and the second partition wall member 78. The first partition member 82 and the second partition member 84 are respectively suspended in an annular space between the first partition member 80 and the third partition wall member 80. The gap between the lower ends of the partition members 82 and 84 and the bottom section screen 16, and the gap between the upper ends of the partition wall members 76, 78, and 80 and the lower surface of the inclined extension portion 28 are It is larger than the gap of the liquid seal device 26. Further, a protective wall 85 that covers the upper part of the first partition wall member 76 is provided at the tip of the inclined extension 28 so as to face in the vertical direction.

  An annular liquid tank 86 is provided between the first partition wall member 76 and the second partition wall member 78, and a chemical liquid supply pump 88 is connected to the annular liquid tank 86 so that a chemical liquid for sterilization can be supplied. It has become. Further, a vacuum pump 90 is connected to the annular space between the second partition wall member 78 and the third partition wall member 80, and the inside of the annular space can be sucked by the vacuum.

  In the rotary type filling apparatus according to the above configuration, when performing the filling operation, the liquid filling tank 58 between the second partition wall member 52 and the third partition wall member 54 of the upper first liquid seal device 26 is provided. The chemical solution is supplied from the first chemical solution supply pump 64. The amount of the chemical liquid in the storage liquid tank 58 is detected by the level sensor 62, and control is performed so that the chemical liquid in the storage liquid tank 58 does not become a predetermined amount or less by a detection signal from the level sensor 62. Further, both the first vacuum pump 70 and the second vacuum pump 74 are driven, and the inner peripheral annular space 66 and the third partition wall member 54 between the first partition wall member 50 and the second partition wall member 52 The outer peripheral side annular space 72 between the fourth partition wall member 56 is sucked. By sucking the annular spaces 66 and 72 provided on both sides of the chemical liquid storage tank 58 in this manner, the chemical atmosphere is prevented from flowing near the mouth 4b of the container 4 and the chemical atmosphere. Is prevented from flowing out of the chamber 2.

  On the other hand, in the lower second liquid seal device 30, during normal operation, the chemical liquid is pumped into the annular reservoir liquid tank 86 between the first partition wall member 76 and the second partition wall member 78 by the chemical liquid supply pump 88. Keep supplying.

  Further, the cleaning cup 48 is retracted from between the filling nozzle 38 a and the mouth 4 b of the container 4, the horizontal disk 34 is lowered by the lifting cylinder 36, and the tip of the filling nozzle 38 a approaches the mouth 4 c of the container 4. (The state shown on the right side of FIG. 1). In this state, the rotating body 6 is rotationally driven to rotate and convey the container 4 supported by the container support means (bottle gripper 42), and during that time, the liquid is filled into the container 4 from the filling nozzle 38a of the filling means 38. .

  When the inside of the chamber 2 of this rotary filling device is sterilized with hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2) or the like, both the first chemical solution supply pump 64 and the second chemical solution supply pump 68 of the first liquid seal device 26 are driven. The chemical solution is supplied into the storage liquid tank 58 and the inner circumferential annular space 66 between the first partition wall member 50 and the second partition wall member 52, and the first vacuum pump 70 and the second vacuum pump 74 are Both stop. By supplying the chemical liquid to the storage liquid tank 58 and the inner peripheral annular space 66 and causing it to overflow, when the upper part of the storage liquid tank 58 is filled, the part not in contact with the chemical liquid, that is, the upper part of the first partition member 60, The upper part of the second partition wall member 52 and the third partition wall member 54 is sterilized. Furthermore, the section screen which forms the inner peripheral side annular space 66 between the other first partition wall member 50 and the second partition wall member 52, that is, the inner surfaces of the first partition wall member 50 and the second partition wall member 52. Then, sterilization is performed by bringing the chemical solution into contact with each part such as both surfaces of the second partition member 68 arranged in the middle, the lower surface of the annular plate 22 and the upper surface of the horizontal plate 24. During sterilization, the chemical solution is supplied as described above while rotating the rotating body 6. If the sterilization is performed with the rotating body 6 stopped, the air pool may be generated and the chemical solution may not contact all of the above-described locations. Therefore, the sterilization is performed by making the chemical solution ripple by rotating. .

  The lower second liquid seal device 30 does not need to overflow the chemical in the reservoir tank 86 even during sterilization. In the second liquid seal device 30, the gap between the upper ends of the first to third partition wall members 76, 78, 80 and the inclined extension portion 28 of the inner peripheral screen 10, and the first and second partition members Since the gap between the lower ends of 82 and 84 and the bottom section screen 16 is larger than that of the first liquid sealing device 26, the entire sealing device 30 is excessive when the chamber 2 is sterilized with hydrogen peroxide or the like. Sterilized in a hydrogen oxide atmosphere.

  In this embodiment, the space between the rotation-side partition screens 8 and 10 surrounding the chamber 2 and the fixed-side partition screens 16 and 18 is sealed by the liquid sealing devices 26 and 30, so that an external atmosphere can be prevented from entering. It can be reliably prevented, and there is no possibility of generation of wear powder or the like because there is no sliding portion. In particular, since the annular spaces 66 and 72 are formed on the inner and outer peripheral sides of the annular liquid tank 58 for storing the chemical liquid, respectively, and are sucked by the vacuum pumps 7 and 74, respectively, the chemical liquid is scattered in the chamber 2. There is no possibility of overflowing or overflowing, and a highly safe liquid seal device can be obtained. Further, the chemical liquid supply pump 68 is connected not only to the storage liquid tank 58 but also to the inner annular space 66 so that the chemical liquid can be supplied. Therefore, when the chamber 2 is cleaned and sterilized, the space 66 is provided. In addition, it is possible to sterilize all parts of the liquid sealing device 26 by supplying the chemical solution and causing it to overflow.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a rotary type filling device. Example 1 It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which expands and shows the principal part of the said rotary type | formula filling apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

2 Chamber 6 Rotating body 8 Rotation side section screen (horizontal disc)
8a Through hole 10 Rotation side section screen (inner section screen)
16 Fixed side ward screen (bottom ward screen)
18 Fixed side ward screen (peripheral ward screen)
26 Sealing means (first liquid sealing device)
30 Sealing means (second liquid sealing device)
36 Lifting means (lifting cylinder)
38 Filling means 40 Sealing member (bellows)
42 Container support means

Claims (3)

A plurality of filling means provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction on the rotating body, a container supporting means disposed below each of the filling means, a section screen on the rotating side provided on the rotating body, and fixed to the outside It is composed of a fixed section screen, a chamber in which a container conveyance path is provided, a sealing means for sealing between the rotation side section screen and the fixed side section screen, provided outside the chamber, Elevating means for elevating and lowering the filling means,
A through-hole is formed in the ceiling surface of the rotation side section screen, the filling means is inserted through the through-hole, and the filling means and the periphery of the through-hole are connected by a deformable sealing member. Characteristic rotary filling device   2. The rotary filling device according to claim 1, wherein the sealing means is a liquid sealing device disposed at an upper part and a lower part, respectively.   The upper liquid seal device includes an annular liquid tank for storing a seal liquid formed on the fixed side section screen, a partition member provided on the rotation side section screen and suspended in the liquid in the annular liquid tank, An annular partition wall member provided on each of the inner peripheral side and the outer peripheral side of the annular liquid tank on the fixed side section screen, and suction means for sucking the space between the annular liquid tank and the partition wall member The rotary filling apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

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