JP2008030783A - Sterilizing apparatus and conveying device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sterilizing apparatus or the like having a simple apparatus structure which is capable of reducing the cost and weight of the apparatus and the labor for maintenance thereof, and suppressing degradation of the environment in the apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: A bottle conveying unit 30A is constituted of a lower guide 31 and a side guide 32 for blowing out gas such as air to reduce the friction between a bottle 100 and the bottle conveying unit 30A during the conveyance, and to prevent any generation or the like of foreign matters caused by the rubbing of the bottle 100 in a shielding wall. Further, the lower guide 31 and the side guide 32 have a double pipe structure to pass a refrigerant therethrough. By cooling the gas such as air blown out of the lower guide 31 and the side guide 32, the bottle 100 overheated by application of electron beams can be cooled with the refrigerant. In addition, the container 100 can be effectively conveyed by a pusher in a rotating manner in place of the gas such as air. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a sterilization apparatus and a transport apparatus for containers filled with food, beverages, medicines, and the like.

  In the filling step of filling a container with a filling such as food, beverage, or pharmaceutical, the container is sterilized prior to filling the container with the filling.

For the sterilization of containers, peracetic acid, hydrogen peroxide, and ultraviolet irradiation are often used, but in recent years, sterilization technology by electron beam irradiation which has superior sterilizing power than ultraviolet rays has attracted attention and has been intensively developed.
When using electron beam irradiation, it is necessary to reliably prevent leakage of the electron beam and X-rays generated by electron beam irradiation outside the device. Therefore, a shield wall made of iron or lead is used around the electron beam irradiation unit. The enclosing structure is adopted.

When mass-producing beverages, etc., in the sterilization device, the container is placed in the container by sequentially passing through the irradiation range of the electron beam irradiated from the electron beam irradiation unit provided in the shielding wall. It is usual to sterilize by irradiating a fixed amount of electron beam.
For this purpose, transport means for transporting the container in the shielding wall is provided. Such a transport means includes various alignment transport mechanisms for transporting the containers in an aligned state at substantially constant intervals.
As an example of the aligning and conveying mechanism, there is a mechanism in which containers are supplied at regular intervals onto an endless conveyor by a screw feeder and conveyed by the conveyor (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In recent years, a screw member formed in a spiral shape is provided along the conveyance path of the container. By rotating this screw member, the container is conveyed along the conveyance path while being held by the groove of the screw. A technique to do this has also been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

JP 2000-203534 A JP 2006-61558 A

However, in these conventional techniques, a large mechanism such as a chain, a conveyor, and a screw member is required for transporting the container, and naturally a drive mechanism for driving them is also required, which complicates the apparatus. This has led to an increase in device cost, an increase in device weight, and an increase in maintenance work.
Moreover, in such a sterilizer, various devices are naturally made to suppress contamination by external substances. However, in the transport mechanism as described above, there is a structure in which the container is rubbed against the transport path, the screw member, etc., and in such a structure, a substance such as a foreign substance that pollutes the environment inside the shielding wall is generated. There's a problem.
The present invention has been made based on such a technical problem, and can simplify the structure of the apparatus, reduce apparatus cost, apparatus weight, and maintenance work, and suppress environmental degradation in the apparatus. It aims at providing the sterilizer etc. which can be used.

The present invention made for this purpose is a sterilization apparatus for sterilizing a container by irradiating an electron beam, an electron beam irradiation unit for irradiating the electron beam to the container, and an electron beam from the electron beam irradiation unit In order to block the leakage of the electron beam irradiated from the container transport unit that transports the container and the electron beam irradiation unit and X-rays generated by the electron beam so that the container passes through the irradiation range of The container is provided so as to surround the beam irradiation unit and the container transfer unit, and the container sterilized by the electron beam from the electron beam irradiation unit and the supply port for supplying the container to the internal container transfer unit are discharged from the container transfer unit to the outside. A shielding wall formed with a discharge port, and the container transport unit includes a lower guide that supports and guides the container to be transported from below, and a side guide that guides the container from both sides. And side guy Is formed into a cylindrical shape, and a plurality of holes penetrating inside and outside are formed, and the lower guide is directed from the hole toward the container to reduce the frictional resistance between the container and the lower guide. The gas is blown out, and the side guides are characterized in that gas is blown out from the holes toward the container in order to control the position of the container between the side guides on both sides.
In such a sterilization apparatus, when a container is transported by the container transport unit, when a gas such as air is blown out from the hole of the lower guide, the gas enters between the container and the lower guide, thereby the container and the lower guide. The frictional resistance between the two can be reduced. Then, rubbing of the container with the lower guide can be reduced.
In addition, the position of the container between the side guides on both sides can be controlled by the gas blown from the side guide, and effects such as prevention of the container from falling over and contact with the side guide can be exhibited.
Such a container transport unit can be provided substantially horizontally, but is preferably provided so as to be gradually lowered from the upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction, in a state where the container is erected or laid down Can be transported.

By the way, when sterilization by electron beam irradiation is performed, substances in the electron beam irradiation region, such as guides and containers, are heated by energy of the electron beam. Therefore, in order to suppress the temperature rise of the guide and the container, it is preferable to have a configuration for cooling them. Of course, for this cooling, the gas blown out from the lower guide or the side guide can be used as described above. However, in order to perform more efficient cooling, the following configuration is preferable.
That is, the lower guide and the side guide have a double tube structure composed of an inner tube and an outer tube, a refrigerant is supplied to the inner tube, and a gas is supplied between the inner tube and the outer tube. Is preferred. Here, the refrigerant refers to a fluid having a temperature lower than that of the object to be cooled. In the present invention, the refrigerant is not limited to a so-called heat exchange refrigerant, and includes cooling water and the like. In such lower guides and side guides, the lower guide and the side guides themselves can be cooled by the refrigerant, and the gas can be cooled by the refrigerant and cooled by the electron beam irradiation in the electron beam irradiation unit. The guide and the container can be efficiently cooled by blowing the gas.

The present invention is a sterilization apparatus for sterilizing a container by irradiating an electron beam, the electron beam irradiating unit for irradiating the electron beam to the container, and the container passing through the electron beam irradiation range from the electron beam irradiating unit In order to block leakage of the electron beam emitted from the electron beam irradiation unit and the electron beam emitted from the electron beam irradiation unit and the X-rays to the outside from the electron beam irradiation unit and the container conveyance unit, A shielding wall which is provided so as to enclose and is provided with a supply port for supplying the container to the internal container transport unit and a discharge port for discharging the container sterilized by the electron beam from the electron beam irradiation unit to the outside from the container transport unit The container transport unit includes a lower guide for supporting and guiding the container to be transported from below, a side guide for guiding the container from both sides, and a transport direction in the container transport unit below the lower guide. Between each other And a plurality of pushers that can protrude upward from the lower guide.The container supported on the lower guide in a laid-down state is rotated by the pusher that protrudes from the lower guide. It can also be set as the sterilizer characterized by conveying along.
By rotating the container while lying down sideways with the pusher in this way, it is possible to suppress the container from rubbing against the container transport unit, as compared with the case where the container is slid and transported while standing or lying down. .

The pusher for rotating the container as described above can have any configuration as long as it can exhibit a required function. For example, the following configuration is preferable.
That is, a plurality of stoppers are provided on the lower guide to be spaced apart from each other in the transport direction in the container transport unit and regulate the movement of the container in the transport direction, and the pusher pushes up the container whose movement is regulated by the stopper from below. Thus, the container is rotated with the stopper side of the container as a fulcrum, and the stopper is overcome.
In addition, the pusher includes a rotation shaft provided rotatably in a substantially vertical plane and a plurality of blade members extending in a radial direction from the rotation shaft, and the blade member revolves as the rotation shaft rotates. Accordingly, the blade member may protrude upward from the lower guide to feed the container in the transport direction.
According to the pusher having such a configuration, it can be driven with a simple configuration as compared with a mechanism for driving a conveyor or the like.

The present invention is a transport device that transports a transported object, and includes a lower guide that supports and guides the transported object from below, a side guide that guides the transported object from both sides, and a lower guide. And a plurality of pushers that are provided at intervals in the transport direction in the transport device and that can project upward from the lower guide, and that push the container supported on the lower guide in a laid-down state from the lower guide. It can also be set as the conveying apparatus characterized by conveying along a lower guide by rotating by.
Such a conveying apparatus can be used not only for conveying the object to be conveyed in the sterilization process as described above but also for other uses. Then, when conveying the object to be conveyed, if a gas such as air is blown out from the hole of the lower guide, the gas enters between the object to be conveyed and the lower guide, thereby causing friction between the object to be conveyed and the lower guide. Resistance can be reduced. Then, rubbing with the lower guide of the conveyed object can be reduced.
In addition, the position of the object to be conveyed between the side guides on both sides can be controlled by the gas blown from the side guides, and effects such as prevention of falling of the object to be conveyed and prevention of contact with the side guides can be exhibited. Can do.

  The present invention is for sterilization of containers filled with food, beverages, pharmaceuticals, etc., and such containers are PET (polyethylene terephthalate), PP (polypropylene), PE (polyethylene), PLA. This is particularly effective when it is made of a resin material such as (polylactic acid). The shape and form of the container are not questioned at all, and are not limited to the bottle shape, and may be a cup shape, a tray shape, or the like.

According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the frictional resistance between the container and the transported object and the lower guide constituting the container transporting unit and the transporting device. Rub can be reduced. As a result, environmental degradation in the apparatus can be suppressed, and high-quality sterilization can be performed.
Moreover, since such a container conveyance part and a conveyance apparatus do not require large mechanisms, such as a chain, a conveyor, and a screw member, an apparatus structure can be simplified, apparatus cost, apparatus weight, Maintenance work can be reduced.
Furthermore, it is possible to cool the guide itself and the container that are heated by the electron beam irradiation by making the lower guide and the side guide constituting the container transport section have a double tube structure and let the coolant pass through the inside.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.
[First embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a schematic configuration of a bottle sterilizer 10A according to the present embodiment.
The sterilizing apparatus 10A shown in FIG. 1 is provided on the front side of a filling apparatus that fills a bottle (container, object to be transported) 100 with a beverage. This sterilization apparatus 10A includes an electron beam irradiation unit 20 that performs sterilization by irradiating an electron beam, a bottle conveyance unit (container conveyance unit) 30A that conveys the bottle 100, and the bottle conveyance unit 30A and the electron beam irradiation unit 20. And a shielding wall 40 to be covered.

The electron beam irradiation unit 20 of this embodiment includes an electron beam generation source 21, a horn 22, and a controller (not shown).
A so-called electron gun can be used as the electron beam generation source 21. The electron beam generation source 21 generates a beam-shaped electron beam and irradiates the bottle 100 transported by the bottle transport unit 30A. At this time, the electron beam irradiation unit 20 is provided with a scanning magnet (not shown). Each of the scanning magnets changes the magnetic field generated according to the applied current, and changes the magnetic field generated by the control of the controller, thereby changing the electron beam generated by the electron beam generation source 21 to a predetermined level. Scan in the direction. Here, it is preferable to scan the electron beam in the direction in which the bottle 100 is transported or in a direction intersecting the transport direction of the bottle 100 at a predetermined angle.

  The horn 22 has a cylindrical shape whose cross-sectional dimension increases as the distance from the electron beam generation source 21 increases. The horn 22 is provided so as to surround the irradiation range of the electron beam when scanning the electron beam with a scanning magnet.

  30 A of bottle conveyance parts are provided so that the lower part of the electron beam irradiation part 20 may be crossed, and the electron beam from the electron beam irradiation part 20 may be irradiated to this bottle 100, conveying the bottle 100 in a predetermined direction. To do.

  The shielding wall 40 is formed so as to surround the electron beam irradiation unit 20 and the bottle transport unit 30A. The shielding wall 40 is made of concrete, iron, lead, or a combination of these materials, and has a thickness determined according to acceleration energy in an electron gun used for generating an electron beam. It exhibits the required shielding performance against X-rays generated by irradiation. The shielding wall 40 is provided with a supply port 41 for putting the bottle 100 to be sterilized into the shielding wall 40 and a discharge port 42 for discharging the sterilized bottle 100 out of the shielding wall 40. . The supply port 41 and the discharge port 42 are appropriately provided with a labyrinth structure, an openable / closable shutter, a rotary door, and the like in order to prevent leakage of electron beams and X-rays generated by electron beam irradiation to the outside. preferable.

  Now, in such a sterilizer 10A, the bottle transport unit 30A transports the bottle 100 in an upright state. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, the bottle transport unit 30A includes a lower guide 31 that supports the bottom of the bottle 100, and side guides 32 that are provided on both upper sides of the lower guide 31. The sheet is conveyed in a predetermined direction while being guided downward and on both sides.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 3A, the lower guide 31 and the side guide 32 each have a double tube structure. That is, it is formed of an outer tube 35 that forms an outer shell of the lower guide 31 and the side guide 32, and an inner tube 36 that is substantially concentrically spaced from the outer tube 35. A plurality of holes 35 a are formed through the outer tube 35 on the surface facing the bottle 100.

In the lower guide 31 and the side guide 32, an inert gas such as air or nitrogen is supplied between the outer tube 35 and the inner tube 36 by a pump or the like (not shown). Water and other refrigerants are supplied by a pump (not shown).
As shown in FIG. 3B, air or an inert gas (hereinafter simply referred to as air) supplied between the outer tube 35 and the inner tube 36 is conveyed from a hole 35a formed in the outer tube 35. Is ejected toward the bottle 100.

  In the lower guide 31, the jetted air causes air to enter between the lower guide 31 and the bottom surface of the bottle 100, and exerts a force in a direction that causes the bottle 100 to float. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the lower guide 31 from being excessively rubbed even when the bottle 100 travels in the transport direction. At this time, if the bottle transport unit 30A is provided so as to be inclined downward from above in the transport direction, the air that has entered between the lower guide 31 and the bottle 100 is interposed between the lower guide 31 and the lower guide 31. Since the generated friction can be reduced, the bottle 100 can be smoothly transported along the bottle transport unit 30A with a small amount of resistance. Moreover, it is preferable to form the hole 35a so that air is ejected at least in a direction that does not hinder the conveyance of the bottle 100. At this time, it is also possible to use the air as energy for transporting the bottle 100 by pushing the bottle 100 in a predetermined transport direction by the jetting air.

  Further, the side guide 32 controls the posture of the bottle 100 by blowing air from both sides of the bottle 100 so that the bottle 100 is positioned at the center of the bottle transport unit 30A and does not fall sideways. Is the main purpose. In addition, by keeping the air ejection amount substantially uniform, it is possible to keep the conveyance interval of the bottle 100 conveyed on the bottle conveyance unit 30A at an interval in the front-rear direction. Of course, there is also an effect of preventing the bottle 100 from being rubbed excessively, as in the case of the lower guide 31 due to the jetted air.

As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2C, two side guides 32 are provided substantially in parallel on one side of the bottle 100 in the vertical direction. This is because the bottle 100 is supported at least at three points and is stably guided.
Further, as shown in FIG. 2D, the bottle transport unit 30A may be configured to transport the bottle 100 in an inclined state.
By the way, the lower guide 31 and the side guide 32 are not installed in parallel with the conveyance direction of the bottle 100, but are the side guide 32 shown in FIG. 2A and the lower portion shown in FIG. It is preferable that the guide 31 is installed at an angle different from a predetermined angle with respect to the conveyance direction of the bottle 100. This is because the reflection plate 23 is provided below or on the side of the bottle transport unit 30A in the shielding wall 40, and the electron beam irradiated from the electron beam irradiation unit 20 is reflected by the reflection plate 23, thereby lowering the bottle 100. This is because when the electron beam is irradiated from both sides, the entire bottle 100 is irradiated with the electron beam. Moreover, it is also for preventing the lower guide 31 and the side part guide 32 from contacting the specific location of the bottle 100. FIG.

  Further, since a coolant such as water is supplied to the inner guide 36 of the lower guide 31 and the side guide 32, the lower guide 31 and the side guide 32 itself are cooled by this, and the outer tube 35 and the hole are also cooled. The air ejected from 35a is cooled, and the bottle 100 is cooled by this air. In the sterilization apparatus 10A using an electron beam, the lower guide 31, the side guide 32, and the bottle 100 are heated by irradiation with the electron beam. It prevents it from being heated.

  By configuring the bottle transport unit 30A with the lower guide 31 and the side guide 32 as described above, friction between the bottle 100 and the bottle transport unit 30A during transport can be reduced. It is possible to prevent the generation of foreign matter due to rubbing, and to maintain a clean environment in the shielding wall 40. Further, since the bottle transport unit 30A having such a configuration does not require any drive device, the device structure can be made very simple, and the device cost, the device weight, and the maintenance work can be reduced. it can.

  In addition, in FIG. 2 of the said embodiment, although the example of arrangement | positioning of the lower guide 31 and the side part guide 32 was shown, of course, it is not limited to this, As long as the bottle 100 can be guided, any arrangement structure It is good.

[Second Embodiment]
Hereinafter, it shows about 2nd embodiment of this invention. Note that, in the following description, the same reference numerals are given to configurations common to the first embodiment, and description thereof is omitted.
FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a schematic configuration of a bottle transport unit (container transport unit) 30B of the bottle sterilizer 10B according to the present embodiment.
In this figure, the main difference from the sterilization apparatus 10A shown in the first embodiment is that the bottle 100 is transported while being laid down in the bottle transport section 30B.
That is, the bottle transport unit 30B has a configuration including a lower guide 31 and a side guide 32, as in the first embodiment, but these lower guides 31 support the outer peripheral surface of the bottle 100 that is laid sideways. The side guide 32 guides the mouth and bottom of the bottle 100 in order to prevent the bottle 100 from deviating from the lower guide 31. At this time, as shown in FIG. 4B, the lower guide 31 can be appropriately arranged according to the cross-sectional shape of the bottle 100. Furthermore, an upper guide 33 may also be provided above the bottle 100 in order to prevent the bottle 100 from jumping out of the bottle transport unit 30B in the event of a jump.

Also in this case, the lower guide 31 and the side guide 32 have the same configuration as in the first embodiment, and exhibit the same function.
Thereby, also in the sterilizer 10B of this embodiment, the same effect as said 1st embodiment can be acquired.

[Third embodiment]
Hereinafter, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. Note that, in the following description, the same reference numerals are given to configurations common to the first and second embodiments, and the description thereof is omitted.
FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a schematic configuration of a bottle transport unit (container transport unit) 30C of the bottle sterilizer 10C according to the present embodiment.
In this figure, the main difference from the sterilizers 10A and 10B shown in the first and second embodiments is that the bottle transport unit 30C has means for rotating the bottle 100 that has been laid down. .
That is, the bottle transport unit 30C in the present embodiment includes the lower guide 51 and the side guide 52, similarly to the bottle transport units 30A and 30B shown in the first and second embodiments. Yes.

  Similar to the lower guide 31 and the side guide 32 shown in the first and second embodiments, the lower guide 51 and the side guide 52 have a double-pipe structure. Although it can be configured to eject, it is possible to eliminate such a configuration, and it is also possible to use a simple bar shape or plate shape. However, it is preferable that at least the pipe shape is configured such that a refrigerant is passed through and the heating of the bottle 100 due to electron beam irradiation is suppressed.

The lower guide 51 is provided with stoppers 53 on its upper surface at regular intervals in the transport direction.
A pusher 54 is provided below the lower guide 51 at the same intervals as the stoppers 53 are installed. The pusher 54 can be formed in a cam shape, for example. In such a pusher 54, a cam crest member 56 is eccentrically provided with respect to the rotation shaft 55, and the rotation shaft 55 is driven to rotate in a substantially vertical plane by a motor (not shown) or other driving means such as a chain mechanism or a rack and pinion gear. As a result, the cam crest member 56 rotates, and a part of the cam crest member 56 protrudes to the upper side of the lower guide 51.

The bottle 100 transported by the bottle transport unit 30 </ b> C is restricted from moving downward on the lower guide 51 by the stopper 53. In this state, when the cam crest member 56 of the pusher 54 that is driven to rotate protrudes upward from the lower guide 51, the bottle 100 on the lower guide 51 is pushed up from below. At this time, the pusher 54 comes into contact with the bottom surface of the bottle 100 whose movement of the downstream end portion 100a is restricted by the stopper 53 at a portion near the upstream end portion. The rotation direction of the pusher 54 is set to a direction in which the cam crest member 56 protruding upward from the lower guide 51 moves from the upstream side toward the downstream side in the tilt direction. As a result, the bottle 100 is pushed up from below by the pusher 54, so that the bottle 100 rotates around the end portion 100a of the bottom surface on the stopper 53 side. By appropriately adjusting the position where the pusher 54 comes into contact with the bottle 100 and the projecting dimension from the lower guide 51, the bottle 100 is rotated about the end portion 100a of the bottom surface on the stopper 53 side to get over the stopper 53. It becomes possible.
The bottle 100 that has passed over the stopper 53 slides down on the lower guide 51 as it is, and hits the stopper 53 on the lower stage to restrict its movement. In this state, the bottle 100 is rotated by 90 ° with respect to the initial state when the bottle 100 has a substantially square cross section.
By repeating the rotation operation of the pusher 54 as described above, the bottle 100 descends the stopper 53 step by step while rotating by 90 °.

Here, it is preferable to set the installation interval of the pushers 54 and the like so that the bottle 100 can rotate at least once in the electron beam irradiation range by the electron beam irradiation unit 20 and the electron beam can be irradiated from the entire circumference.
Such a bottle transport unit 30 </ b> C is particularly effective when the bottle 100 having a cross-sectional shape that is difficult to roll in a lying state, such as a substantially rectangular cross-section, is targeted.

According to the configuration as described above, even in the bottle 100 having a cross-sectional shape that is difficult to roll in a laid-down state, the bottle 100 can be transported while being laid down and rolled. By rolling and conveying, it can suppress that the specific location of the bottle 100 contacts and rubs the bottle conveyance part 30C.
Thereby, since the friction with the bottle conveyance part 30C of the bottle 100 at the time of conveyance can be reduced, generation | occurrence | production of the foreign material by the bottle 100 rubbing in the shielding wall 40 can be prevented, and the inside of the shielding wall 40 can be prevented. A clean environment can be maintained. In addition, since the bottle transport unit 30C having such a configuration can be sufficiently driven by a small motor or the like, the device structure can be greatly simplified, and the device cost, the device weight, and the labor of maintenance can be reduced. Can be reduced.

By the way, instead of the pusher 54 as described above, the following configuration is also possible.
That is, instead of the pusher 54, as shown in FIG. 6, a push rod (pusher) 60 that is driven in a direction of protruding and retracting from the lower guide 51 is provided. The push rod 60 is supported by a guide member 61 provided on the lower surface side of the lower guide 51 so as to be movable in a predetermined driving direction, and its tip 60a is separated from the lower guide 51 by an air cylinder, an electromagnetic cylinder or the like (not shown). It protrudes and retracts.
As the push rod 60 protrudes from the lower guide 51, the bottle 100 is pushed up from below as in the pusher 54 shown in FIG. 5, and rotates around the end portion 100a of the bottom surface on the stopper 53 side. By appropriately adjusting the position where the push rod 60 contacts the bottle 100 and the projecting dimension from the lower guide 51, the bottle 100 is rotated around the end portion 100a of the bottom surface on the stopper 53 side, and the stopper 53 is overcome. It becomes possible to make it. The bottle 100 that has passed over the stopper 53 slides down on the lower guide 51 as it is, and hits the stopper 53 on the lower stage to restrict its movement.

  By using such a push rod 60, the same effect as that of the configuration shown in FIG. 5 can be obtained.

[Fourth embodiment]
Hereinafter, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the following description, the same reference numerals are given to configurations common to the first to third embodiments, and the description thereof is omitted.
FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a schematic configuration of a bottle transport unit (container transport unit) 30D of the bottle sterilizer 10D according to the present embodiment.
In this figure, the main difference from the sterilization apparatus 10C shown in the third embodiment is that a rotary feeding member (pusher) 70 is provided instead of the stopper 53 and the pusher 54 or the push rod 60. is there.

That is, in the bottle transport unit 30 </ b> D according to the present embodiment, the feeding members 70 are arranged at regular intervals below the lower guide 51.
Each feed member 70 is formed of a rotary shaft 71 provided below the lower guide 51 so as to be rotatable in a substantially vertical plane, and a blade member 72 extending from the rotary shaft 71 toward the outer peripheral side. Here, the blade member 72 may be provided so as to extend radially from the center of the rotating shaft 71, but is preferably provided so as to extend from the position offset from the center of the rotating shaft 71 to the outer peripheral side. For this reason, in the example of FIG. 7, it is set as the structure by which the blade | wing member 72 formed in the substantially L shape on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating shaft 71 was attached.

Such a feed member 70 may be independently provided with a rotation drive source such as a motor, but the rotation shafts 71 of the plurality of feed members 70 are connected via a chain, a gear or the like, and are rotated in synchronization. It is preferable to adopt such a configuration.
Further, as the rotational drive source of the feed member 70, for example, air or the like can be used. That is, the blade member 72 is plate-shaped, and the feed member 70 is rotated by blowing air onto the blade member 72.

As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, when the feed member 70 rotates, the bottle 100 on the lower guide 51 is pushed up from below by a single blade member 72 protruding upward from the lower guide 51. At this time, when the base portion 71a of the blade member 72 located on the downstream side in the transport direction is configured to protrude upward from the lower guide 51 with respect to the blade member 72 protruding upward from the lower guide 51, the lower guide 51 The upper bottle 100 is restricted from moving downstream in the transport direction by the base portion 71a.
In this state, if the blade member 72 with the tip protruding upward from the lower guide 51 is kept rotating, the bottle 100 rotates on the lower guide 51 as shown in FIGS. The surface adjacent to the surface that has been in contact with the lower guide 51 is in contact with the lower guide 51. In this state, as shown in FIG. 9, the bottle 100 slides down on the lower guide 51 as it is, hits the blade member 72 of the feed member 70 on the lower stage, and its movement is restricted. In this state, the bottle 100 is rotated by 90 ° with respect to the initial state when the bottle 100 has a substantially square cross section.
By repeating the rotation operation of the pusher 54 as described above, the bottle 100 descends the feed member 70 step by step while rotating by 90 °.

Here, it is preferable to set the installation interval and the like of the feeding member 70 so that the bottle 100 can rotate at least once in the electron beam irradiation range by the electron beam irradiation unit 20 and the electron beam can be irradiated from the entire circumference. .
Such a bottle transport unit 30D is also particularly effective when the bottle 100 having a cross-sectional shape that is difficult to roll in a lying state, such as a substantially rectangular cross-section, is targeted.

According to the configuration as described above, even in the bottle 100 having a cross-sectional shape that is difficult to roll in a laid-down state, the bottle 100 can be transported while being laid down and rolled. By rolling and conveying, it can suppress that the specific location of the bottle 100 contacts and rubs the bottle conveyance part 30D.
Thereby, since the friction with the bottle conveyance part 30D of the bottle 100 at the time of conveyance can be reduced, generation | occurrence | production of the foreign material, etc. by the bottle 100 rubbing in the shielding wall 40 can be prevented, and the inside of the shielding wall 40 can be prevented. A clean environment can be maintained. Also in the bottle transport unit 30D having such a configuration, the feed member 70 can be sufficiently driven by a small motor or the like, so that the device structure can be made very simple and the device cost can be reduced. It is possible to reduce the apparatus weight and maintenance work.

In addition, in the bottle conveyance units 30 </ b> A to 30 </ b> D shown in the above-described embodiment, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which air is sprayed in an auxiliary manner and this air is used for the driving force of the bottle 100.
In addition to this, as long as it does not deviate from the gist of the present invention, the configuration described in the above embodiment can be selected or changed to another configuration as appropriate.

It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the sterilizer in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the bottle conveyance part in 1st embodiment. It is the perspective sectional view and side sectional view which show the structure of a lower part guide and a side part guide. It is a figure which shows the structure of the bottle conveyance part in 2nd embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the bottle conveyance part in 3rd embodiment. It is a figure which shows the other example of the bottle conveyance part in 3rd embodiment. It is a figure which shows the flow which rotates a bottle in the bottle conveyance part in 4th embodiment. It is a figure which shows the state following FIG. It is a figure which shows the state following FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  10A to 10D: Sterilizer, 20 ... Electron beam irradiation unit, 30A to 30D ... Bottle transport unit (container transport unit), 31 ... Lower guide, 32 ... Side guide, 35 ... Outer tube, 35a ... Hole, 36 ... Inside Pipe, 40 ... Shielding wall, 41 ... Supply port, 42 ... Discharge port, 51 ... Lower guide, 52 ... Side guide, 53 ... Stopper, 54 ... Pusher, 55 ... Rotating shaft, 56 ... Cam crest member, 60 ... Push Rod (pusher), 61 ... guide member, 70 ... feed member (pusher), 71 ... rotary shaft, 72 ... blade member, 100 ... bottle (container, object to be transported)

Claims (9)

A sterilization device that sterilizes a container by irradiating an electron beam,
An electron beam irradiation unit for irradiating the container with an electron beam;
A container transport unit that transports the container so that the container passes through an electron beam irradiation range from the electron beam irradiation unit;
In order to block leakage of the electron beam irradiated from the electron beam irradiation unit and X-rays generated by irradiation of the electron beam to the outside, the electron beam irradiation unit and the container transport unit are provided so as to surround, A supply port for supplying the container to the container transport unit, and a shielding wall formed with a discharge port for discharging the container sterilized by the electron beam from the electron beam irradiation unit to the outside from the container transport unit. ,
The container transport unit includes a lower guide that supports and guides the container to be transported from below, and a side guide that guides the container from both sides.
The lower guide and the side guide are cylindrical and are supplied with gas inside, and a plurality of holes penetrating inside and outside are formed,
The lower guide blows out the gas from the hole toward the container in order to reduce frictional resistance between the container and the lower guide,
The said side part guide blows off the said gas from the said hole toward the said container in order to control the position of the said container between the said side part guides of both sides, The sterilizer characterized by the above-mentioned.   The said container conveyance part is provided so that it may become low gradually toward the downstream from the conveyance direction upstream, and it conveys in the state which stood the said container, The sterilizer of Claim 1 characterized by the above-mentioned.   The sterilizer according to claim 1, wherein the container transport unit is provided so as to gradually become lower from the upstream side in the transport direction toward the downstream side, and transports the container in a laid state.   The lower guide and the side guide have a double tube structure including an inner tube and an outer tube, a refrigerant is supplied to the inner tube, and the gas is interposed between the inner tube and the outer tube. The sterilizer according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the sterilizer is supplied.   In the lower guide and the side part guide, the gas is cooled by the refrigerant, and the container is cooled by blowing the gas to the container heated by the electron beam irradiation in the electron beam irradiation unit. The sterilizer according to claim 4, characterized in that A sterilization device that sterilizes a container by irradiating an electron beam,
An electron beam irradiation unit for irradiating the container with an electron beam;
A container transport unit that transports the container so that the container passes through an electron beam irradiation range from the electron beam irradiation unit;
In order to block leakage of the electron beam irradiated from the electron beam irradiation unit and X-rays generated by irradiation of the electron beam to the outside, the electron beam irradiation unit and the container transport unit are provided so as to surround, A supply port for supplying the container to the container transport unit, and a shielding wall formed with a discharge port for discharging the container sterilized by the electron beam from the electron beam irradiation unit to the outside from the container transport unit. ,
The container transport section is
A lower guide for supporting and guiding the container to be conveyed from below;
Side guides for guiding the container from both sides;
A plurality of pushers are provided below the lower guide and spaced apart from each other in the transport direction of the container transport unit, and can protrude upward from the lower guide,
A sterilizing apparatus, wherein the container supported on the lower guide in a laid down state is transported along the lower guide by rotating with the pusher protruding from the lower guide. A plurality of stoppers are provided on the lower guide to regulate the movement of the container in the transport direction at intervals in the transport direction of the container transport unit,
The pusher pushes up the container, the movement of which is restricted by the stopper, from below, thereby rotating the container with the stopper side of the container as a fulcrum to get over the stopper. The sterilizer described in 1.   The pusher includes a rotation shaft provided rotatably in a substantially vertical plane, and a plurality of blade members extending in a radial direction from the rotation shaft, and the blade member revolves as the rotation shaft rotates. The sterilizer according to claim 6, wherein the blade member is configured to project upward from the lower guide to feed the container in the transport direction. A conveying device for conveying an object to be conveyed,
A lower guide for supporting and guiding the object to be conveyed from below;
A side guide for guiding the object to be conveyed from both sides;
A plurality of pushers which are provided below the lower guide and spaced apart from each other in the transport direction in the transport device, and which can protrude upward from the lower guide;
A conveying apparatus characterized in that the container supported on the lower guide in a laid down state is conveyed along the lower guide by rotating with the pusher protruding from the lower guide.

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