JP2008056268A - Sterilizing apparatus and method for sterilizing container - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sterilizing apparatus and a method for sterilizing a container capable of reliably sterilizing the entire container. <P>SOLUTION: A bottle 100 fed from the upstream side of a sterilizing device is held by a mouth part 100a at a bottle holder 54 of a chain 31 of one side, and a bottom part 100b side of the bottle 100 is irradiated with electron beams. Then, the bottle 100 is delivered from one chain 31 to the other chain 32, and the mouth part 100a side of the bottle 100 is irradiated with electron beams while the bottom part 100b is held by a bottle holder 54B of the other chain 32. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a container sterilization apparatus and a container sterilization method for filling foods, beverages, pharmaceuticals, 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.
In the case of using electron beam irradiation, in the mass production process, the container is conveyed in an aligned state at a substantially constant interval, and the electron beam is irradiated while passing through the irradiation region of the electron beam.
At this time, it is preferable to uniformly irradiate the container with an electron beam. Therefore, a method of irradiating the container with an electron beam obliquely while rotating the container (see, for example, Patent Document 1), or a method of rotating the container at least a certain angle while irradiating the electron beam from the side of the container. (For example, refer to Patent Document 2).

JP 2002-211152 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-19190

However, when the container is configured to be fitted with a cap, such as a plastic bottle, the mouth of the container is thicker and more complex than the body of the container, and sufficient sterilization of this part is difficult. Also, the bottom of the container is thicker and more complex than the body, and similarly, it is difficult to perform sufficient sterilization.
The present invention has been made based on such a technical problem, and an object thereof is to provide a sterilization apparatus and a container sterilization method capable of sterilizing the entire container with certainty.

The sterilization apparatus of the present invention made for this purpose is a sterilization apparatus that sterilizes a container by irradiating an electron beam, and includes an electron beam irradiation unit that irradiates the electron beam to the container, and an electron beam irradiation unit A container transport unit that transports the container so that the container passes through the irradiation region of the electron beam. The container transport unit holds one end of the container to be sterilized, and holds the first transport member that passes the container through the electron beam irradiation region in the electron beam irradiation unit, and the other end of the container. A second transport member that passes the container through the electron beam irradiation region in the electron beam irradiation unit, and a delivery mechanism that delivers the container from the first transport member to the second transport member. And
In such a sterilization apparatus, the container is passed through the electron beam irradiation region in the electron beam irradiation unit in a state where one end of the container to be sterilized is held by the first transport member. Thereby, the other end side of the container is mainly sterilized by the irradiated electron beam. After this sterilization, the container is transferred from the first transfer member to the second transfer member by the transfer mechanism. And the other end side of a container is hold | maintained with a 2nd conveyance member, and the inside of the irradiation area | region of the electron beam in an electron beam irradiation part is allowed to pass through this container. Then, one end side of the container is mainly sterilized. By this, one end side and the other end side of the container, that is, when the container is a plastic bottle, for example, the mouth and bottom of the container having a large thickness and a complicated shape are sufficiently sterilized. Is possible.

  Here, the first transport member and the second transport member may have any configuration as long as the container can be sterilized as described above. For example, the first transport member and the second transport member are arranged so as to face each other with the central portion of the irradiation region of the electron beam irradiated from the electron beam irradiation unit interposed therebetween, and the first transport member and the second transport member, respectively. You may make it hold | maintain a container between two conveyance members. In general, the electron beam has the strongest intensity distribution at the center of the irradiation region. Therefore, with the configuration as described above, in a state where the container is held by the first transport member, the other end side of the container is located closer to the center of the irradiation region of the electron beam. Is irradiated. Further, in a state where the container is held by the second transport member, the one end side of the container is positioned closer to the center of the electron beam irradiation region, and therefore, a stronger electron beam is irradiated here.

The first transport member and the second transport member each have an endless track that is driven to circulate, and a plurality of them are arranged at equal intervals along the endless track to hold one end side or the other end side of the container. It can be comprised by what has a holder.
In this case, the endless track can be constituted by a belt conveyor, a chain, or the like. Moreover, it can also be set as the structure which runs the holder of a bottle along a rail. Also in this case, an endless track can be formed by looping the rail endlessly.
When the endless track is a chain, the holder is preferably provided integrally with a joint pin that connects a plurality of link plates constituting the chain. Since the joint pin provided with the holder moves integrally with the link plate by the circulation drive of the chain, the container held by the holder is substantially conveyed by the drive of the chain.

  By the way, a guide member extending along at least an electron beam irradiation area from the electron beam irradiation unit is provided along the endless track, and the joint pin rotates by contacting or meshing with the guide member. It is preferable to provide a rotating member that rotates. Thus, when the rotating member comes into contact with or meshes with the guide member, the rotating member rotates. Since the holder and the joint pin are rotated by the rotation of the rotating member, the container held by the holder is also rotated. As a result, the container is irradiated with the electron beam while rotating at least in the electron beam irradiation region.

The first transport member and the second transport member may be provided in any positional relationship. For example, if the upper line of the endless track of the first transport member and the lower line of the endless track of the second transport member are arranged in a stepped manner, the electrons on the upper line of the endless track of the first transport member After performing electron beam irradiation on the container in the beam irradiation unit, the container is transferred from the first transport member to the lower line of the endless track of the second transport member by the delivery mechanism, and the second transport member The electron beam irradiation to the container in the electron beam irradiation unit can be performed on the upper line of the endless track.
The first transport member and the second transport member may be provided so that the endless track of the first transport member and the endless track of the second transport member face each other. In that case, the electron beam irradiation to the container by the electron beam irradiation unit in the first transport member and the electron beam irradiation to the container by the electron beam irradiation unit in the second transport member are the endless track of the first transport member and It is preferable to carry out in the line on the same side of the endless track of the second conveying member.

  By the way, the first transport member, the second transport member, and the like are heated by the electron beam irradiation, and the temperature rises. Therefore, it is preferable to further include a cooling unit that cools the first transport member and the second transport member.

The present invention is a method for sterilizing a container by irradiating an electron beam, the first irradiation step of irradiating the container with an electron beam while holding one end side of the container to be sterilized; A second irradiating step of irradiating the container with an electron beam in a state where the other end side of the container is held following the irradiating step can be provided.
At this time, any means for holding the container in the first irradiation step and the second irradiation step may be used.
In the first irradiation step, the container is irradiated with an electron beam by moving the first holder within the electron beam irradiation area in a state where the one end side of the container is held by the first holder. In the irradiation step, the container may be irradiated with an electron beam by moving the second holder within the irradiation region of the electron beam while the other end of the container is held by the second holder. good. In this case, it is preferable to further include a delivery step of transferring the container from the first holder to the second holder prior to the transition to the second irradiation step after the first irradiation step.

  According to the present invention, after irradiating the container with the electron beam while holding one end of the container, the container is irradiated with the electron beam while holding the other end of the container. A strong electron beam can be irradiated around the mouth and bottom of a difficult container, and the entire container can be reliably sterilized.

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 sterilizer 10A shown in FIG. 1 is provided on the front side of a filling device that fills a bottle (container) 100 with a beverage. This sterilization apparatus 10A includes an electron beam irradiation apparatus 20 that performs sterilization by irradiating an electron beam, a bottle conveyance section (container conveyance section) 30A that conveys the bottle 100, the bottle conveyance section 30A, and the electron beam irradiation apparatus 20. And a shielding wall 40 to be covered.

The electron beam irradiation apparatus 20 of the present 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 apparatus 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 desirable to scan the electron beam in a direction substantially perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the bottle 100.

  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 an electron beam irradiation region when the electron beam is scanned by a scanning magnet.

  30 A of bottle conveyance parts are provided so that the lower part of the electron beam irradiation apparatus 20 may be crossed, and the electron beam from the electron beam irradiation apparatus 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 device 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.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the bottle transport unit 30 </ b> A has two sets of chains 31 and 32. The chains 31 and 32 are endless and are circulated by a drive mechanism such as a motor (not shown). These chains 31 and 32 are made to make a U-turn track by the sprockets 33 and 34, and the upper line 31U of one chain 31 and the lower line 32L of the other chain 32 are parallel at substantially the same height. It is supposed to be located in.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the chains 31 and 32 have a configuration in which a plurality of pairs of link plates 50 arranged opposite to each other are connected by a joint pin 51 in the same manner as a normal chain. The roller 52 is inserted into the sprocket 33 so as to mesh with the sprockets 33 and 34 shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, every other joint pin 51 is provided so as to protrude from both sides of the pair of link plates 50. A pinion gear (rotating member) 53 is integrally provided at one end of the joint pin 51, and a bottle holder (holding tool) 54 is provided at the other end.

As shown in FIG. 1, the upper line 31U of one chain (first transport member, endless track) 31 and the lower line 32L of the other chain (second transport member, endless track) 32 are A rack gear (guide member) 55 that meshes with the pinion gear 53 is provided at least over the electron beam irradiation region in the electron beam irradiation apparatus 20 along the upper line 31U and the lower line 32L. Thus, when the chains 31 and 32 are driven to circulate, the pinion gear 53 meshes with the rack gear 55 at a portion where the rack gear 55 is provided, and thereby the pinion gear 53 rotates.
Since the bottle holder 54 is connected to the pinion gear 53 via the joint pin 51, the bottle holder 54 rotates in conjunction with the pinion gear 53.

The bottle holder 54 includes a bottle holder 54A that holds the mouth portion (one end side) 100a of the bottle 100 and a bottle holder 54B that holds the bottom portion (other end side) 100b of the bottle 100. As shown in FIG. 4, each of the bottle holders 54A and 54B has three or more claw portions 54a, and these claw portions 54a are formed by a spring member such as a spring (not shown) or the elasticity of the claw portion 54a itself. When the mouth part 100a or the bottom part 100b is inserted, the bottle 100 is held. At this time, in order to smoothly perform the operation of inserting and removing the bottle 100 with respect to the bottle holders 54A and 54B, it is preferable to chamfer the tip on the inner peripheral side of the claw portion 54a. Moreover, it is preferable that the claw portion 54a appropriately sets the insertion depth of the bottle 100 and the elasticity of the spring and the claw portion 54a itself (not shown) so that the held bottle 100 does not fall.
Further, in the bottle holder 54A, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, not only the mouth 100a of the bottle 100 but also the body 100c may be held. It is because the bottle 100 can be stably hold | maintained by hold | maintaining the bottle 100 with the trunk | drum 100c thicker than the opening part 100a.
Further, as shown in FIG. 6, an opening 54b may be formed in the claw 54a of the bottle holder 54A. Thereby, an electron beam can be irradiated to the opening part 100a of the bottle 100 through the opening part 54b, and it can suppress that an electron beam is interrupted | blocked by the nail | claw part 54a.

Now, as shown in FIG. 2, the bottles 100 and 32 are positioned between the chains 31 and 32 in a state where the bottles 100 are held by the bottle holders 54A and 54B.
And the bottle 100 which should irradiate the electron beam sent from the upstream of 10 A of sterilizers is mounted | worn with the bottle holder 54A as a 1st holder in the upper side line 31U of one chain 31, and the opening part 100a side is Retained. The bottle 100 is conveyed in the circulation drive direction by the chain 31, and is irradiated with an electron beam in the electron beam irradiation region A of the electron beam irradiation apparatus 20 on the bottom line 100b side of the bottle 100 in the upper line 31U. Thereafter, the bottle 100 is delivered from one chain 31 to the other chain 32, and its bottom 100b is held by a bottle holder 54B as a second holder of the other chain 32. Then, the bottle 100 moves to the upper line 32U of the other chain 32 in a state where the bottom 100b side is held by the bottle holder 54B, and in the upper line 32U, on the mouth 100a side of the bottle 100, the electron beam irradiation region In A, the electron beam is irradiated by the electron beam irradiation apparatus 20. Thereafter, the bottle 100 irradiated with the electron beam is pulled out from the bottle holder 54B in the upper line 32U of the other chain 32, and is transported to the subsequent process.
The series of operations are continuously performed while the chains 31 and 32 are circulated and driven at a constant speed.

In order to perform the flow as described above, the sterilization apparatus 10A has a mechanism for inserting the bottle 100 to be irradiated with the electron beam into the bottle holder 54A of one chain 31, from one chain 31 to the other chain 32. A mechanism for delivering the bottle 100 and a mechanism for delivering the bottle 100 after irradiation with the electron beam from the bottle holder 54B of the other chain 32 and delivering it to the downstream side of the sterilizer 10A are required.
As these mechanisms, any mechanism may be employed as long as the bottle 100 can be inserted and removed from the bottle holders 54A and 54B. For example, there is a mechanism in which the body 100c of the bottle 100 is sandwiched by an openable / closable chuck or clamper, and this is moved in the axial direction of the bottle 100 so that the bottle 100 is inserted into and removed from the bottle holders 54A and 54B. Other than this, any configuration may be used as long as a required function can be achieved.

  FIG. 7 is an example of a bottle delivery mechanism 60 that delivers the bottle 100 from one chain 31 to the other chain 32. The bottle delivery mechanism 60 includes a holder 61 provided to be slidable between one chain 31 and the other chain 32. The holder 61 has a substantially U-shaped receptacle 61 a that holds the body 100 c of the bottle 100 and a mouth holder 61 b that holds the mouth 100 a of the bottle 100. The holder 61 is brought close to the bottle 100 held by the bottle holder 54A of the one chain 31 from below, the holder 100a holds the body 100c of the bottle 100, and the mouth holder 61b is connected to the mouth of the bottle 100. When the bottle 100 is slid to the other chain 32 side after being engaged with the portion 100a, the bottle 100 is pulled out from the bottle holder 54A of the one chain 31. Then, the holder 61 is further slid to the other chain 32 side, the bottom 100b of the bottle is inserted into the bottle holder 54B of the other chain 32, and then the holder 61 is separated to the lower side of the bottle 100, whereby the bottle 100 The transfer from one chain 31 to the other chain 32 is completed.

Such an operation of the holder 61 is preferably performed in synchronization with and interlocking with the driving speed of the chains 31 and 32. That is, the bottle 100 is delivered by the bottle delivery mechanism 60 while the bottle 100 is being conveyed at a constant speed by the chains 31 and 32 that are circulated. For this reason, the bottle delivery mechanism 60 also includes chains 63 and 64 that are circulated, and a holder 61 is slidably provided along a plate 65 provided between the chains 63 and 64. A cam 66 is provided at a portion where the bottle 100 is transferred, and a cam follower 61 c is formed on the holder 61. When the plate 65 moves at the same speed as the bottle 100 by the circulation drive of the chains 63 and 64 and the cam follower 61c of the holder 61 hits the cam 66, the holder 61 is moved along the cam 66 from the one chain 31 side to the other chain 32. Can be moved to the side.
Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the holder 61 moves up and down in the sprockets (not shown) at both ends of the chains 31 and 32 as shown in FIG. This may be used, or the holder 61 may be displaced in the vertical direction by a separate sprocket or guide.

In the sterilization apparatus 10A, as described above, the electron beam irradiation apparatus is placed on the bottom 100b side of the bottle 100 with the upper line 31U in a state where the bottle 100A side of the bottle 100 is held by the bottle holder 54A of one chain 31. 20 is irradiated with an electron beam, and the bottom 100b side of the bottle 100 is held by the bottle holder 54B of the other chain 32. In the upper line 32U, the electron beam irradiation device 20 applies electrons to the mouth 100a side of the bottle 100. Irradiate the line. For this reason, in the electron beam irradiation region A of the electron beam irradiation apparatus 20, the chain 31 is located on one side of the irradiation center line of the electron beam, and the chain 32 is located on the other side across the irradiation center line, Each is irradiated with an electron beam. At this time, as shown in FIG. 9, the upper line 31U of one chain 31 and the upper line 32U of the other chain 32 are arranged stepwise up and down. It is preferable to irradiate the electron beam from a direction substantially orthogonal to a line connecting the upper line 31U of 31 and the upper line 32U of the other chain 32, that is, an oblique direction.
The electron beam has a parabolic distribution in which the intensity is the strongest in the central portion in the scanning direction of the electron beam. For this reason, when the bottle 100 is held by the bottle holder 54A of one chain 31, the strongest electron beam is irradiated to the bottom 100b of the bottle 100, and the weaker electron beam is irradiated to the body 100c of the bottle 100. Is done. When the bottle 100 is held by the bottle holder 54B of the other chain 32, the strongest electron beam is irradiated to the mouth portion 100a of the bottle 100, and the weaker electron beam is irradiated to the trunk portion 100c of the bottle 100. . As a result, a single bottle 100 is irradiated with a strong electron beam at the mouth portion 100a and the bottom portion 100b, and a weaker electron beam is irradiated twice at the body portion 100c. As a result, even in the length direction of the bottle 100, the electron beam can be irradiated almost uniformly.

At this time, a reflection member 25 that reflects the electron beam is provided below the bottle 100 conveyed by the chains 31 and 32 in the electron beam irradiation region A of the electron beam irradiation apparatus 20. The reflecting member 25 irradiates the reflected electron beam to the bottom 100b of the bottle 100 held by the bottle holder 54A of one chain 31 and the mouth 100a of the bottle 100 held by the bottle holder 54B of the other chain 32. It is formed as follows.
Thereby, the electron beam is directly irradiated on the outer surfaces of the mouth portion 100a, the trunk portion 100c, and the bottom portion 100b of the bottle 100, and is reflected and reflected by the reflecting member 25, and on the inner surfaces of the trunk portion 100c and the bottom portion 100b of the bottle 100. Through the transmission, the inner surface of the mouth portion 100a of the bottle 100 is reflected by the reflecting member 25 and transmitted through the bottle 100 itself. Furthermore, in this embodiment, since an electron beam is irradiated from diagonally, the inner surface of the opening part 100a of the bottle 100 is also directly irradiated from the electron beam irradiation apparatus 20.
In this way, the mouth portion 100a of the bottle 100 can be irradiated not only with a strong electron beam but also with a larger amount of electron beams than the body portion 100c and the bottom portion 100b.

Further, in both the one chain 31 and the other chain 32, the bottle holders 54A and 54B are held by the bottle holders 54A and 54B because they rotate in the electron beam irradiation area A due to the engagement of the pinion gear 53 and the rack gear 55. The bottle 100 moves while rotating, and the electron beam can be uniformly irradiated over the entire circumference of the bottle 100 in the circumferential direction.
In this way, it becomes possible to irradiate the bottle 100 with an electron beam more uniformly, and in particular, the electron beam is applied to the mouth portion 100a and the bottom portion 100b of the bottle 100 having a complicated shape or a large thickness. Can be sufficiently irradiated, and the bactericidal effect can be enhanced.

By the way, when an electron beam is irradiated in the electron beam irradiation apparatus 20, this electron beam is irradiated not only on the bottle 100 but also on the bottle holders 54 </ b> A and 54 </ b> B and the chains 31 and 32. Accordingly, since the bottle holders 54A and 54B and the chains 31 and 32 are heated, it is preferable to include a cooling unit 70 for cooling them as shown in FIG. The cooling unit 70 may have any configuration. For example, the cooling unit 70 is formed in a tunnel shape so as to surround the track of the chains 31 and 32, and the chain 31, 32 and the bottle holders 54A and 54B passing through the inside thereof are It can be set as the structure which sprays cold wind.
Thereby, it is possible to suppress heating of the chains 31 and 32, the bottle holders 54A and 54B, and the like that are repeatedly irradiated with the electron beam by being circulated.

In the above embodiment, the electron beam irradiation device 20 is configured to irradiate an electron beam from obliquely above the bottle 100, but is not limited thereto, and the electron beam is irradiated from above, below, or obliquely below the bottle 100. You may do it.
Further, as the mechanism for rotating the bottle holders 54A and 54B, the pinion gear 53 and the rack gear 55 are used. Instead, as shown in FIG. 10, a roller (rotating member) 57, a guide bar (guide member) 58) may be used. When the roller 57 hits the guide bar 58, the bottle holders 54 </ b> A and 54 </ b> B can be rotated by rotating by the frictional force generated between them.

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a schematic configuration of a bottle sterilizer 10B according to the present embodiment.
The disinfection device 10B shown in this figure is mainly different from the disinfection device 10A shown in the first embodiment in the arrangement of the chains 31 and 32 of the bottle transport unit (container transport unit) 30B and the flow of the bottle 100. In addition, in the following description, about the structure which is common with 10 A of sterilizers shown in said 1st embodiment, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and the description is abbreviate | omitted.
In the sterilizer 10B shown in FIG. 11, one chain 31 and the other chain 32 of the bottle transport unit 30B are installed at the same height. And the bottle 100 is supplied in the upper line 31U of one chain 31, the opening part 100a is hold | maintained at the bottle holder 54A, and receives the electron beam irradiation in the electron beam irradiation area | region A of the electron beam irradiation apparatus 20. FIG. When the bottle 100 moves to the lower line 31L of one chain 31, it is transferred from the one chain 31 to the lower line 32L of the other chain 32 by the bottle transfer mechanism 60 as shown in FIG. The bottom 100b is held. Thereafter, the bottle 100 moves to the upper line 32U of the other chain 32 and is irradiated with an electron beam in the electron beam irradiation region A of the electron beam irradiation apparatus 20.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 12, one chain 31 and the other chain 32 are installed at the same height, and the electron beam irradiation is performed on the upper lines 31U and 32U. The line can be irradiated from above. Accordingly, the reflecting member 25 is disposed below the upper line 31U of one chain 31 and the upper line 32U of the other chain 32.
Thereby, the electron beam is directly irradiated on the outer surfaces of the mouth portion 100a, the trunk portion 100c, and the bottom portion 100b of the bottle 100, and is reflected and reflected by the reflecting member 25, and on the inner surfaces of the trunk portion 100c and the bottom portion 100b of the bottle 100. Through the transmission, the inner surface of the mouth portion 100a of the bottle 100 is reflected by the reflecting member 25 and transmitted through the bottle 100 itself.

In the sterilization apparatus 10B having such a configuration as well, as with the sterilization apparatus 10A in the first embodiment, it is possible to irradiate the bottle 100 more uniformly with an electron beam. It becomes possible to sufficiently irradiate the electron beam to the mouth part 100a and the bottom part 100b of the bottle 100 having a large thickness, and the sterilizing effect can be enhanced.
Furthermore, since the chains 31 and 32 are provided at the same height, the height of the sterilizer 10B can be suppressed and the size can be reduced as compared with the sterilizer 10A in the first embodiment.

By the way, the sterilization apparatus 10B as described above may be configured such that the top and bottom are inverted as shown in FIG. In this case, the electron beam irradiation apparatus 20 is configured to irradiate the electron beam from below.
At this time, by placing the electron beam irradiation device 20 in a pit formed underground, the height of the sterilization device 10B can be further suppressed and further miniaturization can be achieved.

  In the second embodiment, the sterilization apparatus 10B is provided so as to rotate by 90 ° C., and sterilization is performed by irradiating an electron beam from the lateral direction while transporting the bottle 100 in an upright state. good.

[Third embodiment]
FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining a schematic configuration of a bottle sterilizer 10C according to the present embodiment.
In addition, in the following description, about the structure which is common with 10 A of sterilizers shown in said 1st embodiment, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and the description is abbreviate | omitted.
In the sterilizer 10C shown in FIG. 14, at least one wall body 80 is formed inside the shielding wall 40 in order to realize a labyrinth structure in the opening 43 portion of the shielding wall 40. The body 80 is disposed so as to block a line connecting the opening 43 and the horn 22 of the electron beam irradiation apparatus 20, and thereby the bottle 100 is taken in and out of the shielding wall 40 while being conveyed while being raised and lowered in the vertical direction. It is like that.

Also in this case, as in the first and second embodiments, the bottle 100 is transported using two sets of chains 81 and 82 as the bottle transport unit (container transport unit) 30C. Each of the chains 81 and 82 is disposed so as to reach the irradiation region of the electron beam irradiation device 20 provided in the shielding wall 40 from the outside of the opening 43 through the gap between the wall body 80 and the shielding wall 40. Yes.
In one chain (first transport member, endless track) 81, the bottle 100 is transported in a state where the mouth 100a is held, and the electron beam irradiation device 20 uses the bottom 100b side of the bottle 100 as a center. Receives electron beam irradiation. After the electron beam irradiation, for example, by a bottle delivery mechanism 60 as shown in FIG. 7 arranged in the shielding wall 40, the chain 81 is changed to the other chain (second conveying member, endless track) 82. The bottle 100 is delivered and the bottom 100b is held. Thereafter, the bottle 100 is transported by the other chain 82 and is irradiated with an electron beam around the mouth portion 100 a side of the bottle 100 in the electron beam irradiation region A of the electron beam irradiation device 20.

According to such a configuration, similarly to the sterilization apparatus 10A in the first embodiment, it becomes possible to irradiate the bottle 100 more uniformly with an electron beam, and the shape is particularly complicated and the wall thickness is large. It becomes possible to sufficiently irradiate the electron beam to the mouth part 100a and the bottom part 100b of the bottle 100, and the bactericidal effect can be enhanced.
In addition, since the wall 100 has a labyrinth-shaped transport path for the bottle 100 by the chains 81 and 82 from the opening 43 serving as the entrance and exit to the shielding wall 40, the irradiation with an electron beam or an electron beam is performed. Leakage of X-rays generated outside the shielding wall 40 can be prevented.

In addition, in the said embodiment, although mentioned about the structure of each part of sterilizer 10A-10C, as long as it is in the range of this invention about these structures, you may change into what kind of structure.
For example, in each of the above embodiments, one bottle 100 is passed through the electron beam irradiation area A of the electron beam irradiation apparatus 20 twice by the chains 31, 32 or the chains 81, 82. It is good also as a structure which lets it pass more than once.
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 perspective view which shows the structure of the bottle conveyance part in 1st embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure for the structure of a chain, and a bottle for rotating. It is a figure which shows the structure of a bottle holder. It is a figure which shows the other example of a bottle holder. It is a figure which shows the further another example of a bottle holder. It is a figure which shows the delivery mechanism of a bottle. It is a figure which shows the mode of the delivery of the bottle between a chain and a bottle delivery mechanism. It is a figure which shows the electron beam irradiation state in 1st embodiment. It is a figure which shows the modification of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the bottle conveyance part in 2nd embodiment. It is a figure which shows the electron beam irradiation state in 2nd embodiment. It is a figure which shows the other example of the bottle conveyance part in 2nd embodiment. It is the schematic which shows the structure of the bottle conveyance part in 3rd embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  10A, 10B, 10C ... Sterilizer, 20 ... Electron beam irradiation device, 25 ... Reflective member, 30A, 30B, 30C ... Bottle transport section (container transport section), 31 ... Chain (first transport member, endless track), 32 ... Chain (second conveying member, endless track), 31L ... lower line, 31U ... upper line, 32L ... lower line, 32U ... upper line, 40 ... shielding wall, 41 ... supply port, 42 ... discharge port , 43 ... opening, 50 ... link plate, 51 ... joint pin, 52 ... roller, 53 ... pinion gear (rotating member), 54, 54A, 54B ... bottle holder (holder), 55 ... rack gear (guide member), 57 ... Roller (rotating member), 58 ... Guide bar (guide member), 60 ... Bottle delivery mechanism, 61 ... Holder, 70 ... Cooling unit, 80 ... Wall body, 81 ... Chain (first transport) Wood, endless orbit), 82 ... Chain (second transport member, the endless track), 100 ... bottle (container), 100a ... mouth (one end side), 100b ... bottom (the other end), 100c ... barrel

Claims (10)

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 irradiation region of the electron beam from the electron beam irradiation unit, and
The container transport section is
Holding the one end side of the container to be sterilized, a first transport member that allows the container to pass through the electron beam irradiation region in the electron beam irradiation unit;
Holding the other end of the container, a second transport member that passes the container through the electron beam irradiation region in the electron beam irradiation unit;
A delivery mechanism for delivering the container from the first transport member to the second transport member;
A sterilizing apparatus comprising:   The first transport member and the second transport member are disposed so as to face each other with a central portion of an irradiation region of the electron beam irradiated from the electron beam irradiation unit, and each of the first transport members The sterilizer according to claim 1, wherein the container is held between the container and the second conveying member.   Each of the first transport member and the second transport member has an endless track that is driven to circulate, and a plurality of the first transport member and the second transport member are arranged at equal intervals along the endless track. The sterilizing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a holding tool for holding the container.   The sterilizer according to claim 3, wherein the endless track is a chain, and the holder is provided integrally with a joint pin that connects a plurality of link plates constituting the chain. A guide member extending along at least the electron beam irradiation region from the electron beam irradiation unit is provided along the endless orbit,
The sterilization apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the joint pin is provided with a rotating member that rotates by contacting or meshing with the guide member to rotate the holder and the joint pin. The first transport member and the second transport member are stepped so that an upper line of the endless track of the first transport member and a lower line of the endless track of the second transport member are aligned. Provided,
After the electron beam irradiation to the container in the electron beam irradiation unit is performed on the upper line of the endless track of the first transport member, the container from the first transport member to the second transport member The electron beam irradiation to the container in the electron beam irradiation unit is performed on the upper line of the endless track of the second transport member by the transfer mechanism. The sterilizer according to any one of the above. The first transport member and the second transport member are provided such that the endless track of the first transport member and the endless track of the second transport member are opposed to each other,
The electron beam irradiation to the container by the electron beam irradiation unit in the first transport member and the electron beam irradiation to the container by the electron beam irradiation unit in the second transport member are the first transport member. The sterilizer according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the sterilizer is performed on a line on the same side of the endless track and the endless track of the second conveying member.   The sterilizer according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a cooling unit that cools the first transport member and the second transport member. A method of sterilizing a container by irradiating an electron beam,
A first irradiation step of irradiating the container with an electron beam while holding one end of the container to be sterilized;
Following the first irradiation step, in a state where the other end side of the container is held, a second irradiation step of irradiating the container with an electron beam,
A container sterilization method comprising: In the first irradiation step, the container is irradiated with an electron beam by moving the first holder within an electron beam irradiation region in a state where one end of the container is held by the first holder. And
In the second irradiation step, with the other end of the container held by the second holder, the electron beam is applied to the container by moving the second holder within the electron beam irradiation region. Irradiated,
The method further includes a delivery step of transferring the container from the first holder to the second holder prior to the transition to the second irradiation step after the first irradiation step. 10. The method for sterilizing a container according to 9.

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