JP2010222053A - Method for cleaning filling apparatus, and filling apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for cleaning a filling apparatus which can determine whether the cleaning solution is sufficiently flown in each of the filling heads when cleaning CIP. <P>SOLUTION: The method for cleaning the filling apparatus 1 equipped with several filling heads 3 for filling beverage supplied through each of passageways 11-13 in which beverage flow into a barrel B includes the injection step of injecting cleaning solution into each of the passageways 11-13, the measuring step of measuring the flowing amount of the cleaning solution flowing into the filling heads 3 by a flowmeter 9 which is installed on each of the several filling heads 3 and measures the flowing amount of the liquid flowing inside a supply path 13 inside the filling heads 3, and the flow volume determining step of determining whether the volume of the cleaning solution flowing inside the filling heads 3 is less than a predetermined amount or not, based on the measured results of the flowmeter 9. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a cleaning method and a filling device for a filling device for filling beverages in various containers such as barrels, cans, and baskets.

  In a filling device that fills a container such as a barrel with a beverage, CIP (Cleaning In Place) cleaning is performed when changing the type of beverage to be filled (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In the CIP cleaning, the beverage passage is cleaned by flowing the beverage to be changed after flowing the cleaning liquid in the beverage passage in the filling device. Moreover, the filling device is provided with a flow meter, and the filling amount of the beverage filled in the container is managed (for example, refer to Patent Documents 2 and 3).

JP 2004-18044 A JP 2003-26296 A JP 2004-149186 A

  In the filling apparatus, beverages are filled into individual containers from a plurality of filling heads. Even when CIP cleaning is performed, it is necessary to allow the cleaning liquid to flow into each of the plurality of filling heads. However, in the conventional apparatus, it is only necessary to monitor predetermined items such as the flow rate and pressure at the cleaning liquid inlet and outlet. is there.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning method and a filling device for a filling device that can determine whether or not the cleaning liquid is sufficiently flowing into each filling head during CIP cleaning.

  The method for cleaning a filling device according to the present invention is a method for cleaning a filling device (1) having a plurality of filling heads (3) for filling a container (B) with a beverage supplied via beverage passages (11 to 13). A flow meter (9) for introducing a cleaning liquid into the beverage passage and a flow meter (9) that is provided in each of the plurality of filling heads and measures a flow rate of the liquid flowing in the beverage passage (13) in the filling head. Measuring step of measuring the flow rate of the cleaning liquid flowing to the filling head, and a flow rate determining step of determining whether or not the cleaning liquid flowing to each filling head is less than a predetermined amount based on the measurement result of the flowmeter. This solves the above problem.

  According to the cleaning method of the filling apparatus of the present invention, when the cleaning liquid is introduced into the beverage passage for cleaning, the flow rate of the cleaning liquid flowing through the respective filling heads is measured by the flowmeter provided in each filling head. Then, based on the measurement result of each flow meter, it is determined whether or not the flow rate of the cleaning liquid flowing through each filling head is less than a predetermined value. When it is less than the predetermined value, it is understood that there is an abnormality in the cleaning of the filling head due to the insufficient flow rate. Therefore, it can be confirmed whether or not each filling head has been normally cleaned. Therefore, the reliability at the time of CIP cleaning in the filling device is improved.

  In one aspect of the cleaning method of the present invention, the flow direction of the cleaning liquid may be opposite to the flow direction of the beverage flowing through the beverage passage. According to this aspect, by setting the flow direction of the cleaning liquid in the direction opposite to the flow direction of the beverage, it is possible to avoid the case where the flow rate greatly fluctuates due to the forward direction.

  The filling device of the present invention is a filling device (1) having a plurality of filling heads (3) for filling a container (B) with a beverage supplied via the beverage passages (11 to 13), the beverage passage An introduction means for introducing a cleaning liquid, a flow meter (9) provided in each of the plurality of filling heads for measuring the flow rate of the cleaning liquid flowing in the beverage passage (13) in the filling head, and the measurement of the flow meter The above-described problem is solved by providing a flow rate discriminating means (10) for discriminating whether or not the cleaning liquid flowing through each filling head is less than a predetermined amount based on the result.

  According to the filling apparatus of the present invention, when the cleaning liquid is introduced into the beverage passage for cleaning, the flow rate of the cleaning liquid flowing through each filling head is measured by the flow meter provided in each filling head. Then, based on the measurement result of each flow meter, it is determined whether or not the flow rate of the cleaning liquid flowing through each filling head is less than a predetermined value. When it is less than the predetermined value, it is understood that there is an abnormality in the cleaning of the filling head due to the insufficient flow rate. Therefore, it can be confirmed whether or not each filling head has been normally cleaned. Therefore, the reliability at the time of CIP cleaning in the filling device is improved.

  One form of the filling apparatus of this invention WHEREIN: The said flow meter may serve as the measurement of the flow volume of the drink which flows into the drink channel | path in the filling head. According to this aspect, since the flowmeter measures the flow rates of the beverage and the cleaning liquid, space saving and cost saving can be realized.

  In addition, in the above description, in order to make an understanding of this invention easy, the reference sign of the accompanying drawing was attached in parenthesis, but this invention is not limited to the form of illustration by it.

  As described above, in the cleaning method and the filling apparatus of the present invention, when the cleaning liquid is introduced into the beverage passage for cleaning, the cleaning liquid flows through the filling head with the flow meter provided in each filling head. The flow rate of is measured. Then, based on the measurement result of the flow meter, it is determined whether or not the flow rate of the cleaning liquid flowing through each filling head is less than a predetermined value. When it is less than the predetermined value, it is understood that there is an abnormality in the cleaning of the filling head due to the insufficient flow rate. Therefore, it can be confirmed whether or not each filling head has been normally cleaned. Therefore, the reliability at the time of CIP cleaning in the filling device is improved.

The top view which shows the filling apparatus which concerns on one form of this invention. Sectional drawing along the II-II line of FIG. The figure explaining the flow of the washing | cleaning liquid at the time of CIP washing | cleaning.

  It is a top view which shows the filling apparatus which concerns on one form of this invention. The filling device 1 includes a star wheel 2 as a star wheel type transport mechanism that can turn horizontally around a predetermined rotation axis AX, a plurality of filling heads 3 provided at a predetermined pitch on the outer periphery of the star wheel, and a filling head 3 is provided with a filler ball (not shown) for supplying a beverage. Examples of the beverage include beer and happoshu. A plurality of pockets 4 (see FIG. 2) for taking in the barrel B as a container are provided on the outer periphery of the star wheel 2 so as to align with the respective filling heads 3 in the vertical direction. A pitch split wheel 5 a provided adjacent to the star wheel 2 adjusts the pitch of the pocket 4, and sequentially feeds the barrels B transported from the previous process by the transport conveyor 6 to the pocket 4. In addition, on the exit side of the star wheel 2, a conveyance wheel 5 b that takes out the barrel B from the pocket 4 and sends it to the conveyance conveyor 6 is provided, and the conveyance conveyor 6 sends the barrel B to the next process.

  FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. The filling head 3 is provided on the outer periphery of the star wheel 2. The filling head 3 includes a filling valve 7 that fills the barrel B accommodated in each pocket, a DFC valve 8 that manages the supply of the beverage to the filling valve 7, and a flow rate of the beverage that flows into the filling head 3. And a flow meter 9 for measuring the flow rate. The beverage supplied from the filler ball passes through the first common passage 11 connected to the filler ball, flows into the supply passage 13 through the first branch passage 12, and is supplied to each filling head 3. The supply passage 13 is connected to the filling valve 7 of each filling head 3 from the first branch passage 12, and a DFC valve 8 and a flow meter 9 are provided in the middle of the supply passage 13. The first supply passage 11, the first branch passage 12, and the supply passage 13 correspond to a beverage passage.

  Each pocket 4 accommodates a barrel B with its opening facing downward, and a filling valve 7 fills the beverage from below the barrel B. The pocket 4 can be adjusted according to the size of the barrel B to be accommodated. The filling valve 7 and the DFC valve 8 may use well-known techniques. As the flow meter 9, an electromagnetic flow meter is used. The electromagnetic flow meter uses Faraday's law of electromagnetic induction as a measurement principle, and may use a well-known technique. The flow meter 9 is of a type that can measure the flow rate with respect to the flow from both directions of the supply passage 13. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the flow of the cleaning liquid during CIP cleaning. The arrows shown in FIG. 2 indicate the direction in which the beverage flows, while the arrows in FIG. 3 indicate the direction in which the cleaning liquid flows. The cleaning liquid flows into the second common passage 14 provided in the lower portion of the filling device 1, and the passage is branched from the second common passage 14 via the second branch passage 15 and flows into the supply passages 13. At this time, the cleaning liquid flows through the supply passage 13 in a direction opposite to the direction in which the beverage flows, and the cleaning liquid from the supply passages 13 merges in the first branch path 12 to flow to the first common path 11 and is then collected. . The flow rates of the beverage and the cleaning liquid flowing in opposite directions are measured by the flow meter 9. The cleaning liquid introduced into the filling device 1 may be introduced using a known introduction mechanism including a tank and a pump.

  The filling device 1 includes a control unit 10. The control unit 10 is configured as a computer unit having a microprocessor as an example. The controller 10 functions as a flow rate discriminating unit that receives an output signal of the flow meter 9 of each filling head 3 and discriminates whether or not the flow rate of each filling head 3 is less than a predetermined amount based on the output signal. The determination result is output to a display device or the like that notifies the operator of the abnormality.

  The operation of the filling device 1 will be described. When the beverage is filled, the beverage flows through the passages 11 to 13 along the flow of the arrows shown in FIG. 2, and the beverage is filled into the barrel B by the filling valves 7. At this time, the flow meter 9 measures the flow rate of the beverage, and based on this, the filling amount of the barrel B is managed. On the other hand, at the time of CIP cleaning, the cleaning liquid flows through the passages 11 to 15 along the flow of the arrows shown in FIG. At this time, the flow meter 9 measures the flow rate of the cleaning liquid. Thereby, the flow rate in each filling head 3 is individually measured. Based on the measurement result of the flow meter 9, the control unit 10 determines whether or not the amount is less than a predetermined amount. Therefore, it can be confirmed whether each filling head 3 is properly cleaned, and the reliability at the time of CIP cleaning is improved. In the CIP cleaning, the flow rate of the cleaning liquid in each process such as a rinsing process, an alkali process, a hot water cleaning process, and a cooling process can be confirmed with each filling head 3. In addition, the flow rate of the beverage and the cleaning liquid flowing in the opposite directions can be measured with the single flow meter 9, which saves space and costs.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described form and can be implemented in various forms. For example, in the present embodiment, the electromagnetic flow meter is used as the flow meter 9, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, various known flow meters that can be used in both forward and reverse directions, such as an ultrasonic flow meter, may be applied. Although the example in which the direction in which the cleaning liquid flows is opposite to the direction in which the beverage flows has been described, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the same effect can be obtained when the cleaning liquid flows in the same direction as the beverage. Although the example of the filling device that fills the barrel B with the beverage has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention may be applied to a filling device that fills the beverage into a basket, can, plastic bottle, or the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Filling device 3 Filling head 9 Flowmeter 10 Control part (flow rate discrimination means)
11 First common passage (beverage passage)
12 First branch (beverage passage)
13 Supply passage (beverage passage)
B barrel (container)

Claims (4)

A washing method for a filling apparatus having a plurality of filling heads for filling a container with a beverage supplied via a beverage passage,
An introducing step of introducing a cleaning liquid into the beverage passage;
A measurement step of measuring the flow rate of the cleaning liquid flowing in the filling head with a flow meter that is provided in each of the plurality of filling heads and that measures the flow rate of the liquid flowing in the beverage passage in the filling head;
Based on the measurement result of the flow meter, a flow rate determining step for determining whether or not the cleaning liquid flowing to each filling head is less than a predetermined amount;
A cleaning method for a filling apparatus, comprising:   The cleaning method according to claim 1, wherein a flow direction of the cleaning liquid is opposite to a flow direction of the beverage flowing through the beverage passage. A filling device having a plurality of filling heads for filling a container with a beverage supplied via a beverage passage,
Introducing means for introducing a cleaning liquid into the beverage passage;
A flow meter that is provided in each of the plurality of filling heads and measures the flow rate of the cleaning liquid flowing in the beverage passage in the filling head;
Based on the measurement result of the flow meter, a flow rate discriminating unit for discriminating whether or not the cleaning liquid flowing to each filling head is less than a predetermined amount;
A filling apparatus comprising:   4. The filling device according to claim 3, wherein the flow meter also serves to measure a flow rate of a beverage flowing in a beverage passage in the filling head.

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