JP2013237484A - Container processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a container processing apparatus that is less likely to cause a problem such as deformation on the bottom of a container even when the container is set downstream of a blow molding device and upstream of a beverage filling device.SOLUTION: A container processing apparatus comprises a conveying mechanism that conveys a container 1, supplied from a blow molding device, along a specific path. The container processing apparatus also comprises: in-container cleaning devices B and 8 that jet cleaning water onto the internal surface of the container 1 which is under a condition being carried in an inverted position by the conveying mechanism, from the mouth of the container mouth; and container bottom cooling devices C and 9 that jet a cooling medium onto the external surface of the bottom of the container 1 concurrently with or before/after the jetting of cleaning water by the in-container cleaning devices B and 8.

Description

  The present invention includes a transport mechanism that transports a container formed by a blow molding device along a predetermined path, and an in-container cleaning device that injects cleaning water from the container mouth onto the inner surface of the container being transported by the transport mechanism. The container processing apparatus provided with this.

  As prior art document information related to this type of container processing technology, there is Patent Document 1 shown below. In the container processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, a large number of bottle grippers are arranged at equal intervals around the rotating body supported around the vertical axis, and each bottle gripper is disposed from the upstream inlet star wheel to the container. Are received one by one and revolved together with the rotating body while being held in an inverted state in which the container mouth is positioned downward by the reversing means provided along the revolution path. During this inverted state, the cleaning liquid is sprayed from the inner washing nozzle inserted through the container mouth to clean the inner surface of the container. Since the container is inverted, the cleaned cleaning liquid is easily discharged by its own weight. The cleaned container is returned to the established state by the second reversing means and supplied to the next process such as beverage filling.

JP 11-333399 A (paragraphs 0015 to 0016, FIG. 3)

  In general, when the container processing device provided with the in-container cleaning device is installed in a state completely separated from the blow molding device and the beverage filling device, the sufficiently cooled container is cleaned after the blow molding, Since it is only necessary to fill a sufficiently cooled container with a beverage, there is no particular problem with the conventional technique described in Patent Document 1.

  However, a container processing device with an in-container cleaning device is installed on the downstream side of the blow molding device and on the upstream side of the beverage filling device. In the case of the container processing technique (referred to as a synchro type), the heat applied to the container at the time of blow molding is likely to be accumulated at the bottom of the container, etc. In this container cleaning process alone, this heat cannot be removed sufficiently, leaving a high-temperature part at the bottom of the container, etc., resulting in a filling process followed by a high-temperature part that is insufficiently cured, etc. There was a risk of deformation. In addition, when carbonated beverages are filled on the downstream side, the bottom of the container is generally thickly blow-molded compared to containers for non-carbonated beverages, and the heat applied to the container during blow molding is difficult to dissipate, There was a particularly high possibility that the bottom would be deformed.

  Therefore, in view of the problems given by the prior art exemplified above, the object of the present invention is installed on the downstream side of the blow molding device and on the upstream side of the beverage filling device. It is an object of the present invention to provide a container processing apparatus in which problems such as deformation of a container are unlikely to occur even when it is carried out by neck conveyance without using a gap (synchronous type).

The characteristic configuration of the container processing apparatus according to the present invention is as follows.
Disposed on the downstream side of a blow molding apparatus for blow molding a container from a resin preform and on the upstream side of a filling apparatus for filling a beverage in the container, and the container supplied from the blow molding apparatus is routed to a predetermined path. With a transport mechanism that transports along,
An in-container cleaning device that injects cleaning water from the container mouth to the inner surface of the container being transported in an inverted state in which the container mouth is positioned downward by the transport mechanism, and in parallel with the injection of cleaning water by the in-container cleaning device. Or a container bottom cooling device for injecting refrigerant onto the outer surface of the container bottom of the container.

  In the container processing apparatus according to the above characteristic configuration, the injection of the refrigerant to the container bottom by the container bottom cooling device is performed in parallel with or before and after the injection of the cleaning water to the inner surface of the container by the container cleaning device. The container can be cooled at the same time from both inside and outside the container, particularly with the bottom at the center, and the cooling operation of the container can be effectively advanced in a short time.

  Further, in the container processing apparatus having the above-described characteristic configuration, the container is cleaned and the container bottom is cooled while the container is conveyed in an inverted state. Therefore, the refrigerant injected toward the container bottom is cooled after the bottom is cooled. The container was ejected from the container bottom cooling nozzle as compared with the configuration in which the cooling refrigerant is sprayed from the lower side to the bottom of the upright container as it moves away from the container along the outside of the main body and mouth of the container. The possibility that the inside of the container is contaminated by the refrigerant is suppressed. In addition, the washing water sprayed into the container is also automatically discharged in a short time by its own weight after washing the inner surface of the container, so that cleaning and draining of the washing water can be performed efficiently in a short time. It becomes possible.

  Furthermore, in the container processing apparatus having the above-described characteristic configuration, since the container bottom cooling device can be incorporated in a form utilizing at least a part of the existing container cleaning apparatus, it is separate from the container cleaning apparatus. Compared to a configuration in which a container bottom cooling device is provided, the overall installation area of the container processing device can be reduced, and the cost required for the facilities can be reduced.

  Another feature of the present invention is that the transport mechanism includes a bottle gripper that moves along the path while supporting a container, and the container cleaning nozzle and the container bottom cooling device that constitute the container cleaning device are provided. The container bottom cooling nozzle which comprises is provided in the point which can move integrally with the said bottle gripper.

  In this configuration, since the container bottom cooling nozzle constituting the container bottom cooling device moves integrally with the container supported by the bottle gripper, if the direction of the container bottom cooling nozzle is set correctly, the container bottom cooling nozzle is jetted. Since all of the refrigerant goes to the bottom of the container to be cooled regardless of the movement of the container, the container can be effectively cooled continuously, especially with the bottom as the center.

  Another feature of the present invention is that the transport mechanism includes a bottle gripper that moves along the path while supporting a container, and the container bottom cooling nozzle that constitutes the in-container cleaning device is the bottle gripper. It exists in the point currently fixed to the predetermined location as a separate body.

  With this configuration, it is only necessary to provide a fixed number of container bottom cooling nozzles regardless of the number of bottle grippers, and this is advantageous particularly when the number of grippers conveyed at the same time is large.

  Another feature of the present invention is that the filling device comprises a device for filling carbonated beverages, and the bottom of the container is supplied to the filling device in a state where it is cooled to the vicinity of the glass transition point of the resin constituting the container. As described above, the container bottom cooling device is driven.

In general, when carbonated beverages are filled in a subsequent process by a filling device, the bottom of the container, particularly a plurality of legs called “Pedaloid”, is provided so that the bottom of the container has the pressure resistance required for distribution in the market. Blow molding is performed so that the portion is thicker than a general non-carbonated beverage container. Moreover, since carbonated beverages contain pressurized gas, it is necessary to fill carbonated beverages after applying an internal pressure equal to or higher than a certain pressure in the container in advance.
Therefore, the thick Pedaloid part at the bottom of the container is hard to dissipate the heat applied to the container during blow molding and remains softened. As a result, the bottom part is deformed by the internal pressure applied in advance in the filling process. The risk of doing was particularly high.

  However, with this configuration, the container is supplied to the filling device in a state in which the bottom of the container is cooled to the vicinity of the glass transition point of the resin constituting the container in the container processing apparatus, so that the bottom has a thick and difficult-to-cool pedaloid part. Even in the case of a container for carbonated beverages, it is possible to reliably prevent deformation of the container bottom at the time of applying pressure immediately before filling the beverage.

It is a top view which shows the example of the production line of carbonated drinks. It is a top view which shows a rinser part (container processing apparatus). It is a partially broken side view which shows a rinser part (container processing apparatus). It is a figure which shows three attitude | positions which a container takes by the inversion operation rail in order. It is a side view which shows the principal part of a rinser part. It is a top view which shows the rinser part by another embodiment. It is a partially broken side view which shows the rinser part by another embodiment. It is a side view which shows the principal part of the rinser part by another embodiment.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Below, the form for implementing this invention is demonstrated, referring drawings.
(Production line structure)
FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a production line for producing a carbonated beverage filled in a resin container.
This production line mainly includes a blow molding apparatus A1 for blow molding a container from a supplied resin preform, an inspection apparatus A2 for inspecting the molded container, and sterilizing and disinfecting the interior of the container mainly with a disinfecting liquid. A sterilizer A3, a rinser A4 (an example of a container processing apparatus according to the present invention) that cleans the inner and outer surfaces of the container with a cleaning liquid, and a filling device A5 that fills and closes the carbonated beverage in the cleaned container .

  Here, the container is formed of polyethylene terephthalate resin, but is not limited thereto, and may be, for example, polypropylene resin or polyethylene resin.

  Since this production line is for carbonated beverages, a thicker part is located near the center of the pedaloid part at the bottom of the container molded by the blow molding apparatus A1, and the filling apparatus A5 The carbonated beverage is filled in a state where an internal pressure of a predetermined value is applied in advance to the inside of the container.

  In this production line, the container molded by the blow molding apparatus A1 is continuously supplied to the rinser part A4 via the inspection apparatus A2 and the sterilization apparatus A3, and the container cleaned by the rinser part A4 is continuously filled. It is supplied to A5 and the filling of carbonated beverages into the container is performed one after another.

  Since the thick bottom portion located near the center of the pedaloid portion is difficult to be cooled, if it is supplied to the filling device A5 in a state where it is not sufficiently cooled, the bottom is caused by the internal pressure in the operation of applying the internal pressure immediately before filling with the filling device A5. There is a possibility that the product container that is deformed and filled with the carbonated beverage cannot be stably placed.

  Therefore, in the rinser part A4, the container cleaning device B for spraying the cleaning water from the container mouth to the inner surface of the container, and the container container in parallel with or before and after the spraying of the cleaning water by the container cleaning device B A container bottom cooling device C for injecting cooling water (an example of a refrigerant) to the outer surface of the bottom is provided. In this way, by providing the container bottom cooling device C, the bottom of the container is supplied to the filling device A5 in a state cooled to the vicinity of the glass transition point of the resin. The bottom does not deform.

(Rincer part configuration)
As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the rinser portion A <b> 4 includes an annular rotating wheel 2 (an example of a transport mechanism) that is rotatably supported via a generally vertical axis X. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the rotating wheel 2 is supported by the rotating shaft 4 through a number of spokes 3 and is driven to rotate in one direction at a basically constant speed by a motor M disposed below the base 5. Is done.

  A number of grippers 6 (an example of a bottle gripper) are connected to the outer periphery of the rotating wheel 2. The gripper 6 is configured to be switchable between a gripping state in which the container 1 is supported via its neck portion and a released state in which the container 1 is released.

  The container 1 discharged from the sterilizer A3 is supplied to the gripper 6 of the rotating wheel 2 through the inlet wheel W1 rotatably disposed between the sterilizer A3 and the rinser part A4, and processed by the rinser part A4. The container 1 is handed from the gripper 6 to the filling device A5 via an exit wheel W2 that is rotatably disposed between the rinser portion A4 and the filling device A5.

  For this purpose, the gripper 6 positioned in the phase for receiving the container 1 from the inlet wheel W1 is switched from the released state to the gripping state between the inlet wheel W1 and the outlet wheel W2 and the rotating wheel 2, and the container 1 is changed to the outlet wheel W2. A gripper opening / closing cam device 7 (see FIG. 2) for switching the gripper 6 located in the handing phase from the gripping state to the released state is disposed.

The gripper 6 is supported so as to be swingable around a lateral axis Y that is generally parallel to the tangential direction of the rotating wheel 2. A reversing guide 6A that slides and moves along the rail R is disposed.
Below the rotating wheel 2, a plurality of long plate-like base members 25 are arranged radially from the axis X, and the reversing operation rail R is upward from the radially outer end of these base members 25. It arrange | positions using the support pillar 30 erected.

  On the reversal operation rail R, the gripper 6 that has received the container 1 from the inlet wheel W1 is swung so that the container mouth portion of the container 1 is in an inverted state based on the movement along the rotating wheel 2. And a re-inversion operation unit R2 for swinging the gripper 6 again so that the container 1 is returned to the upright state before the container 1 is handed to the exit wheel W2. .

  That is, immediately after the gripper 6 receives the container 1 from the inlet wheel W1 in an upright state or immediately before handing it to the outlet wheel W2 in an upright state, as illustrated in the vicinity of the right end of FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 (a), The reversing operation rail R is generally positioned below the lateral axis Y of the gripper 6.

  On the other hand, when the gripper 6 is positioned in the reversal operation unit R1 or the reinversion operation unit R2, as illustrated in FIG. 4B, the reversal operation rail R generally has a diameter of the lateral axis Y of the gripper 6. Since the container 1 is located on the outer side in the direction, the container 1 is rotated to the horizontal state by the gripper 6.

  Next, when the gripper 6 is located in the inverted conveyance section TS (see FIG. 2) between the reversing operation unit R1 and the re-reversing operation unit R2, it is exemplified in the vicinity of the left end of FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 (c). As described above, since the reversal operation rail R is generally located above the lateral axis Y of the gripper 6, the container 1 is rotated by the gripper 6 to an inverted state in which the container mouth is located below.

(In-container cleaning device and container bottom cooling device)
As shown in FIG. 5, at a position near the outer periphery of the rotating wheel 2, a cleaning nozzle 8 facing upward to form a part of the in-container cleaning device B and a part of the container bottom cooling device C are configured. Cooling nozzles 9 facing downward as much as possible are arranged so as to correspond to the individual grippers 6.

  Here, the cleaning water sprayed upward from the cleaning nozzle 8 toward the inner surface of the container 1 and the cooling water sprayed downward from the cooling nozzle 9 toward the bottom of the container 1 are easily available on the production line. Common treated water having a predetermined temperature is used.

  The cleaning nozzle 8 is disposed upward near the outer peripheral surface of the rotating wheel 2, and the posture of the container 1 held by the gripper 6 is changed from the upright state to the inverted state by the reversing operation unit R1 of the reversing operation rail R. Accordingly, the cleaning nozzle 8 is positioned so as to be inserted into the mouth of the container 1.

  The cooling nozzle 9 is arranged in the vertical direction via an L-shaped bracket 2 </ b> B erected upward from the radially inner side with respect to the cleaning nozzle 8 of the rotating wheel 2, and the container 1 held by the gripper 6 is disposed in the cooling nozzle 9. The cooling nozzle 9 is positioned so as to generally face the bottom of the container 1 from directly above as the posture is changed from the upright state to the inverted state by the reverse operation portion R1 of the reverse operation rail R. .

  On the lower surface of the rotating wheel 2 and the like, a number of on-off valves 10 corresponding to the number of grippers 6 are arranged in a circle. The lower end of the on-off valve 10 is connected in parallel with both the cleaning nozzle 8 and the cooling nozzle 9 via flexible tubes 17 and 18, and the on-off valve 10 is connected in the radial direction of the rotary wheel 2. It can be electrically opened and closed by a large number of switch means SW arranged annularly in the middle part.

  A rotary joint 12 that receives treated water via a pipe 11 and a treated water tank 13 that communicates with the rotary joint 12 are disposed at the center of the rotating wheel 2. The pipe 15 is connected to the upper end of the on-off valve 10 in communication.

  An operating means (not shown) for turning ON the switch means SW is disposed above the rotating wheel 2, and the position of the operating means substantially corresponds to the inverted transport section TS, but is slightly smaller than the inverted transport section TS. The switch means SW is turned on after the corresponding gripper 6 enters the inverted conveyance section TS together with the container 1, and the switch means SW is turned off before the corresponding gripper 6 leaves the inverted conveyance section TS together with the container 1. .

  As a result, based on the rotation of the rotating wheel 2, the cleaning nozzle 8 is directed toward the inner surface of the container 1 over substantially the entire period during which the container 1 supported by the gripper 6 is transported through the inverted transport section TS. Then, the treated water (cleaning water) is jetted upward, and at the same time, the treated water (cooling water) is jetted downward from the cooling nozzle 9 toward the bottom of the container 1.

  In the vicinity of the lower end of the on-off valve 10, the ratio between the flow rate of treated water (cleaning water) sprayed from the cleaning nozzle 8: V1 and the flow rate of treated water (cooling water) sprayed from the cooling nozzle 9: V2 is changed. It is possible to provide a ratio control unit for this purpose.

  The treated water (wash water) sprayed upward from the cleaning nozzle 8 toward the inner surface of the container 1 is washed out from the mouth of the container 1 to the outside of the container 1 by its own weight after washing the inner surface of the container 1.

  The inner diameter of the outlet of the cooling nozzle 9 is much smaller than that of the cleaning nozzle 8, and treated water (cooling water) sprayed downward from the cooling nozzle 9 toward the bottom of the container 1 is treated by the cleaning nozzle 8. When reaching the bottom, which is sprayed at a sufficiently higher speed than water (wash water), the bottom of the container 1 extends to the range where cooling is necessary (when the capacity of the container 1 is 500 ml), so that the entire bottom is evenly distributed. While cooling down, it falls down.

  Thus, since the rinser A4 according to the present invention receives cooling from both the inside and outside of the container 1 at the same time, the bottom part of the container 1 having a thick and difficult-to-cool pedaloid part is also a glass transition point of polyethylene terephthalate resin in such a short time It is supplied to the filling device A5 in a state where it is reliably cooled to a nearby temperature. Therefore, even when an internal pressure equal to or higher than a certain pressure is applied to the container immediately before the carbonated beverage is filled in the filling device A5, the bottom portion of the container 1 is not deformed.

[Another embodiment]
<1> Cleaning between the in-container cleaning device B and the container bottom cooling device C by separately providing the communication pipe 15 for leading the treated water from the treated water tank 13 to the radially outer side, the on-off valve 10, the switch means SW, etc. The timing for injecting treated water (cleaning water) from the nozzle 8 toward the inner surface of the container 1 and the timing for injecting treated water (cooling water) from the cooling nozzle 9 toward the bottom of the container 1 can be set individually. It is good also as a simple structure.

  In this case, for example, a means for detecting the temperature of the bottom of the container being cooled by the container bottom cooling device C is provided, and the cooling nozzle 9 is directed toward the bottom of the container 1 based on the detection result by the temperature discrimination means. It is good also as a structure which controls appropriately the injection completion time of a treated water (cooling water). As the temperature discriminating means, a radiation thermometer that measures the temperature of the bottom for each container 1 may be used, or thermography for obtaining a heat distribution chart from infrared rays radiated from the bottom of a number of arcs arranged in a container. And an image analysis unit that determines the temperature of the bottom of each container from the heat distribution diagram.

  These temperature discrimination means detect the temperature of the bottom of the container 1 delivered from the rinser part A4 to the filling device A5, and when the detection result is higher than the vicinity of the glass transition point of the resin, 9 or the like can be used as means for feeding back to the setting of the injection time of the refrigerant.

  If such a feedback mechanism is provided, since the bottom temperature of the container 1 is lowered to the vicinity of the glass transition point, the amount of treated water necessary and sufficient for spraying from the cleaning nozzle 8 and the cooling nozzle 9 is sufficient for the pipe 11. As a result, the water resources can be saved.

<2> The treatment water tank 13 is also provided between the in-container cleaning device B and the container bottom cooling device C so that different treatment water can be introduced into the cleaning nozzle 8 and the cooling nozzle 9. Also good. In this configuration, for example, treated water having a temperature lower than that of the treated water ejected from the cleaning nozzle 8 can be ejected from the cooling nozzle 9.

<3> The container bottom cooling device C is configured to eject air as a refrigerant for cooling the bottom of the container, or is configured such that air is ejected as the first stage and treated water is ejected as the subsequent second stage. It is also possible to do.

<4> Like the cleaning nozzle 8, the cooling nozzle 9 does not move integrally with the gripper 6 according to the rotation of the rotating wheel 2, but the cooling nozzle 9 moves as shown in FIGS. It may be a fixed type that does not.
In this embodiment, a total of 8 to 12 cooling nozzles 9 (see FIGS. 7 and 8) are arranged at predetermined positions inside the inverted conveyance section TS, for example, at equal intervals of about 10 ° to 15 °. Yes.

  In this embodiment, the rotary joint 12 disposed at the center of the rotating wheel 2, the treated water tank 13, the switch means SW disposed above the rotating wheel 2, the on-off valve 10 disposed on the lower surface of the rotating wheel 2, etc. The cooling nozzle 9 is provided only for injecting treated water (cleaning water), and the cooling nozzle 9 is provided with a separate on-off valve 40 connected to the pipe 11 completely separately from these facilities. Treated water (cooling water).

  While the container 1 is processed by the rinser part A4, the processing water (cooling water) is basically jetted continuously from the three cooling nozzles 9, and the rotation speed of the rotating wheel 2 is 6 to 24 rpm. Under the conditions, the total length of time for which the bottom of one container 1 receives the injection of treated water (cooling water) from the three cooling nozzles 9 is about 0.5 to 10 seconds.

  In addition, in the form which synchronizes with the rotational drive of the rotating wheel 2 by the motor M, for example, the injection of the treated water (washing water) from the cooling nozzle 9 is performed only during the period in which the container 1 is positioned below the cooling nozzle 9. It is also possible to implement.

  The outer surface of the container 1 that is supported in an inverted state by the gripper 6 at a position near the head of the inverted conveyance section TS on the upstream side of the first cooling nozzle 9 and the radially outer side and the radial direction of the rotating wheel 2. You may provide the some external washing nozzle (not shown) for wash | cleaning simultaneously from both inside.

<5> The container processing apparatus according to the present invention does not need to be arranged on the upstream side of the filling device for filling carbonated beverages, and is implemented in a form arranged on the upstream side of the filling device for filling non-carbonated beverages. In this case, the effect of the invention can be sufficiently expected.

  Located downstream of the blow molding device that blow-molds the container from the resin preform, and upstream of the filling device that fills the beverage into the container, the container supplied from the blow molding device is disposed along a predetermined path. The present invention is an invention that can be used as a technique for solving a problem conventionally seen in a container processing apparatus including a transport mechanism for transporting.

A1 Blow molding equipment A4 Rinser section (container processing equipment)
A5 Filling device B In-container cleaning device C Container bottom cooling device M Motor R Reverse operation rail R1 Reverse operation unit R2 Reinversion operation unit TS Inverted conveyance section X Axle (rotating wheel)
Y axis core (gripper)
W1 Inlet wheel W2 Outlet wheel 1 Container 2 Rotating wheel (conveyance mechanism)
6 Gripper (bottle gripper)
8 Cleaning nozzle (In-container cleaning device)
9 Cooling nozzle (container bottom cooling device)
10 On-off valve (first embodiment)
11 Piping (service water, cleaning water, cooling water)
40 On-off valve (second embodiment)

Claims (4)

Disposed on the downstream side of a blow molding apparatus for blow molding a container from a resin preform and on the upstream side of a filling apparatus for filling a beverage in the container, and the container supplied from the blow molding apparatus is routed to a predetermined path. With a transport mechanism that transports along,
An in-container cleaning device that injects cleaning water from the container mouth to the inner surface of the container being transported in an inverted state in which the container mouth is positioned downward by the transport mechanism, and in parallel with the injection of cleaning water by the in-container cleaning device. Or a container bottom cooling device for injecting refrigerant onto the outer surface of the container bottom of the container.   The transport mechanism includes a bottle gripper that moves along the path while supporting a container, and the container cleaning nozzle that configures the container cleaning device and the container bottom cooling nozzle that configures the container bottom cooling device are The container processing apparatus of Claim 1 provided so that a bottle gripper and integral movement are possible.   The transport mechanism includes a bottle gripper that moves along the path while supporting a container, and a container bottom cooling nozzle that constitutes the in-container cleaning device is fixed to a predetermined location as a separate body from the bottle gripper. The container processing apparatus according to claim 1.   The container bottom cooling device, wherein the filling device comprises a device for filling carbonated beverages, and is supplied to the filling device in a state where the bottom of the container is cooled to near the glass transition point of the resin constituting the container. The container processing apparatus as described in any one of Claim 1 to 3 driven.

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