JP2018135146A - Aseptic filling method and aseptic filling equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide aseptic filling equipment, where forming of a preform from preform supply, sterilization of a formed container, filling of contents in the sterilized container, and sealing of the filled container are performed continuously, which, in sterilization of the container, is needed to remain in extent that heat at the time of container forming has a propriety against sterilization, especially, is needed to hold temperature of an inside surface of a bottom portion of the container cooled by a metal mold properly.SOLUTION: In an aseptic filling method and aseptic filling equipment which heats a perform, performs blow molding so that the heated preform becomes a bottle, sterilizes the formed bottle, fills contents in the sterilized bottle in an aseptic atmosphere, and seals the bottle filled with the contents by a sterile cap, hot air is blown against an inner face of a bottom portion of a container from the tip of an extension rod at the time of container forming so that temperature of the bottom portion of the container at the time of container sterilization becomes more than proper temperature to sterilize.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention heats a preform, blow-molds the heated preform into a bottle, sterilizes the molded bottle, fills the sterilized bottle with the contents in an aseptic atmosphere, and the bottle filled with the contents The present invention relates to an aseptic filling method and apparatus for sealing a bottle with a sterilized cap and blowing hot air from a stretched rod to the bottom of a bottle during blow molding.

  Conventionally, when a container such as a bottle is sterilized, a sterilization method has been proposed in which the sterilization effect is enhanced by preheating the container before bringing the sterilant into contact with the container (Patent Document 1). Then, while the preform is continuously running, the preform is introduced into a heating furnace, heated to a temperature for molding the preform into a container in the heating furnace, and the heated preform is blow-molded into a container and molded. Sterilization method and sterilization apparatus for sterilizing a container by contacting with a sterilizing agent in a state where heat at the time of molding remains in the formed container, filling the sterilized container with the contents, and sealing the container filled with the contents Has been proposed (Patent Document 2). At this time, the temperature of a part of the container is preferably 50 ° C. or higher. According to this method, it is not necessary to preheat the molded container before sterilization.

  Furthermore, in the above sterilization method, there has been proposed a beverage filling method and apparatus for measuring the temperature of a molded container and inspecting that heat suitable for sterilization remains in the container (Patent Document 3). The temperature at a plurality of locations on the outer surface of the bottle is measured, and containers that do not reach the target value are excluded as defective.

  Normally, when a polyethylene terephthalate preform is blow-molded into a container, it is necessary to apply heat resistance, impact resistance and pressure resistance to the container, and to prevent the temperature of the blow mold from rising. Flowing cooling water is performed. Further, the preform in the mold is stretched in the longitudinal direction with a stretching rod, and at the same time a compressed fluid such as air is ejected from the blow nozzle to stretch the preform in the transverse direction, and then the stretching rod is retracted to mold the mold. It has also been proposed to cool the container by jetting cooling gas from a plurality of holes provided in the stretching rod immediately before opening (Patent Document 4). In addition, it has also been proposed that cooling air be blown only on the bottom of the container from the tip of the stretching rod to the bottom of the bottle (Patent Document 5). In particular, in order to fill a container with a carbonated beverage, the pressure resistance is required when the bottom of the container has a petaloid shape, which is effective. Thus, when a preform is heated and a container is obtained by blow molding, it is common to cool the container before removing it from the mold.

JP 2001-39414 A JP 2006-111295 A Special table 2010-155631 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-261799 JP 2000-343590 A

  Supply the preform, heat the supplied preform, blow mold the heated preform into a bottle, sterilize the molded bottle, and fill the sterilized bottle with sterilized contents in an aseptic atmosphere In a sterile filling device that seals the bottle filled with the contents with a sterilized cap, if the heat during molding remains in the molded container, the container is sterilized without preheating the container. Can do. Such an aseptic filling apparatus has been widely used because it is excellent in high-speed productivity and sterilization. In this aseptic filling device, in order to avoid excessive cooling of the container, cooling air is not blown into the container in the mold, and the mold is also cooled so that the container temperature during sterilization is maintained within an appropriate range. ing. However, the bottom of the container having a low degree of stretching needs to be cooled rapidly in order to impart heat resistance, impact resistance and pressure resistance, and cooling water is passed through the bottom mold. Therefore, when taking out a container from a metal mold and sterilizing a container, the temperature of the bottom part of a container falls and sterilization may be inadequate.

  Therefore, in the aseptic filling apparatus in which the steps of preform supply, preform molding, sterilization of the molded container, filling of the contents into the sterilized container, and sealing of the filled container are continuously performed, At the time of sterilization, it is necessary that the heat at the time of forming the container remains to the extent that it is suitable for sterilization. In particular, it is required to properly maintain the temperature of the inner surface of the bottom of the container cooled by the mold.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and heats the preform, blow-molds the heated preform into a bottle, sterilizes the molded bottle, and sterilizes the sterilized bottle. In an aseptic filling method and apparatus for filling contents in an atmosphere and sealing a bottle filled with contents with a sterilized cap, the aseptic filling method in which the inner surface of the bottom of the container is at or above the temperature suitable for sterilization during container sterilization, and An object is to provide an apparatus.

  The aseptic filling method according to the present invention includes at least a preform heating process for heating a preform, a molding process for molding the heated preform into a container, a sterilization process for sterilizing the molded container, and a sterilized content. In the aseptic filling method comprising a filling step of filling the container in an aseptic atmosphere and a sealing step of sealing the container filled with the contents with a sterilized cap in an aseptic atmosphere, the molding step includes at least a stretching rod. It has the process of spraying the hot air to the bottom part of the said container, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  In the aseptic filling method according to the present invention, it is preferable that the shape of the bottom of the container is a petaloid shape.

  In the aseptic filling method according to the present invention, it is preferable that the temperature of the hot air is 50 ° C to 120 ° C.

  The aseptic filling apparatus according to the present invention includes at least a preform heating unit for heating a preform, a molding unit for molding the heated preform into a container, a sterilization unit for sterilizing the molded container, and sterilized contents. In an aseptic filling apparatus comprising a filling part for filling the container in an aseptic atmosphere and a sealing part for sealing the container filled with the contents with a sterilized cap in an aseptic atmosphere, the molding part is at least from a stretching rod A hot air spraying device for spraying hot air on the bottom of the container is provided.

  In the aseptic filling device according to the present invention, it is preferable that the hot air spraying device includes an air supply device and a heating device.

  In the aseptic filling apparatus according to the present invention, it is preferable that the molding unit is a molding unit that molds the container in which the bottom of the container has a petaloid shape.

  According to the aseptic filling method of the present invention, by blowing hot air to the bottom of the molded container, the bottom surface temperature inside the container is properly maintained during sterilization, and combined with the remaining heat during molding, the sterilization of the inner surface of the container The effect can be enhanced. In particular, in the shape where the bottom shape is provided with deep irregularities such as a petaloid shape, the surface temperature of the container forming the valley is increased by blowing hot air, which is effective for sterilization. Moreover, the aseptic filling apparatus of this invention can ensure high sterility by providing the hot air spraying apparatus which sprays hot air on the bottom part of the shape | molded container. Hot air is sprayed on the inner surface of the bottom of the container to raise the temperature of the inner surface of the bottom of the container. Therefore, the temperature of the entire bottom portion is not raised, and the heat resistance, impact resistance and pressure resistance of the bottom portion are not lowered.

It is a top view which shows the outline of an example of the aseptic filling apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The process which shape | molds the preform which concerns on embodiment of this invention into a bottle is shown, (A) is a preform supply process, (B) is a preform heating process, (C) is a preform bottle. (D) shows the taking-out process of the shape | molded bottle. The detail of the bottle formation process which concerns on embodiment of this invention is shown, (E) is an insertion process of an extending | stretching rod, (F) is a pressurized air blowing process, (G) is hot air to the bottle bottom part by an extending | stretching rod. A spraying process is shown. The sterilization and filling process which concerns on embodiment of this invention is shown, (H) is the bactericide gas spraying process to a bottle, (I) is an air rinse process of a bottle, (J) is filling the contents to a bottle. Step (K) shows a bottle sealing step. The gas generator of the disinfectant which concerns on embodiment of this invention is shown.

  EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Below, the form for implementing this invention is demonstrated with reference to drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an aseptic filling apparatus according to the present invention. This is an aseptic filling device that sterilizes bottles as containers, and outlines the aseptic filling device consisting of preform supply, heating unit, molding unit, inspection unit, sterilization unit, air rinse unit, filling unit, sealing unit and discharge unit 1, and details of each part will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 3, 4, and 5. According to this embodiment, since the temperature of the inner surface of the bottom of the bottle at the time of sterilization can be set to a temperature suitable for sterilization, a high sterilization effect at the bottom of the bottle can be obtained.

(Outline of the embodiment)
As shown in FIG. 1, the aseptic filling device according to the present embodiment includes a preform supply device 4 that supplies a preform 1, a heating unit 10 that heats the preform 1 to a temperature at which the preform 1 is molded into a bottle 2, and A molding part 15 for molding the preform 1 into a bottle 2, a sterilization part 34 for sterilizing the molded bottle 2, an air rinsing part 36 for air rinsing the sterilized bottle 2, and a sterilized content in the air rinsed bottle 2 A filling part 40 for sealing, a sealing part 44 for sealing the bottle 2 filled with the content part with a sterilized cap 3, the sealed bottle 2 is placed on a discharge conveyor 48, and the bottle 2 is placed in a non-sterile atmosphere by the discharge conveyor 48. A discharge portion 47 for discharging is provided. Here, the air rinse part 36 may not be provided.

  The heating unit 10 and the molding unit 15 are the molding unit chamber 16, the sterilization unit 34 is the sterilization unit chamber 35, the air rinse unit 36 is the air rinse unit chamber 38, the filling unit 40 and the sealing unit 44 are the filling unit chamber 42, and the discharge unit 47 is the discharge unit. Each chamber 49 is shielded. An atmosphere blocking chamber 31 is provided between the molding unit 15 and the sterilization unit 34 so that the gas or mist of the sterilizing agent generated in the sterilization unit 34 or a mixture thereof does not flow into the molding unit 15. The bactericidal gas or mist generated in the sterilizing section 34 or a mixture thereof does not flow into the molding section 15 when the atmosphere blocking chamber 31 is exhausted. Here, the discharge part 47 may be shielded by the filling part chamber 42.

  During the operation of the aseptic filling apparatus, the sterilization part chamber 35, the air rinse part chamber 38, the filling part chamber 42, and the discharge part chamber 49 are supplied with aseptic air sterilized by a sterilization filter, and the pressure in each chamber is reduced. By using positive pressure, the sterility of the aseptic filling device is maintained. The positive pressure is the highest in the filling part chamber 42 and is set lower as it goes upstream from the air rinsing part chamber 38 and the sterilization part chamber 35. Moreover, it is set so low that it goes downstream from the filling part chamber 42 to the discharge part chamber 49. The pressure in the atmosphere cutoff chamber 31 is kept substantially the same as the atmospheric pressure by exhausting the atmosphere cutoff chamber 31. Further, the pressure in the discharge part chamber 49 is set lower than the pressure in the filling part chamber 42. For example, if the pressure in the filling part chamber 42 is 20 Pa to 40 Pa, the pressures in the other chambers are set lower than the pressures in the filling part chamber 42.

(Details of the embodiment)
First, the preform 1 shown in FIG. 2A is continuously conveyed from the preform supply device 4 shown in FIG. 1 to the heating unit 10 by the preform supply conveyor 5 at a desired speed.

  The preform 1 in the present embodiment is a bottomed tubular body having a test tube shape and is shown in FIG. The preform 1 is provided with a mouth 1a similar to the bottle 2 shown in FIG. A male screw is formed at the mouth 1a simultaneously with the molding of the preform 1. In addition, a support ring 1b for conveyance is formed in the preform 1 below the mouth portion 1a. The preform 1 or the bottle 2 is gripped by the gripper 13 through the support ring 1b and travels in the aseptic filling apparatus. The preform 1 is molded by injection molding, compression molding or the like. The preform 1 is made of a thermoplastic resin such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthalate, polypropylene, or polyethylene, and may be a single resin or a mixture of these resins, or may include a recycled thermoplastic resin. Further, in order to impart barrier properties, a thermoplastic resin such as polyamide having an aromatic amine such as an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer or metaxylylenediamine as a monomer may be included as a layer or as a mixture.

  The preform 1 supplied to the heating unit 10 is conveyed by a wheel 6 provided with a number of grippers 13 at a constant pitch, and reaches the heating unit conveyance wheel 7. Here, it is released from the gripper 13 as shown in FIG. 2B, and the spindle 12 is inserted into the mouth 1a of the preform 1 and conveyed.

  As shown in FIG. 2B, the preform 1 is heated to a temperature suitable for subsequent blow molding by an infrared heater 9 or other heating means. This temperature is preferably 90 ° C to 130 ° C.

  Note that the temperature of the mouth portion 1a of the preform 1 is suppressed to a temperature of 70 ° C. or lower in order to prevent deformation and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 2B, the preform 1 has a spindle 12 inserted into the mouth 1a, is heated by an infrared heater 9, and is conveyed while rotating. The spindle 12 is provided on the endless chain 11 at regular intervals. The endless chain 11 is rotated by two pulleys 8. By inserting a mandrel instead of the spindle 12 into the preform 1, it is possible to convey the preform 1 while rotating it in an inverted state.

  The heated preform 1 is released from the spindle 12, is gripped by the gripper 13, and is conveyed to the molding wheel 17 of the molding unit 15 through the wheel 14. As shown in FIG. 2 (C), the preform 1 is blow-molded into the bottle 2 by the mold 18 provided on the molding wheel 17. A plurality of molds 18 and blow nozzles 20 are arranged around the molding wheel 17 and turn around the wheel 17 at a constant speed as the wheel 17 rotates. When the heated preform 1 arrives, the mold 18 sandwiches the preform 1. Subsequently, the blow nozzle 20 is joined to the preform 1, and the stretching rod 19 is guided to a hole provided in the blow nozzle 20. The mold 18 includes a body mold 18a and a bottom mold 18b. The bottom mold 18b is cooled by supplying cooling water therein. Further, the portion of the body mold 18a that contacts the mouth 1a is also cooled in the same manner.

  The stretching rod 19 guided to the hole is inserted into the preform 1 as shown in FIG. 3E, and the preform 1 is stretched until the bottom of the preform 1 comes into contact with the bottom mold 18b. Simultaneously with the insertion of the stretching rod 19, as shown in FIG. 3 (F), the electromagnetic valve of the medium pressure air inlet 21 connected to the blow nozzle 20 is opened, and medium pressure air is blown into the preform 1. . Further, the electromagnetic valve at the medium pressure air inlet 21 is closed, the electromagnetic valve at the high pressure air inlet 22 is opened, and high pressure air is blown into the preform 1. By blowing high-pressure air, the outer wall of the preform 1 is pressed against the mold 18 and the preform 1 is molded into the bottle 2. Thereafter, the electromagnetic valve at the high-pressure air inlet 22 is closed, and the high-pressure air remaining in the bottle 2 is discharged by opening the electromagnetic valve at the air outlet 23. At this time, the high pressure air may be returned to an intermediate pressure air tank (not shown) and reused as intermediate pressure air. Here, the medium pressure air is air having a pressure of 1 MPa to 2.5 MPa, and the high pressure air is air having a pressure of 2.5 MPa to 4 MPa. It is desirable that medium pressure air and high pressure air pass through a filter to remove foreign substances, bacteria, and the like.

  When the high-pressure air is discharged from the bottle 2, hot air is blown to the bottom of the bottle 2 from the tip of the stretching rod 19 that is separated from the bottom of the bottle 2 as shown in FIG. Hot air is supplied to the stretching rod 19 by a hot air spraying device 24. The hot air spraying device 24 includes an air supply device 25 and a heating device 26. The air supply device 25 may be a blower as shown in FIG. 3G or a compressed air device. The air supplied from the air supply device 25 is heated by the heating device 26 and supplied to the stretching rod 19. The drawing rod 19 is hollow, and the supplied hot air is blown from the tip of the drawing rod 19. Although the heating effect of the hot air on the bottom differs depending on the air volume of the hot air and the distance from the tip of the stretching rod 19 to the bottom, the temperature of the hot air is preferably 50 ° C to 120 ° C. If it is less than 50 degreeC, there is no heating effect, and when it exceeds 120 degreeC, there exists a possibility that the bottom part of the bottle 2 may deform | transform. Hot air blown to the bottom of the bottle 2 is discharged by opening the solenoid valve of the air discharge port 23. It is desirable that the hot air heated by the heating device 26 passes through a filter to remove foreign substances, bacteria, and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 3G, heating of hot air blown from the stretching rod 19 to the bottom of the bottle 2 may be performed outside the stretching rod 19, but a heating device or a stretching rod incorporated inside the stretching rod 19 Alternatively, a current may be passed through the electrode, or the drawing rod 19 itself may be heated by induction heating.

  The drawing rod 19 is made of a material such as iron, stainless steel, copper alloy, aluminum, aluminum alloy, zinc, or tungsten, and may have chromium plated on the surface.

  The drawing rod 19 has a hollow cylindrical shape. For example, the diameter of the cross section is 5 mmφ to 20 mmφ, and the diameter of the cross section of the hollow portion is 3 mmφ to 17 mmφ. You may change an outer diameter or a hollow diameter by a part so that a front-end | tip direction may be made thin. For example, when the outer diameter is 12 mmφ, the tip is preferably hemispherical as R6 mm. It is preferable that the hot air blowing hole at the tip is smaller than the diameter of the hollow portion. For example, when the diameter of the hollow portion is 9 mmφ, the hole diameter at the tip is 3 mmφ.

  After hot air is blown from the stretching rod 19 to the bottom of the bottle 2 for a predetermined time, the stretching rod 19 is extracted from the bottle 2 and the blow nozzle 20 is also separated from the bottle. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 2D, the molded bottle 2 is taken out from the mold 18, the support ring 1 b is gripped by the gripper 13 provided on the inspection wheel 27, and delivered to the inspection wheel 27. .

  As shown in FIG. 2D, the bottle 2 may have a shape in which the bottom is nearly flat or a petaloid shape. When deep irregularities are provided such that the shape of the bottom is a petaloid shape, by blowing hot air, the surface temperature of the container forming the valley is increased, which is effective for sterilization. When a carbonated beverage is filled in a bottle having a substantially flat bottom, the bottom may swell in a convex shape due to an increase in internal pressure immediately after filling. Therefore, when filling a carbonated beverage, a petaloid-shaped bottle having a petaloid leg at the bottom is used. Usually, the number of petaloid legs is arbitrarily set in the range of 5-9. Moreover, the depth of the valley part of a petaloid leg is set arbitrarily.

  The formed bottle 2 was inspected by the inspection equipment 28 provided around the inspection wheel 27, and the bottle temperature, the bottle body, the support ring 1b, the top of the bottle mouth, the bottom of the bottle, etc. were determined to be abnormal. In such a case, it is discharged outside the aseptic filling device by a discharging device (not shown). Although the bottle is inspected in the molding part chamber 16, it may be shielded by a chamber different from the molding part chamber 16 as an inspection part.

  In the bottle temperature inspection, the surface temperature of the bottle 2 is inspected to determine whether the bottle 2 is good or bad. The temperature sensor is, for example, an infrared radiation thermometer (infrared radiation camera), but other thermometers can also be used. It is necessary to sterilize the bottle 2 that the bottle 2 is at an appropriate temperature by preheating and bottom heating at the time of bottle molding, and the temperature detected by the temperature sensor is preferably 50 ° C. or higher. Although temperature measurement is performed for each part of the bottle 2, it is desirable to measure temperature at least at the bottom.

  The bottle body, the support ring 1b, the top of the bottle mouth, and the bottom of the bottle are imaged by a camera, and the state of each part is inspected. The captured image is processed by the image processing apparatus, and it is determined whether there is an abnormality such as a scratch, a foreign object, deformation, or discoloration. The bottle 2 exceeding the allowable range is determined to be abnormal.

  The bottle 2 that has not been determined to be abnormal by the inspection by the inspection equipment 28 is arranged so that the bactericide gas or mist generated in the sterilization unit 34 or a mixture thereof does not flow into the molding unit 15. It is conveyed to the sterilization part 34 through the wheels 29 and 30 in the atmosphere cutoff chamber 31 provided therebetween.

  The bottle 2 conveyed to the sterilization unit 34 is sterilized by spraying a gas or mist of a sterilizing agent or a mixture thereof on the bottle 2 at the wheel 32. The disinfectant gas spraying process to the bottle 2 is shown in FIG. In order to spray the sterilizing gas on the bottle 2, a sterilizing gas spray nozzle 53 is provided. The sterilizing gas spray nozzle 53 is fixed so that the nozzle hole at the tip thereof can directly face the opening of the mouth portion 1a of the bottle 2 that travels directly below. Further, if necessary, a sterilant gas spray tunnel 54 is provided below the sterilizer gas spray nozzle 53 along the traveling path of the bottle 2 as shown in FIG. The number of the sterilizing gas spray nozzles 53 may be one or plural. The disinfectant gas sprayed on the bottle 2 flows into the bottle 2 and sterilizes the inner surface of the bottle 2. At this time, as the bottle 2 travels through the sterilizing agent gas blowing tunnel 54, the sterilizing agent gas or mist or a mixture thereof also flows to the outer surface of the bottle 2, and the outer surface of the bottle 2 is sterilized.

  Further, the sterilizing agent gas spray nozzle 53 is made to follow the conveyance of the bottle 2, the sterilizing agent spray nozzle 53 is inserted into the bottle 2, and the sterilizing agent gas or mist or a mixture thereof is sprayed directly on the inner surface of the bottle 2. It doesn't matter. The sterilizing gas or mist overflowing from the bottle 2 or a mixture thereof collides with a guide member provided around the sterilizing gas spray nozzle 53, flows on the outer surface of the bottle 2, and contacts the outer surface of the bottle 2. . The guide member is preferably provided with a flange portion coaxial with the sterilizing agent spray nozzle 53 and an annular wall portion protruding outward from the flange portion.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the germicide gas or mist or a mixture thereof is a germicide gasified by the germicide gas generator 50 or a mist condensed with the gasified germicide or a mixture thereof. The sterilizing agent gas generator 50 is a two-fluid spray nozzle that supplies the sterilizing agent in a drop form, and heats the sterilizing agent supplied from the sterilizing agent supplying unit 51 to a decomposition temperature or lower. A vaporization unit 52 for vaporization. The disinfectant supply unit 51 introduces disinfectant and compressed air from the disinfectant supply path 51a and the compressed air supply path 51b, respectively, and sprays the disinfectant into the vaporization unit 52. The vaporizing unit 52 is a pipe having a heater 52a sandwiched between inner and outer walls, and heats and vaporizes the bactericide blown into the pipe. The vaporized bactericidal gas is jetted out of the vaporizing section 52 from the bactericidal gas spray nozzle 53. The vaporizing section 52 may be heated by dielectric heating instead of the heater 52a.

  As operating conditions of the sterilizing agent supply unit 51, for example, the pressure of the compressed air is adjusted in a range of 0.05 MPa to 0.6 MPa. Further, the bactericide may be a gravity drop or a pressure may be applied, and the supply amount can be freely set. For example, the bactericide is supplied to the bactericide supply path 51a at 1 g / min. ~ 100 g / min. Supplied in the range of Moreover, the sprayed disinfectant vaporizes by heating the inner surface of the vaporization part 52 from 140 degreeC to 450 degreeC.

  The germicide gas is sprayed from the germicide gas spray nozzle 53 to the bottle 2 as shown in FIG. The amount of spray of the germicide gas or mist or a mixture thereof is arbitrary, but the spray amount is determined by the amount of germicide supplied to the germicide gas generator 50 and the spray time. A plurality of bactericidal gas generators 50 may be provided. The amount of spraying also varies depending on the size of the bottle 2.

  The disinfectant preferably contains at least hydrogen peroxide. The content is suitably in the range of 0.5% to 65% by mass. If it is less than 0.5% by mass, the sterilizing power may be insufficient, and if it exceeds 65% by mass, it becomes difficult to handle for safety. Further, it is more preferably 0.5% by mass to 40% by mass. When the content is 40% by mass or less, the handling is easier, and since the concentration becomes low, the residual amount of the sterilizing agent after sterilization can be reduced.

  When the sterilizing agent is hydrogen peroxide, the amount of hydrogen peroxide water sprayed is as follows. The amount of hydrogen peroxide adhering to the inner surface of the bottle 2 by the gas of the hydrogen peroxide solution sprayed from the gas spray nozzle 53 of the sterilizing agent to the inner surface of the bottle 2 is the amount of hydrogen peroxide water containing 35% by mass of hydrogen peroxide. The amount is preferably 30 μL / bottle to 150 μL / bottle, more preferably 50 μL / bottle to 100 μL / bottle. Further, the hydrogen peroxide concentration of the hydrogen peroxide water sprayed on the bottle 2 is preferably 2 mg / L to 20 mg / L, more preferably 5 mg / L to 10 mg / L.

  In addition, the bactericidal agent contains water, but alcohols such as methyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, normal propyl alcohol, and butyl alcohol, ketones such as acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, and acetylacetone, glycol ethers, and the like or You may include 2 or more types.

  Furthermore, bactericides include organic acids such as peracetic acid and acetic acid, chlorine compounds such as sodium hypochlorite, compounds having a bactericidal effect such as ozone, cationic surfactants, nonionic surfactants, phosphate compounds and the like. Additives may be included.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the bottle 2 sterilized by the sterilization unit 34 is conveyed to the air rinse unit 36 through the wheel 33. As shown in FIG. 4I, the bottle 2 is sprayed with aseptic air on the bottle 2 in an upright state by the air rinse nozzle 55 in the air rinse wheel 37 shown in FIG. Aseptic air may be at normal temperature, but is preferably heated. Aseptic air discharges the sterilizing agent remaining inside the bottle 2, decomposes the remaining sterilizing agent, further enhances the sterilizing effect, and has an effect of eliminating foreign matter in the bottle 2. Alternatively, the bottle 2 may be inverted and sprayed with aseptic air into the bottle 2. In this case, it is more effective than the upright state for removing foreign substances. Furthermore, by providing the guide member surrounding the air rinse nozzle 55, the sterile air introduced into the bottle 2 and overflowing from the mouth portion 1a collides with the guide member, and the outer peripheral portion of the mouth portion 1a is also rinsed. Thus, the temperature of the outer peripheral portion of the mouth portion 1a is increased, and the sterilizing effect of the outer peripheral portion of the mouth portion 1a is increased.

  The air rinse nozzle 55 may be moved up and down, and the air rinse nozzle 55 may be inserted into the bottle 2 so that aseptic air is blown into the bottle 2. Alternatively, aseptic air may be introduced into the bottle 2 instead of aseptic air to rinse the inside of the bottle 2. Furthermore, the bottle 2 may be rinsed using a combination of sterile air and sterile water.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the bottle 2 air-rinsed by the air rinse part 36 is conveyed to the filling part 40 through the wheel 39. In the filling unit 40, the contents are filled in the bottle 2 by the filling nozzle 56 by the filling wheel 41 shown in FIG. 1 as in the filling step shown in FIG. The contents are sterilized in advance, and the bottle 2 is filled with a certain amount of contents such as a beverage by the filling nozzle 56 that runs synchronously with the bottle 2.

  The bottle 2 filled with the contents is conveyed to the sealing part 44 through the wheel 43 shown in FIG. In the sealing wheel 45 provided in the sealing portion 44, the sterilized cap 3 is supplied to the sealing wheel 45 as in the sealing step shown in FIG. 4 (K), and the cap 1 (not shown) supplies the mouth 1a of the bottle 2. The bottle 2 is sealed and the bottle 2 is sealed.

  The sealed bottle 2 is transferred from the gripper 13 of the sealing wheel 45 to the gripper 13 of the discharge wheel 46 of the discharge unit 47. The bottle 2 delivered to the discharge wheel 46 is placed on the discharge conveyor 48. The bottles 2 placed on the discharge conveyor 48 are discharged outside the aseptic filling device.

  The inside of the sterilization part chamber 35, the air rinse part chamber 38, the filling part chamber 42 and the discharge part chamber 49 is sterilized before the operation of the aseptic filling apparatus. In each chamber, a one-fluid spray or a two-fluid spray that mixes and sprays a sterilizing agent with compressed air is provided as a sterilizing agent spray nozzle, and the sterilizing agent spray nozzle is provided in each chamber that requires sterilization. Spray to adhere to the entire area. Each chamber is sterilized by the sprayed sterilizing agent. The disinfectant spray nozzle is arranged so that the disinfectant adheres to the entire area in each chamber. As the disinfectant, the same disinfectant used for disinfecting the bottle 2 can be used, and it is preferable to use a disinfectant containing peracetic acid or hydrogen peroxide. The sterilizing agent may be sprayed several times with different sterilizing agents.

  After the sterilizing agent is sprayed from the sterilizing agent spray nozzle, aseptic water is sprayed over the entire area of each chamber. The disinfectant remaining in each chamber is washed with the sterile water. For spraying sterile water, for example, a spray nozzle using a spin ball is used. A nozzle for sterilizing water spraying may not be provided, and sterilizing water may be sprayed from a sterilizing agent spraying nozzle.

  Aseptic water is sprayed in each chamber after spraying the sterilizing agent. Before the sterilizing agent is sprayed, if the contents are scattered in the filling chamber 42 and the discharging chamber 49, the chamber is washed. The working liquid is sprayed and the inside of each chamber is cleaned. The cleaning liquid is water or water containing an acidic compound or a basic compound. The water may be water sterilized by heating or filtration, pure water, ion exchange water, distilled water or tap water. The acidic compound is an inorganic acid such as hydrochloric acid, nitric acid or phosphoric acid or an organic acid such as acetic acid, formic acid, octanoic acid, oxalic acid, citric acid, succinic acid or gluconic acid. The basic compound is an inorganic basic compound such as sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide, or an organic basic compound such as ethanolamine or diethylamine. In addition, non-ionic sequestering agents such as alkali metal salts, alkaline earth metal salts, ammonium salts and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid of organic acids, anionic surfactants, cationic surfactants, polyoxyethylene alkylphenyl ethers and the like. Contains ionic surfactants, solubilizers such as sodium cumene sulfonate, acid polymers such as polyacrylic acid or metal salts thereof, corrosion inhibitors, preservatives, antioxidants, dispersants, antifoaming agents, etc. It doesn't matter. Further, when these cleaning liquids are heated to 50 ° C. or higher, they also have a sterilizing action, so they may be used as a sterilizing agent for sterilizing the inside of the chamber.

  Each chamber is equipped with a sterile air supply device. A sterile air supply device is connected to the top of each chamber. The sterile air supply device includes a blower, a heating device, and a sterilization filter. Air from the blower is heated by a heating device and sterilized by a sterilization filter, and then is supplied as sterile air into each chamber. By disposing the sterilization filter perpendicular to the top surface of the chamber, it is possible to prevent the cleaning liquid and the bactericidal agent from adhering to the surface of the sterilization filter. The sterilization filter may be provided in parallel to the chamber surface.

  Each chamber is provided with an exhaust device, and the pressure in each chamber is maintained at an appropriate value in conjunction with the sterile air supply device.

  Sterile water remaining in each chamber is vaporized and removed by aseptic air supplied from a sterile air supply device. At this time, the sterilized air is heated, so that the sterilized water is quickly removed by vaporization. The aseptic air supply device supplies aseptic air into each chamber in order to maintain sterility in each chamber when the aseptic filling device is operated. In this case, the sterile air may not be heated.

  Although the present invention is configured as described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the gist of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Preform 2 ... Bottle 18 ... Mold 19 ... Stretching rod 20 ... Blow nozzle 21 ... Medium pressure air supply port 22 ... High pressure air supply port 23 ... Air discharge port 24 ... Hot air spraying device 25 ... Air supply device 26 ... Heating apparatus

Claims (6)

At least a preform heating process for heating the preform, a molding process for molding the heated preform into a container, a sterilization process for sterilizing the molded container, and filling the sterilized contents into the container in an aseptic atmosphere In an aseptic filling method comprising a filling step and a sealing step of sealing the container filled with the contents with a sterilized cap in an aseptic atmosphere,
The aseptic filling method characterized in that the forming step includes at least a step of blowing hot air from the stretching rod to the bottom of the container. In the aseptic filling method according to claim 1,
The aseptic filling method characterized in that the shape of the bottom of the container is a petaloid shape. In the aseptic filling method according to claim 1 or 2,
The aseptic filling method characterized in that the temperature of the hot air is 50 ° C to 120 ° C. At least a preform heating unit for heating the preform, a molding unit for molding the heated preform into a container, a sterilization unit for sterilizing the molded container, and filling the sterilized contents into the container in an aseptic atmosphere In an aseptic filling device comprising a sealing part for sealing the container filled with the contents with a filling part and a sterilized cap in an aseptic atmosphere,
The aseptic filling device, wherein the molding unit includes at least a hot air spraying device for spraying hot air from the stretching rod to the bottom of the container. The aseptic filling device according to claim 4,
The aseptic filling device, wherein the hot air spraying device includes an air supply device and a heating device. In the aseptic filling device according to claim 4 or 5,
The aseptic filling device, wherein the molding part is a molding part for molding the container in which the bottom of the container has a petaloid shape.

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