JP2619293B2 - Degassing and sealing of liquids - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method for degassing and sealing a liquid material.

[Problems to be solved by conventional technology and invention] Conventionally, when filling and sealing a liquid material in a container,
After filling the container with the liquid material so that a space remains at the top, for reasons such as preventing spillage at the time of filling and opening,
A method is known in which the container is dropped and sealed with a lid or the like.

As the above conventional technique, there is Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 57-117350.

The technique disclosed in the publication discloses that the deformation of the container body or the like due to the pressure drop inside the container caused when the liquid material filled at a high temperature returns to the normal temperature is caused by a weak portion provided on the periphery of the top plate of the lid. It has a feature in that it is prevented by absorbing with.

However, the above-described technique is based on the premise that air remains in the container.When heat sterilization is performed on a container in which such air remains after sealing, the sterilization efficiency is increased in addition to the above-described problem of deformation of the container body. There were problems such as badness, deformation of the container body, or oxidization of the contents during storage, resulting in reduced storage stability.

In order to solve all of the above problems, the container is sealed with a lid having a concave portion having substantially the same shape as the concave portion formed by the liquid surface of the liquid material and the inner wall portion of the container above the liquid surface. However, when the container is sealed with such a lid, a portion of the liquid material rises from the gap between the lid and the inner wall of the container body, and the sealing portion is formed. However, there is a problem that raw material is generated and it becomes difficult to perform complete sealing. This problem was particularly noticeable when the liquid material contained insoluble solids such as spices and small pieces of ingredients.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present inventors have made it possible to prevent deformation of the container main body, and furthermore, to keep the container with little air remaining in the container and no generation of raw material in the sealed portion. In order to obtain a method that can be filled and sealed with a predetermined amount of liquid material and heat-sterilized efficiently, intensive research and development has been conducted. As a result, after filling a predetermined amount of liquid material into the container such that a space remains at the top of the container, (a) when the opening of the container is covered with the lid, (B) the stress is smaller than that of the container, and the recess formed by the liquid surface of the liquid and the container inner wall portion above the liquid surface due to the pressure of the fluid from above. (C) when the lid is deformed, the lid comes into contact with the liquid surface of the liquid material, and the center of the lid comes into contact with the liquid surface; Can be deformed so as to be lower than the periphery of the lid in contact with the liquid surface. (1) After sealing the container under reduced pressure, Or (2) water vapor is blown into the container and sealed, then the container is cooled and then heated. By bacteria, to obtain a knowledge that it is possible to achieve the above object.

The gist of the present invention, which has been completed based on the above knowledge, is as follows: (a) a step of filling a predetermined amount of a liquid material into the container so that a space remains in the upper part of the container; (A) sealing with a lid that satisfies the conditions (a) and (b), (a) the lid is not in contact with the liquid surface of the liquid when the opening of the container is covered with the lid. , (B) the stress is smaller than the container, and the pressure of the fluid from above,
(C) when the lid is deformed so that a concave portion having substantially the same volume as the concave portion formed by the liquid surface of the liquid material and the inner wall portion of the container above the liquid surface is formed, (C) that the center of the lid that is in contact with the liquid surface is deformable so as to be lower than the peripheral portion of the lid that is in contact with the liquid surface; Returning from reduced pressure to normal pressure, (d) heat sterilizing the container,
(A) a method for degassing and sealing a liquid material including the above steps (a) to (d), and (a) a step of filling a predetermined amount of the liquid material into the container such that a space remains in an upper portion of the container, A step of blowing steam into the gas container and sealing it with a lid that satisfies the following conditions (a) and (b); (B) a concave portion formed by the liquid surface of the liquid material and the inner wall portion of the container above the liquid surface due to a lower stress than the container and the pressure of the fluid from above; (C) when the lid is deformed, the lid contacts the liquid surface of the liquid material and the center of the lid contacts the liquid surface. The part is deformable so as to be lower than the peripheral part of the lid that is in contact with the liquid level, Cooling the c) container, (d)
The method includes a step of heat sterilizing the container and a method of degassing and sealing a liquid material including the above steps (a) to (d).

 Hereinafter, the contents of the present invention will be described based on examples.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a container used in the present invention, FIG. 2 is a simplified cross-sectional view of a concrete example of a lid used in the present invention before deformation, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view of a container and a lid for explaining the method of the present invention.

First, reference numeral 1 denotes a container. The container 1 includes a container body 2
And a flange 4 provided around the opening 3 of the container body.

The shape of the container body 2 can be, for example, a box shape, a cup shape, a bowl shape, a tray shape, or the like, and is not particularly limited. When heating with a microwave oven, it is preferable to attach a plurality of feet 5 to the bottom of the container body in order to heat the center of the liquid material filled in the container more uniformly.

Next, the width of the flange 4 provided around the opening 3 of the container body 2 should be 5 mm or more, preferably 5 to 40 mm, for bonding with the edge 7 of the lid 6 shown in FIG. Is appropriate. Further, a projection (not shown) for easy peeling may be provided on the upper surface of the flange 4.

The material of the container used in the present invention is not particularly limited, and for example, a synthetic resin such as polyethylene and polypropylene can be suitably used. The thickness is not particularly limited, for example, 0.
It is preferably from 7 to 1.5 mm.

When the product is designed so that the container is subjected to heat sterilization or heating using a microwave oven or the like, the material of the container needs to have heat resistance.

Further, the capacity of the container is not particularly limited, and may be appropriately determined by a practitioner.

 Next, the lid 6 will be described.

The lid 6 has a shape that does not come into contact with the liquid surface of the liquid material filled in the container in a predetermined amount when the opening of the container is covered with the lid. It can be deformed by the pressure of the fluid from above so that a concave portion having substantially the same volume as the concave portion formed by the liquid surface of the liquid and the inner wall portion of the container above the liquid surface is formed. It is important that the conditions (a) to (c) are satisfied.

The shape of the lid 6 is not particularly limited as long as it satisfies the above (A) to (C), but the following can be exemplified as a specific shape.

First, as a specific shape of the lid 6 before deformation, for example, as shown in FIGS. 2 (A), 2 (B), 2 (C), 2 (D), the flange 4 of the container 1 (not shown) A concave portion 8 may be provided inside the edge 7 to be bonded, and a convex portion 9 or a concave portion 9a may be formed inside the concave portion 8. Further, as shown in (E), (F), (G), and (H) of FIG.
A convex portion on the inside of the edge 7 to be bonded to the flange 4 (not shown)
10 is provided, and a concave portion 11 or a convex portion 11a is further provided inside the convex portion 10.
Further, as shown in (I), (J), and (K) of FIG. 2, the inside of the edge 7 that is bonded to the flange 4 (not shown) of the container 1 may be formed. The protrusions 12 may be formed.

Also, the shape of the top plate 13 of the lid is shown in FIGS.
It may be flat as shown in (I) or convexly curved as shown in FIGS. 2 (B) (C) (H) (J) (K). good. Furthermore, as shown in (D), (F), and (G) of FIG. 2, it may be concavely curved, and is not particularly limited. Also, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2D, the height of the top plate 13 of the lid is set to be the same as or lower than the height of the rim 7 to be bonded to the flange 4. 4 (not shown) and the edge 7 are preferable because they can be easily heat-sealed.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b), the shape of the lid 6 after the deformation may be such that a concave portion having substantially the same capacitance is formed. The former has the advantage of being advantageous in stacking the obtained sealed containers, and the latter has the advantage that when heat sterilization is performed on the obtained sealed container, the thickness of the central part where heat transfer is poor can be reduced, and sterilization can be performed. There is the advantage that it is advantageous in terms of efficiency.

Next, as the material of the lid 6, for example, a synthetic resin such as polyethylene or polypropylene can be suitably used. The thickness is
For example, 0.05 to 0.6 mm is appropriate.

When the product is designed so as to perform heat sterilization or heating by a microwave oven or the like as in the case of the container body 2, the material of the lid 6 needs to have heat resistance.

 Next, the liquid material will be described.

The kind of the liquid material is not particularly limited, but for example, there are liquid foods such as curry, stew, soup with ingredients, juice with pulp, oolong tea, coffee, black tea, green tea, sauce, etc. In addition, chemicals, cosmetics, adhesives, etc. Can be exemplified.

 Next, the filling and sealing method will be described.

First, as shown in [I] of FIG. 4, in order to prevent spillage at the time of filling and opening, etc., a predetermined amount of the liquid material such as a filled liquid material is left so that a space remains at the upper part of the container. Fill so that the distance from the liquid surface to the edge of the opening of the container body is 2 mm or more. The filling of the liquid material may be performed under reduced pressure or under normal pressure, and is not particularly limited. Further, the temperature of the liquid at the time of filling is not particularly limited.

Next, when the container filled with the predetermined amount of the liquid material is covered with the lid (a) as described above, the lid is not in contact with the liquid surface of the liquid material. The stress is smaller than that of the container, and it can be deformed by the pressure of the fluid from above so that the concave portion formed by the liquid surface of the liquid and the inner wall portion of the container above the liquid surface has a concave portion having almost the same capacity as the concave portion. (C) When the lid is formed, the lid is in contact with the liquid surface of the liquid material, and the center of the lid that is in contact with the liquid surface is in the vicinity of the lid that is in contact with the liquid surface. As shown in [II] in FIG. 4, the cover 6 satisfies the requirements of (a) to (c) above. [I in Fig. 4
As shown in I '], water vapor is blown in to seal. Of the two methods, the former is preferable because there is no effect of mixing of water droplets generated by cooling water vapor into a liquid material.

In the above case, when the opening of the container 1 is covered with the lid 6, the lid 6 does not come into contact with the liquid surface of the liquid material, so that a part of the liquid material rises from the gap between the lid and the inner wall of the container body. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the raw material from being generated in the seal portion. In addition, under reduced pressure, or in a state where steam is blown into the container to fill the container with steam, the container 1
Is sealed by the lid 6, so that almost no air remains in the container 1.

As means for bonding the flange 4 of the container 1 and the edge 7 of the lid 6 in order to seal the container 1 with the lid 6, known means such as use of an adhesive such as hot melt or heat sealing Should be adopted.

The degree of reduced pressure in the case of performing sealing under the reduced pressure may be, for example, 2600 to 54000 Pascal. When steam is blown, it is appropriate to blow, for example, steam at 100 ° C. into the container for about 1 to 10 seconds.

Next, the container 1 sealed with the lid 6 is returned to normal pressure from the reduced pressure when the above-mentioned method of sealing under reduced pressure is adopted, and at room temperature when the method of sealing by blowing steam is adopted. Cool down to As a result, the pressure of the air (atmospheric pressure) is applied to the container 1 and the lid 6 from the outside as shown in [III] of FIG. The lid 6 is
Since the stress is smaller than that of the container 1 and can be deformed by the pressure of the fluid from above, a concave portion having substantially the same capacity as the concave portion formed by the liquid surface and the inner wall portion of the container above the liquid surface is formed. As shown in [IV] in FIG. 4, the liquid material is deformed so as to form a concave portion having substantially the same capacity as the concave portion formed by the liquid surface of the liquid and the inner wall portion of the container above the liquid surface. Thereby, the deformation of the container body can be effectively prevented.

Next, the obtained liquid-containing container is, for example, 60 to 150
Sterilize by heating at 120C for 5 minutes.

[Effects of the Invention] As described in detail above, according to the present invention, after a predetermined amount of liquid material is filled into a container such that a space is left in the upper portion of the container, (a) opening of the container When the lid is covered with the lid, the lid has a shape that does not contact the liquid surface of the liquid material,
(B) the stress is smaller than that of the container, and the container can be deformed so as to form a recess having substantially the same volume as the recess formed by the liquid surface of the liquid and the inner wall portion of the container above the liquid surface; With a lid that satisfies the above requirements, (1) the container is sealed under reduced pressure and then returned to normal pressure, or (2) steam is blown into the container, the container is sealed, and the container is cooled. By heat sterilization, deformation of the container body can be prevented, and furthermore, a predetermined amount of liquid material that does not fill the container is filled with little air remaining in the container and without generation of raw material in the sealed portion. It can be filled and sealed, which is advantageous in terms of heat sterilization efficiency.

Incidentally, the filling and sealing method of the present invention is, for example, pressure heat sterilization,
It can be used for various food processing technologies such as aseptic filling process and microwave sterilization.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 is a cross-sectional view of a container used in the present invention, FIG. 2 is a simplified cross-sectional view of a specific example of a lid used in the present invention before deformation, and FIG. 3 is a container and a lid after the lid is deformed. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a specific example of a body, and FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a container and a lid for explaining the method of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Container 2 ... Container body 3 ... Opening 4 ... Flange 5 ... Feet 6 ... Lid

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] (A) a step of filling a predetermined amount of a liquid material into the container so that a space remains at an upper portion of the container; (b) the container under reduced pressure as described in (a) to (c) below: Sealing with a lid that satisfies the conditions of (a), when the opening of the container is covered with the lid, the lid has a shape that does not come into contact with the liquid surface of the liquid material, and (b) stress from the container. It is small and can be deformed by the pressure of the fluid from above so as to form a recess having substantially the same volume as the recess formed by the liquid surface of the liquid material and the inner wall portion of the container above the liquid surface. (C) When the lid is deformed, the lid comes into contact with the liquid surface of the liquid material, and the center of the lid that is in contact with the liquid surface is higher than the peripheral portion of the lid that is in contact with the liquid surface. (C) returning the container from reduced pressure to normal pressure; (d) Heating sterilizing containers, degassing sealing method of the liquid containing the above-described steps (a) ~ (d). (A) a step of filling a predetermined amount of a liquid material into the container so that a space remains at an upper portion of the container; (b) blowing steam into the container to obtain the following (a) and (b):
(C) a step of sealing with a lid that satisfies the condition of (c); (b) the lid is not in contact with the liquid surface of the liquid material when the opening of the container is covered with the lid; It can be deformed so as to have a smaller stress and a concave portion having substantially the same volume as the concave portion formed by the liquid surface of the liquid material and the inner wall portion of the container above the liquid surface by the pressure of the fluid from above. (C) When the lid is deformed, the lid comes into contact with the liquid surface of the liquid material, and the center of the lid that is in contact with the liquid surface is positioned around the lid that is in contact with the liquid surface. (C) cooling the container, (d) heat-sterilizing the container, and a liquid material including the steps (a) to (d). Degassing sealing method.