JP2752324B2 - Bottle cleaning equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bottle cleaning apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional bottle cleaning apparatus is disclosed in
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 197483/1973. In the bottle processing apparatus shown in this figure, a container (bottle) is held upside down by a holding device, a nozzle is inserted into a mouth side, and a processing liquid (washing liquid) is sprayed into the bottle from here on while holding the container (bottle). The inside of the bottle is cleaned by swinging one or both of the apparatus and the nozzle so that the angle at which the cleaning liquid is discharged from the nozzle into the bottle is changed.

[0003]

However, the conventional bottle processing apparatus as described above has a complicated and large structure such as a cam mechanism for swinging a bottle (or a nozzle). In addition to the expensive processing equipment, according to the test results of the present inventors, during the injection of the cleaning liquid,
Despite the rocking movement, a bottle with a complicated squeezed bottom and a lot of folds, such as a plastic bottle that has recently been on the market, has little washing of the bottle There is a problem that there is. That is, in the processing apparatus as described above, since the swing direction is basically limited, the direction orthogonal to the swing surface (two directions before and after)
In the lower part of the bottle, the washing liquid is not sufficiently distributed, and a part of the inner surface of the bottle is transferred to the subsequent process without being washed. In particular, in the case of a bottle with a complicated and complicated inner surface such as a PET bottle with a handle, it is difficult to spread the cleaning liquid to all corners of the inner wall surface of the bottle even if the bottle is swung, and the portion that is not washed Will remain. In addition, soft drinks such as juices may lose taste due to heating, so in recent years, there is a tendency to switch from conventional high-temperature filling to normal-temperature filling in a sterile room, When such soft drinks are filled at room temperature, the bacteria remaining in the unwashed portion of the bottle may grow after sealing, which is a major problem in hygiene. There is an increasing demand for higher levels than before. Moreover, recently, a high-speed processing capacity of about 600 BPM (bottle / minute) has been required, and the cleaning time needs to be completed in 1.5 to 2.0 seconds. It is becoming more and more difficult to improve the cleaning accuracy. An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems by making the nozzle orifice of the nozzle have a substantially oval shape. That is, in the bottle cleaning apparatus of the present invention, a gripping member (10) capable of gripping a mouth portion of a bottle (40) formed to a predetermined mouth size, and a nozzle (12) provided with an injection port (13). And the bottle to be washed (4
0) is inverted and gripped by the gripping member (10), and the nozzle (1) is inserted from the mouth (40a) of the bottle (40).
2) is inserted, and the inner wall surface of the bottle (40) is washed by radially injecting the washing liquid from the outlet (13) of the nozzle (12) while rotating the nozzle (12) around the nozzle axis. The above-mentioned nozzle (1
2) is a groove (12a) formed on the nozzle end face side and having a V-shaped cross section, and a groove (12c) having a nozzle inner diameter (12c).
a) a conical wall (12b) having a smaller diameter toward the a) side, and penetrating through the bottom of the groove (13a) at the distal end side of the conical wall (12b).
3) is characterized by being formed in a substantially oval shape.

[0005]

The bottle is washed by the washing liquid being sprayed radially from the mouth toward the inside of the bottle from the mouth in the state of being supported upside down. At this time, since the nozzle sprays the cleaning liquid while rotating about its axis, the relative collision position between the cleaning liquid and the inner wall surface of the bottle changes every moment as the nozzle rotates. The injection port of the nozzle is configured to have a substantially elliptical shape, and the injected cleaning liquid is formed into an elliptical conical cylindrical liquid film.As the nozzle rotates, the relative position between the cleaning liquid and the inner wall surface of the bottle increases. Since the collision position will change from time to time more severely than before,
The cleaning effect can be enhanced as compared with the conventional case, and even if the bottle is formed in a complicated inner wall surface shape, the entire inner surface of the bottle can be more reliably cleaned than before.

[0006]

1 and 2 show an embodiment of the present invention. As shown partially in the phantom line in FIG. 1, the bottle 40 is detachably gripped with its mouth 40a in an inverted state by the gripping member 10 shown in the phantom line in the figure. A large number of the gripping members 10 are attached to a transport section of a transport mechanism (not shown) at predetermined intervals. In addition,
FIG. 1 shows a state where the nozzle 12 is inserted into the bottle 40. As shown in FIG. 2, a toothed pulley (rotated member) 16 is fixed to the nozzle 12 on the end side (lower part in the figure) opposite to the injection port 13 side. Also, a rotary joint 20 is attached to the lower part in the figure. A pipe 22 is attached to the rotary joint 20. The pipe 22 is connected to a chemical pressurizing device (not shown). The fixed portion of the rotary joint 20 is fixed to the above-described transport unit (not shown). The rotary joint 20 rotatably supports the nozzle 12 by the bearing portion thereof, and is capable of supplying a pressurized chemical (cleaning liquid) to the nozzle 12 via the pipe 22 from the above-described chemical pressurizing device. I have. The toothed pulley 14 has a toothed belt (rotation transmitting member) 18.
Has been passed over. The toothed belt 18 is fixedly disposed over a range from a cleaning start position to a cleaning end position of the bottle cleaning device as described later. By moving the nozzle 12 along the conveyance path via the conveyance unit and the holding member 10, the nozzle 12 can be moved and the nozzle 12 can be rotated around the nozzle axis. That is, during a range in which the toothed pulley 14 is moved while engaging with the toothed belt 18 (from the cleaning start position to the cleaning end position) while being integrated with the nozzle 12 and the gripping member 10, the nozzle 12 moves along the transport path. While rotating along the nozzle axis. As shown in FIG. 3, the nozzle 12 is formed on the upper end surface in the figure, and has a groove 12 a having a “V” -shaped cross section orthogonal to the groove direction, and the inner wall portion 1 having a cylindrical hole shape.
2c has a conical wall portion 12b whose diameter decreases from the upper end to the bottom of the groove 12a. As a result, the injection port 13 has a substantially oval hole shape as shown in FIG. By forming the nozzle 12 in such a shape, it is possible to form the pressurized chemical liquid ejected from the nozzle 12 into an elliptical cone-shaped liquid film as described later.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. When a transport mechanism (not shown) is driven, the gripping member 10 is transported by the transport unit of the transport mechanism to a predetermined mounting position, and the bottle 40 waiting at the mounting position is pushed into the gripping unit, thereby causing the bottle 40 to move. It is gripped and further transported to a predetermined cleaning start position. At this cleaning start position, the nozzle 12 is inserted into the bottle 40 and the toothed pulley 16
Starts engaging with the toothed belt 18. This allows
The nozzle 12 starts rotating around the nozzle axis while being moved along the transport path. At the same time, a pressurized chemical solution is supplied from a chemical pressurizing device (not shown) to the nozzle 12 via the pipe 22 and the rotary joint 20, and the pressurized chemical solution reaching the upper end of the inner wall portion 12c in FIG. Collides with the conical wall portion 12b, passes through the injection port 13, is jetted to the outside along the slope of the groove 12a, and is formed into an elliptical conical cylindrical liquid film shape as a whole. It will collide and clean it. At this time, in the range from the cleaning start position to the cleaning end position, the nozzle 12 rotates around the nozzle axis while injecting the pressurized chemical solution.
Even if the inner wall surface of 0 has a complicated intricate shape, the pressurized chemical solution can be spread to every corner, so that there is no occurrence of unwashed residue. Nozzle 12
Is configured such that the injection port 13 has a substantially elliptical shape, so that the jetted cleaning liquid is formed in an elliptical cone-shaped liquid film shape. As a result, the relative collision position between the cleaning liquid and the inner wall surface of the bottle 12 changes more and more every moment as the nozzle 12 rotates. The effect can be further enhanced. Further, since the nozzle rotating mechanism 14 is constituted by the toothed pulley 16 fixed to the nozzle 12 and the toothed belt 18 transmitting the rotational force to the pulley 16, a part of the conveying force for conveying the bottle 40 is It can be used for rotation. Therefore, a motor is provided for each nozzle 12,
There is no need to set the timing of rotation and stop of the motor, and the configuration of the nozzle rotation mechanism 14 can be simple, and the apparatus can be inexpensive.

(Test Results) Using a conventional bottle washing apparatus configured to swing the bottle 40 by about 45 degrees in the washing process, while swinging the 4-liter bottle 40 with a handle, one bottle per bottle was used. 163c
Cleaning was performed by supplying the pressurized chemical solution of c. After washing, bottle 40
An inner surface inspection was performed, but dirt was detected at 7 to 8 places, such as the inner surface of the handle mounting portion, where the pressurized chemical solution was difficult to spread, and bacteria were attached to some of them. Also, using a 2 liter rectangular cross-section rectangular bottle 40 without a handle,
Similarly, the pressurized chemical solution was supplied while being oscillated, and cleaning was performed. However, in the inner surface inspection, dirt was gradually removed from the parallel rectangular tube portion to approximately four places in the approximately tapered four corner portions reaching the mouth portion. Detected, some of which had bacteria attached. On the other hand, using the apparatus of the present invention shown in FIG. 2, while the nozzle 12 moves from the cleaning start position to the cleaning end position on the transport path, the nozzle is rotated three times around the nozzle axis. The mechanism 14 is set, and between the cleaning start position and the cleaning end position, 163 cc of the same amount of the pressurized chemical solution is supplied per bottle, and the same shape and dirt condition as described above are set. 4 liter bottle 40 with handle was washed. After washing, the inner surface of the bottle 40 was inspected, but no dirt or bacterial adhesion was detected. In addition, a 2-liter bottle 40 without a handle having the same shape and dirt condition as the square bottle was washed with the same supply amount of the pressurized chemical solution as above. After washing, the inner surface of the bottle 40 was inspected, but no dirt or bacterial adhesion was detected. From the above results, it can be seen that according to the present invention, the cleaning liquid is sufficiently in the bottle and is completely cleaned.

In the description of the above-described embodiment, the bottle is washed with a chemical solution in a sterile room in order to fill the drinking water or the like at room temperature in the sterile room. However, when the cleaning accuracy of the bottle is not so required. Alternatively, pressurized water may be used as the cleaning liquid instead of the pressurized chemical solution.

[0010]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Cleaning liquid sprayed from one substantially oblong nozzle of the nozzle
Is formed in the shape of a liquid film in the shape of an elliptical cone.
As it rolls, the position of collision of the cleaning solution
It will change even more intensely than ever before
Thus, the cleaning effect can be enhanced as compared with the conventional case, and even if the bottle is formed in a complicated inner wall shape, the entire inner surface of the bottle can be more reliably cleaned than in the conventional case. Therefore, by practicing the present invention, it is not necessary to fill a soft drink or the like with a high temperature as in the related art, and the room temperature can be filled in a sterile room. This not only allows juices to be filled into bottles without impairing their taste and without worrying about hygiene, as well as lower running costs required for washing bottles and filling soft drinks than before. I can do it. In addition, it is not necessary to use a plastic bottle made of a material having high heat resistance as in the related art, so that a plastic bottle made of a material that is less expensive than the related art can be used.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial view illustrating a state of bottle cleaning according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an arrangement of members around a nozzle.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating a shape of an injection port of a nozzle.

FIG. 4 is a view of the injection port of the nozzle as viewed from the direction of arrow 4 in FIG. 3;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Grasp member 12 Nozzle 12a Groove part 12b Conical wall part 13 Injection port 14 Nozzle rotation mechanism 16 Toothed pulley (rotated member) 18 Toothed belt (rotation transmission member) 20 Rotary joint 22 Piping 40 Bottle

Continuation of front page (56) References JP-A-4-197483 (JP, A) JP-A-6-47666 (JP, A) JP-A-48-25737 (JP, A) JP-A-59-46156 (JP, A) JP-A-63-100962 (JP, A) JP-A-1-66399 (JP, U) JP-A-56-133351 (JP, U) JP-A-60-140676 (JP, U) 41-1197 (JP, B1) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B08B 9/08-9/34 B67C 7/00

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A bottle (40) formed to a predetermined mouth size.
A gripping member (10) capable of gripping the mouth portion of the
3) having a nozzle (12) formed therein, and in a state where the bottle (40) to be washed is inverted and gripped by the gripping member (10), the mouth portion (40a) of the bottle (40) The nozzle (12) is inserted through the nozzle (12), and while the nozzle (12) is being rotated about the nozzle axis, the cleaning liquid is radially injected from the injection port (13) of the nozzle (12) to thereby provide an inner wall surface of the bottle (40). The nozzle (12) includes a groove (12a) having a V-shaped cross section formed on the nozzle end face side and a nozzle inner diameter (12).
c) has a conical wall portion (12b) having a smaller diameter toward the groove portion (12a), and the conical wall portion (1
A bottle cleaning device characterized in that the injection port (13) is formed in a substantially oval shape through the bottom of the groove (13a) at the tip side of 2b).