JP2759418B2 - Holding plate for measuring the content of fluid containing small specific gravity in sealed flexible packaging - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sealed flexible package containing fluids having different specific gravities, such as liquid and gas, and water and oil, which can be separated by standing. The present invention relates to a holding plate for measuring the content of a fluid containing small specific gravity of a hermetically sealed flexible package that can be used for measuring the content of water with high precision.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A retort pouch contains a liquid food such as curry and stew and a gas such as air and inert gas together and is sealed. A retort sterilization process is performed. The present inventor has found from the results of many experiments that in this rotary retort sterilization treatment, the ratio of the contained gas, that is, the air content greatly affects the efficiency of the sterilization treatment, that is, the sterilization speed and the sterilization effect. did. That is, when the air content of the air-containing sealed package is 2 to 50%, the sterilizing effect is increased. In addition, when the variation of the air content among the plurality of air-containing sealed packages becomes -3 to 10%, the non-uniformity of the sterilizing effect when a certain sterilizing treatment is performed and the deterioration of the contents due to overheating are small. Become. On the other hand, when the liquid and the gas are stored in a container together and sterilized, if the viscosity of the liquid is low, inertia acts on the liquid in the transferred container, and the measurement to be performed in a stationary state should be performed immediately. There is a problem that can not be. According to experiments by the present inventors, the viscosity of the liquid is 5000
The problem is particularly remarkable when the value is CP or more.

[0003]

Since the retort pouch container formed of a flexible film is flexible, it is accommodated in the retort pouch container as compared with a rigid or semi-rigid container such as a cup or tray. It is very difficult to adjust or measure the ratio of the volume of the liquid to the gas, that is, the air content. Further, there is no device capable of measuring the air content of a retort pouch container quickly and with high accuracy, particularly continuously so as to be industrially usable.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional technical situation, and has a specific gravity different between liquid and gas, water and oil contained in a flexible package, It is another object of the present invention to provide a holding plate for continuously measuring the content of a fluid having a smaller specific gravity among fluids which are separated by standing still with high accuracy.

[0005]

The present invention relates to a holding plate for measuring the content of a small specific gravity contained fluid in a sealed flexible package from a surface projection image of the sealed flexible package packed with a soft packaging material. When the maximum diameter of the hole of the holding plate is a and the maximum diameter in the direction orthogonal to this is b, b: a = 1: 1 to 2 When the maximum diameter is c and the maximum diameter of the lower surface of the hole of the holding plate is d, c: d = 1: 1 to 3 is satisfied. It is a holding plate for content measurement. It is preferable that the shape of the sealed flexible package and the shape of the holding plate are similar to each other. That is, if the shape of the sealed flexible package is rectangular, the shape of the holding plate is preferably a rectangle of substantially the same size as the sealed flexible package. The shape of the hole provided in the holding plate is preferably a circular or elliptical shape having a sufficient size for measuring the content of the small specific gravity contained fluid in the sealed flexible package.

[0006] The material of the pressing plate is not particularly limited as long as it can withstand the pressing of the sealed flexible package, and examples thereof include wood, bakelite, hard rubber, vinyl chloride, and Teflon.

[0007]

By pressing the hermetically sealed flexible package using the holding plate having the above-described structure, the shape of the fluid having a small specific gravity contained in the hermetically sealed flexible package can be maintained in a constant shape.
As a result, the content of the small specific gravity stored fluid can be quickly and accurately measured from the projected image of the small specific gravity stored fluid in the sealed flexible package. Under the above conditions of the present invention,
When the pressure is out of the range, when the sealing flexible package is pressed by the pressing plate, an excessive force is applied to the sealed flexible package, and the sealed flexible package is wrinkled. There is a problem that the correlation between the amount and the area of the surface projected image is deteriorated, and the measurement accuracy is reduced. On the other hand, when c: d = 1: 1 or less, the lower edge of the hole of the holding plate comes into sharp contact with the sealed flexible package, and as a result, the sealed flexible package is formed. There is a problem that wrinkles or scratches occur. When the condition is not satisfied, if c: d = 1: 3 or more, the size of the hole on the upper surface becomes too small and the surface projection There is a problem that the range becomes narrow, and as a result, the measurement accuracy of the content of the fluid containing small specific gravity decreases.

Further, when the condition (2) is not satisfied, t is set to 0.0.
When the temperature falls below 5T, the area for holding down the sealed flexible package becomes smaller, and the pressure applied to the sealed flexible package increases. As a result, the sealed flexible package may be wrinkled or scratched. When t exceeds 1T in the case of deviating from the above condition, there is no problem in terms of the effect of the measurement, but the weight of the holding plate becomes heavy and the machine of the apparatus becomes complicated.

[0009]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a defective product detection device 1 for an air-sealed sealed package, for example, fills a retort pouch with a material such as curry or stew having a high specific gravity together with a gas such as air or an inert gas having a low specific gravity. Conveyor (transport path) 1 for transporting the air-sealed package obtained in this manner in a lying state
01. As shown in FIG. 2, the first conveyor 1
01 and a gas-tight sealed package A by a detector 211 described later.
In detecting the projected area of the gas portion, the pressurized sealing package A is pressed by the pressing plate 105 having the hole H at the center. As a result, the shape of the gas in the air-containing sealed package A can be kept constant as described above. In this case, it is preferable that the pressing plate 105 has a shape similar to the shape of the air-tightly sealed package A, and the shape of the center hole H is circular or elliptical. As shown in FIG. 3, when the maximum diameter of the hole H of the holding plate 105 is a and the maximum diameter in a direction perpendicular to the hole is b, b: a = 1: 1 to 2 and the holding plate 105 When the maximum diameter of the upper surface of the hole H is c and the maximum diameter of the lower surface of the hole H of the holding plate 105 is d, c: d =
It is desirable that the ratio be 1: 1 to 3. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2, as the hole H of the holding plate 105, when the height of the air-containing sealed package A is T and the thickness of the holding plate 105 is t, t = 0.05 to 1 T It is preferable that

At the downstream end of the first conveyor 101, as shown in FIG. 1, a second conveyor 201 for transporting a good air-sealed package A to a next process such as a sterilization process is provided. A third conveyor 301 for transporting defective air-tight sealed packages A is connected. Furthermore, the first
In the vicinity of a portion connected to the conveyor 101, the second conveyor 201, and the third conveyor 301, a swing member 2 for selecting an air-containing sealed package according to whether or not it has a predetermined air content is provided. It is arranged. The swinging member 2 changes the swinging position so that the first conveyor 101
The air-tight package A is selectively communicated with the second conveyor 201 or the third conveyor 301 to determine whether or not the air-tightly sealed package A has a predetermined air content, that is, a good product and a defective product. First
A cool air supply device 103 for cooling the air-containing hermetically sealed package A is provided on the upstream side of the detector 211 in the middle of the conveyance path of the conveyor 101. A portion of the surface of the air-sealed package A that comes into contact with the gas in the air-sealed package (hereinafter referred to as a portion that comes into contact with the gas on the surface of the air-sealed package) and a portion of the surface of the air-sealed package that is air-sealed. There is a difference in heat capacity between the contents in the body, that is, the portion in contact with the filling (hereinafter referred to as the portion in contact with the filling on the surface of the air-tightly sealed package). Therefore,
Due to the supply of cold air by the cool air supply device 103, a temperature difference occurs between a portion of the surface of the air-sealed sealed package that contacts the gas and a portion of the surface of the air-sealed sealed package that contacts the filling, and the gas contacts the surface of the air-sealed sealed package. The projected image of the portion can be clearly detected.

[0011] The cold air supply device 103 is particularly effective when the filling is a high-temperature one such as curry or stew immediately after cooking. Note that, instead of the cold air supply device 103, a cold water supply device in which cold water is sprinkled into a gas-containing sealed package in a shower or spray form, a cold water tank device in which the gas-containing sealed package A is immersed in cold water, or the like is employed. Is also good. Further, a heating means may be employed in place of the cooling means as described above. The use of a heating means is particularly effective when the filling is of a low temperature. As the heating means, a hot air supply device for blowing hot air onto the air-sealed sealed package A, a hot water supply device for spraying hot water into the air-sealed sealed package in the form of a shower or a spray, or an air-sealed sealed package A Immersion in hot water. The first conveyor 101
Above the vicinity of the downstream side of the cold air supply device 103 in the middle of the conveyance path, as shown in FIG. 1, the air-containing sealed package A is radiated from the air-containing sealed package A on the first conveyor 101. A detector 211 for detecting the temperature of the surface is disposed. The detector 211 includes a circuit 20 for converting the obtained temperature information into thermal image data, a storage unit 30 for storing thermal image data, and a detecting unit for detecting an area of a predetermined temperature range based on the thermal image data. 40, a determination circuit 5 for determining whether or not the area obtained by the detection means 40 is within a predetermined range
0, which are sequentially connected to a control unit 60 that controls the swing member 2 based on the determination result obtained by the determination circuit 50. Next, an operation of the defective product detection device 1 for the air-tightly sealed package will be described. First, the defective detection device 1 for an air-sealed package having the above-described configuration continuously transports the air-sealed package A by the first conveyor 101. When the air-containing sealed package A reaches the position of the cold air supply device 103, the air-containing sealed package A is cooled by the cold air supply device 103. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 2, the temperature difference between the portion B of the surface of the air-sealed sealed package that contacts the gas a and the portion C of the surface of the air-sealed sealed package that contacts the filler b can be clarified. Examples of the condition of the cold air include −30 to 30 ° C.

Simultaneously with or immediately after the cooling process, the detector 211 detects the temperature of the surface of the air-tightly sealed package A by infrared rays radiated from the air-tightly sealed package A on the first conveyor 101. The obtained temperature information is converted into thermal image data by a circuit 20 for converting into thermal image data.
0 is stored. Subsequently, by the detection means 40,
Based on the thermal image data, the projected area of the portion of the surface of the air-sealed sealed package within a predetermined temperature range, that is, the portion B of the surface of the air-sealed sealed package that is in contact with gas is calculated. In addition, the said predetermined temperature range is 30-50 degreeC specifically, when the temperature of a filling is 70 degreeC. Next, the determination circuit 50 determines whether the area is within a predetermined range. In the air-tightly sealed package, the area of the surface of the air-tightly sealed package that comes into contact with the gas has a correlation with the volume of the gas in the air-tightly sealed package, that is, the air content. Therefore, by determining whether or not the area of the portion of the surface of the gas-containing sealed package that comes into contact with the gas is within a predetermined range, whether the volume of the gas in the gas-containing sealed package is within an appropriate range is determined. Can be easily determined. The specific relationship between the area of the portion of the surface of the gas-sealed sealed package that contacts the gas and the area of the gas in the gas-sealed sealed package is determined in advance in the gas-sealed sealed package. It can be easily known by changing only the volume of the gas in various ways and examining how the area of the portion of the surface of the air-containing sealed package in contact with the gas changes.

In the above determination, when the area is within a predetermined range, the air-containing hermetically sealed package A is determined to be a non-defective product having an air content of gas within a predetermined range. If it is not within the range, the air-tightly sealed package is judged to be a defective product having an air content that is too high or too low. Based on the determination result of the determination circuit 50, the control unit 60
After the temperature of the surface of the air-sealed package A is detected by the detector 211, the air-sealed package A is moved to the first conveyor 1.
The swinging member 2 is controlled before reaching the end of 01. The swinging member 2 selectively communicates the first conveyor 101 with the second conveyor 201 or the third conveyor 301 based on the control signal. As a result, a good product of the air-sealed package A is sent to the second conveyor 201, and a defective product of the air-sealed package A is sent to the third conveyor 301. As another embodiment of the present invention, the detector may be arranged downstream from the cool air supply device. Further, as another embodiment of the present invention, instead of the determination circuit for determining whether or not the area obtained by the detection means is within a predetermined range, the area obtained by the detection means in the air-containing sealed package is used. And a determination circuit for determining whether or not the volume of gas in the gas-containing sealed package obtained by the calculation circuit is within a predetermined range.

According to still another embodiment of the present invention, when there is a large temperature difference between the filling and room temperature, the above-mentioned cooling means and heating means are not provided. In this case as well, after a certain period of time has elapsed after the filling of the contents, a temperature difference between the portion of the surface of the air-containing sealed package that comes into contact with the gas and the contents, that is, the portion that comes into contact with the filling, appears, and the detector detects the air content. The rate can be measured. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, a detector 211
Instead of using two light receiving elements or a linear sensor, the position of the boundary between the portion of the surface of the air-sealed sealed package that contacts the gas and the portion of the surface of the air-sealed sealed package that contacts the filling is detected. Calculate the air content from the detected position,
The pass / fail of the predetermined condition is tested.

[0015]

[Experimental example] A retort pouch of 210 mm x 350 mm was used as a flexible package, liquid and air were stored in the pouch, and the package was sealed to form a sealed flexible package. The size of the hole is 140mm x 215mm
When pressing the above-mentioned sealed flexible package so that T is 70 mm by a pressing plate of 330 mm × 360 mm and t of 10 mm having an oval hole of 165 mm × 255 mm on the lower surface, so that T is 70 mm. The air measurements when untouched and untouched are as follows: (When not pressed) The amount of stored air The variation range of the measured value Standard deviation 50 ml 10.4 ml 0.54 ml 150 ml 87.2 ml 3.54 ml (When pressed) The amount of stored air The variation range of the measured value 50 ml 7.0 ml 0.34ml 150ml 7.3ml 0.35ml

[0016]

According to the present invention, when the holding plate of the present invention is used, liquids having different specific gravities, such as liquid and gas, water and oil, contained in a sealed flexible package and separated by standing can be used. When the content of the smaller specific gravity is measured in a non-contact manner, by pressing the sealed flexible package using the pressing plate, the form of the small specific gravity containing fluid in the sealed flexible package is fixed. Since it can be held in a shape, it is possible with high precision. As a result, there is an effect that the content can be calculated based on the measurement result and the retort processing or the like can be efficiently performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration explanatory view of a measuring device for an air-containing hermetically sealed package according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a state of holding an air-containing sealed package by a holding plate.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a holding plate.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the air-tightly sealed package.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List A air-sealed sealed package H holding plate 1 defective air-sealed package defective product detection device 2 rocking member 20 circuit for converting temperature information into thermal image data 30 storage unit for storing thermal image data 40 detecting means 50 determination circuit Reference Signs List 60 Control unit 101 First conveyor 103 Cold air supply device 201 Second conveyor 211 Detector 301 Third conveyor

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI G01F 17/00 G01F 17/00 A G01N 21/17 G01N 21/17 A G06T 7/60 G06F 15/70 355

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A holding plate for measuring the content of a small specific gravity contained fluid in a sealed flexible package from a surface projection image of the sealed flexible package packaged by a flexible package material, wherein a hole is provided at the center. When the maximum diameter of the hole in the holding plate is a and the maximum diameter in the direction perpendicular to this is b, b: a = 1: 1 to 2 The maximum diameter of the upper surface of the hole in the holding plate Where c is the maximum diameter of the lower surface of the hole of the holding plate, and d is the ratio of c: d = 1: 1 to 3, and the content of the small specific gravity-containing fluid in the sealed flexible package is Holding plate for measurement. 2. The small size of the sealed flexible package according to claim 1, wherein t is 0.05 to 1 T, where T is the height of the soft packaging material and t is the thickness of the holding plate. Holding plate for measuring the content of specific gravity contained fluid.