JP2855315B2 - Food sterilizer and food sterilization method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention has improved the efficiency of a food sterilizer capable of continuously performing a sterilization step and a cooling step by connecting a food supply unit, a heater and a cooler through a closed gate. The present invention relates to an improved device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, canned and retort foods containing cooked rice or cooked foods such as curry and stew have been widely used. However, these sealed foods are sterilized under high temperature and high pressure after sealing the prepared foods in the container, so that there is a problem that a steamy odor or a retort odor is generated and the taste is reduced. When the food in a container is sterilized by a batch-type sterilizer, the container is carried into the sterilizer, sealed, heated, adjusted to a predetermined temperature and pressure, and maintained.
Since the container is cooled and transported out of the sterilizer, it is difficult to sterilize the container in an open state in order to prevent generation of retort odor and the like. On the other hand, the conventional continuous sterilizer for food in containers and the like is configured on the premise that sterilized food is sealed, and is not suitable for sterilizing food in an open state. Even if it is possible to carry out the sterilization treatment with the device open, there are drawbacks in that the sterilization efficiency is poor and the mechanism is complicated.
For example, a conventional sterilizing apparatus for food in a container is disclosed in
JP-A-88251, JP-A-49-71177, JP-A-51-42391, JP-A-64-51
No. 069 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 5-30952, none of these sterilizers are suitable for sterilizing the food in an open state, and have the disadvantage that the mechanism is complicated. doing.

[0003] The present inventors have conducted research to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks and to obtain a food in a container free from steam odor and retort odor, and an apparatus for sterilizing the food in an open state without sealing the food in the container. And applied for a patent for this device (Japanese Patent Application No. 5-214191). However, in this food sterilizing apparatus, in order to feed the food to a heater that maintains a predetermined high-temperature and high-pressure state inside, open the closed gate between the food supply unit and the pressure regulation chamber, and move the food to the pressure regulation chamber. It is necessary to close the closed gate, adjust the pressure in the pressure control chamber according to the pressure in the heater, open the closed gate between the pressure control chamber and the heater, and transfer the food to the heater. become. For this reason, from the food supply unit in contact with the outside air into the heater,
Air enters with food. Since the invading air is a poor conductor of heat, it not only prevents the steam in the heater from coming into contact with the food, but also prevents the transfer of heat from the high-temperature steam to the food, thereby lowering the sterilization efficiency. Therefore, in the food sterilizing apparatus, means for preventing air from entering the heater from the food supply unit to improve the sterilizing efficiency was required. [Detailed description of the invention]

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved food sterilizing apparatus in which a food supply unit, a heater and a cooler are connected via a closed gate, thereby improving the efficiency of the food sterilizing apparatus. More specifically, an object of the present invention is to provide a food sterilizing apparatus having a mechanism for preventing air from being introduced together with food from a food supply unit into a heater.

[0005]

Means for Solving the Problems As a result of research conducted by the present inventors to solve the above problems, a steam flow is formed around the closed gate between the food supply section and the pressure regulating chamber. However, it has been found that removing air from the food supply unit can prevent air from entering the heater.
The present invention has been achieved based on this finding. Therefore, the present invention is a food sterilizing apparatus in which a food supply unit, a heater, a cooler, and a discharge unit are connected through a closed gate, and forms a steam flow around a closed gate of the food supply unit. The present invention provides a food sterilizer having a steam supply port and a deaeration port arranged in the food sterilization apparatus. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a food sterilization method using the food sterilization apparatus, wherein a saturated steam is supplied from a steam supply port provided around a closed gate of a food supply unit, and the saturated steam is discharged from the deaeration port. A food sterilization method characterized by forming a steam flow around a closed gate of a supply unit. One embodiment of the food sterilizer of the present invention is as follows. That is, a food sterilizing apparatus for putting food in a rigid container and sterilizing the food, comprising a food supply unit having an inlet on the upstream side and an outlet on the downstream side, a straight tube heater, a straight tube cooler, and a discharge unit. The outlet and the inlet are connected in parallel or at right angles to each other via a closed gate, and an extrusion device for pushing the rigid container is provided on each upstream side in the food movement direction, and the food supply is provided. This is a food sterilization apparatus provided with a steam supply port and a deaeration port arranged so as to form a steam flow in the vicinity of a closed gate of the section.

A food sterilizing apparatus of the present invention and a method of sterilizing food using the apparatus will be described. FIG. 3 illustrates the characteristic parts of the present food sterilizing apparatus, and the substantially same components as those in FIG. 1 illustrating the entire food sterilizing apparatus of the present invention are denoted by the same reference numerals in the 200th. Attached
The detailed description is omitted. As shown in FIG. 3, in the present invention, the periphery of the sealing gate 206 of the food supply unit 204 is
A steam supply port 271 communicating with the steam supply device 270 and a deaeration port 273 communicating with the deaeration device 202 are provided. By supplying saturated steam from the steam supply port 271 and discharging it from the deaeration port 273, a steam flow is formed, and the air around the closed gate 206 can be continuously removed and filled with saturated steam. Therefore, even if the sealing gate 206 is opened to transfer the food to the pressure regulation chamber 244, no air enters and the invasion of air into the heater 208 can be prevented. The partition wall 272 provided in front of the steam supply port 271 and having an opening through which food passes allows the diffusion of the supplied saturated steam to be reduced, and the amount of steam required to prevent air from entering is reduced. , Efficient. By forming a flow of saturated steam in the food supply section in this manner, air can be removed from the vicinity of the closed gate to the food supply section that is open to the outside air, and the food supply section can be filled with steam. Prevent intrusion of
The sterilization efficiency of food can be improved. In addition, since the pressure of the food supply unit is an open system, it is atmospheric pressure.
The pressure of the saturated steam supplied from the steam supply port is 0.1 to
Suitably, it is 1.0 kg / cm ² , preferably 0.3 to 0.6 kg / cm ² . The reason why the steam pressure is adjusted in this way is that if the upper limit is exceeded, a large amount of steam leaks to the outside, which is not suitable for the working environment and that there is waste of steam. This is because it does not completely hinder it. Next, the whole food sterilizing apparatus of the present invention will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the basic configuration of the food sterilizing apparatus 1 of the present invention includes a straight tube food supply unit 4 connected to a deaerator 2 and a first gate valve 6 and a first gate valve 6 connected to the straight tube food supply unit 4. A straight cylinder heater 8 disposed in parallel with the straight cylinder food supply unit 4 via a pressure regulating chamber 44 defined by a four gate valve 42;
A straight tube cooler 16 disposed in the straight tube heater 8 via the second gate valve 10 and in parallel with the straight tube heater 8, and a third gate valve 20 and a fifth gate valve 60 provided in the straight tube cooler 16. And a discharge portion 24 disposed in parallel with the linear cylinder cooler 16 through the defined pressure regulating chamber 62. In the present invention, a mechanism for preventing air from entering the heater together with the food from the food supply unit into the heater is provided in the basic structure of the continuous food sterilizer. As shown in FIG. 1, a partition 72 having an opening is provided inside the straight cylindrical food supply unit 4, and a steam supply port 71 is provided in a space defined by the partition 72 and the first gate valve 6. Breath 73
Is provided. The straight tube food supply unit 4 has an indoor length of about 60 cm, and has an extruding device 30 at one end for pushing food in the axial direction. At the other end of the straight tube food supply unit 4, there is an extruding device 32 for pushing and moving the food in a direction perpendicular to the axis, and the extruding device 32 is extended to straighten the food past the first gate valve 6. It is pushed to the pressure regulating chamber 44 provided on the upstream side of the tube heater 8. Inside the downstream end of the straight cylindrical food supply unit 4, a turntable 36 for rotating the food by 90 ° is provided.

The linear tube heater 8 has a room length of about 180 cm.
And connected to the steam heating device 40, and a fourth
It has a pressure regulating chamber 44 defined by a gate valve 42, and furthermore, the straight tube heater 8 has an extruding device 46 for pushing foods over the fourth gate valve 42.
Is provided. As a method for transporting food, rigid containers filled with food are arranged in a line in a straight line,
For example, by pushing one end of the retainer group by an extruder, the other retainer is carried into the next process. On the downstream side of the straight tube heater 8, there is provided an extruder 47 for pushing the food in a direction perpendicular to the axis, and the extruder 47 is extended to move the food beyond the second gate valve 10 and the straight tube cooler. Push to 16
A tarten table 48 for rotating the food by 90 ° is provided inside the pressure regulating chamber 44, and a similar turntable 49 is provided inside the downstream end of the straight tube heater 8. The linear tube cooler 16 has a room length of about 180 cm, is connected to a cooling device 50, and is provided with an extruding device 52 for pushing and moving foods on the upstream side. Straight tube cooler 1
6, a pushing device 54 for pushing the food in a direction perpendicular to the axis is provided, and the pushing device 54 extends to push the food past the third gate valve 20 to the discharge section 2.
4 to the pressure regulating chamber 62 provided on the upstream side. Inside the upstream end and the downstream end of the straight tube cooler 16, turntables 56 and 57 for rotating the food by 90 ° are provided.

The discharge section 24 has a chamber length of about 60 cm, has a pressure regulating chamber 62 defined by a fifth gate valve 60 on the upstream side, and allows the food to pass through the fifth gate valve 60. An extruding device 66 for pushing is provided. A transport device 68 for transporting food is provided downstream of the discharge unit 24. Inside the pressure regulation chamber 62, a turntable 69 for rotating the food by 90 ° is provided. The operation of the food sterilizing apparatus 1 having the above configuration is as follows. That is, the food in the retainer is supplied by feeding a rigid container, for example, a food contained in a retainer, to the straight cylindrical food supply unit 4, operating the deaerator 2 to supply steam from the lower part of the retainer, and exhausting the gas from the upper part of the retainer. Eliminates air present between particles inside. At this time, the partition 7
2, saturated steam is supplied from a steam supply port 71 near the first gate valve 6, while a partition wall 72 is provided.
Is sucked from the deaeration port 73 close to, and a steam flow is formed. Further, since the supplied steam is also discharged from a steam exhaust port (not shown) provided outside the partition wall 72, the steam can flow to the outside from the opening of the partition wall 72, and the air flowing into the partition wall inside Is blocked. With such a mechanism, the periphery of the first gate valve 6 is filled with steam, and the air is eliminated. Then, in the food supply unit 4 placed in this state, the pushing device 3
Turntable 3 with food for 2 retainers by 0
6 and then turn the turntable 36 to rotate the food row by 90 °. Subsequently, the first gate valve 6 is opened, and the pushing device 32 is operated to move the food onto the turntable 48. Next, the extended pushing device 32 returns to the original state, and the turntable 48 is returned.
Is rotated by 90 ° so that the longitudinal axis direction of the food row and the axial direction of the straight tube heater 8 match. At this time, the fourth gate valve 42 is in the closed state, and the first gate valve 6 is also closed. Subsequently, after equalizing the pressure of the pressure regulating chamber 44 and the pressure of the linear cylinder heater 8, the fourth gate valve 42 is opened,
The food is moved into the straight tube heater 8 by the pushing device 46.

[0009] The fourth gate valve 42 is closed, the steam heating device 40 is operated, and the food is heated and sterilized. Meanwhile, the pressure in the pressure regulating chamber 44 is
Then, new food is supplied to the pressure regulating chamber 44 by the straight cylinder food supply unit 4, and the turntable 48 is rotated by 90 ° so that the longitudinal direction of the food row and the straight cylinder heater 8 are turned on. Waiting with the axis aligned. Thereafter, the fourth gate valve 42 is opened again, and the food located at the downstream end of the straight tube heater 8 is moved onto the turntable 49 by pushing in new food with the food pushing device 46, and the turntable 49 is moved. Activate the food 9
Rotate 0 °. Heat sterilization of food is completed under predetermined conditions while moving the straight tube heater 8 sequentially. When the food is moved onto the turntable 49, the second gate valve 10 is opened, and the pushing device 47 moves the food onto the turntable 56 in the linear cylinder cooler 16.

Thereafter, the food is rotated 90 ° by rotating the turntable 56, and the food is moved further inside the straight tube cooler 16 by the pushing device 52. on the other hand,
In the straight cylinder cooler 16, the cooling device 50 is operated to cool the food. In this way, the new food is then supplied on the turntable 56 and rotated, and the extruder 52 is operated again to push the food supplied on the turntable 56 to straighten the food at the downstream end. Tube cooler 16
And finally moved on the turntable 57. The food is cooled while moving. When the cooling of the food is completed, next, the turntable 57 is operated,
Rotate the food 90 ° to open the third gate valve 20,
The extruder 54 is operated to feed the food to the turntable 6.
Move 9 up. The pressure in the pressure regulating chamber 62 is adjusted in advance to be equal to the pressure of the linear cylinder cooler 16.

Next, the third gate valve 20 is closed, and the pressure in the pressure regulating chamber 62 is adjusted to be the same as that in the discharge section 24. At the same time, activate the turntable 69,
Rotate the food 90 ° and then the fifth gate valve 60
Is released, and the food is discharged by the pushing device 66 to the discharge section 24.
Send to In the same way, sequentially by the food to be supplied,
The food in the discharge unit 24 is transferred to the transport device 68. The food sterilized by the food sterilization apparatus 1 is transferred to a crane room controlled under a sterile atmosphere for each of the retainers by a transfer device 6.
8 transported. An aseptic filling machine is installed in the clean room, and an empty container serving as a container for the product is supplied to the aseptic filling machine. In the filling section, the container is filled with food from the retainer, the container moves to the next step, and the empty retainer is carried out of the clean room. Depending on the type of the product, a sterile liquid sterilized by a sterilizer (not shown) is further filled from the liquid filling nozzle. After that, the container is sealed with a seal portion and is carried out of the clean room. Another food sterilizing apparatus 100 of the present invention is shown in FIG. Constituent elements that are substantially the same as those of the food sterilizing apparatus 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals in their 100s, and detailed descriptions thereof are omitted. The food sterilizing apparatus 100 includes a straight cylinder food supply unit 104 connected to the deaerator 102, and a pressure regulation chamber 144 defined by the first gate valve 106 and the fourth gate valve 142 in the straight cylinder food supply unit 104. A straight cylinder heater 108 disposed at a right angle to the straight cylinder food supply unit 104 via a second gate valve 11
0, and at a right angle to the linear cylinder heater 108, and a linear cylinder cooler 116 via a pressure regulating chamber 162 defined by a third gate valve 120 and a fifth gate valve 160. And a discharge portion 124 arranged in parallel with the straight tube cooler 116. As shown in FIG. 2, the mechanism for preventing air from entering in the food sterilizer 100 includes a steam supply port 171 and a deaeration port 173 provided in a space defined by the partition 172 and the first gate valve 106. You.

The straight cylindrical food supply section 104 has an indoor length of about 60 cm and has an extruding device 130 at one end for pushing the food in the axial direction. Inside the pressure regulating chamber 144 arranged at the other end of the straight tube food supply unit 104, there is an extruding device 146 for pushing the food in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the straight tube food supply unit 104, and the extruding device 146 extends and moves food through the fourth gate valve 142 to the straight tube heater 108. Inside the pressure adjustment chamber 144, a turntable 136 for rotating the food by 90 ° is provided. The straight tube heater 108 has a room length of about 180 cm and is connected to a steam heating device 140. At the downstream end of the straight tube heater 108, there is an extruder 152 and a turntable 149 for pushing the food in a direction perpendicular to the axis, and the food supplied by the extruder 146 is turned 90 ° by the turntable 149.
Rotating, then the extruder 152 is extended to feed the food past the second gate valve 110 to the straight tube cooler 116.

The straight tube cooler 116 has an indoor length of about 18
0 cm, connected to the cooling device 150, and provided on the downstream side with an extruding device 154 for pushing and moving the food in a direction perpendicular to the axis, and the extruding device 154 is extended to the third position.
The food is pushed and moved to the pressure regulation chamber 162 beyond the gate valve 120. A turntable 157 for rotating the food by 90 ° is provided inside the downstream end of the straight tube cooling unit 116. The pressure regulation chamber 162 is provided with a turntable 169 for rotating the food by 90 ° and an extrusion device 166 for pushing and moving the food to the discharge section 124. The discharge section 124 has a room length of about 60 cm, and a transport device 168 for transporting the food discharged from the apparatus is provided downstream of the discharge section 124. The food sterilized by the food sterilization apparatus 100 is, for each retainer,
It is transferred by the transfer device 168 to a crane room managed under a sterile atmosphere. An aseptic filling machine is installed in the clean room, an empty container that is a container for the product is supplied to the aseptic filling machine, and a predetermined sterilization is performed in the packaging material sterilizing section,
Move to filling section. In the filling section, the container is filled with food from the retainer, the container moves to the next step, and the empty retainer is carried out of the clean room. Depending on the type of the product, a sterile liquid sterilized by a sterilizer (not shown) is further filled from the liquid filling nozzle. After that, the container is sealed with a seal portion and is carried out of the clean room.

[0014]

According to the present invention, air is removed from the vicinity of the closed gate of the food supply section and air does not enter the heater, so that heat is quickly transmitted from the high-temperature steam to the food in the heater, thereby improving efficiency. And a uniform sterilization process became possible. In other words, at the inlet of the heater, it was difficult to obtain the temperature (130 ° C.) required for sterilization due to air mixing. However, in the present invention, 130 ° C. is maintained from the inlet of the heater. Sterilization can be achieved without any problems.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a food sterilizer according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration explanatory view of another food sterilizing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a structural explanatory view of a mechanism of the present invention for forming a steam flow around a closed gate of a food supply unit and eliminating air.

4 is a configuration explanatory view of an aseptic filling device provided in a clean room following the food sterilizing device shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing temperature changes when a steam flow is formed around a closed gate of a food supply unit and when a steam flow is not formed. The time on the horizontal axis represents the time required to move the rigid container containing the food, so if a steam flow is not formed around the sealed gate of the food supply unit, air will be mixed in near the heater inlet and sterilized. It turns out that the required temperature cannot be obtained (see). On the other hand, in the present invention, the temperature required for sterilization of about 130 ° C. is obtained even near the inlet of the heater. (reference)

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 100, food sterilizer 2, 102, 202 deaerator 4, 104, 204 straight tube food supply unit 6, 106, 206 first gate valve 8, 108, 208 straight tube heater 10, 110 second gate valve 16, 116 Straight tube cooler 20, 120 Third gate valve 24, 124 Discharge unit 30, 130 Extruder 32, Extruder 36, 136 Turntable 40, 140 Steam heater 42, 142, 242 Fourth gate valve 44, 144, 244 Pressure regulation chamber 46, 146, 246 Extruder 47 Extruder 48 Turntable 49, 149 Turntable 50, 150 Cooling device 52, 152 Extruder 54, 154 Extruder 56 Turntable 57, 157 Turntable 60, 160 Fifth gate valve 2,162 Pressure regulation chamber 66,166 Extruder 68,168 Conveyor 69,169 Turntable 70,170,270 Steam supply 71,171,271 Steam supply 72,172,272 Partition 73,173,273 Deaeration mouth

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A food sterilizing apparatus comprising a food supply unit, a heater, a cooler, and a discharge unit connected via a closed gate,
A food sterilizer having a steam supply port and a deaeration port arranged to form a steam flow around a closed gate of a food supply unit. 2. A food sterilizing apparatus in which a food supply section, a heater, a cooler, and a discharge section are connected via a closed gate,
In the periphery of the closed gate of the food supply unit, a partition having an opening through which food is provided is provided, and a steam supply port and a deaeration port are arranged between the closed gate and the partition to form a steam flow. A food sterilizer. 3. A food sterilizing apparatus for sterilizing food by placing the food in a rigid container, wherein the food supply unit has an inlet on the upstream side and an outlet on the downstream side, a straight tube heater, a straight tube cooler, and a discharger. Parts, each of which is sequentially connected and arranged in parallel or at a right angle to the outlet and the inlet via a closed gate, and provided with an extrusion device for pushing and moving the rigid container on each upstream side in the food moving direction. A food sterilizing apparatus provided with a steam supply port and a deaeration port arranged so as to form a steam flow around a closed gate of a food supply section. 4. A food sterilizing apparatus for sterilizing food by placing the food in a rigid container, a food supply unit having an inlet on the upstream side and an outlet on the downstream side, a straight tube heater, a straight tube cooler, and a discharger. Parts, each of which is sequentially connected and arranged in parallel or at a right angle to the outlet and the inlet via a closed gate, and provided with an extrusion device for pushing and moving the rigid container on each upstream side in the food moving direction. A partition having an opening through which food is passed is provided around the closed gate of the food supply unit, and a steam supply port and a deaeration port are arranged between the closed gate and the partition so as to form a flow of steam. Food sterilizer equipped with. 5. A food sterilization method using the food sterilization apparatus according to claim 1, wherein saturated steam is supplied from a steam supply port provided around a closed gate of a food supply unit. A food flow sterilizing method, wherein a steam flow is formed around the closed gate of the food supply section by discharging the air from the deaeration port.