JP3176571B2 - Aseptic food filling and packaging equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an aseptic food filling and packaging apparatus, and more particularly, to sterilizing solid food with steam, and sealing and packaging the sterilized solid food under a steam atmosphere. The present invention relates to an aseptic food filling and packaging apparatus that performs all processes from sterilization to product packaging under steam.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Aseptic packaged foods in which cooked and sterilized foods such as curries, stews, gratins, etc., which can be eaten simply by performing simple cooking such as heating, are contained in sealed packaging containers under aseptic conditions. I have. In the manufacturing process of such packaged foods, ingredients having a solid form such as potatoes, carrots, and meats that have been cooked and sterilized at 120 ° C. to 130 ° C. are exposed to room temperature air while maintaining a pressurized state. After cooling and further mixing in a sterile room such as a clean room with a sterilized liquid food such as curry sauce or white sauce as required, the packaging container is sealed. On the other hand, a packaged food production system is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-11521.
No. 6 discloses this. In this system, the container supplied with the coffee extract is sealed in a steam atmosphere at 100 ° C., and then heat sterilization is performed in a sterilization tank.

[0003]

In the former prior art, the solid food is sterilized and then sealed in the presence of air. Therefore, there is a problem that oxidation of the solid food is promoted when the solid food comes into contact with air in a hot state. In addition, during storage of the product, a high-quality product could not be stored for a long time due to the influence of air, that is, an oxidation phenomenon. In addition, precise control of the pressure in the processing chamber and the like is required so as to prevent air in the cooling chamber or the clean room from entering the sterilizing steam chamber. Further, there is a problem that after the solid food is sterilized by pressurized steam, the cooling time until the solid food is transported to a clean room in which the solid food is hermetically sealed is lengthened, and the processing efficiency is reduced.

[0004] In the latter prior art, liquid food filled and sealed under steam can be sterilized under pressure and heated to prevent spoilage. However, when the solid food is treated using such a conventional technique, there are problems such as generation of a stuffy smell due to hermetically sealed sterilization and stickiness and softening of the surface of the solid food due to drain water. Further, when a plastic container is used as a packaging container, the container is deformed at the time of pressurizing and heating, and complicated pressure control is required to prevent this.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and all the processes from sterilization of solid food to packaging of the product are performed under steam, and the solid food is exposed to air after heat sterilization. The sealing process can be performed in a short time without requiring precise control. Therefore,
It is an object of the present invention to provide an aseptic food filling and packaging apparatus which has extremely high sterility, does not deteriorate in quality due to air, and has very little heat deterioration.

[0006] The present invention provides a sterilizing section for filling a solid food in a packaging container and sterilizing the solid food under pressurized steam, a decompression cooling section for cooling the solid food, and a packaging for containing the sterilized and cooled solid food. A packaging section for sealing the container under a steam atmosphere, wherein the entire interior of the apparatus from the sterilizing section to the packaging section is made to have a steam atmosphere, wherein the aseptic food filling and packaging apparatus is provided. An embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that the inside of the packaging section is under a normal-pressure steam atmosphere.

[0007] The present invention also provides a sterilizing section for filling a solid food into a retainer and sterilizing the solid food under steam, and a container filling section for transferring the sterilized solid food from the retainer to a packaging container under a steam atmosphere. A packaging section for sealing a packaging container for accommodating the solid food under a steam atmosphere, wherein the entire interior of the apparatus from the sterilizing section to the packaging section has a steam atmosphere. . The present invention also fills a solid food into a retainer, a sterilizing unit that sterilizes the solid food under pressurized steam, a reduced pressure cooling unit that cools the solid food, and a sterilized and cooled solid food from the retainer under a steam atmosphere. A container filling unit to be transferred to a packaging container, and a packaging unit that continuously seals the packaging container containing the solid food under a steam atmosphere, wherein the entire inside of the device from the sterilizing unit to the packaging unit is set to have a steam atmosphere. It is an aseptic food filling and packaging device. An embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that the inside of the container filling section and the inside of the packaging section are under a normal pressure steam atmosphere. Further, the packaging unit includes a liquid food filling unit that fills the packaging container with the sterilized liquid food.

An embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that the inside of the container filling section and the inside of the packaging section are under a normal pressure steam atmosphere. Further, the packaging unit includes a liquid food filling unit that fills the packaging container with the sterilized liquid food.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A sterile food filling and packaging apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. The aseptic food filling and packaging apparatus 100 of the first embodiment is an apparatus for packaging cooked curry stored in a packaging container C. Packaging container C
Is a size that can hold a piece of curry meat, potatoes, carrots and other solid ingredients and curry sauce, has a bottomed cylindrical shape with one end open, and is made of synthetic resin such as polypropylene or polyethylene terephthalate (PET). And a barrier packaging material such as Eval, and can be hermetically sealed by attaching a lid to the opening. In addition, as a packaging container, for example, a pouch-shaped container other than the one having the above-mentioned moldability can also be used.

As shown in FIG. 1, the aseptic food filling and packaging apparatus 100 introduces a packaging container C containing cooked solid ingredients into the apparatus 100 from the upstream side of the apparatus. 110, a preheating chamber 120, a pressure regulating chamber for increasing pressure, a heating and sterilizing chamber 140, a reduced-pressure cooling section 160, a normal-pressure steam packaging section 170, and a cooling section 180. Preheating chamber 120, pressure regulating chamber 130, pressure sterilization chamber 14
0, reduced pressure cooling section 160, and normal pressure steam packing section 170
Are always placed under steam, that is, in a steam-filled situation.
The introduction unit 110 is placed on the placement unit 210 on the upstream side on which two packaging containers C each containing a predetermined amount of solid ingredients are placed by a supply device (not shown), and is placed on the placement unit 210. An extruding cylinder device 21 for feeding the pair of packaging containers C to the preheating chamber 120, that is, in the X direction in FIG.
2

The preheating chamber 120 has a preheating device 122 for supplying water vapor while degassing the inside of the preheating chamber 120. The preheating chamber 120 eliminates air in the space between the components housed in the packaging container C and removes the components. Is preheated. The preheating chamber 120 receives, for example, 0.1 to 1.0 kg / cm ² from the preheating device 122.
(Gauge pressure), steam at 102 to 120 ° C. is supplied. The preheating chamber 120 also transfers the pair of packaging containers C containing the preheated ingredients to the pressure-regulating chamber 130 for increasing pressure.
That is, it has an extrusion cylinder device 220 for feeding in the Y direction in FIG. The steam tank 232 is connected to the pressure regulating chamber 130 via a control valve 230. The steam tank 232 is provided with a steam supply pipe 234.
Connected to a steam generator (not shown). A gate valve 236 is arranged between the preheating chamber 120 and the pressure regulating chamber 130. A pair of packaging containers C are also placed in the pressure sterilization chamber
It has an extrusion cylinder device 240 for feeding to 0, ie in the X direction in FIG. Pressure boosting chamber 130
The inside is maintained at the same temperature and pressure as the heat sterilization chamber 140 under steam. A gate valve 242 is disposed between the pressure-regulating chamber 130 and the heat sterilization chamber 140.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a turntable 243 that can rotate about an axis Z extending in the up-down direction is disposed in the pressure-regulating chamber 130. The turntable 243 is a box having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape with one side opened in the longitudinal direction, and has a size capable of housing a pair of packaging containers C in a cascade. Therefore, the pair of packaging containers C can enter and exit the turntable 243 through the opening 243a in a tandem state. Turntable 2
A substantially circular hole 243b is formed substantially at the center of the side wall on the other end side in the longitudinal direction of 43. The top plate 243c of the turntable 243 covers the upper opening of the packaging container C housed in the turntable 243. That is, the top plate 243c
Is located between the opening 245 a of the steam supply pipe 245 opening into the pressure regulating chamber 130 and the opening above the packaging container C housed in the turntable 243. It becomes a shielding plate for preventing the water vapor blown out from the end 245a from directly blowing to the opening of the packaging container C.

A turning shaft 248 is attached to the bottom of the turntable 243 so that the turntable 243 can turn around the rotating shaft 248. That is, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the turntable 243 has an opening 243a in the preheating chamber 120.
And the opening 24 shown in FIG.
It is configured to be able to rotate 90 ° between the second position 3a and the second position facing the heat sterilization chamber 140. In the first position, a pair of packaging containers C extruded in the Y direction by the extrusion cylinder device 220 through the opening 243a can be stored in the turntable 243. On the other hand, at the second position, the extrusion cylinder device 240 that enters the turntable 243 through the opening 243a pushes the pair of packaging containers C from the turntable 243 into the heat sterilization chamber 140.

[0014] As shown in FIG.
The packaging container C is slid and conveyed by the pair of rails 249,
The ingredients contained in the packaging container supplied from the pressure regulating chamber 130 are pressurized under steam at a predetermined temperature and a predetermined pressure, that is, 0.4.
5 to 2.65 kg / cm ² , preferably from 1.0 to 2.15 kg / cm
² (gauge pressure) 110-140 ° C, preferably 120
Heat sterilization at about 135 ° C. for a predetermined time. Heat sterilization room 1
40 also has an extruding cylinder device 252 and a turntable 254 for sending a pair of packaging containers C containing the heat-sterilized ingredients to the reduced-pressure cooling unit 160, that is, in the Y direction in FIG. Decompression cooling unit 160
Is for adjusting the pressure stepwise under steam to return to normal pressure. A gate valve 250 is disposed between the heating / sterilizing chamber 140 and the reduced-pressure cooling unit 160. The reduced-pressure cooling unit 160 has a plurality of compartments 270 connected to each other by a gate valve 260. In the first embodiment, each of the three compartments 270 has an extruding cylinder device 272 and a turntable 274 for pushing a pair of packaging containers C to the next compartment 270 or the normal-pressure steam packaging section 170. Each compartment 270 has a gate valve 27.
6 separated.

Each of the compartments 270 is adjusted to the same condition as the temperature, pressure, etc. of the immediately preceding processing chamber before the packaging container C is fed in, and then the gate valve 276 is opened. After the container is fed, the container is adjusted so as to have a lower condition than the above condition and subjected to a cooling process. This procedure is performed step by step. For example, sterilization is 130 °
C, 3 minutes, 1. 75 kg / cm ² , 120 ° C., 30 seconds, 1. 048 kg / cm ² and in the second compartment at 110 ° C., 30 seconds, 0.
It is performed at 43 kg / cm ² and sent to the third compartment. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the normal-pressure steam packaging unit 170 includes a source filling device 282 that supplies a curry sauce into the packaging container C held by the container holding frame 280 under steam, A lid supply device 286 with an inert gas blowing nozzle 284 for supplying a lid of the container to the opening at the upper end;
A sealing device 288 for adhering the packaging container C to the lid to hermetically seal the packaging container C, and a trimming unit 290 for cutting and separating the packaging container C are provided in this order.

The cooling section 180 has a shower device (not shown) for blowing cooling water to the outside of the sterilized and sealed packaging container C. The temperature of the cooling water ranges from 5 to 40 ° C,
The cooling time is selected in a range of 5 to 30 minutes in consideration of various conditions such as the size and type of the ingredients. Cooling unit 1
The cooling of 80 is not limited to the shower device,
A configuration in which the packaging container C is immersed in cold water or cooling may be employed. Next, the aseptic food filling and packaging apparatus 10 of the first embodiment
The operation of 0 will be described. The introduction unit 110 supplies a pair of packaging containers C each containing cooked ingredients to the mounting unit 210,
The pair of packaging containers C is sent to the preheating chamber 120 by the extrusion cylinder device 212. Preheating chamber 120
Then, the air in the space between the components is eliminated by the steam at a predetermined pressure and a predetermined temperature supplied from the preheating device 122, and the components are preheated. The preheated packaging container C is sent to the pressure regulating chamber 130 by the extrusion cylinder device 220 with the gate valve 236 opened.

In the pressure regulating chamber 130 for increasing pressure, the steam tank 2
Water vapor having a predetermined pressure and a predetermined temperature is supplied from 32 to be pressurized. A pair of packaging containers C in the pressure-regulating chamber 130 are
Rotated 90 ° by the turntable 243,
The gate valve 242 is opened and sent to the heat sterilization chamber 140 by the extrusion cylinder device 240. The heat sterilization chamber 140 is heat sterilized under steam at a predetermined pressure and a predetermined temperature for a predetermined time while the packaging container C is slid and conveyed by a pair of rails 249. The heat-sterilized packaging container C is
After being rotated 90 ° by the turntable 254, it is sent to the reduced-pressure cooling unit 160 through the gate valve 250.
In the reduced-pressure cooling section 160, the pressure in each of the compartments 270 is reduced in a stepwise manner under steam to return to normal pressure.
Thereby, the temperature of the solid material can be cooled to about 100 ° C. In each compartment 270, the packaging container C is sent to the normal-pressure steam packaging section 170 by the operation of the extrusion cylinder device 272 and the turntable 274, and by the opening of the gate valve 276.

In the normal-pressure steam packaging section 170, the packaging container C
The curry sauce is supplied into the packaging container C held by the container holding frame 280 under steam, and the packaging container C is covered while blowing an inert gas. Further, the packaging container C continued by the lid material is moved to the trimming portion 290.
Is separated by cutting. In the cooling unit 180, the packaging container C is cooled by blowing cooling water outward. Next, a description will be given of a sterile food filling and packaging apparatus 500 of the second embodiment, that is, a sterile food filling and packaging apparatus 500 in which cooked utensils are placed in a retainer R, sterilized by heating, cooled under reduced pressure, and then transferred to a packaging container C for sealing. The retainer is made of metal or heat-resistant resin, and has a side wall and a bottom. A plurality of steam passage holes are provided in the bottom and, if desired, the side wall.

Aseptic food filling and packaging apparatus 500 of the second embodiment
Is shown in FIG. 5, but only the configuration substantially different from the aseptic food filling and packaging apparatus 100 of the first embodiment will be described.
In the aseptic food filling and packaging apparatus 500 of the second embodiment, a retainer R containing cooked utensils is supplied to the introduction section 110 of the first embodiment, and thereafter the same processing is performed with the same configuration as that of the first embodiment. In the course of the process, the ingredients are transferred from the retainer R to the packaging container C. Therefore, here, the retainer reversing device 502 disposed between the reduced-pressure cooling unit 160 and the normal-pressure steam packaging unit 170 will be described. As shown in FIG. 6, the retainer reversing device 502 is held by the container holding frame 504, and the retainer R containing the sterilized and cooled solid food that has been horizontally conveyed by the conveyor 510 is placed at the conveying end of the conveyor 510. It enters the inclined retainer holding member 512. The retainer holding member 512 holds the retainer R while keeping the rotation shaft 514 at about 15 degrees.
The solid food in the retainer R is dropped into the hopper 520 with the opening of the retainer R turned downward by 0 °. Under the hopper 520, packaging containers C (not shown in FIG. 6) are sequentially supplied, and the solid food of one retainer R is put into the packaging container C one by one. The packaging container C into which the ingredients have been transferred is packed in the normal-pressure steam packaging section 170 and the cooling section 1.
It is sent to 80 for processing.

Further, in the first and second embodiments, the present invention has been described by exemplifying an apparatus for producing cooked curry. However, for example, cooked or semi-cooked gratin or stew contained in a packaging container is used. It may be an aseptic packaged food production apparatus for producing such products.

[0021]

As described above, according to the present invention, all steps from sterilization of solid food to packaging of the product are performed under steam, and precise control can be performed without exposing the solid food to air after heat sterilization. The sealing process can be performed in a short time without need. Therefore, there is an effect that a filling and packaging apparatus for aseptic food with extremely high sterility and without deterioration in quality due to air and with little heat deterioration can be configured.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an aseptic food filling and packaging apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a turntable at a first position in a pressure-intensifying chamber of the aseptic food filling and packaging apparatus of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a turntable at a second position in a pressure regulating chamber for increasing pressure of the aseptic food filling and packaging apparatus of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a sealing device and the like of the aseptic food filling and packaging apparatus of the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a schematic configuration of a sterile food filling and packaging apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram of a retainer reversing device of the aseptic food filling and packaging apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 C Packaging container R Retainer 100 Aseptic food filling and packaging apparatus of the first embodiment 110 Introducing section 120 Preheating chamber 130 Pressure increasing chamber 140 Heat sterilization chamber 160 Decompression cooling section 170 Normal-pressure steam packaging section 180 Cooling section 200 Second embodiment Example of aseptic food filling and packaging equipment

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A23L 3/00-3/24 A23L 1/48

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A sterilizing unit for filling a solid food into a packaging container and sterilizing the solid food under pressurized steam, a reduced-pressure cooling unit for cooling the solid food, and a packaging container for storing the sterilized and cooled solid food. Having a packaging part sealed under a steam atmosphere ,
The entire interior of the device from the sterilizing section to the packaging section is under a steam atmosphere.
An aseptic food filling and packaging device characterized by concern . 2. The aseptic food filling and packaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inside of the packaging section is under a normal pressure steam atmosphere. 3. A sterilizing section for filling a solid food into a retainer and sterilizing the solid food under steam, a container filling section for transferring the sterilized solid food from the retainer to a packaging container under a steam atmosphere, and subsequently under a steam atmosphere. And a packaging section for sealing a packaging container containing the solid food , wherein the sterilizing section
An aseptic food filling and packaging apparatus characterized in that the entire inside of the apparatus from the packaging section to the packaging section is in a steam atmosphere . 4. A sterilizer for filling a solid food into a retainer and sterilizing the solid food under pressurized steam, a reduced pressure cooling unit for cooling the solid food, and a sterile and cooled solid food from the retainer under a steam atmosphere. a container filling section to move the packaging container, subsequently and a packaging unit for sealing the packaging container containing the said solid foods in a steam atmosphere, packaging from the sterilizing unit
A sterile food filling and packaging apparatus characterized in that the entire inside of the apparatus up to the section is made to have a steam atmosphere . 5. The aseptic food filling and packaging apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the inside of the container filling section and the inside of the packaging section are under a normal pressure steam atmosphere. 6. The aseptic food filling and packaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the packaging section includes a liquid food filling section for filling sterilized liquid food into a packaging container. .