JP3354700B2 - Aseptic filling system - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a variety of containers,
The present invention relates to an aseptic filling system in which a filling liquid is filled in a sterile room or a sterile room and a lid is filled.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A general conventional example of a filling apparatus including a filling machine and a cap cap winding machine will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2, 1 is a supply conveyor for containers and the like, 2 is a conveying screw, 3
Is an inlet starwheel, 4 is a rotary filling machine, 5 is a transfer conveyor, 6 and 7 are cap capping machines, 8 is a discharge starwheel, and 9 is a discharge conveyor. In such a filling device, the container A is supplied by the supply conveyor 1, timed by the transport screw 2, sent to the filling machine 4 via the inlet starwheel 3, where the filling liquid such as juice and cola is filled, Next, the paper is sent to the cap cap winding machines 6 and 7 via the transfer conveyor 5, where the cap is wound and then discharged from the discharge conveyor 9 via the discharge star wheel 8.

Next, a conventional example of an aseptic filling apparatus performed in a sterile room (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-167031) will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 10 denotes a sterile room, B denotes a container which is sterilized and a cap is temporarily provided with a lid S, C denotes an outer box, and the container B is placed on a conveyor 13 by a take-out device 11. The containers B on the conveyor 13 are arranged in a line by appropriate means and sent into the aseptic chamber 10, where the outer surfaces of the containers are sterilized. This container outer surface sterilization is performed, for example, by using chlorine water spraying device 14.
By spraying on the outer surface of the container. From the entrance of the container B where the outer surface sterilization has been completed, the lid S
Removed by Next, the container B is sent directly below the filling nozzle 17 of the filling tank 16 for the filling liquid, and a predetermined amount of the filling liquid is filled in the container B. Thereafter, the cap S is attached to the entrance of the container B by the cap cap winding machine 18. The cover S removed by the cap removing machine 15 is sent to the cap cap winding machine 18 by appropriate means, and the cover is reused.

[0004]

In the conventional filling apparatus as described above, apart from the case where the apparatus is a dedicated machine, it is generally used by switching to another type of container within a certain range. Have been able to. In this case, it was necessary to replace the parts of the filling machine and the cap capping machine with parts suitable for the container to be switched, and for this purpose, the filling apparatus had to be stopped and this setup change operation had to be performed. However, the frequency of switching has increased with the rapid increase in types of filling liquid and types of containers as in recent years. Recently, aseptic filling, which is performed by installing a filling device in a sterile room as described above, has been widely performed from the viewpoint of hygiene. For this reason, the following problems have arisen. 1) It is difficult to keep the aseptic condition in the sterile room during the setup change operation by stopping the filling device and during the same time (similar to the time of repair), it is necessary to check the disinfection time after the operation, and the operation of the device There was a drawback that the rate decreased. 2) When two devices are arranged side by side, it is dangerous to perform a setup change operation for another device on the side of the device that is performing the production operation.
The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems in the conventional aseptic filling system, and can easily replace parts without lowering the operation rate of the line. It is intended to provide a sterile filling system.

[0005]

Therefore, according to the present invention, two sets of aseptic filling devices are arranged in parallel in a sterile room or a sterilizing room, and the two aseptic filling devices are separated by a partition wall. A supply conveyor for containers having a branch point from each of the aseptic devices on the upstream side of the device, and a discharge conveyor having a confluence point from each of the aseptic room filling devices on the downstream side, each of which is disposed outside the sterile room, This is a means for solving the problem. Further, the present invention comprises means for monitoring each of the aseptic filling devices on the partition wall portion, which is used as means for solving the problems.

[0006]

According to the present invention, the container is conveyed by a supply conveyor provided on the upstream side in a normal aseptic filling operation by the above means, and is supplied toward the filling device in the aseptic room operated at the branch point. Containers filled and capped in the sterile room are sent out of the sterile room by a discharge conveyor,
At the merging point, they are placed on a discharge conveyor and transported to a predetermined position. If it is necessary to switch the type of container, while one of the filling devices arranged side by side is in operation, a setup change operation is performed using another filling device different from that device. And switch it at the required time. Container supply conveyor shares the same one as before the setup change work,
The branching point is switched and supplied to the filling device whose setup has been completed. Further, the filled container can be transferred to the same discharge conveyor 27 as before the setup change operation at the merging point and transported to a fixed position. In this way, the setup change operation can be performed irrespective of the filling device in operation, including the disinfection operation, in addition to the component replacement operation. In addition, the capacities of the two sets of aseptic filling devices may be any difference even if there is a difference in consideration of a difference in the production amount depending on the type of the container.

[0007]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 2
0 is a sterile room, 21 is a partition wall, 22 is a control monitoring room provided in the partition, 23 and 24 are a filling machine and a cap capping machine arranged in parallel in each room of the sterile room 20, and 25 is an upstream. A discharge conveyor provided on the side (left side in the figure), 26 is a branch point of the supply conveyor 25, 27 is a discharge conveyor provided on the downstream side, 28 is a confluence point of the discharge conveyor 27, and is attached to the aseptic filling device. The hat remover, the aligning device, the disinfecting device and the like are not shown. 29 is a sterile room 2
The aseptic air shower room provided at the entrance to the No. 0 prevents humans from bringing in germs. 30 is a sterile air shower room 29
Reference numeral 31 denotes an entrance door of the control monitoring room 22, and 32 denotes a partition wall door. The partition walls of the partition wall 21 and the control monitoring room 22 are made of transparent glass so that the state of the next room can be easily checked by visual observation.

Next, the operation of the aseptic filling system having the above configuration will be described. The inside of the aseptic chamber 20 is pressurized with aseptic air, so that dirty air outside the room does not enter through the opening or the like of the container. The containers are conveyed by the supply conveyor 25, the path is determined by the branch point 26, and supplied to one of the filling devices 23. Then, external surface disinfection, liquid filling, and cap cap tightening are performed in the same manner as in the conventional example.
It is sent out and is conveyed to a fixed position by the discharge conveyor 27 via the merging point 28. If it is necessary to change the liquid type or container, perform the necessary setup change using the other filling device while one filling device is operating, and branch at the scheduled switching time. The point 26 and the merging point 28 are switched to supply and change the container to the prepared filling device. Further, the aseptic air shower room 29 can be appropriately installed according to the factory layout. The door 31 is an entrance from each room to the control and monitoring room 22, and when a trouble occurs during the setup change work in another room, the door 31 is used.
Alternatively, the door 32 provided on the partition wall 21 can be used to rush to another room for treatment.

[0009]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, the container feeding conveyor and the discharging conveyor upstream and downstream of the aseptic chamber are shared by the two filling devices arranged side by side, and the setup change operation is performed on one side. Since the operation can be performed while the filling device is operating, the operation rate of the line is improved. Moreover, the setup change operation is performed in a room different from the operating filling device, so that it is safe. In addition, since the integrated sterile room is partitioned by a partition wall to form two sterile rooms, the manufacturing cost of the sterile room can be reduced, and the supply and discharge conveyors for the containers can be shared, so the aseptic filling system occupies. Space can be reduced. In addition, since the operation status of the filling device in the other room can be monitored while the setup change operation is performed in one room, and both the sterile rooms can be monitored from the control monitoring room, the operation can be performed with a small number of personnel. In addition, even if you perform the setup change work,
It does not affect the sterility of the sterile room operating in another room.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an easy-to-change aseptic filling system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a layout of a conventional filling machine and a cap cap winding machine.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a conventional aseptic filling device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 20 sterile room 21 partition wall 22 control monitoring room 23 filling machine (sterile filling device) 24 cap capping machine (sterile filling device) 25 supply conveyor 26 branch point 27 discharge conveyor 28 junction point 29 aseptic air shower room 30, 31 entrance Door 32 door

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-1-167701 (JP, A) JP 2-8585 (JP, Y2) JP-B-46-14982 (JP, B1) (58) Field (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65B 3/00 B65B 55/04-55/19

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. An aseptic filling device, comprising two sets of aseptic filling devices arranged side by side in a sterile room or a sterilization room, and a partition wall between the two aseptic filling devices, and the aseptic filling devices upstream of the aseptic filling device. A supply conveyor for containers having a branch point to the container, and a discharge conveyor for containers having a merging point from each of the aseptic filling devices on the downstream side, respectively, outside the aseptic room. 2. The aseptic filling system according to claim 1, further comprising means for monitoring each of said aseptic filling devices on said partition wall.