JP3695476B2 - Aseptic filling and packaging apparatus and sterilization method for aseptic filling and packaging apparatus - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an aseptic filling and packaging apparatus in which a gaseous sterilizing agent is brought into contact with a packaging material to sterilize it, and then the sterilized packaging material is filled with contents. In particular, the present invention relates to a sterilization method for sterilizing the inside of the aseptic filling and packaging apparatus and the structure of the aseptic filling and packaging apparatus suitable for the sterilization.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A packaging form in which contents such as food and pharmaceuticals are packaged by a paper or plastic container, that is, a packaging material, is already widely known. In order to realize such a packaging form, a filling and packaging apparatus that automatically performs a series of processes such as molding of a packaging material, filling of contents, and sealing of the packaging material is already known. Also, in this type of filling and packaging apparatus, a so-called aseptic filling and packaging apparatus is known in which the packaging material before filling the contents is sterilized and the entire interior of the apparatus is maintained in a sterile or sterilized state. .
[0003]
Conventionally, in order to sterilize packaging materials and the like, sterilizing agents such as hydrogen peroxide (H ₂ O ₂ ) Is known to contact. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-200524 discloses a sterilization method in which the sterilizing agent is gasified and supplied to the surface of a packaging material or the like.
[0004]
On the other hand, regarding the aseptic filling and packaging apparatus, it is necessary not only to sterilize the packaging material but also to sterilize the inside of the aseptic filling and packaging apparatus itself. Conventionally, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-1199830, a gaseous sterilant is generated from a sterilizer gasifier installed in a chamber and filled in the chamber. A sterilization method of sterilizing is known.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the conventional aseptic filling and packaging apparatus, apart from the gaseous sterilizing agent spraying apparatus for sterilizing the packaging material, a gaseous sterilizing agent spraying apparatus for sterilizing the filling apparatus itself is provided separately. . Therefore, there has been a problem that the entire aseptic filling and packaging apparatus becomes large and complicated, and the manufacturing cost increases.
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide an aseptic filling and packaging apparatus capable of performing apparatus sterilization with a simple and inexpensive structure and a sterilization method therefor.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a method for sterilizing an aseptic filling and packaging apparatus according to the present invention includes: A packaging material conveying means for conveying the packaging material along the conveying path; a chamber surrounding the conveying path of the packaging material conveying means; and a partition for dividing the interior of the chamber into a plurality of rooms along the conveying path. In the sterilization method for an aseptic filling and packaging apparatus, the plurality of rooms include a sterilization stage including a sterilizing agent spray nozzle for spraying a gaseous sterilizing agent toward the packaging material conveyed by the packaging material conveying means, A content filling stage for filling the packaging material with the content; and a sealing stage for sealing the packaging material filled with the content, wherein the partition wall is at a position perpendicular to the conveying direction of the packaging material. And rotating between a position that separates adjacent ones of the plurality of rooms and a position that is parallel to the conveyance direction of the packaging material and that opens the plurality of rooms. Is movable, while sprayed with disinfectant inside the chamber using the disinfectant spray nozzle to sterilize the interior of the chamber and positioning said partition wall to said parallel position It is characterized by that.
[0008]
Interval Parallel wall When placed in the position, the inside of the chamber becomes one open space, so that the gaseous sterilizing agent sprayed from the sterilizing agent spray nozzle can be diffused quickly and widely into the chamber, and thus the sterilization of the apparatus can be performed in a short time. Can be executed reliably.
[0009]
In a general aseptic filling and packaging apparatus, in order to prevent germs from entering inside the chamber while filling and packaging work is being performed on the packaging material, a flow of sterile air is formed inside the chamber, The work of maintaining a positive pressure with respect to the outside is performed. In order to form a flow of aseptic air in the chamber in this way, the following elements, that is, an air introduction port for introducing aseptic air into the interior of the chamber, and a flow rate control arranged at the air introduction port. section A valve, an air exhaust port for exhausting air inside the chamber to the outside, and a flow rate adjusting valve disposed at the air exhaust port may be installed in the aseptic filling and packaging apparatus. In such an aseptic filling and packaging apparatus, it is desirable to close each of the above flow rate control valves while sterilizing the apparatus. In this way, it is possible to prevent the gaseous sterilizing agent sprayed into the chamber from the sterilizing agent spray nozzle from leaking to the outside, and perform efficient device sterilization.
[0010]
Further, when the apparatus sterilization is performed with the gaseous sterilizing agent sprayed from the sterilizing agent spray nozzle, it is desirable to stir the gaseous sterilizing agent sprayed from the sterilizing agent spray nozzle with the rotating blade during the apparatus sterilization. . Thereby, the gaseous disinfectant can be spread over every corner in the chamber.
[0011]
Aseptic filling and packaging apparatus according to the present invention provides a packaging material Along the transport path A packaging material conveying means for conveying; Said Packaging material transport means Transport path A chamber surrounding the Said Inside the chamber Along the transport path Bulkheads that sort into multiple rooms; Said An air inlet for introducing sterile air into the chamber; The Flow rate control at the air inlet section A valve, Said An air exhaust port for exhausting air inside the chamber to the outside; The In an aseptic filling and packaging apparatus having a flow control valve arranged at an air exhaust port, The plurality of rooms are Transported by packaging material transport means Said Disinfectant spray nozzle that sprays gaseous disinfectant towards packaging material Sterilization stage with When, A content filling stage for filling the packaging material with a content; and a sealing stage for sealing the packaging material filled with the content, The partition is at a position perpendicular to the direction of conveyance of the packaging material A position for separating adjacent ones of the plurality of rooms And a position parallel to the conveyance direction of the packaging material The position where the plurality of rooms are opened Can be swiveled between The chamber using the disinfectant spray nozzle Inside The chamber is sprayed with a disinfectant. of internal During the sterilization, the partition wall is set at the parallel position.
[0012]
With the above-described configuration relating to aseptic filling and packaging equipment, Wall By setting the position in the parallel direction, the apparatus can be sterilized using a sterilizing agent spray nozzle for sterilizing the packaging material.
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an aseptic filling and packaging apparatus according to the present invention. This aseptic filling and packaging apparatus includes an endless and annular conveying belt 3 that is stretched between a driving roller 1 and a driven roller 2, and a sealed chamber 4 that hermetically surrounds the conveying belt 3. The upper traveling portion of the conveyance belt 3 moves from the right side to the left side of the drawing from the driven roller 2 toward the driving roller 1, while the lower traveling portion of the conveyance belt 3 moves from the driving roller 1 toward the driven roller 2 in the drawing. Move from left to right. In this embodiment, the conveyance belt 3 constitutes a packaging material conveyance means, and the upper traveling portion of the conveyance belt 3 corresponds to a conveyance path for the packaging material.
[0014]
For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the transport belt 3 is formed by opening a plurality of openings 6 for storing packaging materials in a belt substrate 5. In the figure, two rows of openings 6 are continuously provided at a constant interval D with respect to the moving direction F of the conveyor belt 3. However, the number of rows of the openings 6 can be one, or three or more. Also, the interval D can be set freely. In this embodiment, a cup container 7 as shown in FIG. 8 is considered as a packaging material. The cup container 7 has an opening 26 at its upper end, and further has a flange 8 at its upper edge. After injecting the contents, for example, flowable food, into the cup container 7 through the container opening 26, the circular lid member 9 is heated and welded to the flange 8 to complete the product container containing the contents. In FIG. 9, the cup container 7 is inserted into the opening 6 from the bottom, and is supported by the conveyor belt 3 with the flange 8 hooked to the periphery of the opening 6.
[0015]
Returning to FIG. 1, the aseptic filling and packaging apparatus of the present embodiment includes a packaging material supply stage 10, a sterilization stage 11, a drying stage 12, a content filling stage 13, a sealing stage 14, and a product container take-out stage. 15. The sterilization stage 11 includes a sterilizing agent spray chamber 16 and a sterilizing agent gas chamber 17. Between the packaging material supply stage 10 and the disinfectant spray chamber 16, between the disinfectant spray chamber 16 and the disinfectant gas chamber 17, between the disinfectant gas chamber 17 and the drying stage 12, and the drying stage 12 and contents. A partition wall 18 is provided at each position between the filling stage 13 and the respective stages. By these partition walls 18, the inside of the sealed chamber 4 is sorted into a plurality of rooms.
[0016]
These partition walls 18 have a vertical position shown in FIG. 1 and a horizontal position shown in FIG. 5 around a support shaft 19 extending in a direction perpendicular to the drawing sheet. Ie parallel You can swivel between positions. The vertical position is a position where the partition wall 18 is substantially perpendicular to the transport direction of the cup container 7 by the transport belt 3. The horizontal position is a position where the partition wall 18 is substantially parallel to the transport direction of the cup container 7. The term “substantially” means that a case where it deviates from a perpendicular position or a parallel position to the extent that it is practically acceptable due to a manufacturing error or the like is included.
[0017]
The sealed chamber 4 in the packaging material supply stage 10 is provided with a replenishment opening 20 for refilling the cup container 7, an air exhaust port 21a, and an air exhaust port 21b. A flow rate adjustment valve 22 is provided in each of the air exhaust ports 21a and 21b. The sterilizing agent spraying chamber 16 has the following elements: a sterilizing agent spraying nozzle 23, a nozzle lifting / lowering device 24 for moving the nozzle 23 up and down, and a sterilizing agent spraying nozzle across the conveying belt 3 and therefore the conveying path of the packaging material. 23 has an air nozzle 25 disposed opposite to the air nozzle 23.
[0018]
For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the air nozzle 25 is formed in a substantially disk shape, and a number of fine ventilation holes 29 are formed on the upper surface thereof. In FIG. 1, a cooling air supply source 32 is connected to the air nozzle 25 via a blower pipe 31. The cooling air supply source 32 sends out low-temperature air to the blower pipe 31, and the sent-out low-temperature air is jetted to the outside through the vent holes 29 as indicated by broken line arrows A in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the jetted low temperature air is blown to the outside of the bottom of the cup container 7 to cool the cup container 7 from the outside.
[0019]
In the disinfectant spray chamber 16 of FIG. 2, a disc-shaped shielding cover 27 that covers the entire upper end opening 26 of the cup container 7 is provided at the tip of the disinfectant spray nozzle 23. Further, a ring-shaped protruding portion 28 that protrudes downward toward the cup container 7 is provided at the outer peripheral edge of the shielding cover 27. In FIG. 3, the sterilizing agent spray nozzle 23 is driven by the nozzle lifting device 24 to move up and down between a retracted position T indicated by a broken line and a spray position S indicated by a solid line. The nozzle lifting / lowering device 24 is configured by an arbitrary mechanism known per se.
[0020]
In FIG. 1, the sterilizing agent spray nozzle 23 is connected to a sterilizing agent gasifier 33 via a connecting pipe 51. As shown in FIG. 4, the bactericide gasifier 33 includes a gasification chamber 34 and a two-fluid nozzle 36 installed on the upper surface of the gasification chamber 34.
One input port of the two-fluid nozzle 36 has a hydrogen peroxide solution (H ₂ O ₂ ) Is connected to the other input port, and an air supply system 38 for supplying sterile air is connected to the other input port. A heater 52 is provided in each of the upper portion of the gasification chamber 34, the outer peripheral portion of the sterilizing agent spray nozzle 23, and the outer peripheral portion of the connecting pipe 51. A gasification heater 53 is provided at the bottom of the gasification chamber 34.
[0021]
The sterilizing agent supply system 37 includes a gas pipe 39 that conveys compressed air and a sterilizing agent, a manual valve 41 provided on the gas pipe 39, and a hydrogen peroxide solution H provided on the gas pipe 39. It has a sterilizing agent tank 42, a heater 45 for heating the gas pipe 39 and the sterilizing agent flowing therethrough, and a sterilizing agent side valve 43 provided on the gas pipe 39. The disinfectant side valve 43 opens and closes based on a command from the valve control device 44.
[0022]
The air supply system 38 includes a gas pipe 46 that conveys compressed air, an air side valve 47 provided on the gas pipe 46, an air sterilization filter 48 that sterilizes air flowing in the gas pipe 46, and a gas A pipe 46 and a heater 49 for heating the air flowing therethrough are provided. The air side valve 47 opens and closes based on a command from the valve control device 44.
[0023]
Returning to FIG. 1, a gas discharge pipe 54 and a heater 55 connected to a connecting pipe 51 extending from the sterilizing agent gasifier 33 are provided on the upper surface of the sterilizing agent gas chamber 17 disposed at the rear stage position of the sterilizing agent spraying chamber 16. Is provided. As shown in FIG. 2, a droplet tray 56 is provided at a position below the conveyor belt 3, and a vent hole 57 is provided at the bottom of the tray 56. In FIG. 1, an exhaust device 58 for exhausting the air in the gas chamber 17 to the outside is installed at the bottom of the sterilant gas chamber 17. A shutter 30 that can be opened and closed is installed at the inlet 17 a and the outlet 17 b of the sterilant gas chamber 17.
[0024]
The drying stage 12 is provided with a pair of air pipes 59 with the conveyor belt 3 interposed therebetween. These air pipes 59 are connected to a dry air supply source 61, and the air dried at a high temperature generated by the dry air supply source 61 goes up and down to the cup container 7 supported by the conveyor belt 3 through the air pipe 59. Sprayed from. An air exhaust port 21 c having a flow rate adjustment valve 22 is provided on the bottom surface of the sealed chamber 4 in the drying stage 12. In addition, the content filling stage 13 is provided with a content tank 62 that stores the content, for example, flowed food, and a filling nozzle 63 that hangs down from the content tank 62 is positioned above the conveyor belt 3. .
[0025]
In the sealing stage 14, a lid material conveying / sterilizing device 64 and a sealing / cutting device 65 are installed. The lid material transport / sterilizer 64 includes a lid material transport system from the lid material supply roll 66 to the lid material take-up roll 67, a bactericide bath 68 storing hydrogen peroxide H as a bactericide, and a sheet. And a lid material drying device 69 for drying the shaped lid material. The sealing / cutting device 65 moves forward and backward with respect to the conveyor belt 3, that is, moves up and down in the drawing, so that the circular lid member 9 having a size suitable for the opening of the cup container 7 from the sheet-like lid member (see FIG. 8), and at the same time, the punched lid member is heated, melted and fixed to the upper end flange 8 (see FIG. 8) of the cup container 7, that is, heat sealed.
[0026]
In FIG. 1, an opening 71 for container extraction is provided on the upper surface of the sealed chamber 4 in the product container extraction stage 15, and a container discharge device 72 is provided opposite the opening 71 with the conveyance belt 3 interposed therebetween. The container discharge device 72 is driven by a drive device (not shown) so as to move up and down. When the container discharge device 72 moves upward, the cup container 7 supported by the conveyor belt 3 is pushed upward and conveyed. The belt 3 is removed from the belt 3 and then discharged to the outside through the container outlet opening 71. A side of the sealed chamber 4 in the product container take-out stage 15 is provided with a sterile air introduction port 73 for setting the entire interior of the sealed chamber 4 to a sterile positive pressure state. A flow rate adjusting valve 22 is provided.
[0027]
The operation of the aseptic filling apparatus having the above configuration will be described below.
(Sterilization treatment inside filling and packaging equipment)
When performing the filling and packaging operation using the filling and packaging device of FIG. 1, it is necessary to sterilize the entire interior of the filling and packaging device so that the filling and packaging operation is performed under aseptic conditions. That is, it is necessary to perform so-called device sterilization. The apparatus sterilization is performed as follows, for example.
[0028]
First, as shown in FIG. 10, the flow rate control valve 22 in the sterile air introduction port 73 and the flow rate control valves 22 in the air exhaust ports 21a, 21b, and 21c are all set to an open state. In addition, the shutters 30 provided at the inlet 17a and the outlet 17b of the sterilant gas chamber 17 are set in an open state. Further, the container extraction opening 71 in the product container extraction stage 15 is shielded by the lid 75. In this state, high-temperature sterilized air is introduced into the sealed chamber 4 from the sterilized air introduction port 73, and at the same time, the dry air supply source 61 in the drying stage 12 is operated to enter the sealed chamber 4 from the air pipe 59. Introduce hot dry air. The high-temperature fluid thus introduced flows through the inside of the chamber 4 as indicated by an arrow in the drawing to heat the portion to a high temperature, and then is exhausted to the outside from the air exhaust ports 21a, 21b, 21c.
[0029]
When the inside of the chamber 4 is set to a predetermined high temperature state as described above, next, as shown in FIG. 5, the flow rate control valve 22 in the sterile air introduction port 73 and the air exhaust ports 21a, 21b, All the flow control valves 22 in 21c are set to a closed state. Further, the container extraction opening 71 is covered with a lid 75. In this state, the inside of the chamber 4 is hermetically sealed. Further, each partition wall 18 is turned from the vertical state in FIG. 10 to the horizontal state as shown in FIG. As a result, the inside of the chamber 4 is opened from the state divided into the stages into one space. Thereafter, gaseous hydrogen peroxide solution is sprayed from the sterilizing agent spray nozzle 23 in the sterilizing agent spraying chamber 16 to spread it to every corner of the chamber 4. At this time, in order to promote the flow of gaseous hydrogen peroxide solution, it is desirable to rotate the rotating blades 74 installed at appropriate positions in the chamber 4 to stir the gaseous hydrogen peroxide solution. In this way, the interior of the chamber 4 is completely sterilized by filling the entire interior of the chamber 4 with gaseous hydrogen peroxide.
[0030]
When the above apparatus sterilization process is completed, the flow rate control valve 22 in the sterile air inlet 73 and the flow rate control valves 22 in the air exhaust ports 21a, 21b, and 21c are set to the open state again as shown in FIG. Further, aseptic air is reintroduced from the air introduction port 73. Thus, an air flow is formed again in the chamber 4, and the gaseous hydrogen peroxide solution in the chamber 4 is removed by this air flow. Thus, the sterilization process in the chamber 4 is completed, and then the filling and packaging process of the contents for the cup container 7 is performed as follows. In the filling and packaging process, the sterilized air is introduced from the sterilized air introduction port 73 to form a flow of sterilized air as shown in FIG. Is executed. By maintaining this positive pressure state, various bacteria are prevented from entering the inside of the chamber 4 from the outside while the cup container 7 is being filled and packaged. Further, the partition wall 18 is returned to the vertical state.
[0031]
(Filling and packaging of contents)
In FIG. 1, the cup container 7 is supplied from the replenishment opening 20 in the packaging material supply stage 10. On the other hand, the conveyor belt 3 intermittently starts moving around. The cup containers 7 supplied from the replenishment opening 20 are inserted one by one into the opening 6 (see FIG. 9) of the transport belt 3 and are transported to the left in FIG. 1 as the transport belt 3 rotates. The transported cup container 7 is first transported into the sterilizing agent spray chamber 16 of the sterilization stage 11.
[0032]
While the cup container 7 is conveyed, the sterilizing agent gasifier 33 in the sterilizing stage 11 operates as follows. That is, in FIG. 4, the air side valve 47 in the air supply system 38 is always open, while the bactericide side valve 43 repeats opening and closing at predetermined time intervals. For example, the intermittent opening / closing operation of closing for 1 second and opening for 0.5 seconds is repeated. When the sterilizing agent side valve 43 is in the open state, hydrogen peroxide solution is ejected in droplet form from the two-fluid nozzle 36 into the gasification chamber 34, and the hydrogen peroxide solution evaporates on the gasification heater 53. The gasified hydrogen peroxide solution is carried on aseptic air fed from the air supply system 38, transported to the sterilizing agent spray nozzle 23 through the connecting pipe 51, and further sprayed to the outside from the nozzle 23. On the other hand, when the sterilizing agent side valve 43 is in a closed state, hydrogen peroxide water is not supplied from the sterilizing agent supply system 37 into the gasification chamber 34, and the gasification chamber 34 is supplied from the air supply system 38. Only sterile air is supplied. In this case, gaseous hydrogen peroxide remaining in the gasification chamber 34 is sprayed to the outside from the nozzle 23 on the supplied sterile air.
[0033]
As a result of the above operation, the hydrogen peroxide solution is supplied intermittently from the sterilizing agent supply system 37, but the sterilizing air supply from the air supply system 38 is continuously performed. The gasified hydrogen peroxide solution is continuously supplied to the nozzle, and therefore the gasified hydrogen peroxide solution is sprayed from the nozzle 23 at all times.
[0034]
During the above operation, the hydrogen peroxide solution is intermittently ejected from the two-fluid nozzle 36 into the gasification chamber 34 to evaporate the hydrogen peroxide solution on the gasification heater 53, and then When the ejection stops for a predetermined time, the surface temperature of the gasification heater 53 recovers to a predetermined high temperature during the stop time. If the hydrogen peroxide solution is continuously ejected into the gasification chamber, the surface temperature of the gasification heater 53 may be lowered and the hydrogen peroxide solution may not be sufficiently vaporized. According to the present embodiment in which water is intermittently ejected, there is no fear of such a temperature drop of the gasification heater 53. In addition, aseptic air is preliminarily heated by a heater 49 provided in the air supply system 38, and hydrogen peroxide solution is preliminarily heated by a heater 42 provided in the sterilizing agent supply system 37, whereby gasification is performed. Gasification of hydrogen peroxide water by the heater 53 can be promoted.
[0035]
Returning to FIG. 1, when the cup container 7 transported by the transport belt 3 is transported to a position below the disinfectant spray nozzle 23 and stopped there, the nozzle is driven by the nozzle lifting device 24 as shown in FIG. 3. 23 descends downward, and the peripheral edge projecting portion 28 of the shielding cover 27 at the tip is set at a position directly above the flange 8 of the cup container 7. Thereby, the opening 26 of the cup container 7 is covered with the shielding cover 27 with almost no gap. In this state, gaseous hydrogen peroxide solution is sprayed from the nozzle 23, so that the sprayed hydrogen peroxide solution is efficiently supplied to the inside of the cup container 7 without leaking to the outside by the action of the shielding cover 27. The The supplied gaseous hydrogen peroxide solution contacts and adheres to the inner surface of the cup container 7.
[0036]
As described above, while the gaseous hydrogen peroxide solution is supplied to the cup container 7, the low temperature air is discharged from the air nozzle 25 disposed at a position below the cup container 7, and the cup container 7 is discharged by the discharged low temperature air. Is cooled from the outside of the bottom and sides. In this way, by supplying the gaseous hydrogen peroxide solution to the cup container 7 and cooling the cup container 7 at the same time, the hydrogen peroxide solution in contact with the inner surface of the cup container 7 is efficiently obtained. It is condensed uniformly and adheres to the inner surface of the cup container 7 in a sufficient amount and evenly.
[0037]
In addition, the cooling method regarding the cup container 7 is not limited to the spraying process of the low temperature air, the low temperature cooling water is sprayed to the outside of the cup container, the packaging material is immersed in the cooling water, or the packaging material has an external shape. It is also possible to employ a method such as bringing the matched cooling plate into contact with the packaging material. Moreover, the air nozzle for spraying low temperature air on the outer surface of the packaging material is not limited to the nozzle having the shape as shown in FIG. 6, and a nozzle having any other structure can be used. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, an air nozzle can be configured by using a simple cylindrical nozzle 35.
[0038]
The cup container 7 with a uniform and sufficient amount of hydrogen peroxide solution attached to the inner surface is then transported by the transport belt 3 and sent to the sterilant gas chamber 17 in FIG.
The shutter 30 provided at the inlet 17a of the gas chamber 17 opens when the cup container 7 arrives, allows the cup container 7 to pass through, and closes after the cup container 7 has passed to seal the gas chamber 17 To do. The gas discharge pipe 54 provided on the upper surface of the gas chamber 17 has a plurality of small vents in the lower part thereof, and gaseous hydrogen peroxide solution is continuously discharged from these vents. The hydrogen peroxide solution thus filled is filled in the gas chamber 17. The heater 55 provided on the upper surface of the gas chamber 17 maintains, for example, the indoor temperature at about 122 ° C. to 150 ° C. so that the hydrogen peroxide solution can maintain the gas state. When the cup container 7 is sent to the inside of the gas chamber 17, hydrogen peroxide water sufficiently adheres to the outer peripheral side surface of the cup container 7 and the surface of the flange 8 while passing through the gas chamber 17.
[0039]
A vent 57 is provided below the conveyor belt 3, and when the air is drawn by the exhaust device 58, the air around the conveyor belt 3 is drawn downward through the vent 57. Thereby, gaseous hydrogen peroxide solution inside the gas chamber 17 is prevented from leaking to the adjacent sterilizing agent spray chamber 16 or the drying stage 12. Further, by forming an air flow in the vertical direction through the vent 57, it is possible to prevent heat dissipated from the heater 55 from staying in the upper portion of the gas chamber 17. A droplet receiving tray 56 provided at a position below the conveyor belt 3 is used for collecting droplets of the hydrogen peroxide solution condensed on the upper portion of the gas chamber 17.
[0040]
By passing through the disinfectant spray chamber 16, the hydrogen peroxide solution is evenly attached to the inner surface, and further through the gas chamber 17, the hydrogen peroxide solution is evenly attached to the outer surface of the cup container 7. Is then transported by the transport belt 3 and transported to the drying stage 12. At this time, the shutter 30 provided at the outlet 17 b of the gas chamber 17 is opened to allow the cup container 7 to pass therethrough.
[0041]
In FIG. 1, when the cup container 7 enters the drying stage 12, high-temperature dry air is blown to the cup container 7 from both the upper and lower directions by a pair of air pipes 59, whereby the inner surface and the outer surface of the cup container 7. The hydrogen peroxide solution adhering to the surface is activated to exhibit the desired sterilizing effect and sterilize the entire inner and outer surface of the cup container 7. Further, the hydrogen peroxide solution is removed from the cup container 7 by the dry air. The cup container 7 that has been sterilized as described above is transported to the content filling stage 13 by the transport belt 3. From the filling nozzle 63 in the content filling stage 13, the content, that is, the liquid food is discharged at a timing synchronized with the transport timing of the cup container 7, and the discharged content is stored inside the cup container 7. The The cup container 7 containing the contents is then transported to the sealing stage 14.
[0042]
In the sealing stage 14, the sheet-like lid material fed out from the lid material supply roll 66 is immersed in the liquid hydrogen peroxide solution H stored in the sterilizing agent bath 68 and sterilized. During the passage, it undergoes a drying process and is transported between the sealing / cutting device 65 and the cup container 7. The sealing / cutting device 65 punches the sheet-like lid material into a circular shape that matches the diameter of the opening of the cup container 7, and further melts the punched circular lid material 9 into the flange 8 as shown in FIG. Glue. In this way, the product container containing the contents is completed, but since all the steps so far are performed inside the aseptic chamber 4 maintained in a sterile state, the obtained product container is also in a sterile state. The completed product container is then transported to the product container take-out stage 15, removed from the conveyor belt 3 by the container discharge device 72, and further taken out through the take-out opening 71.
[0043]
(Other embodiments)
The present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the technical scope described in the claims. For example, the packaging material is not limited to the cup container 7 as shown in FIG. 8, and a rectangular tube shape, a cylindrical shape, and other arbitrary shapes can be used. Further, the bactericidal agent is not limited to aqueous hydrogen peroxide, and peracetic acid or a mixture of peracetic acid and hydrogen peroxide can be used.
[0044]
Moreover, the whole structure of the aseptic filling and packaging apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the structure shown in FIG. In short, it has a transport device for transporting packaging materials, and even a filling and packaging device with a structure in which various stages such as a sterilization stage and a content filling stage are installed in order along the transport path of the packaging material. If so, the specific structure is arbitrary. For example, the packaging material conveying device can be constituted by a disk-shaped turntable, not by using an annular belt as shown in FIG.
In such an apparatus, a plurality of packaging materials are circularly moved in a horizontal plane by a turntable, and a packaging material supply stage, a sterilization stage, a drying stage, a content filling stage, a sealing stage, Various stages such as a product container take-out stage are arranged in a ring-like arrangement form.
[0045]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention Sterilization method for aseptic filling and packaging equipment and Nothing According to the fungus filling and packaging apparatus, since the bactericidal spray nozzle for sterilizing the packaging material and the bactericide spray nozzle for sterilizing the filling and packaging apparatus are combined, a dedicated bactericidal spray nozzle for sterilizing the apparatus is used. Compared with the case where it provides, apparatus sterilization can be performed by a simple and cheap structure. Further, since only one germicidal spray nozzle is required, maintenance work is very easy.
[0046]
Also, Since the inside of the chamber of the filling and packaging apparatus can be made into one open space, the apparatus can be sufficiently sterilized using a sterilizing agent spray nozzle for sterilizing the packaging material.
[0047]
According to the present invention having a configuration in which flow control valves are provided at the air inlet and the air outlet. According to the sterilization method for an aseptic filling and packaging apparatus, aseptic air is introduced into the chamber and the packaging material is filled and packaged while the apparatus is maintained in an aseptic condition. If The apparatus can be sufficiently sterilized using a disinfectant spray nozzle for sterilization of packaging materials.
[0048]
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a front sectional view showing an example of an aseptic filling and packaging apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a main part of the aseptic filling and packaging apparatus, particularly a sterilization processing part for a packaging material.
3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a part of FIG.
4 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of an essential part of the aseptic filling and packaging apparatus shown in FIG. 1, particularly an apparatus for gasifying a sterilizing agent.
5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state when the entire inside of the aseptic filling and packaging apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is sterilized.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an example of an air nozzle that emits a low-temperature gas to cool the packaging material.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing another example of an air nozzle that discharges a low-temperature gas to cool the packaging material.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing an example of a packaging material.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an example of a conveying means for packaging material.
10 is a diagram schematically showing the flow of aseptic air for maintaining the inside of the aseptic positive pressure state in the aseptic filling and packaging apparatus shown in FIG. 1;
[Explanation of symbols]
3 Packaging material conveyor belt
4 Sealed chamber
5 Belt substrate
6 Opening for supporting packaging materials
7 Cup container (packaging material)
8 Flange
9 Lid
10 Packaging material supply stage
11 Sterilization stage
12 Drying stage
13 Content filling stage
14 Sealing stage
15 Product container removal stage
16 Disinfectant spray chamber
17 Disinfectant gas chamber
17a entrance
17b Exit
18 Bulkhead
19 Spindle
21a, 21b, 21c Air exhaust port
23 Disinfectant spray nozzle
24 Nozzle lifting device
25 Air nozzle
26 Container opening
27 Shielding cover
28 Overhang part
29 Vent hole
30 shutters
31 Air duct
32 Cooling air supply source
33 Disinfectant gasifier
34 Gasification chamber
35 Air nozzle
36 Two-fluid nozzle
37 Disinfectant supply system
38 Air supply system
45 Heater
48 Air sanitization filter
49 Heater
51 Connecting pipe
52 Heater
53 Gasification heater
54 Gas discharge pipe
55 Heater
58 Exhaust system
61 Dry air supply source
63 Content filling nozzle
64 Cover material transfer / sterilization equipment
65 Sealing / cutting device
71 Container removal opening
72 Container discharge device
73 Aseptic air inlet
78, 81, 82 Container (packaging material)
87,97 Shield cover
H Hydrogen peroxide solution

Claims (5)

Packaging material conveying means for conveying the packaging material along the conveying path ;
A chamber surrounding the transport path of the packaging material conveying means,
A partition for sorting the interior of the chamber into a plurality of rooms along the transport path ;
In a sterilization method for an aseptic filling and packaging apparatus having
Wherein the plurality of rooms, the contents to be filled and sterilized stage having a fungicide spray nozzle for spraying a gaseous disinfectant toward the packaging material to be conveyed, the contents to the packaging material by the packaging material conveying means A filling stage and a sealing stage for sealing the packaging material filled with the contents,
The partition wall includes a position for dividing those adjacent of the plurality of chambers to a perpendicular position with respect to the transport direction of the packaging material, a position parallel to the transport direction of the packaging material It is possible to swivel between the position where the plurality of rooms are opened ,
Sterilization of an aseptic filling and packaging apparatus, wherein the partition is positioned in the parallel position while the inside of the chamber is sterilized by spraying the inside of the chamber using the sterilizing agent spray nozzle. Method. In the sterilization method for aseptic filling and packaging apparatus according to claim 1,
The aseptic filling and packaging apparatus further exhausts the air introducing port for introducing sterile air into the chamber, and the flow rate regulatory valve disposed in the air inlet, the air inside the chamber to the outside an air outlet for, has a flow control valve disposed in the air outlet,
While the inside of the chamber is sterilized, each of the flow rate control valves is closed. According to claim 1 or claim sterilization method of aseptic filling and packaging apparatus of claim 2, wherein, during the sterilizing an interior of said chamber, and wherein the stirring by rotating blades gaseous sterilizing agent is sprayed from the disinfectant spray nozzle A method for sterilizing an aseptic filling and packaging apparatus. Packaging material conveying means for conveying the packaging material along the conveying path ;
A chamber surrounding the transport path of the packaging material conveying means,
A partition for sorting the interior of the chamber into a plurality of rooms along the transport path ;
An air inlet for introducing sterile air in the interior of said chamber,
And a flow rate regulatory valve disposed in the air inlet port,
An air exhaust port for exhausting the air inside of the chamber to the outside,
In an aseptic filling and packaging apparatus having a flow control valve disposed at the air exhaust port,
Wherein the plurality of rooms, the contents to be filled and sterilized stage having a fungicide spray nozzle for spraying a gaseous disinfectant toward the packaging material to be conveyed, the contents to the packaging material by the packaging material conveying means A filling stage and a sealing stage for sealing the packaging material filled with the contents,
The partition wall includes a position for dividing those adjacent of the plurality of chambers to a perpendicular position with respect to the transport direction of the packaging material, a position parallel to the transport direction of the packaging material It is possible to swivel between the position where the plurality of rooms are opened ,
Aseptic filling, characterized in that the partition is positioned in the parallel position while the inside of the chamber is sterilized by spraying the inside of the chamber using the sterilizing agent spray nozzle. Packaging equipment. 5. The aseptic filling and packaging apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a flow control valve disposed at the air introduction port while the inside of the chamber is sterilized by spraying the inside of the chamber using the sterilizing agent spray nozzle, and The flow control valve arranged at the air exhaust port is closed. Aseptic filling and packaging equipment.

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