JP3979267B2 - Sterilizer for bottled beverages - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for producing a bottled beverage in which a tea beverage or a soft drink is enclosed in a resin container, and particularly relates to a bottled beverage sterilization apparatus capable of performing sterilization treatment effectively and efficiently. is there.
[0002]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Recently, a plastic container (hereinafter referred to as a bottle) made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) is filled with a beverage such as tea beverage or soft drink, and the bottle mouth is sealed with a cap made of polypropylene or the like. Beverages are widespread. In the production thereof, it is essential to sterilize the inner surfaces of the bottle and the cap in order to prevent the decay of the beverage liquid and the propagation of germs, and one of the techniques is a technique called a hot pack. In this method, as shown in FIG. 6A, a bottle B is filled with a beverage liquid L at a high temperature of about 70 to 85 ° C., and the inner surface of the bottle B is sterilized by the heat. Furthermore, in order to sterilize the space formed on the upper part of the bottle B and the inner surface of the cap C, as shown in FIG. 6B, the bottle B is tilted so that the hot beverage liquid L is brought into contact with these portions, so-called tumbling sterilization. The method called is adopted. Then, after sterilization by overturning, it is also essential to sterilize the contact portion between the inner surface of the cap C and the outer surface of the bottle neck BN, that is, the screwed portion of the screw formed on both. The pasterizer sterilization which passes through the pasterizer P as shown in FIG.
[0003]
And as the apparatus for performing the overturn sterilization, the overturn sterilization apparatus is used. By arranging the overturn sterilization apparatus and the path riser P in series, the two types of sterilization techniques can be continuously performed. To be implemented.
However, since the contact portion between the inner surface of the cap C and the outer surface of the bottle neck BN becomes a resin layer having a thickness of several millimeters, it takes time until heat sufficient for sterilization is conducted to this portion. As a result, pasteurizer sterilization, which is the second sterilization process, takes a long time.
[0004]
[Technical problem to be solved]
The present invention has been made in view of such a background, and particularly in the manufacture of bottled beverages, it is effective to sterilize the contact portion between the cap inner surface and the bottle and the contact portion between the cap inner surface and the bottle neck outer surface. The development of a new bottled beverage sterilization apparatus that can be performed efficiently and efficiently was a technical issue.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
That is, in the bottled beverage sterilizing apparatus according to claim 1, after filling the heated beverage liquid inside, the bottle whose mouth is sealed with the cap is received in the conveying device in an upright state. The apparatus in which the beverage liquid is brought into contact with the portion of the inner surface of the cap and the inner surface of the bottle that is not in contact with the beverage liquid in an upright state by tilting the bottle in the process of conveying The bottle in the transport device is provided with a hot water ejector in a region where the bottle is in a fall state, and the nozzle is positioned outside the cap attached to the bottle in the fall state, and hot water is blown from this nozzle to cap the bottle. and it is intended to be configured to perform heat sterilization of the contact portion of a bottle, the nozzle, in the axial direction of the bottle The nozzle head is provided with a variable fixed position, and the transport device is configured such that the forward slat is positioned above the return slat and covers the return slat. It is characterized in that a nozzle head moving mechanism is provided on the arranged base .
According to this invention, since heat is transmitted from the hot water sprayed from the outside of the cap to the cap, in addition to the heat transmitted from the beverage contained in the bottle, the heat is hardly released from the cap to the outside. In addition, the sterilization of the portion of the inner surface of the cap and the inner surface of the bottle that was not in contact with the beverage liquid in an upright state is effectively and efficiently performed. In addition, since the cap and the bottle neck can be sent to the next process while being kept at a high temperature, sterilization in the next process using a pasterizer or the like can be performed effectively and efficiently.
Furthermore, bottles of different dimensions can be processed with the same device.
Furthermore, since the base placed so as to cover the slats on the return path can be used as an installation space for various members, particularly the movement mechanism of the nozzle head, the width of the transport device can be set short, and the device can be downsized. Can be planned.
[0006]
In addition to the above requirements, the sterilizing apparatus for bottled beverages according to claim 2 is characterized in that the nozzle is located in a space between the conveying surface of the conveying device and the bottle neck of the bottle located on the conveying surface. It is characterized by having a flat shape so that
According to the present invention, even when handling a bottle whose bottle opening is positioned on the transport surface of the transport device, the nozzle can be positioned in a state where the nozzle has entered between the transport surface and the cap. Therefore, it is possible to spray hot water not only on the bottle neck and cap but also around the bottle shoulder, and sterilization can be performed more effectively.
The problems described above can be solved by the inventions described in the claims.
[0007]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the “sterilization device for bottled beverages” of the present invention will be specifically described. First, the overturning sterilization device D, which is a sterilization device for bottled beverages, will be described, and then the bottled beverage will be combined with the operation mode of this device. The sterilization method will be described.
The overturning sterilizer D comprises the transport device 1 on the machine frame F, receives the bottled beverage B in an upright state, and then transports the bottled beverage B in an overturned state. It is an apparatus for sterilizing the inner surface of B0 and then returning the bottled beverage B to an upright state and sending it to the next process. The conveying device 1 is located in a housing 2 provided on the machine frame F. Further, the overturning sterilizer D includes a receiving mechanism 3 that receives the bottom of the bottled beverage B being conveyed, and further includes a hot water ejector 5 that blows hot water onto the cap C.
[0008]
Hereinafter, each element constituting the overturning sterilizer D will be described in detail.
First, the conveying device 1 will be described. This device comprises a slat 11 that moves along a rail 10 laid on a machine frame F. As shown in FIGS. The bottled beverage B is held between the slats 11. The slat 11 is wound around a drive pulley 12 and a driven pulley 13 provided at both ends of the machine frame F, and is driven using a motor M1 as a power source. The slats 11 are set so that the rails 10 are laid in a twisted state so that the both ends of the rails 10 are substantially vertical and the section between them is substantially horizontal.
The forward of the slat 11 on the left side in FIG. 3, is configured to be positioned above the right-hand return of the slat 11.
[0009]
Next, the seating mechanism 3 will be described. This is a slat conveyor attached only to the forward path of the transport device 1, and the transport surface is set to be orthogonal to the transport surface of the transport device 1. is there. Specifically, the bottom portion of the bottled beverage B is received by the individual slats 31. For this reason, the slats 31 in the receiving mechanism 3 are slats 11 in the transport device 1 as shown in FIGS. The rail 30 is laid in a twisted state in the same manner as the transport device 1 so that this state is always maintained, and is synchronized with the transport device 1 and driven. is there.
[0010]
Next, the hot water jetting device 5 will be described. In this case, as an example, a slide base 51 is arranged on a base 50 arranged so as to cover the return path of the transfer device 1, and a rod of a cylinder 52 is placed on the slide base 51. 53 is slidably supported, and a nozzle head 54 is provided at the tip of the rod 53. By adopting such a configuration, the nozzle 55 provided in the nozzle head 54 can move in parallel and face the cap C of the bottled beverage B that has fallen on the slat 11 in the transport device 1. To do. The nozzle 55 is connected with an appropriate hot water supply device, from which hot water is ejected.
[0011]
In this embodiment, the four hot water ejectors 5 are provided in a region where the slats 11 in the transport device 1 are in a horizontal state. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, two flat nozzles 55 having a large number of ejection holes 56 are provided so as to sandwich the cap C from above and below. Further, in this embodiment, the nozzle 55 can be positioned in a space between the forward slat 11 which is the conveyance surface of the conveyance device 1 and the bottle neck BN of the bottle B0 located on the slat 11. Since the bottle mouth BM is located on the slat 11, the nozzle 55 may be located between the slat 11 and the cap C. it can.
[0012]
Further, as the nozzle 55, as shown in FIG. 4, it is possible to adopt a shape that is curved in a side view so as to be adapted to the shape of the cap C and that individually sterilizes each bottled beverage B. Of course, when this type of nozzle 55 is employed, although not shown in the figure, a configuration is required in which the slide base 51 is movable within a certain range in the moving direction of the slats 11. Then, the cap C is positioned between the upper and lower nozzles 55 by the advancement of the rod 53. In this state, the cap C is sterilized with warm water while moving the slide base 51 within a certain range at the same speed 3 as the slat 11. It is.
[0013]
The overturning sterilization apparatus D, which is a sterilization apparatus for bottled beverages according to the present invention, is configured as described above as an example. Next, the pasteurizer P that is a sterilization apparatus used in combination with the overturning sterilization apparatus D will be described.
As shown in FIG. 5, the path riser P is provided with a hot water shower 8 and a cold water shower 9 above a conveyor 7 disposed in a casing 6, and bottles on the conveyor 7 are sprayed from the shower. It is an apparatus for performing heat sterilization of the stuffed beverage B and subsequent cooling.
[0014]
Hereinafter, the “sterilization method for bottled beverages” using the overturning sterilization device D and the pasteurizer P, which are “sterilization devices for bottled beverages” of the present invention, will be described.
First, as shown in FIG. 6, the bottled beverage B is a bottle mouth formed by filling a bottle B0 mainly made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) with a beverage L such as a tea beverage or a soft drink, and forming a bottle neck BN. BM is sealed with a cap C made of polypropylene or the like. In addition, as a raw material of the bottle B0 and the cap C, other synthetic resins based on the food hygiene law, metals, such as aluminum and steel, can be used.
[0015]
Then, the bottled beverage B is obtained by an appropriate filling device and fastening device (not shown). At this time, when the beverage liquid L is filled in the bottle B0, a technique called a hot pack is adopted. In other words, the bottle B0 is filled with the beverage liquid L having a high temperature of about 70 to 85 ° C., and the inner surface of the bottle B0 is sterilized by the heat. The bottle mouth BM is sealed with a cap C to obtain a bottled beverage B. When the bottle B0 inner surface is sterilized after completion for an appropriate period of time, the bottled beverage B is fed into the overturning sterilizer D by an appropriate conveyor device. .
[0016]
The bottled beverage B charged into the overturning sterilizer D is transported by the slats 11 that are substantially upright at the transport start end of the transport device 1 in the overturning sterilizer D, and eventually, due to the tilt of the slats 11 as it progresses. It becomes almost horizontal, that is, falls. At this time, the beverage liquid L comes into contact with the space portion formed in the upper portion of the bottle B0 and the inner surface of the cap C in an upright state, and these portions are sterilized. In this embodiment, the length of the transport device 1 is set to 15 m as an example and the traveling speed of the slat 11 is set to 50 cm / s so that the overturned state of the bottled beverage B is maintained for about 30 seconds.
[0017]
In the region where such a bottled beverage B is in a fall state (in this embodiment, a range of about 12 m), four hot water sprayers 5 are provided as an example, and a cap attached to the bottle B0. The nozzle 55 is positioned outside C, and hot water (70 to 85 ° C.) is sprayed from the nozzle 55 to sterilize the contact portion between the cap C and the bottle neck BN. Further, it is desirable to spray the hot water over the entire side periphery of the cap C.
By spraying such hot water, heat is transmitted uniformly to the cap C from the hot water sprayed from the outside of the cap C in addition to the heat transmitted from the beverage L filled in the bottle B0. There is almost no release of heat to the outside, and the sterilization of the portion of the inner surface of the cap C and the inner surface of the bottle B0 that is not in contact with the beverage liquid in an upright state is effectively and efficiently performed.
[0018]
The nozzle 55 is provided in the nozzle head 54 in which the setting position in the axial direction of the bottled beverage B that has fallen on the slat 11 is variable by the cylinder 52. As shown, it can accommodate bottles B0 having different dimensions.
[0019]
And as mentioned above, after the state in which the hot water is sprayed on the cap C while the bottled beverage B is sterilized by overturning is maintained over a section of more than a dozen meters, the bottled beverage B becomes almost upright again near the end of conveyance. From here, it is sent to the path riser P. In this embodiment, the hot water is jetted over almost the entire region in which the bottled beverage B falls over, but the hot water is jetted only in a part of this region. Good. Moreover, you may make it vary the temperature of the liquid ejected from each warm water ejector 5, ejection pressure, the kind of liquid, etc. FIG.
[0020]
The past riser P is mainly intended to sterilize the contact portion (screwed portion) between the inner surface of the cap C and the outer surface of the bottle neck BN. Since the portion of C and the bottle neck BN can be sent to the path riser P while being kept at a high temperature, sterilization by the path riser P can be performed effectively and efficiently.
[0021]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, in the production of the bottled beverage B, the contact portion between the inner surface of the cap C and the bottle B0 and the contact portion between the inner surface of the cap C and the outer surface of the bottle neck BN can be effectively and efficiently performed. .
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a overturn sterilization apparatus as a sterilization apparatus for bottled beverages according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view and a front view of the same.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a transfer device.
FIG. 4 is a front view showing nozzles having different forms.
FIG. 5 is a front view showing a path riser.
FIG. 6 is a front view showing an upright state and a fall state of a bottled beverage.
[Explanation of symbols]
D Overturning sterilizer F Machine frame 1 Transport device 10 Rail 11 Slat 12 Drive pulley 13 Driven pulley M1 Motor 2 Housing 3 Seating mechanism 30 Rail 31 Slat M3 Motor 5 Hot water ejector 50 Base 51 Slide base 52 Cylinder 53 Rod 54 Nozzle head 55 Nozzle 56 Ejection hole P Pastoriser 6 Case 7 Conveyor 8 Hot water shower 9 Cold water shower B Bottled beverage B0 Bottle BM Bottle mouth BN Bottle neck C Cap L Drink liquid

Claims (2)

After filling the heated beverage liquid inside, the bottle with the bottle mouth sealed by the cap is received in an upright state in the transport device, and then the bottle is tilted in the process of transporting the bottle by the transport device. In the device in which the beverage liquid is brought into contact with the portion of the inner surface of the cap and the inner surface of the bottle that is not in contact with the beverage liquid in an upright state, It is equipped with a hot water sprayer, and the nozzle is positioned outside the cap attached to the bottle in the fall state, and the hot water is blown from this nozzle to heat and sterilize the contact part between the cap and the bottle. The nozzle is provided in a nozzle head whose set position in the axial direction of the bottle is variable, Conveying apparatus, the forward path of the slats, which are configured to be located above the return path of the slat, and, equipped with the moving mechanism of the nozzle head on the base which arranged so as to cover the return of the slats A sterilizer for bottled beverages characterized by the above. The nozzle includes a conveyance surface of the conveyor device, the bottle according to claim 1, characterized in that a flat to be able to position the space between the bottle neck of the bottle positioned on the conveying surface Sterilizer for stuffed beverages.

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