JP4242886B2 - Balance tank drought elimination device for beverage sterilization piping system and drought elimination method using the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a balance tank drought elimination apparatus of a beverage blending sterilization piping system such as milk, soft drinks, yogurt and the like, and a drought elimination method using the same.

  Beverage sterilization piping systems such as this kind of milk, soft drinks, yogurt, etc. are arranged from a plurality of storage tanks that can be switched to each other or sequentially to reach a sterilizer via a balance tank, For example, in the case of milk, the balance tank is passed through a UHT plate sterilizer and then reaches a filling machine via a surge tank to fill individual containers. At this time, the storage tank and the balance tank are filled. Between them, a liquid feed pump, for example, generally a Hughal pump, is arranged, sucking milk from the storage tank and feeding it to the balance tank, temporarily storing it in the balance tank, and then A liquid pump between the balance tank and the sterilizer is also fed to the sterilizer, and in the vicinity of the storage tank. An automatic valve and a switching sensor are installed, and when the storage tank is depleted and the storage tank is emptied and the supply is stopped, the switching sensor detects this, and the detection signal detects other storage tanks. The liquid feeding is started.

June 15, 2004 Kogyo Co., Ltd. Published by Ito Satoshi Dairy Product Manufacturing pp. 258-259

  The beverage sterilization piping system configured in this way includes milk from the storage tank after the liquid pump is switched due to the air biting that may occur in the liquid pump, particularly when the storage tank is switched. As a result, the feeding of milk to the balance tank stops and the balance tank may be drought. If the balance tank is drowned, the sterilization temperature of the sterilizer is lowered. As a result of the operation of the deversion valve, the re-cleaning of the sterilizer and the hot water sterilization work are required, which greatly impedes the production efficiency. For this reason, a liquid level sensor is generally attached to the balance tank, and if an operator receives a drought warning linked to the sensor or if there is an abnormality by monitoring the liquid level sensor, it will be placed either before or after the liquid feed pump. In general, a system is adopted in which an air blow is performed by opening and closing an installed blow valve to prevent drought of the balance tank. In this case, an operator uses the drought warning or a liquid level sensor. In addition to the operator's normal work, in addition to the normal work of the worker, the operation of the blow valve and the liquid feed caused by this may be overlooked. The need for confirmation of normalization complicates work, and improvements are required.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and the problem to be solved is to make it as simple and reliable as possible to stop the liquid feed that may occur in association with the switching of the storage tank and the drought of the balance tank. It is an object of the present invention to provide a balance tank drought elimination apparatus for a beverage blending sterilization piping system and a drought elimination method using the same.

  The cause of the incompatibility of air in the pump for liquid feeding and the inability to suck the beverage due to this is because there is a time difference in switching the storage tank, so the storage tank after switching after the air enters the piping system from the storage tank before switching As a result, the supply of beverage from the storage tank causes an air pool between the beverages supplied from both storage tanks, and the air pool reaches the pump for feeding the liquid, causing the pump to idle and hindering the feeding of the beverage. This tendency is particularly noticeable when there is a relatively large difference in the piping system, such as when storage tanks and balance tanks are placed on different floors. This is because the water pressure in the storage tank is offset by the difference in height, and the water reservoir cannot be pushed and moved by the water pressure. Therefore, in such a case, the air reservoir is moved to the rear of the piping system so that the beverage from the storage tank after switching passes through the fluid delivery pump and reaches the pump for fluid delivery. For example, since it is possible to eliminate the air biting of the liquid feeding pump and restart the liquid feeding by the liquid feeding pump, the present invention is provided between the plurality of storage tanks and the balance tank. That is, between the storage tank and the balance tank at the tail of the liquid feeding direction, a pair of pumps are arranged in series with the leading side for liquid feeding and the trailing side for air pool suction, and these series of pumps are operated alternately. When the air reservoir reaches the liquid pump on the preceding side, the beverage in the storage tank before switching passing through the liquid pump is transferred to the subsequent air reservoir suction pump. To suck by Then, the air reservoir in front of the liquid pump is moved to the rear so that the liquid pump can suck the beverage from the storage tank after switching. In order to provide a balance tank drought elimination apparatus used for this, the invention according to claim 1 is a combination sterilization of beverages from a plurality of storage tanks that can be switched to a sterilizer via a balance tank. A pair of series pumps are arranged between the storage tank and the balance tank of the piping system, with the preceding pump for feeding liquid and the succeeding pump for sucking up the air reservoir. When the storage tank is switched, the series of pumps are operated alternately. A beverage tank sterilization piping system balance tank drought elimination device characterized by being made freely.

  In addition to the above, the invention according to claim 2 is arranged so that the alternating operation of the series of pumps can be automatically performed when the storage tank is switched. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operation is automatically performed by detecting the signal of a switching sensor installed for each storage tank. is there.

  In the third aspect of the present invention, as described above, when the air reservoir reaches the liquid pump on the preceding side, the beverage in the storage tank before switching passing through the liquid pump is supplied. , By sucking with the subsequent air pool suction pump, the air pool in front of the liquid pump is moved to the rear, and the liquid pump sucks the beverage from the storage tank after switching. In order to provide a balance tank drought elimination method used to enable the above, the storage tank described above is used in a mixed sterilization piping system for beverages from a plurality of storage tanks that can be switched to a sterilizer through balance tanks. A pair of series pumps, in which the preceding pump disposed between the balance tank and the balance tank is used for liquid feeding and the succeeding pump is used for suctioning air pools, are used. It is obtained by the balance tank drought resolution methods beverage formulation sterilization piping system, characterized in that to prevent drought balance tank by alternately operating when supply switching of.

  In addition to the above, the invention described in claim 4 can reliably perform passage of the liquid feeding pump and suction of the beverage from the storage tank after switching according to the state of air accumulation in the piping system. In this way, the alternating operation of the pair of pumps in the series is performed by one or a plurality of operation units, where the preceding pump is stopped, the succeeding pump is operated, the succeeding pump is stopped, and the preceding pump is operated. It is set as the balance tank drought elimination method of the drink mixing sterilization piping system of Claim 3 characterized by the above-mentioned.

  The present invention uses each of these as the gist of the invention as means for solving the above problems.

  Since the present invention is configured as described above, the invention according to claim 1 is a pair of a storage tank and a balance tank, wherein the leading side is for liquid feeding and the trailing side is for air pool suction. Are arranged in series, and these series of pumps are operated alternately, so that when the air reservoir reaches the liquid pump on the preceding side, the switch that passes through the liquid pump is switched. By sucking the beverage in the previous storage tank by the subsequent pump for sucking the air pool, the air pool in front of the liquid pump is moved to the rear, and the pump for liquid pump is switched Drinks that can be aspirated from storage tanks, and that can prevent liquid supply stoppage that may occur when the storage tank is switched and the balance tank drought due to this, as easily and reliably as possible. It is possible to provide a formulation sterilized piping system balance tank drought elimination apparatus.

  In addition to the above, the invention according to claim 2 can automatically perform the alternate operation of the series of pumps when the storage tank is switched.

  In the third aspect of the present invention, as described above, when the air reservoir reaches the liquid pump on the preceding side, the beverage in the storage tank before switching passing through the liquid pump is supplied. , By sucking with the subsequent air pool suction pump, the air pool in front of the liquid pump is moved to the rear, and the liquid pump sucks the beverage from the storage tank after switching. As possible, a balance tank drought elimination method for beverage blending sterilization piping system capable of preventing liquid stoppage that may occur in association with the switching of the storage tank and the resulting drought of the balance tank as easily and reliably as possible. Can be provided.

  In addition to the above, the invention described in claim 4 can reliably perform passage of the liquid feeding pump and suction of the beverage from the storage tank after switching according to the state of air accumulation in the piping system. It can be.

  The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the example of the drawings. A is a combination sterilization piping system for beverages, such as milk, from a plurality of storage tanks 1 that can be freely switched to a sterilizer via a balance tank 5. FIG. 1 shows a portion of the piping system A from the storage tank 1 to the sterilizer 6.

  The compound sterilization piping system A includes a pair of pumps 3 and 4 connected in series between the storage tank 1 and the balance tank 5 in which the preceding pump 3 is used for liquid feeding and the succeeding pump 4 is used for suctioning air. When the supply of the tank 1 is switched, the series of pumps 3 and 4 can be operated alternately so that a balance tank depletion prevention device for the combination sterilization piping system A is formed. Thus, the alternating operation of the pair of pumps 3 and 4 is automatically performed by detecting the signal of the switching sensor 2 installed for each storage tank 1.

  The compound sterilization piping system A is constructed by using a conventional one. At this time, the series of pumps 3 and 4 use a sanitary pump generally used for this kind of beverage, for example, a hughal pump. Preferably, the pumps 3 and 4 are disposed at positions separated by a distance of about 1 to 2 m or more, and each storage tank 1 by the switching sensor 2 is interposed between the pumps 3 and 4 and the switching sensor 2 of each storage tank 1. When the storage tank 1 is switched, the alternating operation is automatically performed by the pump operation control circuit (not shown) that receives the signal for detecting the vacancy, that is, the supply stop detection signal, and controls the alternating operation. It is designed to operate.

  At this time, the alternating operation of the pair of pumps 3 and 4 is performed by, for example, stopping the preceding pump 3, operating the succeeding pump 4, stopping the succeeding pump 4, and operating the preceding pump 3. In other words, the operation time of the subsequent pump 4 is generally set to 10 seconds or less, for example, several seconds, so that the subsequent operation is performed. It is possible to perform air pool suction of the pump 4, and the above operation unit may be repeated as necessary. For example, the storage tank 1 and the balance tank are made into the compound sterilization piping system A of about 20,000 liters / hour. 5 is, for example, about 10 m or less, the air reservoir is repeated by repeating the operation unit of the pair of pumps 3 and 4 about 2 to 3 times, for example. It is possible to perform the suction reliably.

That is, as described above, the blended sterilization piping system A enters into the blended sterilization piping system A due to the time difference due to the switching of the storage tank 1, and then the beverage is supplied from the storage tank 1 after the switching. An air pool is formed between the beverages supplied from the front and rear storage tanks 1, and when the air pool reaches the preceding side of the pair, that is, the front liquid-feeding pump 3, the air bite is engaged. When idling occurs and the idle side of the rear side of the pair, that is, the rear air pool suction pump 4 is operated, the unreserved beverage located at the rear of the air pool is sucked into the air pool. As a result of resuming the liquid feeding by the liquid feeding pump 3 by passing the preceding liquid feeding pump 3 through the rear side, the compound sterilization piping system A has It is possible to continuously feed the beverage supplied from the storage tank 1 before and after the switching without being affected by the switching of the storage tank 1 without causing an inability to feed the liquid due to the pool. It is possible to completely eliminate the impossibility of liquid feeding due to reaching the liquid feeding pump 3 and the possibility of depletion of the balance tank 5 due to this.

  That is, in the piping system A, the series of pumps 3 and 4 are alternately operated to eliminate the depletion of the balance tank 5. At this time, the series of pumps 3 and 4 are alternately switched. The operation is performed by detecting the signal from the switching sensor 2 of the storage tank 1 with the stop of the preceding pump 3, the operation of the succeeding pump 4, the stop of the succeeding pump 4 and the operation of the preceding pump 3 as operation units. What is necessary is just to carry out automatically by several operation units. In the alternate operation, if the operation of each pump is performed for a short time, for example, 10 seconds or less, particularly 5 to 6 seconds, the air reservoir can be reliably sucked.

  Although the illustrated example is as described above, the storage tank, the balance tank, and the like are carried out in carrying out the present invention, including manually switching the series of pumps alternately when the storage tank supply is switched. , Sterilizer, compound sterilization piping system, serial pair of pumps, their alternate operation, supply switching sensor to be used as necessary, pump control circuit, operation unit, etc., each specific configuration, means, type, method, relationship between these, Additions to these may take various forms as long as they do not contradict the gist of the invention.

It is a piping system diagram which shows a part of the mixing sterilization piping system of milk.

Explanation of symbols

A Compound sterilization piping system 1 Storage tank 2 Supply switching sensor 3 Pump for liquid transfer 4 Pump for air pool suction 5 Balance tank 6 Sterilizer

Claims (4)

  Beverage blending sterilization piping system from a plurality of storage tanks that allow supply switching to the sterilizer through the balance tank The preceding pump is used for liquid feeding between the storage tank and the balance tank, and the succeeding pump is used for air pool suction. A balance tank drought elimination apparatus for a beverage blending sterilization piping system, wherein a pair of series pumps are arranged so that the pair of series pumps can be operated alternately when the storage tank is switched.   The balance tank of the beverage blending sterilization piping system according to claim 1, wherein the alternating operation of the pair of pumps in series is automatically performed by signal detection of a switching sensor installed for each storage tank. Drought elimination device.   In the beverage sterilization piping system from a plurality of storage tanks that can be freely switched to the sterilizer via the balance tank, the preceding pump placed between the storage tank and the balance tank is used for liquid feeding, and the subsequent pump is used as an air reservoir. A balance tank drought in a beverage blending sterilization piping system, wherein a pair of serial pumps for suction are used, and the series tank pumps are alternately operated at the time of supply switching of the storage tank to prevent the balance tank from drought. Resolution method.   4. The alternating operation of the pair of pumps in series is performed by one or a plurality of operation units, where the preceding pump is stopped, the succeeding pump is operated, the succeeding pump is stopped, and the preceding pump is operated. The balance tank drought elimination method of the drink mixing sterilization piping system described in 1.

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