JP4259721B2 - Aseptic filling nozzle - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an aseptic filling nozzle of a filling apparatus suitable for filling a liquid containing a solid substance in an aseptic condition and having an unshaped container without a stopper.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, when a container is filled with a liquid or a liquid containing solids (hereinafter referred to as a filling liquid), various filling methods and fillings are performed depending on the type of filling liquid, the type of container to be filled, or the environment to be filled. An apparatus and a filling nozzle used in the apparatus have been proposed.
[0003]
For sterilization of the filling liquid, there are a method of sterilizing with heat after filling, and a method of filling the sterilized container with the sterilized filling liquid in an aseptic room, and filling the container with a stopper (inlet) of the container. There are a method of filling by filling the sealing nozzle close to the packing nozzle, and a method of filling the container by inserting the tip of the filling nozzle into the opening that is held open by opening the upper part of an irregular container without a cap. There are two methods for measuring the volume of the filling liquid: a method of measuring the volume using a piston, a method of calculating the flow rate and time, and a method of sucking so that the remaining filling liquid does not drip at the tip of the nozzle after filling. There is.
[0004]
Such conventional filling methods have advantages over specific combinations of each filling liquid, container and environment type, but various problems arise when the combinations are different.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
A filling nozzle that fills an irregularly shaped container (such as a pouch) that does not have a stopper with a solid-rich liquid in a sterile environment has the following requirements.
[0006]
(1) The filling nozzle can be sterilized and washed before the filling operation is started and after the filling operation is completed without disassembling the filling nozzle.
[0007]
(2) Capable of filling the solid content of the liquid containing the solid content without being sandwiched in the opening / closing liquid valve portion.
[0008]
(3) Elimination of trailing dripping of the liquid remaining in the nozzle after completion of the filling operation (especially in an irregular container having no stopper, if the filling liquid adheres to the inlet of the container, the heat sealing property is hindered. ).
[0009]
(4) The sterilization chamber should be made small, the movable parts should be securely sealed, and the environment should be excellent.
[0010]
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and provides an aseptic filling nozzle that fills an amorphous container having no stopper with a filling liquid containing a large amount of solid matter with improved requirements in an aseptic environment. The purpose is that.
[0011]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The aseptic filling nozzle is roughly divided into an outer cylinder composed of upper, middle and lower outer cylinders, a plug rod that moves up and down the center of the outer cylinder, and a plug rod that is mounted on the upper outer cylinder and drives the plug rod up and down. Formed with servo cylinders having three strokes, maximum, middle and minimum.
A linear bearing is provided at the upper part of the intermediate outer cylinder, and a thin inner cylinder and a steam inlet pipe (connection pipe) that are connected to the inner wall of the outer cylinder by a flange and open upward are provided at the lower part. The inner diameter part is reduced in three stages, a steam outlet pipe is provided in the large inner diameter part, a flushing air inlet pipe is provided in the middle inner diameter part, and a filling liquid inlet pipe is provided in the smaller inner diameter part. Further, a cylindrical air outlet pipe provided with an air inlet pipe is screwed to the lower end portion of the lower outer cylinder.
The plug rod has a sliding cylinder part at the upper part, a plug part at the lower part, and a sliding valve part with a larger diameter than the plug part at the middle part, which are connected by a rod with a slightly smaller diameter. A labyrinth passage is formed by the sliding cylinder part and the thin inner cylinder provided in the intermediate outer cylinder, and the sliding valve part of the intermediate part and the inner diameter part are slidably fitted to form a flow parallel valve on-off valve. The lower plug part is slidably fitted to the small diameter part to form a flow right angle valve piston valve (liquid valve) for the filling liquid. When the servo cylinder is at the maximum stroke, the filling liquid inlet is closed by the plug.When the servo cylinder is at the intermediate stroke, the filling liquid inlet is opened. At the minimum stroke, the plug and the sliding valve are opened. Between the cylinders, a gap is formed over the entire surface so as to communicate with each other, and the inside of the outer cylinder of the filling nozzle can be cleaned by opening and closing appropriate inlet pipes and outlet pipes.
[0012]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1, FIG. 2, and FIG. 3 are longitudinal sectional views of the aseptic filling nozzle according to one embodiment of the present invention in a standby state, a filling state, and a washing state, respectively, and FIG. 4 and FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of an upper part and a lower part of the aseptic filling nozzle shown in FIG.
[0013]
1 to 5, reference numeral 1 is an aseptic filling nozzle, and 10 is an outer cylinder in which the aseptic filling nozzle 1 is integrated. The outer cylinder includes an upper outer cylinder 11, an intermediate outer cylinder 12, and a lower outer cylinder 13. It is flange-coupled with a fitting.
[0014]
The upper outer cylinder 11 is a thin-walled cylinder. A servo cylinder 14 is attached to the upper outer cylinder 11 and accommodates a rod 14a of the servo cylinder 14 that expands and contracts vertically. A fitting 15 having a T-shaped groove is screwed to the tip of the rod 14a. The servo cylinder 14 stops at the uppermost position shown in FIG. 3 at the tip end of the rod 14a and is variable speed.
[0015]
The intermediate outer cylinder 12 is composed of a plurality of members, the upper half is a thick cylinder part 12a, the lower half is a thin cylinder part 12b, and a linear bearing (metal) 12c is formed inside the upper part of the thick cylinder part 12a. A steam inlet pipe (connecting pipe) 12d is provided on the outer periphery of the lower part of the thin-walled cylinder part 12b. A partition cylinder 16 is disposed inside the intermediate outer cylinder 12 with a gap, and is connected to the lower end of the inner wall of the thin-walled cylinder portion 12b by a flange 16a provided at the lower portion.
[0016]
The inner diameter of the lower outer cylinder 13 is reduced in three steps from top to bottom to become a large inner diameter portion 13a, a medium inner diameter portion 13b, and a small inner diameter portion 13c, and the outer diameter is two steps large and small. A steam outlet pipe 13d is provided on the outer side of the lower part, a flushing air inlet pipe 13e is provided on the outer periphery of the lower part of the inner diameter part 13b, a filling liquid inlet pipe 13f that guides the filling liquid to the upper and lower intermediate parts of the small inner part 13c, and a male screw 13g is provided on the lower outer periphery. Is provided. Reference numeral 17 denotes an air outlet pipe which is attached to and covers the lower end of the lower outer cylinder 13 and forms a tapered cylindrical air passage in combination with the lower end outer wall of the lower outer cylinder 13. 17a, and is screwed onto a male screw 13g at the bottom of the lower outer cylinder 13 by a union nut 17b.
[0017]
Reference numeral 20 denotes a plug rod that moves up and down in the central portion of the outer cylinder 10 and is composed of a plurality of members.
[0018]
A T-shaped protrusion provided on the upper end of the sliding cylinder portion 20a is engaged with a T-shaped groove of the joint fitting 15 and connected to the rod 14a of the servo cylinder 14, and a large-diameter sliding cylinder portion 20a, A small-diameter plug portion 20b is provided at the lower portion, an intermediate-diameter slide valve portion 20c is provided between the two and a rod portion 20d, 20e that connects them. The sliding cylinder portion 20a is slidably fitted in the linear bearing 12c of the intermediate outer cylinder 12, and the sliding valve portion 20c is provided with a packing 20f so that it slides on the inner diameter portion 13b of the lower outer cylinder 13 in a liquid-tight manner. The small-diameter plug portion 20b is provided with a packing 20g at the upper portion thereof, and is fitted in the small-diameter portion 13c so as to be liquid-tight and slidable.
[0019]
Further, the sliding cylinder portion 20a is a thin skirt cylinder that is open on the lower side most of the lower side, and this skirt cylinder is formed between the inner wall of the thick cylinder section 12a and the thin cylinder section 12b and the outer wall of the partition cylinder 16. Inserted with a gap between them, enters from the steam inlet pipe 12d, rises through the gap between the inner wall of the skirt cylinder part of the sliding cylinder part 20a and the outer wall of the partition cylinder 16, and turns back to return the inner wall of the partition cylinder 16 A labyrinth passage (see L in FIG. 4) is formed which descends through a gap between the rod portion 20d and the rod portion 20d and communicates with the inside of the large inner diameter portion 13a. Further, the plug portion 20b forms a piston valve with an opening hole 13h for the filling liquid inlet pipe 13f opened in the small inner diameter portion 13c. The lower end of the plug portion 20b is conically recessed and vertically refracted horizontally from the center. A pore 20h is provided in the side surface of the rod portion 20e.
[0020]
30 is a top plate of the aseptic room, the lower side is a sterile room and the upper side is a general space in the factory. Reference numeral 31 denotes an annular deep groove trough that is airtightly fixed around the opening of the top plate 30, and 32 is a cover attached to the aseptic filling nozzle 1 at an appropriate position below the steam inlet pipe 12d. The cover 32 includes a curtain portion 32 a that hangs perpendicularly to the peripheral end portion, and a lower end portion is inserted into the deep groove trough 31. The deep groove trough 31 is filled with water containing a disinfectant at a predetermined height. This water is gently circulated by a circulation pump (not shown), and the curtain portion 32a always remains in the deep groove trough 31 even if the aseptic filling nozzle 1 is moved up and down to insert the lower end of the aseptic filling nozzle 1 into the container. It seems to be immersed in the water inside.
Reference numeral 40 denotes an open upper end of an irregular container having no stopper.
[0021]
Next, the operation of the aseptic filling nozzle 1 configured as described above will be described.
The aseptic filling nozzle 1 before filling is in the standby state shown in FIG. 1, the servo cylinder 14 extends the stroke of the rod 14a, the plug rod 20 is lowered and is at the lowest limit position, and the lower end of the plug portion 20b is the lower part. It coincides with the lower end of the air blowing pipe 17 screwed to the outer cylinder 13.
[0022]
When the sterile unfilled container (pouch) 40 is opened with the opening opened upward and sent directly under the aseptic filling nozzle 1, the aseptic filling nozzle 1 is lowered by a predetermined distance (for example, about 40 mm) by a lifting device (not shown). Then, the lower end of the small inner diameter portion 13c is inserted into the irregular container 40 as shown in FIG.
[0023]
Next, the servo cylinder 14 retracts the rod 14a and pulls up the plug rod 20 to an intermediate position. As shown in FIG. 2, the lower end of the plug portion 20b is made to coincide with the upper side of the opening hole 13h to fully open the piston valve. A predetermined amount of the sterilized filling liquid measured by the apparatus is filled into the amorphous container 40.
[0024]
When the filling is finished, the stroke of the rod 14a of the servo cylinder 14 is extended to return to the standby position shown in FIG. Since the opening hole 13h on the lower outer cylinder 13 side and the plug portion 20b form a flow right angle valve (piston valve), the solid in the filling liquid is cut and pinched from above and below when the plug portion 20b is lowered. It will never be done.
[0025]
When the plug rod 20 is lowered to a fixed position, the liquid or solid matter of the filling liquid squeezed from the inner wall surface of the small inner diameter portion 13c of the lower outer cylinder 13 adheres to the lower end surface of the lowered plug portion 20b. Therefore, an open / close valve of a clean air supply source (not shown) is opened to supply compressed clean air to the flushing air inlet pipe 13e and the air inlet pipe 17a of the air outlet pipe 17, and the air that has entered from the flushing air inlet pipe 13e. Is blown from the center side through the pores 20h from the gap between the small inner diameter portion 13c and the plug portion 20b, and the air that has entered from the air inlet pipe 17a passes through the air blowing pipe 17 from the outside. Blow away.
[0026]
Next, after the aseptic filling nozzle 1 is raised to its original position by an elevating device (not shown), the irregular container 40 is sent to a downstream station, and the sterilization chamber is opened through processes such as air venting and sealing of the opening. Get out.
[0027]
During the filling process, steam is sent from a steam supply source (not shown) to the steam inlet pipe 12d, and the steam drops through the labyrinth passage described above, passes between the large inner diameter portion 13a and the rod portion 20d, and passes through the steam outlet. It is discharged from the tube 13d to the outside. Since the inside of the intermediate outer cylinder 12 is always maintained at a positive pressure with respect to the outside of the aseptic filling nozzle 1 and has a long labyrinth passage, even if the plug rod 20 moves up and down, it slides on the linear bearing 12c. Outside air does not enter the lower outer cylinder 13 from the moving part. Depending on the type of filling liquid, compressed clean air may be used instead of the above-mentioned steam.
[0028]
When performing sterilization washing before the start of the filling operation and washing of the aseptic filling nozzle 1 after the filling operation, as shown in FIG. 3, a washing cap 50 is airtightly attached to the air blowing pipe 17 at the lower end of the aseptic filling nozzle 1. Then, the rod 14a of the servo cylinder 14 is pulled up to the upper limit and put into a cleaning state. In this cleaning state, the sliding valve portion 20c of the plug rod 20 moves to the large inner diameter portion 13a of the lower outer cylinder 13 to create a gap therebetween, and the plug portion 20b moves to the inner inner diameter portion 13b to Since a gap is generated between the inner wall of the intermediate outer cylinder 12 and the lower outer cylinder 13 and the outer wall of the plug rod 20, the whole including the labyrinth passage communicates. Therefore, if steam, disinfecting liquid, or clean air is supplied from the steam inlet pipe 12d and discharged from the filling liquid inlet pipe 13f, the filling liquid inside can be replaced without disassembling the aseptic filling nozzle 1 including the filling liquid tank (not shown). All parts in contact can be sterilized and washed.
[0029]
【The invention's effect】
As described in detail above, the following effects can be obtained by the aseptic filling nozzle of the present invention.
[0030]
(1) A manual disassembly and cleaning operation after a filling operation that has been conventionally performed can be automatically performed without disassembly, and the efficiency of the operation can be increased.
[0031]
(2) Since the on-off valve of the filling passage of the filling liquid is a piston valve of a flow right angle valve using a plug rod, the solid substance is not sandwiched from above and below when closed, unlike the conventional flow parallel valve. It can apply suitably for the filling liquid containing.
[0032]
(3) Since the filling liquid adhering to the lower end of the nozzle is blown off by air from both the central portion and the outer peripheral portion at the end of filling, it is possible to completely prevent the occurrence of problems due to the trailing of the filling liquid.
[0033]
(4) Since the upper part of the filling nozzle that moves up and down with a support structure and attached equipment is taken out of the aseptic chamber using a water seal, the aseptic chamber can be made smaller and the clean air used in the aseptic chamber can be reduced. The amount can be reduced and the cost can be reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a sterile filling nozzle according to an embodiment of the present invention during standby.
FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view during filling of the aseptic filling nozzle in the same embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the aseptic filling nozzle in the same embodiment during cleaning.
4 is an enlarged view of the upper half of the aseptic filling nozzle shown in FIG. 1. FIG.
5 is an enlarged view of the lower half of the aseptic filling nozzle shown in FIG. 1. FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Aseptic filling nozzle 10 ... Outer cylinder 11 ... Upper outer cylinder 12 ... Intermediate outer cylinder 12a Thick cylinder part 12b Thin wall cylinder part 12c ... Linear bearing 12d ... Steam inlet pipe 13 ... Lower outer cylinder 13a ... Large inner diameter part 13b ... Medium Inner diameter part 13c ... Small inner diameter part 13d ... Steam outlet pipe 13e ... Flushing air inlet pipe 13f ... Filling liquid inlet pipe 13h ... Opening hole 14 ... Servo cylinder 14a ... Servo cylinder rod 16 ... Partition cylinder 16a ... Flange 17 ... Air outlet pipe 17a ... Air inlet pipe 17b ... Union nut 20 ... Plug rod 20a ... Sliding cylinder part 20b ... Plug part 20c ... Sliding valve 20d ... Rod part 20e ... Rod part 20f ... packing 20g ... packing 20h ... pore 30 ... top plate 31 ... Deep groove trough 32 ... Cover 32a ... Curtain part 40 ... Unshaped container 50 ... Cap for cleaning

Claims (2)

An aseptic filling nozzle that fills a fixed amount of a filling liquid containing solid matter into an irregular container that does not have a stopper in a sterile environment, and a servo cylinder is fixed on the upper part to accommodate the rod of the servo cylinder The upper outer cylinder, the upper part with a linear bearing and the lower part with a flange on the top and the bottom, and the middle outer cylinder with a steam inlet pipe on the upper side of the flange and the upper, large, medium and small inner diameter parts In this order, a lower outlet cylinder provided with a steam outlet pipe at the lower part of the large inner diameter part, a flushing air inlet pipe at the lower part of the medium inner diameter part, and a filling liquid inlet pipe at an intermediate part of the smaller inner diameter part, An air outlet pipe that is screwed to the outer periphery of the lower end portion of the lower outer cylinder to form an annular air passage in combination with the outer peripheral portion of the lower outer cylinder and includes an air inlet pipe, and the upper end portion of the rod of the servo cylinder And the outer peripheral part on the top A sliding cylinder part that is a thin cylinder that slides into the ring and opens downward on the lower side, a sliding valve part that has packing on the lower side of the intermediate part, and a plug part that has packing on the lower part These are composed of a rod having a smaller diameter than the sliding valve portion and a plug rod connected by a rod having a smaller diameter than the plug portion, and the labyrinth is formed by a thin tube of the sliding tube portion above the plug rod and a thin tube of the intermediate outer tube. A passage is formed to form an on-off valve that opens when the sliding valve portion and the inner inner diameter portion of the lower outer cylinder are slid to move to the larger inner diameter portion, and the plug portion and the smaller inner diameter portion are slidingly fitted. Combined with the filling liquid inlet pipe to form a piston valve, an air passage is provided between the lower end of the plug part and the connecting rod, and when the plug rod is in the lower limit position, the plug part is When the liquid inlet pipe is closed and the plug rod is in the intermediate position When the filling liquid inlet pipe is opened and the plug rod is in the upper limit position, the plug part moves to the inner diameter part of the lower outer cylinder, the slide valve part moves to the larger inner diameter part, and the intermediate outer cylinder and An aseptic filling nozzle characterized in that a gap is formed between the lower outer cylinder and the plug rod. A cover is airtightly fixed to the upper part of the lower outer cylinder, and the lower end of a vertically hanging annular curtain provided at the outer peripheral end of the cover is circulated in a deep groove trough provided around the opening of the top plate of the sterilization chamber. The aseptic filling nozzle according to claim 1, wherein the inside and outside of the sterilization chamber are sealed by being freely inserted into a sterilizing liquid.

Images