JP4553122B2 - Method and apparatus for heating solid contents - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for heating a solid content in a container, and in particular, in a production line for container-packed solid food such as molded container-packed cooked rice, a method for heating a solid food before filling the container and sealing the solid food. and about the equipment.

Conventionally, in a production line for plastic container-packed cooked rice, after the cooked cooked rice is filled in a single-meal tray (plastic container), the steam is sprayed on the cooked rice just before sealing to sterilize the cooked rice and then the container is sealed. It is done. By doing in this way, in the process from cooking rice to sealing, even if the line stops due to trouble and the cooked rice cools and the outside air bacteria adhere, it can be sealed in a state where it is heated again and sterilized just before sealing, Moreover, by sealing immediately after heating, a good container-filled cooked rice can be obtained with an uneven effect. In this method, the present applicant formed air supply holes and exhaust holes as a device for heating solid foods such as cooked rice uniformly and efficiently, and sterilizing in a short time without deteriorating the quality of the food. A first chamber having a first vapor chamber and a second chamber having a second vapor chamber are moved relative to each other, a container group is supplied between the chambers, and a pressurized chamber is formed between the first chamber and the second chamber. The steam is sterilized by batch processing so that the steam flows out toward the opening of the container through a large number of small holes in the perforated plate disposed on the opening of the container in the pressure chamber. The thing was proposed (refer patent document 1). In addition, we proposed a device that formed a single chamber in the entire steam replacement line, enabled continuous processing, and secured the advantages of spraying steam while avoiding high-temperature and high-humidity by using steam. (See Patent Document 2)
JP 2002-176959 A JP 2004-182320 A

Each of the above proposed prior arts is for efficiently heat sterilizing solid food such as cooked rice filled with containers, but the former is to form a pressure chamber with two chambers and sterilize by pressure. There is a problem that the apparatus becomes large and batch processing is performed. In addition, the latter has the advantage that the whole can be processed in one chamber and can be continuously processed. However, none of these conventional techniques has a vapor supply position and a discharge position corresponding to individual containers. The amount of inflow per hour is small, and it takes a long processing time, and we are not satisfied with the speedup of the production line.
In particular, since solids are in close contact with the bottom wall surface of the container and there is almost no gap and the flow of steam is hindered, it takes considerable time to uniformly heat the contents near the bottom of the container. In addition, since the conventional method injects steam from the upper part of the container opening toward a plurality of containers supplied into the chamber, the steam is applied to the sealing surface of the flange of the container and is condensed to form a seal. In some cases, it was disturbed.

Therefore, the present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art in a method and apparatus for heating a solid food filled in a container to sterilize it with heating steam before sealing. uniformly can be efficiently heated, it possible to speed up the production line, and to prevent condensation of steam into the sealing surface of the flange, the heating method and equipment of the solid content of which can be improved sealability The purpose is to provide.

  As a result of various studies to solve the above problems, the present inventor has formed a sealed space for each individual container in the chamber body, and provided an ejection port and an exhaust port for the heating medium for each individual container, for each individual container. Directly supply and discharge the heating medium, and pay attention to the flexibility of the container to form a space between the container bottom wall surface and the contents by a simple method so that the heating medium can easily pass to the bottom of the container. The present inventors have found a method, knowing a method and apparatus that can efficiently heat sterilize the contents near the bottom of the container in a short time, and have achieved the present invention.

That is, the heating method of the solid content of the present invention is a method of heating the solid content filled in the container with a heating medium before sealing, and the container opening filled with the solid content is provided for each individual container. Cover with a chamber body, press the opening end of the chamber body against the flange of the container to form a sealed space, place the heating medium injection port and the exhaust port away from the chamber body, and heat from the injection port The medium is sprayed toward the opening of the container, the flow is controlled so that the heating medium passes through the inside of the container, and the heating medium is brought into contact with the contents to exchange heat with the contents, and is heated from the exhaust port. The contents are heated in a short time by discharging the medium. Steam is preferable as the heating medium, and saturated steam is more preferable, but superheated steam can also be used. In addition, heated air (hot air), heated inert gas, and the like can be employed. It is desirable that the injection port and the exhaust port be arranged as far as possible within the range of the container opening, so that the flow path through the solid food of the heating medium is widened and the heating range is widened.

  Another feature of the present invention is that the container is a container having at least a bottom portion that is flexible, and a gap is formed between the inner surface of the container bottom wall and the solid contents by elastically deforming the bottom portion of the container during heating. In addition, the heating medium is promoted to pass near the container bottom wall. Further, instead of deforming the bottom of the container, a groove is formed in the bottom of the container so that the contents do not fall, so that the heating medium can pass between the container bottom and the solid food through the groove. The heating of the food near the bottom wall of the container can be promoted, and the entire contents can be heated uniformly in a short time.

  Furthermore, another feature of the present invention is that the flow rate from the injection port side to the exhaust port side is increased by providing a pressure difference between the injection port side and the exhaust port side of the container, so that the solid content by the heating medium is increased. This is because the heating efficiency of the objects has been increased. Also, a replacement fluid supply port is provided in the chamber, an inert gas is supplied after the heating of the contents, and the gas (residual heating medium) in the container is replaced with a replacement fluid (in many cases, an inert gas). Is desirable. The replacement fluid supply port may be provided exclusively or may be shared with the heating medium injection port. By replacing the gas in the chamber with the replacement fluid, the residual oxygen in the container is removed, and when the heating medium is steam for heating, the remaining steam after heating is actively exhausted out of the container by the replacement fluid. It is possible to prevent the remaining steam from condensing and adhering to the lid member after sealing.

The solid content heating apparatus of the present invention that solves the above problems is an apparatus that heats a solid content filled in a container transported by a transport conveyor with a heating medium before sealing, and is transported by a transport conveyor. A chamber body that is provided so as to be relatively close to and away from the opening of the container filled with contents, covers the container opening for each individual container, and the opening end presses the flange of the container to form a sealed space A heating medium injection port is provided in the chamber body so as to be located above the inner wall surface of the opening of the container, and an exhaust port is provided at a position away from the injection port and supplied from the supply port side. A flow path guiding means for guiding the heating medium to pass through the inside of the container is provided.

  Another feature of the present invention is that a container bottom push-up means is provided which pushes up the bottom of the container whose opening is covered with the chamber body and elastically deforms it, facing the chamber body. Thereby, the container bottom can be easily deformed, and the passage of the heating medium to the vicinity of the container bottom can be promoted. Furthermore, another feature of the present invention is that, as the flow path guiding means, a flow path provided in the vicinity of the heating medium spraying port and on the inner side of the container than the heating medium spraying port and depending from the top wall of the chamber body. The restriction plate is used. The flow restricting plate actively guides the heating medium ejected from the ejection port to the solid food side, so that the solid food can be efficiently heated in a short time.

  Another feature of the present invention is that the space of the sealed space is inclined so that the top wall of the chamber body gradually becomes higher toward the exhaust port side so that the volume on the exhaust port side is larger than the supply port side. In other words, the cross-sectional area of the exhaust port is made larger than the injection port of the heating medium. Thereby, the exhaust resistance is reduced, the flow of the heating medium from the injection port side to the exhaust port side is generated, the solid food can be heated in a short time, and the speed of the line can be increased. Further, by connecting the replacement fluid supply pipe to the injection port in a switchable manner, the apparatus can be simplified and the gas in the container can be easily replaced with an inert gas after the heat sterilization. By sharing the heating medium and the injection port, the inert gas can efficiently pass through the container as in the heating medium, and the gas replacement rate can be improved to the inside of the container. Furthermore, the solid content heating container of the present invention is a solid content heating container suitable for heating the filled solid content with a heating medium before sealing the container, and the solid content is placed on the bottom wall panel surface. It is characterized in that a groove for passing through a heating medium is formed to such an extent that an object does not fall.

  As described above, according to the heating method and apparatus for solid contents of the present invention, the heating medium is ejected from the ejection port located above the opening of the container in a state of covering the opening of each container. The heating medium can pass through the container, and the solid contents can be heated evenly in a short time. When the solid contents are solid food such as cooked rice, the solid food can be sterilized efficiently. At the same time, the flavor of the solid food is not impaired. And since the heating medium does not act directly on the flange surface of the container, and the heating medium such as steam does not adhere to the sealing surface of the flange and does not cause condensation, the sealing performance at the time of sealing is not impaired and good Can be sealed. In addition, there is an advantage that the apparatus is simplified because it is not necessary to perform pressure holding as in the prior art. In addition, by adopting a container having a groove at the bottom by elastically deforming the bottom of the container, it is possible to secure a flow path of the heating medium to the vicinity of the bottom, and it has been a long time to heat the contents near the bottom of the conventional container. Can be heated in a short time, and the whole solid food can be heated uniformly in a short time. Furthermore, by implementing immediately before a container sealing process, solid food can be sealed in a high temperature state, and the container external appearance after sealing can be improved.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a production line of a packaged solid food to which a heat sterilization apparatus for solid contents such as cooked rice according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.
In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a heat-welding property such as polypropylene, or a synthetic resin tray-like container (hereinafter simply referred to as “container”) to which the container 15 is fitted to receive a flange back surface of the container 15. The conveyor 2 is arranged at an equal pitch. An empty container transfer station 5, a content filling station 6, a heating station 7, a lid sealing station 8, and a sealed container discharge station 9 are arranged in this order from the upstream side along the conveyance path of the conveyor 1. . Each station other than the heating station 7 can adopt the same configuration as a conventionally known station as shown in Patent Document 2, for example, and an empty container is transferred to the empty container transfer station 5 to receive the transport conveyor 1. 2 is provided with a supply device (not shown) for supplying the flange so as to be placed, and the content filling station 6 sequentially supplies the contents 18 made of solid matter measured to a size capable of accommodating one container to the containers. A content filling device (not shown) is arranged. A lid material feeding device (not shown) that sequentially supplies film-like lid material 11 to cover lid opening 8 and discharges the skeleton film from which the lid material has been punched out to lid sealing station 8. A lid material sealing device 12 for heat-sealing the lid material to the flange portion of the container and punching the lid material after sealing is disposed. The discharge station 9 is provided with a discharge device 13 for extruding the sealed container from the cradle 2 of the transport conveyor 1 and discharging it. Since these can employ | adopt the means similar to a prior art suitably, detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

Next, the solid content heating apparatus of the present invention disposed in the heating station, which is a feature of the present invention, will be described in detail.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory view schematically showing a main part of the solid content heating apparatus 20 according to the embodiment of the present invention.
As a main configuration of the heating apparatus 20 for solid contents according to the embodiment of the present invention, the openings of the filled containers 15 that are fitted to the transport conveyor cradle 2 and supported by the flange 17 are transported individually. A chamber body 21 that covers each container and forms a sealed space with the container, and a container bottom portion pushing-up means 22 that pushes up the bottom portion of the container and elastically deforms the chamber body are opposed to the chamber body. The chamber body 21 is supported by an appropriate vertical movement drive means (not shown) so as to be moved up and down toward the opening of the container conveyed by the conveyor, and an open chamber 23 having one end opened at the lower portion thereof is formed. Has been. The opening chamber 23 is formed so that the inner peripheral edge 24 of the opening end thereof is substantially the same shape and size as the inner peripheral edge of the container opening, and the opening end is formed so as to press the flange 17 of the container. A sealed space is formed. That is, the chamber body 21 functions as a container sealing lid during heating. In addition, you may attach the suitable endless sealing material 25 which presses and seals a container flange surface like illustration to an opening edge part. The chamber body 21 is only moved up and down when the conveyor 1 is moved intermittently, but the chamber body 21 is moved up and down relatively with respect to the container when the conveyor is continuously moved. In addition, it is configured to be movable in the front and rear directions of the conveyor.
In addition, since the transport conveyor 1 generally transports a plurality of containers side by side in the lateral direction (direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1), the chamber body 21 is also disposed in the lateral direction corresponding to the containers. In FIG. 1, three heating devices 20 are arranged along the transport direction. Therefore, instead of operating the individual chamber bodies, the driving means of the chamber body 21 may fix a plurality of chamber bodies to the gantry and operate the gantry. When a plurality of chambers are fixed to the gantry, only the lateral direction or only the transport direction may be connected, or the whole may be fixed to one gantry, and the combination method is arbitrary. As one means for connecting a plurality of chambers, a configuration in which a plurality of open chambers 23 are formed in an integral chamber body is also possible.

  The opening chamber 23 of the present embodiment is formed such that the top wall has a stepped surface, the vicinity of the outer peripheral edge is a low stepped surface 26, and the inner part thereof is a high stepped surface 27. A heating medium injection port 28 is formed at a position near the outer peripheral edge of the low step surface 26, and the injection port communicates with the heating medium / substitution fluid supply switching unit 30 through a communication pipe 29. The ejection port 28 is preferably provided close to the inner peripheral surface of the container so that the heating medium can be ejected in the vicinity of one inner wall surface of the container with the chamber body covering the container opening. On the upstream side of the heating medium / substitution fluid supply switching unit 30, a heating medium supply pipe 31 communicating with the heating medium supply source and a substitution fluid supply pipe 32 communicating with the substitution fluid supply source are attached. The heating medium / substitution fluid supply switching unit 30 can switch the fluid supplied to the opening chamber to the heating medium 38 or the substitution fluid 39. Control of the supply amount and pressure of the heating medium 38 and the replacement fluid 39 may be performed by the switching unit 30 or upstream of each supply pipe (not shown). On the other hand, the high step surface 27 is provided with an exhaust port 33 so as to be positioned as far as possible from the injection port 28 on the side opposite to the injection port 28. The exhaust port 33 is formed larger in diameter than the injection port 28 as shown. Thereby, the pressure of the small-diameter injection port 28 becomes higher than that of the large-diameter exhaust port 33 so that a positive flow of the heating medium is generated from the injection port to the exhaust port side. In addition, a flow restricting plate 34 is provided on the low step surface 26 in the vicinity of the injection port 28 and positioned on the inner side of the container with respect to the injection port 28. The flow path restriction plate 34 guides the heating medium to the inflow into the container and the flow to the upper surface of the contents, and its height is not particularly limited, but the chamber body 21 covers the container opening. The bottom edge is provided to a position that is a predetermined distance away from the surface of the contents in the container, and the heating medium sprayed from the spray port flows downward along the inner wall surface of the container to heat the contents from the inside. It flows along the surface of the object so that the contents are also heated from the surface.

Further, in the present embodiment, an exhaust flow rate relaxation plate 35 made of a porous plate is provided on the low step wall surface so as to cover the opening below the high step wall surface. The exhaust flow rate relaxation plate 35 is provided so as to cover the inlet portion of the exhaust port 33 and relaxes the flow rate of the exhaust flow from the chamber so that the heating medium is exhausted without acting on the contents. Is preventing. The container bottom push-up means 22 is a cylinder device having a rod 36 with a blunt tip as shown in the figure, or a rod having a blunt tip or a plate having a predetermined thickness is used as a cylinder mechanism or as appropriate. Any pushing mechanism can be employed, for example, the actuator can be moved up and down by the actuator.
In addition, the rod 36 may be fixedly disposed, and the container bottom may be deformed by riding on the rod 36 when the container 15 moves. In this case, it is not necessary to move the rod 36 up and down.

  In the present embodiment, the case where there is one injection port 28 is shown. However, for example, when the container is a substantially rectangular container, a plurality of nozzles 28 are installed at predetermined intervals in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in the figure. Then, the fuel may be ejected from a plurality of ejection ports toward the inner surface of the container along the inner surface of the side wall on one side of the container. In this case, the communication pipe 29 is formed as a manifold pipe so that the downstream side communicates with each injection port. Further, when the container is a container having a circular cross section or an ellipse, a plurality of arcs are formed at predetermined intervals in an arc shape along the upper part of the inner peripheral wall of the container within a predetermined angle range (preferably 120 ° or less) with the illustrated injection port interposed therebetween. You may arrange. Alternatively, instead of forming a plurality of round holes, it is also possible to form injection ports in a slit shape over a predetermined range.

  The solid content heating apparatus according to the present embodiment is configured as described above. For example, when the content is heated and sterilized using heating steam as a heating medium, the content 18 such as cooked rice is added to the content filling station 6. When the filled container 15 is supported by the carrier conveyor cradle 2 and reaches the heat sterilization station 7, the chamber body 21 is lowered by a vertical movement mechanism (not shown), and the sealing material 25 provided at the lower end of the chamber body 21 By hitting the flange surface, the inner peripheral edge of the lower end of the open chamber substantially coincides and is held at that position, thereby forming a sealed space between the container and the open chamber 23 of the chamber body 21. In this state, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the injection port 28 is positioned so as to inject the heating medium substantially in the vicinity of the inner peripheral surface of the container.

  Next, the container push-up means 22 is operated, and the bottom of the container is pushed up below the elastic deformation range of the container to deform the bottom. As a result, as shown in the figure, the rod 36 is deformed around the action location, so that when the contents have shape retaining properties, a gap is formed between the bottom surface of the container and the bottom surface of the contents, Reduce the passage resistance. In this state, the heating medium supplied from the heating medium supply pipe 31 via the heating medium / substitution fluid supply switching unit 30 is ejected from the ejection port 28 at a predetermined pressure. The sprayed heating medium is restricted from immediately spreading into the open chamber 23 by the flow path restriction plate 34, and a part flows along the contents surface from the lower end of the flow path restriction plate 34, and many of them are on the lower side. It is guided to flow toward the gap between the inner peripheral surface of the container side wall and the solid contents, passes through the solid food, heats the contents, and is exhausted from the exhaust port 33 through the exhaust pipe 37 to the outside of the chamber. . At that time, since the bottom of the container is deformed and there is a gap between the contents, the heating medium flows along the bottom of the container, and the flow as shown by the arrows in FIG. Heating is also performed from the bottom side, and heating to the vicinity of the bottom can be performed in a short time. Moreover, since the cross-sectional area of the exhaust port is formed larger than that of the injection port, a pressure difference is generated between the injection side and the discharge port, and the flow of the heating medium is formed, so the contact efficiency to the contents is high, High heating efficiency. In addition, since the exhaust flow rate relaxation plate 35 made of a perforated plate is provided facing the exhaust port, it serves as a baffle plate to relieve the rapid flow of the heating medium to the exhaust port, and the heating medium becomes a content item. It is prevented from being discharged without acting, and heating efficiency is increased.

In the present embodiment, three heating devices as described above are arranged along the conveyor flow direction as shown in the figure, and the contents are more effectively sterilized by intermittently repeating the above heating three times. I can do it. It is possible to increase the speed of the line by performing the process in a plurality of times as described above rather than performing the process at one place for a long time. In addition, the positions of the ejection ports and exhaust ports of the heating medium of the _three heat sterilizers 20 ₁ , 20 ₂ , and 20 ₃ are alternately changed as shown in the figure, and the flow direction of the heating medium is alternately reversed every time. By making it, there exists an advantage which can heat-sterilize the content more uniformly.

  As described above, when the heating medium at a predetermined time or at a predetermined flow rate is sprayed and the heat sterilization of the contents is completed, the communication medium 29 is connected to the replacement fluid supply pipe 32 by the heating medium / substitution fluid supply switching unit 30. The replacement fluid 39 such as an inert gas is ejected from the ejection port 28. As a result, the replacement fluid is discharged from the exhaust port through the container and the upper portion by the same operation as that of the heating medium, whereby the gas in the sealed space is efficiently replaced with the replacement fluid. At that time, the residual heating medium (steam) remaining in the container is also discharged by the replacement gas, so that the residual steam in the container can be reduced particularly compared to the conventional case.

  The contents-filled container that has been heat sterilized and replaced with the replacement fluid as described above proceeds to the next lid sealing station 8 and is hermetically sealed with the lid 11. The container-packed solid food obtained in this way is heat sterilized in a short time in the container, so there is no deterioration in quality and there is little condensation of water vapor on the lid, and it is sealed immediately after the heat sterilization / replacement process. Therefore, the contents are sealed in a high temperature state, and after cooling, the container is in a negative pressure state, and the appearance of the container is improved.

The above is the basic embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various design changes are possible. Hereinafter, various modified examples will be shown. In the modified embodiment described below, the same reference numerals are given to the same members as those in the above embodiment, and only the differences will be described.
FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing another embodiment of the present invention. The heating apparatus 40 for solid contents of the present embodiment is the same as the heating apparatus 20 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 except that the top wall 41 of the open chamber 23 has no step and does not have the exhaust flow rate relaxation plate 35.
FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing another embodiment of the present invention. In the solid content heating apparatus 42 according to this embodiment, the top wall 43 of the open chamber 23 is exhausted from the top wall of the chamber body so that the volume of the sealed space is larger on the exhaust port side than on the injection port side. It is inclined so as to gradually increase toward the mouth side. Thereby, the pressure gradient is formed from the injection port to the discharge port by reducing the volume on the injection port side, the flow of the heating medium from the injection port side to the exhaust port side is promoted, and the solid food is heated in a short time. Therefore, the line speed can be increased. In addition, by lowering the top wall on the injection port side, the effect of preventing the contents from being scattered by the heating medium can be expected.

  The solid content heating device 45 shown in FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b) is a means for facilitating the flow of the heating medium in the vicinity of the bottom of the container, instead of the means for pushing up the bottom of the container in the above embodiment. The heating medium passage groove 47 extending in the direction from the injection port side to the exhaust port side is previously formed on the bottom wall panel surface 48 so that a gap is formed between the content and the content without being supported. This is a case where the contents heating container 46 is employed. Therefore, in that case, the heating medium can naturally heat the solid food from the vicinity of the bottom wall through the heating medium passage groove 47. A plurality of the heating medium passage grooves are provided on the surface of the container panel, and both ends of the groove face the side wall 49 side of the container so that the heating medium sprayed along the side walls 49 flows along the heating medium passage groove. It is desirable to do. Note that the heating medium passage groove is not necessarily a vertical groove as illustrated, and may be a groove that is continuous in a grid pattern, for example. In the present embodiment, three injection ports 28 and three exhaust ports 33 are provided.

  The solid content heating device 50 shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B is an example in which a heating medium and a jet of substitution fluid are separately provided. In the present embodiment, the heating medium injection port 28 is provided near the inner surface of the side wall of the container as in the above-described embodiment, but the replacement fluid injection port 51 is provided in a substantially central portion of the container. In this case, the gas replacement is performed in a state where the chamber body 52 is lifted from the container opening and a gap 53 is formed between the chamber body 52 and the container opening. As a result, the replacement fluid blown out from the central portion discharges gas such as residual steam, which has existed in the sealed space until then, from the gap in the outer peripheral portion, and gas replacement is performed.

As an example, the contents were heated using the heating apparatus shown in FIG. 1 under the following conditions.
Container used;
Material: Polypropylene with a multilayer structure with an oxygen barrier layer in the middle layer Shape: Rectangular shaped container External dimensions: 150 mm x 100 mm x 30 mm
Average wall thickness: about 1mm
Contents and filling amount;
200g per container of cooked rice whose surface is cooled to 50 ° C by natural cooling immediately after cooking rice Filling Heating medium: Saturated steam Pressure: 0.1MPa
Chamber body temperature: 110 ° C
Heating method: A heating time of 1.0 second and a standing time of 2.0 seconds was repeated three times. At that time, steam jet
The direction of the injection port-exhaust port was changed every time as shown in FIG. During heating time
The bottom of the vessel was pushed up 5 mm from the bottom with a plate-like container push-up tool having a thickness of 3 mm.
After heating as described above, the cooked rice was immediately cut together with the container, the cross section was observed with an infrared camera, and the temperature distribution of the cross section was measured. The resulting temperature distribution is shown in FIG.

  Moreover, as Comparative Example 1, the contents were heat sterilized under the same conditions as in Example 1 without pushing up the bottom of the container. The temperature distribution in that case is shown in FIG. Further, as Comparative Example 2, a chamber body having a heating medium injection port in the center was used, and the contents were heat sterilized under the same conditions as in Example 1 without pushing up the bottom of the container. The temperature distribution in that case is shown in FIG.

As is apparent from FIGS. 7 to 9, in the case of this example, there is only a slight 75 ° C. region in the center near the bottom, and the inside is heated to 85 ° C. to the vicinity of the bottom of the container. Heated to 95 ° C. This temperature has reached a sufficient sterilization temperature at which rice cakes and the like are not generated. On the other hand, in the case of Comparative Example 1 and Comparative Example 2, the temperature of the contents decreases as it approaches the lower part of the container, and the temperature in the vicinity of the bottom increases only to 55 ° C. From the temperature at the filling point. The temperature was hardly raised and heating was insufficient. Therefore, in this case, the entire contents cannot be achieved at the sterilization temperature of 65 ° C. or higher unless heated for a longer time.
Therefore, from the above, it was confirmed that the heating method and heating apparatus according to the present invention are extremely effective for short-time heat sterilization of solid materials.

  The present invention can heat the contents uniformly and efficiently in a short time, speed up the production line, prevent vapor condensation on the sealing surface of the flange, and improve the sealing performance. Therefore, it can be suitably applied as a heating device in a solid food filling and packaging line in which solid food such as cooked rice, agar, and beans is filled in a molded container and then sterilized by heating. It can also be applied to a cooked food production line, in which case the contents are cooked by filling the container in an uncooked or semi-cooked state and then applying the heating method of the present invention. Can be sterilized. Alternatively, the solid content such as ingredients filled in the container is heated and cooked and sterilized as described above, and then the sterilized soup is filled to obtain a packaged food containing liquid contents.

It is a schematic diagram of the filling sealing line to the shaping | molding container of the solid food to which the heating apparatus of the solid content which concerns on this invention is applied. It is a section schematic diagram of the heating device of the solid contents concerning the embodiment of the present invention. It is the schematic diagram. It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the heating apparatus of the solid content which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the heating apparatus of the solid content which concerns on other embodiment of this invention, (a) is a front cross-sectional schematic diagram, (b) is a side cross-sectional schematic diagram. It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the heating apparatus of the solid content which concerns on other embodiment of this invention, (a) is in the state during heating, (b) is in the state under gas replacement. It is the temperature distribution figure of the cross section measured with the infrared camera of the cooked rice cut | disconnected with the container in an Example. It is the temperature distribution figure of the cross section measured with the infrared camera of the cooked rice cut with the container in the comparative example 1. It is the temperature distribution figure of the cross section measured with the infrared camera of the cooked rice cut with the container in the comparative example 2.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Conveyor 2 Receiving stand 5 Empty container transfer station 6 Content filling station 7 Heat sterilization station 8 Lid sealing station 9 Discharge station of sealed container 11 Lid material 12 Lid material sealing device 13 Discharge device 15, 46 Container 17 Flange 18 Contents 20, 40, 42, 45, 50 Food heating device 21, 52 Chamber body 22 Container bottom push-up means 23 Open chamber 24 Inner peripheral edge 25 Sealing material 26 Top wall (low step surface) 27 Top wall (high step surface)
28 Injecting Port 29 Communication Pipe 30 Heating Medium / Substitution Fluid Supply Switching Unit 31 Heating Medium Supply Pipe 32 Replacement Fluid Supply Pipe 33 Exhaust Outlet 34 Channel Restriction Plate 35 Exhaust Flow Rate Relaxing Plate 36 Push-up Rod 37 Exhaust Pipe 38 Heating Medium 39 Replacement Fluid 41, 43 Top wall 47 Heating medium passage groove 48 Bottom wall panel surface 49 Side wall 51 Replacement fluid injection port 53 Clearance

Claims (11)

  A method of heating a solid content filled in a container with a heating medium before sealing, wherein the container opening filled with the solid content is covered with a chamber body for each individual container, and the open end of the chamber body Is pressed against the flange of the container to form a sealed space, the heating medium injection port and the exhaust port are arranged apart from the chamber body, the heating medium is injected from the injection port toward the opening of the container, The flow is controlled so that the heating medium passes inside the container, the heating medium is brought into contact with the contents to exchange heat with the contents, and the contents are heated in a short time by discharging the heating medium from the exhaust port. A method for heating a solid content.   The container is a flexible container at least at the bottom. By deforming the bottom of the container, a gap is formed between the inner surface of the container bottom wall and the solid contents, and the heating medium passes near the container bottom wall. The method for heating a solid content according to claim 1, wherein the heating is promoted.   The groove of the level which the said solid content does not fall in the bottom part of the said container is formed, and heating of the foodstuff from the container bottom wall vicinity was accelerated | stimulated by passing a heating medium through this groove | channel. The heating method of the solid content as described in 2.   The method for heating a solid content according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a pressure difference is provided between an ejection port side and an exhaust port side of the heating medium to increase a flow rate of the heating medium passing through the container. .   The solid fluid according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a replacement fluid supply port is provided in the chamber, an inert gas is supplied after the heating of the contents, and the gas in the container is replaced with an inert gas. How to heat the contents.   A device that heats the solid contents filled in the containers conveyed by the conveyor with a heating medium before sealing, and is relatively moved toward and away from the opening of the contents-filled containers conveyed by the conveyor. Each of the individual containers has a chamber body that covers the container opening and the opening end of the container presses the flange of the container to form a sealed space, and a heating medium injection port is provided in the chamber body. A flow path guiding means provided so as to be positioned above the inner wall surface of the opening, an exhaust port provided at a position away from the injection port, and guiding the heating medium supplied from the supply port to pass through the inside of the container An apparatus for heating a solid content, comprising:   The solid content heating apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a container bottom push-up unit that pushes up the bottom of the container whose opening is covered with the chamber body and elastically deforms the container by facing the chamber body.   8. The flow path limiting plate according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the flow path guiding means is a flow path limiting plate that is provided in the vicinity of the heating medium ejection port and inside the container with respect to the heating medium ejection port and depending from the top wall of the chamber body. The solid content heating apparatus described.   9. The device according to claim 6, wherein the space of the sealed space is inclined so that the top wall of the chamber body gradually becomes higher toward the exhaust port side so that the volume on the exhaust port side is larger than the supply port side. The heating apparatus for solid contents according to 1.   The solid content heating apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein a cross-sectional area of the exhaust port is made larger than an injection port of the heating medium.   The solid content heating apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 10, wherein a replacement fluid supply pipe is connected to the heating medium injection port so as to be switchable.

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