JP4606358B2 - Automatic milking device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic milk preparation device that automatically prepares infant formula.

  In many hospitals and maternity hospitals that contain a large number of newborn babies, a milking room is set up. In this milking room, a milk preparation device for preparing milk for preparing milk for dissolving powdered milk, powdered milk is provided. A milk preparation device that mixes and dissolves in milk for preparing milk to produce milk, a cooling device that cools the prepared milk, and the like are provided.

  If the concentration of milk is uneven, infants may not be able to absorb enough nutrients, and stools may become hard, which may adversely affect infant health. Accuracy is required.

  When weighing the milk preparation water, install an electronic balance below the milk preparation water outlet in the milk preparation device, place the empty milk preparation container taken out of the sterilization cabinet on the electronic balance, The method of injecting into a milk preparation container and measuring is taken (for example, refer patent document 1).

  In addition, a pulse motor-controlled pump is used to inject milk preparation water into the milk preparation container, and this pump functions as a positive displacement flow meter to indirectly measure the supply amount of milk preparation water from the number of rotations of the pump. An automatic milk adjustment device is also known (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

  By the way, recently, low birth weight infants and immunocompromised infants may suffer from health damage due to Enterobacter Sakazaki and Bacillus cereus that exist in the natural environment as well as coliform bacteria. It is also reported that Enterobacter Sakazaki is inactivated at a temperature of 70 ° C.

  In response to this report, the Japan Dairy Industry Association recommends that the heating temperature of the preparation water during preparation be increased from the conventional 60 ° C to around 80 ° C.

For this reason, it is possible to supply and measure milk preparation water in-line, and it can handle a wide range of fluid heating temperatures. There is a demand for a milk preparation device that can measure accurately.
JP 2002-173197 A (page (3), FIG. 2) JP-A-9-28575 (Page (2), FIG. 1)

  However, the fluid temperature that can be measured by the volumetric flow meter or ultrasonic flow meter as described above for measuring milk preparation water is normally limited to 60 ° C. Therefore, when the temperature of milk preparation water is increased to around 80 ° C. Will not compensate for the measurement accuracy.

  In addition, since any of the above-described flow meters measures the flow rate flowing in unit time by volume, it must be taken into consideration that the measured value fluctuates due to the influence of temperature.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the problems in the conventional milk preparation device as described above, can be adjusted in-line, can be used for high-temperature milk for preparation, and can be supplied. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic milking apparatus capable of measuring milk water with high accuracy.

The present invention is a supply line for supplying formula water for dissolving powdered milk, a water tank connected to the upstream side of the supply line via a pump, and a setting means for setting the supply amount of formula water, A mass flow meter that is provided in the supply line and measures the mass flow rate of the supplied milk for conditioning, and a control unit that controls the supply of milk conditioning water based on the mass flow measured by the mass flow meter ,
The control means adjusts the correlation equation between the set supply amount of the formula water and the error of the supply amount in the actually supplied formula water by the temperature of the formula water and the setting means. When the supply amount of dairy water is set, a correlation equation corresponding to the temperature of the preparation water is read from the storage unit, an error in the supply amount corresponding to the set supply amount is obtained based on the correlation equation, and the supply amount A correction unit that corrects the set supply amount according to the error, and is configured to control the supply of the milk preparation water according to the corrected set supply amount ,
As the mass flow meter, there is a Coriolis type mass flow meter using a high heat resistant alloy or a high heat resistant corrosion resistant alloy for the material of the sensor tube,
A switching valve is provided in the supply line to switch the flow of the milk preparation water in two directions. When switched to one side, the milk preparation water is discharged, and when switched to the other side, the milk is adjusted through the return pipe. It is an automatic milking apparatus configured to circulate the irrigation water back to the water storage tank .

  As the mass flow meter according to the present invention, a Coriolis type mass flow meter using a high heat resistant alloy or a high heat resistant corrosion resistant alloy as the material of the sensor tube can be used.

  In this case, it becomes possible to raise the temperature of the said milk preparation water to about 80 degreeC, and can further raise the sterilization of the infant formula baby milk.

  In the present invention, if a water storage tank is connected to the upstream side of the supply pipe line via a pump and the water storage tank is provided with heating means, the temperature-adjusted milking water can be supplied to the automatic milking apparatus. it can.

  In the present invention, the supply pipe is provided with a switching valve for switching the flow of the milk preparation water in two directions. When discharging the milk preparation water, the switching valve is switched to one side, and when the milk preparation water is not discharged, the other side is switched. If the milking water is circulated by switching and returning to the water storage tank through the return pipe, the temperature of the milking water can be stabilized, and the measurement accuracy of the mass flow meter can be increased.

  In the present invention, if the supply pipe has a branch pipe and the branch pipe is connected to the return pipe, even if pressure fluctuation occurs in the supply pipe due to, for example, switching operation of the switching valve, the pressure fluctuation is returned. Can be attenuated through the tube.

  In the present invention, the ultrafiltration membrane device is preferably provided on the upstream side or the downstream side of the mass flow meter.

  In the present invention, if an anti-contamination prevention valve is provided at the outlet of the supply pipe and a metal fiber sintered filter is provided in the milk preparation water discharge passage of the anti-contamination prevention valve, foreign matter should be present in the supply pipe. Even if it is mixed, the foreign matter is not discharged out of the automatic milking apparatus, and the safety of the milk powder can be improved.

  According to the automatic milking apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to prepare milk in-line, to cope with high-temperature milking water, and to accurately measure the milking water to be supplied. Have.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on the embodiments shown in the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of an automatic milk preparation apparatus according to the present invention and a milk preparation water production apparatus connected to the automatic milk preparation apparatus.

a. In the same figure, a water supply pipe is connected to the milk preparation water production apparatus 1, and the tap water is filtered through a prefilter 2 made of, for example, activated carbon to remove impurities and chlorine. (Reverse osmosis) Introducing into the membrane device 3 removes colloidal substances, bacteria, bacteria, ions, etc., and applies ultraviolet rays from the ultraviolet irradiator 4 to milking water filtered through the RO membrane device 3 After irradiation, it is stored in the water tank 5.

  The ultraviolet irradiator 4 maintains aseptically the inside of the circulation system of the water storage tank 5 → the supply pipe 13 → the return pipe 15 → the water storage tank 5 or the water storage tank 5 → the supply path 13 → the return pipe 15 → the water storage tank 5. It is provided for. Moreover, although the ultraviolet irradiation device 4 showed the flowing-water type in-line type in the said embodiment, it is not restricted to this, The throwing-type thing immersed in the water storage tank 5 can also be used.

  The water storage tank 5 is provided with a heater 6 as heating means, and heats the milk for adjustment in the water storage tank 5 to a predetermined temperature. The temperature of the heated formula water is detected by the temperature sensor 7 and displayed on a display unit (not shown) of the apparatus.

  Further, the milk for preparation produced by the milk preparation water production apparatus 1 is sent from the water storage tank 5 to the automatic milk preparation apparatus 9 by driving the pump 8.

b. Automatic milking device b-1. Milk Preparation Water Measurement Unit Next, the milk preparation water sent from the milk preparation water production device 1 by the pump 8 is given to the milk preparation water measurement unit 9a, and a UF (ultrafiltration) membrane made of a hollow fiber ultrafiltration membrane. Further microfiltration is performed with the apparatus 10.

  The finely filtered milk for preparation is sent to the Coriolis mass flow meter 11 to measure the mass flow rate. The UF membrane device 10 can also be arranged on the downstream side of the Coriolis mass flow meter 11.

  In order to know the mass with a general volume flow meter, it is necessary to separately measure the density of the measurement object and multiply this by the volume, but the density measurement itself is extremely troublesome. On the other hand, since the Coriolis mass flow meter 11 directly measures the mass flow rate, it is not necessary to measure the density.

  The Coriolis mass flow meter 11 used in this embodiment is a high heat and corrosion resistant specification using titanium as the material of the sensor tube, and can measure the temperature of the fluid over a wide range of −40 to + 150 ° C. . Also, a rated flow rate of 15.8 kg / min is used.

  The milk for adjustment that has passed through the Coriolis mass flow meter 11 is guided to an electromagnetic three-way valve 12.

  The three-way valve 12 has a switching position between the water sampling direction a and the return direction b. When the water sampling direction is switched to the water sampling direction a, milking water is sent to the anti-pollution prevention valve 14 through the supply pipe (supply pipe) 13. On the other hand, when switching to the return direction b, the milk preparation water is returned to the water storage tank 5 through the return pipe 15. The switching operation of the three-way valve 12 is controlled by a controller 17 described later.

  The anti-contamination prevention valve 14 is provided at the outlet of the supply pipe 13 that supplies the milk preparation water, and is configured to prevent germs from entering the supply pipe 13 from the outside.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the anti-pollution control valve 14 has a pipe-like discharge port 14a, and is connected to the discharge port 14a in a state where a nozzle 14b is suspended.

  Specifically, a flange portion 14c is integrally formed at the upper end of the nozzle 14b, and the flange portion 14 is fixed to the discharge port 14a using a socket 14d.

  Further, ring-shaped sealing materials 14e and 14f are inserted between the flange portion 14c and the discharge port 14a tip, and a filter 14g is sandwiched between the sealing materials 14e and 14f.

  The filter 14g is formed by sintering a metal fiber into a disk shape (bore size 20 μm). Even if foreign matter is mixed in the supply pipe, the foreign matter is discharged from the nozzle 14b. Not to be.

  A heater 14h is wound around the discharge port 14a so as to kill germs that enter from the outside through the nozzle 14b and attempt to propagate. Reference numeral 14 i denotes a switch for turning on / off the energization of the heater 14 h, which is controlled by the controller 17.

  By connecting the return pipe 15 to the water storage tank 5, a circulation path for circulating the milk conditioning water is formed through the path of the water storage tank 5 → the UF membrane 10 → the Coriolis mass flow meter 11 → the water storage tank 5. As a result, when the three-way valve 12 is switched to the return direction b, milk for adjustment with a constant temperature circulates in the Coriolis mass flow meter 11 at all times. The Coriolis-type mass flow meter 11 can stably measure the mass flow rate even when switched to.

  A branch pipe 16 is provided between the UF membrane device 10 and the Coriolis mass flow meter 11, and the branch pipe 16 is connected to the return pipe 15. This branch pipe 16 functions to release the pressure fluctuation generated in the supply pipe line by switching the three-way valve 12 to the return pipe 15 and attenuate it.

  The mass flow rate measured by the Coriolis type mass flow meter 11 is output as a pulse signal and given to the controller 17 as control means.

b-2. Controller and Touch Panel Monitor A touch panel monitor (setting means) 18 serving both as a display unit and an operation unit is connected to the controller 17. From this touch panel monitor 18, the sampled water volume and the temperature of the formula water are collected. Are set and various commands are inputted.

  19a is an operation switch, 19b is a water sampling switch, and 19c is an emergency stop switch.

  When water collection data is set and milking start is instructed, the controller 17 controls each element constituting the automatic milking device 9 according to a program stored in advance in the ROM 17a.

  Further, the controller 17 includes a pulse counter 17b that counts pulses output from the Coriolis mass flow meter 11, and a RAM 17c that stores the amount of water sampled, the temperature of milking water set via the touch panel monitor 18, and the like. A correction unit 17d that corrects the mass according to the temperature of the formula water is provided.

  FIG. 3 shows the screen configuration of the touch panel monitor 18.

  In the figure, the menu screen of the touch panel monitor 18 displays a milk preparation icon 18a for performing the milk preparation work, an operation icon 18b for starting and stopping the device, the current device status, alarm status, and the like. A state display icon 18c for operation and an operation guide icon 18d for displaying a guide related to the operation are displayed.

  The input of the set amount of milk can be input from the submenu by touching the milk adjustment icon 18a.

b-3. Stirring Cooling Unit In FIG. 1, the stirring cooling unit 20 includes a cooling tank 22 that cools a milk melting pot 21 configured with a bottomed cylindrical container that can be covered with a lid (not shown).

  A cooling pipe 24 that circulates the cooling water from the cooler cooler 23 is provided around the outer peripheral wall of the cooling tank 22, and heat exchange is performed with the cooling water in the cooling tank 22 that has risen in temperature. The milk in the milk melting pot 21 placed on the top is cooled to around 37 ° C.

  The cooling operation is performed by touching the operation icon 18b on the menu screen and executing from the submenu.

  The cooler cooler 23 can be configured by a known cooler including a compressor, a condenser, a dryer, and the like.

  A part of the cooling water in the cooling tank 22 is taken out from the outlet pipe 25 and led to the pump 26, and returned from the pump 26 to the cooling tank 22 through the introduction pipe 27, and circulates the cooling water in the cooling tank 22. It is supposed to let you.

  A stirrer 28 composed of a magnetic stirrer is provided below the cooling tank 22, and the stirrer 29 in the cooling tank 22 is rotated by the magnetic action of the stirrer 28.

  The cooling water in the cooling tank 22 can be drained through the switching valve 30 → the drain pipe 31, and the cooling water used in the cooler cooler 23 and the cooling water injected into the cooling tank 22 are supplied from the supply pipe 32. The tap water supplied is used.

  Next, the control content of the controller 17 that controls the automatic milking apparatus 9 having the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, water sampling data is set (step S1).

  Specifically, the milk adjustment icon 18a on the touch panel 18 is touched to set the amount of milk for preparation and the temperature of the preparation water. For example, when the amount of water to be collected is set to 800 g, “8, 0, 0, 0” is input, and when the temperature of the preparation water is set to 80 ° C. in the preparation water production apparatus 1, “8, 0” is set. Enter.

  Next, when an execution icon (not shown) in the submenu is pressed, it is determined that there is a setting input (YES) in step S2.

  Next, the correction unit 17d of the controller 17 performs a water sampling amount correction calculation (step S3), and transfers the corrected water sampling amount to the pulse counter 17b (step S4). The pulse counter 17b includes a memory, and stores the corrected amount of water sampled in the number of pulses.

  FIG. 5 is a graph for explaining the correction processing of the water sampling amount.

  The graph shown in the figure is obtained by experiment to determine a mass error (average difference amount) generated between the set water intake amount and the actual measured value when the temperature of the milk for preparation is changed variously.

  The horizontal axis indicates the set water sampling amount [g] set by the touch panel 18, and the vertical axis indicates the average difference amount (actual measurement value−set water sampling amount) [g] when the number of samples n = 10.

For example, taking the case where the temperature of the formula water (average water temperature) is 80 ° C,
Between the set sampling amount and the average difference amount, a linear regression equation y = −0.0072x + 6.44566
(Refer to specific L in the figure).

  The ROM 17a stores a plurality of linear regression equations obtained by experiments for each temperature of the formula water, and when the water sampling amount is set via the touch panel 18, the average differential amount corresponding to the set water sampling amount is calculated as the linear regression equation. Ask from.

  For example, if the water sampling amount is set to 10000 g, the average difference amount is obtained as -65.5 g. That is, the water sampling amount actually measured with respect to the set water sampling amount is 9934.5 g, resulting in insufficient water sampling.

  Therefore, the correction unit 17d performs correction for adding the average difference amount 65.5g to the set water sampling amount, and transfers the corrected set water sampling amount to the memory of the pulse counter 17b.

  In the case of knowing the mass with a conventional volume flow meter, the density of the object to be measured must be separately measured and multiplied by the volume. However, when the Coriolis mass flow meter 11 is used, the density measurement is performed. It is not necessary, and the mass flow rate of the fluid, that is, the milk for adjustment, can be measured with high accuracy only by correcting the mass difference due to the fluid temperature.

  Next, when the operator presses a water sampling icon (not shown) in the submenu (YES in step S5), the controller 17 switches the three-way valve 12 to the water sampling direction a (step S6). Thereby, the water for formulating is injected into the milk melting pot 21 through the anti-contamination valve 14.

  When the milk for adjustment passes through the Coriolis mass flow meter 11, the mass flow rate is measured and the integrated pulse value is given to the pulse counter 17b (step S7).

  Here, it is confirmed that the emergency stop switch 19c has not been pressed (step S8), and the pulse counter 17b obtains the integrated pulse value and the corrected set water sampling amount (pulse value) transferred from the correction unit 17d. Compare (step S9).

  In step S9, if the integrated pulse count value has not reached the corrected water sampling amount, the flow returns to step S8 to continue water sampling.

  In step S9, if the integrated pulse count value = the corrected sampled water amount, the three-way valve 12 is switched to the return direction b, and the milk for adjustment is circulated through the return pipe 15.

  Thus, according to the automatic milking apparatus of the present invention, it becomes possible to measure the milking water in-line. Therefore, particularly when milking water heated to a high temperature is used, the milking water Can be eliminated, and the burden on the operator can be reduced.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the automatic milking apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the structure of the antifouling prevention valve shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the menu screen of the touch panel shown in FIG. It is a flowchart explaining the control content of the controller shown in FIG. It is a graph explaining the correction method of the amount of water sampling.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Milking water production apparatus 2 Prefilter 3 RO membrane apparatus 4 Ultraviolet irradiation device 5 Water tank 6 Heater 7 Temperature sensor 8 Pump 9 Automatic milking apparatus 9a Milking water measurement part 10 UF membrane apparatus 11 Coriolis type mass flowmeter 12 Three-way Valve 13 Supply pipe 14 Back pollution prevention valve 15 Return pipe 16 Branch pipe 17 Controller 17a ROM
17b Pulse counter 17c RAM
17d Correction unit 18 Touch panel monitor 19a Operation switch 19b Water sampling switch 19c Emergency stop switch 20 Stirring cooling unit 21 Milk melting pot 22 Cooling tank 23 Cooler cooler 24 Heat exchanger 26 Pump 28 Stirrer 29 Stirrer

Claims (6)

A supply line for supplying formula water for dissolving powdered milk;
A water tank connected to the upstream side of the supply line via a pump;
Setting means for setting the supply amount of the milk preparation water;
A mass flow meter that is provided in the supply pipe and measures the mass flow rate of the supplied milk for conditioning,
Control means for controlling the supply of milk preparation water based on the mass flow rate measured by the mass flow meter,
The control means includes
A storage unit that stores a correlation equation between a set supply amount of formulating water and an error in the supply amount of actually supplied formula water for each temperature of formulating water;
When the supply amount of formulating water is set by the setting means, the correlation equation corresponding to the temperature of formulating water is read from the storage unit, and the supply amount corresponding to the set supply amount is determined based on the correlation equation. A correction unit that calculates an error and corrects the set supply amount according to the supply amount error;
And is configured to control the supply of formulating water according to the corrected set supply amount ,
As the mass flow meter, there is a Coriolis type mass flow meter using a high heat resistant alloy or a high heat resistant corrosion resistant alloy for the material of the sensor tube,
A switching valve is provided in the supply line to switch the flow of the milk preparation water in two directions. When switched to one side, the milk preparation water is discharged, and when switched to the other side, the milk is adjusted through the return pipe. An automatic milking apparatus configured to circulate the irrigation water back to the water tank . Automatic milk formula according to claim 1, wherein the temperature of the milk formula water is substantially 80 ° C.. The automatic milking apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the water storage tank is provided with heating means. The supply pipe has a branch pipe, automatic milk formula according to claim 1, wherein the branch pipe is connected to the return pipe. The automatic milking apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein an ultrafiltration membrane device is provided upstream or downstream of the mass flow meter. Back contamination prevention valve is provided at the outlet portion of the supply line, according to any one of claims 1 to 5, a sintered metal fiber filter is provided in the milk-water discharge passage tone of the back contamination valve Automatic milking device.

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