JP4910819B2 - Electron beam sterilizer - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electron beam sterilization apparatus that sterilizes an article by irradiating it with an electron beam, and more particularly to an electron beam sterilization apparatus provided with an area irradiation type (non-scanning type) electron beam irradiation means.

  In an area irradiation type (non-scanning type) electron beam irradiation apparatus, a plurality of filaments are arranged in parallel at equal intervals so that the distribution of the irradiated electron beam is made uniform. 2. Description of the Related Art An electron beam sterilization apparatus that sterilizes an article to be irradiated by irradiating an electron beam with such an area irradiation type electron beam irradiation apparatus has been known (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  In the configuration in which the filaments are arranged in parallel to generate the electron beam, the portion between the filaments has a lower radiation dose distribution, so when the filament is placed in parallel with the conveyance direction of the irradiated article, Since the portion of the article to be irradiated that passes through the front of the filament is limited, a large difference occurs in the irradiation dose applied to the article between the front of the filament and the intermediate portion of the filament. Therefore, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, the filament is inclined with respect to the conveying direction of the article. Furthermore, if it arrange | positions so that adjacent filaments may overlap in the conveyance direction of articles | goods, the part which does not pass the front of the filament of an irradiated article can be eliminated.

  If it is the structure like the invention described in the said patent document 1, distribution of the electron beam irradiated to articles | goods can be equalize | homogenized. However, if the article that is irradiated with the electron beam is extremely different in thickness between the body and the mouth, such as a PET bottle, the body of the bottle is There is a risk that over-irradiation is likely to occur, and there is a possibility that the mouth portion may be deformed. On the contrary, there is a problem that the mouth portion is insufficient in irradiation dose and may not be sufficiently sterilized.

  2. Description of the Related Art An electron beam irradiation apparatus that prevents sterilization unevenness when an electron beam is sterilized by irradiating an article having an extremely different thickness such as a PET bottle is already known (for example, Patent Documents) 2 or Patent Document 3).

  The invention described in Patent Document 2 is a scanning electron beam irradiation apparatus, and in irradiating an irradiation object with an electron beam, the scanning speed of the electron beam is slow at a thick part of the irradiation object, The electron beam absorption amount of the object to be irradiated is made uniform by increasing the speed of the thin part and maintaining the ratio of the electron beam transmission amount and the scanning speed at each part in the scanning direction of the object to be constant.

In addition to the electron beam generator that irradiates the entire PET bottle with an electron beam, the invention described in Patent Document 3 is another electron beam generator that generates an electron beam having a weaker energy than the electron beam generator. The electron beam generator irradiates the mouth with an electron beam.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-72600 (page 3-4, FIG. 5) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-248897 (page 5-7, FIG. 1) JP 2002-173114 A (page 3, FIG. 2)

  The electron beam irradiation apparatus according to the invention of Patent Document 2 is of a scanning type and requires a device for controlling the scanning speed, and thus has a more complicated configuration than a non-scanning type electron beam irradiation apparatus. In addition, the configuration disclosed in Patent Document 2 has a problem in that it is necessary to change the scanning control according to the height of the mouth when the sizes of the containers are different.

  Further, in the configuration of the invention described in Patent Document 3, another electron beam generator is provided for the mouth portion, which causes a problem of high cost.

The present invention provides an area irradiation type electron beam irradiation means for generating an electron beam from a plurality of filaments arranged in parallel in a vacuum chamber and irradiating a predetermined irradiation area with an electron beam through a window foil attached to the irradiation window. An electron beam sterilization apparatus for sterilizing an irradiated article positioned in the irradiation area by irradiating an electron beam with the electron beam irradiating means, wherein the electron beam irradiating means concentrates the electron beam on a specific part of the article. As described above, the distance between the filaments in the portion corresponding to the specific part in the vacuum chamber is narrowed, and the filaments are densely arranged.

  Further, in the invention described in claim 2, the article to be irradiated is a resin container, and the filament corresponding to the mouth portion is arranged more densely than the other portions, so that the irradiation dose to the mouth portion is increased. The irradiation dose to the body is lowered.

  Furthermore, the invention described in claim 3 is provided with a container transport means for supporting and transporting the mouth of the container or the vicinity thereof, and the container is transported to the front of the irradiation window by the container transport means. It is.

  In the electron beam sterilization apparatus of the present invention, the filament for generating the electron beam is arranged in a high density corresponding to the part of the article where the electron beam needs to be concentrated and irradiated. Even when the thickness is significantly different between the body and the body, it is possible to irradiate an electron beam with an irradiation dose suitable for each part, thereby enhancing the bactericidal effect and avoiding excessive electron beam irradiation.

  This is a device that generates electron beams from filaments arranged in parallel, irradiates and sterilizes the articles located in the irradiation area through the irradiation window, so that the electron beams can be concentrated and irradiated to specific parts of the articles. By arranging the filaments corresponding to the part densely, even if the amount of transmission of the electron beam is different, such as the thickness of the irradiated article varies depending on the part, the amount suitable for each part The purpose of irradiating with an electron beam is achieved.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the overall configuration of an electron beam sterilizer according to an embodiment of the present invention. The container 2 sterilized in the electron beam sterilization apparatus according to this embodiment and filled with contents such as liquid in the subsequent process is a resin container such as a plastic bottle. The container 2 is continuously conveyed by the air conveying conveyor 4 and is carried into the introduction chamber while being separated at a predetermined interval by the infeed screw 6.

  The introduction chamber is divided into two chambers (a first introduction chamber 8 and a second introduction chamber 10), and a rotary wheel (a first wheel) provided with a container holding means (not shown) in each chamber 8, 10. A rotary wheel 12 and a second rotary wheel 14) are arranged. The containers 2 carried into the introduction chambers 8 and 10 are sequentially transferred to the rotary wheels 12 and 14 in the introduction chambers 8 and 10 and are rotated and conveyed. An opening (not shown) through which the container 2 can pass is formed on the chamber wall surface where the container 2 is carried into the first introduction chamber 8 from the air conveying conveyor 4, and from the first rotary wheel 12. An opening (not shown) through which the container 2 can be delivered is formed in the partition wall 16 of the delivery part to the second rotary wheel 14.

  Following the second introduction chamber 10, when the container 2 is sterilized by irradiation with an electron beam, a sterilization box (sterilization box) made of a lead wall that shields the electron beam and X-rays (braking X-rays) from leaking outside. Room 18 is installed. In the sterilization box 18, a supply chamber 22 on the inlet side where the supply wheel 20 is disposed, and a container transfer device 24 that transfers the container 2 received from the supply wheel 20 and reverses the upper and lower sides in the inversion section A are provided. Is located on the front side of the main chamber 26 and the electron beam irradiation device 28, the irradiation chamber 30 in which the transported container 2 receives the electron beam irradiation, and the exit side (right side in FIG. 1) of the irradiation chamber 30. A container 2 that is continuously provided and sterilized by electron beam irradiation is partitioned into a discharge chamber 32 that sends the container 2 to the downstream side while maintaining aseptic conditions.

  An opening (not shown) through which the container 2 can pass is formed in a portion of the wall of the sterilization box 18 where the container 2 is transferred from the rotary wheel 14 of the second introduction chamber 10 to the supply wheel 20 in the supply chamber 22. Has been. The supply wheel 20 that has received the container 2 from the second rotary wheel 14 delivers the container 2 to the container transfer device 24 in the main chamber 26. The partition wall 34 between the supply chamber 22 and the main chamber 26 is also formed with an opening (not shown) through which the container 2 can be delivered. The container transport device 24 installed in the main chamber 26 is a container which is an endless container transport body in which a plurality of container grippers 36 (see FIGS. 2 and 3 described later) as a plurality of container holding means are continuously provided. The holding band 24a and two sprockets (first sprocket 24b and second sprocket 24c) are provided as a transfer rotating body around which the endless container holding band 24a is looped to circulate and convey the container gripper 36.

  Each container gripper 36 has a pair of upper and lower container holding portions 36A and 36B, and simultaneously holds and conveys two containers 2 and rotates up and down by 180 ° about an axis along the conveying direction. Can be reversed. The container holding portions 36A and 36B of each container gripper 36 are a neck portion of the neck portion of the container (pet bottle) 2 (in this embodiment, a portion held by the gripper 36 immediately above the inclined shoulder portion of the container 2 is a neck portion. The container 2 held by both the container holding portions 36A and 36B is formed in the mouth portion 2a). 2a is conveyed while facing each other.

  The container transport device 24 includes a linear path through which the container gripper 36 is linearly transferred between the sprockets 24b and 24c, and a circulation path that circulates along the sprockets 24b and 24c. The reversing section A is set on a straight path from 24c to the first sprocket 24b, and the container 2 is reversed once by being conveyed once around the container 2 so that the top and bottom of the container 2 are switched.

  A supply position B of the container 2 is set on the downstream side in the transfer direction of the container gripper 36 in the circulation path of the second sprocket 24c. A discharge position C is set on the upstream side, and one container 2 is held by one container holding part 36A or 36B at the supply position B and conveyed twice, and the top and bottom are inverted twice during the supply. After returning to this state, the product is delivered from the delivery position C to the delivery wheel 38 of the delivery chamber 32. The first introduction chamber 8, the second introduction chamber 10, the supply chamber 22 in the sterilization box 18, and the main chamber 26 are introduced and transported from the outside before the sterilization container 2. However, it is not maintained in a completely sterile state.

  An electron beam irradiation means (electron beam irradiation device) 28 is disposed adjacent to the lead sterilization box 18. The electron beam irradiation device 28 includes a vacuum chamber (acceleration chamber) 40 that irradiates the container 2 with an electron beam, and is placed on a mounting table 41 so as to move on a rail 41a. As is well known, the electron beam irradiation device 28 heats the filament 42 (see FIG. 2) in a vacuum in the vacuum chamber 40 to generate thermoelectrons, accelerates the electrons with a high voltage, and accelerates the electron beam. After that, it was taken out into the atmosphere through a window foil 48 made of metal such as Ti attached to the irradiation window 46 provided in the irradiation unit 44 and positioned in the irradiation area D in front of the opening range of the irradiation window 46. A treatment such as sterilization is performed by applying an electron beam to the irradiated article (the container 2 in this embodiment).

  In the electron beam irradiation apparatus 28 of this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, four irradiation windows 46 are formed in the irradiation section 44. The container gripper 36 of this embodiment is configured to hold and transport two containers 2 simultaneously by two upper and lower container holding portions 36A and 36B. In order to irradiate these containers 2 with electron beams, respectively. Further, the irradiation window 46 is divided into upper and lower parts corresponding to the upper and lower containers 2.

  Further, in the electron beam irradiation device 28, a spark may be generated in a vacuum chamber (acceleration chamber) 40 in which a filament 42 for generating an electron beam is disposed. The irradiation of the line is interrupted. This interruption is restored in a short time, but if the container 2 passes through the irradiation window 46 during this interruption, it will not be sterilized without being irradiated with the electron beam. Even in the case of interruption, a sufficient length is ensured in the transport direction of the containers 2 (indicated by the symbol X in FIGS. 2 and 3) so that all the containers 2 can be irradiated with the electron beam without fail. . For that purpose, a single irradiation window having a sufficient length in the conveying direction of the container 2 may be provided, but since there is a limit to the size of the metal window foil attached to the irradiation window, in this embodiment, Two irradiation windows 46 are arranged in the conveying direction of the container 2 to ensure a necessary length.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of filaments 42 of the electron beam irradiation device 28 are arranged in parallel and are inclined with respect to the transport direction (arrow X) of the container 2 by the container transport device 24. Are arranged. One filament 42 and the filament 42 adjacent to the filament 42 always overlap in the transport direction X of the container 2. That is, one end of each filament 42 (for example, the right end 42a in FIG. 2) and the other end (left end 42b) of the filament 42 positioned above the filament 42 always overlap in the transport direction X of the container 2, Since all the portions of the container 2 conveyed across the front of the irradiation window 46 pass in front of the filament 42, all the surfaces can be irradiated with a necessary amount of electron beams. The electron beam irradiation apparatus 28 according to this embodiment is an area irradiation type (non-scanning type), and the filament 42 is arranged over a wide area covering the entire area of the four irradiation windows 46. Feeding conductors 50A and 50B are connected to both ends 42a and 42b of these filaments 42 to supply current.

  Furthermore, in the conventional electron beam irradiation apparatus, as shown in Patent Document 1, many filaments 42 are arranged at equal intervals. However, in the electron beam irradiation apparatus 28 according to this embodiment, the mouth portion of the container 2 is arranged. A filament 42 (indicated by reference numeral Y in FIG. 2) disposed at a portion corresponding to the mouth portion 2a so as to face the position through which 2a passes, is another portion, for example, a body portion 2b for containing contents. The filaments 42 are arranged densely by narrowing the interval between the filaments 42 rather than the portion facing the passing position. Therefore, the mouth portion 2a of the container 2 passing in front of the dense filament 42 is irradiated with concentrated electron beams, and the irradiation dose becomes higher, and the electron beam is irradiated by a larger amount than the body portion 2b. On the contrary, the irradiation of the electron beam irradiated to the trunk | drum 2b of the container 2 is carried out roughly by arrange | positioning the space | interval of the filament 42 of the part corresponding to the trunk | drum 2b wider than the part corresponding to the opening | mouth part 2a. The dose is getting lower. In this way, the arrangement intervals of the filaments are not equal intervals as in the conventional configuration, but for a portion requiring a high irradiation dose, the number of filaments is increased and densely arranged, and the irradiation dose is reduced. The portions to be suppressed are roughly arranged with the filament interval widened, and the electron beam irradiation dose distribution is varied according to the portion of the article to be irradiated in a predetermined irradiation area.

  In this embodiment, the mounting table 41 on which the electron beam irradiation device 28 is mounted is movable on the rail 41 a and can be moved closer to and away from the sterilization box 18. When operating this electron beam sterilization apparatus, the mounting table 41 is brought close to the sterilization box 18, and the irradiation part 44 of the vacuum chamber 40 is made to coincide with the opening 18 a formed on the wall surface of the sterilization box 18. 18 and the electron beam irradiation apparatus 28 are connected. An irradiation chamber 30 is provided inside the sterilization box 18 so as to surround the opening 18a to which the irradiation section 44 of the vacuum chamber 40 is connected. The container transport device 24 has a linear path extending from the sprockets 24 b to 24 c through the irradiation chamber 30, and an irradiation area D is set in the penetrating portion and held by both container holding portions 36 A and 36 B of the container gripper 36. Further, the two containers 2 pass through the irradiation chamber 30 in a vertical state, and each container 2 is sterilized by being irradiated with an electron beam from the electron beam irradiation device 28 in the irradiation area D. .

  Opening (not shown) through which the upper and lower two containers 2 held by the container gripper 36 can pass is formed on the wall surfaces on the inlet side and the outlet side of the irradiation chamber 30. A discharge chamber 32 is formed continuously on the wall surface on the outlet side of the irradiation chamber 30. One sprocket of the container transport device 24 (the right sprocket 24c in FIG. 1) enters the inside of the discharge chamber 32 and is held by the container gripper 36 and is irradiated twice with an electron beam once in the vertical position. The container 2 is delivered from the container holding part 36A or 36B located below the container gripper 36 to the delivery wheel 38 installed in the discharge chamber 32 in the discharge chamber 32. The discharge chamber 32 does not hinder the rotation of the sprocket 24c, and the main chamber 26 and the supply path of the container transfer device 24 from the opening on the exit side of the irradiation chamber 30 to the transfer wheel 38 and the transfer route of the transfer wheel 38 are supplied. The partition wall 52 partitioned from the chamber 22, the partition wall 54 facing the partition wall 52 and partitioned from the upper and lower spaces of the transfer wheel 38, and the floor surface and the top surface of the sterilization box 18 are surrounded. Since each chamber after this discharge chamber 32 processes the container 2 sterilized by electron beam irradiation, the aseptic state is maintained.

  An intermediate chamber 56 is installed adjacent to the discharge chamber 32 located on the most downstream side in the sterilization box 18. A chamber (not shown) containing a filler or the like is installed downstream of the intermediate chamber 56. A rotary wheel (neck wheel) 58 provided with a container holding means (not shown) is provided in the intermediate chamber 56, and the container 2 received by the neck wheel 58 from the delivery wheel 38 in the discharge chamber 32. Is delivered to the supply wheel in the chamber in which the filler is installed. 1 is a delivery position from the delivery wheel 38 of the discharge chamber 32 to the neck wheel 58 of the intermediate chamber 56.

  The delivery wheel 38 in the discharge chamber 32 also serves as an intermediate reject wheel, and when it is determined that the container 2 is normally sterilized based on information from various sensors, the container received from the container transport device 24 2 is transferred to the neck wheel 58 of the next intermediate chamber 56 and sent to the next process. When the electron beam is not irradiated or when it is determined that the sterilization is incomplete, the neck of the intermediate chamber 56 is Without being delivered to the wheel 58, it is discharged into a reject chamber 60 arranged adjacent to the sterilization box 18. The position indicated by the symbol F in FIG. 1 is the reject position.

  The operation of the electron beam sterilizer according to the above configuration will be described. The container 2 that is sterilized by this sterilizer and filled with the content liquid is a PET bottle, and is supported by the support rail (not shown) of the air conveyer 4 on the lower surface side of the flange formed in the neck portion, and propelled. Air is blown from the rear by the blower for transportation. The containers 2 transported by the air transport conveyor 4 enter the first introduction chamber 8, are cut at a constant interval by the infeed screw 6, and are delivered to the container holding means of the first rotary wheel 12. After being rotated and conveyed by the first rotary wheel 12, it is delivered to the second rotary wheel 14 in the second introduction chamber 10.

  The container 2 is handed over from the second rotary wheel 14 to the supply wheel 20 installed in the supply chamber 22 of the lead sterilization box 18, held in the container holding means of the supply wheel 20, and rotated and conveyed. To the container gripper 36. The container gripper 36 has two upper and lower container holding portions 36A and 36B, and the container 2 held by the lower container holding portion 36A or 36B is turned upside down in the inversion section A. Moves upward and becomes inverted. The inverted container 2 rotates around the first sprocket 24 b and enters the irradiation chamber 30. The irradiation chamber 30 is irradiated with an electron beam from an electron beam irradiation device 28 disposed outside the irradiation chamber 30, and the container 2 being conveyed is provided in the irradiation section 44 of the vacuum chamber 40. It passes through the irradiation area D in front of the irradiation window 46.

  In the vacuum chamber 40, the filament 42 is heated to generate thermionic electrons, accelerated by a high voltage to be a high-speed electron beam, and then irradiated through a window foil 48 such as Ti attached to the irradiation window 46. The inside of the chamber 30 is irradiated, and the container 2 held in the container holding portion 36A or 36B of the container gripper 36 and conveyed in the irradiation chamber 30 is irradiated with an electron beam and sterilized. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the portion of the filament corresponding to the position where the mouth portion 2a on the upper side of the neck portion held by the container holding portions 36A and 36B passes is set to 42, and the other portions. (Refer to the filament in the range indicated by symbol Y in FIG. 2), and the irradiation dose of the electron beam irradiated to the mouth portion 2a is higher than other portions. The thick mouth portion 2a can also be sterilized reliably. In recent years, the thickness of the body 2b of the plastic bottle 2 has been reduced to reduce the weight, while the mouth 2a needs to be rigid enough to be sealed with a cap molding method and a cap. Therefore, the wall thickness is thicker than the trunk | drum 2b. Therefore, if the body portion 2b and the mouth portion 2a are irradiated with an electron beam having the same irradiation dose, the body portion 2b may be over-irradiated and deformed, while the mouth portion 2a has a shortage of irradiation dose. Although there is a possibility that sufficient sterilization is not performed without transmitting the electron beam, in this embodiment, as described above, the filament 42 in the portion through which the mouth portion 2a passes and the filament in the portion through which the body portion 2b passes. Since the number of arrangements is made different by changing the arrangement interval of 42, the mouth 2a of the PET bottle 2 is surely sterilized and the electron beam applied to the body 2b is not excessive, The deformation of the part 2b can be prevented.

  In this embodiment apparatus, the neck portion of the mouth 2a of the container 2 is supported by the container holding portions 36A and 36B by the container transport device 24, and is opposed to the path through which the container holding portions 36A and 36B pass. Since the portions of the filaments 42 are densely arranged, even if the size of the container 2 to be sterilized is changed and the diameter or length of the body 2b is changed, the position of the densely packed portion of the filament is changed. No change is required, and there is no need to change the container transfer means such as changing the transfer position of the container 2. Note that the vertical dimension of the irradiation window 46 (the dimension in the longitudinal direction substantially perpendicular to the conveying direction of the container 2) is set to be equal to or longer than the assumed total length of the container, and the filaments are also arranged so as to correspond to this. Further, the portion of the container 2 supported by the container holding portions 36A and 36B may be in the vicinity thereof such as a position directly below the mouth portion 2a.

  The container 2 that has exited the irradiation chamber 30 after completing the first irradiation as described above enters the discharge chamber 32, rotates around the sprocket 24c, and returns to the supply position B from the supply wheel 20 again. The container 2 received by the lower container holding portion 36A or 36B from the supply wheel 20 last time is reversed and moved upward, and the other container holding portion 36B or 36A located below is supplied by the supply wheel 20. Receive container 2 from After that, the container gripper 36 is reversed again in the reversing section A, and the top and bottom are switched, the container 2 that has been irradiated with the electron beam in the upper part of the previous time moves downward, and the surface that has not been irradiated with the electron beam is the container transport. The device 24 faces outward in the rotational movement direction. When the container gripper 36 holding the two containers 2 enters the irradiation chamber 30 again, the container 2 that has already been irradiated for the first time is irradiated with the electron beam for the second time from the opposite side, and the entire inner and outer surfaces are exposed. Sterilized. At the same time, the other newly held upper container 2 receives the first irradiation.

  In this embodiment, the container gripper 36 has two upper and lower container holding portions 36A and 36B, and holds and transports two containers 2 at the same time. In the arrangement of the filament 42, the portions Y corresponding to the mouth portions 2a of the upper and lower two containers 2 are densely packed, so that the mouth portion is the same as in the first irradiation. Only 2a is irradiated with a sufficient amount of electron beam to be completely sterilized, and the body portion 2b is irradiated with an appropriate amount of electron beam that is not over-irradiated. The container 2 that has been sterilized on the entire inner and outer surfaces by being irradiated with the electron beam for the second time in the irradiation chamber 30 is transferred to the transfer wheel 36 at the discharge position C in the discharge chamber 32, and further in the next intermediate chamber 56. It is delivered to the neck wheel 58 and discharged from the lead sterilization box 18.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the portion Y of the filament 42 arranged in the vacuum chamber 40 corresponding to the mouth 2a of the container 2 held and moved by the container transport device 24 is replaced with the other body 2b. Therefore, the sterilization effect can be improved by securing the irradiation dose necessary for the sterilization of the mouth 2a of the container 2 and suppressing the irradiation dose of the body 2b which is easily deformed. The reliability of the electron beam sterilizer can be improved by increasing it. In addition, it is possible to prevent the generation of defective containers by suppressing the irradiation dose to the body 2b which is easily deformed. In particular, in the case of the container 2 that is easily deformed, it can be dealt with by arranging the filament 42 of the portion corresponding to the trunk portion 2b more sparsely. In addition, the specific part which concentrates the electron beam irradiation is not limited to the mouth part of the container, but may be a thick bottom part or the like like the mouth part, or a part requiring a higher irradiation dose than other parts. It can be set according to the presence or absence. In this case, it is possible to provide two or more densely arranged portions Y in the arrangement of the parallel filaments for one container to be irradiated. The irradiated article to be sterilized is not limited to a container, but can be any article that can be sterilized by irradiation with an electron beam in the present electron beam sterilization apparatus.

It is a top view which simplifies and shows the whole structure of an electron beam sterilizer. Example 1 It is a figure which shows arrangement | positioning of the filament provided in the vacuum chamber of an electron beam irradiation apparatus, and is II arrow directional view of FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the irradiation part of an electron beam irradiation apparatus, and the structure of the container conveyance means to convey a container, and is a III direction arrow line view of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

2 Irradiated articles (containers)
2a Mouth 24 Container transport means (container transport device)
42 Filament 46 Irradiation window

Claims (3)

An electron beam irradiation means for generating an electron beam from a plurality of filaments arranged in parallel in a vacuum chamber and irradiating an electron beam to a predetermined irradiation area through a window foil attached to the irradiation window is provided,
In the electron beam sterilization apparatus for sterilizing the irradiated article located in the irradiation area by irradiating with an electron beam,
The electron beam irradiating means narrows the interval between the filaments corresponding to the specific part in the vacuum chamber so that the electron beam is concentrated and irradiated on the specific part of the article, and the filaments are densely arranged. An electron beam sterilizer characterized by the above. The irradiated article is a resin container, and the filament corresponding to the mouth portion is arranged more densely than the other parts,
2. The electron beam sterilizer according to claim 1, wherein the irradiation dose to the mouth portion is increased and the irradiation dose to the trunk portion is decreased.   3. The electron beam sterilizer according to claim 2, further comprising a container transport unit that supports and transports the mouth of the container or the vicinity thereof, and transports the container to the front of the irradiation window by the container transport unit.

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