JP5772596B2 - Container inspection device and container inspection method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a container inspection apparatus that performs a container sealing inspection and a contents deterioration inspection, and a container inspection method that is a procedure of the sealing inspection and deterioration inspection.

Conventionally, various proposals have been made on a method for inspecting the sealing performance of a container filled with contents and having an opening sealed with a film-like lid or the like.
For example, in the cup container sealing inspection technique, there has been a method of measuring the displacement of the lid material when pressing the side surface of the container with an eddy current type magnetic sensor (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
In this method, the side of the container is pressed, the distance between the swelled lid and the sensor is measured, then the pressure is released, the distance between the lid and the sensor at this time is measured, and these measured values are measured. Based on the difference, the quality of the seal was judged.

As another method, for example, there is a method of detecting a displacement difference between the central portion and the outer peripheral portion of the lid member with a laser displacement sensor (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
In this method, the difference in displacement between the heights of the central part and the outer peripheral part of the lid member (or the heights of the central part of the lid member and the upper end of the cup) is obtained. did. Further, the seal failure was determined when the displacement time differential or distance differential output obtained from the result of measuring the displacement difference of the lid along the container conveyance direction was larger than the preset upper limit value.

JP 2001-58617 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-9931

However, the techniques described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 described above have the following problems.
For example, the technique described in Patent Document 1 cannot detect a small seal failure or a pinhole because the pressing force of the container is small and the time is limited.
The eddy current type magnetic sensor has a low detection accuracy because the measured value varies depending on the shape of the lid.

Furthermore, since the technique described in Patent Document 2 requires the inside of the container to be in a reduced pressure state in order to stretch the lid, there is a restriction on products that can be inspected.
In addition, this technique is a method for detecting a seal failure, and does not detect a small pinhole.

In addition, Patent Documents 1 and 2 have a description of inspecting a sealing defect of a film-shaped lid, but there is no description of determining the deterioration of contents.
When the contents sealed in the container are not properly sterilized by heating, the contents may be deteriorated because, for example, the sterilization time is short or the sterilization temperature is low. If it is sufficient, the contents deteriorate, gas is generated, and the film-shaped lid expands.
Conventionally, the determination of the deterioration of the contents has been made by visually confirming the displacement (the degree of swelling) of the film-like lid.
However, considerable experience is required before the displacement of the film-like lid can be correctly determined visually. In addition, there are problems such as a difference in judgment criteria depending on the person and the possibility of overlooking the deterioration container because the displacement of the film-like lid is small.
For this reason, the proposal of the technique which suppresses generation | occurrence | production of these problems and determines the deterioration of the content correctly and rapidly was calculated | required.

  The present invention has been considered in view of the above circumstances, and enables detection of even a small sealing failure and pinhole, and there is no restriction on the product to be inspected, and it can prevent sealing failure and deterioration with high accuracy. The object is to provide a container inspection device and a container inspection method capable of detection.

In order to achieve this object, the container inspection apparatus of the present invention is a container inspection apparatus that inspects the expansion of a film-like lid for a container whose opening is sealed with a film-like lid, and pressurizes the container. Alternatively, the pressure change means for performing the decompression process and the container after being subjected to the pressure treatment or the decompression process by the pressure change means are measured for respective heights at a plurality of measurement locations of the film-like lid under atmospheric pressure. By calculating a predetermined value regarding the height based on the height measurement means and the results measured at a plurality of measurement locations, and determining whether or not the predetermined value is within a predetermined range, the container The data management means for determining the presence / absence of a defect is provided.

The container inspection method of the present invention is a container inspection method for inspecting the expansion of a film-like lid against a container whose opening is sealed with a film-like lid, and pressurizes the container sealed with a film-like lid. A step of performing a treatment or a decompression treatment, a step of measuring respective heights at a plurality of measurement locations of the film-like lid under atmospheric pressure, and a plurality of measurements for the container after the pressure treatment or the decompression treatment A step of calculating a predetermined value related to height based on a result measured at a location, and a step of determining whether there is a defect in the container by determining whether or not the predetermined value is within a predetermined range As a method having

According to the container inspection apparatus and the container inspection method of the present invention, the height at each of the plurality of measurement locations of the film-like lid is measured, and a predetermined value related to the height is calculated based on the measurement results, and this calculation is performed. Since the evaluation is performed on the measured value, even if there is a variation in the measured value of the height, it is absorbed by the calculated value, and the defect detection with high accuracy can be performed.
In particular, even when the film-like lid is complicatedly curved, wavy, or saddle-shaped, measure the height of many places over a wide range of the film-like lid, and evaluate the values calculated based on these measured values. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the influence of variations in measurement values due to bending and the like, and to improve the accuracy of sealing inspection and deterioration inspection.

In addition, since the pressure change process of the container is performed before measuring the height of the film-shaped lid, it is possible to detect even a small sealing failure and a pinhole.
Furthermore, since it is not necessary to reduce the pressure in the container in order to stretch the lid, there is no restriction on the product to be inspected.
In addition, when the data calculation means compares a predetermined value related to height with a predetermined threshold, the deterioration of the contents can be detected by using a threshold for deterioration inspection as the predetermined threshold. And also in this deterioration inspection, the respective heights at a plurality of measurement points of the film-like lid are measured, a predetermined value relating to the height is calculated based on the measurement results, and the evaluation is performed on the calculated value. Since this is done, it is possible to improve the detection accuracy of the content deterioration. Therefore, it is possible to determine the deterioration of the contents accurately and quickly as compared with the conventional deterioration inspection performed visually.

It is an external view which shows the structure of the container inspection apparatus of this invention. It is a top view which shows the example which has arrange | positioned several height measurement means in the orthogonal direction with respect to the conveyance direction of a container. It is a top view which shows the example which has arrange | positioned several height measurement means in the diagonal direction with respect to the conveyance direction of a container. It is a top view which shows the other example which has arrange | positioned several height measuring means in the diagonal direction with respect to the conveyance direction of a container. It is a top view which shows the example which has arrange | positioned the several height measurement means in the orthogonal direction with respect to the conveyance direction of a container, and also shifted the center height measurement means in the conveyance direction a little. It is a top view which shows the example which has arrange | positioned several height measurement means in the orthogonal direction with respect to the conveyance direction of a container, and also shifted | deviated the center height measurement means in the direction opposite to a conveyance direction a little. It is a top view which shows the example which has arrange | positioned several height measuring means in each of the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of a container, and the direction parallel to the conveyance direction. It is a top view which shows that the scanning direction by a height measurement means is orthogonal to the conveyance direction of a container. It is a top view which shows that a height measurement means moves in self-shape within the range of the film-like lid | cover of a container, and the scanning directions by the height measurement means are mutually parallel. It is a top view which shows the example which has arrange | positioned the two-dimensional laser displacement sensor so that the row direction of the measurement location by a two-dimensional laser displacement sensor may become a orthogonal direction with respect to the conveyance direction of a container. It is a top view which shows the example which has arrange | positioned the two-dimensional laser displacement sensor so that the row direction of the measurement location by a two-dimensional laser displacement sensor may become a direction parallel to the conveyance direction of a container. It is a top view which shows the example which has arrange | positioned the two-dimensional laser displacement sensor so that the row direction of the measurement location by a two-dimensional laser displacement sensor may become a diagonal direction with respect to the conveyance direction of a container. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a data management means. It is a top view which shows the structure of a conveyance means and an exclusion means. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the container inspection apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows arrangement | positioning of the laser displacement sensor in Example 1 and Example 2. FIG. It is a front view which shows arrangement | positioning of the laser displacement sensor in Example 1 and Example 2. FIG. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the amount of capacity | capacitance increase in Example 1, and a lid | cover material height. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the capacity | capacitance increase in the comparative example 1, and a lid | cover material height. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the pinhole diameter in Example 2, and a cover material height. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the increase amount in a container after pressurization in Example 2, and lid | cover material height. It is a graph which shows distribution of the measured value of the lid material height of the quality goods in the Example 3, and a deterioration product.

  Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a container inspection device and a container inspection method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, an embodiment of a container inspection device and a container inspection method of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
This figure is an external perspective view showing the configuration of the container inspection apparatus of the present embodiment.

(Container inspection device)
As shown in the figure, the container inspection apparatus 1 includes a pressure changing unit 10, a conveying unit 20, a height measuring unit 30, a data management unit 40, and an exclusion unit 50.
As the pressure changing means 10, for example, a retort sterilizer can be used. A retort sterilizer is a device that performs cooking, heating and pressure sterilization, sterilization, cooling, and the like on an object to be processed. Examples of the heating method include a hot water spray method, a storm method, a hot water hot water storage method, and a steam method.
The conveyance means 20 can be comprised with a conveyor etc., and conveys a container to a predetermined position. Since the conveying means 20 moves relative to the film-like lid as seen from the height measuring means, it has a function as a moving means.

The height measuring means 30 detects the height of the film-like lid of the container. As the height measuring means 30, for example, a laser displacement sensor can be used.
The laser displacement sensor has a light emitting element and an optical position detection element (PSD: Position Sensitive Detector). Light from the light emitting element is applied to the object. Part of the light diffusely reflected by the object forms a spot on the optical position detection element via the light receiving lens. As the object moves, the spot also moves. The optical position detection element sends a detection signal indicating a value corresponding to the position of the spot to the data management means 40.
When the height measuring means 30 is a laser displacement sensor, the current value of the detection signal corresponds to the spot position. That is, if the current value of the detection signal is measured, the height of the film-like lid of the container can be obtained.

  In addition, when the height measuring means 30 calculates | requires actual height about the measurement location with the film-like lid | cover of a container, for example, the distance of the height measuring means 30 and a film-like lid | cover is measured, and height measurement is carried out next. The height of the film-like lid when the reference position, for example, the place on which the container of the conveying means 20 is placed (in FIG. 1, the upper upper surface of the conveyor) is calculated by the calculation unit 45 described later. May be. In this case, if it demonstrates using FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B, calculating (AB) will correspond to calculating | requiring the height of a film-like lid | cover. The height measurement reference position may be changed to a place where it can be easily set as appropriate. Further, the measurement distance B that can be evaluated equivalent to the height may be used as an alternative value for the film-like lid height, or the current value of the detection signal corresponding to the measurement distance B may be used as an alternative value for the film-like lid height. In the present embodiment, these height evaluation values are collectively referred to as “height”.

A plurality of the height measuring means 30 can be provided. The plurality of height measuring means 30 can be arranged as shown in FIGS. 2A to 2E, for example.
Specifically, for example, the plurality of height measuring means 30 can be arranged in a line in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the conveying means 20 (FIG. 2A).
Further, the plurality of height measuring means 30 can be arranged in a line in an oblique direction with respect to the conveying direction of the conveying means 20 (FIGS. 2B and 2C).
Further, the plurality of height measuring means 30 can be arranged in a mountain shape with reference to a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the conveying means 20 (FIGS. 2D and 2E).
Thus, by providing a plurality of height measuring means 30, the height of the film-like lid can be measured at a plurality of locations on the film-like lid of the container.

  When a plurality of height measuring means 30 are provided, the height measuring means 30 are separated from each other so that one height measuring means 30 is not affected by the interference of the other height measuring means 30. It is desirable to take interference prevention measures such as arranging the interference prevention plates between the height measuring means 30.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3A, a plurality of height measuring means 30 can be arranged in a matrix. That is, a plurality of height measuring means 30 are arranged in the same direction as the conveying direction of the conveying means 20, and a plurality are arranged in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction. Thereby, the height of several places of the film-like cover corresponding to the arrangement position of these height measuring means 30 can be measured at once.
However, as shown in FIG. 3B and FIG. 3C, the height of many places can be measured more efficiently by scanning a small number of height measuring means 30 relative to the container. . Further, the scanning line may be a single line, but it is more preferable to use a plurality of scanning lines because it is easy to detect an abnormality of the film-like lid.
Furthermore, the relative scanning means may be provided in either the height measuring means 30 or the conveying means 20, but it is preferable to provide the means in the conveying means 20 because the container can be conveyed and used for relative scanning.
Moreover, the height measuring means 30 uses a laser displacement sensor in the present embodiment, but is not limited to the laser displacement sensor. For example, the height measuring means 30 is a line sensor, an eddy current displacement sensor, or an image analysis means by scanning. Etc. can be used.

In addition, when a two-dimensional laser displacement sensor is provided in the height measuring means 30, a plurality of locations on the film-like lid are scanned with a single two-dimensional laser displacement sensor, and the heights of the plurality of locations are simultaneously measured. It becomes possible to measure. As the two-dimensional laser displacement sensor, for example, Keyence Corporation two-dimensional laser displacement sensors LJ, LJ-G series, and the like can be used.
When this two-dimensional laser displacement sensor is used as the height measuring means 30, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4C, the column directions of a plurality of measurement points measured by one two-dimensional laser displacement sensor are: The two-dimensional laser displacement sensor is arranged so as not to be parallel to the container conveying direction of the conveying means 20 or the moving direction of the height measuring means 30 itself, and the distance between the two-dimensional laser displacement sensor and the film-like lid is set. By measuring at a plurality of locations, it is possible to measure the height of a number of measurement locations in two dimensions. Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, a plurality of two-dimensional laser displacement sensors may be arranged, and the heights of measurement points in a plurality of rows may be measured at a time.

As shown in FIG. 5, the data management means 40 has a height signal input / analysis unit 41, an input unit 42, a display unit 43, a storage unit 44, a calculation unit 45, and an exclusion instruction unit 46. doing.
When the detection signal is input from the height measuring means 30, the height signal input / analysis unit 41 analyzes the detection signal and specifies the height.
Specifically, for example, when the height measuring means 30 is a laser displacement sensor, the current value of the input detection signal is analyzed (converted), and the height corresponding to this current value is obtained.
The obtained height is sent to the storage unit 44 and stored therein.

The input unit 42 can be configured by a plurality of keys, for example, and inputs data such as a threshold value used for sealing quality determination and a threshold value used for determination of deterioration. The input data is sent to and stored in the storage unit 44.
The threshold used for determining whether sealing is good or bad is a value that is compared with a predetermined value related to the height of the film-like lid calculated by the calculation unit 45, and is the calculated value higher than the threshold? By judging whether it is low (or whether the calculated value is within the range indicated by the threshold value), the quality of the sealed state of the film-like lid and the presence or absence of deterioration are judged.
For example, when the threshold value used for sealing quality determination is 81.5 mm and the calculated value is lower than the threshold value, it is determined that the sealing state of the film-shaped lid is good, while the calculated value is higher than the threshold value. Can be determined to be poor.
Moreover, when the threshold value used for sealing quality determination is in the range of 80.0 mm to 81.5 mm and the calculated value is within the threshold value range, it is determined that the sealing state of the film-shaped lid is good, On the other hand, when the calculated value is outside the range of the threshold value, it can be determined that it is defective.
Since the degree of bulging of the film-like lid of the container that should be judged to be poorly sealed and the degree of bulging of the film-like lid of the container that should be judged to have deteriorated are different from each other, the threshold value used for judging whether the sealing is good or bad It is desirable that the threshold values used for the determination of whether or not there is a deterioration are set to different values and appropriate values.

The threshold value is input in advance before the height measurement unit 30 measures the height of the film lid.
This threshold value can be set as follows.
For example, a plurality of containers A that are known to be well sealed and containers B that are known to be poorly sealed are prepared. The heights of the respective film-like lids of the containers A and B are measured at a plurality of locations on the film-like lid, and the total or average value of the measured values is calculated for each container. The calculated sum or average is graphed and its distribution is observed. When the distribution of the calculated values related to the container A and the distribution of the calculated values related to the container B are separated from each other, a threshold value can be set between them. Further, a range in which the calculated values related to the container A are distributed can be set as the threshold value. Note that the threshold used for determining whether or not there is a failure can also be set by a similar method.

  The display unit 43 can be configured by, for example, a liquid crystal display, and when data is input through the input unit 42, the input instruction and input content are displayed on the screen. Moreover, the display part 43 can display the measurement result in the height measuring means 30, the result of the quality determination of the sealed state, the result of determination of the presence or absence of deterioration, the number of containers removed, and the like.

  The storage unit 44 has a predetermined amount of storage area, and stores data and programs related to various processes executed by each unit of the data management means 40. Specifically, for example, a measured value of each height at a plurality of locations of the film-shaped lid of the container measured by the height measuring means 30, a threshold value used for determining whether the seal is good, a threshold value used for determining whether there is a failure, The execution result of the calculation process executed by the calculation unit 45, the comparison result between the threshold value and the calculated value, the result of determining the quality of the sealed state, etc. are stored.

The calculation unit 45 has an electronic component for executing calculation processing. When calculating the measured values of the respective heights at a plurality of locations of the film-shaped lid of the container from the storage unit 44, the calculating unit 45 calculates a predetermined value related to the height as the lid material height based on these measured values. . The lid material height includes, for example, the sum of the heights at a plurality of measurement locations of the film-shaped lid, and the total number of measurement locations (for example, the number of measured height data and the number of measurement locations) ) Divided by) is the average height.
Here, when the number of measurement locations differs for each container (for example, when the full width of the film-like lid is set as the measurement location, the height measuring means 30 comes off from the end of the film-like lid, and the height is measured at the measurement location. For example, when there is no measurable object and one or more height data is missing from the predetermined number), it is desirable to calculate the average value of the film-like lid height as the lid material height.
Moreover, the calculating part 45 compares the cover material height which is a calculated value, and the threshold value used for determination of the quality of sealing, or the presence or absence of deterioration. Furthermore, the calculating part 45 determines the quality of the sealing state of a container, or the presence or absence of deterioration based on the comparison result. These calculated values, comparison contents, and determination results are sent to and stored in the storage unit 44. The judgment results include “seal good” indicating that the sealing with the film-like lid is almost complete, “seal failure” indicating that the seal is incomplete or there is a pinhole, and the contents are corrupted. “No change” indicating that the content has not been changed, and “No change” indicating that the content has been changed.

  The exclusion instruction unit 46 takes out the determination result from the storage unit 44. Then, when the extracted determination result is “sealing failure” or “degraded”, the exclusion instruction unit 46 sends an exclusion instruction signal to the exclusion means 50.

The exclusion means 50 excludes the containers determined to be “seal failure” or “degraded” by the data management means 40 from the non-defective product transport route among the containers transported by the transport device 20. . This exclusion is executed when an exclusion instruction signal is sent from the data management means 40.
As this exclusion means 50, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, an apparatus having an exclusion member 51 and a drive unit 52 can be used.
The exclusion member 51 is a member that directly contacts the container, pushes out the container, and excludes the non-defective product transport route from the defective product transport route.
The drive unit 52 is a drive source that pushes out and retracts the exclusion member 51. For example, an air cylinder or the like can be used for the driving unit 52.
In the present embodiment, the exclusion means 50 has the configuration shown in FIG. 6, but is not limited to this configuration, and any method may be used as long as it can distinguish between defective products and non-defective products.

Further, the container inspection device 1 can be provided with a container detection means 60 (not shown).
The container detection means 60 outputs a detection signal when it detects that the container conveyed by the conveyance means 20 has reached a predetermined position. The detection signal is sent to the data management means 40.

Furthermore, the data management means 40 can include a container detection signal input unit 47 and a height measurement control unit 48, as shown in FIG.
The container detection signal input unit 47 inputs a detection signal from the container detection means 60.
When the detection signal is input from the container detection signal input unit 47, the height measurement control unit 48 causes the height measurement unit 30 to start height measurement.
For the container detection means 60, for example, a proximity switch, a touch switch, an optical sensor, a laser position detection sensor, or the like can be used.
Further, the container detection means 60 and the container detection signal input unit 47 can be omitted. In that case, a height range in which data can be collected within a range that does not affect the height measurement is set in the height measurement means 30 so that the height measurement means 30 itself is used as a trigger for starting and ending data collection (for example, When measuring the range of 40-50 mm with respect to the distance from the height measuring means 30, set 40-50 mm as the height range in which data can be collected, and set the data not to be created when outside the range) When the data is created and transmitted to the height signal input / analysis unit 41 among the plurality of height measuring means 30, data collection for one container is started, When data is no longer sent from the height measuring means 30, data collection for one container may be terminated.

In addition, various operations and processes executed by each component of the container inspection apparatus 1 can be controlled by a computer. The computer loads a predetermined program and executes it to control the operation and processing of each component of the container inspection apparatus 1. That is, various operations and processes executed by each component of the container inspection apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment are performed by specific means in which software and hardware resources cooperate by reading a program that is software. Is built.
The program is provided by a recording medium, for example. As the recording medium, for example, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a semiconductor memory, or any other means readable by a computer can be used.
Further, the program recorded on the recording medium can be loaded into the computer directly by the recording medium and read by the computer, or may be read by the computer via a communication line.

(Container inspection method)
Next, the outline | summary of operation | movement (container inspection method) of the container inspection apparatus of this embodiment is demonstrated with reference to FIG.
This figure is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the container inspection method of the present embodiment.
In addition, the process procedure shown in FIG. 7 performs a sealing test.

First, the measurement range of the height in the film-like lid of the container is set (step 10).
Specifically, for example, the measurement range can be set by setting the position of the scanning line on the film-like lid of the container.
Next, a pass / fail judgment threshold is set (step 11).

Subsequently, a container to be inspected is prepared (one or more).
The container to be prepared is filled with a predetermined amount of contents. Moreover, the opening part of the container is obstruct | occluded with the film-like lid | cover, and the contents are sealed.
This container is put into a pressure changing means (retort sterilizer) 10 and pressurized or depressurized (pressure changing processing step, step 12).
When this pressure change process is performed, the amount of gas in the container increases or decreases because the gas enters and leaves the container in a pinhole or a defective seal. On the other hand, in a container that does not have such defects, the amount of gas in the container does not increase or decrease because the gas does not enter or exit the container.

When the pressure changing process is completed, the inside of the retort pot of the pressure changing means (retort sterilizer) 10 is returned to atmospheric pressure, and the container is taken out from the retort pot.
At this time, the height of the film-like lid of the container having a pinhole or poor seal changes according to the increase or decrease of the gas amount in the container. On the other hand, the container without these defects does not increase or decrease the amount of gas in the container, so the height of the film-like lid does not change.

The removed container is placed on the transport means 20.
The conveyance means 20 conveys the placed container (conveyance process).
When the individual containers being conveyed reach a predetermined position, the container detection means 60 detects the containers. Then, the container detection unit 60 sends a detection signal to the data management unit 40.
The container detection signal input unit 47 of the data management means 40 inputs the detection signal from the container detection means 60. Based on the input of the detection signal, the height measurement control unit 48 operates the height measuring means 30 to start the height measurement for each container.

The height measuring unit 30 starts outputting detection light based on an instruction from the height measurement control unit 48.
When there is no container directly under the height measuring means 30 (for example, when the measurement range is based on the central height measuring means 30 in FIGS. 8A and 8B, measurement is started for the left and right height measuring means 30 Immediately after or immediately before the end of measurement, that is, when the central height measuring means 30 measures the edge on the diameter of the film-shaped lid, the right and left height measuring means 30 protruding from the film-shaped lid), the detection light Is irradiated to the conveying means 20. When there is a container directly under the height measuring means 30, the detection light is applied to the film-like lid located on the upper surface of the container.
The detection light scans on a predetermined line within the measurement range set on the film-like lid. Thereby, the height measuring means 30 continuously detects the height of each film-like lid in the scanning line (lid material height data measuring step, step 13). Then, the height measuring unit 30 sends a detection signal indicating a value corresponding to the detected height to the data managing unit 40.

When the height signal input / analysis unit 41 of the data management unit 40 receives the detection signal from the height measurement unit 30, it analyzes the signal, converts the detection signal into height data, and sends it to the storage unit 44. Remember.
When the scanning within the measurement range on the film-like lid is completed, the calculation unit 45 takes out the acquired height data from the storage unit 44. And the calculating part 45 calculates the cover material height about each container using the acquired height data (cover material height calculation process, step 14).

Next, the calculation unit 45 compares the lid material height of each container with a threshold value (good / bad determination step, step 15).
As a result of the comparison, when the lid material height is included in the range of the threshold value, the calculation unit 45 determines that the container is a non-defective product (step 16).
On the other hand, when the lid material height is out of the threshold range, the calculation unit 45 determines that the container is a defective product (step 17). In this case, the exclusion instruction unit 46 sends an exclusion signal to the exclusion means 60.
When the exclusion means 60 receives the exclusion signal from the exclusion instruction section 46, it excludes the container from the transport means 20 (step 18).
FIG. 7 briefly shows the processing procedure for explaining the outline of the operation (container inspection method) of the container inspection apparatus. However, when actually measuring a plurality of containers, for example, lid height data is used. It is preferable to repeat the measurement from the measurement (step 13) to the non-defective product determination (step 16) or the exclusion process (step 18) until there are no more containers to be measured.

By executing such processing, it is possible to accurately determine the quality of the sealed state of the film-like lid of the sealed container.
For example, before the measurement by the height measuring means 30, the container is pressurized with the pressure changing means and returned to the atmospheric pressure, so that the container with pinholes or defective seals increases the gas amount in the container, and the film-like lid Swell. The degree of swelling changes depending on the degree of pinholes and poor seals. On the other hand, when there is no pinhole or the like, since there is no increase or decrease in the amount of gas in the container, there is no swelling. Therefore, by measuring the height of the film-like lid, it is possible to detect a sealing failure of the film-like lid.

Moreover, the height is measured for a plurality of measurement points in the film-shaped lid, a predetermined value related to the height is calculated using these measured values, and the quality of the sealed state is determined by comparing the calculated value with a threshold value. It can be determined with high accuracy.
Furthermore, it is ideal that the film-shaped lid has a uniform height as a whole. However, wrinkles and undulations may occur in the film-shaped lid, and the height in these portions is not uniform. Therefore, by making multiple measurement points for the height of the film-like lid, and comparing the obtained multiple height data with the threshold value, the influence of partial specific data such as wrinkles and undulations is reduced. The accuracy of the quality determination of the sealed state can be increased.
Further, since the accuracy of this defect detection is increased, it is possible to prevent a normal product from being rejected (excluded) as a defective product and to improve the yield.
In addition, although the container inspection method in this embodiment performs a sealing test, it is not restricted to this, It is also possible to perform both a sealing test and a deterioration test. Further, even when only the presence / absence of deterioration is inspected, it can be executed in substantially the same procedure as the sealing inspection procedure shown here.

Example 1
Five containers made of PP (Polypropylene) (height 82.4 mm, top diameter 75.6 mm, bottom diameter 54 mm) were prepared.
These containers were each filled with 180 ± 0.2 ml of water, and the top opening was sealed with a film lid.
Note that the film-like lid used for sealing had a three-layer structure, and was formed by laminating PET (9 μm), aluminum (20 μm), and PP (30 μm) in this order from the outer layer.
After sealing, the film-like lid was slightly bent inward of the container because the air in the container headspace was slightly dissolved in water.

As the height measuring means 30, an OMRON laser displacement sensor ZX-LD40L was used. As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the laser displacement sensors were installed at three locations at intervals of 20 mm 45 mm above the upper surface of the container. This laser displacement sensor scanned and measured the height of the film-like lid of the container on the conveying means 20. At this time, the conveyance speed of the container was 7.6 m / min.
A data logger NR-2000 manufactured by Keyence was used as the data management means 40 for collecting measurement values. The sampling period was set to 10 μm. The height signal input / analysis unit 41 of the data management means 40 inputs the detection signal from the laser displacement sensor, and the calculation unit 45 calculates the average value of the height data of the film-like lid as the lid material height.

  Next, add 2 ml each of air into the container using a syringe, and create a state where the container in which pinholes are generated in the film-like lid material has been filled with air by external air pressurization. Similarly, the height of the film-like lid was measured, and the average value was calculated as the lid material height. Further, 2 ml of air was added to the container, and the relationship between the amount of gas increase in the container and the height of the lid of the film-like lid was obtained as shown in FIG.

As shown in the figure, it was found that when the amount of gas increase in the container is increased, the height of the cover material of the film-like lid is increased in proportion.
The increase in the volume of gas in the container occurs when the container is pressurized. However, the degree of the increase is not when the sealing state of the film-shaped lid is good, and is large when the sealing state is poor.
From this, it was found that by calculating the average value of the height of the film-like lid, it is possible to stably detect the change in the height of the film-like lid due to the gas pressure inside the container, and it can be used to determine the quality of the sealed state. .

(Comparative Example 1)
The same five containers as those described in Example 1 were prepared.
These containers were each filled with 180 ± 0.2 ml of water, and the top opening was sealed with a film lid.

  As the height measuring means 30, an eddy current type displacement sensor EX-422 made by Keyence was used. This eddy current displacement sensor was installed 5 mm above the top surface of the container, and the height of the lid material at the center of the film-shaped lid of the container on the transport means 20 was measured.

  Next, air was respectively added to the container using a syringe, and the height of the lid material at the center of the film-shaped lid when the increase in gas in the container was 7.5 ml and 10 ml was measured. FIG. 10 shows the relationship between the amount of gas increase in the container and the height of the lid material of the film-like lid.

  As shown in the figure, when the amount of gas increase in the container increases, the lid material height of the film lid increases, but the variation in the lid material height is large, and the film lid height changes due to the internal pressure of the container. It was found that it was not suitable for sensing and could not be used to determine the quality of the sealed state.

(Example 2)
As for the container, 38 same containers as described in Example 1 were prepared.
These containers were each filled with 180 ± 0.2 ml of water, and the top opening was sealed with a film lid. Of the 38 containers, 18 actually had one pinhole drilled in the film lid. Here, 18 pieces were divided into three pieces, and pin holes having different diameters (diameters 10 μm, 30 μm, 50 μm, 100 μm, 300 μm, 500 μm) were formed in each of the three pieces.
The remaining 20 containers were not drilled with pinholes.

Each of the 38 containers described above was put into the pressure changing means 10 and subjected to pressure treatment after retort sterilization.
For pressurization, air pressurization was performed for 3 minutes at a pressure of 0.1 MPa.
After returning to atmospheric pressure, each container was taken out from the pressure changing means 10, placed on the conveying means 20, and conveyed.

As the height measuring means 30, an OMRON laser displacement sensor ZX-LD40L was used. As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the laser displacement sensors were installed at three locations at intervals of 20 mm 45 mm above the upper surface of the container. This laser displacement sensor scanned and measured the height of the film-like lid of the container on the conveying means 20. At this time, the conveyance speed of the container was 7.6 m / min.
A data logger NR-2000 manufactured by Keyence was used as the data management means 40 for collecting measurement values. The sampling period was set to 10 μm. The height signal input / analysis unit 41 of the data management means 40 inputs the detection signal from the laser displacement sensor, and the calculation unit 45 calculates the average value of the height data of the film-like lid as the lid material height.

The pinhole diameter and the lid material height of the film-like lid are shown in FIG.
In the figure, the horizontal axis represents the logarithm of the diameter of the pinhole [μm], and the vertical axis represents the cover material height [mm] of the film-shaped lid. As for non-defective products, since the pinhole diameter is substantially 0 [μm] (no hole) because there is no hole in the film-like cover material, it cannot be originally posted on this logarithmic graph. = 1 [μm])).
As shown in the figure, when comparing a container without a pinhole (good product) with a container with a pinhole (defective product), the non-defective product has a film-like lid displacement of 81.5 mm or less. In contrast, the defective products were dispersed at a height exceeding 81.5 mm. From this, it was found that the threshold value used for sealing quality determination may be set to 81.5 mm.
And when measuring the displacement of the film-like lid of the container to be inspected, if this measured value is 81.5 mm or less, it is judged as a non-defective product, and if it exceeds 81.5 mm, it is a defective product. I understood that I could judge.
If the pinhole diameter assumed as the detection target is known to be large in general, air that has entered the container due to air pressurization is likely to leak out of the large pinhole, so as soon as possible after air pressurization. It is preferable to measure.
In addition, if it is known in advance that the assumed pinhole diameter is small in general, it is difficult for air to enter the container from the small pinhole, and the amount of change in the lid material height is small. It is preferable to increase the amount of change in the height of the lid material by pressurizing air with pressure.

Moreover, when the same acquired data is used and the lid material height is graphed with respect to the total capacity in the container, it is as shown in FIG.
In the figure, the horizontal axis represents the total volume in the container (internal volume + gas amount) [ml], and the vertical axis represents the lid material height [mm]. The total capacity in the container is a value obtained by adding the internal capacity (water) and the gas amount.
As shown in the figure, it was found that the total capacity in the container and the height of the lid material are in a proportional relationship.
Also from this figure, it was found that the presence or absence of a sealing failure can be detected by setting the cover material displacement threshold to 81.5 mm.
The height measurement is preferably performed within 15 minutes after pressurization of the sealed container, since the measurement can be performed before the air that has entered the container having a pinhole in the film-like lid material escapes excessively.
In addition, when applied to a film-like lid material containing a hard material such as an aluminum layer (aluminum foil) or a polyamide layer such as nylon (registered trademark) as in the above embodiment, the lid material height is equal to the internal pressure of the container. It is preferable that the bulging state is continued even if the internal pressure is released.

(Example 3)
Twelve of the same containers as those described in Example 1 were prepared.
Each of these containers was filled with 180 ± 0.2 ml of the medium, and the top opening was sealed with a film lid to perform retort sterilization. In 6 out of 12 containers, 10 ³ / ml E. coli suspension was quantitatively added to the container and stored at 30 ° C. for 7 days, so that the medium of the contents was degraded. Made a perverted item. The remaining six were good products without deterioration. These 12 containers were placed on the transport means 20 and transported.

As the height measuring means 30, a laser displacement sensor ZX-LD40L manufactured by OMRON Corporation was used. As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the laser displacement sensors were installed at three locations at intervals of 20 mm 45 mm above the upper surface of the container. With this laser displacement sensor, the height of the film-like lid of the container on the conveying means 20 was measured by scanning. At this time, the conveyance speed of the container by the conveyance means 20 was set to 7.6 m / min.
A data logger NR-2000 manufactured by Keyence Corporation was used as the data management means 40 for collecting measurement values. The sampling period was set to 10 μm. The height signal input / analysis unit 41 of the data management means 40 inputs the detection signal from the laser displacement sensor, and the calculation unit 45 calculates the average value of the height data of the film-like lid as the lid material height.

FIG. 13 shows calculated values of the quality of the non-defective product and the deteriorated product.
As shown in the figure, when comparing the undegraded container (non-defective product) with the degraded container (degraded product), the non-degraded container is concentrated in the vicinity of 81.0 mm of the film-like lid. On the other hand, defective products were dispersed at a height exceeding 82.0 mm. From this, it was found that the threshold used for determining whether or not there is a deterioration may be set to 82.0 mm.
And when measuring the displacement of the film-like lid of the container to be inspected, it is determined that the measured value is 82.0 mm or less, and it is determined to be a non-defective product. It turned out that it can be judged that there exists.

As described above, according to the container inspection device and the container inspection method of the present embodiment, the height of the film-like lid is measured at a plurality of locations, the lid material height is calculated based on these measured values, and this lid material Since the height and the threshold value are compared, it is possible to detect the defect with high accuracy by reducing the influence of the variation in the measured value.
In addition, since the container pressure changing process is performed before the height measurement by the height measuring means, it is possible to enhance the detection effect of the sealing failure. In other words, a container with good sealing does not change the amount of gas in the container even if the pressure change process is performed, but a container with poor sealing changes the amount of gas in the container due to the pressure change process. Under atmospheric pressure, the film-like lid changes. Since this difference is detected as the height of the film-like lid, it is easy and reliable to determine the sealing failure.

Furthermore, since the scanning line setting on the film-like lid is set in the same direction as the transport direction of the sealed container, the height can be measured while the container is transported, and simple measurement is possible. It becomes.
In addition, when the data calculation means compares a predetermined value related to height with a predetermined threshold, if a threshold for sealing inspection is used as the predetermined threshold, it can be determined whether there is a sealing failure, and When the inspection threshold is used, it can be determined whether or not there is a failure. In either case of sealing inspection or deterioration inspection, the respective heights of a plurality of film-shaped lids of the container are measured, and a predetermined value related to the height is calculated based on the measured results, and this calculation is performed. Since the evaluation of the sealing failure or the deterioration of the contents is performed based on the measured value, the variation occurring in the height measurement value can be absorbed by the calculated value, and a highly accurate inspection can be performed.

As mentioned above, although the preferable embodiment of the container inspection method and container inspection apparatus of the sealed container of this invention was described, the container inspection method and container inspection apparatus of the sealed container which concern on this invention are not limited only to embodiment mentioned above. Needless to say, various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the number of containers to be transported is one by one. However, the number of containers is not limited to one, and a plurality of containers can be transported. In this case, a number of height measuring means can be provided, and the height of the film-like lid can be measured collectively.
In addition, even when the pressure treatment or pressure reduction treatment before the height measurement is omitted, the threshold value is appropriately set even for a sealed container that is normal when the internal pressure is positive or negative. Applicable by setting.

  Since the present invention is an invention relating to the determination of the sealed state of a sealed container and the presence or absence of deterioration, it can be used in an apparatus or device that determines the sealed state or the presence or absence of deterioration.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Container inspection apparatus 10 Pressure change means 20 Conveyance means 30 Height measurement means 40 Data management means 41 Height signal input / analysis part 42 Input part 44 Storage part 45 Calculation part 46 Exclusion instruction part 50 Exclusion means 60 Container detection means

Claims (16)

A container inspection device for inspecting the expansion of the film-shaped lid with respect to the container whose opening is sealed with the film-shaped lid,
Pressure changing means for performing pressure treatment or pressure reduction treatment on the container;
Height measuring means for measuring respective heights at a plurality of measurement locations of the film-like lid under atmospheric pressure with respect to the container after being subjected to pressure treatment or pressure reduction treatment by the pressure changing means ,
By calculating a predetermined value related to the height based on the results measured at the plurality of measurement points, and determining whether or not the predetermined value is within a predetermined range, A container inspection apparatus comprising data management means for determining presence or absence. The container inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the height measuring unit can perform scanning measurement by a moving unit that moves relative to the film-like lid. The moving means is a conveying means for conveying the container;
The container inspection apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the height measuring unit performs the scanning with respect to a container being conveyed by the conveying unit. The height measuring means has a plurality of displacement detection sensors,
The container inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of displacement detection sensors are arranged so as not to interfere with each other. The data management means calculates a sum total of heights measured at the plurality of measurement locations as the predetermined value, and determines whether or not the sum is within a predetermined range. Item 5. The container inspection device according to any one of Items 1 to 4. The data management means calculates a sum of heights measured at the plurality of measurement points, calculates an average value obtained by dividing the sum by the number of the measurement points as the predetermined value, It is judged whether an average value is in a predetermined range. The container inspection device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 characterized by things. The said data management means determines the presence or absence of the sealing defect of the said container by determining whether the said predetermined value exists in a predetermined range. The one in any one of Claims 1-6 characterized by the above-mentioned. The container inspection apparatus as described. The data management means determines whether or not the contents of the container sealed with the film-shaped lid have deteriorated by determining whether or not the predetermined value is within a predetermined range. The container inspection apparatus according to claim 1. A container inspection method for inspecting the expansion of the film-like lid with respect to a container whose opening is sealed with a film-like lid,
Performing a pressure treatment or a pressure reduction treatment on the container sealed with the film-like lid;
Measuring the height of each of the plurality of measurement points of the film-like lid under atmospheric pressure with respect to the container after the pressure treatment or the pressure reduction treatment; and
Calculating a predetermined value related to the height based on results measured at the plurality of measurement points;
Determining whether there is a defect in the container by determining whether the predetermined value is within a predetermined range.
A container inspection method. In the step of measuring the height of the film-shaped lid, a height measuring means for measuring the height is moved relative to the film-shaped lid, and the film-shaped lid is scanned by the height measuring means. And measure the height of each of the plurality of measurement points of the film-like lid.
The container inspection method according to claim 9. The container is conveyed by a conveying means;
The scanning is performed on the film-like lid of the transported container.
The container inspection method according to claim 10. Using a plurality of displacement detection sensors as the height measuring means,
These multiple displacement detection sensors are arranged so as not to interfere with each other.
The container inspection method according to claim 10 or 11, wherein: The step of calculating a predetermined value related to the height is a step of calculating a total sum of heights measured at the plurality of measurement points as the predetermined value,
The step of determining whether or not the container is defective is a step of determining whether or not the container is defective by determining whether or not the total is within a predetermined range.
The container inspection method according to any one of claims 9 to 12. The step of calculating a predetermined value related to the height calculates a total sum of heights measured at the plurality of measurement points, and an average value obtained by dividing the total by the number of the measurement points is the predetermined value. Is calculated as the value of
The step of determining whether or not the container is defective is a step of determining whether or not the container is defective by determining whether or not the average value is within a predetermined range.
The container inspection method according to any one of claims 9 to 13. The step of determining whether or not the container is defective is a step of determining whether or not the container is poorly sealed by determining whether or not the predetermined value is within a predetermined range.
The container inspection method according to any one of claims 9 to 14. The step of determining whether or not the container is defective is a step of determining whether or not the contents of the container are damaged by determining whether or not the predetermined value is within a predetermined range.
The container inspection method according to any one of claims 9 to 15.

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