JP6052729B2 - Method for maintaining freshness of fruits and vegetables, packaged fruits and vegetables, packaging method for fruits and vegetables, packaging machine and packaging system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention, freshness-keeping method of vegetables and fruits, vegetables and fruits packaging, fresh produce packaging method, to a packaging machine and packaging systems.

  Vegetables and fruits such as leek are shipped in the form of a packaged product manufactured by being wrapped in a packaging film in a bundled state, and lined up at the store via a predetermined distribution channel. The packaged fruits and vegetables continue to breathe, and freshness preservation packaging is indispensable because the freshness of the fruits and vegetables deteriorates with time due to nutrient consumption due to such breathing, ethylene aging, depletion due to evaporation, and the like. As a technique for carrying out this freshness-keeping packaging, for example, there is a technique disclosed in Patent Document 1.

  In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, at least a part of a heat seal portion of a bag made by heat-sealing a non-porous film is arranged with adhesive portions and non-adhesive portions alternately in the length direction of the heat seal portion. In order to keep the fruits and vegetables in a low oxygen concentration-high carbon dioxide concentration state as long as they do not become anaerobic, by breathing the fruits and vegetables in the bag through the fine gap generated in the unbonded portion. Yes. The fruits and vegetables package for maintaining the freshness is to wrap the fruits and vegetables in a bag made by heat-sealing non-porous film, and at least part of the heat-sealed part is parallel to the heat-sealed short lines at fine intervals in the length direction. Repeatedly applied to the shape. As an example of the fine interval, a package product is disclosed in which a center seal portion is alternately and intermittently sealed with a heat seal short line width of 0.4 mm and a fine gap width of 0.6 mm. And each heat-seal short line and fine space | gap which are formed alternately are linearly formed so that it may extend in the direction orthogonal to the length direction of a center seal | sticker part.

Japanese Patent No. 3259166

  The heat-sealed portion of the above-mentioned fruits and vegetables packaged product of Patent Document 1 has a center seal portion formed along the longitudinal direction and top seal portions formed at both ends in the longitudinal direction, and is hermetically packaged. As packaging forms for fruits and vegetables, there are hermetic packaging disclosed in Patent Document 1 and open packaging in which one end in the longitudinal direction is opened.

  As a technique for maintaining the freshness of fruits and vegetables, there is a vacuum precooling system. In this vacuum precooling system, fruits and vegetables are exposed to a vacuum state in a vacuum precooling apparatus for a certain period of time, thereby removing heat from the vegetables and cooling the vegetables from the core. That is, the fruits and vegetables breathe after harvesting and consume energy, and also reduce freshness, nutrients, and the like. Therefore, it is necessary to cool the vegetables to suppress this breathing and keep freshness and nutrients. Since the vacuum pre-cooling system can be cooled in a shorter time than using an ordinary refrigerator, the freshness and nutrients can be maintained without placing a burden on the vegetables.

  However, when this vacuum precooling system is supplied to the vacuum precooling device with the packaged form of fruits and vegetables disclosed in Patent Document 1, the air is expanded in the bag that is sealed and packaged at the vacuum processing rate at the time of vacuum processing. If it remains, it explodes and the bag bursts. Therefore, the packaging form to which the conventional vacuum precooling system can be applied has been limited to the packaged product of open packaging.

  On the other hand, packaged fruits and vegetables in unsealed packaging are not suitable for long-term storage due to wilting due to drying and other factors. In other words, in the suburban distribution lined up in stores by short-distance transportation from the shipping point, it is easy to ensure relatively low temperature control. Although the freshness can be maintained for a certain period of time, for example, in a wide-area collection / distribution system involving long-distance transportation, a sufficient freshness maintaining effect cannot be expected particularly in a high temperature period such as summer.

  In order to apply the vacuum precooling system to a packaged product that has been sealed and packaged, (1) evacuation during vacuum precooling and securing a passage for vaporized water, and (2) the package is sealed after the vacuum precooling. It is necessary to carry out a contradictory process, that is, it cannot be performed manually.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the fruit and vegetables packaged product of the present invention (1) pastes both side edges of a packaging film formed into a cylindrical shape to form a center seal portion, and intersects with the center seal portion. A fruit and vegetables packaged product in which fruits and vegetables are packaged by heat-sealing the opening at both ends, and a vent hole that is not bonded and communicates with the inside and outside of the fruit and vegetable package product is provided only in the center seal portion, and the width of the vent hole is 3 mm or more The center seal portion has 1 to 3 vent holes , and the vent holes are formed obliquely with respect to the center seal portion, and when there is a lot of condensation, the condensation accumulates and is blocked and sealed. Thus, when the dew condensation is small, the aeration is ensured, so that the fruits and vegetables are set so as to be kept in a low oxygen concentration-high carbon dioxide concentration state within a range where the anaerobic state is not caused.

  The seal width of the center seal portion is as short as several millimeters, for example, but by forming the vents at an angle, the overall length of the vents can be increased and the area can be increased. In addition, the fruits and vegetables still breathe and emit moisture after the packaging process. An appropriate amount of dew condensation occurs depending on the temperature environment and respiratory volume during storage. Although this condensed water enters the vent hole, as described above, the vent hole is slanted to lengthen the vent passage, so that the condensed water stays in the vent hole. Therefore, it becomes easy to block ventilation. When the amount of condensation is large, the ventilation is completely blocked. When the amount of condensation is small, the ventilation opening is partially blocked, and the ventilation amount is suppressed / limited.

  Thus, the fruit and vegetable package of this invention can control the ventilation | gas_flowing amount of a vent according to the respiration of fruit and vegetables. In particular, in a highly air-tight environment where condensation has accumulated in the vents, the condition is low “high oxygen + high carbon dioxide”, which is effective for maintaining freshness. Also, if left standing, it is easy to seal due to condensation. Therefore, the fruits and vegetables packaged product of the present invention can be vacuumed, for example, and can cope with vacuum precooling. And the wrinkle of the tip which tends to occur with the vacuum precooling treatment can be suppressed by the reduced pressure adhesion of the film. In addition, although the fruits and vegetables cooled by vacuum precooling are likely to condense during the distribution process, the condensate conversely promotes a suitable sealing and forms a freshness-preserving package. In addition, since the gas is appropriately exchanged from the vents due to the amount of condensation and the vibration and pressure in the distribution process applied to the package, freshness is maintained and anaerobic breathing can be avoided.

  (2) The position of the opening on one end side of the vent and the position of the opening on the other end side may be set so as not to overlap in the longitudinal direction of the center seal portion. If it does in this way, the passage which goes straight in the seal width direction between the one end side and the other end side of a vent will be lost, and the full length of a vent can be lengthened.

  (3) The width of the vent is preferably 3 to 7 mm. More preferably, it is 5 to 6 mm. In this range, for example, air inside the package can escape smoothly to the outside during vacuum pre-cooling treatment, and the bag can be prevented from rupturing, and the ventilation port can be blocked and sealed by condensed water using capillary action during the subsequent storage and distribution processes. The effect can be expected. In particular, when the thickness is 5 to 6 mm, such an effect is more appropriately exhibited.

(4) The fruit and vegetables packaging method of the present invention continuously feeds a belt-shaped packaging film, wraps the fruit and vegetables in a cylindrical shape with the packaging film, seals the polymerized end where the both side edges in the traveling direction are overlapped, and the center seal A fruit and vegetable packaging method for producing a fruit and vegetable packaging product by sealing and cutting the cylindrical film formed in a sealed shape in a lateral direction every predetermined length, and sealing the polymerization end, 1 to 3 ventilation holes with a width of 3 mm or more are formed diagonally in the center seal part. If there is a large amount of condensation from the fruits and vegetables, the condensation accumulates and is blocked and becomes sealed. The fruit and vegetables are formed so as to maintain a low oxygen concentration-high carbon dioxide concentration state within a range that does not become anaerobic by ensuring ventilation in a state where condensation is low .

  (5) A vacuum pre-cooling process may be performed on the packaged fruit and vegetables. By performing vacuum precooling, the fruits and vegetables are cooled in a short time. Since the air vent is provided, even if the air inside the package is about to expand due to the vacuum precooling process, the air can escape from the air vent and does not rupture.

(6) A packaging machine according to the present invention includes a bag making device that forms a belt-shaped packaging film into a cylindrical shape, a center seal device that is disposed on the downstream side in the film traveling direction of the bag making device, and seals the film polymerization end; A top seal device that is disposed downstream of the center seal device in the film traveling direction and seals and cuts the tubular film formed by sealing with the center seal device in the lateral direction, and the center seal device comprises: 1 to 3 ventilation holes with a width of 3 mm or more are formed obliquely with respect to the center seal portion , and when the amount of condensation from the fruits and vegetables is large, the condensation accumulates and is blocked and sealed. It is set to keep the fruits and vegetables in a low oxygen concentration-high carbon dioxide concentration state within a range that does not become anaerobic by ensuring ventilation when there is little condensation. It was made to be. By using this packaging machine, the above-mentioned fruit and vegetable package can be manufactured.

  (7) The center seal device may include a pair of rotary center sealers, and grooves may be formed on the seal surface of at least one center sealer obliquely with respect to the circumferential direction. This is preferable because it can be handled only by exchanging the center sealer using an existing pillow packaging machine (including a reverse pillow packaging machine).

  (8) The packaging system of the present invention includes the packaging machine according to (6) or (7) and a vacuum precooling device.

(9) The method for maintaining the freshness of fruits and vegetables according to the present invention is to ventilate the inside and outside of the pillow package without being bonded only to the center seal portion of the pillow package manufactured by heat-sealing the fruits and vegetables with a packaging film. A vent is formed obliquely with respect to the center seal portion, the vent has a width of 3 mm or more, has 1 to 3 in the center seal portion, and dew condensation generated from the fruits and vegetables If there is a large amount of condensation, condensation will build up in the vent and shut off, resulting in a sealed state. In a state where condensation is low (for example, in a low temperature state where breathing is not active), ventilation through the vent is ensured, and the fruits and vegetables are made anaerobic. The low oxygen concentration-high carbon dioxide concentration state was maintained within a range that would not occur.
(10) A vacuum precooling process may be performed on the pillow package to cool the fruits and vegetables, and the air in the pillow package may escape from the vent.

  In the present invention, it is possible to produce a hermetically packaged fruit and vegetable package that can accommodate vacuum precooling. Therefore, when the vacuum precooling process is performed, both the quality retention effect and the quality retention effect based on the sealed packaging work in synergy with the vacuum precooling process. Moreover, the fruit and vegetable package of this invention is applicable also when not vacuum precooling. That is, with the same configuration, both vacuum precooling and vacuum precooling can be handled.

It is a figure which shows one Embodiment of the packaging machine which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the center sealer which comprises a center seal apparatus. It is a figure which shows embodiment of the fruit and vegetables packaged goods which concern on this invention. It is a figure which shows an experimental result. It is a figure which shows an experimental result. It is a figure which shows an experimental result. It is a figure which shows an experimental result. It is a figure which shows an experimental result. It is a figure which shows an experimental result. It is a figure which shows an experimental result. It is a figure which shows an experimental result.

  FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of a packaging machine constituting a part of a packaging system for producing a fruit and vegetable package according to the present invention. The packaging machine of this embodiment is an inverted pillow packaging machine 10. The reverse pillow packaging machine 10 is disposed on the upstream side of the packaging machine body 11, the film supply device 12 that continuously supplies the packaging machine body 11 with a belt-like packaging film, and the packaging machine body 11. A packaged article transport and supply device 14 that supplies the packaged article 13 to the packaging machine body 11 at predetermined intervals is provided.

  The package 13 is a vegetable such as leek. In the present embodiment, a predetermined amount (for example, 100 g) of leek is bundled, but is not limited to leek, and can be applied to various fruits and vegetables such as trefoil and large leaves.

  The film supply device 12 links the output of a drive motor (not shown) (speed-controllable motor such as a servo motor) to the original roll 16 obtained by winding the belt-like film 15 into a roll. Supplying to the packaging machine body 11 at a constant speed while appropriately controlling the rotation speed. Various rollers 17 are arranged at predetermined positions from the original fabric roll 16 to the packaging machine main body 11, and the belt-like film 15 fed out from the original fabric roll 16 is stretched over the rollers 17, thereby providing a predetermined path. It is guided to the packaging machine main body 11 through. For example, a stretched polypropylene film (hereinafter referred to as “OPP”) is used as the belt-like film 15.

  In the present invention, it is not always necessary to link the drive motor to the original fabric roll 16, and a feed roller may be provided on the transport path of the packaging film and pulled out. Moreover, in this embodiment, although the film supply apparatus 12 has taken the aspect of the reverse pillow packaging machine arrange | positioned under the packaging machine main body 11, this invention arrange | positions a film supply apparatus above a packaging machine main body. A normal type may be used.

  The to-be-packaged goods conveyance supply apparatus 14 is equipped with the press plate type roller conveyor 18 and the side conveyor 19 arrange | positioned at the roller conveyor 18. FIG. The roller conveyor 18 is mounted with a number of rollers so as to span the endless chains 18b arranged on the left and right sides along the transport direction. The rollers are arranged such that their axes extend in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction, and a transport surface for the package is formed by a plurality of rollers arranged in the front-rear direction along the transport direction. The roller is free to rotate about its own axis in a free state. Therefore, the article to be packaged placed on the roller can be easily moved forward and backward relative to the roller. Thereby, the roller moves forward with the rotational movement of the endless chain 18b, and the article to be packaged placed on the roller moves forward with the movement of the roller. However, when a biasing force is applied to the article group forward or backward. It moves forward and backward relative to the conveying surface of the roller.

  Further, the endless chain 18b is stretched around the sprocket 18a disposed in front of and behind the packaged article transport and supply device 14 and at an appropriate position, and rotates and follows the rotation of the sprocket 18a. Although not shown, the endless chain 18a located on the upper side that moves along the transport direction is supported by the guide rail on the lower side, and moves forward stably on a horizontal plane. Therefore, the roller 31 spanned between the pair of left and right endless chains 18b moves in the horizontal plane to form a horizontal conveyance surface.

  Push plates (not shown) are arranged at predetermined pitch intervals along the transport direction. The left and right ends of this push plate are linked to the left and right endless chains 18b, respectively, and move forward with the rotational movement of the endless chain 18b. The push plate protrudes above the conveying surface and moves in contact with the rear surface of the article to be packaged 13 on the conveying surface formed by the rollers, thereby positioning each article to be packaged 13 The article 13 is pushed forward and is sequentially supplied into the bag making machine 20 of the packaging machine body 11 at the next stage at predetermined intervals. Further, the push plate in the roller conveyor 18 used in the present embodiment falls forward in front of the bag making machine, and pushes the article 13 into the bag making machine 20.

  The packaging machine main body 11 includes a bag making machine 20 for making the supplied belt-like film 15 into a tubular film 21, and a belt conveyor 23 for conveying the tubular film 21 disposed on the downstream side of the bag making machine 20. A center seal device 24 installed at a predetermined position above the belt conveyor 23, an upper restraining belt 25 disposed above the belt conveyor 23 and downstream of the center seal device 24, and downstream of the belt conveyor 23. A top seal device 30 disposed and a carry-out conveyor 26 disposed on the downstream side of the top seal device 30 are provided.

  The bag-making device 20 allows the side film edges 15a of the belt-like film 15 to contact (polymerize) with each other by passing the belt-like film 15 continuously supplied from the film feeding device 12, and the tube that has become cylindrical. Bag-like film 21 is made. In addition, the articles to be packaged 13 that are sequentially supplied from the article to be packaged supply apparatus 14 to the packaging machine main body 11 are inserted into the bag making machine 20. Thereby, the article 13 to be packaged supplied to the bag making machine 20 is arranged in the cylindrical film 21 at predetermined intervals. Moreover, in this embodiment, since the film supply apparatus 12 was arrange | positioned under the packaging machine main body 11, both the side edge parts 15a of the strip | belt-shaped film 15 are located above the cylindrical film 21. FIG.

  The center seal device 24 seals both side edge portions 15a of the polymerized belt-like film 15. That is, in this embodiment, the both side edge portions 15 a of the belt-like film 15 are formed so as to protrude above the tubular film 21 by passing through the bag making device 20. Therefore, the center seal device 24 is installed at a predetermined position above the tubular film 21. The center seal device 24 includes a pair of rectangular parallelepiped bar sealers 35 that preheat the side edge portions 15a, and a pair of flat roller-shaped center sealers 34 disposed on the downstream side of the bar sealers 35. The pair of center sealers 34 are heated and pressed in a state where both side edge portions 15a (the portions preheated by the bar sealer 35) of the belt-like film 15 are sandwiched from both sides, whereby the sandwiched film portion (side edge portion). 15a) are melted together in a contact state, heat-sealed and integrated into a center seal portion 21a. In this embodiment, the bar sealer 35 is disposed upstream of the center sealer 34 to preheat the film. However, a configuration in which the bar sealer 35 is not provided may be employed.

  Further, a pair of left and right pinch rollers 33 are provided on the upstream side of the center seal device 24 (bar sealer 35, center sealer 34) and between the bag making device 20. A driving force from a drive motor (not shown) is transmitted to the pinch roller 33. The pinch roller 33 sandwiches both side edge portions 15a of the belt-like film 15 and gives a conveying force, and both side edge portions 15a. Is stably guided to the center sealer 34 of the next stage. Furthermore, two upper plates 36 are arranged in parallel below the lower end surfaces of the pinch roller 33, the bar sealer 35, and the center sealer 34 so as to follow the transport direction. That is, the two upper plates 36 are configured such that one long side is brought close to each other and a predetermined gap is secured. Then, both side edge portions 15a of the belt-like film 15 protrude upward from the gap between the long sides of the two upper plates 36, and the protruding portions are sandwiched by the pinch roller 33, the bar sealer 35, and the center sealer 34, respectively.

  By making the rotational speed of the center sealer 34 (the speed of the outer peripheral surface in contact with the film) equal to or slightly faster than the rotational speed of the pinch roller 33 (the speed of the outer peripheral surface in contact with the film), the bar sealer 35, the center The sealer 34 can be passed in a state where both side edge portions 15a are superposed and taut. In the present embodiment, the pinch roller 33 is disposed on the upstream side of the center sealer 34, but may be disposed on the downstream side or on both sides.

  The upper restraining belt 25 is disposed in the immediate vicinity of the upstream side of the top seal device 30 and prevents the article 13 in the tubular film 21 from being lifted upward so that it can be conveyed while maintaining a horizontal state. ing.

  The top seal device 30 seals and cuts the tubular film 21 in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction, that is, in a transverse direction. The film part to be sealed / cut is a predetermined position between the front and back objects 13 to be packaged. Thereby, by passing through the top seal device 30, the leading portion of the tubular film 21 is separated from the subsequent portion, and the intermediate package 27 that is pillow-wrapped is manufactured.

  The center seal device 24 of the present embodiment has an improved seal surface 34a formed on the peripheral surfaces of the pair of center sealers 34, as shown in an enlarged view in FIG. First, on the sealing surface 34a, predetermined sealing eyes (for example, gob-eye) are formed over the entire surface. Then, a groove 34b is formed in a part of the peripheral seal surface 34a. The groove 34b has a belt-like pattern that obliquely crosses the peripheral surface of the center sealer 34 in the axial direction. The inclination angle α of the groove 34b with respect to the circumferential direction is, for example, 30 degrees. By forming it diagonally, the total length L of the groove 34b becomes longer than the axial length W of the seal surface 34a corresponding to the seal width. As the inclination angle α decreases, the ratio of the total length L of the groove 34b (unsealed portion) to the axial length (seal width) W increases.

  Further, the formation positions of the grooves 34b are provided at two positions at intervals of 180 degrees. The portion where the groove 34b is formed is not sealed because it has no sealing eyes and is one step lower than the peripheral surface of the center sealer 34 (recessed toward the center of rotation of the center sealer 34) and does not contact the film surface. As a result, each time the center sealer 34 is rotated 180 degrees, i.e., ½, the slanted groove 34b faces both side edge portions 15a, so that the half-circumferential portion that is in contact with the seal surface 34a without the groove 34b is formed. The corresponding film part is firmly heat-sealed, and the part facing the groove 34b is an unsealed part.

Therefore, when the length of the half circumference of the peripheral surface of the center sealer 34 is set to be shorter than the length in the transport direction of the intermediate package, that is, the total length of the center seal part, the center seal part of one intermediate package has at least One unsealed portion is formed. For example, if the diameter of the center sealer 34 is about 110 mm, the length of the half circumference is about 170 mm. And when leek is used as the fruits and vegetables which are to-be-packaged objects, the full length of an intermediate package body will be about 500 mm-about 600 mm normally. Accordingly, 1 to 3 unsealed portions are formed in the center seal portion of one intermediate package.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the grooves 34b are provided in both of the pair of center sealers 34, respectively. The grooves 34b formed in each center sealer 34b have the same pattern dimensions, and the grooves 34b provided in the pair of center sealers 34 are set to face each other at the same timing. Therefore, the width of the non-sealed portion formed in the center seal portion is equal to the width of the groove 34b, and the inclination angle also matches.

  FIG. 3 shows a schematic external view of the intermediate package 37 and the final product fruit and vegetable package 40 that has been vacuum precooled. By performing the vacuum pre-cooling process, the state of fruits and vegetables such as leek, which is an object to be packaged, is changed, and the appearance of the plan view shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, a center seal portion 41 is formed so as to extend over the entire length in the longitudinal direction, and both ends in the longitudinal direction each have a top seal portion 42 formed so as to cross in the lateral direction. The top seal portion 42 is sealed horizontally, and the film is firmly welded at the seal portion to maintain airtightness. Further, the center seal portion 41 is provided with a goza eyes seal.

  The top seal portion 42 is sealed over its entire length, but the center seal portion 41 is formed with an unsealed portion. Both ends of the unsealed portion open to both ends in the width direction of the center seal portion 41. That is, both ends of the unsealed portion are connected to the internal space and the outside of the package, respectively, and the unsealed portion serves as a vent 43 communicating with the inside and outside of the package. As described above, since the unsealed portion constituting the vent 43 is formed by the groove 34b formed obliquely on the peripheral surface of the center sealer 34, the vent 43 is formed in the direction in which the center seal 41 is formed (packaging). The layout is arranged obliquely at a predetermined angle α (for example, 30 degrees) with respect to the longitudinal direction of the body. Since the vent holes 43 are formed obliquely in this way, the overall length L of the vent holes 43 is longer than the seal width W of the center seal portion 41. Further, the width w1 of the vent 43 is set to 5 mm or 6 mm in the present embodiment. The width w1 in the present embodiment is a length in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the vent hole 43 extends, as shown in the figure. The width w1 is equal to the width of the groove 34b formed in the center sealer 34.

  Furthermore, the opening part 43a facing the inside of the packaging body of the vent hole 43 and the opening part 43b facing the outside of the packaging body are set so that the positions in the arrangement direction (longitudinal direction) of the center seal portion 41 are completely shifted and do not overlap. It is said. As shown in FIG. 2, this can be realized by a layout in which the upper end side opening and the lower end side opening of the groove 34b formed in the peripheral surface of the center sealer 34 do not overlap in the circumferential direction.

  By forming the vents at an angle in this way, for example, air inside the bag enters from the opening part 43a of the vent and moves straightly along the width direction of the center seal portion 41. I ca n’t go straight to the wall. Therefore, the air in the bag always moves inside the vent hole 43 by a distance longer than the seal width W and reaches the outside of the bag.

  In a preferred embodiment of the packaging system according to the present invention, although not shown in the drawings, in addition to the reverse pillow packaging machine 10 described above, a boxing device disposed downstream of the reverse pillow packaging machine 10 and cooling for vacuum precooling. Equipment. The boxing device stores a predetermined number of intermediate packaging bodies 27 sequentially carried out from the reverse pillow packaging machine 10 in a packaging box made of cardboard or the like and seals them. In a state in which a predetermined number of packaging boxes manufactured by the boxing device are stacked, they are set in a cooling device for vacuum precooling, and vacuum precooling processing is performed. Thereby, the packaged goods (fruits and vegetables) accommodated in the packaging box are rapidly cooled.

  The vent hole 43 formed in the center seal portion 41 is set so as to be sealed or ventilated according to the amount of condensation generated from the fruits and vegetables. In other words, the vent holes 43 are arranged obliquely, and the vent passages are made longer than the seal width W as a total length L. Therefore, if left undisturbed, if there is a lot of condensation generated from the fruits and vegetables that are being packaged, condensation will accumulate in the vents and shut off, and the air will be shut off. Gas exchange is likely to occur. Therefore, the air remaining in the intermediate package during the vacuum pre-cooling process expands, but the vent opens as the internal pressure increases during the expansion, and the air in the package exits through the vent. Therefore, the bag will not rupture.

  And by carrying out this vacuum pre-cooling treatment, the fruits and vegetables to be packaged can take away the heat from the vegetables and cool the vegetables from the core in a short time, and the freshness and nutrients without burdening the vegetables Can be maintained.

  When the vacuum pre-cooling process is completed, the vents come into contact with each other due to static electricity. In particular, the OPP used in this embodiment is easily charged by static electricity, and the films are easily attracted by electrostatic attraction. Therefore, an antistatic agent is usually applied or kneaded, but it cannot be completely prevented. By actively utilizing such a phenomenon and providing a vent hole in the center seal portion where wrinkles are difficult to occur, it functions as a valve by electrostatic adhesion during drying.

  Thus, if the films are only electrostatically bonded to each other, there is a passage through which air flows when microscopically viewed, and ventilation is ensured. On the other hand, in this embodiment, since the fruit and vegetables which are to-be packaged objects are cooled by performing the vacuum precooling process, dew condensation is likely to occur. Since the vent is formed in a slanting vertical direction, moisture generated by such condensation enters the vent through a capillary phenomenon. In this way, the capillarity is used to seal the vent holes that are slanted vertically with a small amount of adhering water (condensation water), the airtightness is increased, and freshness-keeping packaging is performed. That is, in this embodiment, since the center seal portion has a goza-eyed seal and the seal strength is strong, there is almost no ventilation except at the vent. Therefore, as described above, when the ventilation hole is dew-condensed, the fruit and vegetable package is in a sealed state.

  Furthermore, since the vacuum cooling is performed by the heat of vaporization due to the sublimation of water, the fruits and vegetables lose several percent of water. For this reason, for example, in leek etc., peculiar wrinkle tends to occur mainly at the tip, but in this embodiment, after the vacuum precooling process, the air in the bag is drawn outside and sealed in a vacuum pack shape. Etc. are pressed by the film portion of the bag. Therefore, the fruit and vegetables packaged product of the present embodiment manufactured by vacuum pre-cooling exhibits the effect of preventing deflation, and the air in the package is vented to reduce the total amount of air in the package. Is also desirable.

[Modification 1] (No vacuum pre-cooling process is performed)
In the above-described embodiment, the vacuum precooling process is performed, but the present invention does not necessarily need to perform the vacuum precooling. That is, the intermediate package in the above-described embodiment manufactured by the reverse pillow packaging machine may be used as the final fruit and vegetable package as it is.

  Since the fruits and vegetables package having such a configuration is not subjected to the vacuum precooling treatment, the fruits and vegetables are not cooled as much as those in the above-described embodiment, and the occurrence of condensation is less. Therefore, sufficient dew condensation water to block the vent hole does not enter the vent hole, and ventilation is ensured. Even when vacuum pre-cooling is not performed, if the respiration of fruits and vegetables is placed in a low temperature state where the respiration is not active, the state of condensation is reduced, and even in such a case, the vents cannot be blocked. However, a part of the vent is closed by a certain amount of moisture, and the substantial width of the vent (the width of the air passage) becomes narrower than the width w1 of the vent, and the effect of restricting / suppressing the amount of ventilation is demonstrated. To do. In this way, by ensuring an appropriate amount of ventilation through the vents, the fruits and vegetables can be kept in a low oxygen concentration-high carbon dioxide concentration state within a range that does not become anaerobic.

[Modification 2] (Deformation of packaging machine)
In the above-described embodiment, two grooves are provided obliquely on the seal surfaces of the pair of center sealers of the center seal device used in the reverse pillow packaging machine. In the present invention, the number of installations is arbitrary, and the number of installations may be one or three or more.

  In the above-described embodiment, the grooves are formed in the pair of left and right center sealers, but the grooves may be formed in only one of them. When the groove is formed only on one side, the width of the unsealed portion formed in the center seal portion, that is, the vent is equal to the width of the groove, so that the width can be controlled with high accuracy.

In addition, when a groove | channel is each provided in a pair of center sealer like embodiment mentioned above, the width | variety of a groove | channel and the width | variety of a vent hole correspond by setting so that both grooves may oppose with sufficient timing. Further, if the grooves provided in the pair of center sealers are displaced in the rotation direction, the width of the vent hole becomes wider than the width of the groove. Therefore, the width of the vent hole can be changed and controlled by appropriately adjusting the rotational angle position of the pair of center sealers while using the same center sealer.
Further, the width of the vent is set to 5 mm or 6 mm in the above-described embodiment, and this range is the best, but it may be a range of about 3 to 7 mm.

  In the above-described embodiment, the center sealer 34 is a rotary type composed of a pair of flat rollers. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a bar-like sealer may be used. That is, a bar sealer 35 for heating the film is provided as in the embodiment, and a pair of press rollers is arranged instead of the center sealer 34. Unlike the center sealer, the press roller does not have a built-in heater. A basic configuration is adopted in which heat is sealed by pressurizing the film portion heated by the bar sealer 35. And it is good to provide a diagonal groove | channel like the center sealer in embodiment mentioned above in the outer peripheral surface of this press roller.

[Experimental result 1]
Sample Specimen 1: Vacuum pre-cooling treatment + slanted vent + sealed packaging Sample 2: No vacuum pre-cooling treatment + slanted vent + sealed wrap Sample 3: Vacuum pre-cooling + unsealed packaging (open one in the longitudinal direction)
All center seals were gouge-shaped.

  The vegetables and fruits used leek, and the number of samples was 40 bags for each sample (each stored in cardboard), and the samples were stored in an incubator set at 20 ° C., the temperature most likely to cause a difference in litter quality due to packaging.

The evaluation was performed based on an appearance survey and measurement of the remaining amount of gas in the package. The appearance survey was visually observed and was evaluated according to a standard of 5 levels. 5 stages are: “5: Same as at harvest, 4: Slightly reduced freshness (gloss / wilt), 3: Clear freshness drop (yellowing / wilt), 2: Product limit (troquet, etc.), 1: No merchandise” Set in. Further, for the measurement of the remaining amount of gas, the CO ₂ concentration and the O ₂ concentration were measured for the documents 1 and 2 that were sealed and packaged. Each gas concentration was determined by direct suction measurement using a zirconia gas sensor (DANSENSOR O ₂ / CO ₂ analyzer).

  FIG. 4 shows the appearance evaluation. The horizontal axis is the number of days elapsed since manufacture, and the vertical axis is the evaluation value. The evaluation value on the vertical axis is a numerical value obtained by averaging evaluation values (integers) for each sample as visual appearance evaluation. As is clear from the figure, it was confirmed that Samples 1 and 2 corresponding to the product of the present invention maintained the quality for a long period of time compared to the conventional product (Sample 3). In addition, it was confirmed that the vacuum precooling treatment maintained high quality in the presence or absence of the vacuum precooling treatment.

Figure 5 is the change in CO ₂ of the sample 1, FIG. 6 shows the change in CO ₂ of the sample 2, FIG. 7 is the change in _{O 2} of the sample 1, FIG. 8 is a variation of _{O 2} in the sample 2, respectively. The horizontal axis is the number of days that have elapsed since manufacture, and the vertical axis is the residual concentration value of each gas. In each figure, the graph shows the average value and variation of each sample on the measurement date. In addition, after measuring the gas, the sealed packaging was processed by hand, so the internal gas partial pressure changed and seemed to vary, but in all samples, O ₂ gas gradually decreased and CO ₂ gas gradually increased. It was confirmed that the structure tends to be airtight.

[Experimental result 2]
Sample Specimen 1: Vacuum pre-cooling treatment + slant vent + sealed packaging Sample 2: Corresponding to Patent Document 1 Sample 3: Vacuum pre-cooling + unsealed packaging (open one in the longitudinal direction)
For Samples 1 and 3, the center seal portion was gouge. Sample 2 used a short heat seal line extending in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the center seal portion and a fine gap formed alternately and intermittently.

  The fruits and vegetables used leek, the number of samples was 10 bags for each sample, the storage temperature was acclimatized at 5 ° C for 1 day, and after the 2nd day, it was stored in an incubator set at 20 ° C where the quality change was remarkable. The evaluation was the same as the experimental result 1.

  FIG. 9 shows the appearance evaluation. The horizontal axis is the number of days elapsed since manufacture, and the vertical axis is the evaluation value. The evaluation value on the vertical axis is a numerical value obtained by averaging evaluation values (integers) for each sample as visual appearance evaluation. As is clear from the figure, the quality of the untreated gossamer-open packaging has already deteriorated sharply from the third day, but the sample 1 corresponding to the present invention and the sample 2 corresponding to Patent Document 1 have a freshness until the fifth day. It was maintained and the subsequent quality decline was slow. Further, as is clear when comparing Samples 1 and 2, it was also confirmed that Sample 1 corresponding to the present invention can maintain a higher quality state.

FIG. 10 shows the average value of the change in CO ₂ of each sample, and FIG. 11 shows the average value of the change in O ₂ of each sample 1. The horizontal axis is the number of days that have elapsed since manufacture, and the vertical axis is the residual concentration value of each gas. A high CO ₂ + low O ₂ environment is suitable for aging inhibition, and both are considered to be about 10%. It can be confirmed that Sample 1 which is the product of the present invention and Sample 2 corresponding to Patent Document 1 both maintain their favorable environment for a long time.

10 Reverse Pillow Packaging Machine 11 Packaging Machine Body 13 Packaged Goods (Fruits and Fruits)
15 Belt-shaped film 20 Bag making device 24 Center seal device 30 Top seal device 34 Center sealer 34a Seal surface 34b Groove 37 Intermediate package 40 Fruit and vegetable package 41 Center seal portion 42 Top seal portion 43 Vent 43a Opening part (inside of package) On the other side)
43b Opening part (the side facing the outside of the package)

Claims (10)

It is a fruit and vegetable packaging product in which fruits and vegetables are wrapped by heat-sealing both ends of the center seal portion and the cross direction in the center seal portion by sticking both side edges of the packaging film formed into a cylindrical shape,
Only the center seal portion is provided with a vent hole that is not bonded and communicates the inside and outside of the packaged fruit and vegetables,
The vent has a width of 3 mm or more, and has one to three vents in the center seal part . The vents are formed obliquely with respect to the center seal part. Is configured to be kept in a low oxygen concentration-high carbon dioxide concentration state within a range that does not enter an anaerobic state by ensuring ventilation in a state where condensation is reduced and sealed and there is little condensation Fruit and vegetable packaging products characterized by   The fruit and vegetables packaging according to claim 1, wherein the position of the opening on one end side of the vent and the position of the opening on the other end side are set so as not to overlap in the longitudinal direction of the center seal portion. Goods.   The fruit and vegetables packaged product according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the vent has a width of 3 to 7 mm. Continuous supply of strip-shaped packaging film,
Wrapping the fruits and vegetables with the packaging film, sealing the overlapping ends that overlap the side edges in the direction of travel, forming a center seal part,
A fruit and vegetables packaging method for producing a fruit and vegetables packaged product by sealing and cutting the sealed cylindrical film in a lateral direction for each predetermined length,
When sealing the overlapped end , one to three vent holes having a width of 3 mm or more are formed obliquely in the center seal portion ,
When the amount of dew condensation from the fruits and vegetables is large, the air vents are sealed and sealed, and when there is little dew condensation, the ventilation is ensured so that the fruits and vegetables are kept low in an anaerobic state. A method for packaging fruits and vegetables, characterized in that it is formed so as to maintain an oxygen concentration-high carbon dioxide concentration state .   The fruit and vegetables packaging method according to claim 4, wherein a vacuum precooling process is performed on the fruit and vegetables packaged product. A bag making machine for forming a belt-shaped packaging film into a cylinder;
A center seal device that is disposed downstream of the bag making machine in the film traveling direction and seals the film polymerization end;
A top seal device that is disposed downstream of the center seal device in the film traveling direction, and seals and cuts the tubular film formed by sealing with the center seal device in the lateral direction;
With
The center seal device is configured to form 1 to 3 vent holes having a width of 3 mm or more obliquely with respect to the center seal portion ,
When the amount of dew condensation from the fruits and vegetables is large, the air vents accumulate and block the condensation and become sealed, and when there is little dew condensation, the ventilation is ensured so that the fruits and vegetables can be kept in a low oxygen state as long as they do not become anaerobic. Concentration— A packaging machine that is set to maintain a high carbon dioxide concentration state . The center seal device includes a pair of rotary center sealers,
The packaging machine according to claim 6, wherein a groove is formed obliquely with respect to a circumferential direction on a sealing surface of at least one center sealer.   A packaging system comprising the packaging machine according to claim 6 and a vacuum precooling device. Only the center seal part of the pillow package manufactured by covering the fruits and vegetables with the packaging film and heat-sealing is provided with a vent which communicates the inside and outside of the pillow package without adhesion.
The vent is formed obliquely with respect to the center seal part,
The vent has a width of 3 mm or more, has 1 to 3 in the center seal portion, and if there is a lot of condensation generated from the fruits and vegetables, the condensation will be accumulated in the vent and shut off to form a sealed state. A method for maintaining the freshness of fruits and vegetables, wherein the fruits and vegetables are kept in a low oxygen concentration-high carbon dioxide concentration state within a range not becoming anaerobic by ensuring ventilation through the vents in a small state.   The method for maintaining freshness of fruits and vegetables according to claim 9, wherein the pillow package is subjected to a vacuum pre-cooling process to cool the fruits and vegetables, and the air in the pillow packages is released to the outside through the vents.

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