JP6177827B2 - Container cleaning device and beverage filling device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a container cleaning device for a container filled with a liquid such as a beverage, and a beverage filling device including the same.

  Generally, a rotary filling device is known as a device for filling a liquid such as drinking water into a container such as a PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottle, a glass bottle, or a bottle can. This rotary filling device is provided with a plurality of filling valves on the outer peripheral portion of a rotating circular wheel. While the container is transported in the circumferential direction by almost one rotation of the wheel, drinking water or the like is supplied from the filling valve. Is filled in a container. When filling with drinking water or the like is completed, the cap is attached to the container by a capper (plugging machine) (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  When the liquid to be filled is drinking water or the like, it is essential to prevent contamination of germs and the like into the container. Therefore, when filling tea, mineral water, etc., a so-called aseptic filling method is adopted in which a series of processes such as a container sterilization process, a cap sterilization process, a product liquid filling process, and a cap mounting process are performed in a clean room. Yes.

  In this case, the container is sterilized using a sterilizing solution (eg, a peracetic acid solution that is a mixture of peracetic acid, hydrogen peroxide, acetic acid and water). Thereafter, cleaning (rinsing) with sterile water is performed for the purpose of washing out the sterilizing liquid from the container and removing foreign substances (hereinafter referred to as “sterile water rinse”).

  On the other hand, when the liquid to be filled is a carbonated beverage or when the container is sterilized by filling with a hot beverage (hot-packing), the sodium hypochlorite solution is used as the sterilizing solution. After washing, the container is rinsed with city water such as tap water (hereinafter referred to as “water rinse”).

JP 2001-187369 A

Sterile water used for the above-described aseptic water rinse is obtained by heating and sterilizing water to about 140 ° C. using a heat exchanger. Therefore, there is a problem that equipment such as a heat exchanger is required and initial capital investment is increased. Furthermore, there is a problem that a running cost for obtaining aseptic water is required.
On the other hand, such food machines filled with liquids such as soft drinks use a large amount of water for sterilization and washing, and there is a problem that there is a strong demand for reducing the amount of use.

In other words, the beverage industry has increased the demand for dry sterilization technology that does not use water.
As a sterilization technique that does not use water, for example, a sterilization technique using an electron beam has been proposed. According to this method, since the bacteria irradiated with the electron beam are killed, sterilization without using water can be performed.
However, the transmission power of electron beams is limited. For example, there is a problem that there is a possibility that sterilization may not be performed in a shadowed area because the electron beam is blocked by a foreign substance attached to the container.

In order to solve this problem, a method of removing foreign matters adhering to the container by rinsing with water may be considered, but there is a problem that the above-mentioned requirement for dry sterilization without using water is not met.
Furthermore, when water rinsing is performed, the running cost reduction effect is reduced, and there is a problem that the merit of introducing a sterilization technique using an electron beam is reduced.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and provides a container cleaning device and a beverage filling device capable of performing dry sterilization without using water and reducing the cost of sterilization. For the purpose.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following means.
The container cleaning device of the present invention includes a foreign substance removing unit that removes foreign substances attached to the container by blowing gas to the container, a sterilizing unit that irradiates the container from which the foreign substance has been removed, and the foreign substance removing unit. Aside from the foreign substance removing part, a neutralizing part for removing static electricity charged in the container is provided, and the foreign substance removing part includes a nozzle having a nozzle hole for ejecting gas toward the outer peripheral side. A nozzle driving mechanism for relatively moving the nozzle into the container with respect to the container held in an inverted state, and allowing the nozzle to enter the container and not ejecting gas from the nozzle hole And moving from the mouth of the container toward the bottom, and moving from the bottom of the container toward the mouth while jetting gas from the nozzle hole, And removing foreign matters.

According to the present invention, since the electron beam is irradiated to the container from which the foreign matter has been removed by the foreign matter removing unit, the entire container can be sterilized.
Since gas is blown onto the container to remove foreign substances, the container can be sterilized without using liquid. Furthermore, since the container is sterilized by electron beam irradiation after spraying the gas on the container, it is not necessary to sterilize the gas. In other words, when gas is blown against the container after electron beam irradiation, in order to maintain the sterilized state, it is necessary to perform steam sterilization on the gas, but to blow gas before electron beam irradiation. There is no need to sterilize the gas.

  Here, as the gas to be blown, air (from which "clean air" is hereafter) or nitrogen that has not been sterilized by a method such as steam sterilization after removing foreign substances, moisture, oil mist, or the like is used. It can be illustrated. Furthermore, in order to remove the foreign matter adhering to the container, it is desirable to blow a gas pressurized to a predetermined pressure onto the container.

  In the reference example of the invention described above, a static eliminator for removing static electricity charged in the container may be provided when the foreign matter is removed.

  According to the present invention, before removing the foreign matter, before removing the static electricity charged in the container, because the gas is blown against the container after the static electricity has been removed, compared with the case where the static eliminating portion is not provided, Foreign matter can be easily removed. In other words, since the foreign matter is attached to the container by suction force such as static electricity, the adhesion force on the foreign matter is reduced by removing the static electricity charged in the container. Therefore, compared with the case where static electricity is not removed, the foreign matter can be removed from the container with a small force, and the possibility that the foreign matter remains can be reduced.

Here, examples of the structure of the charge removal unit include a structure in which a gas containing ions that remove static electricity charged in the container is blown to the container, and a structure in which a conductor that removes static electricity charged in the container is in contact with the container. it can.
Furthermore, it is preferable to remove the static electricity charged based on the above-described configuration on one of the inner surface and the outer surface of the container. It should be noted that the charged static electricity may be removed from both the inner and outer surfaces of the container, and there is no particular limitation.

  In the said invention, it is desirable to have a humidification part which has a housing | casing which covers the said foreign material removal part at least, and fills the inside of this housing | casing with the humidified gas.

According to the present invention, it is possible to easily remove the foreign matter attached to the container by disposing at least the foreign matter removing portion in a humidified atmosphere.
That is, in a humidified atmosphere, the amount of adsorbed moisture on the surface of the container increases and the surface conductivity increases. Therefore, compared with the dry atmosphere, the static electricity charged in the container is likely to leak, and the adhesion force of foreign matters due to the static electricity is reduced. Furthermore, in a humidified atmosphere, compared to a dry atmosphere, the amount of discharge from the container to the atmosphere also increases, and the adhesion of foreign matter due to static electricity decreases. As a result, the foreign matter adhering to the container can be easily removed.

  In the said invention, the said static elimination part may remove the static electricity electrically charged by the said container by making a conductor contact the said container.

  In the above invention, the conductor may be a conductive resin.

  In the above invention, the conductor may be disposed on the surface of an indexing screw that widens the interval of the containers to a predetermined interval, or is formed in a gate shape surrounding the region through which the container passes from three sides. It may be provided in a gate-type frame.

  In the above invention, the static eliminating unit may remove static electricity charged in the container by blowing a gas containing ions.

  The beverage filling apparatus of the present invention is the container cleaning apparatus according to the present invention described above, and the container in which the foreign matter is removed by the foreign matter removing unit of the container cleaning device and the electron beam irradiation is performed by the sterilizing unit. And a beverage filling part for filling the beverage.

  According to the present invention, since the container cleaning device of the present invention is provided, it is possible to perform dry sterilization without using water on the container and to reduce the cost for sterilization.

  According to the container cleaning device and the beverage filling device of the present invention, the foreign matter adhering to the container is removed by blowing a gas, and then sterilization by electron beam irradiation is performed. In addition, there is an effect that the cost for sterilization can be reduced.

It is a schematic diagram explaining the whole structure of the drink filling apparatus of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram explaining the outline of the filling process of the drink in the drink filling apparatus of FIG. It is a schematic diagram explaining the structure of the carrying-in conveyor of FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration of the bottleneck guide in FIG. 3. It is a schematic diagram explaining the structure of the index screw of FIG. It is a schematic diagram explaining the structure of the foreign material removal part of FIG. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration of the foreign matter removing unit in FIG. 6. It is a schematic diagram explaining the whole structure of the drink filling apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram explaining the outline of the filling process of the drink in the drink filling apparatus of FIG. It is a schematic diagram explaining the structure of the static elimination part of FIG. It is a schematic diagram explaining another structure of the static elimination part of FIG. It is a block diagram explaining the structure of the drink filling apparatus which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram explaining the structure of the humidification part of FIG. It is a schematic diagram explaining the whole structure of the drink filling apparatus which concerns on the 1st reference example of this invention. It is a schematic diagram explaining the outline of the filling process of the drink in the drink filling apparatus of FIG.

[First Embodiment]
Hereinafter, a beverage filling apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the overall configuration of the beverage filling apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining an outline of a beverage filling process in the beverage filling apparatus of FIG. 1.
In the present embodiment, the beverage filling apparatus 1 will be described by applying it to an example of an apparatus that fills a container B, which is a PET bottle formed using polyethylene terephthalate as a raw material.
In addition to the PET bottle, the container B may be a bottle formed from other resin, and is not particularly limited.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the beverage filling apparatus 1 includes a sterilization container cleaning section (container cleaning apparatus) having a foreign substance removal section 2 that performs a foreign substance removal process on a container B and a sterilization section 3 that performs a sterilization process. 4, the filling part 5 which performs the filling process which fills the container B with a drink, and the mounting part 6 which performs the capping process which mounts the cap on the container B are mainly provided.
Further, the beverage filling apparatus 1 is provided with a carry-in conveyor 7 that conveys the container B between each process, an indexing screw 8, a star wheel 9, a carry-out conveyor 10, and the like.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the configuration of the carry-in conveyor of FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the configuration of the bottleneck guide of FIG.
The carry-in conveyor 7 conveys the container B formed by the blow forming machine to the beverage filling device 1. In the present embodiment, description will be made by applying to an example in which the container B is transported by blowing purified air onto the container B. However, other known transport methods may be applied and are not particularly limited. Absent.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the carry-in conveyor 7 is mainly provided with a bottleneck guide 71 and a blower 72.

The bottleneck guide 71 supports the container B in a posture in which the mouth B1 is disposed on the upper side, and guides the container B toward the beverage filling device 1.
3 and 4, the bottle neck guide 71 extends along the carry-in conveyor 7, and a pair of side plates 73 extending downward from the ceiling surface of the carry-in conveyor 7, and approaches from the lower end of the side wall. And a support plate 74 that extends in the direction of turning.
The container B is disposed in a slit-like gap formed between the pair of support plates 74, and the container B is supported by the brim portion B <b> 2 formed in the container B being in contact with the upper surface of the support plate 74.

The blower 72 cleans the air and blows the cleaned air onto the container B supported by the bottleneck guide 71. Specifically, the air blower 72 is disposed on the upper surface of the carry-in conveyor 7 and blows purified air against the mouth B1 of the container B.
The blower section 72 is mainly provided with a pre-filter 75, a blower section 76, a HEPA filter (High Efficiency Particulate Air Filter) 77, and a nozzle section 78.

  The pre-filter 75 removes dust contained in the air sucked into the blower 72 and cleans it, and cleans the air cleaned by the HEPA filter 77 in advance. In other words, the air blown against the container B together with the HEPA filter 77 is cleaned.

  The blower unit 76 blows air to the container B. The blower unit 76 is disposed between the pre-filter 75 and the HEPA filter 77. In other words, the blower portion 76 is disposed on the downstream side of the pre-filter 75 and the blower portion 76 is disposed on the upstream side of the HEPA filter 77 when viewed from the flow of air blown to the container B.

  The HEPA filter 77 further cleans the air previously cleaned by the prefilter 75. In other words, the air blown against the container B together with the prefilter 75 is cleaned.

  The nozzle part 78 adjusts the direction of the flow of air blown against the container B. Specifically, the direction of the air flow is adjusted in the conveyance direction of container B (the right direction in FIG. 3).

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the configuration of the indexing screw of FIG.
The indexing screw 8 widens the interval between the containers B conveyed by the carry-in conveyor 7 to a predetermined interval. Specifically, the interval between the containers B is increased in accordance with the arrangement interval of the grippers G provided on the star wheel 9 adjacent to the indexing screw 8.

As shown in FIG. 5, the indexing screw 8 is a substantially columnar member extending along the conveying direction of the container B by the carry-in conveyor 7, and is rotationally driven around its central axis. Furthermore, the indexing screw 8 is provided with a wall portion 81 that extends radially outward from the above-described central axis and extends spirally along the central axis.
The container B is disposed in the groove between the adjacent wall portions 81 and is conveyed to the star wheel 9 adjacent to the index screw 8 by the rotation of the index screw 8.

  The plate thickness of the wall portion 81 is formed so as to increase as it approaches the star wheel 9 adjacent to the indexing screw 8. The wall thickness of the wall 81 that is closest to the star wheel 9 is formed to a thickness equivalent to the arrangement interval of the grippers G provided on the star wheel 9.

  The star wheel 9 conveys the container B between the above processes. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, between the indexing screw 8 and the foreign matter removing unit 2, between the foreign matter removing unit 2 and the sterilizing unit 3, between the sterilizing unit 3 and the filling unit 5, and the filling unit The container B is transported between the mounting unit 6 and the mounting unit 6 and between the mounting unit 6 and the carry-out conveyor 10.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the star wheel 9 is formed by arranging a plurality of grippers G that hold the container B at equal intervals on the circumference of a rotating body formed in a disk shape. In FIG. 1 and FIG. 5, only a part of the grippers G is shown and the other grippers G are omitted for easy understanding.

  The star wheel 9 disposed between the indexing screw 8 and the foreign matter removing unit 2 has a mechanism for turning the container B upside down, that is, the mouth B1 of the container B that has been directed upward until then. A mechanism is provided. On the other hand, the star wheel 9 disposed between the sterilization unit 3 and the filling unit 5 has a mechanism for returning the inverted container B, that is, the mouth B1 of the container B directed downward. A mechanism is provided for directing the upper side upward.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating the configuration of the foreign matter removing unit in FIG. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration of the foreign matter removing unit in FIG.
The foreign matter removing unit 2 sprays clean air on the inner surface of the container B, and removes (air rinses) the foreign matter adhering to the inner surface of the container B.
As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the foreign substance removing unit 2 is mainly provided with a wheel 21, a gripper G, a nozzle 22, a shaft 23, a cam follower 24, an arm 25, and a cam 26. ing.

The wheel 21 is formed in a disk shape, and is driven to rotate substantially in a horizontal plane by a drive source (not shown) such as a motor.
On the wheel 21, a gripper G that holds the container B in an inverted state on the outer peripheral portion is arranged in the circumferential direction of the wheel 21 with a constant interval.

  The gripper G extends from the outer periphery of the wheel 21 toward the radially outer side, and grips the vicinity of the mouth B1 in the container B. In FIG. 6, five sets of grippers G are shown as representatives in order to facilitate understanding of the operation in the foreign matter removing unit 2. Therefore, the number of grippers G provided on the actual wheel 21 may be more or less than five sets, and is not particularly limited.

The nozzle 22 jets clean air into the inverted container B.
The nozzle 22 is disposed below the gripper G, and is disposed at a position where the nozzle 22 can enter the mouth B1 of the container B held by the gripper G. Further, the nozzle 22 is provided at the upper end of the shaft 23 and is configured so that clean air can be supplied from the shaft 23.
The nozzle 22 is provided with a plurality of nozzle holes (not shown) through which clean air is blown toward the outer circumferential direction. The plurality of nozzle holes are preferably arranged so that clean air can be blown out to the entire outer periphery of the nozzle 22.

The shaft 23 is disposed below the gripper G so as to extend in the vertical direction (vertical direction in FIG. 6) and is supported by the arm 25 so as to be movable in the vertical direction. A nozzle 22 is disposed at the upper end of the shaft 23, and a cam follower 24 is disposed at the lower end.
The shaft 23 is provided with a supply pipe (not shown) through which clean air supplied to the nozzle 22 flows.

The cam follower 24 slides along the upper end surface of the cam 26, and moves the shaft 23 and the nozzle 22 in the vertical direction together with the cam 26.
The arm 25 supports the nozzle 22, the shaft 23, and the cam follower 24 so as to be movable in the vertical direction. The arm 25 extends along the radial direction of the wheel 21, and a shaft 23 is attached to an end portion on the radially outer side.

The cam 26 moves the shaft 23 and the nozzle 22 in the vertical direction together with the cam follower 24.
The cam 26 is a cylindrical member disposed coaxially with the wheel 21 and is disposed below the wheel 21. The upper end surface of the cam 26 is a surface that slides with the cam follower 24. Furthermore, the upper end surface of the cam 26 is higher than the other portions in a part in the circumferential direction, that is, is formed so as to protrude toward the wheel 21 side. In other words, the protruding portion on the upper end surface of the cam 26 is formed in a region where the foreign matter is removed by the foreign matter removing portion 2.

  Here, clean air is air (air) that has been pressurized by a factory compressor, and is a filter for removing foreign matter (filter with an opening of 10 μm level) and a filter for removing moisture (opening of 5 μm). Level filter) and a filter for removing oil mist (a filter having an opening of 0.3 μm level).

As these filters, for example, filters formed from a resin can be used.
In addition, instead of clean air using air, the pressure of other gas such as nitrogen may be increased and filtered with the above-described filter, and there is no particular limitation.

On the other hand, the clean air sterilized by being filtered with a filter capable of steam sterilization is referred to as sterilized clean air.
The filter capable of steam sterilization is a filter having resistance to high temperatures, for example, a filter made of metal. Thus, when steam sterilization is performed, equipment for supplying high-temperature steam used for sterilization is required.

  In the present embodiment, before the container B is sterilized by irradiating it with an electron beam, the foreign matter removing unit 2 performs air rinsing. In other words, air rinsing is performed in a non-sterile zone. Therefore, description will be made by applying to an example in which clean air that has not been sterilized is used for air rinsing.

The sterilizing unit 3 sterilizes the container B by irradiating the air- rinsed container B with an electron beam.
In addition, as a structure of the sterilization part 3, a well-known structure can be used and it does not specifically limit. Furthermore, the sterilizing unit 3 may sterilize the cap mounted on the container B in the mounting unit 6 by irradiating with an electron beam, and is not particularly limited.

The filling unit 5 is for filling a sterilized container B with a beverage. The attachment part 6 attaches a cap to the mouth of the container B filled with beverage.
In addition, as a filling part 5 and the mounting part 6, a well-known structure can be used and it does not specifically limit.

  The carry-out conveyor 10 carries out a container B filled with a beverage and fitted with a cap from the beverage filling device 1 to the outside. In addition, as a carry-out conveyor 10, a well-known structure can be used and it does not specifically limit.

Next, filling of the beverage into the container B using the beverage filling apparatus 1 having the above configuration will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the container B formed by the blow forming machine divides the inside of the carry-in conveyor 7 along the bottleneck guide 71 by the purified air ejected from the blower 72. It is conveyed toward the take-out screw 8.

As shown in FIG. 5, the container B that has reached the indexing screw 8 is conveyed to the adjacent star wheel 9 by the rotating indexing screw 8. At this time, the container B is sandwiched between the wall portions 81 extending in a spiral shape and is conveyed by the rotating wall portion 81. Since the wall thickness of the wall portion 81 increases as it approaches the star wheel 9, the interval between adjacent containers B also increases as the wall thickness of the wall portion 81 increases.
As a result, in the region where the container B is gripped by the gripper G of the star wheel 9, the distance between the adjacent containers B is equal to the distance between the grippers G in the star wheel 9.

  The container held by the gripper G of the star wheel 9 between the indexing screw 8 and the foreign matter removing unit 2 is inverted while being conveyed from the indexing screw 8 toward the foreign matter removing unit 2. That is, the posture of the container B changes from the posture in which the mouth portion B1 is located on the upper side to the posture in which the mouth portion B1 is located on the lower side.

Thereafter, the container B is transferred from the gripper G of the star wheel 9 to the gripper G of the foreign matter removing unit 2. At this time, the wheel 21 of the foreign matter removing unit 2 is rotating at a peripheral speed equal to that of the star wheel 9.
As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, in the foreign matter removing unit 2, clean air is blown into the inside of the container B, and the foreign matter attached to the inner surface of the container B is removed.

Specifically, the container B, the nozzle 22, the shaft 23, the cam follower 24, and the like rotate together with the wheel 21 of the foreign substance removing unit 2, and these move relative to the stationary cam 26.
The cam follower 24 moves along the upper end surface of the cam 26, and moves upward (toward the wheel 21) at the protruding portion of the cam 26. As a result, the shaft 23 and the nozzle 22 also move upward, and the nozzle 22 enters the inside of the container B.
While the nozzle 22 is inserted into the container B, clean air supplied from the outside is blown out from the nozzle 22 toward the inner surface of the container B. The blown-out clean air collides with the inner surface of the container B, and after removing foreign matter adhering to the inner surface, flows out of the container B from the mouth B1.

At this time, the nozzle 22 moves inward from the mouth B1 of the container B along the shape (profile shape) of the upper end surface of the cam 26 while blowing clean air. The moving range of the nozzle 22 is determined by the shape of the upper end surface of the cam 26.
In the present embodiment, description will be made by applying to an example in which the nozzle 22 moves to near the bottom surface of the container B.

The nozzle 22 moves from the vicinity of the bottom surface of the container B toward the mouth B1 while continuing to blow out clean air, and then moves to the outside of the container B as it is.
In this way, the foreign matter can be blown off from the inner surface of the container B and the foreign matter can be discharged from the inside of the container B to the outside by reciprocating the inside of the container B while blowing clean air from the nozzle 22.

Here, in order to reliably remove the foreign matter from the container B, for example, it is preferable to blow out clean air pressurized to about 0.2 MPa or more from the nozzle 22.
Furthermore, when clean air is blown from the nozzle 22 only between the nozzle B 22 from the mouth B1 of the container B to the vicinity of the bottom surface or from the vicinity of the bottom surface to the mouth B1, sufficient foreign matter removal is performed. In order to ensure the performance, it is preferable that the pressure of the clean air is, for example, about 0.3 MPa or more.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the container B from which the removal of the foreign matter has been completed is conveyed from the foreign matter removing unit 2 to the sterilizing unit 3 by the adjacent star wheel 9. In the sterilization unit 3, the container B is irradiated with an electron beam, and the container B is sterilized.

The sterilized container B is conveyed from the sterilization unit 3 to the filling unit 5 by the adjacent star wheel 9. At this time, the container B is changed from an inverted posture in which the mouth portion B1 is directed downward to a posture in which the mouth portion B1 is directed upward.
In the filling part 5, the inside of the container B is filled with a beverage from the mouth part B1 directed upward.

As shown in FIG. 1, the container B that has been filled with the beverage is conveyed from the filling unit 5 to the mounting unit 6 by the adjacent star wheel 9. In the mounting portion 6, a cap is mounted on the mouth B <b> 1 of the container B.
The container B to which the cap is attached is conveyed from the attachment portion 6 to the carry-out conveyor 10 by the adjacent star wheel 9 and is carried out from the beverage filling apparatus 1 by the carry-out conveyor 10.

  According to said structure, since the electron beam is irradiated to the container B from which the foreign material was removed by the foreign material removal part 2, the whole container B can be sterilized. In other words, it can be avoided that a foreign substance becomes an obstacle and a sterilization value cannot be obtained due to a shortage of a desired dose due to electron beam sterilization.

  Since gas is blown onto the container B to remove foreign substances and sterilization with an electron beam is performed, the container B can be sterilized without using a liquid such as water. In other words, the container B can be dry sterilized without using water. Furthermore, the cost for sterilization can be reduced by not using water.

  Further, since the container B is sterilized by electron beam irradiation after the clean air is sprayed on the container B, it is not necessary to sterilize the clean air. In other words, when clean air is sprayed on the container B after electron beam irradiation, it is necessary to perform steam sterilization on the clean air in order to maintain a sterilized state. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform steam sterilization against clean air. Therefore, the cost for sterilizing the container B can be reduced.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
The basic configuration of the beverage filling device of the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, but is different from the first embodiment in having a static electricity removing step before the foreign matter removing step. Therefore, in the present embodiment, only the configuration relating to the static electricity removal process will be described using FIGS. 8 to 11, and description of other components and the like will be omitted.
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating the overall configuration of the beverage filling device according to the present embodiment. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram for explaining an outline of a beverage filling process in the beverage filling apparatus of FIG. 8.
In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the component same as a 1st embodiment, and the description is abbreviate | omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the beverage filling apparatus 101 includes a static eliminating unit 110 that performs a static electricity removing process on the container B, a container cleaning unit 4 having a foreign matter removing unit 2 and a sterilizing unit 3, and a filling unit 5 and a mounting portion 6 are mainly provided.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating the configuration of the charge removal unit in FIG. 9.
The neutralization unit 110 removes static electricity charged in the container B by blowing neutralization air, which is air containing ions, onto the container B.
As shown in FIGS. 8 and 10, the static elimination unit 110 is mainly provided with a static elimination air supply unit 111 and a portal frame 112.

  The static elimination air supply unit 111 generates static elimination air, which is air containing ions, and supplies static elimination air to the portal frame 112.

The gate-type frame 112 is for removing static electricity charged in the container B by blowing static electricity to the outer surface of the container B.
As shown in FIG. 10, the portal frame 112 is formed in a portal shape that surrounds the region through which the container B gripped by the gripper G passes from three sides, and discharges static air from the inner surface toward the container B. A plurality of nozzle holes to be sprayed are formed. Furthermore, the portal frame 112 is arranged extending in a direction inclined with respect to the traveling direction of the container B, as shown in FIG.

  In other words, the portal frame 112 is arranged so that the normal line of the plane formed by the portal frame 112 and the traveling direction of the container B at the position where the portal frame 112 is disposed intersect at a predetermined angle. Has been.

  The portal frame 112 may be disposed on the same wheel as the foreign matter removing unit 2 and is not particularly limited.

  The filling of the beverage into the container B using the beverage filling apparatus 101 having the above configuration will be described. Here, only the static elimination of the static electricity charged in the container B, which is a feature of the present embodiment, will be described, and the rest is the same as in the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 10, the container B supplied to the beverage filling apparatus 101 is transported to the charge removal unit 110. The container B transported to the static eliminating unit 110 passes through the inside of the portal frame 112 while being gripped by the gripper G and transported.

The gate-type frame 112 blows out the static elimination air supplied from the static elimination air supply unit 111, and the static elimination air is blown onto the outer surface of the container B.
Since the portal frame 112 is disposed obliquely with respect to the traveling direction of the container B, the static elimination air blown out from the portal frame 112 is also ejected obliquely with respect to the traveling direction of the container B. Then, the static elimination air is also blown to the front and back surfaces of the traveling container B, and the static elimination air is blown to the entire outer surface of the container B.

  For example, if the portal frame 112 is disposed orthogonal to the traveling direction of the container B, the static elimination air is also blown out in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the container B. Then, the static elimination air is not blown against the front and rear surfaces of the traveling container B.

When static elimination air is blown onto the container B charged with static electricity, ions having a charge opposite to the electrostatic charge charged on the container B are combined, and the static electricity charged on the container B is removed.
When the static electricity charged on the outer surface of the container B is removed, the charged static electricity is also removed on the inner surface of the container B to which static elimination air is not blown.

  According to said structure, since clean air is sprayed with respect to the container B after static electricity was removed, removal of a foreign material becomes easy compared with the case where the static elimination part 110 is not provided. In other words, since the foreign matter adheres to the container B due to suction force such as static electricity, removing the static electricity charged in the container B reduces the adhesion force on the foreign matter. Therefore, compared with the case where static electricity is not removed, the foreign matter can be removed from the container B with a small force, and the possibility that the foreign matter remains can be reduced.

  As a structure of the static elimination part 110, the structure which sprays static elimination air on the outer surface of the container B using the portal frame | frame 112 as mentioned above may be sufficient, and it is cleaned from the ventilation part 72 of the carrying-in conveyor 7 and cleaned. Instead of the air, the discharging air may be blown out, and the container B may be transported and discharged, and there is no particular limitation.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram for explaining another configuration of the charge removal unit in FIG. 10.
Furthermore, instead of blowing static elimination air to neutralize the container B, as shown in FIG. 11, conductive fibers 112B that contact the container B may be provided inside the portal frame 112A to perform corona discharge type static elimination. Well, not particularly limited.

  Further, a material having conductivity, such as a conductive resin, may be disposed on the surface of the indexing screw 8, and the static electricity charged in the container B may be removed by contact between the conductive resin and the container B, which is particularly limited. It is not a thing.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
The basic configuration of the beverage filling device of the present embodiment is the same as that of the second embodiment, but differs from the second embodiment in that a humidifying unit is provided. Therefore, in the present embodiment, only the humidifying unit will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 and 13, and description of other components and the like will be omitted.
FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the beverage filling device according to this embodiment. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating the configuration of the humidifying unit in FIG.
In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the component same as 2nd Embodiment, and the description is abbreviate | omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the beverage filling device 201 includes a static elimination unit 110, a foreign matter removal unit 2, a sterilization unit 3, a filling unit 5, a mounting unit 6, and a humidification unit 210. Is provided.

The humidifying unit 210 fills the environment such as the static eliminating unit 110, the foreign matter removing unit 2, the sterilizing unit 3, the filling unit 5 and the mounting unit 6 with humidified air. Further, the humidifying unit 210 is for removing static electricity charged in the container B using humidified air.
As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the humidifying unit 210 is mainly provided with a housing 211 and a supply unit 212.

As shown in FIG. 12, the housing 211 is a container that houses the foreign substance removing unit 2, the sterilizing unit 3, the filling unit 5, and the mounting unit 6. Further, the housing 211 also creates an environment filled with humidified air. In the present embodiment, description will be made by applying to an example in which the inside of the housing 211 is divided into a plurality of parts, and the foreign matter removing unit 2 and the like are arranged in each of the divided spaces.
The housing 211 is provided with a supply unit 212 that supplies humidified air.

The supply unit 212 supplies humidified air to the inside of the casing 211.
As shown in FIG. 13, the supply unit 212 is mainly provided with a pre-filter 213, a tank unit 214, a blower unit 215, and an ULPA filter (Ultra Low Penetration Air Filter) 216.

  The prefilter 213 removes dust contained in the air sucked into the supply unit 212 and cleans it, and cleans the air before being humidified. The pre-filter 213 is disposed on the upstream side of the humidifying unit 210 when viewed from the air flow in the supply unit 212.

The tank unit 214 humidifies the air sucked into the supply unit 212 by including water vapor. Specifically, the air that has passed through the pre-filter 213 is submerged in the water W stored in the tank unit 214 to humidify the air. A means for detecting the water level, such as a float sensor, is disposed in the tank unit 214, and the water level is controlled.
The tank part 214 is disposed between the pre-filter 213 and the blower part 215.

  The blower unit 215 sucks air from the outside of the supply unit 212 and sends the air humidified in the supply unit 212 into the housing 211. The blower unit 215 is disposed between the humidifying unit 210 and the ULPA filter 216.

  The ULPA filter 216 removes dust and the like contained in the air that has been humidified and sent out by the blower unit 215, and further purifies the humidified air. The ULPA filter 216 is disposed on the most downstream side in the supply unit 212.

  The filling of the beverage into the container B using the beverage filling apparatus 201 having the above configuration will be described. Here, only the operation will be described by the humidifying unit 210 that is a feature of the present embodiment, and the other operations are the same as those of the second embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the humidifying unit 210 is operated when the beverage is filled by the beverage filling device 201 and the foreign matter attached to the container B needs to be removed.
Specifically, the blower unit 215 of the supply unit 212 is driven, and air is sucked into the supply unit 212 from the outside of the humidification unit 210. The sucked air passes through the pre-filter 213 and is purified, and then is humidified in the tank unit 214. The humidified air is blown by the blower unit 215, passes through the ULPA filter 216, and is sent into the housing 211.

  The inside of the housing 211 is filled with humidified air sent by the humidifying unit 210, and the foreign matter removing unit 2, the sterilizing unit 3, the filling unit 5, and the mounting unit 6 are in an atmosphere of humidified air. Placed in.

According to said structure, the foreign material adhering to the container B can be easily removed by arrange | positioning the foreign material removal part 2 etc. in the humidified atmosphere.
That is, in the humidified atmosphere, the amount of adsorbed moisture on the surface of the container B increases and the surface conductivity increases. Therefore, compared with the dry atmosphere, the static electricity charged in the container B is likely to leak, and the adhesion force of foreign matters due to the static electricity is reduced. Furthermore, in a humidified atmosphere, the amount of discharge from the container B to the atmosphere increases as compared with a dry atmosphere, and the adhesion of foreign matter due to static electricity decreases. As a result, the foreign matter attached to the container B can be easily removed in the foreign matter removing unit 2.

[First Reference Example]
Next, a first reference example of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
The basic configuration of the beverage filling device of the present reference example is the same as that of the second embodiment, but differs from the second embodiment in that the static electricity removing step and the foreign matter removing step are performed simultaneously. Therefore, in this reference example, only the humidifying unit will be described with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15, and the description of other components and the like will be omitted.
FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating the overall configuration of the beverage filling apparatus according to this reference example. FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram for explaining an outline of a beverage filling process in the beverage filling apparatus of FIG. 14.
In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the component same as 2nd Embodiment, and the description is abbreviate | omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the beverage filling device 301 includes a container cleaning unit (container cleaning device) 304 having a foreign matter removing unit 302 and a sterilizing unit 3 that perform a static electricity removing step and a foreign matter removing step on the container B. And the filling part 5 and the mounting part 6 are mainly provided.

  The foreign matter removing unit 302 removes the static electricity charged in the container B and removes the foreign matter attached to the inner surface of the container B. The foreign matter removing unit 302 is different from the foreign matter removing unit 2 in the first embodiment in that the gas blown onto the inner surface of the container B is static elimination air, and the other parts are the same.

  Therefore, the removal of static electricity charged in the container B and the removal of foreign matter can be performed simultaneously in the foreign matter removing unit 302.

Note that foreign matter may be removed using static elimination air as described above, and in the foreign matter removal unit 302, a region where static elimination is performed by blowing static elimination air, and foreign matter is removed by blowing clean air. The area may be divided and is not particularly limited.
At this time, any one of the area for discharging static electricity and the area for blowing clean air may be provided first, and is not particularly limited. Furthermore, both may be provided alternately and is not particularly limited.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,101,201,301 Beverage filling apparatus 2 Foreign material removal part 3 Sterilization part 4,304 Slaughter container washing | cleaning part (container washing apparatus)
5 Filling part 210 Humidification part 211 Case B Container

Claims (6)

A foreign matter removing section for removing foreign matter adhering to the container by blowing gas on the container;
A sterilization unit for irradiating the container from which the foreign matter has been removed with an electron beam;
A neutralization unit that is provided in front of the foreign matter removal unit separately from the foreign matter removal unit and removes static electricity charged in the container,
Is provided ,
The foreign matter removing unit is
A nozzle having a nozzle hole for jetting gas toward the outer peripheral side;
A nozzle drive mechanism for relatively moving the nozzle into the container with respect to the container held in an inverted state,
The nozzle is moved into the container, moved from the mouth of the container toward the bottom without causing gas to be ejected from the nozzle hole, and from the bottom of the container while gas is ejected from the nozzle hole. The container cleaning apparatus , wherein the foreign matter in the container is removed by moving toward the mouth .   2. The container cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the static eliminator removes static electricity charged in the container by bringing a conductor into contact with the container. 3.   The container cleaning apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the conductor is a conductive resin.   The conductor is disposed on the surface of an indexing screw that increases the interval between the containers to a predetermined interval, or is provided on a portal frame formed in a portal shape that surrounds the region through which the container passes from three sides. The container cleaning apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the container cleaning apparatus is provided.   The container cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the static eliminating unit removes static electricity charged in the container by blowing a gas containing ions. The container cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The beverage is removed by the foreign matter removing unit of the container cleaning device, and the beverage filling unit for filling the beverage that has been irradiated with the electron beam by the sterilizing unit;
A beverage filling device characterized in that is provided.

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