JP6438265B2 - Beverage container sterilizer - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for sterilizing beverage containers by irradiating them with ultraviolet rays.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a beverage is filled in a beverage container represented by a PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottle (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as a container), the inside and outside of the container are sterilized. Moreover, it may be sterilized in the preform stage before the bottle molding.
To sterilize before and after forming the container, after injecting a sterilizing drug solution such as hydrogen peroxide or sodium hypochlorite into the container, the drug solution is discharged, and the inside of the container The work of washing with water was performed.

  However, the sterilization method using a chemical solution has a problem that the environmental load is large, and the chemical cost and the waste liquid treatment cost are high, and so-called dry sterilization methods have been proposed. As a dry sterilization method, a method of irradiating ultraviolet rays (for example, Patent Document 1) and a method of irradiating an electron beam are known. However, the method of irradiating with an electron beam has a large and heavy shielding structure for preventing X-rays generated secondary by electron beam irradiation from leaking outside. Moreover, since the sterilization apparatus which irradiates an electron beam to a container produces ozone by electron beam irradiation, the apparatus which exhausts it is required, and this ozone collection | recovery apparatus tends to become a large-scale thing also helping. Compared with this, the method of irradiating ultraviolet rays has a simple sterilization apparatus.

JP-A-10-24092

In the sterilization of a container by ultraviolet irradiation, it is not easy to irradiate the container with ultraviolet light without unevenness. As described in Patent Document 1, a linear or rod-shaped light guide can be used to guide ultraviolet light emitted from the light source to the container. However, since the ultraviolet light is emitted from the tip of the light guide, the container In the case of sterilizing the inside, the bottom can be sufficiently irradiated with ultraviolet rays, but it is difficult to irradiate the side surfaces with ultraviolet rays sufficient for sterilization.
Further, when a preform as a beverage container is to be sterilized, since the diameter of the opening of the preform is as small as about 20 mm, for example, there is a restriction on the size of the ultraviolet irradiation portion inserted into the preform.
The present invention has been made on the basis of such a technical problem. Even though it is provided with a small ultraviolet irradiation portion, the ultraviolet ray is uniformly applied to the side surface in addition to the bottom of the container while being inserted into the container. It aims at providing the sterilizer of the container which can irradiate.

Sterilizer container of the present invention made in the above object is relatively a multiple LED light sources you emit ultraviolet supplied with electric power, supports a plurality of LED light sources, the interior of the container and retractable capable light source supporter to reciprocate, covers at least the LED light source, e Bei a light diffusing cover, the light source support, and the side opposite to the side of the container, a tip facing the bottom surface of the container, The plurality of LED light sources are provided at equal intervals on the side surface of the light source support and at the tip of the light source support.

The light diffusion cover in the present invention is made of a composite material including a transparent base material and particles made of a material having a refractive index different from that of the base material.
Or the light-diffusion cover in this invention is formed with an optical material which has a lens-diffusion function in the surface side which a LED light source opposes.
Since the ultraviolet rays emitted from the LED light source have high directivity, the number of LED light sources may be secured in order to sterilize the container without unevenness. On the other hand, if the ultraviolet light emitted from the LED light source is received by the light diffusion cover, diffused from the light diffusion cover and irradiated toward the container, the number of LED light sources can be reduced. .

  In the sterilization apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable to irradiate ultraviolet rays from the LED light source both in the outward path to the inside of the container and in the return path from the container to the outside. Thereby, the irradiation amount of the ultraviolet rays received by the container can be increased as compared with the case of only the outward path or the case of only the return path.

  According to the present invention, since an LED that can be miniaturized is used as an ultraviolet light emission source, for example, even when a preform is to be sterilized as a container, it can be inserted into the container without difficulty. The ultraviolet rays emitted from the LEDs have a certain degree of directivity, but by arranging a plurality of LEDs with different irradiation directions, the bottom of the container and the side of the container can be sterilized without unevenness. .

It is a figure which shows the structure outline of the sterilizer of the container in this Embodiment. The principal part of the sterilizer of FIG. 1 is shown, (a) is a side view, (b) is IIb-IIb arrow sectional drawing of (a), (c) is a bottom view. It is a figure which shows the principal part of the sterilizer in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows operation | movement of the sterilizer in 3rd Embodiment.

[First Embodiment]
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 shows the minimum components of a container sterilizer 1 according to the present embodiment.
The sterilizer 1 supports a power source 2, a plurality of LED light sources 4 that receive power supply from the power source 2 and emit ultraviolet UV, and a plurality of LED light sources 4, and a preform 30 that is a precursor of a PET bottle. And a light source support 6 that advances and retreats inside. The sterilization apparatus 1 is an apparatus that sterilizes the interior of the preform 30 with ultraviolet rays UV. The LED light source 4 is inserted into the preform 30 through the opening 31 of the preform 30 supported by the gripping tool 3 by operating the light source support 6 during the sterilization process, and is reciprocated back and forth. . The LED light source 4 irradiates ultraviolet rays UV toward the bottom surface 33 and the side surface 35 of the preform 30 while advancing and retracting inside the preform 30. Here, in order to irradiate ultraviolet rays UV toward two orthogonal surfaces of the bottom surface 33 and the side surface 35, the plurality of LED light sources 4 are arranged as described below.

  The LED light source 4 is provided at the front end 6E of the light source support 6 as shown in FIG. The LED light source 4 (referred to as 4E) provided at the tip 6E is sterilized by irradiating ultraviolet rays UV exclusively on the bottom surface 33 of the preform 30. The LED light source 4 is also provided on the side surface 6S near the tip 6E of the light source support 6. The LED light source 4 (referred to as 4S) provided on the side surface 6S sterilizes by irradiating ultraviolet rays UV exclusively on the side surface 35 of the preform 30. In the present embodiment, a plurality (four) of LED light sources 4S are provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the side surface 6S, and these four LED light sources 4S form a line in the axial direction (up and down in the figure). In the direction). In addition, although the wiring which supplies electric power to LED light source 4 is provided in the light source support body 6, illustration is abbreviate | omitted.

  Now, in order to sterilize the preform 30, as shown in FIG. 1A, the LED light source 4 is caused to emit light when inserted into the opening 31 of the preform 30 and is inserted into the opening 31. The LED light source 4 continues to emit light while moving on the forward path to the lowermost position shown in FIG. When the LED light source 4 is lowered to the lowermost end, as shown in FIG. 1C, the light emission is stopped, the return path exiting from the opening 31 is moved as it is, and the original position is restored. In addition, when moving on the return path, since it is not related to the sterilization process, the movement speed can be made faster than that of the outbound path.

  As described above, the sterilization apparatus 1 of the present embodiment uses the LED light source 4 (4E, 4D) that can be miniaturized as an ultraviolet light emission source. For example, when the preform 30 is a sterilization target as a container. However, it can be inserted into the preform 30 without difficulty. Although the ultraviolet light emitted from the LED light source 4 has a certain degree of directivity, the sterilization apparatus 1 has an LED light source 4E whose sterilization target is exclusively the bottom surface 33 and an LED light source whose sterilization target is exclusively the side surface 35. 4S is provided, and the ultraviolet light UV is irradiated while the light source support 6 is advanced and retracted to and from the preform 30, so that the bottom surface 33 and the side surface 35 of the preform 30 can be sterilized without unevenness.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the number of the LED light sources 4 is reduced in addition to the provision of the light diffusion cover 10 that surrounds the LED light sources 4 from the surroundings. Hereinafter, the second embodiment will be described focusing on this difference.

  The light diffusion cover 10 has a generally cup shape, and is fixed to the light source support 6 so that the LED light source 4 provided on the light source support 6 is accommodated therein. The fixing means is optional, but the upper part of the light diffusion cover 10 that is opened is preferably optically sealed so that the ultraviolet rays UV emitted from the LED light source 4 do not leak. In the present embodiment, the opening of the light diffusion cover 10 is closed with the light shielding cover 11 having a film facing the inside of the light diffusion cover 10 including a film that reflects ultraviolet rays UV.

  In the present embodiment, when the ultraviolet light UV emitted from the LED light source 4 is received by the light diffusion cover 10 and diffused in the process of passing through the light diffusion cover 10, when emitted from the light diffusion cover 10. The surface of the light diffusion cover 10 emits light with uniform illuminance as a whole. As a result, the portion of the preform 30 facing the light diffusion cover 10 is irradiated with uniform and uniform ultraviolet UV from the light diffusion cover 10.

  The light diffusing cover 10 is not limited as long as it has a function of diffusing the received ultraviolet light UV and emitting light with uniform illuminance. For example, the light diffusing cover 10 is made of a transparent base material made of polycarbonate, acrylic, or glass. Among them, a composite material containing particles made of a material having a refractive index different from that of the substrate, for example, acrylic particles and styrene particles as a diffusing material can be used. Further, it is formed of an optical material having a lens diffusing function on the light receiving surface side, here the surface side of the light diffusion cover 10 facing the LED light source 4. The lens diffusion function is caused by having a large number of minute and random lens arrays on the surface of a substrate such as polycarbonate or acrylic.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, by providing the light diffusing cover 10, the UV light UV having high directivity from the LED light source 4 can be uniformly applied to the surface to be sterilized of the preform 30 with uniform illuminance. it can. Thereby, even if it reduces the LED light source 4 provided in the light source support body 6, the sterilization process without a nonuniformity is realizable. Depending on the light diffusion performance of the light diffusion cover 10, the sterilization treatment of the preform 30 can be realized with only one LED light source 4.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the third embodiment, the configuration of the sterilizing apparatus 1 to be used is not limited to that in the first and second embodiments, but the procedure for sterilizing the preform 30 is different from that in the first and second embodiments. Below, it demonstrates centering on this difference.
In the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4A, when the LED light source 4 is inserted into the opening 31 of the preform 30, light is already emitted, and the LED light source 4 inserted into the opening 31 is The light emission is continued while moving on the forward path to the lowermost position shown in FIG. When the LED light source 4 descends to the lowermost end, this time, it moves on the return path exiting from the opening 31, but as shown in FIGS. 4 (c) and 4 (d), it continues to emit light while moving on this return path. To do.

As described above, according to the third embodiment, the preform 30 is sterilized by continuing to emit light while moving the preform 30 forward and backward. This suggests the following.
If the time required for the LED light source 4 to move in each of the forward path and the return path is t, and the LED light source 4 moves only one way in the forward path or the return path over this time t, the desired sterilization performance can be obtained. . In this case, since the preform 30 is sterilized over 2t time, it is possible to irradiate ultraviolet rays UV more uniformly than only one way, so that sterilization can be performed more reliably. On the other hand, even if the speed at which the LED light source 4 moves is doubled, the sterilization treatment can be performed for both the forward path and the return path for only t hours, so that the desired sterilization performance can be obtained. Thus, arbitrary sterilization performance can be obtained by causing the LED light source 4 to emit light both in the forward path and in the return path, and adjusting the moving speed of the forward and backward movement.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the configuration described in the above embodiments can be selected or changed to other configurations as appropriate without departing from the gist of the present invention. .
For example, the sterilization target is not limited to the preform 30, and the sterilization apparatus of the present invention can be used when sterilizing a PET bottle molded from the preform 30.
When a plurality of LED light sources 4 are provided, the number of LED light sources 4 that emit light can be increased or decreased according to the container to be sterilized or the required sterilization performance.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sterilization apparatus 2 Power supply 3 Holding tool 4 LED light source 4E LED light source 4S LED light source 6 Light source support 6E Tip 6S Side surface 10 Light diffusion cover 11 Light shielding cover 30 Preform 31 Opening 33 Bottom surface 35 Side surface UV Ultraviolet

Claims (3)

And multiple LED light sources emit ultraviolet supplied with electric power,
A light source support that supports the plurality of LED light sources and is capable of moving forward and backward relative to a container to be sterilized;
Covering at least the LED light source, Bei example a light diffusing cover, a,
The light source support is
A side surface facing the side surface of the container;
A tip facing the bottom surface of the container,
The plurality of LED light sources are:
Provided at equal intervals on the side surface of the light source support, provided at the tip of the light source support,
The light diffusion cover is
A transparent substrate,
A sterilizer comprising a composite material including particles made of a material having a refractive index different from that of the base material included in the base material .
A plurality of LED light sources that emit ultraviolet light in response to power supply;
A light source support that supports the plurality of LED light sources and is capable of moving forward and backward relative to a container to be sterilized;
A light diffusion cover covering at least the LED light source,
The light source support is
A side surface facing the side surface of the container;
A tip facing the bottom surface of the container,
The plurality of LED light sources are:
Provided at equal intervals on the side surface of the light source support, provided at the tip of the light source support,
The light diffusion cover is
A sterilizing apparatus, wherein the LED light source is formed of an optical material having a lens diffusing function on a surface side facing the LED light source .
In return for both the outside from the forward path and the container into the interior of the container, sterilizing apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2 is irradiated with ultraviolet rays from the LED light source.

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