JP6627347B2 - Container heat treatment equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a container heat treatment apparatus for performing heat treatment such as heating and cooling on a container, and particularly to a container heat treatment apparatus for performing heat treatment by immersing a container in a liquid in an immersion tank.

  2. Description of the Related Art A container heat treatment apparatus that heats a container by immersing the container in a liquid in an immersion tank is conventionally known (for example, see Patent Document 1). The device described in Patent Literature 1 includes a tank in which a liquid maintained at a predetermined temperature is provided, and a conveyor on which food is placed and passes through the tank, and the food is completely contained in the liquid in the tank. It is immersed in and heated.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 21792/1990

  As described above, in a device for performing heat treatment by immersing articles such as containers in a liquid in a tank while continuously conveying the articles by a conveyor, the operation is started, and the articles are immersed in the liquid in the immersion tank by the conveyor. In the first stage of immersion, the liquid level of the immersion tank rises by the volume of the container that has entered the liquid. If the article to be subjected to the heat treatment is a container such as a hinge cap, if the entire container is immersed in the liquid, the liquid (water) may enter the gap between the caps. Excess water in the immersion tank must be drained and discarded so as not to be immersed in the liquid. Further, when the liquid in the immersion tank is at a low temperature, there is a problem that extra cost is required for producing the low-temperature water, so that waste is further generated.

The present invention carries the container by conveying means, the container a heat treatment apparatus for heat treatment of dipping bath of liquid contents contained in the immersing the vessel in a water reservoir that is connected to the immersion bath, the Liquid level detecting means for detecting the liquid level of the immersion tank during transfer of the container by the transfer means, a discharge passage for discharging the liquid from the immersion tank to the water storage tank, and supplying the liquid from the water storage tank to the immersion tank Supply passage, a first flow adjustment unit provided in the discharge passage, a second flow adjustment unit provided in the supply passage, and an operation of the first flow adjustment unit and the second flow adjustment unit. Controlling means for controlling the operations of the first flow rate adjusting means and the second flow rate adjusting means based on a predetermined liquid level and a signal from the liquid level detecting means. Below the mouth of the container It is characterized in that controlling the liquid level so as to be immersed in the immersion tank.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the transporting means performs transporting with reference to a bottom surface of the container, and the control means controls a liquid in the immersion tank with respect to various containers having different heights. The surface is controlled to a different liquid level.

  The container heat treatment apparatus of the present invention includes a water storage tank connected to the immersion tank, a discharge passage for discharging the liquid from the immersion tank to the water storage tank, and a supply passage for supplying the liquid from the water storage tank to the immersion tank. The surplus water in the immersion tank is discharged by discharging the surplus water in the immersion tank to the storage tank by operating the first flow rate adjustment means in the discharge passage according to the liquid level detected by the surface detection means. Without having to save water.

FIG. 1 is a simplified side view showing the entire configuration of the container heat treatment apparatus. (Example 1) FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main part of the container heat treatment apparatus.

  It is provided with a conveying means for continuously conveying the container, and conveys the container supplied from the supplying means, sequentially immersed in the liquid in the immersion tank, and heat-treated such as cooling or cooling. Hand over and discharge. At the start of the operation of the container heat treatment apparatus, an empty container conveying means that does not hold a container is located in the immersion tank, and thereafter, the container supplied from the supply means gradually enters the liquid in the immersion tank. Then, the level of the immersion liquid rises by the volume of the container that has entered the immersion liquid. A liquid level control device is provided for adjusting the liquid level of the immersion tank so that the cap portion of the container does not submerge in the liquid due to the rise of the liquid level.

  The liquid level control device includes a water tank, and the immersion tank and the water tank are connected by a discharge passage for discharging the liquid in the immersion tank to the water tank and a supply passage for supplying the liquid in the water tank to the immersion tank. ing. An opening / closing valve as first flow rate adjusting means is provided in the discharge passage, and is operated by an actuator such as a cylinder. Further, a pump is provided in the supply passage, and the pump is operated when the liquid is supplied from the water storage tank to the immersion tank. The immersion tank is provided with a liquid level detecting means, and the control means controls the operation of the opening / closing valve and the pump according to the liquid level detected by the liquid level detecting means.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the container heat treatment apparatus according to this embodiment transfers a container 4 supplied by a supply unit 2 to a transfer unit 6 and continuously conveys the container 4, and immerses the container 4 in a liquid in an immersion tank 8. After performing a heat treatment (cooling in this embodiment), it is delivered to the discharging means 10 and discharged and sent to the next step. In this embodiment, the cap 4a of the container 4 is a hinge cap, and when the cap portion is immersed in the liquid, the liquid penetrates into a gap such as the hinge portion, so that the liquid level of the immersion tank 8 is adjusted. Liquid level adjusting device (indicated by reference numeral 12 as a whole) is provided. Needless to say, the container 4 to be processed by the container heat treatment apparatus is not limited to the hinge cap.

  The container transfer means 6 includes a number of transfer plates 16 attached to the endless chain 14 at predetermined intervals, and holds the container 4 between the transfer plates 16 to transfer the container 4 in a substantially upright posture. . The container 4 supplied by the supply unit 2 is taken out by a take-out unit (not shown) and inserted between the transport plates 16 of the transport unit 6 at a position indicated by an arrow 18 (a container insertion position A). .

  The endless chain 14 of the transport means 6 runs horizontally at a position higher than the liquid level of the immersion tank 8 from the container insertion position A to the upstream side of the immersion tank 8, and is disposed on the upstream side of the immersion tank 8. After passing through the sprocket 20, which is moving down, it gradually descends and enters the liquid in the immersion tank 8, and travels horizontally in the liquid in the immersion section. Thereafter, the endless chain 14 is gradually raised toward the sprocket 22 disposed above the downstream portion of the immersion tank 8, and thereafter runs horizontally at substantially the same height as the container insertion position A. An arcuate guide 26 is arranged on the outer peripheral side (upper side of the container 4 being conveyed) at a position where the endless chain 14 rotates around the sprocket 24 at the downstream end of the conveying means 6. The cap 26 is transported while being supported on the cap 4a side by the guide 26. The guide 26 ends at a position (container discharge position B) where the conveyed container 4 gradually faces downward from the horizontal state, and the container 4 falls. The dropped container 4 is placed on the discharge means 10 while being laid down and carried out.

  Before the operation of the container heat treatment apparatus, the operation is started from a state in which the transport means 6 does not hold the container 4 and the containers 4 transported by the transport means 6 sequentially enter the liquid in the immersion tank 8. Then, the liquid level in the immersion tank 8 rises by the volume of the container 4 immersed in the liquid. Therefore, in the initial stage of the operation, unless the excess liquid (excess water) corresponding to the rise in the liquid level is discharged from the immersion tank 8, the cap 4a of the container 4 may be immersed in the immersion liquid. Therefore, in the apparatus of this embodiment, the liquid level adjusting device 12 is provided so that the excess liquid can be discharged from the immersion tank 8.

  The liquid level adjusting device 12 is provided with a water tank 28 for controlling the liquid level of the immersion tank 8 as shown in FIG. The water storage tank 28 is connected by a discharge passage 30 for discharging the liquid in the immersion tank 8 and a supply passage 32 for supplying the liquid to the immersion tank 8. When the excess liquid is generated in the immersion tank 8 as described above, The excess liquid is discharged from the discharge passage 30 and stored. When the liquid in the immersion tank 8 is insufficient, the liquid is supplied from the supply passage 32 to the immersion tank 8 to adjust the liquid level. An opening / closing valve 34 (first flow rate adjusting means) is provided in the discharge passage 30, and is operated by an actuator 36. Further, a pump 38 (second flow rate adjusting means) is provided in the supply passage 32, and drives the pump 38 when supplying the liquid to the immersion tank 8.

  A liquid level detecting means 40 for detecting the liquid level of the immersion tank 8 is provided. In accordance with the liquid level detected by the liquid level detecting means 40, the control means 42 controls the open / close valve 34 and the pump 38. Control behavior. The liquid level detecting means 40 can use a sensor such as a pressure sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, or a float sensor.

  The operation of the container heat treatment apparatus according to the above configuration will be described. At the start of the operation, there is no vessel 4 between the transport plates 16 of the transport means 6, and the section of the immersion tank 8 where the vessel 4 is immersed is immersed in the immersion liquid in an empty state. From this state, the containers 4 supplied by the supply unit 2 are sequentially supplied and transported between the transport plates 16 of the transport unit 6 at the container insertion position A. When the containers 4 held by the transport means 6 reach the immersion section, these containers 4 sequentially enter the liquid. When the container 4 enters the liquid, the liquid level of the immersion liquid rises by the volume of the part of the container 4 immersed in the liquid.

  When the liquid level rises and reaches the cap 4a of the container 4 in the immersion liquid, the liquid adheres to the cap 4a. Therefore, the liquid level detected by the liquid level detecting means 40 is set to a predetermined value. (The height at which the cap 4a does not come into contact with the immersion liquid), the control means 42 receiving this signal activates the actuator 36 to open the opening / closing valve 34, and stores the liquid in the immersion tank 8 into the water storage tank 28. To be discharged. When the liquid level in the immersion tank 8 rises in this way, the liquid in the immersion tank 8 is discharged to the water storage tank 28 to adjust the liquid level. Therefore, even when the cap 4a of the container 4 is a hinge cap or the like, the liquid is kept in the liquid. There is no immersion, and no loss is caused by discarding excess liquid. In addition, during operation of the container heat treatment apparatus, the liquid in the water storage tank 28 can be supplied to the immersion tank 8 by operating the pump 38 to adjust the liquid level, if necessary. In this embodiment, the transport means 6 holds the container 4 in an upright state between the transport plates 16 and transports the container 4 with reference to the bottom surface. Therefore, when processing containers 4 having different heights, the height of the liquid level of the immersion tank 8 must be changed. However, in the container processing apparatus according to this embodiment, the liquid level adjusting device 12 can easily perform the processing. Can be adjusted.

Reference Signs List 4 container 6 transfer means 8 immersion tank 28 water storage tank 30 discharge passage 32 supply passage 34 first flow rate adjusting means (open / close valve)
38 Second flow control means (pump)
40 liquid level detecting means 42 control means

Claims (2)

In a container heat treatment apparatus that transports the container by a transporting means and immerses the container in the immersion bath to heat-treat the contents contained in the container,
A water storage tank connected to the immersion tank, a liquid level detecting means for detecting a liquid level of the immersion tank during the transfer of the container by the transfer means, and a discharge passage for discharging liquid from the immersion tank to the water storage tank. A supply passage for supplying a liquid from the water storage tank to the immersion tank, a first flow control means provided in the discharge passage, a second flow control means provided in the supply passage, and the first flow control. Means and control means for controlling the operation of the second flow rate adjusting means,
The control means controls the operations of the first flow rate adjusting means and the second flow rate adjusting means based on a predetermined level of the liquid level and a signal of the liquid level detecting means, and controls an opening of the container. A container heat treatment apparatus characterized in that the liquid level is controlled so that only the lower part is immersed in the immersion tank.   The transfer means performs transfer with reference to the bottom surface of the container, and the control means controls the liquid surface of the immersion tank to different liquid surface heights for various containers having different heights. The container heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1.

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