JP6767910B2 - Manufacturing method and manufacturing equipment for bottled beverages - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for producing a beverage in a container.

According to Patent Document 1, in a method for producing a non-sparkling beverage in a container, after filling a container with a heated beverage, an inert gas mixed steam in which an inert gas and a steam are mixed is injected into an empty portion of the container. It is disclosed.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-47536

However, in the filling step of filling the container with the heated beverage, the filling step may be stopped due to a trouble of the device or the like. If the filling process is stopped, the temperature of the beverage to be filled decreases with the passage of time, and the internal pressure (vacuum degree) of the product (containered beverage) filled with the beverage may not be secured at a predetermined value.
In this way, products for which a predetermined internal pressure cannot be secured are discarded as defective products in the subsequent inspection process. Therefore, there is a problem that the product yield is lowered.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for producing a beverage in a container, which can improve the product yield.

The invention according to claim 1 is a filling step of filling a container with a beverage, a mixing step of mixing an inert gas and a steam to generate an inert gas mixed vapor, and an inert gas mixing obtained in the mixing step. A container including a mixed steam injection step of injecting steam into an empty portion of a container filled with a beverage in a filling step to replace the air in the empty portion, and a sealing step of sealing the container after the mixed steam injection step. A method for producing a beverage containing a container, wherein the mixing step controls the temperature of the mixed steam of the inert gas according to the temperature of the beverage to be filled in the filling step.

The invention according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1. In the mixing step, the relationship between the beverage temperature to be filled in the filling step, the temperature of the mixed vapor of the inert gas, and the pressure inside the container after sealing is obtained. It is characterized in that the temperature of the mixed vapor of an inert gas is controlled based on the above-mentioned experiments.

The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 2, the mixing step controls the temperature of the inert gas mixed steam by controlling the mixing amount of the steam. ..

The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to claim 3, wherein the temperature of the beverage to be filled and the temperature of the mixed steam of the inert gas are obtained as a proportional function with respect to the pressure inside the container in a predetermined range, and the mixing step is performed. Is characterized in that the mixing amount of steam is controlled based on this proportional function.

The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 4, the control of the mixing amount of steam with respect to the beverage temperature to be filled in the mixing step is PID control.

The invention according to claim 6 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the beverage is a non-carbonated beverage.

The invention according to claim 7 is characterized in that, in the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 6, the container is a can, and the sealing step is a step of winding the lid of the can. To do.

The invention according to claim 8 is a filler that fills a container with a beverage, a mixer that mixes an inert gas and steam to generate an inert gas mixed vapor, and an inert gas mixed vapor obtained by the mixer. In a container-filled beverage manufacturing apparatus including a mixed steam injection unit that injects the air into an empty portion of a container filled with an inert gas, a sealing unit that seals the container after injection of an inert gas mixed steam, and a control unit. The control unit is a container-filled beverage manufacturing apparatus characterized in that the temperature of the inert gas mixed steam is controlled according to the beverage temperature filled in the filling unit.

The invention according to claim 9 is the invention according to claim 8, wherein the control unit controls the mixing amount of steam in the mixer with respect to the temperature of the beverage to be filled in the filling unit, whereby the inert gas. It is characterized in that the temperature of the mixed steam is controlled.

According to the inventions of claims 1 and 8, since the temperature of the inert gas mixed vapor is controlled based on the temperature of the beverage to be filled in the container, the beverage to be filled in the container due to a trouble during manufacturing or the like. Even when the temperature drops, the degree of vacuum (internal pressure) of the manufactured product can be maintained within an appropriate range, and the decrease in yield due to insufficient vacuum of the product can be prevented.

According to the invention of claim 2, the same action and effect as that of the invention of claim 1 can be obtained, and the temperature of the inert gas mixed vapor is controlled from the correlation obtained from the experiment. The temperature of the inert gas mixed steam can be controlled.

According to the invention of claim 3, the same operation and effect as that of the invention of claim 2 is obtained, and only the mixing amount of steam is controlled, so that the temperature of the mixed steam of the inert gas can be easily controlled.

According to the invention of claim 4, the same operation and effect as that of the invention of claim 3 is obtained, and the temperature of the beverage to be filled and the temperature of the mixed vapor of the inert gas are obtained as proportional functions and based on the proportional function. Since it is controlled, it is easy to control with a simple function.

According to the invention of claim 5, the same operation and effect as that of the invention of claim 4 can be obtained, and the temperature control of the mixed vapor of the inert gas can be controlled quickly and with a small fluctuation range.

According to the invention of claim 6, the same operation and effect as the invention of claims 1 to 5 can be obtained, and deformation of the container due to heating at the time of vending machine or product sales can be prevented.

According to the invention of claim 7, the same operation and effect as that of the invention of claims 1 to 6 can be obtained, and the yield of the can product for which the lid is wound can be increased.

According to the invention of claim 9, the same operation and effect as that of the invention of claim 1 is obtained, and only the mixing amount of steam is controlled, so that the temperature of the mixed steam of the inert gas can be easily controlled.

It is sectional drawing which conceptually shows the manufacturing method of the beverage in a container which concerns on embodiment of this invention, (a) is a mixed steam injection step, (b) is a sealing step. It is a front view which shows the state of the container and the lid before the mixed steam injection process in embodiment of this invention. It is a front view which shows the inert gas mixed steam injection process in embodiment of this invention. It is a front view which shows the state before the sealing process in embodiment of this invention. It is a front view which shows the state after the sealing process in embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the flow of a container after filling a beverage with a filler. It is a circuit diagram of a mixing process. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the filer filler temperature and the inert gas mixed vapor temperature (mixed gas temperature). It is a graph which shows the relationship between the filler filler temperature and the degree of vacuum at the time of controlling the temperature of an inert gas mixed vapor.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the containerized beverage manufacturing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a steam introduction pipe 3, an inert gas introduction pipe 5, a mixer 7, a mixed gas injection unit 12, and a container 9. A filler 11 for filling a beverage (see FIG. 6), a temperature detecting unit 13 for a beverage (filling liquid) in the filler 11, a control unit 15, and a sealing unit 17 for sealing a container are provided.
Beverages are a type of beverage that is heated and filled into a container, and is a so-called negative pressure filled product beverage. For example, a coffee beverage containing milk.

The container 9 is a can container, and a lid 9b is wrapped around a can body 9a.
The steam introduction pipe 3 is provided with a flow rate control valve 21 to control the inflow amount of steam introduced into the mixer 7.
Nitrogen gas (N ₂ ) is used as the inert gas, and a flow rate control valve 23 is also provided in the inert gas introduction pipe 5.
The mixer 7 is connected to the steam introduction pipe 3 and the inert gas introduction pipe 5, and mixes the introduced nitrogen gas (inert gas) and steam and supplies them to the mixed gas injection unit 12. The mixer 7 is an ejector in this embodiment.

Before the winding step of the can lid 9b, the mixed gas injection unit 12 is directed toward the empty size portion S of the can body 9a filled with the beverage, and the mixed gas injection unit 12 is a mixed gas of nitrogen gas (inert gas) and steam (hereinafter, simply, simply, "Mixed gas") is injected. In FIG. 1, for the sake of explanation, the mixed gas injection unit 12 injects the mixed gas from the upper side to the lower side of the can body 9a, but in reality, it is between the can body 9a and the can lid 9b. The mixed gas is injected from the side (see FIGS. 2 to 4).
The control unit 15 is provided in a filler chamber (not shown) and is connected to a temperature detection unit 13 that detects the filling liquid temperature of the filler 11 and a steam flow rate control valve 21, and is detected by the temperature detection unit 13. The flow rate control valve 21 is controlled based on the temperature.
In the sealing portion 17, the lid 9b is wrapped around the can body 9a.

Here, with reference to FIG. 6, a schematic flow from filling the can body 9a with the filler 11 to the product will be described.
After filling the can body 9a with the beverage with the filler 11, the can body 9a is conveyed to the mixed gas injection unit 12.
On the other hand, the can lid 9b is supplied from the can lid stack 29 to the can feed turret 31. In the mixed gas injection unit 12, after injecting the mixed gas into the empty size portion S of the main body 9a (see FIG. 1A), the can lid 9b is wound around the can main body 9a by the sealing portion 17 (FIG. 1). 1 (b)), is transported to the next process on the downstream side via the center turret 33 and the discharge turret 35. In FIG. 6, a hatch is attached to the can lid 9b.

Next, the steps of the mixed gas injection unit 12 and the sealing unit 17 will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, the can body 9a and the can lid 9b filled with the beverage are conveyed to the mixed gas injection unit 12.
Next, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, during the transportation of the can body 9a and the can lid 9b, the gas turret 30 located below the can feed turret 31 in the space between the can body 9a and the can lid 9b. The mixed gas is injected from the mixed gas injection unit 12 of the above, and the air in the empty dimension portion S of the can body 9a is replaced with the mixed gas. The mixed gas is injected from the side into the space between the can body 9a and the can lid 9b.
Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the can lid 9b pushes down the can lid 9b from the upper position of the can body 9a, and then, as shown in FIG. 5, the can lid 9b is wound around the can body 9a by the sealing portion 17. Tighten (see FIG. 1 (b)).

Next, the mixed gas injected by the mixed gas injection unit 12 will be described.
FIG. 7 shows a circuit diagram of the mixed gas in the mixing process. As shown in FIG. 7, in the steam introduction pipe 3, the on-off valve 43, the pressure gauge 45, the flow rate control valve 21, and the pressure gauge 45 are arranged in this order between the steam supply unit 41 and the mixer 7 from the steam supply unit 41 side. , The solenoid valve 49, the needle valve 51 and the pressure gauge 45 are provided in this order. A steam trap 46 is provided at the position of the pressure gauge 45 between the on-off valve 43 and the flow rate control valve 21. A control unit 15 is connected to the flow rate control valve 21, and the flow rate of steam is controlled by the control unit 15 based on the detection temperature of the temperature detection unit 13 that detects the temperature of the filler filling liquid.

In the nitrogen gas introduction pipe 5, the on-off valve 43, the pressure gauge 45, the on-off valve 43, the flow rate control valve 23, and the pressure gauge 45 are arranged in this order between the nitrogen gas supply unit 53 and the mixer 7 from the nitrogen gas supply unit 53 side. , The flow meter 48, the solenoid valve 49, and the needle valve 51 are provided in this order. Although the cover gassing path 54 is branched on the upstream side of the flow rate control valve 23, the description of the cover gassing path 54 will be omitted.
A separator 55 and a needle valve 51 are provided between the mixer 7 and the mixed gas injection unit 12 from the mixer 7 side, and the separator 55 is provided with a steam trap 46 and a pressure gauge 45.

Next, the relationship between the filler filler temperature and the mixed gas temperature will be described with reference to FIG.
In the graph of FIG. 8, the black squares are the cases where the temperature of the mixed gas is kept constant regardless of the change in the filler filler temperature (no follow-up control).
The black circles are the temperatures of the mixed gas when the control unit 15 controls the pressure inside the product (vacuum degree) to be within the range of 36 to 40 kPa (kilopascal) with respect to the change in the filler filler temperature (following). With control). The temperature of the controlled mixed gas was adjusted by changing the mixing amount of steam.
For the temperature of the mixed gas, the average of the measured values of the three samples for each filler filler temperature was plotted on the graph.

In this experiment, the filler was stopped, and at the time of each restart after 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 40 minutes, and 50 minutes, the filler filling liquid was filled, the mixed gas was injected, and the can was charged at each filler filling liquid temperature at that time. The lid was rolled up. Further, the filler filler temperature and the mixed gas temperature were measured when the entire line containing the filler was restarted after 50 minutes had elapsed.

From the graph shown in FIG. 8, when the correlation of the black circle plot was obtained, it was found that the relationship between the filler filler temperature and the mixed gas temperature was proportional (linear) as shown by the alternate long and short dash line. As shown in FIG. 8, the following (control formula 1) was obtained from the experimental results.
y = -0.2254x + 112.53 (control formula 1)
Here, x is the filler filler temperature, and y is the mixed gas temperature.
Further, since the confirmed experiment of the obtained control formula 1 was carried out, the contents thereof will be described with reference to FIG. With respect to the mixed gas temperature obtained in relation to the mixed gas temperature with respect to the filler filler temperature (control formula 1), the mixed gas temperature is the same as that of the control formula 1 (broken line), the control formula 1 + 0.2 ° C. (solid line), and the control formula 1 + 0. The temperature of the mixed gas was controlled to .4 ° C. (dashed line) and controlled formula 1 + 0.6 ° C (dashed line), and the mixed gas was injected, and the degree of vacuum was measured for the obtained product. The result is shown in FIG. In this experiment as well, the filler filler whose temperature decreased with the elapsed time of 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 40 minutes, and 50 minutes after the filler was stopped was measured for 3 samples at each temperature. The average value of the degree of vacuum was plotted on the graph.

In FIG. 9, the control region P having a vacuum degree of 36 to 40 KPa is shown as a dodd region. The control region P having a vacuum degree of 36 to 40 KPa is a range in which the internal pressure of the product is considered to be good, and a vacuum degree deviating from this range is excluded as a defective product.
As is clear from FIG. 9, with the control formula 1 obtained in FIG. 8 (broken line), the degree of vacuum decreases as the filler filler temperature decreases, and when the filler filler temperature is 72 ° or less, the degree of vacuum decreases. Decreased to around 32 KPa. Further, in the control formula 1 + 0.4 and the control formula 1 + 0.6, the degree of vacuum exceeded 40 and became around 41 to 44 KPa, which was a defective product shifted upward from the control area P.
On the other hand, the control formula 1 + 0.2 (solid line) is a non-defective product that is within the vacuum degree range of 36 to 40 KPa and is within the control area P even when the filler filling liquid temperature drops from 78 ° C. to 68 ° C. It was.
Therefore, by controlling the mixing amount of steam so that the temperature of the mixed gas becomes the control formula 1 + 0.2 ° C., it is possible to prevent the occurrence of defective products in terms of the degree of vacuum even when the temperature of the filer filler is lowered.

When the mixed gas temperature is controlled using the following formula 2 obtained as described above (Experiment 1) and when the mixed gas is injected at the same mixed gas temperature as before the stop without temperature control (comparative experiment). Since the experiment was conducted for 1), the results will be explained.
(Experiment 1)
The control unit 15 PID controlled the flow rate control valve 21 so that the mixed gas temperature became the target temperature obtained by the following formula 2.
Mixed gas temperature = Control formula 1 + 0.2 ° C (Formula 2)
y = -0.2254x + 112.53 (control formula 1)
In the experiment, the filler was stopped for 50 minutes and then restarted to perform filling, mixed gas injection and winding to produce a sample. Then, the degree of vacuum was measured for each sample. The degree of vacuum was measured with a key press to determine whether it was a good product or a defective product.
The temperature of the filer filler after the filler is stopped is 76.2 ° C. for 10 minutes, 74.7 ° C. for 20 minutes, 73.0 ° C. for 30 minutes, 71.2 ° C. for 40 minutes, and 50 minutes. It was 70.2 ° C.
In Experiment 1, the number of defective samples was 18,706, and the number of defective samples was 65, and the defective rate was 0.330%.

(Comparative experiment 1)
In the same manner as in Experiment 1, the filler was stopped for 50 minutes and then restarted to perform filling, mixed gas injection and winding to produce a sample. In Comparative Experiment 1, the mixed gas temperature was not controlled, and the mixed gas was injected at the same mixed gas temperature as before the stop. The filler filler temperature was 76.2 ° C. for 10 minutes, 74.4 ° C. for 20 minutes, 72.9 ° C. for 30 minutes, 71.5 ° C. for 40 minutes, and 69.9 ° C. for 50 minutes after stopping. It was.
The number of samples was 22350, the number of defects was 230, and the defect rate was 1.029%.
As described above, the defective rate of Comparative Experiment 1 is 1.029%, whereas the defective rate of Experiment 1 according to the present embodiment is 0.330%, and the temperature of the mixed gas is controlled. Therefore, the defective rate could be significantly reduced.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be variously modified without departing from the gist thereof.
For example, the container of a beverage in a container is not limited to wrapping the lid of the can, but may be a bottle-shaped can container. In this case, in the sealing step, the cap is turned around the mouth of the bottle to close it. wear.
The beverage is not limited to coffee beverages, and may be milk-containing tea, tea, fruit juice beverages, or the like.

1 Container-filled beverage manufacturing equipment 7 Mixer 9 Container 12 Mixed gas injection unit 13 Filling liquid temperature detection unit 15 Control unit 17 Sealing unit 21 Flow control valve S Empty part

Claims (9)

Beverages were filled in a filling step of filling a container with a beverage, a mixing step of mixing an inert gas and a steam to generate an inert gas mixed vapor, and an inert gas mixed vapor obtained in the mixing step. A method for producing a beverage in a container, which comprises a mixed steam injection step of injecting into an empty portion of a container to replace the air in the empty portion, and a sealing step of sealing the container after the mixed steam injection step.
The mixing step is a method for producing a beverage in a container, which comprises controlling the temperature of the inert gas mixed steam according to the beverage temperature to be filled in the filling step. The mixing step is characterized in that the temperature of the mixed vapor of the inert gas is controlled based on an experiment in which the relationship between the temperature of the beverage to be filled in the filling step, the temperature of the mixed steam of the inert gas and the pressure inside the container after sealing is determined. The method for producing a packaged beverage according to claim 1. The method for producing a beverage in a container according to claim 2, wherein the mixing step controls the temperature of the inert gas mixed steam by controlling the mixing amount of the steam. The temperature of the beverage to be filled and the temperature of the mixed steam of the inert gas are obtained as a proportional function with respect to the pressure inside the container in a predetermined range, and the mixing step is characterized in that the mixing amount of steam is controlled based on this proportional function. The method for producing a packaged beverage according to claim 3. The method for producing a beverage in a container according to claim 4, wherein the control of the mixing amount of steam with respect to the temperature of the beverage to be filled in the mixing step is PID control. The method for producing a beverage in a container according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the beverage is a non-carbonated beverage. The method for producing a beverage in a container according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the container is a can, and the sealing step is a step of winding the lid of the can. The filler that fills the container with the beverage, the mixer that mixes the inert gas and steam to generate the inert gas mixed vapor, and the inert gas mixed vapor obtained by the mixer are emptied in the container filled with the beverage. A device for producing a beverage in a container, which includes a mixed steam injection unit that injects a small portion, a sealing unit that seals the container after injection of an inert gas mixed steam, and a control unit.
The control unit is an apparatus for producing a beverage in a container, which controls the temperature of the mixed steam of inert gas according to the temperature of the beverage to be filled in the filling unit. The eighth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the control unit controls the temperature of the inert gas mixed steam by controlling the mixing amount of the steam in the mixer with respect to the temperature of the beverage to be filled in the filling unit. The device for producing the described containerized beverage.

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