JP7217157B2 - Bottom electron beam sterilizer - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a bottom surface electron beam sterilizer for sterilizing the bottom surface of an object to be sterilized by irradiating electron beams.

Electron beam sterilizers are used to sterilize objects that require high sterilization accuracy, such as containers for food and drink or medical supplies. When such an object to be sterilized is placed on a table and sterilized, the lower surface of the object to be sterilized is less likely to be irradiated with an electron beam, and sterilization tends to be insufficient.

In order to sufficiently sterilize the lower surface of the object to be sterilized, there is a method in which the object to be sterilized is placed on a mesh or the like rather than on a table, and the object to be sterilized is irradiated with an electron beam from below. As an apparatus to which this method is applied, an apparatus can be considered in which the objects to be sterilized are continuously conveyed by a mesh conveyor so that the objects to be sterilized pass continuously through the area of the electron beam irradiated from below. However, in such an apparatus, the mesh of the mesh conveyor and the object to be sterilized placed thereon are in contact or very close to each other. A shadow) forms on the underside of the object to be sterilized. In addition, since the object to be sterilized is placed on the mesh and transported, the relative positions of the object to be sterilized and the mesh are constant, so the position of the shadow that appears on the lower surface of the object to be sterilized is also constant. For this reason, it is difficult for the electron beam to irradiate the shadowed position, and the sterilization of the apparatus is still insufficient.

In order to eliminate the fact that the relative positions of the sterilization target and the mesh are constant, a device that moves the sterilization target that is irradiated with electron beams while being transported on a mesh conveyor relative to the mesh of the mesh conveyor. has been proposed (see Patent Documents 1 and 2, for example).

Japanese Patent No. 3840473 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-14900

5A and 5B, which are schematic plan views of the apparatus described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the objects to be sterilized 10 placed and transported on the mesh conveyor C31 are viewed from below. In the region where the electron beam C34 is irradiated, it is configured to slide against the mesh of the mesh conveyor C31 by means of a fixed inclined guide C33. With this configuration, the object to be sterilized 10 whose lower surface is irradiated with the electron beam C34 and the mesh of the mesh conveyor C31 move relative to each other. Therefore, the electron beam C34 is applied to the entire lower surface of the object 10 to be sterilized, so that sufficient sterilization can be achieved.

However, the devices described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 require separate equipment for the relative movement, such as the fixed inclined guide C33 described above. In addition, in order to irradiate the electron beam C34 onto the sterilization object 10 at positions before and after the relative movement, the area irradiated with the electron beam C34 inevitably becomes large. Furthermore, the mesh conveyor C31 is irradiated with an electron beam C34 from below by an expensive electron beam emitter. It is necessary to keep a sufficient distance from the electron beam emitter so as not to damage the electron beam emitter. Therefore, the devices described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are inevitably large.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a bottom surface electron beam sterilizer capable of sufficient sterilization and miniaturization.

In order to solve the above problems, a bottom surface electron beam sterilization apparatus according to a first invention is a bottom surface electron beam sterilization apparatus that sterilizes the bottom surface of an object to be sterilized by irradiating an electron beam,
a continuous conveying means for continuously conveying objects to be sterilized;
a stationary fixing plate whose upper surface is in contact with the object to be sterilized being conveyed by the continuous conveying means;
an electron beam emitter arranged below the fixing plate and emitting an electron beam upward,
The fixing plate has an electron beam passage area through which the electron beam passes and the entire lower surface of the object to be sterilized being transported is irradiated ,
The electron beam passage area is smaller than the other electron beam passage areas in the range of the upper surface of the fixing plate that is in contact with the sterilization object being transported .

Further, in the bottom surface electron beam sterilization apparatus according to the second invention, the electron beam passage area in the bottom surface electron beam sterilization apparatus according to the first invention is an opening of a size that does not allow the transported objects to be sterilized to fall.

Further, in the bottom surface electron beam sterilization apparatus according to the third invention, the opening in the bottom surface electron beam sterilization apparatus according to the second invention is a slit whose longitudinal direction is inclined with respect to the direction in which the object to be sterilized is conveyed. is.

In addition, in the bottom surface electron beam sterilization apparatus according to the fourth invention, the continuous conveying means in the bottom surface electron beam sterilization apparatus according to the second or third invention continuously transports adjacent objects to be sterilized so as not to contact each other. is intended to transport
The opening is sized to irradiate the side surfaces of the sterilization object being conveyed with the electron beam.

A bottom surface electron beam sterilization apparatus according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is an electron beam emitter in the bottom surface electron beam sterilization apparatus of any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the electron beam emitter emits an electron beam from a tip portion. It has a nozzle.

According to the bottom surface electron beam sterilization apparatus, since the entire bottom surface of the object to be sterilized is irradiated with the electron beam, sufficient sterilization can be performed. In addition, there is no need for a separate device for relatively moving the object to be sterilized and the fixing plate, the area irradiated with the electron beam can be small, and there is no need to separate the electron beam emitter and the fixing plate sufficiently. Therefore, it can be made smaller.

1 is a perspective view showing a bottom surface electron beam sterilization apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a fixing plate and an object to be sterilized of the same bottom surface electron beam sterilizer in a cross section along a direction in which the object to be sterilized is conveyed; 1 is a schematic plan view showing an electron beam sterilization facility equipped with a bottom surface electron beam sterilizer according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. It is a schematic side view which shows only the fixing plate of the same bottom surface electron beam sterilization apparatus in a cross section. FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view showing a device for sterilizing the lower surface of an object to be sterilized being conveyed by a mesh conveyor in a conventional example, showing the object to be sterilized before it is slid on a fixed inclined guide. FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view showing a device for sterilizing the lower surface of an object to be sterilized being conveyed by a mesh conveyor in a conventional example, showing the object to be sterilized after being slid on a fixed inclined guide.

Below, a bottom surface electron beam sterilization apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

The bottom surface electron beam sterilization apparatus is generally a device that sterilizes the bottom surface of an object to be sterilized by irradiating electron beams. As shown in FIG. 1, the bottom surface electron beam sterilization apparatus 3 has a continuous transport means 31 that continuously transports the objects 10 to be sterilized, and the top surface of the bottom surface electron beam sterilizer 3 is in contact with the objects 10 transported by the continuous transport means 31. It has a fixed type fixing plate 33 and an electron beam emitter 35 which is arranged below the fixing plate 33 and emits an electron beam 3E upward. The fixed plate 33 has an electron beam passage area 34 for passing the electron beam 3E. As the electron beam 3E passes through the electron beam passing area 34 from below to above, the electron beam passing area 34 spreads over the entire lower surface 13 of the object to be sterilized 10 transported on the upper surface of the fixing plate 33 having the electron beam passing area 34. An electron beam 3E is irradiated. In the following description, the source and destination to which the object to be sterilized 10 is transported will be referred to as the upstream side and the downstream side, respectively.

The object 10 to be sterilized is not particularly limited as long as it requires sterilization. The lower surface 13 of the object to be sterilized 10 is not limited to the surface in contact with the upper surface of the fixing plate 33 , and includes the surface facing the upper surface of the fixing plate 33 .

The continuous conveying means 31 is particularly limited as long as it does not prevent the entire lower surface 13 of the sterilization target 10 from being irradiated with the electron beam 3E as long as the sterilization target 10 is continuously transported. not. For example, the continuous conveying means 31 is a continuous conveying machine that pushes and conveys the sterilization target 10, that is, a star wheel or a mobile gripper. Further, the continuous conveying means 31 may be configured such that the object to be sterilized 10 slides from the upstream side to the downstream side due to its own weight, in addition to such a continuous conveying machine. In this case, the continuous conveying means 31 serves as a holder that holds the fixed plate 33 in an inclined state so that the fixed plate 33 is high on the upstream side and low on the downstream side. Here, conveying the objects 10 to be sterilized continuously means conveying a plurality of objects 10 to be sterilized by one conveying means. In order to convey the objects to be sterilized 10 continuously, the distance between the objects to be sterilized 10 adjacent to each other does not necessarily have to be constant, and the speed at which each of the objects to be sterilized 10 is conveyed is different. may For example, even if the objects to be sterilized 10 are transported intermittently (with a temporary stop), or if the transport speed is changed midway, even if a plurality of objects to be sterilized 10 are transported by one transportation means. For example, it can be said that the objects 10 to be sterilized are continuously transported. If the object to be sterilized 10 being transported is temporarily stopped or decelerated at or near the axis of the electron beam 3E emitted from the electron beam emitter 35, the electron beam 3E is sufficiently applied to the object to be sterilized 10. is irradiated to

The electron beam emitter 35 is not particularly limited as long as it emits the electron beam 3E to the extent that the object 10 to be sterilized can be sterilized. The direction of the electron beam 3E emitted from the electron beam emitter 35 is not limited to directly upward, and the electron beam 3E passes through the electron beam passage area 34 of the fixing plate 33 to sterilize the lower surface 13 of the object 10 to be sterilized. , it may be inclined upward with respect to the vertical direction. It is preferable that the distance between the electron beam emitter 35 and the fixing plate 33 is small for miniaturization. Further, the electron beam emitter 35 is preferably of a nozzle type having an electron beam emission nozzle for emitting the electron beam 3E from its tip. This is because the nozzle-type electron beam emitter is smaller than the other electron beam emitters 35, and thus the use of the nozzle type electron beam emitter leads to the miniaturization of the entire bottom surface electron beam sterilizer 3.

The fixed plate 33 is not particularly limited as long as it is a fixed plate having the electron beam passage area 34 and having an upper surface in contact with the object to be sterilized 10 being conveyed by the continuous conveying means 31 . Further, since the fixing plate 33 is irradiated with the electron beam 3E from below, it is preferable to employ a material (for example, metal) that can withstand the irradiation of the electron beam 3E for a long period of time. Furthermore, the fixing plate 33 is not limited to having its upper surface arranged horizontally, and may be arranged so as to be inclined with respect to the horizontal.

The electron beam passage area 34 of the fixing plate 33 is not particularly limited as long as the electron beam 3E passes through and irradiates the entire lower surface 13 of the sterilization object 10 being conveyed. The electron beam passage area 34 is, for example, a transmission window made of a material that allows the electron beam 3E to pass through, or an opening of a size that prevents the sterilization target 10 being transported from falling. The electron beam passing region 34 is preferably the opening rather than the transmission window, more preferably a large number of openings, in order to allow the electron beam 3E to sufficiently pass through. When a large number of openings are employed as the electron beam passage area 34, each opening is formed by a slit 34 whose longitudinal direction is inclined with respect to the direction 32 in which the object to be sterilized 10 is conveyed, as shown in FIG. Preferably. If the longitudinal direction of the slit 34 were parallel to the conveying direction 32, the shadow from the fixing plate 33 generated on the lower surface 13 of the object 10 to be sterilized by the irradiation of the electron beam 3E would not move, and the shadow would not move. There is a possibility that the electron beam 3E may not sufficiently irradiate a part of the lower surface. Moreover, if the longitudinal direction of the slit 34 is perpendicular to the conveying direction 32 , there is a risk that the sterilization target 10 being conveyed will be caught in the slit 34 . However, if the longitudinal direction of the slit 34 is inclined with respect to the conveying direction 32, there is no fear as described above. The object to be sterilized 10 is smoothly transported while being sufficiently irradiated.

More preferably, the continuous conveying means 31 continuously conveys the adjacent objects 10 to be sterilized so as not to contact each other, and the electron beam 3E is also applied to the sides of the objects 10 being conveyed through the openings. It is the size to be irradiated. With this configuration, as shown in FIG. 2, the electron e ⁻ of the electron beam 3E that has passed through the opening (for example, the slit 34) not only reaches the lower surface 13 (see symbol e1) of the object to be sterilized 10, but also reaches the object to be sterilized. 10 (see e2) and also the open upper surface of the fixing plate 33 (see e3). That is, with this configuration, part of the side surface of the object to be sterilized 10 and part of the upper surface of the fixing plate 33 are also irradiated with the electron beam 3E. Preferably, in order to sufficiently irradiate the upper surface of the fixing plate 33 with the electron beam 3E, the width of each opening in the cross section along the direction in which the objects to be sterilized 10 are transported is equal to the distance between the adjacent objects to be sterilized 10. made larger than

The operation of the bottom surface electron beam sterilization apparatus 3 will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 1 , a continuous transporter 31 , which is an example of a continuous transport means 31 , continuously transports objects 10 to be sterilized while being in contact with the upper surface of a fixing plate 33 . All of these continuously transported sterilization objects 10 pass over the electron beam passage area 34 of the fixing plate 33 . On the other hand, since the electron beam emitter 35 emits the electron beam 3E upward from below the fixing plate 33, the electron beam 3E passes through the electron beam passage area 34 and the object to be sterilized is conveyed. The lower surface 13 of 10 is illuminated. Since the object 10 to be sterilized whose bottom surface is irradiated with the electron beam 3E is moving relative to the electron beam passage area 34, the shadow from the fixing plate 33 generated on the bottom surface due to the irradiation of the electron beam 3E is will move. Therefore, the entire lower surface 13 of the object 10 to be sterilized is irradiated with the electron beam 3E.

In the bottom surface electron beam sterilizer 3, since the object to be sterilized 10 and the fixing plate 33 are not moved relative to each other except for transporting the object to be sterilized 10, a separate device C33 is unnecessary. Therefore, it is not necessary to irradiate the electron beam 3E to the object 10 to be sterilized at positions before and after the relative movement, so that the area irradiated with the electron beam 3E can be small. Moreover, since the fixing plate 33 is fixed and not movable, it is unnecessary to keep it sufficiently away from the electron beam emitter 35 just in case.

As described above, according to the bottom surface electron beam sterilizer 3, the entire bottom surface 13 of the object 10 to be sterilized is irradiated with the electron beam 3E, so that sufficient sterilization can be performed. Further, according to the bottom surface electron beam sterilizer 3, a separate device for relatively moving the sterilization object 10 and the fixing plate 33 is not required, the area irradiated with the electron beam 3E can be small, and the electron beam emitter 35 and the fixing plate 33 are not required to be sufficiently separated from each other, the size can be reduced.

In addition, the electron beam passage area 34 has a large number of openings that are large enough to prevent the sterilization target 10 being transported from falling, so that the electron beam 3E can sufficiently pass through. For this reason, the entire lower surface 13 of the object 10 to be sterilized is sufficiently irradiated with the electron beam 3E, so that further sufficient sterilization can be achieved.

Furthermore, since each opening is a slit 34 whose longitudinal direction is inclined with respect to the direction 32 in which the object 10 to be sterilized is conveyed, the lower surface 13 of the object 10 to be sterilized is sufficiently irradiated with the electron beam 3E. In addition, the sterilization object 10 is smoothly conveyed. Therefore, the entire lower surface 13 of the object 10 to be sterilized is stably irradiated with the electron beam 3E, so that the sterilization can be performed more sufficiently.

In addition, the continuous conveying means 31 continuously conveys the adjacent objects 10 to be sterilized so as not to contact each other, and the electron beam 3E is also irradiated to the side surface of the object 10 being conveyed through each opening. Due to the size, the electron beam 3E also irradiates a portion of the side surface of the sterilization target 10 and a portion of the upper surface of the fixing plate 33, so sterilization can be performed more sufficiently.

Further, the electron beam emitter 35 is of a nozzle type having an electron beam emission nozzle that emits the electron beam 3E from the tip, so that the size can be further reduced.

Below, a bottom surface electron beam sterilization apparatus 3 according to an example showing the embodiment more specifically will be described based on the drawings. In the present embodiment, description will be made by focusing on a configuration different from that of the above-described embodiment, and the same reference numerals will be assigned to the same configuration as that of the above-described embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted. The bottom surface electron beam sterilization apparatus 3 according to this embodiment is one of the apparatuses constituting the electron beam sterilization equipment. For this reason, the electron beam sterilization equipment will be explained first.

As shown in FIG. 3, this electron beam sterilization equipment 1 includes, in order from the upstream side, an upstream conveying device 2 for continuously conveying objects 10 to be sterilized to the bottom surface electron beam sterilization device 3; It comprises an apparatus 3 and a post-lower surface sterilization reject apparatus 4 for ejecting objects 10 that have not been sufficiently sterilized by the lower surface electron beam sterilization apparatus 3 . In addition, the electron beam sterilization equipment 1 includes, in order from the upstream side, a downstream transport device 5 that transports the sterilization target object 10 that has not been discharged (sufficiently sterilized) by the reject device 4 after the lower surface sterilization, and a downstream transport device 5. A top-side electron beam sterilizer 6 that sterilizes the top and side surfaces of an object 10 being sterilized transported to the device 5 by irradiating electron beams 6E, and an object to be sterilized that is insufficiently sterilized by the top-side electron beam sterilizer 6. and an upper post-sterilization reject device 7 for ejecting the object 10 .

The upstream conveying device 2 includes a turntable 21 on which the sterilization target objects 10 continuously conveyed from the upstream side are placed and conveyed along a circular route, and a sterilization device conveyed along the circular route by the turntable 21 . A fixed upper turntable guide 22 is provided for properly guiding the object 10 on the turntable 21 . The objects to be sterilized 10 come into contact with adjacent objects on the turntable 21 , but do not contact adjacent objects on the bottom surface electron beam sterilizer 3 . For this reason, when the sterilization target 10 is transferred from the turntable 21 to the bottom surface electron beam sterilization apparatus 3, it is necessary to have a gap between adjacent ones. As a device for creating this gap, the upstream conveying device 2 may include a turntable top stopper 23 . Even if the turntable top stopper 23 does not have the function of creating the gap, the gap may be created by the shape of the star wheel plate 132, which will be described later. In any case, in the bottom surface electron beam sterilization apparatus 3 according to this embodiment, the objects 10 to be sterilized are continuously conveyed so as to have a gap between them.

Below, the bottom surface electron beam sterilization apparatus 3 according to this embodiment will be described in detail.

The bottom surface electron beam sterilizer 3 includes a star wheel 131 as a continuous conveying means, and a fixed fixing plate 33 whose top surface is in contact with the sterilization object 10 conveyed by the star wheel 131 . As shown in FIG. 4, the bottom surface electron beam sterilizer 3 includes a nozzle-type electron beam emitter 135 that is arranged below the fixing plate 33 and emits an electron beam 3E upward. The fixing plate 33 is formed with a large number of slits 34 through which the electron beams 3E from below pass. As the electron beam 3E passes through these slits 34 from below to above, the electron beam 3E is projected onto the entire lower surface 13 of the sterilization object 10 that is being transported in contact with the upper surface of the fixing plate 33 having the slits 34. be irradiated.

As shown in FIG. 3, the star wheel 131 includes a star wheel plate 132 in which a large number of circular notches smaller than the disc are continuously formed on the outer periphery of the disc at equal intervals, and the star wheel plate 132 and a rotating mechanism 133 for rotating 132 . Due to the rotation of the star wheel plate 132, not only are the objects 10 to be sterilized held in the arcuate cutouts continuously conveyed on the upper surface of the fixed plate 33, but also the reject device 4, which is a constituent member of the post-sterilization reject device 4 on the lower surface, is rotated. The upper surface of the plate 41 is also continuously conveyed. Adjacent objects to be sterilized 10 conveyed to the star wheel 131 are cut out at regular intervals by the arc-shaped cutouts on the outer periphery of the star wheel plate 132, so they do not come into contact with each other. The turntable upper guide 22 positioned inside the turntable 21 serves as an outer guide for guiding the sterilization object 10 conveyed by the star wheel 131 along a circular path. and the reject plate 41 to the downstream conveying device 5 . If such an outer guide is not provided, a vacuum suction pad is attached to the arcuate notch on the outer periphery of the star wheel plate 132 to attract the object 10 to be sterilized to be guided along the circular path.

A large number of slits 34 formed in the fixed plate 33 have their longitudinal directions inclined with respect to the rotation circumferential direction of the star wheel plate 132, which is the direction in which the sterilization target 10 is conveyed. Also, each slit 34 has a length that completely traverses the trajectory of the sterilization target 10 conveyed by the starwheel 131 . Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4 , the width of each slit 34 in the lateral direction is such that the electron beam 3E also penetrates a portion of the side surface of the sterilization target 10 being conveyed and a portion of the upper surface between adjacent slits 34 . to the extent that is irradiated.

The nozzle type electron beam emitter 135 includes an electron beam generator 136 for generating an electron beam 3E, a vacuum chamber 137 in which the electron beam generator 136 is arranged, and airtightly connected to the vacuum chamber 137. and an electron beam emitting nozzle 138 for emitting an electron beam 3E from the tip.

The operation of the bottom surface electron beam sterilization apparatus 3 will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the sterilization object 10 continuously transported to the bottom surface electron beam sterilization apparatus 3 by the upstream transport device 2 is moved by the star wheel 131 of the bottom surface electron beam sterilization apparatus 3 to the upper surface of the fixing plate 33 . After sterilization of the lower surface, it is continuously conveyed to the downstream conveying device 5 via the upper surface of the reject plate 41 of the reject device 4 .

On the upper surface of the fixing plate 33 , the objects to be sterilized 10 are conveyed continuously while being in contact with the upper surface of the fixing plate 33 . On the other hand, since the nozzle-type electron beam emitter 135 emits the electron beam 3E upward from below the fixing plate 33, the electron beam 3E passes through many slits 34 and is transported. The lower surface 13 of the object 10 is illuminated. Since the sterilization object 10 whose lower surface is irradiated with the electron beam 3E moves relative to the many slits 34, the shadow from the fixing plate 33 generated on the lower surface by the irradiation with the electron beam 3E moves. will do. Furthermore, since the longitudinal direction of each slit 34 is inclined with respect to the direction 32 in which the object to be sterilized 10 is conveyed, the entire lower surface 13 of the object to be sterilized 10 is sufficiently irradiated with the electron beam 3E.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the electron beam 3E from the nozzle-type electron beam emitter 135 not only irradiates the lower surface 13 of the object 10 to be sterilized, but also a part of the side surface of the object 10 to be sterilized and an adjacent part of the object 10 to be sterilized. A portion of the top surface between the slits 34 is also illuminated.

In the bottom surface electron beam sterilizer 3, since the object to be sterilized 10 and the fixing plate 33 are not moved relative to each other except for transporting the object to be sterilized 10, a separate device C33 is unnecessary. Therefore, it is not necessary to irradiate the electron beam 3E to the object 10 to be sterilized at positions before and after the relative movement, so that the area irradiated with the electron beam 3E can be small. Further, since the fixing plate 33 is fixed and not movable, it is unnecessary to keep it sufficiently away from the nozzle-type electron beam emitter 135 just in case.

As described above, according to the bottom surface electron beam sterilizer 3 according to the present embodiment, the entire bottom surface 13 of the object 10 to be sterilized is sufficiently irradiated with the electron beam 3E, so that further sufficient sterilization can be performed. Further, according to the bottom surface electron beam sterilizer 3, a separate device for relatively moving the sterilization object 10 and the fixing plate 33 is not required, the area irradiated with the electron beam 3E can be small, and a nozzle type electron beam can be used. Since it is not necessary to separate the emitter 135 and the fixing plate 33 sufficiently, the size can be further reduced.

By the way, in the above-described embodiment, a large number of slits 34 are shown as a large number of openings. . Moreover, the opening may have any shape other than the slit 34, such as a round hole, a square hole, or a cross hole. When many openings are many round holes, punching metal may be used for the fixing plate 33 having many round holes.

In addition, although the upper surface electron beam sterilizer 6 shown in FIG. It is preferable that an electron beam emitter 65 is provided, and the electron beam emitter 65 irradiates the electron beam 6E to the outer circumference of the star wheel plate 132 (the portion that can come into contact with the object 10 to be sterilized).

Furthermore, the above embodiments and examples are illustrative in all respects and are not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the scope of the claims rather than the above description, and is intended to include all modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the scope of the claims. Of the configurations described in the above embodiments and examples, the configuration other than the configuration described as the first invention in "Means for Solving the Problems" is an arbitrary configuration, and can be deleted and changed as appropriate. is.

3 Lower surface electron beam sterilizer 3E Electron beam 10 Object to be sterilized 13 Lower surface of object to be sterilized 31 Continuous conveying means 32 Conveying direction 33 Fixing plate 34 Electron beam passage area (slit)
35 electron beam emitter 131 star wheel 132 star wheel plate 133 rotating mechanism 135 nozzle type electron beam emitter 136 electron beam generator 137 vacuum chamber 138 electron beam emitter nozzle

Claims (5)

A bottom surface electron beam sterilizer for sterilizing the bottom surface of an object to be sterilized by irradiating it with an electron beam,
a continuous conveying means for continuously conveying objects to be sterilized;
a stationary fixing plate whose upper surface is in contact with the object to be sterilized being conveyed by the continuous conveying means;
an electron beam emitter arranged below the fixing plate and emitting an electron beam upward,
The fixing plate has an electron beam passage area through which the electron beam passes and the entire lower surface of the object to be sterilized being transported is irradiated ,
A bottom surface electron beam sterilization apparatus , wherein the electron beam passage area is smaller than the rest of the area of the upper surface of the fixing plate contacting the sterilization object being conveyed . 2. The bottom surface electron beam sterilizer according to claim 1, wherein the electron beam passage area is an opening of a size that does not allow the transported object to be sterilized to fall. 3. The bottom surface electron beam sterilizer according to claim 2, wherein the opening is a slit whose longitudinal direction is inclined with respect to the direction in which the object to be sterilized is conveyed. The continuous conveying means continuously conveys adjacent objects to be sterilized so as not to contact each other,
4. The bottom surface electron beam sterilizer according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the opening is sized to irradiate the side surfaces of the object being sterilized being conveyed with the electron beam. 5. The bottom surface electron beam sterilizer according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the electron beam emitter has an electron beam emission nozzle for emitting an electron beam from its tip.

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