JP7369218B2 - Circulating cooling system for liquid products containing carbon dioxide gas - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a system for circulating and cooling liquid products containing carbon dioxide gas, such as carbonated drinks.

BACKGROUND ART A carbonated beverage filling system is known in which a carbonated beverage is manufactured by dissolving carbon dioxide gas in a raw material liquid using a carbonator, and the carbonated beverage is sent to a filling machine to be filled into a container (for example, Patent Document 1). The filling machine is provided with a head tank that stores a predetermined amount of carbonated beverage, and the carbonated beverage in the head tank is adjusted to a predetermined pressure.

In such a filling system, if a problem occurs in the filling machine, production is stopped. If production is stopped, the temperature of the carbonated beverage inside the head tank and piping will rise, and carbon dioxide gas will be released. For this reason, carbonated drinks no longer meet the specified gas volume (carbon dioxide content in carbonated drinks) and are discarded. As described above, when the filling machine stops due to trouble or the like, there is a problem in that carbonated drinks are wasted. Note that such a problem exists not only in carbonated beverages but also in liquid products containing carbon dioxide gas.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-122915

In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a circulation cooling system for liquid products containing carbon dioxide that can avoid discarding liquid products before being filled into containers after stopping a filling machine due to trouble or the like. shall be.

One aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object includes: a heat exchanger that cools a raw material liquid; a carbonator that is disposed downstream of the heat exchanger and dissolves carbon dioxide in the raw material liquid to form a liquid product; a cushion tank disposed downstream of the carbonator for storing a liquid product; a filling machine disposed downstream of the cushion tank for filling a container with the liquid product; and a filling machine disposed downstream of the cushion tank for filling the liquid product from the downstream side of the cushion tank. a circulation channel for returning the liquid product to the cushion tank; a switching means for switching the destination of the liquid product stored in the cushion tank to either the filling machine or the circulation channel; a cooling device for cooling the product, the cooling device being a heat exchanger that cools the liquid product flowing from the circulation channel with a refrigerant and returning the liquid product to the circulation channel, and the switching device When the filling machine is in operation, the liquid product from the cushion tank is sent to the filling machine, and when the filling machine is stopped, the liquid product from the cushion tank is sent to the circulation flow path, When the switching means is configured to send the liquid product from the cushion tank to the circulation channel, when the temperature of the liquid product in the cushion tank rises to a certain temperature, the liquid product is circulated to the circulation channel. A circulating cooling system for liquid products containing carbon dioxide gas.

According to the present invention, there is provided a circulation cooling system for liquid products containing carbon dioxide gas, which allows production to be restarted without disposing of the raw material liquid in a state where the raw material liquid is stored in a tank after production has been stopped due to trouble or the like. provided.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a circulation cooling system. It is a figure showing the filling process of a circulation cooling system. It is a figure showing the cooling process of a circulation cooling system.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the form for implementing this invention is demonstrated. In this embodiment, a circulation cooling system will be described that cools a carbonated beverage as a liquid product in which carbon dioxide gas is dissolved in a raw material liquid. Note that the description of the embodiments is merely an example, and the present invention is not limited to the following description.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a circulation cooling system according to this embodiment. The circulation cooling system 1 includes a cooling heat exchanger 10 (hereinafter simply referred to as the heat exchanger 10), a carbonator 2, a cushion tank 3, a filling machine 4, a switching means 5, a pressure regulation device 6, a carbon dioxide gas supply device 7, and a circulation device. It includes a flow path C, a cooling device 8, and a control device 9.

The heat exchanger 10, carbonator 2, cushion tank 3, and filling machine 4 are connected in series via piping, valves (not shown), and the like. A switching means 5 is provided between the cushion tank 3 and the filling machine 4. The piping between the switching means 5 and the filling machine 4 is referred to as a supply line S. Further, a circulation flow path C is provided from the switching means 5 to the cushion tank 3. The switching means 5 sends the carbonated beverage to the supply line S and/or the circulation channel C.

Although not shown, upstream of the heat exchanger 10 there is a device for producing and supplying the raw material liquid. The raw material liquid is a raw material for carbonated drinks, and is a liquid before carbon dioxide gas is dissolved. Further, the raw material liquid is pumped by gas pressure, by a pump, or by providing height differences to various devices.

The heat exchanger 10 is a device that directly or indirectly cools a raw material liquid supplied from a device upstream of the heat exchanger 10 using a refrigerant. The temperature of the raw material liquid at the outlet of the heat exchanger 10 is appropriately set according to the volume of carbon dioxide gas to be dissolved in the carbonator 2 at the subsequent stage.

The carbonator 2 is a device that dissolves carbon dioxide gas in the raw material liquid supplied from the heat exchanger 10 to produce a carbonated beverage. The carbonated beverage produced by the carbonator 2 is sent to a cushion tank 3.

The cushion tank 3 is arranged downstream of the carbonator 2, temporarily stores the carbonated beverage, and supplies the required amount of carbonated beverage to the filling machine 4. Carbon dioxide gas is supplied to the cushion tank 3 at a predetermined pressure from a carbon dioxide gas supply device 7 via a regulator that is an example of a pressure regulating device 6 . Further, a relief valve, which is an example of a pressure regulating device 6, is provided in the cushion tank 3, and the pressure of the carbon dioxide gas in the cushion tank 3 is regulated so as not to exceed a predetermined pressure. With such a pressure regulating device 6, carbon dioxide gas at a predetermined pressure is sealed in the cushion tank 3 in which the carbonated beverage is stored. Note that the carbon dioxide gas supply device 7 is a device for supplying carbon dioxide gas, and since it is a known device, a detailed explanation will be omitted.

The filling machine 4 is a device that is disposed downstream of the cushion tank 3 and fills a container with the carbonated beverage supplied from the carbonator 2. Although not particularly illustrated, the filling machine 4 is provided with a head tank. The head tank is a tank that temporarily stores the carbonated beverage to be sent to each container, and its capacity is generally smaller than that of the cushion tank 3.

The circulation flow path C is constituted by piping that branches from the switching means 5 between the cushion tank 3 and the filling machine 4 and returns the carbonated beverage to the cushion tank 3. The circulation channel C is directly connected to the cushion tank 3 and returns the carbonated beverage to the inside of the cushion tank 3. Note that the connection is not limited to this, and the circulation flow path C may be connected to a pipe connecting the carbonator 2 and the cushion tank 3.

The switching means 5 is a device for switching the destination of the carbonated beverage in the cushion tank 3. The destination is the filling machine 4 or the cushion tank 3 via the circulation channel C. The switching means 5 is configured to be able to send the entire amount of carbonated beverage to either the filling machine 4 or the cushion tank 3. In addition to such a configuration, the switching means 5 may be configured to be able to send part of the carbonated beverage to the filling machine 4 and the rest to the cushion tank 3. The specific device configuration of the switching means 5 is a closed type pipe switching device (manufactured by Iwai Kikai Kogyo Co., Ltd.; Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-2003) that automatically switches the destination while keeping the carbonated beverage sterile so that it does not come into contact with the outside air. -267492) can be used. Further, the present invention is not limited to this device, and a valve provided to send liquid from the cushion tank 3 to the filling machine 4 and/or the circulation channel C can be adopted as the other switching means 5.

The cooling device 8 is a device that cools the carbonated beverage flowing through the circulation channel C. Specifically, the heat exchanger is a plate type heat exchanger, a shell tube type heat exchanger, etc., which cools the carbonated beverage flowing from the circulation channel C with a refrigerant, and returns the carbonated beverage to the circulation channel C. As the cushion tank 3 and the circulation channel C absorb heat from the atmosphere, the temperature of the carbonated beverage flowing through them increases, but the cooling device 8 sets the temperature and flow rate of the refrigerant so as to cool down the temperature increase. put.

The control device 9 is a device also called a programmable logic controller (PLC) or a sequencer. The control device 9 executes the carbonated beverage filling process and cooling process by controlling the various devices described above that constitute the circulation cooling system 1 .

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the filling process of the circulation cooling system. Arrows indicate the flow of raw material liquid and carbonated beverage. In the filling process, the switching means 5 sends the carbonated beverage from the cushion tank 3 to the filling machine 4 . As a result, carbon dioxide gas is dissolved in the raw material liquid by the carbonator 2 to form a carbonated beverage, which is temporarily stored in the cushion tank 3 and sent to the filling machine 4 to be filled into a container.

More specifically, in the filling process, the switching means 5 switches to the supply line S, and the entire amount of carbonated beverage is sent from the cushion tank 3 to the filling machine 4. In this case, it is preferable to provide the circulation channel C with a gradient so that the carbonated beverage flows into the downstream cushion tank 3. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the carbonated beverage from staying in the circulation channel C for a long time.

Further, although not shown, in the filling process, the switching means 5 may send carbonated beverage to both the supply line S and the circulation channel C. That is, a portion of the carbonated beverage may be sent to the filling machine 4, and the remainder (less than the amount distributed to the filling machine 4) may be sent to the circulation channel C. By allowing a small amount of carbonated beverage to flow through the circulation channel C, it is possible to prevent the carbonated beverage from staying in the circulation channel C for a long time.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the cooling process of the circulation cooling system. Arrows indicate the flow of raw material liquid and carbonated beverage. When there is a problem in the filling machine 4 or the like, the control device 9 stops the supply of raw material liquid to devices upstream of the carbonator 2 or the like. Due to such a stop of the filling process, the supply of new carbonated beverage from the carbonator 2 to the cushion tank 3 is stopped.

Next, the control device 9 executes a cooling process. Specifically, the control device 9 causes the switching means 5 to switch the destination for sending the entire amount of carbonated beverage to the circulation channel C. In such a cooling process, the carbonated beverage temporarily stored in the cushion tank 3 during the filling process is circulated from the switching means 5 to the circulation channel C to the cushion tank 3.

An example of a method for circulating the carbonated beverage through the circulation channel C is to constantly circulate the carbonated beverage through the circulation channel C. Other methods include circulating the carbonated beverage through the circulation path C at regular intervals, or circulating the carbonated beverage through the circulation path C once the temperature of the carbonated beverage in the cushion tank 3 has risen to a certain temperature.

By performing the cooling process, the carbonated beverage is cooled by the cooling device 8, so that it is possible to suppress release of carbon dioxide gas from the carbonated beverage. In addition, since the lower the temperature of a carbonated beverage, the more carbon dioxide gas dissolves therein, by returning the cooled carbonated beverage to the cushion tank 3, the carbon dioxide gas is dissolved and the carbonated beverage can be maintained at a desired gas volume.

As explained above, in the circulation cooling system 1, the switching means 5 switches the destination of the carbonated beverage stored in the cushion tank 3 from the filling machine 4 to the circulation channel C, and the cooling device 8 cools the carbonated beverage. It can be circulated to the cushion tank 3 later. Since the carbonated beverage can be cooled in this manner, it is possible to suppress the release of carbon dioxide gas from the carbonated beverage and maintain the carbonated beverage containing a specified gas volume of carbon dioxide gas.

Further, the circulation cooling system 1 cools the carbonated beverage flowing through the circulation channel C using the cooling device 8 . The cooling device 8 provided in such a circulation channel C can cool the carbonated beverage more efficiently than a configuration in which the cushion tank 3 is provided with a jacket through which a refrigerant flows. Furthermore, the cooling device 8 allows the gas volume of the carbonated beverage held in the circulation channel C to be maintained. In addition to cooling by the cooling device 8 provided in the circulation channel C, the cushion tank 3 may be cooled by the above-mentioned jacket.

In the conventional configuration without the circulation flow path C, when the filling machine 4 is stopped, the carbonated beverage in the cushion tank 3 releases carbon dioxide gas as the temperature rises, and the gas volume of carbon dioxide gas is less than the specified value. Therefore, it was necessary to discard it.

On the other hand, the switching means 5 of the circulation cooling system 1 sets the carbonated beverage from the cushion tank 3 to the filling machine 4 when the filling machine 4 is in operation (FIG. 2), and sets the destination of the carbonated beverage from the cushion tank 3 to the filling machine 4 when the filling machine 4 is stopped. The carbonated beverage is sent to the circulation channel C (FIG. 3). Even when the filling machine 4 is stopped in this manner, since the carbon dioxide gas is cooled, it is possible to maintain a carbonated beverage containing a specified gas volume of carbon dioxide. Further, there is no need to dispose of the carbonated beverage in the cushion tank 3 as in the conventional case. Furthermore, since the filling process can be restarted without discarding the carbonated beverage, the time required to restore the filling process can be shortened.

The timing at which the switching means 5 switches the destination of the carbonated beverage to the circulation channel C is not limited to after the filling machine 4 is stopped as described above, and can be switched at any timing. For example, in the early stage of carbonated beverage production, if the carbonated beverage produced by the carbonator 2 does not satisfy a specified gas volume, the liquid is sent to the circulation channel C and cooled. As a result, even if a carbonated beverage with less than the specified gas volume is produced at the beginning of production, the carbonated beverage with the specified gas volume can be obtained without being discarded. Note that whether or not the carbonated beverage satisfies the specified gas volume can be measured using a known measuring device.

The circulation cooling system 1 also includes a pressure regulator 6 and a carbon dioxide supply device 7. Thereby, carbon dioxide gas can be dissolved in the carbonated beverage in the cushion tank 3, and a prescribed gas volume can be maintained more reliably.

Further, the circulation cooling system 1 is capable of adjusting the pressure of carbon dioxide gas in the cushion tank 3, which is set by a pressure regulator 6. This pressure may be set according to the gas volume of carbon dioxide gas contained in the carbonated beverage, but as an example, it is preferable to set the pressure of carbon dioxide gas lower than when cooling is not performed by the cooling device 8. .

The case where cooling by the cooling device 8 is not performed is a conventional filling system in which the carbonator 2, the cushion tank 3, and the filling machine 4 are connected in series without the circulation flow path C and the cooling device 8. . In such a conventional filling system, the pressure of carbon dioxide gas in the cushion tank 3 is set to be high, assuming that the carbonated beverage will be stored in the cushion tank 3 for a long time when the filling machine 4 stops. . Such high pressure suppresses the release of carbon dioxide gas due to temperature rise.

On the other hand, in the circulation cooling system 1 of the present invention, the release of carbon dioxide is suppressed by cooling with the cooling device 8, so there is no need to set the carbon dioxide in the cushion tank 3 to a high level. In other words, compared to the case where the cooling device 8 does not perform cooling, it is possible to operate the cushion tank 3 with a lower pressure of carbon dioxide gas. Therefore, there is no need to increase the pressure resistance of the cushion tank 3, and costs can be reduced.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments.
In the above-mentioned circulation cooling system 1, the circulation flow path C was configured to return the carbonated beverage to the cushion tank 3, but the structure is not limited to this. For example, the circulation channel C may be configured to return to the carbonator 2. That is, the circulation channel C is not limited to the case where the carbonated beverage is returned directly to the cushion tank 3, but may be returned to a device upstream from the cushion tank 3.

Although the above-mentioned circulation cooling system 1 has a configuration in which the cushion tank 3, the switching means 5, and the filling machine 4 are connected, the present invention is not limited thereto. A filter device, a temporary storage tank, etc. may be provided between these devices.

Although the above-mentioned circulation cooling system 1 was equipped with the pressure regulator 6 and the carbon dioxide supply device 7, it is not necessary to include them. This is because if the carbonated beverage is sufficiently cooled by the cooling device 8, the release of carbon dioxide gas can be suppressed even without supplying carbon dioxide gas to the cushion tank 3 at a predetermined pressure.

Although the above-mentioned circulation cooling system 1 produces carbonated drinks, it is not limited to this, and can be applied to the production of any liquid product containing carbon dioxide gas.

C... Circulation channel, S... Supply line, 1... Circulating cooling system, 2... Carbonator, 3... Cushion tank, 4... Filling machine, 5... Switching means, 6... Pressure regulator, 7... Carbon dioxide gas supply device, 8...Cooling device, 9...Control device

Claims (3)

A heat exchanger that cools the raw material liquid,
a carbonator disposed downstream of the heat exchanger, which dissolves carbon dioxide in the raw material liquid to produce a liquid product;
a cushion tank arranged downstream of the carbonator and storing a liquid product;
a filling machine that is disposed downstream of the cushion tank and fills a container with a liquid product;
a circulation flow path that returns the liquid product from the downstream side of the cushion tank to the cushion tank;
a switching means for switching the destination of the liquid product stored in the cushion tank to either the filling machine or the circulation channel;
A cooling device that cools the liquid product flowing through the circulation flow path,
The cooling device is a heat exchanger that cools the liquid product flowing from the circulation flow path with a refrigerant and returns the liquid product to the circulation flow path,
The switching means is
While the filling machine is in operation, the liquid product in the cushion tank is sent to the filling machine,
While the filling machine is stopped, the liquid product in the cushion tank is sent to the circulation channel,
When the switching means is configured to send the liquid product from the cushion tank to the circulation channel, when the temperature of the liquid product in the cushion tank rises to a certain temperature, the liquid product is circulated to the circulation channel. let
A circulation cooling system for liquid products containing carbon dioxide gas. The circulation cooling system for liquid products containing carbon dioxide according to claim 1,
a carbon dioxide gas supply device that supplies carbon dioxide gas to the cushion tank;
A circulation cooling system for liquid products containing carbon dioxide, comprising: a pressure regulating device that regulates the pressure of carbon dioxide in the cushion tank to a predetermined pressure. The circulation cooling system for liquid products containing carbon dioxide according to claim 2,
A liquid product containing carbon dioxide gas, wherein the pressure regulating device lowers the pressure of carbon dioxide gas when cooling is performed by the cooling device, compared to when cooling is not performed by the cooling device. circulation cooling system.

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