JPH01247071A - Microwave heating sterilizing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To lessen temperature variability in a packed material, by equipping partially heating parts having wave guides irradiating different positions in the transfer direction making a packed material come close to before and behind an inverting part to invert a supporting material and in the direction perpendicular to the transfer direction with microwave. CONSTITUTION:A material to be sterilized by microwave is packed into a container or bag to give a packed material, which is stored in a supporting material A made of a material capable of transmitting microwave, irradiated with microwave by microwave oscillators 10A1-10A4, heated and sterilized while being transferred. Partial heating parts 1A1 and 1A2 having wave guides 11A1-11A4 to irradiate different positions in the transfer direction making the packed material come close to before and behind an inverting part 1B to invert the supporting material A and in the direction perpendicular to the transfer direction. Consequently, temperature variability in the packed material in microwave heating sterilization of continuous type can be lessened, deterioration of qualities by overheating is prevented and short-time uniform heating is made possible.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a microwave heat sterilization device,
In particular, the present invention relates to a microwave heating sterilizer that reduces variation in heating temperature during sterilization of objects to be sterilized.

<Prior art and its problems> Many methods have already been reported in which a bag or container is filled with the object to be sterilized and is continuously heated and sterilized using microwaves. The heating temperature during sterilization of the package tends to be higher at the periphery and lower at the center. This tendency is particularly high for objects to be sterilized, such as solid objects or highly viscous products where convection does not occur, and therefore, in actual sterilization, it is necessary to control the temperature at the heating temperature in the center where the temperature is lower. As a result, the peripheral area, where the temperature is high, becomes overheated, which has an adverse effect on quality.

On the other hand, when the above-mentioned package is housed in a support made of a microwave-transmissible material and heated, the peripheral edges of the package have a small heat capacity, and heat is transferred from the part that is in contact with the support, and heat is dissipated from the gap. As a result, the temperature was lower than that in the center.

This tendency is especially noticeable near the sealing part of the package.Also, it is possible to irradiate microwaves intermittently and make the temperature of the package uniform through heat conduction when not irradiated, but convection For objects to be sterilized that do not cause sterilization, at least 3 minutes are required to eliminate a temperature difference of 10'C, making short-time heating, which is a characteristic of microwave heating, impossible.

<Problems to be solved by the invention> The present invention takes advantage of the characteristics of short-time heating using microwaves,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a microwave heat sterilization method that can minimize the final temperature variation of objects to be sterilized within a package.

<Means for solving the problem> A package containing a microwave-heatable object to be sterilized in a container or bag is stored in a support made of a microwave-transmissible material, and the microwave is applied while being transported. In an apparatus for irradiating and heating sterilization, a micro-heater is provided with a partial heating section consisting of a waveguide installed at a location close to the packaging body before and after an inversion section for inverting the support and in a direction different from the direction perpendicular to the transport direction. This is a wave heating sterilizer.

Further, when heat sterilizing a large package for business use, etc., a plurality of different positions may be sequentially irradiated in a direction perpendicular to the direction of transport by adjacent waveguides.

In the first and second partial heating sections, the waveguide extends close to the package and alternately irradiates the front and back of the package with different amounts of light in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction. The irradiated microwaves are not diffused and are directly absorbed not only in the central part of the package but also in the peripheral edges that come into contact with the support.

In addition, since the waveguide in the reversal part does not extend inward, the irradiated microwave is diffused and absorbed throughout the package, centering on the periphery, and is absorbed by the center, periphery, and peripheral edge. temperature difference is eliminated.

<Example> Fig. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a microwave heat sterilizer according to an example of the present invention.
Microwave oscillator 1081.10A2.10B, 1
Microwave from 0A3.10A4 to waveguide 1) All
Ag, 1) A3.1) A first partial heating section IA1 irradiated via A4, an inversion section 1B equipped with an inversion mechanism, and a second partial heating section IAz are provided in this order, and the first and second partial heating sections IAI, IA2 waveguide 1)AI, 1)^2.1)A
3.1) A4 extends to a position close to the transport path.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 2 in the inversion section IB, the waveguide 1)B is located on the chamber wall portion, making it possible to heat the entire inversion section IB.

The support A containing the package is then supplied to the conveyor 8, passed through the microwave trap 5, and conveyed to the first heating section IAt, where one side of the package is partially heated, and the next Then, it is reversed at the reversing section and the second partial heating section IA
The other side of the package is partially heated at z and the sterilized package is removed again through the microwave trap 7.

Here, the distance between the microwave irradiation port of the waveguide 1)A1.1)Az, 1)Az, 1)A4 in the first and second partial heating parts IA+ and IAi and the package is 10 to 50 mm.
This can be done by moving the waveguide within a range of 1. The size of the irradiation port of the waveguide can be adjusted by changing the size of the slit attached to the irradiation port.

As shown in FIG. 3, the waveguides 1)A+, 1IA2.1) of the first partial heating section lA1 and the second partial heating section IAg
A3.1) A4 is a structure that irradiates positions equidistantly apart in opposite directions perpendicular to the conveyance direction.

In addition, in order to partially heat the first and second parts, the wrapping is moved intermittently, and the waveguide 1)A+"
``''1) It is effective to stop the support A so that it is directly above the irradiation port of A4.

In the case of a large package, the positions of the waveguides in the plurality of partial heating sections may be changed, or different positions may be irradiated in each partial heating section.

For example, in a bag-shaped package B as shown in FIG. In the inversion section 1B shown in FIG. 2, the entire area including the peripheral area is irradiated and heated.

In addition, as a reversing mechanism in the reversing part IB, for example, as shown in FIG.
, 16B are provided protrudingly. And guide rail 1
4 has an inversion part 33 which is located outside the support body in the inversion position, has both sides inclined, and is provided with a high sliding surface 31 and an inversion groove 32.

The conveyance unit 20 is constructed such that attachments 21 that come into contact with a support shaft are attached to the drive chain 15 at regular intervals.

Next, the inverted state will be explained with reference to the drawings.

First, as shown in FIG. 6(a), when the support body A is being conveyed horizontally, the support body A is positioned on the guide rail 14, the attachment 21 is in contact with the lower support shaft 16B, and the support body A is conveyed.

In the position of the reversing part 13 as shown in FIG. ,simultaneous(
When the attachment 21 enters the reversal groove 12 as shown in C), the attachment 21 keeps pushing the support shaft 16B and is reversed so that the center of gravity of the support A moves so that the support shaft 16B is in front.

At this time, the attachment 21 is pushed up along the shape of the reversal groove, as shown in FIG.

While repeating the above operation as many times as necessary inside the cavity, sterilize the cavity by irradiating it with microwaves.

Effects> According to the device of the present invention, the temperature difference between the same side and each part of the front and back is small during heating one side of the package one by one with microwaves, and the temperature difference is also small at the end of heating.
Microwave irradiation enables uniform heating, which was impossible with conventional microwave heat sterilization.

This makes it possible to reduce temperature variations within the package during continuous microwave heat sterilization, prevents quality deterioration due to excessive heating, and enables uniform heating in a short period of time.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 and 2 are explanatory diagrams showing an example of the microwave heat sterilization apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the state of the waveguide of the partial heating section in FIGS. 1 and 2. figure,
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the irradiation area in the partial heating section of the package, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the reversing mechanism in the reversing section, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the reversing state of the reversing mechanism of FIG. 5. It is a diagram. 1^1...First partial heating section IAz...Second partial heating section 1B...Inversion section 10A1 to 10A1, IOB...Microwave oscillator 1) AI ~1) A4.1) B... Waveguide A...
・Supports a, b...irradiation section 1A+ IB 1) A2> 9
9 Figure 3 Figure 5 Figure 6

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) A package containing a microwave-heatable object to be sterilized in a container or bag is stored in a support made of a material that can transmit microwaves, and is irradiated with microwaves while being transported to heat sterilize it. A microwave heating sterilization device comprising: a partial heating section having a waveguide that irradiates different points in the vicinity of the package in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction before and after an inversion section for inverting the support. (2) The microwave heat sterilizer according to claim (1), wherein the package is transferred intermittently. (3) The microwave heating sterilization device according to claim (1) or claim (2), wherein the heating is performed at a plurality of different locations by adjacent waveguides. (4) The microwave heat sterilizer according to claim (1), wherein the reversing section is provided with a waveguide for heating the entire package.