JPH03290226A - Blow-molding of sterilized vessel and its filling method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the taste of a content from being deteriorated, while the cost of the device which constitutes its process is lowered by a method in which after a premolded object has been sterilized by sterilizing liquid, it is orientated and blow- molded by blowing sterilized pressure gas, and then a molded vessel is filled with filling liquid, and these each process is successively carried out. CONSTITUTION:When a transferring rod 9 is chipped in sterilizing liquid 11, the parison 5 fitted to the dipped transferring rod 9 is sterilized and simultaneously is heated near glass transition temperature. The parison is pulled up from the sterilizing liquid 11 by the rotation of a transferring belt 8, and drying air is ejected to the inner surface of the parison 5 from an ejecting hole 9b, and further drying air is blown thereonto also from an air ejecting device 60, thereby removing the sterilizing liquid perfectly. Next, the parison is transferred to a temperature regulating wheel 15, and infrared rays are radiated on the parison 5 fitted onto a mandrel 17 from temperature-regulating heater zone 16, and then the parison is heated again. Sterilized pressurized gas is compressed into the parison 5 fitted into a mold 21, and the parison is biaxially orientated and blow-molded. A molded vessel 23 is transferred to a rotary filling process 3 and is filled with filling liquid, and then a preliminarily sterilized cap is fitted onto the vessel.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a method for blow molding and filling a sterile container, in which a preform is sterilized and then blow-molded and the container is filled with a filling liquid.

[Conventional technology]

Biaxially stretched and blown containers such as PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles are given heat resistance.
These blow-molded containers are sterilized by filling them with high-temperature filling liquid and inverting them for a certain period of time. or,
After a container is formed by biaxial stretch blow molding, the inside of the container is sterilized with a sterilizing liquid, and after the sterilizing liquid is removed and washed, the container is filled with a sterilized filling liquid and sealed.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, in this conventional method of sterilizing containers and filling them with filling liquid, it is necessary to increase the weight of blow-molded containers such as PET bottles in order to provide heat resistance against hot filling. There was a problem in that the overall cost was high because of the need to heat set the blue color. In addition, blow-molded containers such as PET bottles need to be provided with a vacuum absorbing panel or the like in the shape of the container in order to resist deformation caused by heat shrinkage after hot filling, which poses design constraints.

Furthermore, when a PET bottle or a blow-molded container is heated to a high temperature for hot filling, the quality of the filling deteriorates due to the high temperature state, resulting in an unavoidable deterioration of taste such as aroma and flavor.

On the other hand, if the inside of a blow-molded container is sterilized with a sterilizing liquid and then a cleaning liquid is poured into the container for cleaning, a large amount of sterilizing liquid, cleaning liquid, etc. are required, which increases the cost. Further, there is a problem in that a large space is required for the equipment required for the sterilization and cleaning steps. In addition, in order to quickly flow the sterilizing liquid and cleaning liquid into and out of the container and to eliminate residual liquid, the diameter of the opening of the container must be made large, which also reduces the weight of the container. There was also the problem of an increase in

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to solve these problems, the present invention sterilizes a preform with a simple shape and a small surface area and volume to be sterilized using a sterilizing solution, and removes the sterilization adhering to the preform. The liquid is removed, the preform is heated to a temperature suitable for stretching, the preform is mounted in a mold, and sterile pressurized gas is blown into the mold to perform stretch blow molding.
This stretch-blow-molded container was filled with a filling liquid, and these steps were performed continuously.

[Effect]

The preform is transported to a sterilization process and sterilized with a sterilization solution. Next, the preform is dried by blowing heated drying air or the like to remove the sterilizing liquid, and the preform is preheated. In this way, the sterilization of the preform and the removal of the sterilizing liquid are carried out in a consistent manner. The preform is transported from the sterilization step to the stretch blowing step, heated and controlled to a temperature suitable for stretching by a temperature control heater zone, etc., and then mounted in a mold for blow molding. Sterile pressurized gas is pressurized into the parison attached to this mold and stretch blow molding is performed. The stretch-blow-molded container is transported to a filling process, and a sterilized room-temperature filling liquid is filled into the container. The sterilization process, the stretching blow process, and the previous process are all performed in a sterile chamber under positive pressure with sterile air.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained based on the drawings.

FIGS. 1 and 1 are diagrams showing a first embodiment of the method for blow molding and filling a sterile container according to the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the blow molding and filling method for this sterile container includes a sterilization step 1 in which a parison (preform) is sterilized, and a rotary stretch blow step 2 in which this parison is biaxially stretch blow molded. , a rotary filling step 3 in which the blow molded container is filled with a sterile filling liquid, and a rotary capping step 4 in which the container filled with the filling liquid is capped.

In the sterilization process 1, the thermoplastic plastic parison 5 conveyed to this process has a substantially bottomed round shape as shown in FIG. It has a bottom portion 5C.

Examples will be described below regarding the case where polyethylene terephthalate is used as the thermoplastic plastic. On the other hand, a chain-shaped conveyance belt 8 is stretched between the pair of sprockets 6.7, and a conveyance rod 9 is provided on the conveyance belt 8. When the parison 5 is sequentially conveyed to the conveyance belt 8 while being held by the conveyance belt 55, the parison 5 is reversed by a reversing mechanism (not shown) by the feeding mechanism 10, and is placed on the conveyance rod 9 from above as shown in FIG. It will be installed. The parison 5 has a degree of freedom and is movable with respect to the transport rod 9, that is, it is in a free state in which the parison 5 is not even partially gripped (or clamped).

The lower half of the conveyor belt 8 has a glass transition temperature (approximately 60 to 70°C).
) is immersed in a sterilizing solution 11 of hydrogen peroxide solution (otherwise, peracetic acid solution or chlorine solution, etc.) heated to a temperature below . When the conveyance belt 8 is rotated, the parisons 5 attached to the conveyance rod 9 provided on the upper half side of the conveyance belt 8 are sequentially immersed in the sterilizing liquid 11 as shown in FIG. , as the bottom portion 5C of the parison 5 faces downward, it becomes likely to come off from the conveyor rod 9. Therefore, a slide surface 12 is provided opposite to the top portion 9a of the transport rod 9 which is provided below the transport belt 8 and is immersed in the sterilizing solution 1. For this reason,
The bottom part 9a of the parison 5 attached to the transport rod 9 is in sliding contact with the slide surface 12, and the parison 5 is attached to the transport rod 9.
This prevents it from coming off. When the transport rod 9 is immersed in the sterilizing liquid 11, the immersed transport rod 9
The parison 5 attached to the glass is sterilized and heated to around the glass transition temperature. At this time, since the parison is not heated above its glass transition temperature, no deformation of the parison occurs.

The parison 5 attached to the conveyor rod 9 is lifted up from the sterilizing liquid 11 by the rotation of the conveyor belt 8, and when it is positioned above the conveyor belt 8, heated drying air is force-fed to the conveyor rod 9. Dry air is ejected toward the inner surface of the parison 5 from the ejection holes 9b formed in the transport rod 9. This dry air may be blown into the parison from injection holes outside the parison. At the same time, an air blowing device 60°6 is provided outside the parison 5 on both sides of the conveyor belt 8.
Dry air is blown from the parison 5, and the sterilizing liquid 1↓ is completely removed from the parison 5, resulting in a sterile state. At this time, the temperature of the drying air is controlled to be below the glass transition temperature (60 to 70°C), and the parison is preheated at the same time as the sterilizing liquid is dried and removed while preventing deformation of the parison.

Since the parison 5 is sterilized and dried in this way, the sterilization time is shortened and a large amount of cleaning liquid is not required. Furthermore, since heating and sterilization of the parison 5 are performed substantially simultaneously, energy and space savings can be realized. Furthermore, the parison 5 is smaller than a blow-molded container and has a simple inner surface with no constrictions, so it is easy to sterilize with a sterilizing solution and dry. Further, since the parison 5 is free from the conveyor rod 9 as described above, the drying air can hit the entire inner surface of the parison 5.

A rotary stretching and blowing process 2 is adjacent to the sterilization process 1, and the parison 5 attached to the conveyance rod 9 from the sterilization process 1 is conveyed by a first parison delivery mechanism 13. When the parison 5 is carried into the rotary stretching and blowing step 2, a mandrel cooled to below the glass transition temperature is attached to the mouth portion 5a, and then further conveyed to the temperature control wheel 15 by the second parison delivery mechanism 14. .

A substantially arc-shaped temperature control heater zone 16 is provided on the outer peripheral side of the temperature control wheel 15. As shown in FIG. 7, infrared rays (other than hot air) are irradiated from the temperature control heater zone 16 to the parison 5 attached to the low-temperature mandrel ↑7, and the bottom portion 5c and body portion 5b are heated to a temperature higher than the glass transition temperature. It is reheated to a temperature suitable for stretching (approximately 90° to ↑20°). The mouth portion 5a of the parison 5 attached to the mandrel 17 is the shielding plate 1
8 prevents reheating and prevents deformation of the mouth portion 5a.

The parison 5 whose temperature has been controlled in this way is conveyed to the stretching prowess wheel 20 by the third parison delivery mechanism 19, and is attached to the blow molding mold 21 arranged upward as shown in FIG. be done. Sterile pressurized gas is pressurized into the parison 5 attached to the mold 21, and the parison 5 is brought into close contact with the inner wall surface of the mold 21 while being guided by the stretching rod 22 and subjected to biaxial stretch blow molding. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the container 23 is formed in the shape of a bottle.
becomes. The container 23 formed in this way is transferred to the mandrel 1 by the ↓ container delivery mechanism 24.
7 and transported to the rotary filling process 3.

The container 23 transported to the rotary filling process 3 is transported to the filling wheel 27 by the star wheels 25 and 26 for the first feeder, and as shown in FIG. 10, the container 23 is filled with a sterilized filling liquid 27 at room temperature. Filled by nozzle n. Since the container 23 is filled with a filling liquid at room temperature, there is no need for a vacuum absorption panel or the like required for conventional hot filling, eliminating design constraints. Further, since the filling liquid may be kept at room temperature, the filling liquid is prevented from deteriorating in quality, and deterioration in taste such as aroma and flavor can be avoided. The container 23 filled with the filling liquid 27 is further conveyed from the first unfeeder star wheel 29 to the capping wheel 31 by the second feeder star wheel 30, and as shown in FIG.
A cap 32 that has been sterilized in advance is attached to the container 3, and then transported to the outside by a star wheel 33 for the second unfeeder. In this way, since the process from the parison to filling the stretch-blow-molded container with the filling liquid is carried out in an integrated manner, it is possible to significantly reduce the space required for equipment that constitutes these steps, the stock of bottles, etc.

In addition, the sterilization step 1, the rotary stretch blowing step 2,
Rotary filling process 3, rotary capping process 4
The procedure is carried out in a sterile chamber with positive air pressure.

Next, a second embodiment of the method for blow molding a sterile container according to the present invention is shown in FIGS. 12 and 13.

Like the first embodiment, this second embodiment also includes a sterilization step 1, a rotary stretching and blowing step 2, a rotary filling step 3, a rotary capping step 4, and the like. In this embodiment, especially in the rotary stretch blow process 2, the temperature control heater zones 41a and 41b are arranged in parallel as a pair, and the parison 5 is biaxially stretch blow molded downward after separating the mandrel. I try to do that. In the first and second embodiments, the parison is sterilized with the sterilizing liquid by immersing the parison in the sterilizing liquid, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the parison is sterilized with the sterilizing liquid using a spray nozzle. Methods such as spraying or showering of sterilizing liquid using a spray nozzle may also be used.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, stretch-blow-molded containers such as PET bottles are not sterilized by hot filling, so there is no need to increase their weight or heat set them in order to impart heat resistance. Therefore, the cost of the equipment constituting the process according to this method can be reduced. Furthermore, there is no need to provide a pressure reduction panel or the like to resist deformation caused by heat shrinkage during bottle filling, and the design is not subject to Φ restrictions. Furthermore, since the filling is filled at room temperature, it is possible to prevent the deterioration of taste such as fragrance and flavor due to deterioration of the quality of the filling.

On the other hand, preforms with small volumes and surface areas and simple shapes can be sterilized and dried quickly and easily, so there is no need to sterilize and dry containers with large volumes and complex shapes as final products. The equipment space required for the sterilization and drying processes is small. In addition, the diameter of the mouth of the container can be reduced without increasing the weight of the container.

Furthermore, since parisons are used as materials before entering the filling process, rather than blow-molded bottles, storage and distribution costs can be significantly reduced.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 11 are diagrams showing a first embodiment of the method for blow molding and filling a sterile container according to the present invention, and FIGS. 1 to 11 are perspective views showing each step of this method, and A plan view, Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the parison, Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the parison attached to the transport rod, Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the parison immersed in a sterilizing solution, and Fig. 6 is a drying of the parison. 7 is a diagram showing a state in which the parison is being heated; FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the parison in a blow-molded state; FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a blow-molded container; 11 is a diagram showing a state in which a container is filled with a filling liquid, FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a state in which a cap is attached to a container, and FIGS. 12 and 13 are diagrams showing the second embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view and a plan view shown. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Sterilization process, 2... Rotary stretching blow process, 3... Rotary filling process, 4... Rotary capping process, 5... Parison, 11... Sterilizing liquid, 21... Gold Mold, 28...Filling liquid.

Claims (1)

[Claims] The preform is sterilized with a sterilizing liquid, the sterilizing liquid adhering to the preform is removed, the preform is heated to a temperature suitable for stretching, and the preform is mounted in a mold. A method for blow molding and filling a sterile container, which comprises stretching blow molding by blowing sterile pressurized gas into the container, filling the stretch blow molded container with a filling liquid, and performing these steps continuously.