JPH0339889B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method of filling a packaging container with heated contents.

Generally, when food and drink are filled and packaged in a packaging container, the contents of the food and drink are heated and sterilized, and then the packaging container (container) is filled and sealed to ensure long-term storage. In this case, in order to reduce the invasion of bacteria into the container, it is desirable to seal the container immediately after filling the heated contents. However, when the container is sealed in a heated state, the pressure inside the container decreases as the contents cool, and in the case of paper containers or the like that are weak in strength, the container may dent due to the pressure drop. Therefore, the appearance may deteriorate and the product value may be lost.

Therefore, the present applicant has already proposed a filling and packaging method that prevents the occurrence of dents in the container and does not reduce the sterilizing effect by sealing the container lid immediately after filling the contents. That is, in this method, a ventilation hole is provided in advance in the vicinity of the container opening of the container body or in the container lid, which is closed with a filter that is air permeable and impermeable to fungi. Therefore, even if the container is sealed immediately after being filled with heated contents, the outside air will flow into the container through the filter, so the container will not deform even when the container is cooled, and the filter will not deform. Since it does not allow fungi to pass through, the intended purpose can be achieved without any fungi entering the container. Further, in this method, the vent hole is closed with a sealing member while the container is cooled to about room temperature, and the inflow and outflow of gas is stopped. Furthermore, in this proposal, the applicant also proposed that the container be cooled with water or air in an arbitrary gas atmosphere when cooling the container, thereby filling the container with an arbitrary gas at the same time as cooling. We are trying to preserve it for a long time.

However, in this method of cooling the container and simultaneously allowing gas to flow into the container, a new problem has arisen as shown below.

(1) When improving cooling efficiency, the amount of cooling per unit time increases, so the rate of pressure drop inside the container also increases. Therefore, in order to prevent the container from deforming, it is necessary to increase the amount of gas flowing through the filter, but since the filter has a filtration structure, the gas flow resistance is large. In order to suppress the pressure drop inside the container, it is necessary to increase the filter area. However, since this type of filter, which is air permeable and impermeable to fungi, is expensive, it is not preferable to use a large amount of filters because this leads to a rise in packaging costs.

(2) If water adheres to the outside of the filter, gas inflow efficiency will be significantly reduced, and if the entire filter is covered with water, gas inflow will stop.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to improve the packaging speed without increasing the packaging cost in a method for filling and packaging heated contents, and to achieve mass processing.

In order to achieve such an object, the present invention provides a step of preparing a packaging container in which the container body or the container lid is provided with a ventilation hole that is blocked by an air-permeable filter that is impermeable to fungi; A step of filling the heated contents into the main body, a step of sealing the container main body with a container lid without blocking the ventilation hole, a step of cooling the container to cool the contents to room temperature, and a step of cooling the container to room temperature. a step of sealing the pores with a sealing body;
In the filling and packaging method, when the container is cooled, cooling is performed such that the amount of decrease in the volume of the container due to cooling becomes larger than the amount of gas flowing in from the vent hole, and then the container vent hole is pressurized. The present invention is described below with reference to Examples.The present invention is described below with reference to Examples.

FIGS. 1a to 1d are explanatory cross-sectional views showing a heated contents filling and packaging method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The packaging container (container) 1 of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. The container main body 2 is composed of a cylindrical body 5 and a bottom plate 6 having a circumferential fitting portion having a U-shaped cross section fitted and fixed to the lower end of the cylinder body 5. In addition, the container lid 4
It has a fitting groove 7 on its periphery which is folded back into a U-shaped cross section and fits into the periphery of the container opening 3, and a ventilation hole 8 is provided in the center. This ventilation hole 8 is
There are commercially available filters 9 that allow gases such as air to pass through but do not filter bacteria, etc. (For example, there is "Cellpore NW-01" (registered trademark of Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd.), which can be filtered by means such as heat sealing. Easy to paste. } is blocked. This filter 9 is attached to the inner surface of the container lid 4. Further, each part of the container is formed by cutting, molding, and heat-sealing a suitable laminate sheet. For example, as the laminate sheet, polyethylene 20μ/paper 300g/m ² /polyethylene 20μ/aluminum 9μ/polyethylene 60μ or polyethylene 50μ/aluminum 130μ/polyethylene 100μ or the like is used. Each part of the container must not be made of a material that would deteriorate the quality of the contents, and must not be deteriorated by heat during filling.

Next, a method for filling and packaging the contents will be explained. First, as shown in Figure a, after filling the container body 2 of the container 1 with the contents 10 in a heated state,
The container lid 4 is directly attached to the container mouth 3 of the container body 2 as shown by the arrow, and sealed by heat sealing. As a result, germs will not enter the container 1 from the outside, and contamination of the contents can be prevented.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 1B, this container 1 is placed directly on the carry-in end of the conveyor 12 in the water tank 11. The container 1 is rapidly cooled down to about room temperature by the cooling water 13 in the water tank 11 while being conveyed to the discharge end by the drive of the conveyor 12. Note that during this cooling, the container 1 is turned upside down and placed so that the vent hole 8 enters the cooling water 13. As a result, since the filter 9, which does not transmit anything other than gas, serves as one wall of the container 1, the volume of the contents 10 and the container 1 due to cooling decreases.
The internal pressure of the container 1 becomes a reduced pressure state. The paper container, which is weak in strength, is unable to withstand the force of this pressure reduction (pressure drop) and dents.

Next, the container 1, which has been deformed into a dent, is taken out from the water tank 11, and immediately, as shown in c in the same figure,
A cover 14 is disposed to cover the ventilation hole 8, and nitrogen, which is an inert gas, is blown out from the center of the cover 14. The blowing nitrogen is nitrogen cylinder 15
Since nitrogen is supplied under pressure from the container 1, the upper space of the container lid 4 of the container 1 has a positive pressure, and nitrogen is forced into the container 1 through the filter 9 of the vent hole 8. Note that the gas pressurized into the container 1 may be any gas that can preserve the contents 10 for a long period of time, and may be, for example, carbon dioxide gas or the like.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4D, a sealing body 16 is attached to the outside of the container lid 4 to close and seal the ventilation hole 8. As the sealing body 16, for example, a tape made of 30 μm of aluminum/50 μm of polyethylene is used, and it is attached to the container body 2 by heat sealing.

According to such an embodiment, the contents 10 are completely sealed and can be stored for a long period of time. This has been confirmed by conducting ventilation tests after closing the ventilation holes, and by conducting long-term storage tests by actually filling the containers with food.

In addition, in this embodiment, the filter 9
Filter 9
No moisture gets in from. For this reason, the internal pressure inside the container 1 becomes a reduced pressure state due to cooling, and eventually the container 1 is deformed. The inert gas is forced into the container 1 from the filter 9 due to the restoring force of this deformation and the injection of the inert gas. Therefore, even if the size of the ventilation hole 8, that is, the filter 9 is small, the cooling efficiency and the inert gas filling efficiency can be improved. In addition, this method is suitable for large-scale processing because cooling and gas filling are separate steps.
Furthermore, since the amount of filter 9 used is small, it is possible to prevent packaging costs from rising.

Note that it is desirable to fill with gas as soon as possible after cooling. For example, if the contents are juice, the sugar in the juice will break out on the inner surface of the air-permeable filter, filling the tiny air holes, making it difficult to fill with gas over a long period of time. In addition, you need to be careful because the fibers also fill the ventilation holes.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and may be, for example, a filling and packaging method as shown in FIGS. 2a to 2d. In this example, after the heated contents 10 are stored in the container body 2, as shown in FIG. The container 1 is placed on the container 17, and the container 1 is cooled to room temperature by cooling water jetted from the shower pipe 18 while the container 1 is being moved from the carry-in end to the discharge end. In this example, the vent hole 8 is closed with a filter 9 that is breathable and impermeable to fungi.
is provided near the container mouth 3 of the container body 2.
Further, the width of the connection between the container lid 4 and the container body 2 is increased, and a primary seal 19 is formed at the edge of the container body when the container lid 4 is attached after filling the contents. Since the ventilation hole 8 is not blocked by this primary seal 19, the ventilation hole 8 is not blocked by the container 1, as shown in FIGS.
It is in a state where it communicates with the inside of. Therefore, similarly to the above embodiment, a nitrogen cylinder 1 is inserted into this vent hole 8.
Nitrogen gas sent out from 5 is pressurized. In addition,
When cooling with a cooling water shower, settings are made so that the rate of change in container volume due to rapid cooling of the container is large and the inflow of gas from the filter 9 into the container 1 is slow. In this state, the container 1 is made to have a dent or the like due to a drop in internal pressure. In addition, in this example, since the cooling water falls on the container 1, the cooling water often adheres to the filter 9, so in such a case, due to the characteristics of the filter 9, the attached moisture may prevent gas permeation. Since it becomes an obstruction, gas does not enter into the container 1, and only the container is deformed.

Next, as shown in FIG. Complete the packaging.

This embodiment also provides the same effects as the previous embodiment and is suitable for mass processing.

Note that in the present invention, the container 1 may be cooled by air. In this case, as in the previous embodiment, the vent hole is made small so that when the container 1 is cooled to room temperature, it is in a depressed state due to the phenomenon of internal descent, or at least in a reduced pressure state. There is a need. Of course, the deformity must not leave any scars after recovery.

Further, the gas filling method of the present invention is a method of filling the container 1 with gas under pressure by arranging a nozzle 21 that injects gas directly into the vent hole 8 provided in the container lid 4, as shown in FIG. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 4, a method in which the container 1 is placed in a pressurizing chamber 22 and the gas in the container 1 is put into the pressurized state can also be used to fill the container 1 with gas in a short time and perform large-scale processing. Ru.

As described above, according to the present invention, in the method for filling and packaging heated contents, it is possible to improve the packaging speed and process large quantities without increasing the packaging cost.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIGS. 1 a to d are cross-sectional views showing a heated contents filling and packaging method according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 2 a to d are cross-sectional views according to another embodiment, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are the same. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a gas-filled state. 1... Container, 2... Container body, 3... Container mouth,
4...Container lid, 8...Vent hole, 9...Filter, 10...Contents, 11...Aquarium, 12, 17
... Conveyor, 13 ... Cooling water, 15 ... Nitrogen cylinder, 16 ... Sealing body, 18 ... Shower pipe, 1
9...Primary seal, 20...Second seal, 2
1... Nozzle, 22... Pressurized chamber.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A step of preparing a packaging container in which the container body or the container lid is provided with a ventilation hole that is blocked by an air-permeable, fungi-impermeable filter; a step of filling the container with the contents, a step of sealing the container body with a container lid without blocking the ventilation hole, a step of cooling the container to cool the contents to room temperature, and a step of closing the ventilation hole with a sealing body. In the filling and packaging method, the container is cooled such that the amount of decrease in container volume due to cooling is greater than the amount of gas flowing in from the ventilation hole. Thereafter, pressurized gas is brought into contact with the container ventilation hole to feed the gas into the container to restore the original container volume, and then the container is sealed with a sealing member. . 2. The heated contents filling and packaging method according to claim 1, which comprises pressurizing an inert gas into the container after cooling.