JPH05170228A - Method and apparatus for replacing inert gas in vessel - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To replace an inert gas at a high replacing ratio without containing a vessel into a chamber. CONSTITUTION:The first inert gas nozzle for replacing is inserted in the head space of a vessel 32. And after nitrogen gas is injected, nitrogen gas is secondarily injected toward the inside of the rear face of a plug 31 and the head space by the second inert gas nozzle 8 for replacing. The nitrogen gas is forced to flow out from the inert gas nozzle 20 for sealing made of a fine porous material toward the periphery of the vessel inlet at least until the plug seals the vessel inlet after completion of the secondary injection, to prevent air from entering in the nearby position of the vessel inlet by sealing with nitrogen.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for replacing a gas in a head space of a container such as an infusion bag with an inert gas.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the case of a container filled with contents that are easily affected by oxygen, the gas in the headspace should be inertized with nitrogen or the like before sealing in order to eliminate the harmful effects of oxygen present in the headspace. It is replaced with gas (hereinafter, simply referred to as nitrogen). Conventionally, in glass bottles, the container is rigid, so a relatively high substitution rate is obtained by injecting nitrogen after vacuum suction, but in the case of easily deformable containers such as bags and plastic bottles, vacuum suction should be performed. Since it is not possible, we simply blow nitrogen into the container mouth. However, this method has a poor replacement rate,
Even if it is most effective, the limit is about 90%.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention was devised in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and even if a container such as an infusion bag or a plastic bottle that is easily deformed is not transferred into the chamber, it can be conveyed. An object of the present invention is to provide an inert gas replacement method and an apparatus capable of performing an inert gas replacement at a high replacement rate, having a simple apparatus and high processing capacity.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An inert gas replacement method according to the present invention which solves the above-mentioned problems, injects an inert gas into the head space of a container filled with contents so that the gas in the head space is not removed. In the method of replacing with an active gas, at least immediately after the injection of the inert gas into the container head space until the container port is closed, the inert gas is directed toward the vicinity of the container port through a fine porous body. This could be achieved by adopting a technical means of causing the gas to flow out and sealing the periphery of the container mouth with an inert gas to prevent the inflow of air near the container mouth. Then, the method comprises the step of inserting the first replacement inert gas nozzle into the head space of the container and injecting the inert gas, locating the plug body above the container mouth, and between the container mouth and the plug body. A step of arranging a second replacement inert gas nozzle, and secondarily injecting an inert gas from the second replacement inert gas nozzle toward the inside of the back surface of the stopper and the container head space; A higher substitution rate could be achieved by combining them.

Further, an inert gas replacement device for a container which achieves the above object, is a replacement inert gas nozzle for ejecting an inert gas into a head space of a container, and a nozzle is installed from a side of the container mouth toward a vicinity of the container mouth. It is characterized by comprising an inert gas outflow nozzle for sealing, which is formed of a porous body that slowly outflows the active gas. Then, the apparatus includes a container holding device for holding a container, a stopper body holding device for holding a stopper,
A first replacement inert gas nozzle that is inserted into the head space of the container held by the container holding device and ejects an inert gas into the container head space, and is inert toward the back surface of the container mouth and the stopper. A second replacement inert gas nozzle for injecting gas, a sealing inert gas nozzle formed of a porous body for laterally flowing out the inert gas around the back surface of the container mouth and the stopper, The holding device, the stopper holding device, the first replacement inert gas nozzle, and the second replacement inert gas nozzle are applied to an inert gas replacement device arranged at a predetermined pitch on a turntable, whereby During the transportation, the inert gas replacement was possible at a high replacement rate.

[0006]

[Operation] When the inert gas is replaced by simply blowing the inert gas into the container without putting the container into the chamber,
The reason why it is difficult to improve the replacement rate to 90% or more is
It is difficult to completely expel the air in the headspace, and the point is that air flows in from the surroundings into the container after the replacement and before the container is sealed.The latter effect is particularly large and inert to the container. Even if a high substitution rate can be achieved at the time of blowing the gas, the substitution rate is lowered due to the inflow of outside air until sealing. According to the above configuration of the present invention,
The first replacement inert gas nozzle is inserted into the container head space to directly eject the inert gas, and thereafter the second replacement inert gas nozzle sprays the inert gas from above the opening toward the head space and the back surface of the stopper. Since it is jetted, the air in the container head space and the back surface of the stopper can be completely replaced with the inert gas.

Then, the inert gas for sealing is made to flow out through the fine porous body while the inert gas for replacement is being jetted or at least immediately after the jetting is completed, so that the periphery of the container mouth is made inert. The gas is sealed and the air is prevented from flowing into the vicinity of the container opening. Therefore, air does not get caught and flows in due to the movement of the replacement inert gas nozzle or the movement of the plug body for sealing after the completion of the replacement inert gas ejection, and the state immediately after the gas ejection is maintained at 98% or more. A high substitution rate can be obtained. According to the experiment, the inert gas nozzle for sealing is desired to be a fine porous body, and its ejection is performed by ejecting in the moving direction of the replacement inert gas ejection nozzle,
It was confirmed that the sealing effect was high.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 to 4 show a nitrogen replacement device for an infusion bag, which is an embodiment of the container inert gas replacement device according to the present invention. This device is of a rotary type. First, its outline will be described with reference to FIG. 4. An infusion bag (hereinafter simply referred to as a container) filled with contents in the previous step and a stopper 31 are a container supply rotary plate 33 and a stopper. When the turntable is supplied to the turntable by the body supply turntable 34, the first replacement inert gas nozzle descends into the container in the section a and starts the injection of nitrogen into the head space. Continue jetting. At the same time, the heater 11 heats the sealing surfaces of the container and the stopper in the section b, the first replacement inert gas nozzle rises in the section c, and the second replacement inert gas nozzle supplies nitrogen to the stopper and the container opening in the section d. And the outside is sealed by nitrogen flowing out from the inert gas nozzle for sealing to prevent the inflow of air into the container opening, and the container opening is sealed by the plug in the section e. ..

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an essential part of section b of the apparatus. In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a fixed base, and a column 2 is erected at the center thereof, and a container chuck operation cam 3, a second displacement inert gas nozzle displacement cam 4, and a movable base displacement cam 5 are fixed to the column. ing. Reference numeral 6 denotes a turntable that is driven to rotate, on which a container chuck support rod 13 that supports a container chuck 7 that is a container holding device is erected at a predetermined pitch, and a second replacement inert gas nozzle. 8, the cylindrical body 14 holding the plug heating protection plate 9 and the movable base 10 is fixed. 11 is
The heater is supported on the fixed base 1 via the bracket 12 so as to be located on the outer peripheral portion of the turntable 6, and as shown in FIG. 4, a first replacement inert gas nozzle is provided in the section b as described later. They are arranged in a double arc shape with an interval allowing passage.

On the movable base 10, a plug body up / down air cylinder 16 for vertically driving a plug body chuck 15 as a plug body holding device in two steps and a first for vertically driving a first replacement inert gas nozzle 17 are provided. The replacement inert gas nozzle up-and-down cylinder 18 is supported, and the sealing inert gas nozzle 20 is supported by a bracket 19 hanging from the outer peripheral portion thereof. As shown in FIG. 5, the inert gas nozzle 20 for sealing is composed of a porous material such as a sintered alloy or a glass filter having minute holes of about 20 to 500 μm, and nitrogen is deenergized to slowly flow out. The area around the container mouth is sealed in a nitrogen atmosphere.
The movable base 10 is slidably held by a slide rail 21 provided on the outer peripheral portion of the cylindrical body 14, and engages with an operating lever 22 pivotally mounted on the top of the cylindrical body.
When the actuating lever 22 is rotated by the movable base displacement cam 5, the movable base is displaced and the first base is displaced.
The first inert gas nozzle 17 for replacement is located above the container
The stopper can be displaced to two positions, that is, the second position, which is located above the container opening by retracting from the position and above the container opening (see FIG. 3). In FIGS. 1 and 3, 23 is a cam roller rotatably provided on the operating lever 22, 24 is an operating lever shaft, and 25 is a spring. In addition, the inert gas nozzle for sealing is provided on the movable base corresponding to each container holding device in this embodiment, but is fixed so as to be located along the outside where the container passes in the section d shown in FIG. It may be attached and fixed to the base via a bracket.

The second replacement inert gas nozzle 8 is formed in a ring shape, and is capable of ejecting nitrogen from the center thereof toward the container mouth and the inside of the stopper, and the cylindrical body 14
Is movably supported in the radial direction by the second displacement inert gas nozzle displacement cam 4 and is located above the container opening only in the section d, and is located closer to the cylindrical wall than the container opening in the other sections. ..

Next, a nitrogen replacement method using the nitrogen replacement device for a container according to this embodiment having the above-described structure will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. The stopper 31 is supplied to the stopper chuck 15 from the stopper supply rotary disc 30, the container 32 is supplied to the container supply disc 33, and the stoppers 31 held by the chucks are rotated as the turntable rotates. Container 32 is a
Reach the section. At that time, the plug chuck 15 holding the plug is in a phase behind the container chuck 7 holding the container, and the upper part of the container opening is open. Further, below the stopper 31 held by the stopper chuck 15, there is a heating protection plate 9 for protecting the inside of the rear surface of the stopper from heating by a heater.
Is located. When the container reaches the section a, the first replacement inert gas nozzle up-and-down cylinder 18 is activated, the first replacement inert gas nozzle 17 is inserted into the head space of the container, and nitrogen injection is started (Fig. 5a). .. B in that state
After reaching the zone, nitrogen is continuously injected into the container head space to replace the gas in the head space with nitrogen. The nozzle 17 inserted into the container passes between the heaters 11, and the stopper welding surface 34 at the top of the container is heated by the heater 11 during that time. Similarly, the welding surface 35 of the lower surface of the plug body 31 held by the plug body chuck 15 is also heated, but the inside of the plug body is blocked by the heating protection plate 9, so that the internal heating is prevented. (Fig. 5b).

When the section c is reached, the injection of nitrogen from the one-replacement inert gas nozzle 17 is stopped and the cylinder 18 is operated to raise the first-replacement inert gas nozzle 17 (FIG. 5c). Next, in the section d, the second replacement inert gas nozzle 8 is positioned above the container opening against the spring by the second replacement inert gas nozzle displacement cam 4, and the movable base 10 moves the movable base displacement cam 5. The first replacement inert gas nozzle 17 is positioned in front of the container opening and the plug 31 is located above the container opening by sliding along the slide rail 21 (see FIG. 5d). Then, the stopper up-and-down cylinder 16 operates to bring the stopper close to above the second replacement inert gas nozzle, and in that state, nitrogen is supplied from the second replacement inert gas nozzle to the inside of the back surface of the stopper and the container. By injecting toward the head space, the nitrogen replacement in the container is further enhanced, and the air inside the back surface of the stopper is also replaced with nitrogen. At the same time, nitrogen is blown loosely from the sealing inert gas nozzle 20 in a haze to create a nitrogen atmosphere around the container opening 36 and the plug welding surface and seal with nitrogen (FIG. 5e). After that, in that state, the second replacement inert gas nozzle 8 retreats from the position to the original position, and the stopper chuck up / down cylinder 16 moves.
Is operated to lower the plug body 31 and press the welding surface 35 against the plug body welding surface 34 to press the plug body to the container mouth (FIG. 5).
f). During that time, nitrogen is continuously blown from the sealing inert gas nozzle 20, and when the second replacement inert gas nozzle 8 retreats, air is entrained and air enters the container mouth or the back of the stopper. Prevent. It is important that the blowing direction of the sealing inert gas nozzle 20 is such that the second replacement inert gas nozzle is retracted, that is, in the present embodiment, it is ejected from the outside of the turntable toward the center of the turntable. As a result, when the second replacement inert gas nozzle retracts, it is possible to effectively prevent the air from being entrained and entering the container mouth or the back surface of the plug body, and the replacement rate can be dramatically improved. The container with the sealed plug is discharged by the discharge rotary plate 37 and sent to the next step.

Table 1 shows the results of Examples in which nitrogen substitution was carried out for a 250 ml infusion bag (head space is 105 ml) and a 200 ml infusion bag (head space 155 ml) by the above apparatus. The nitrogen injection amount in this embodiment is as follows. Nitrogen injection amount from the first replacement inert gas nozzle: 15 [Nl / min] Nitrogen injection amount from the second replacement inert gas nozzle: 12 [Nl / min] Nitrogen injection amount from the sealing inert gas nozzle: 15 [Nl / min] min)

[Table 1]

As is clear from the results shown in the table, according to this example, the oxygen concentration averages 0.284% in the case of 250 ml bag and 0.261% in the case of 200 ml bag.
It has fallen to%. That is, when converted into the nitrogen substitution rate, it is 9
The substitution rates were 8.6% and 98.7%, respectively, and the substitution rate could be dramatically improved compared to the conventional case in which it could only be improved to 90%. It is presumed that the reason why the replacement rate is improved is that the nitrogen seal by the inert gas nozzle for sealing largely contributes to the improvement of the replacement rate. The influence of the nitrogen seal by the inert gas nozzle for sealing is as follows. It was confirmed by an experimental example. In the experimental example,
In the above embodiment, the nitrogen injection amount from the inert gas nozzle for sealing was 20 [Nl / min], 10 [Nl / min], 5
The nitrogen substitution rate was measured for each of [Nl / min] and 0 [Nl / min]. The results are shown in Table 2.

[Table 2]

As is clear from Table 2, it is understood that the nitrogen injection amount from the inert gas nozzle for sealing has a significant effect on the replacement rate. That is, when there is no nitrogen injection from the inert gas nozzle for sealing, the replacement rate in the above apparatus also rises only up to about 91% on average, and the replacement rate increases as the nitrogen injection amount increases, and the nitrogen sealing effect is improved. Is noticeable. As a result, in order to obtain a high substitution rate of 98% or more, the injection amount from the inert gas nozzle for sealing is 10 [Nl
/ min] or more is desirable. In addition, the inert gas nozzle for sealing was tested with various sintered alloys and glass filters having different pore sizes, and it was 20 to 500 μm, preferably 50 to 200 μm.
It was found that it is important that the material is composed of a porous material such as a sintered alloy or a glass filter having minute holes of about μm and nitrogen is deenergized to slowly flow out. Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the container inert gas replacement method and device of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and the target container is not limited to the infusion bag, and various containers are inactive. It goes without saying that it can be applied to gas replacement.

[0017]

The inert gas replacement method and apparatus according to the present invention have the following special effects. Since the surrounding area is sealed with an inert gas until the container opening after the replacement inert gas is jetted is closed, the movement of the replacement inert gas nozzle or the movement of the plug for sealing will prevent the air flow. Air is prevented from flowing into the container head space and the inside of the back surface of the stopper due to being caught, and it is possible to obtain a high substitution rate of 98% or more. The first replacement inert gas nozzle is inserted into the container opening head space to directly eject the inert gas into the head space, and then the second replacement inert gas nozzle is inserted from above the container opening to the head space and the back surface of the plug body. Since the inert gas is jetted toward the air, it is possible to completely replace the air in the container head space and the back surface of the plug body with the inert gas. Even if the container is easily deformed, such as an infusion bag or a plastic bottle, inert gas replacement can be performed at a high replacement rate during transportation without putting it in the chamber.
Moreover, the apparatus is not large in size, is simple, and has a remarkably high processing capacity as compared with the conventional apparatus which is carried out in a chamber.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a main part of a container inert gas replacement device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a main part of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a movable base portion.

FIG. 4 is an overall layout view of a container inert gas replacement device.

FIG. 5 is an operation diagram for each step of inert gas replacement.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Fixed Base 3 Container Chuck Operation Cam 4 Second Replacement Inert Gas Nozzle Displacement Cam 5 Movable Base Displacement Cam 6 Turntable 7 Container Chuck 8 Second Replacement Inert Gas Nozzle 9 Heating Protective Plate 10 Movable Base 11 Heater 15 Plug Chuck 16 Plug Top / Bottom Cylinder 17 First Replacement Inert Gas Nozzle 18 First Replacement Inert Gas Nozzle Top / Bottom Cylinder 20 Sealing Inert Gas Nozzle 30 Plug Feeding Rotating Plate 31 Plug 32 Container 33 Container Feeding Rotating Plate 37 Discharging Rotation Board

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A method of injecting an inert gas into a head space of a container filled with contents to replace the gas in the head space with an inert gas, at least injecting the inert gas into the container head space. Immediately after the container opening is closed, the inert gas is allowed to flow out through the fine porous body toward the vicinity of the container opening, and the periphery of the container opening is sealed with the inert gas to close the container opening. A method for replacing an inert gas in a container, characterized in that the inflow of air is blocked. 2. A method for replacing a gas in a head space of a container filled with contents with an inert gas, comprising:
Inserting the replacement inert gas nozzle into the head space of the container and injecting the inert gas, positioning the stopper above the container mouth, and disposing the second replacement inert gas nozzle between the container mouth and the stopper. And secondly injecting an inert gas from the second replacement inert gas nozzle toward the inside of the back surface of the stopper and the container head space, and from the step of secondarily injecting the second replacement inert gas. The active gas nozzle retreats from above the container mouth, and the inert gas is allowed to flow out through the fine porous body around the container mouth and the stopper seal part until the stopper blocks the container mouth and seals with the inert gas. A method for replacing an inert gas in a container, characterized in that air is prevented from flowing into the vicinity of the container opening. 3. A replacement inert gas nozzle for ejecting an inert gas into the head space of the container, and a seal formed of a porous body for allowing the inert gas to slowly flow out from the side of the container mouth toward the vicinity of the container mouth. Inert gas outflow nozzle for use in an inert gas replacement device for a container. 4. A container holding device for holding a container, a plug holding device for holding a plug, and a container held by the container holding device inserted into the head space of the container to eject an inert gas into the container head space. The first replacement inert gas nozzle, the second replacement inert gas nozzle for injecting an inert gas toward the container mouth and the back surface of the stopper, the container mouth and the periphery of the back surface of the stopper from the side An inert gas nozzle for sealing formed of a porous body that allows active gas to flow out, the container holding device, the plug holding device, the first replacement inert gas nozzle, and the second replacement inert gas nozzle. Are arranged on the turntable at a predetermined pitch, and the inert gas nozzle for sealing is close to the container opening at least immediately after the operation of the second replacement inert gas nozzle until the container opening is closed. An inert gas replacement device for a container, which is arranged so as to flow out an inert gas toward the side.