JPH0555145B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a heat sterilizer for heat sterilizing foods, medicines, mushroom culture media, and other processed objects using hot water or steam.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, many devices have been used in which trays are stacked in multiple rows and loaded into a retort, and heated and sterilized by spraying hot water or steam from the surrounding area. Recently, a spray-type sterilizer that sprays hot water from the side walls of stacked trays has been proposed, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 165195/1983.

The example shown in Fig. 4 is a conventional example, in which the heat sterilization tank 27
A spray section 29 is provided for spraying hot water or the like from the side wall of the object to be treated 28 inside. The spray part 29 repeatedly slides in the vertical direction as shown by the arrows to make the spray uniform.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in the above-mentioned spray type sterilizer, it is difficult to uniformly spray hot water etc. through the gaps between the stacked trays to perform heat treatment, and the spacing between the trays is difficult. Various efforts have been made, such as adjusting the spray nozzle and changing the arrangement of the spray nozzle.

An object of the present invention is to provide a spray part that rotates or inverts around the outer periphery of the object to be processed loaded into the tank using a horizontal or horizontally placed heat sterilization tank. The present invention aims to provide a heat sterilizer that achieves uniform sterilization and high sterilization efficiency by jetting cooling water from the entire circumference of the object to be processed.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a first aspect of the present invention, which includes: a horizontal or horizontally placed heat sterilization tank having an openable/closable lid; , at least two spray parts extending over almost the entire length at the periphery in the heat sterilization tank; a shaft part with one end of these spray parts collectively rotatably supported on a wall of the heat sterilization tank; The horizontal rotary spray type heating sterilizer is comprised of a heating or cooling fluid supply section that is provided to communicate with the spray section through the shaft section, and a rotation drive section that is provided through the shaft section.

Further, in the second invention, in order to vary the rotation of the spray section, a rotation control mechanism is attached via the shaft section communicating with the spray section.

In the third invention, in order to efficiently circulate heating or cooling water, a liquid reservoir is provided at the bottom of the heat sterilization tank, and a liquid is provided between this liquid reservoir and the hot water or cooling water supply section on the shaft. This is a horizontal rotary spray heat sterilizer equipped with a circulation path.

In the fourth invention, a pump and a heat exchanger are provided between the heating sterilization tank and the heating or cooling fluid supply section so that the heating fluid can be switched to hot water or steam. This is a horizontal rotary spray heat sterilizer in which a cooling water circulation path and a steam circulation path equipped with a blower are installed side by side and can be switched via a switching valve.

Effects In the first invention, at least two spray parts extending almost the entire length are provided at the periphery of the object to be processed loaded in the heat sterilization tank, and these are collectively supported at one end so as to be rotatable. Since the shaft part is provided, the spray part can now rotate around the entire circumference of the object to be treated and spray out hot water or cooling water.
Hot water or the like can be circulated through the shaft part of the spray part through a heating or cooling fluid supply part, and heat sterilization can be performed by controlling the temperature to an appropriate temperature. Furthermore, since the rotation drive section is provided via the shaft section, the rotation of two or more spray sections can be freely controlled.

In the second invention, since the rotation control mechanism is provided through the shaft part, the rotation speed of the spray part can be varied, the forward and reverse rotation directions can be changed, the rotation can be made to swing in an arc shape, and the spray part can be rotated in the axial direction at the same time. It has become possible to add sliding motion and various rotational controls depending on the type and amount of objects to be processed.

In the third invention, by providing a liquid reservoir at the bottom of the heat sterilization tank, a liquid circulation path is formed, and the amount of water can be reduced and hot water can be circulated efficiently.

In the fourth invention, the circulation path is switched via a switching valve to use hot water, steam, or cooling water as the heating or cooling fluid, and in the case of hot water, the indirect heating circulation path is switched via a pump or a heat exchanger. In addition, in the case of steam, a blower is provided and a steam circulation path is used by switching the steam inlet etc. via a switching valve.

Embodiment FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the entire device of the present invention.
is a heat sterilization tank, which has an opening/closing lid and is horizontal or placed horizontally. 2 is an object to be treated, and in the illustrated example, a plastic bottle is placed upright, but the object is not limited thereto. Reference numeral 3 denotes a support stand, which is supported at one point within the heat sterilization tank 1. Reference numeral 4 denotes a tray in which the object to be treated 2 is placed and loaded onto the support stand 3 in the heat sterilization tank 1. Reference numeral 5 denotes a spray section, which extends over almost the entire length of the heat sterilization tank, and has a plurality of nozzle holes 6.
These nozzle holes face the object 2 to be processed. 7 is a shaft part, which is pivotally supported on the wall of the heat sterilization tank 1;
One ends of the plurality of spray parts 5, 5 are rotatable together.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a supply section for hot water or steam, which is connected to a liquid circulation path 11 having a pump 9, a heat exchanger 10, etc., using a rotary joint, for example.
A liquid reservoir 12 is provided at the bottom of the heat sterilization tank 1 and connected to the liquid circulation path 11. 13 is a water supply port, 14 is a steam inlet, and 15 is a water inlet. 16 is a rotation drive unit, which includes a motor 17 and a belt 1.
8.

In this embodiment, two spray parts 5 are provided over almost the entire length of the workpiece 3 in the heat sterilization tank 1, and are rotatably supported by a shaft part 7 and rotated by a rotation drive part 16. Hot water, etc. from 5 is spouted out over the entire circumference of the object 2 to be treated. Therefore, it has become possible to uniformly process the object regardless of its direction or position. Further, hot water at an appropriate temperature is supplied to the liquid circulation path from the liquid flow section 12 via the pump 9 and the heat exchanger 10, so that heat sterilization can be reliably performed.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the heat sterilization tank 1, showing a case where the spray section 5 rotates or swings in an arc shape.

In FIG. 1, the support stand 3 for the workpiece 2 is supported at one point, but the support stand is not limited to this, and the support stand may be fixed to the bottom surface of the heat sterilization tank 1. In this case, the spray part 5 only needs to swing in an arc shape instead of rotating.Although a rotation drive unit 16 is provided via the shaft portion 7, it is not only necessary to simply rotate, but also to repeat forward and reverse rotations, fluctuations in rotational speed, etc. It is easy to configure the rotation control mechanism 19 so that it can slide in the axial direction, reciprocate, etc. as well as rotate.

By providing the liquid reservoir 12 at the bottom of the heat sterilization tank 1, a reservoir for hot water, etc. is created, and circulation to the liquid circulation path 11 is ensured.

In this embodiment, the case of using hot water has been described, but the present invention can also be applied to a case where steam is used instead of hot water and circulated by a blower.

FIG. 3 shows an example in which circulation paths using hot water or steam as the heating fluid are arranged in parallel and can be switched by a switching valve, 20 is a blower, 21 to
26 indicates a switching valve.

In the case of a hot water circulation path, the switching valves 21 and 22 are opened, and the switching valves 23 to 26 are closed. In the case of a steam circulation path, switching valves 21, 22, 24, 25
Furthermore, the switching valve 2 is used to introduce cooling water.
1, 22, 24, and 26 are opened.

Effects of the Invention Since the present invention has the above configuration, the first
In the invention, hot water or steam is ejected around the entire circumference of the object by rotating two or more spray parts, so uniform treatment can be achieved regardless of the loading position or direction of the object. Efficiency improved. The spray unit is connected to the heating or cooling fluid supply unit and the rotation drive unit via the shaft, so the rotation can be controlled as appropriate depending on the type and amount of the material to be treated, and the heating or cooling fluid supply unit can be The temperature can also be adjusted, making heat sterilization more reliable.

In the second invention, since the rotation control part of the spray part is attached through the shaft part, fluctuations in rotational speed, forward and reverse rotation, arcuate swinging, sliding in the axial direction, and reciprocating motion through the shaft part are possible. etc. can now be carried out freely.

In the third invention, by providing a liquid reservoir at the bottom of the heat sterilization tank, the circulation of hot water and steam is facilitated,
It is now possible to achieve optimal conditions for heat sterilization.

In the fourth invention, when hot water or steam is used as the heating fluid, it is possible to switch between a hot water circulation path using a pump and a heat exchanger and a circulation path equipped with a blower using a switching valve. , which can be easily switched according to the type of workpiece and heating conditions.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the device of the present invention and a system diagram of the liquid circulation path, Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the device of the present invention, and Fig. 3 is a system in which hot water and steam circulation paths are arranged side by side and can be switched. FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a conventional example. 1... Heat sterilization tank 2... Object to be treated 3... Support stand 5... Spray section 7... Shaft section 8... Supply section 12... Liquid reservoir section 16... Rotation drive section 1
9...Rotation control mechanism 20...Blower 21~
26...Switching valve.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A heat sterilization tank that is horizontal or placed horizontally and has an opening/closing lid, a support for the object to be processed provided in the heat sterilization tank, and a peripheral edge of the first heat sterilization tank that covers almost the entire length of the tank. at least two extending spray parts; a shaft part in which one ends of these spray parts are rotatably supported together on the wall of the heat sterilization tank; and a heating device provided to communicate with the spray part through the shaft part. 1. A horizontal rotary spray type heat sterilizer comprising: a supply section for a cooling fluid; and a rotation drive section provided via the shaft section. 2. The horizontal rotary spray heat sterilizer according to claim 1, further comprising a rotation control mechanism via a shaft portion communicating with the spray. 3. The horizontal type according to claim 1, characterized in that a liquid reservoir is provided at the bottom of the heat sterilization tank, and a liquid circulation path is provided between the liquid reservoir and the hot water or cooling water supply section on the shaft. Rotary spray heat sterilizer. 4. A hot water or cooling water circulation path equipped with a pump and a heat exchanger and a steam circulation path equipped with a blower are installed in parallel between the heat sterilization tank and the heating or cooling fluid supply section. 2. The horizontal rotary spray heat sterilizer according to claim 1, wherein the horizontal rotary spray heat sterilizer is switchable via a switching valve.