JPH08238063A - High-pressure treating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a high-pressure treating device useful for sterilizing a food material by laying a sealing ring for preventing admixture of a pressure medium and a material to be treated on an interface between an opening part and a top cover. CONSTITUTION: This high-pressure treating device is equipped with a high- pressure container 2 having a pressurizing chamber 7 capable of applying pressure by a pressure medium, a flexible wall material 10 isolating the pressure medium from a material to be treated in the pressurizing chamber 7. The high- pressure container 2 is provided with a detachable top cover 5. An opening part 12 at the top of the flexible wall material 10 is attached to the top cover 5 and a sealing ring 14 for preventing admixture of the pressure medium and the material to be treated is laid on an interface between the opening part 12 and the top cover 5. The sealing ring 14 is preferably constituted to improve sealing function with rise in pressure of the pressure medium in the pressurizing chamber 7.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a high-pressure processing apparatus for performing processing such as sterilization, denaturation, enzyme reaction control of food materials under high pressure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, food processing has been performed mainly by utilizing heat, but in recent years, there has been a tendency to positively utilize a thermodynamic variable called pressure. A twin-screw extruder is an example of the use of pressure for food processing. However, this is intended only to modify and organize food by mechanical action such as temperature and torsion, shearing, etc., and the pressure is not intentionally controlled, but changes depending on the physical properties of the food, Also, for example, 1000k
It is also impossible to apply a high pressure such as gf / cm ² .

Therefore, a technique has been proposed in which a cold isostatic pressurizing device is used to supply a pressurizing medium to a pressurizing chamber of a high-pressure vessel and pressurize the same, thereby applying pressure to an object to be processed in the processing chamber and performing processing. Have been. In this case, it is necessary to isolate the object to be processed from the pressure medium, and there are a method using a rubber film, a method using a bag such as a vacuum pack, and the like.

[0004] In the pressure vessel device, which is not a high-pressure treatment for sterilizing food materials or the like, but has an upper closing portion (upper lid) fitted into an upper end opening of a cylindrical rubber mold (flexible wall). There has been proposed a technique for sealing the upper closing portion with an annular seal (packing) (Japanese Patent Publication No. 52-212).
No. 03).

[0005]

The annular seal disclosed in the above-mentioned publication seals the escape of the pressurized medium to the outside (leakage), and seals the interface between the upper closing portion and the rubber mold. Therefore, even if this technique is applied to high-pressure treatment for sterilization of food materials and the like, it has not been possible to prevent the mixture of the pressure medium and the object to be treated.

Therefore, the present invention can prevent the mixing of the pressure medium and the object to be processed with certainty, and as the pressure increases,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a high-pressure processing device capable of improving a sealing function.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a high-pressure container 2 having a pressurized chamber 7 capable of applying pressure by a pressurized medium.
In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the following technical means is taken in the high-pressure processing apparatus including the flexible wall body 10 that isolates the pressure medium and the object to be processed in the pressurizing chamber 7. .

That is, in the present invention, the high-pressure container 2 is provided with an upper cover 5 which can be inserted and removed, and an opening 12 at the upper end of the flexible wall 10 is attached to the upper cover 5.
It is characterized in that a seal ring 14 for preventing the mixing of the pressure medium and the object to be processed is interposed at the interface with and. By adopting such a configuration,
In order to process the object in the flexible wall 10, a pressure medium is supplied to the pressurizing chamber 7 of the high-pressure container 2, and when the object is isotropically pressurized by the pressure medium, the opening 12 is sealed. Since the flexible wall 10 is pressed against the upper lid 5 through the cover 14, the interface between the opening 12 and the upper lid 5 is sealed, and the mixing of the pressure medium and the object to be processed is performed. Is prevented (claim 1).

The seal ring 14 is provided in the pressurizing chamber 7
Since the sealing function is improved as the pressure of the pressure medium increases, the sealing property of the interface between the opening 12 and the upper lid 5 increases as the isotropic pressure increases, and The mixture (mixing) of the medium and the object to be treated can be reliably prevented (claim 2). Further, the seal ring 1
Reference numeral 4 denotes a plurality of independent rings, which are provided between the adjacent seal rings 14 and the opening 12 and the upper lid 5 are provided.
Since the upper lid 5 is provided with the leak detection passage 41 that communicates the interface with the outside and the outside, a plurality of seals are provided, and even if a leak due to a defective seal occurs, it is detected and the pressure medium is used. Mixing with the object to be treated is prevented, which is useful as food processing (claim 3).

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the illustrated embodiment. FIG. 1 illustrates a high-pressure processing apparatus using a cold isostatic pressing apparatus. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a press frame, and a high pressure container 2 is provided so as to receive an axial force. The high-pressure container 2 is provided with an upper lid 5 and a lower lid 6 via seal rings 3 and 4, and a pressurized medium chamber 8 has a pressurized medium tank 8 in a pressurized medium chamber 7 through a pump 9 and a supply path 9A thereof. The pressure medium is supplied, and leakage of the pressure medium supplied to the pressure chamber 7 is prevented by the seal rings 3 and 4.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a flexible wall which isolates the object to be processed and the pressure medium in the processing chamber 11, and is formed in a bag shape having an opening at the upper side. The opening 12 of the body 10 has a flange shape, and the flange is fixed to the upper lid 5 from below by the pressing ring 13.
A seal ring 14 for preventing the pressure medium and the object to be processed from intermingling is interposed at the interface between the upper cover 5 and the upper cover 5. Therefore, when the pressure medium is supplied into the pressurizing chamber 7 to apply isotropic pressure to the object to be processed, as the pressure in the pressurizing chamber 7 increases, the opening 12 5, the upper lid 5 and the flexible wall 10 come into close contact with each other to improve the sealing property, and the pressure medium does not mix into the object to be processed.

In this case, the upper lid 5 can be inserted into and removed from the high-pressure vessel 2, and after the object to be processed is filled in the flexible wall 10 outside the high-pressure vessel 2, the flexible wall 10 Can be fixed to the upper lid 5 and housed in the high-pressure container 2 before supplying a pressure medium to perform a desired pressure treatment. Further, it is desirable to remove air bubbles in the processing chamber 11 and air bubbles in the pressure medium before pressurization. Therefore, the upper lid 5 has air vent passages 15 and 16, an air vent valve 17 for the process chamber, and a pressure medium. An air bleeding valve 18 is provided.

Although the opening 12 is formed as an outward flange in the drawing, the formation of the flange is not essential, and the opening 12 is fitted to the step of the upper lid 5 and attached with a retaining ring. Seal ring 1 at the interface between the opening and the opening 12
Even if No. 4 is interposed, the sealing property is equal because the pressure is isotropic. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the flexible wall 10 is installed in the high-pressure vessel 2, and the supply passage 19 and the supply valve 2
0, a take-out passage 21 and a take-out valve 22 are provided so that the pressure can be continuously processed in batch. That is, the processing object is supplied from the processing object tank 23 into the flexible wall 10 via the supply passage 19 by the pump 24. Then, the processed object is pressure-fed from the gas cylinder 25 into the flexible wall 10 via the pressure regulating valve 26 and the supply valve 27, and is taken out from the take-out passage 21 by the gas pressure. Therefore, the opening position of the take-out passage 21 is provided at the lower part in the flexible wall 10.

FIG. 3 shows that the take-out passage 21 is provided in the upper lid 5 and
The take-out valve 22 is opened, the pressure medium is supplied into the pressurizing chamber 7 by the pump 9, and the take-out passage 2 is utilized by utilizing the pressure of the pressure medium.
1 shows an extruded object to be processed. In addition,
In this case, air removal from the processing chamber 11 may be performed by using the extraction passage 21 and the extraction valve 22. FIG. 4 illustrates an example in which the upper lid 5 is divided into two. That is, the upper lid 5 is divided into an upper upper lid 28 and a lower upper lid 29, and a seal ring 30 is interposed between the two. The opening 12 of the flexible wall 10 is attached to the lower upper lid 29. In this case, it is the simplest method to remove the object to be processed by opening the upper cover 28 and then using a pump or the like, but it is also possible to employ the above-described methods. is there.

FIGS. 1 to 4 show an example in which only one seal ring is provided at the interface between the opening 12 of the flexible wall 10 and the upper lid 5, but as shown in FIG. The configuration in which two leak detection passages 41 are provided in the upper cover 5 and the lower upper cover 29 shown in the drawing to communicate with the outside between the adjacent two is provided so as to detect a leak due to poor sealing, and This is preferable as a food processing apparatus in that mixing with the object to be processed (mixing of the pressure medium into the object to be processed) can be prevented.

[0016]

According to the present invention, the opening 12 at the upper end of the flexible wall 10 is attached to the upper lid 5 of the high-pressure container 2, and the pressure medium and the object to be treated are provided at the interface between the opening 12 and the upper lid 5. Since the seal ring 14 for preventing the mixing of the above is interposed, as the pressure inside the pressurizing chamber 7 becomes higher, the opening 12 of the flexible wall body 10 becomes closer to the upper lid 5 via the seal ring 14. A close fit is thus ensured and the fixing and sealing of the flexible wall 10 is ensured.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 High-pressure container 5 Top lid 7 Pressurizing chamber 10 Flexible wall 12 Opening 14 Seal ring

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Go Kanda 14-15, 507, Oimatsu-cho, Nishinomiya-shi, Hyogo Prefecture

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A high-pressure container (2) having a pressurized chamber (7) capable of applying pressure by a pressurized medium, and a pressurized chamber (7).
A high-pressure processing apparatus provided with a flexible wall (10) for isolating a pressure medium and an object to be processed therein, comprising: an upper lid (5) that can be inserted into and removed from the high-pressure container (2); An opening (12) at the upper end of the wall (10) is attached to the upper lid (5), and the interface between the opening (12) and the upper lid (5) prevents mixing of the pressure medium and the workpiece. A high-pressure processing device characterized by interposing a seal ring (14). 2. The high-pressure processing apparatus, wherein the seal ring (14) is interposed so that the sealing function improves as the pressure of the pressure medium in the pressurizing chamber (7) increases. 3. The seal ring (14) is a plurality of individual rings, each between adjacent seal rings (14), and an interface between the opening (12) and the top lid (5) and an external part. 3. The high-pressure processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a leak detection passage (41) communicating with the upper cover (5). 4.