JPH1033643A - Oscillating rotary spray type retort sterilizing method and device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the movement of a pouch in oscillating treatment, and prevent the wrinkling or pinhole formation of the pouch by performing heating sterilization and cooling treatment while oscillating a rotating body and a spray nozzle and constraining the pouch to a tray. SOLUTION: A plurality of pouches 17 are placed parallel on a tray 3 so as to be easily sterilized, constrained to the tray 3 by a pouch constraining means 18, and carried into a rotating body set within a sterilizing tank in the state stacked in plural stages on a cart. Hot water or steam is sprayed from a spray nozzle arranged toward the space between the trays 3 to heat and sterilize a product within the pouch 17, and cooling water is sprayed from the spray nozzle to cool the product. In the heating sterilization and cooling treatment, the rotating body and the spray nozzle are oscillated, and the pouch 17 is constrained to the tray 3 by the constraining means 18, whereby the movement of the pouch 17 ca be prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an oscillating rotary type in which a product (a pouch or the like) is sealed and filled with contents such as foods and medicines by heat sterilization by a retort cycle process of heating, heating and cooling. The present invention relates to a spray type retort sterilization method and apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a spray type retort sterilizer has been provided for this type of heat sterilization. This spray-type retort sterilization device stacks a plurality of trays on which products are placed and stores them in a sterilization tank. After heat sterilization, the cooling water is sprayed from a spray nozzle to cool the product.
-3197 publication etc.).

[0003] In the above spray type retort sterilizer, the product is left standing horizontally in a sterilization tank to perform heat sterilization, and therefore, the effect of promoting heat transfer to the contents in the container is low. In particular, when a highly viscous liquid is contained in a large container, the temperature change in the central portion is significantly slowed down. In such a case, since the heat sterilization treatment needs to be performed on the entire contents, it is necessary to continue spraying / spouting hot water or the like from the spray nozzle until the temperature at the center reaches the target value, and the treatment time is It was getting longer.

[0004] In order to enhance the effect of promoting heat transfer to the contents in the container and shorten the sterilization treatment time, the applicant of the present invention swings a tray on which products are placed and a spray nozzle in a sterilization tank. By moving the contents in the container to the left and right in the container (flow), the exchange of the center part with the surface layer and the peripheral part is promoted, the heat transfer promoting effect to the whole contents is enhanced, and the sterilization processing time is increased. Proposals have been made to reduce the length (see Japanese Patent Application Nos. 8-27806 and 8-27808).

[0005]

However, the above proposal is
Since the containers filled with the product are simply placed side by side on the tray, the container moves within the tray by its own weight during the swinging rotation, and a large retort pouch (for example, 1
kg, 2 kg, 3 kg, 5 kg, etc., flat pouches, standing pouches, etc., have a problem that wrinkles are formed on the pouches and rarely pinholes are generated.

An object of the present invention is to provide an oscillating rotary spray type retort sterilizing method and apparatus capable of preventing movement of a pouch during oscillating rotation processing and preventing wrinkles and pinholes from being generated in the pouch. Is to do.

[0007]

According to the method of the present invention, in order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a plurality of trays each containing a pouch in which a product is hermetically filled and filled in a rotating body rotatably installed in a sterilization tank are provided. Hot water or steam is sprayed and ejected from the spray nozzles arranged toward the gap between the trays to heat and sterilize the products in the pouch, and then cooling water is sprayed from the spray nozzles into the pouches. And cooling and rotating the rotating body and the spray nozzle and restraining the pouch on a tray during the heat sterilization and cooling treatment.

[0008] Further, the apparatus of the present invention stores a plurality of trays in which pouches on which products are hermetically filled are placed in a rotating body rotatably installed in a sterilization tank and is stacked in a plurality of stages. After spraying / spouting hot water or steam from the placed spray nozzle to heat sterilize the product in the pouch,
Cooling water is sprayed from a spray nozzle to cool the product in the pouch. It is characterized by being installed on a tray or a tray and a pouch.

The pouch restraining means comprises a hole formed in the edge of the pouch, and a pouch restraining attachment having a pin inserted through the hole to restrain the pouch on the tray, and the attachment is mounted on the tray. It is characterized by the following.

Further, the pouch restraining means comprises a pouch gripping member such as a clip for gripping the pouch and restraining the pouch on the tray, and the gripping member is provided on the tray.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a side view showing a schematic structure of an oscillating rotary spray type retort sterilizer used for carrying out the method of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional front view showing an outline of the internal structure. 1 is a sterilization tank, 2 is a rotating body, 3 is a tray,
4 is a header pipe, 5 is a spray nozzle, 6 is a rotation center axis, 7 is a rotary joint, 8 is a slip ring, 9 is a swing rotation applying means, 10 is a swing rotation transmitting member,
Reference numeral 11 denotes a bearing, 12 denotes an external electric device, 13 denotes an external air supply / discharge unit, and 14 denotes an external liquid supply / discharge unit.

The sterilization tank 1 has a cylindrical shape fixedly supported on a base 15 in a horizontal state, and one end (left end) is an open end for loading and unloading the tray 3 on which products are placed.
An open / close lid (not shown) is installed at the open end so as to be openable and closable, the other end (right end) is a closed end, and the bottom plate 1a is fixed.

The rotating body 2 comprises a plurality of disc frames 2a arranged at appropriate intervals in the depth direction of the sterilizing tank 1 and a plurality of connecting rods for connecting the disc frames 2a around the disc frame 2a. 2b
And a skeleton structure consisting of:
A substantially rectangular opening 2c is formed to allow loading and unloading of the cart 16 on which the trays 3 are stacked, and each disk frame 2a is formed.
A bottom guide rail 2d and side guide rolls (not shown) are provided between the bottom guide rails 2d and the side guide rolls (not shown) for supporting the loading and unloading of the cart 16, and the tray 3 stacked and loaded on the cart 16 is provided.
A tray holding member (not shown) for holding the uppermost one from above to prevent the movement of the tray 3 during the swing rotation process is installed, and the open end side of the sterilizing tank 1 is supported in the sterilizing tank 1 by a support roller 2e. , And rotatably supported by a bearing 11 whose closed end side is mounted on a bottom plate 1 a via a rotation center shaft 6, and a swing rotation transmitting member 10 and a rotation center shaft 6 The rocking rotation is performed via. The oscillating rotation applying means 9 includes a motor 9a and a speed reducer 9b, and these are supported by a bearing base 9c. The swing rotation transmitting member 10 exemplifies a gear.

The tray 3 has a plurality of pouches 17 sealed and filled with a product placed in parallel in a state where it can be easily sterilized, and can be restrained on the tray 3 by a pouch restraining means 18 described later. It can be carried in and out of the rotating body 2 installed in the sterilization tank 1 in a stacked state.

The header pipes 4 are arranged on both sides of the rotating body 2 over substantially the entire length of the sterilizing tank 1 in the depth direction.
Are supported by the respective disc frames 2a.

The spray nozzle 5 is appropriately branched from the header pipe 4 and has a disk frame 2a and a connecting rod 2 of the rotating body 2.
It is mounted and supported using b.

The rotation center shaft 6 has a triple pipe structure in which an electric wiring passage, a liquid passage, and an air passage are independently formed, and a rotary joint 7 is provided at an outer end of the sterilization tank 1.
The rotary joint 7 has an external liquid supply / discharge unit 1 communicating with the liquid passage and the air passage.
4 and the external air supply / discharge means 13 are connected via appropriate piping. An air pipe to a tray holding member (not shown) provided on the rotating body 2 is appropriately connected to the air passage. A supply pipe of hot water, heating steam, or cooling water to the header pipe 4 mounted on the rotating body 2 is appropriately connected to the fluid passage.

A slip ring 8 is mounted on the outer end of the rotation center shaft 6, and the slip ring 8 is used to connect an external electric device 12 such as a temperature detection display recording device including a power supply.
Are connected as appropriate. The electric wiring path is provided with electric wiring to a sensor (not shown) installed at an appropriate position of the rotating body 2 in the sterilizing tank 1 so as to detect sterilization processing conditions similar to the product. .

The supply of hot water, heated steam or cooling water to the header pipe 4 is performed by an external fluid supply / discharge means 14 through the fluid passage formed in the rotation center shaft 6 and the rotary joint 7. The external fluid supply / discharge means 14 includes a circulation pump and a heat exchanger. The circulation pump sucks hot water or cooling water staying at the bottom of the sterilization tank 1 and supplies it to the heat exchanger. The pouch 17 on the tray 3 stacked on the carriage 16 in the rotating body 2 from the spray nozzle 5 branched and connected to the header pipe 4 via the joint 7 and the fluid passage in the rotation center shaft 6.
The hot water or the cooling water is sprayed / spouted toward. In addition, the supply of the heating steam does not go through the circulation pump,
The fluid is supplied to the header pipe 4 through a rotary joint 7 and a fluid passage in the rotation center shaft 6.

The tray 3 is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 (A).
(B) As shown in (C), a rectangular box is formed by a bottom plate 3a, a peripheral wall 3b, and a partition 3c.
On the bottom plate 3a, a large number of small holes 3d for excluding hot water and the like are formed in a portion excluding a mounting space of the pouch 17,
Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, the peripheral wall 3b has a gap 3e between the trays 3 when the trays 3 are stacked, by setting the height on the long side lower than the height on the short side. In this way, the hot water or the like sprayed and ejected from the spray nozzle 5 is supplied to the pouch 17 on the tray 3 through the gap 3e. Corner guides 3g for positioning and stacking the trays 3 are fixed to the upper edges of the four corners of the peripheral wall 3b, and the whole is made of aluminum alloy, stainless steel, copper, other metals or resins.

A pouch restraining means 18 is provided corresponding to the pouch mounting space of the tray 3. FIG. 5 (A)
(B) shows an example of the pouch restraining means 18, in which a plurality (three in the example in the figure) of pins 18b are erected on opposed long sides of a rectangular frame-shaped base member 18a, and This shows a pouch restraining attachment 18e in which a plurality of mounting seats 18c are formed around the periphery and are mounted and fixed to a pouch mounting space on the bottom plate 3a of the tray 3 by mounting bolts 18d. In this case, pouch 1
7 is a hole 1 through which the pin 18b is inserted into an edge portion (a hermetically sealed portion formed by fusing or bonding a bag constituting a pouch).
7a is opened, and the pouch 17 is restrained by the tray 3 by inserting the hole 17a into the pin 18b.

FIGS. 5C and 5D show the pouch restraining means 18.
This shows another example of the base member 18 having a rectangular frame shape.
a pouch gripping member 1 for holding the pouch 17 on the tray 3 by sandwiching the edge edge of the pouch 17 between the long sides facing each other.
8g was installed. 18g of this pouch gripping member
Exemplifies a clip structure in which a fixed holding piece and a movable holding piece are pivotally connected to each other so as to be openable and closable so that a gripping force is obtained by a spring. In this case, the pouch 17 does not need to be modified at all. The base member 18f is attached to the tray 3 by bolting or the like.

Since the embodiment of the present invention has the above-described structure, conventionally, as shown in FIG. 6, when the tray 3 is inclined to one side, the pouch 17 placed on the tray 3 has a low inclination due to its own weight. Move to the side and tilt to the other, move to the other, and repeat the above movement during the swing rotation process,
In some cases, wrinkles or pinholes may occur on the pouch 17.
7, the movement of the pouch 17 can be prevented, and the occurrence of wrinkles and pinholes can be prevented, as shown in FIG.

In the present invention, the pouch restraining means 18
This is for restraining the pouch 17 from moving within the tray 3 by its own weight during the swing rotation process. The pouch 17 is pressed from above the tray 3 on which the pouches 17 are placed in parallel with a fastening band, or It is possible to adopt a net to prevent the movement or to adopt other restraining means, and any of them may be adopted.

[0025]

According to the present invention, the movement of the pouch during the swing rotation processing can be prevented, and the generation of wrinkles and pinholes in the pouch can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a schematic structure of an oscillating rotary spray retort sterilizer to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional front view showing a schematic structure of an oscillating rotary spray retort sterilizer to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a tray used in the present invention.

4A is a plan view showing an example of a tray used in the present invention, FIG. 4B is a side view of the tray in a two-tiered state viewed from the long side, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a side view of the tray in a two-tiered state.

5A is a plan view showing an example of a pouch restraining means used in the present invention, FIG. 5B is an explanatory side view showing a state where the pouch is restrained by attaching it to a tray, and FIG. FIG. 4D is a plan view showing another example of the pouch restraining means used in (1), and FIG. 4 (D) is a side view showing a state in which the pouch is restrained by attaching it to a tray.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a moving state of the pouch with respect to the tray during the swing rotation process without the pouch restraining means.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the tray and the pouch during the swing rotation process by the pouch restraining means of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sterilization tank 2 Rotating body 3 Tray 4 Header pipe 5 Spray nozzle 6 Rotation center axis 7 Rotary joint 8 Slip ring 9 Oscillating rotation imparting means 10 Oscillating rotation transmitting means 11 Bearing 12 External electric equipment 13 External air supply and discharge means 14 External Liquid supply / discharge means 16 cart 17 pouch 18 pouch restraining means

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of trays on which a pouch filled with a product is hermetically packed are housed in a rotating body rotatably installed in a sterilizing tank in a plurality of stages, and heat is supplied from a spray nozzle arranged toward a gap between the trays. The product in the pouch is heated and sterilized by spraying / spouting water or steam, and then the cooling water is sprayed from the spray nozzle to cool the product in the pouch. Oscillating rotation, and the above-mentioned pouch is restrained by a tray. 2. A plurality of trays on which a pouch filled with a product is placed in a rotating body rotatably installed in a sterilization tank are stacked and accommodated, and heat is supplied from a spray nozzle arranged toward a gap between the trays. The product in the pouch is heated and sterilized by spraying / spouting water or steam, and then the cooling water is sprayed from the spray nozzle to cool the product in the pouch. An oscillating rotary spray-type retort sterilizer, which oscillates and rotates the oscillating rotary spray-type retort sterilizer, wherein a pouch restraining means is provided on a tray or a tray and a pouch. 3. The pouch restraining means comprises a hole formed in an edge of the pouch, and a pouch restraining attachment having a pin inserted through the hole and restraining the pouch on a tray.
The oscillating rotary spray type retort sterilizer according to claim 2, wherein the attachment is installed on a tray. 4. The swinging mechanism according to claim 2, wherein the pouch restraining means comprises a pouch gripping member such as a clip for gripping the pouch and restraining the pouch on the tray, and the gripping member is provided on the tray. Dynamic rotary spray retort sterilizer.