JPH1143119A - Sterilizing-disinfecting device for container - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform a sterilization or disinfection by making a previous joining part come into contact with a chemical liquid by replacing the joining part between a container holder (an insertion part and an arm) and a container by a method wherein the arm is rocked accompanying the movement of a conveyor, and the container is transferred from one arm to the other arm. SOLUTION: A container 1 is held by a conveyor 7, and immersed in an ozone water 8, and the container 1 is sterilized or disinfected by this sterilizing- disinfecting device 6 for container, and the sterilizing-disinfecting device 6 has an insertion part 5 which is provided on the conveyor 7 and is inserted in the container 1, and a pair of arms 26 which are provided on the conveyor 7 and are rockable in parallel with each other, and is equipped with a rocking mechanism 34 which presses the container 1 to the insertion part 5 by either one of the arms 26, and an engaging rail 31 which is provided on a fixed side being confronted with the conveyor 7, engaged with one part 30 of the rocking mechanism 34 and generates a rocking of the arm 26 accompanying the movement of the conveyor 7.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a container sterilization apparatus for sterilizing or disinfecting a container with a drug solution before filling the container with contents such as medicines and foods.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For sterilization of containers containing pharmaceuticals and foods, a steam sterilization method of steaming the containers with steam is used.
In order to sterilize a container made of a heat-sensitive material such as T (polyethylene terephthalate), a method of immersing the container in a hydrogen peroxide solution or irradiating the container with radiation is used.

[0003] When a container made of a heat-sensitive material such as PET is sterilized by a steam sterilization method, the container is deformed, which is inappropriate. In the case of sterilization using a hydrogen peroxide solution, hydrogen peroxide may be adsorbed and remained in a PET container or the like, and if the container is used as it is, it is harmful to the human body. Furthermore, in the case of sterilizing a container using radiation, there is a problem that the scale of the equipment is increased and personnel and equipment specialized in radiation management are required.

Accordingly, the present inventors filed a method and an apparatus for sterilizing containers with ozone water (Japanese Patent Application No. 9-60742).
issue).

In this method, a nozzle is inserted into a container, and the container is filled with ozone water as a chemical liquid from the nozzle, and the container is immersed in ozone water to sterilize the inner and outer surfaces of the container. In particular, when the mouth of a container is small, such as an eye drop container, it is often the case that ozone water does not enter the container simply by immersing the container in ozone water due to surface tension. If the nozzle is forcibly filled with ozone water in advance, the inner surface of the container can be completely sterilized. If a disinfecting solution such as a hydrogen peroxide solution is used as the chemical solution, the container can of course be disinfected.

[0006]

By the way, when the container is immersed in ozone water, if the immersion is performed while maintaining a certain holding state, the ozone water is adhered to the portion holding the container and the container. This may not be sufficient and sterilization may be incomplete.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a sterilization and disinfection apparatus for a container for holding a container on a conveyor, immersing the container in a chemical solution, and sterilizing or disinfecting the container, provided on the conveyor and inserted into the container. And a pair of arms provided on the conveyor and capable of swinging in parallel to each other, and a swinging mechanism for pressing a container against the insertion portion with one of the arms; and An engaging rail provided on the opposed fixed side to engage with a part of the swing mechanism and cause the arm to swing with the movement of the conveyor.

In the above configuration, since the arm swings with the movement of the conveyor, the container can be switched from one arm to the other arm. This makes it possible to change the contact portion between the container holding member (insertion portion and arm) and the container, and to contact or sterilize the preceding contact portion with a chemical solution.

[0009]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, the container will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the container 1 to be sterilized here is a small-sized and plastic eye drop container, and the chemical used for sterilization is ozone water. The container 1 is integrally formed with a small-diameter neck portion 2 for screwing a cap (not shown) and a body portion 3 serving as a filling portion for contents (eye drops). The neck portion 2 defines the mouth 4 of the container 1. However, since the diameter of the neck portion 2 is small, simply immersing the container 1 in ozone water does not allow the ozone water to enter the container 1 due to surface tension. Therefore, the ozone water is forcibly filled or injected by inserting the nozzle 5. This will be described later.

Next, a sterilization apparatus will be described. FIG.
As shown in (1), the sterilizing and disinfecting apparatus 6 holds the container 1 on a moving conveyor 7 and immerses the container 1 in ozone water 8 during transportation to sterilize the container. That is, the conveyor 7
Has a plurality of container holding portions 9 (see FIG. 1) at equal intervals along its longitudinal direction, and holds a plurality of containers 1 aligned in the thickness direction of the paper by one container holding portion 9. The following processes are performed for each row of containers 1. Part of the conveyor 7 is immersed in the ozone water tank 10. In the transport path of the conveyor 7, a container supply unit 11, a first ozone water injection unit 12, a second ozone water injection unit 13,
Ozone water discharge part 14, container cleaning part 15, container drying part 1
6 and a container dispensing section 17 are provided.

In the container supply unit 11, the one row of containers 1 transported by the transfer robot 18 is placed in the container holding unit 9 of the conveyor 7.
And the container 1 is supplied. Then, the container 1 is filled with ozone water in the next first ozone water injection unit 12. Thereby, the inner surface of the container 1 is sterilized. Thereafter, the container 1 is immersed in ozone water 8 while being transported on a conveyor 7. Thereby, the outer surface of the container 1 is sterilized. Next, the container 1 is lifted above the water, and the second ozone water injection unit 13 refills the ozone water. Thereby, the ozone water in the container 1 is replaced, and the sterility is improved. Thereafter, the container 1 is immersed again and subjected to sterilization of the outer surface, and then pulled up again, and the ozone water discharge unit 14 discharges the inside ozone water. This discharge is performed by blowing out sterile air into the container 1. Next, the inside of the container 1 is washed by the in-container washing unit 15. This is performed by ejecting pure water into the container 1. Further, the container 1 is dried by blowing hot air in a container drying section 16. In this way, the container 1 is discharged by the container discharging section 17 to a content filling step as a subsequent step. In this apparatus, the environment before and after the sterilization is separated by a water seal plate 19.

Next, the configuration of the container holding section 9 will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 1, the conveyor 7 is a chain conveyor having a pair of chains 20 (only one is shown) separated in the conveyor width direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 1 and the thickness direction in FIG. 4). . And these chains 20
The reference frame 21 extends in the width direction of the conveyor. The reference frame 21 is formed in a tubular shape, and defines a fluid passage 22 therein. In particular, a nozzle insertion port 24 is provided at one end of the reference frame 21 so that fluid can be supplied from the external nozzle 23 to the fluid passage 22.
A plurality of nozzles 5 are integrally provided on the reference frame 21 at regular intervals in the extending direction. The nozzle 5 is directed outward in a direction perpendicular to the width direction of the conveyor, and is upward in the figure because the conveyor 7 is below. The internal passage of the nozzle 5 is communicated with the fluid passage 22, and when the fluid is supplied to the fluid passage 22, the fluid is ejected from the tip of the nozzle 5. This nozzle 5 is inserted into the mouth 4 of the container 1 in an inverted state, that is, the nozzle 5 forms an insertion portion provided on the conveyor 7.

The reference frame 21 is provided with a pair of arms 26 for each nozzle 5. The arms 26 are arranged one on each side of the nozzle 5 and are rotatably connected to the reference frame 21 via pins 27. In the figure, arm 2
6 extends relatively long above the pin 27 and relatively shortly below the pin 27. The lower end of the arm 26 is rotatably connected to the movable frame 28 via a pin 29. The movable frame 28 connects all the arms 26. Thus, a swing mechanism 34 as a parallel link mechanism is constituted by the reference frame 21, the pair of arms 26, and the movable frame 28. When the movable frame 28 is moved left and right, the pair of arms 26 swing left and right while being parallel to each other. I will be.

Here, contact pads 26a are provided at the upper ends and inside of the pair of arms 26, respectively. These contact pads 26a are for contacting the container 1, and are made of a soft material such as Teflon in order to prevent the container 1 from being damaged at that time. The distance H between the contact pads 26a is larger than the thickness D of the container 1. The inner diameter of the mouth 4 of the container 1 is also larger than the outer diameter of the nozzle 5. Thus, simply inserting the nozzle 5 into the container 1 will not hold the container 1 and will tilt to one or the other as shown by the solid line.

In order to apply a holding force to the container 1, FIG.
It is necessary to tilt the arm 26 and press the container 1 against the nozzle 5 with one of the arms 26 as shown in FIG.
That is, for example, if the movable frame 28 is moved to the right as shown in the figure, the arm 26 falls down to the left, and the right arm 26 presses the body 3 of the container 1 to the left via the contact pad 26a. When this happens, container 1 also falls to the left,
The nozzle 5 is vertically and diagonally engaged with the inner surface of the mouth 4. As a result, the container 1 is held by the container holding section 9. Similarly, when the movable frame 28 is similarly moved to the left, the left arm 26 presses the container 1.

Referring to FIG. 2, in the above holding state, the contact pad 26a and the body 3 of the container 1 are in close contact, and the inner surface of the mouth 4 and the nozzle 5 are in close contact with each other at two upper and lower locations. . However, even if the container 1 is immersed in the ozone water only in this holding state, the ozone water does not sufficiently spread to the contact portions, and the sterilization of the container 1 may be incomplete.

Therefore, in this apparatus, the arm 26
By swinging the container 1 and changing the position of the contact portion by holding the container 1, the contact portion is brought into contact with ozone water to sterilize it. That is, the movable frame 28 is provided with an engaging portion 30 projecting downward.
Are engaged with an engagement rail 31 provided on the fixed side facing the conveyor 7. That is, the engagement rail 3
1 has a groove 32 having a rectangular cross section, and this groove 32
Are fitted. The fixed side to which the engagement rail 31 is attached may be a conveyor frame or the inner surface of the ozone water tank 10. The engagement rail 31 is attached to the groove 3
2 with a bolt 33 inserted into the bottom. As shown in FIG. 3, the engaging rail 31 extends over the entire length of the conveyor 7, and the engaging portion 30 is always engaged.

The engagement portion 30 slides in the groove 32 with the movement of the conveyor 7. As a result, free movement (run-out) of the movable frame 28 is restricted, and the arm 26 is
Only one is operated in an inclined or vertical state. The container 1 is held in an inclined state, and the container 1 is held in a vertical state.
Is released and becomes detachable. In particular, as shown in FIG.
In order to change the state of the arm 26, the engagement rail 31 is curved halfway. Thereby, the engaging portion 30 moves left and right with the movement of the conveyor 7, and the movable frame 28 and the arm 26 can be swung right and left following the movement.

In this way, by changing the inclination direction of the arm 26 during the dipping process of the container 1 into the ozone water, the position of the contact portion can be changed, and the contact portion can be sterilized by contact with the ozone water. It should be noted that such swinging is preferably performed when the above-described nozzle 5 is directed upward and the container 1 is in an inverted state, and thereby the detachment of the container 1 is prevented.
Further, it is necessary to perform this swinging or holding at least once during the immersion in the ozone water. On the contrary, in order to prevent the container 1 from being damaged, it is preferable that the number of times of holding is set to one which is the minimum.

On the other hand, the first external nozzle 23 is movably provided in the first ozone water injection section 12, the second ozone water injection section 13, the ozone water discharge section 14, and the cleaning section 15 in the container.
These external nozzles 23 are inserted into the nozzle insertion ports 24 when the container holder 9 comes, and supply ozone water, sterile air, and pure water, respectively. Thereby, sterilization, drainage, washing, and drying can be performed without holding the container 1 without transferring the container 1, and a highly reliable transport system can be constructed.

Various other embodiments of the present invention are conceivable. For example, the container is not limited to an eye drop container, and the insertion portion can be other than a nozzle. The chemical solution is not limited to ozone water, and disinfecting solutions such as hypochlorous acid, hydrogen peroxide solution, and disinfecting ethanol can be used.

[0023]

In summary, the present invention exhibits an excellent effect that the container can be completely sterilized and disinfected.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an enlarged view of a main part of a container sterilizing / disinfecting apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a holding state of a container.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an engagement rail.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the entire sterilization apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Container 5 Nozzle 6 Sterilizer / sterilizer 7 Conveyor 8 Ozone water 26 Arm 30 Engagement part 31 Engagement rail 34 Swing mechanism

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A sterilization apparatus for a container for holding a container on a conveyor, immersing the container in a chemical solution, and sterilizing or disinfecting the container, wherein the insertion unit is provided on the conveyor and inserted into the container. A swing mechanism that is provided on the conveyor and has a pair of arms that can swing in parallel to each other, and is provided on a fixed side facing the conveyor, and a swing mechanism that presses the container against the insertion portion with one of the arms, An apparatus for disinfecting and sterilizing a container, comprising: an engaging rail that engages with a part of the swing mechanism to cause the arm to swing as the conveyor moves.