JPS6013897B2 - Sterilizer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a container sterilization device, which is configured so that a sterilizing liquid can be evenly applied to the containers in the minimum necessary amount within a sterilizing packaging system. That is the purpose.

The sterilization packaging system has already been published in 1975-124.
An example of this is proposed in No. 344 (see Tokukan Sho 54-585 Hina Publication).

In this process, containers are taken out individually from a holding frame that collects pre-formed customer containers and supplied to a conveyor, and the containers placed one after another on the conveyor are sterilized with a spray of sterilizing liquid, and then the sterilizing liquid is dried with hot air. After that, the container is filled with previously sterilized food, and then a previously sterilized continuous lid material is sealed at the container mouth. In such systems, the sterilization process is the most important and most difficult part, and sterilization of the container itself is the most difficult. The previous application overcomes this problem and completes the sterilization packaging system. However, even with this device, problems have occurred in the sterilization process. This is because the chamber for spraying the sterilizing liquid must move back and forth with respect to the travel path of the container, which requires a complicated mechanism, and not much consideration has been given to the supply of the sterilizing liquid. Therefore, the sterilizing solution adheres excessively to the container, which requires a considerable amount of time for the subsequent drying process. That is, the supply of the heated sterilizing liquid to the chamber is stopped during the reversing process, so the chamber is cooled, and during the forward movement, that is, at the time of spraying, the sterilizing liquid adheres to the inner wall of the chamber, condenses, drips, and adheres to the container. In addition, large droplets of sterilizing liquid may drip from the mist nozzle and adhere to the container. This causes a delay in the drying process. The present invention has been made in view of the above points. First, the upper and lower chambers are fixed across the travel path of the container, thereby omitting the horizontal reciprocating motor, and the spraying method of the sterilizing liquid is replaced with a nozzle method. In this way, the sterilizing liquid mist is made more uniform and finer, and the sterilizing liquid is prevented from excessively adhering to the container.

The embodiments shown in the drawings will be described below.

FIG. 1 illustrates an entire aseptic packaging machine equipped with a sterilizer according to the present invention.

This aseptic packaging machine consists of a container accumulation and holding section A, a container supply section B, a container sterilization section C, a sterilizing solution drying section ○, a filling section E, a lid sealing section F, a lid supply supply section G, a lid drying section, and a cutting section. It consists of a part 1, a product discharge part J, and a pre-formed container, namely A.
I. Containers made of materials that can be formed into containers, such as paper, thermoplastic resin, or composite materials thereof, are collected and stacked as shown. The containers 10 are vertically stacked in a collection holding frame 12 and are further maintained vertically by four support columns 14.

At the bottom, a claw 16 supported by a spring is attached to the container 1.
When the bottom container is removed with a certain amount of force, the claw 16 loosens and only one container becomes free.

The lower part of the accumulation holding frame 12 is attached to the machine frame of this apparatus in a airtight state, and the sterile chamber 18 inside the rock frame is connected to the inside of the accumulation holding frame 12. The bottom of the container 1 is suctioned by the suction plate 26 at the tip of the suction plate holding rod 24 which performs a rocking motion about the fulcrum 22, and the air cylinder 201 is attached to the chute 28 provided inside the sterile chamber 18. placed on top. The shooter 28 is connected to the container 1 as shown in FIG.
It is designed to fit only the flange part of 0, and the suction plate 2
6 descends sufficiently below between the shooters 28.
Needless to say, the suction plate holding rod 24 maintains the inside of the sterile chamber 18 airtight with the bellows 30 and the like. One container that has slipped over the chute 28 enters a hole 36 (FIG. 4) in a container cradle 34 in a conveyor 32 provided inside the apparatus.

At this time, the suction plate holding rod also passes between the shooters 28 and rises to pick up the next container 10.

These series of movements are performed with good timing. container 1
The containers are guided by a river conveyor 32 to the container sterilization section C according to the present invention. Container sterilization section C, like container supply section B, is filled with sterile air, and a container sterilization calendar is installed therein as shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 5. However, it would be more advantageous in terms of maintenance and inspection of the apparatus to install only the chamber shown in FIG. 4 in the sterile chamber 18 inside the machine frame and to install the other parts outside the sterile chamber.

The container sterilizer includes an ultrasonic sterilizing liquid atomizing device 38 shown in FIG. 3 and a chamber 40 shown in FIG. It consists of

The sterilizing liquid atomizing device 38 causes an ultrasonic vibrator 44 to resonate through the koji cable 42 using an ultrasonic oscillator circuit (not shown), oscillates ultrasonic waves from there, and uses overflow water 46 as a propagation medium. The purpose is to propagate the sterilizing liquid 48 and generate a fog.

Since the ultrasonic transducer 44 is susceptible to sterilizing liquid, ultrasonic waves are transmitted through hot water. The oscillation frequency of the ultrasound is, for example, blood Hz to 2. He is the M generation. The sterilizing liquid 48 to which ultrasonic waves have been applied is formed into a fountain 50 by the ultrasonic dispersion effect.
This forms a smoky mist. Most of the fog particles have the same size and are extremely fine. The particle size is, for example, 20-50 microns. Here, the hot water is pure water without impurities to promote atomization, and is stored in a tank 52 and continuously passed through a supply port 54 and a discharge port 56, a water tank 58, a heating element 60, a cooler 62 and a pump 64. It is circulated.

This is to keep the water 46 at a constant temperature at all times against the self-heating of the vibrator and heat conduction from the heated sterilizing liquid, and specifically, it is maintained at around 6 piston in the chamber 52. Pure water is 60
Ultrasonic transmission efficiency is best around qo. Sterilizing liquid 4
8 is, for example, 35% hydrogen peroxide solution, chlorine water, etc.
The sterilizing liquid is stored in a thin-walled cellulose 66 made of synthetic resin, metal, etc., and a sterilizing liquid coming from a tank 68 via a heating element 70 is supplied thereto in fixed quantities from a conduit 72.

The sieve 66 is provided with a spherical surface in order to concentrate ultrasonic waves on the fountain portion of the sterilizing solution and improve the efficiency of atomization. A mist of sterilizing liquid is generated substantially continuously within the chamber 74 and is discharged from the discharge pipe 80 at the top of the chamber toward the sterilizing chamber on the flow of sterile air coming from the conduit 76 and heated by the heating element 48. Ru.

Specifically, the temperature of the sterile air is 50 to 100°C. During this time, the selection plate 82 removes droplets that are too large. The selection plate has a horizontal portion directly above the fountain 50 that suppresses the rise of such large-diameter droplets. Further, a heater 84 is provided in the chamber 74 to constantly heat the rising mist. Specifically, the inside of the chamber is humidified to 50 to 80 qo. The final mist thus obtained is homogeneous with a particle size of, for example, around 20 microns,
It is maintained at 80° C. and is sent to the container while being flooded with a heating element 85.

As shown in Fig. 5, a portion of the mist is returned to the generation chamber 74, so that it is partially circulated, and the mist is sent more uniformly toward the container. Become.

For the mist returning to the moat, an inlet 86 is provided as shown in FIG. 3, and this inlet is covered with a plate 88 to prevent backflow. Next, a sterilization chamber 40' is provided to hold the coibear 32.

In FIG. 4, 90' is a guide rail for guiding the board-shaped container holder 34, and 92 is a ball or roller. The guide rail 90 is incorporated into the wall of the chamber, and forms an airtight chamber together with the chamber wall. The chamber 40 is composed of an upper member and a lower member with the guide rail 90 as a boundary, and has an overall rectangular box shape.

An upper sterilization chamber 94 and a lower sterilization chamber 96 are located above and below the container holder, and each chamber has a supply port for guiding the mist from the sterilizing liquid atomizing device 38 through a tube 98. A discharge row 02 is provided for discharging through the tube 100 and the tube 101. Therefore, the sterilizing liquid mist fills both the upper and lower sterilizing chambers 94, 96 and adheres uniformly and as a thin film to the entire surface of the container 10, and excess mist is exhausted. The mist smoothly fills and moves inside the chamber 40 on the sterile heated air flow from the atomizing device 38, but at this time it is heated by the heater 04 so that the size of the ridge particles does not change.

The heaters 104 are embedded in both the upper and lower members of the chamber, respectively. The heater 104 should be installed at least on the ceiling of the chamber 40, thereby controlling the mist around the container 10 at 50-80°C in the case of 35% hydrogen peroxide solution.
Desirably, the temperature is maintained at around 6 mm to maintain a foggy state, while the grains that touch the inner wall of the chamber are heated and gasified. The gasification temperature of hydrogen peroxide is approximately 8 pi○ ~
It is 100oo. According to experiments conducted by the present inventors, it is thought that when hydrogen peroxide water is gasified, its sterilizing effect weakens and a long sterilizing time is required. Therefore, while the area around the container 10 is heated to keep the fog droplet pot at the same level as when it was generated, the other areas are heated more to prevent the mist from dropping into the container. This causes it to turn into gas. In addition, the ceiling of the upper member has a curved surface 10 to prevent it from dripping into the container even if the mist forms drops.
6 is given.

In the lower member, a drain 108 is provided for discharging drips.
is provided. In addition, the drain 108 and the supply port 100
A plate 110 for regulating the flow direction of the mist is provided between the two. As a result of this plate 1, part of the mist is lifted toward the bottom of the container, and the other part is pushed down toward the drain, where it is cooled and condensed on the wall surface. Sterilization chamber-40
As shown in FIG. 5, the excess mist discharged from the tank is sent to a collection chamber 112, collected by an electrostatic filter operated by application of a DC high voltage, passed through a condenser 114, and stored in a mini tank 116.

From mini-tank 116, pump 118 sends it back to tank 68 for reuse. Incidentally, the excess mist may be condensed and collected using a temperature difference instead of using an electrostatic filter. On the other hand, the sterilization chamber 40
The sterilizing liquid recovered from the drain 108 is also passed through the condenser 120 and merged into the recovery system.

The gasified sterilizing liquid is exhausted to another system 122. By the way, the sterilizing liquid atomizing device 38 using ultrasonic waves is not limited to the type shown in FIG. 3, but may be of other types as shown in FIGS. 6 to 9.

First, in the one shown in FIG. 6, the ultrasonic transducer,
Mist is generated within the chamber 74 by providing an ultrasonic nozzle 124 instead of the ultrasonic oscillation circuit.

The ultrasonic nozzle 124 injects liquid and gas from the nozzle and collides with a resonant box 126 attached to the tip of the nozzle, thereby generating intense sonic energy of, for example, about 3 Misakimachiz and turning the liquid into koji. be. In this case, the sterilizing liquid is used as a liquid, and the sterile heated air is used as a gas. It will be delivered to Kamakura from 2,76 and injected from a nozzle, colliding with a resonance box and becoming atomized. In this case, the size of the fog particles is specifically about 10 microns. The sterilizing liquid mist rides on the nozzle's jet stream and hits from above the chamber 74...Evening 8
It is heated by the tortoise and sent to the sterilization chamber 48, while it is cooled in the lower part, drips, and is discharged from the drain pipe 28 toward the condenser.

The sterilizing liquid circulates in the system as shown in FIG. 7, and the sterilizing liquid mist is heated by the heating element 851 midway through the sterilizing chamber umbrella Q! In addition, in order to make the particle size of the mist as uniform as possible before sending it to the chamber, some of the mist is returned to the dust generation chamber 74 via the branch pipe 86 on the way. The sterilizing liquid is condenser turtle 38
, is stored in the mini tank turtle 32.

It is necessary to provide a covering flea at the location where the branch pipe 86 looks into the chamber to prevent the mist from the nozzle 124 from flowing back. The sterilizing liquid from the mini-tank 132 and the sterilizing liquid used in the sterilizing chamber pile are both sent back to the original tank S8 by the pump blade 18. Next, the eighth
In the type shown in the figure, the sterilizing liquid is atomized by a device called an atomizer 134. Atomizer turtle 34G chamber? The tortoise wall is installed in a cavity 136 having a gateway with its nozzle facing the chamber side, and an ultrasonic transducer 138 is fixed to the rear lagoon. The sterilizing liquid is supplied into the atomizer from the supply pipe 140, subjected to ultrasonic waves of 30 to 100 KHz, and exits from the nozzle as a mist with a particle size of 20 to 50 microns. The mist is discharged from the outlet at the top of the chamber 74 on the flow of sterile heated air coming from the pipe 142 in the empty chamber. During this time, the ultrasonic transducer, which is easily affected by the sterilizing solution, is protected from the loosening of the sterilizing solution by the action of the sterile heated air stream. The distribution system for the sterilizing liquid in this case, as shown in FIG. 9, is almost the same as that in FIG. 7, but the only difference is the method of utilizing sterile air.

In this way, uniform particles are constantly supplied from the sterilizing liquid atomizing device 38 into the chamber mechanism 0 and are evenly deposited on the entire surface of the container 10.

The atomizer is constantly generated in the atomizer, while the container 10 is moved intermittently due to its spot-feeding system, but since the atomizer particles are extremely small and uniform, the atomizer is constantly supplied into the chamber 40. The sterilizing solution will not adhere excessively even if you leave it in place.
However, valves 144 operated by timing signals obtainable from the intermittent actuation of the container conveyor may be
It can also be provided as shown so that the mist is blown into the sterilization chamber only when a container arrives in the chamber to avoid wasting sterilizing agent. In addition, the conveyor 32
If a system (not shown) is adopted in which containers 10 are supplied by V while continuously traveling, more efficient sterilization can be performed.

Further, in FIG. 5, the conveyor 32 is shown as one that causes the containers 18 to travel in a single line, but it is also possible to make the containers 18 run in multiple lines within the scope of the present invention.

The container onto which the necessary minimum amount of sterilizing liquid has been deposited as a fine mist as described above is then sent to the sterilizing liquid drying section D.

The drying section is configured to introduce sterile heated air from a conduit 146 into an air box 148 and spray it toward the container from a nozzle 15Q. Here, since the sterilizing liquid adheres to the container 10 in the form of a uniform and extremely thin layer within the chamber 48, it is quickly dried and removed. After the sterilizing liquid is dried and removed, the container 1M is then sent to the filling section E.

In the filling section E, contents such as completely sterilized food are sent through a pipe 152 and filled into the container 10' by a filling nozzle 154.

Next, as a lid for the container turtle Q, a continuous lid material such as AI, plastic, or a laminated material of plastic and paper is supplied and sealed in alignment with the flange portion.

The continuous lid material 56 is made into a rolled body 158, and is transferred from the lid material supply section G to a tension roll oven 6 as in a general aseptic system.
After being sterilized with a sterilizing agent such as hydrogen peroxide or chlorine water in the sterilizing tank blade 62, it passes through a turn roll turtle 64 and reaches the drying section E.

Is the drying section a sterilizing solution and sterilizing agent tank? The partition blades 66 of 62 serve as a seal with the outside air, making it a sterile room. The continuous lid strip 156 is completely dried in the drying section by being blown with sterile heated air from a plurality of drying nozzles 170 attached to a drying nozzle support stay 168.

The lid material 156 passes through a pitch correction roll 174 on the way to the seal portion turn roll 172.

After passing through the sealing part turn roll 172, the sealing part F' is sealed to the container via a heated sealing material that has been applied to the lid material in advance. A container holder 34 is placed on top to keep the container in the stereotaxic layer. When the position is further reached, the sealing piece attached to the heating component 182 which is driven aseptically from the air cylinder 180' is lowered from the upper part, and the lid member 156 is placed on the container 10 by the sealing piece. Heat and press the protrusions to completely seal.

A plurality of heaters are built into the heating component 182, and the temperature is controlled so that the sealing piece is at an appropriate temperature.

This sealing is performed circumferentially along the flange of the container 10. Thereafter, the container 10 is in the form of a continuous seal in a continuous closure and is then conveyed by a conveyor to the cutting station 1 for cutting or punching. In the cutting section, a cutting blade 186 attached to a vertically movable blade fixture 184 cuts off the lid material on the container pedestal 34. Through the above steps, a sterile airtight container filled with the contents is formed, and is transported to the product discharge section J by the conveyor 32. During conveyance, the guide bar 188 that supports the container flange portion pushes the container 10 upward, and the container completely rides on the bottom support stay 190 and leaves the conveyor 32.

As soon as the container 10 leaves the conveyor, it is transferred to the discharge conveyor 1.
92 to the outside.

The above-mentioned apparatus is filled with sterile air during these steps, that is, from A to J, and the sterile air flows into the sterile chamber from the jet port 194 and blows out from the accumulation holding frame 12 and the apparatus outlet, and bacteria are mixed in from the outside. The area to the right of the sterilizing section C in the sterile room 18 is the highest and is blown toward the container accumulation holding section A at the front and the product discharge section J at the rear, respectively, and adheres to the containers from the outside. Care is taken to ensure that the bacteria that enters the container does not enter the chamber of the post-container sterilization process, and that the mist leaking from the container sterilization section C does not reach the container drying section D.

As described above, the present invention relates to a sterilization device that can be incorporated into a sterilization packaging system, and is equipped with a sterilization liquid atomization means that atomizes a sterilization liquid using ultrasonic waves, and fills the interior with the solubilized sterilization liquid to form a container. It is equipped with a chamber that allows the sterilizing solution to adhere to the entire surface, and is further equipped with heating means that keeps the sterilizing liquid around the container in the form of a mist within the chamber, while heating and gasifying the mist that touches the inner wall of the chamber. The sterilizing liquid can be uniformly nitrided in a very thin film over the entire surface of the container to be sterilized. Therefore, it becomes possible to carry out the drying process of the sterilizing liquid after sterilization treatment very simply and quickly, and as a result, it is possible to improve the production efficiency in the sterilization packaging system.

In addition, since the ceiling of the chamber in the present invention has a curved shape, even if the sterilizing liquid mist condenses into large particles due to some inconvenience, it will drip or flow along the curved surface so that it will not come off the top of the container. This prevents excess sterilizing liquid from adhering to the container.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a sterilization packaging device equipped with a sterilization device according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the container supply section in the sterilization packaging device. FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of an example of a sterilizing liquid atomizing device. FIG. 4 is a schematic vertical sectional view of the sterilization chamber. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the rare paths of sterilizing liquid and sterile air. 6th
8 and 8 are vertical cross-sectional views showing other examples of the sterilizing liquid atomizing device, respectively, and FIGS. 7 and 9 are flow diagrams of the sterilizing liquid and sterile air in each example. 10... Container, 32... Conveyor, 34... Container holder, 38...
... Sterilization liquid atomization device, 40 ... Sterilization chamber, 1
04...Heater, 106...Curved surface portion, 100...Mist supply port, 102...Mist discharge port. Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 Figure 9

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A sterilizing device comprising the following items: a. A sterilizing liquid atomizing means for atomizing a sterilizing liquid using ultrasonic waves. b. A conveyor that horizontally transports preformed containers to be sterilized. c. A chamber installed on the running path of the conveyor to enclose the containers supported by the conveyor. d. An inlet port provided in the chamber for introducing and filling the chamber with the mist from the sterilizing liquid atomizing means and for discharging excess mist. e heating means provided at least in the ceiling of the chamber for keeping the mist atomized around the container, while heating and gasifying the mist touching the inner wall of the chamber; f A ceiling portion of the chamber in which at least the portion directly above the container is curved upward.