JPS6234631B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a method for exhausting air from the head space of a container after filling a carbonated beverage such as beer.

[Conventional technology]

FIG. 1 is a plan layout of a filling machine and a capping machine. A container 1 is supplied to a filling machine 5 via a conveyor 2, a screw 3, and a star wheel 4, and after being filled with liquid, it is transferred to a capping machine by a transfer star wheel 6. 7, where it is crowned, capped, etc., and then sent out onto a conveyor 9 via a star wheel 8.

In the case of a carbonated beverage, such as beer, the state of the liquid in the container at the transfer star wheel 6 position after filling is usually as shown in FIG. 2, with beer liquid 10 at the bottom and beer foam at the top. 11
However, above it there is air 12 containing carbon dioxide gas.
exists, and the separation of gases mainly consisting of carbon dioxide continues in the beer liquid 10,
The separated gas bubbles 13 rise and sequentially combine with the foam 11, and a portion of the foam 11 is broken and separated into beer liquid and gas.

If a crown or cap is applied by the capping machine 7 while air remains in the head space of the container 1 in such a state, the quality of the beer will be adversely affected mainly by the oxygen in the trapped air. In addition, beer foam 1
1 may also contain a large amount of air depending on the process of generation. From this point of view, sealing the mouth of the container after expelling the air 12 and air-containing bubbles 11 from the upper part of the container has been widely adopted when filling carbonated beverages such as beer.

This method involves (1) injecting high-pressure liquid or gas from the mouth of the container; (2) Apply vibration mechanically from the outside of the container. (3) Utilize ultrasound. There are other methods.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, in all of the conventional methods described above, the operator visually checks the level of foaming after filling the liquid, and then adjusts the injection pressure, strength of shaking, etc., number of pieces, installation position, etc. This required a lot of manual effort, and the response speed was slow because it targeted the average situation of multiple containers.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3, a pipe 16 serving as a high-pressure water or beer liquid source or a carbon dioxide gas supply source is installed at the core of the rotating shaft 15 of the transfer star wheel 6 so as to be rotatable with respect to the rotating shaft 15. In the case where a nozzle 17 with a constant ejection amount is connected, the operator visually confirms the amount of foaming and performs a so-called jet former operation in which the nozzle 17 is oscillated in the direction of the arrow shown in the figure in accordance with the amount of foaming.

As mentioned above, this operation is carried out for the purpose of expelling air and air-containing bubbles from the upper part of the container, but there are various factors such as the stability of the filling liquid, the dimensional error of the container, the temperature of the filling liquid, and the carbon dioxide content. The foaming state varies depending on the amount, etc., so operators do this based on their experience, and this results in a burden on the operator, loss of filling liquid due to poor accuracy, variations in the amount of seasoning, insufficient air expulsion, and unsanitary conditions. Various problems arose.

Particularly recently, beverage manufacturers have been
However, the presence of operators to operate the jet former was a major bottleneck in terms of GMP. In addition, jet former operation is necessary for starting and stopping the machine, controlling the characteristics of the filling liquid, dimensional errors in the container, and seasoning accuracy, and managing the air in the head space to prevent quality deterioration.
At the factory where the Clean Room was made, the operator was B.
Since it is located outside the CR, it is not sufficiently controlled, and the level of management of the points mentioned above has deteriorated, and a solution to the above problems has been desired.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention was proposed in view of the above points, and
While the container filled with carbonated beverage is transferred from the filling machine to the capping machine, the amount of foaming in the container head space is detected by a light receiving element as a difference in the amount of light transmitted, and is converted into a detection signal according to the amount of light received. The detection signal controls the ability of the forced foaming device for discharging the air in the container headspace to adjust the amount of foaming in the container headspace and discharge the air in the container headspace. The purpose is to automatically and stably generate bubbles in the head space of the container before capping, thereby reliably expelling the air in the head space of the container after filling with liquid, thereby solving the various problems mentioned above. This is what we are trying to solve.

[Effect]

As described above, the present invention detects the amount of bubbles in the head space of the container as a difference in the amount of transmitted light using a light receiving element while the container is being transferred from the filling machine to the capping machine after being filled with liquid. The detection signal converted according to the amount of foam controls the capacity of the forced foaming device to generate foam in the container headspace, thereby adjusting the amount of foaming in the container headspace, which reduces foaming after filling. Depending on the amount, foam can be generated automatically by means of a forced foaming device.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As a result, the amount of foam in the container head space before capping is always stable, ensuring air evacuation, and improving response speed and accuracy, eliminating liquid loss and variations in seasoning amount, and making it hygienic. The burden on the operator is significantly reduced. Also, conventionally,
Jetformer operations were performed manually by operators based on their experience, so GMP (Good
In addition to becoming a bottleneck in Manufacturing Practice), the management level of BCR (Bio Clean Room) was decreasing due to jet former operation.
The present invention can also solve these problems.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 4 to 6.

Reference numeral 20 denotes a transfer star wheel corresponding to the transfer star wheel 6 in FIG. 1, and is integrated with the rotating shaft 21.

Reference numeral 22 denotes a pipe installed in the axial center of the rotating shaft 21 so as to be rotatable relative to the coaxial shaft 21. One end is connected to a high-pressure water or beer liquid source or a gas supply source such as carbon dioxide gas (not shown), and the other Automatic throttle valve 23 at the end
A nozzle 24 having a nozzle 24 is arranged in a row so as to face above the mouth of the container 25 transferred by the transfer star wheel 20.

26 is a light projecting device installed to illuminate the upper mouth of the container 25 transferred upstream from the nozzle 24, and 27 is a diode linear array camera installed facing the projector 26. As shown in FIG. 6, the diode linear array camera 27 has a diode array 27a and a switching device 27b that turns on and off depending on the level of the amount of light received by the diode array 27a.

28 is a control circuit for the automatic throttle valve 23, and a counter 2
9, a memory 30, a comparison circuit 31, an amplifier 32, an automatic throttle valve drive circuit 33, a synchronization circuit 34, and a setting circuit 35.
5 reaches the detection position, a signal is sent to the counter 29.

In the above configuration, when irradiating light onto the container 25, the intensity of the light from the light projecting device 26 is set such that the difference between the amount of light transmitted through the liquid and foam and the amount of light transmitted when there is no liquid and bubbles is maximized. Set to .

Next, the maximum allowable length from the mouth of the container 25 to the level of the flavored liquid is replaced with a voltage value, and the setting circuit 35 is set.

When the container 25 filled with liquid is transferred to the detection position by the transfer star wheel 20, the light projecting device 26
The light from the is received by the diode linear array camera 27 via the container 25, and the diode array 27
An image of the container 25 is tied onto a. The image whose light has been dimmed due to the bubbles present in the head space of the container 25 and the image whose light has not been dimmed enter the switching device 27b.
The unattenuated light turns on and outputs the switching device 27b, and turns off the attenuated switching device 27b.
The counter 29 counts the output from the switching device 27b based on the signal from the synchronization circuit 34 and outputs it to the memory 30. In the comparison circuit 31, the setting circuit 35
The set voltage and the output voltage from the memory 30 are compared, and the output from the memory 30 that does not reach the set voltage is sent to the automatic throttle valve drive circuit 33 via the amplifier 32, and the automatic throttle valve is activated according to the output from the memory 30. The degree of opening of the valve 23 is controlled, the amount of high-pressure foaming water etc. to be jetted from the nozzle 24 is automatically determined in accordance with the foaming state at the detection position, and foam is generated in the container head space. Note that if the output from the memory 30 is higher than the set voltage, there is no output from the comparison circuit 31.

As described above, the amount of foaming in the container headspace after liquid filling is detected, and the amount of foaming high-pressure water etc. ejected from the nozzle 24 is controlled accordingly to adjust the amount of foaming in the container headspace. air present in the container headspace can be expelled.

Therefore, the amount of bubbles in the container head space before being capped can be stabilized at all times, making it possible to ensure air evacuation, dramatically improving response speed and accuracy, and reducing liquid loss. , it is possible to prevent variations in the amount of seasoning. Moreover, since it is automatically controlled, it is hygienic and the burden on the operator is significantly reduced. In addition, the GMP bottlenecks can be eliminated, as well as the reduction in the level of control caused by BCR.

Note that by connecting an integrating circuit 36 between the memory 30 and the comparator circuit 31 as shown in FIG. 7, the output from the memory 30 can be adjusted to correspond to a predetermined number of containers to be continuously transferred. The output is integrated according to a time constant, and the comparison circuit 31 compares the output with the set voltage from the setting circuit 27 set for the number of containers, and calculates the average foaming amount of multiple consecutive containers. The opening degree of the automatic throttle valve 23 can be controlled.

Further, although the diode linear array 27a is used in the above embodiment, a configuration in which a plurality of phototubes are arranged in parallel may be used instead. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the amount of high-pressure water etc. sprayed from the nozzle is controlled, but the pressure may also be controlled. For example, a device that applies mechanical vibration from the outside of the container, such as one that uses spring force to strike the side of the container, or one that uses ultrasonic waves, is used as a forced foaming device, and the impact force or the output of a vibrator is used to create foam. Of course, the control may be performed using a quantity detection signal.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a plan layout of the filling machine and capping machine, Figure 2
The figure shows the state of the filling liquid in the container while being transferred from the filling machine to the capping machine, Figure 3 is a plan view showing an example of a conventional one, and Figure 4 is a plane view showing an example of the present invention. 5 is a view taken along the line X--X in FIG. 4, FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing one example of the control circuit, and FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing another example of the control circuit. 20... Transfer star wheel, 22... Tube, 23...
automatic throttle valve, 24...nozzle, 25...container, 26...
Light projector, 27... diode linear array camera, 28... control circuit.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. While a container filled with a carbonated beverage is being transferred from a filling machine to a capping machine, the amount of foam in the container head space is detected as a difference in the amount of light transmitted by a light receiving element, and a detection signal corresponding to the amount of light received is detected. This detection signal controls the ability of the forced foaming device to discharge the air in the container headspace, thereby adjusting the amount of foaming in the container headspace and discharging the air in the container headspace. Method for discharging air from the container head space after filling with liquid.