JPS6326009B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application This invention relates to a sealing device for a container opening, and particularly to a sealing device for sealing a medical drug solution into a resin container.

BACKGROUND ART In recent years, when medical infusions such as physiological saline and glucose solutions are sealed in bottle-like resin containers, after the containers are filled with these liquids, a cap is heat-welded to the mouth of the container and sealed. is used.

Conventionally, as a sealing device for these resin containers,
The bottle container and cap filled with the liquid in the filling machine are held by a container clamp device and a lid clamp device provided on the rotating body, and the rotating body rotates, so that the cap is placed outside the rotating body. It has been proposed that a heating device heats the sealing portion of the cap and the container, and after heating, a container clamping device rises to press the container mouth against the cap for sealing (for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 56-294) ).

Various methods can be considered as heating devices for welding the sealing portions of the container and the cap in these sealing devices. The simplest method is heating with a heat block, but when encapsulating medicines, foods, etc., it is necessary to reduce the possibility of foreign matter getting mixed in as much as possible, and heating by contact with a heat block is not preferred. Furthermore, ultrasonic welding and friction welding generate heat due to friction between welded surfaces, and generation of fine powder cannot be avoided. Needless to say, the inclusion of such fine powder is undesirable. Therefore, a method of non-contact heating using a sheathed heater has conventionally been adopted.

Problems to be Solved However, the method of non-contactly heating the sealing part of the container and cap with a sheathed heater has very low thermal efficiency compared to contact heating, and requires a long time to heat up. I was unable to aim for this. In order to shorten the heating time, it is possible to use a heater with a large amount of heat dissipation, but if a heater with a large amount of heat dissipation is used, areas other than the sealed part of the container and cap will be heated and softened. There is a problem in that the container deforms during crimping. Also, sheathed heaters are prone to rust on the surface.
There was also a risk that the rust would get into the container. moreover,
In conventional sealing devices, the cap is fixed, the container filled with liquid is raised, and the mouth of the container is pressed into contact with the cap to weld the cap, so the internal solution shakes during crimping and adheres to the welded part. The adhering liquid may rapidly vaporize due to the heat of the welded part, forming bubbles in the welded part, resulting in poor sealing. Moreover, conventional sealing devices not only require a complicated mechanism to clamp and raise the container containing the liquid content, but also
When the container is raised from below and crimped, the crimping force exerts a force that deforms the container so that it bulges, so it is necessary to provide a container side regulating device to prevent the bulge.

This invention was devised in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and it is possible to heat the sealing part of a container and a cap efficiently and in a short time in a non-contact manner, with the least possibility of contamination by foreign matter, and at high speed. Another object of the present invention is to provide a sealing device that causes less vibration and deformation of the container during crimping, has a simple structure without requiring a container side regulating device, and can seal reliably. It is something to do.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a sealing device that can replace and seal the air inside the container and the cap with nitrogen gas.

Means for Solving the Problems The sealing device of the present invention is a container sealing device for welding and sealing a heat-fusible resin cap to the opening of a heat-fusible resin container. Then, a plurality of container holders, each consisting of a body holder that holds the body of the container and a neck holder that holds the neck and has a cooling water passage formed inside, are arranged around the outer circumference at a constant pitch and are driven to rotate. a turntable arranged above the container holder at the same pitch as the container holder, supported so as to be vertically movable and rotate in synchronization with the turntable, and a cap suction head having a cooling water passage formed therein; , a fixed cam that controls the vertical movement of the cap suction head, and a remote cam fixed to the machine frame and arranged in an arc shape along the rotational trajectory of the neck holder and the cap suction head, so as to be located between the neck holder and the cap suction head. The container is held by the container holder, the cap is adsorbed and held by the cap suction head, and the container and the cap are heated by passing through the far infrared heater section, and the far infrared rays are heated. The above problem is solved by adopting a configuration in which, after passing through a heater section, the cap adsorption head descends to press the cap against the opening of the container and fuse the two. was completed.

Furthermore, if an N ₂ gas jetting nozzle that jets N ₂ gas into the container and the cap is installed in the machine frame on the downstream side in the rotational direction of the turntable following the far-infrared heater, the air inside the container and the cap can be removed. It can be sealed by replacing with nitrogen gas.

Function: A container made of heat-fusible resin such as polyolefin filled with contents and a cap welded to the container are held on a turntable, and as the turntable rotates, a far-infrared heater is used to open the container. The cap and cap are heated and melted by a far-infrared heater. A far-infrared heater converts heat into far-infrared rays, which are in the long wavelength range of electromagnetic infrared waves and has a very high absorption rate by objects, and propagates the heat.Objects that receive the far-infrared rays absorb this and regenerate it. Since it converts into heat internally, it heats objects from the inside, and has better thermal efficiency than other types of heaters such as sheathed heaters, which mainly use heat conduction or convection, and can heat objects in a short time. . 6th
The figure shows the relationship between time and temperature of a conventional sheathed heater and a far-infrared heater until the required heater surface temperature reaches 720°C when heating the above container in an experiment conducted by the present inventor. both
A battery rated at 200V and 470W was used, and its surface temperature was measured. As is clear from the graph, the far-infrared heater reached the predetermined temperature of 720°C immediately after power was supplied, whereas the conventional sheathed heater took nearly 30 minutes. As described above, the far-infrared heater has a significantly faster heating time, and has a high absorption rate for substances, so it is possible to heat the container and cap in a short time, thereby increasing the heating speed. Further, far infrared rays have a sterilizing effect, and the fused portion is sterilized.

After passing through the far-infrared heater section, the N2 gas moves to the nitrogen gas replacement section, where _N2 gas is injected from the _N2 gas injection port provided in the container holding section of the turntable so as to be able to move forward and backward. Air _N2
Replace with gas. Thereafter, the cap adsorption head descends to press the cap onto the opening of the container and press the molten sealing portion to tightly seal the container. At that time, since the container filled with the liquid is placed on the turntable, there is less vibration during crimping and the liquid does not adhere to the welded part, and the crimping force is reduced by the neck holder. Because it is backed up by the pressure, the pressure does not reach the body of the container. Therefore, the container body does not bulge outward, and there is no need for a container side regulating device or the like.

Cooling water is supplied to the suction head and neck holder to completely cool the welded area before it reaches the unloader, and to cool it under pressure until the temperature drops below 100°C to prevent the formation of bubbles due to water droplets.

Examples Examples will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the overall arrangement of the sealing device of the present invention, in which 2 is a loader that supplies filled containers and caps to the sealing device 1, and 3 is an unloader for carrying out the welded containers. It's a loader. Part A of the sealing device 1 is a preliminary _N2 gas replacement part, B
Part is heated by far infrared heater, part C is _N2
The gas replacement part and part D are the crimping part of the cap.

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of the sealing device, in which the turntable 4 includes a body holder 6, a neck holder 7, and a N _{A two-} gas nozzle 8 is fixedly installed, attracts a cap 9 to be welded, and rotates together with a cap suction head 10 which is held movably up and down. Reference numeral 11 denotes a lifting cam for the suction head 10, and the suction head 1 is raised and lowered by a cam follower 12.
Raise and lower 0. 13 is a water supply and drainage pipe for supplying cooling water to the suction head 10 and the network holder 7; 14 is a far-infrared heater;
5 is fixedly held on the machine frame. The far-infrared heater 14 is a pipe-shaped heater whose outer surface is covered with ceramics that emit far-infrared rays, and is formed into an arc shape along the trajectory of the neck holder 7 and the cap suction head. It is supported so as to be located in the middle of the cap adsorption head, and heats the cap from below and the container from above.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are detailed views of the N ₂ gas replacement device, and the N ₂ gas nozzle 8 has a downward nozzle 16 for the container and an upward nozzle 17 for the cap.
It is fixed to the arm 18 and is slidably held by a holding frame 19. 20 is a cam, which is fixed to the machine frame, and the protruding parts A' and C' are the A part and the A part in Fig. 1, respectively.
Corresponds to part C. The nozzle 8 is normally in the retracted position as shown in FIG.
In parts A' and C', it advances to above the container 5 and below the cap 9, and blows out N ₂ gas from the nozzles 16 and 17 to replace the air in the container and the cap with N ₂ gas. .

FIG. 5 is a detailed view of the cap suction head.
The suction head 10 has a shaft 22 and a cam follower 1.
The shaft 22 is provided with an intake hole 23, and the cap 9 is sucked by vacuum. 24 is the cooling water passage, 25 is the shaft 2
2 is a rotation prevention cam, and 26 is a cam follower.

Next, its operation will be explained.

The container 5 filled with contents is supplied by a loader and held and fixed by a body holder 6 and a neck holder, and at the same time, the cap adsorption head 1
0 is held by suction by exhausting the cap 9 from the intake hole 23. Due to the rotation of the turntable 4, the container 5 and the cap 9 enter the section A, and the cam 2
0 causes the gas nozzle 8 to move forward, and the nozzle 16,
_N2 gas is spewed out from 17 and the container 5 and cap 9 are
Preliminarily replace the air inside with _N2 gas.

When the turntable 4 further rotates and enters part B, the nozzle 8 is moved back by the cam 20, and the welding surface of the container 5 and the cap 9 is melted by radiated heat by the far infrared heater 14. . At this time, the vicinity of the welded portion is also heated and subjected to a sterilization effect.

When the nozzle 8 enters the C section, the cam 20 moves the nozzle 8 forward again, blowing out _N2 gas and completely replacing the air in the container 5 and cap 9 with _N2 gas.

When entering section D, the nozzle 8 retreats and the suction head 10 is lowered by the elevating cam 11.
The melted part on the lower surface of the cap 9 is pressed to the melted part on the upper surface of the container 5. The cap 9 is pushed down by the weight of the suction head 10, shaft 22, and cam follower 12, but the welded part at the upper end of the container 5 is backed up by the neck holder 7, and strong pressure is applied to the welded surface to ensure a secure seal. is welded to. At this time, cooling water is supplied to the suction head 10 and the neck holder 7, and the welded portion is cooled so that it is completely cooled and solidified before reaching the unloader 3. If there are water droplets attached to the weld, if the pressure from the adsorption head stops at 100°C or higher, the water will rapidly vaporize and form bubbles in the weld. For this reason, cooling
It is necessary for the temperature to drop to 100°C or lower, but it is desirable to lower the temperature to about 70°C or lower.

Further, in this embodiment, the container 5 and the cap 9 do not rotate during heating, but by rotating the container, the bottle, or both, it is possible to heat the container more quickly and uniformly.

Effects Since the present invention has the above-mentioned configuration, heating of the welded part is performed non-contact using far infrared rays, so there is no need to worry about foreign matter getting into the contents, and the thermal efficiency is high and the heating time is short. It is dramatically faster and can speed up the sealing process compared to conventional methods. In particular, in the present invention, the far-infrared heater is supported so as to be located between the neck holder and the cap suction head, and the cap is heated from below and the container from above, so that the heating is even more effective. be able to. Furthermore, since rust does not form on the heater, rust does not get mixed into the container, and the area near the weld can be sterilized using far infrared rays.

During crimping, the container filled with liquid is supported by a net holder and placed on a turntable, and the cap is lowered and crimped, so there is less shock to the container during crimping, and the liquid content melts. It will not stick to the clothing. Moreover, since the crimping force is backed up by the neck holder, the force does not reach the container body, and the container body does not bulge outward, resulting in a simple structure without the need for container side regulating devices, etc. be.

Cooling water is supplied to the neck holder and cap suction head, and crimping is continued until the welded area is completely melted and solidified, resulting in a perfect welded area.

By providing a nitrogen gas nozzle, the air inside the cap and container is replaced with nitrogen gas, which is an inert gas, and it is possible to prevent oxidation and deterioration of the internal solution.

Heating of the welded area, replacement with N ₂ gas, and pressure bonding are performed using a cam fixed to the machine frame and a far-infrared heater, so there is no risk of the process timing going out of order.

It has remarkable effects such as

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a plan view of an embodiment of the sealing device of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a partial sectional view thereof, and Figs. 3 and 4 are
FIG. 5 is a detailed diagram of the N ₂ gas replacement device, FIG. 5 is a detailed diagram of the head adsorption head, and FIG. 6 is a graph showing the relationship between temperature rise and time for conventional sheathed heaters and far-infrared heaters. 1: Sealing device, 2: Loader, 3: Unloader,
4: turntable, 5: container, 6, 7: holder, 9: cap, 10: cap suction head,
11, 20: Cam, 12, 21: Cam follower,
13: Water supply and drainage pipe, 14: Far infrared heater,
8: _N2 gas nozzle, 23: intake hole, 24: cooling water passage.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A container sealing device for welding and sealing a heat-fusible resin cap to the opening of a heat-fusible resin container, which holds the body of the container. A turntable that is rotatably driven by arranging a plurality of container holders at a constant pitch around the outer circumference, which is made up of a body holder and a neck holder that holds a neck and has a cooling water passage formed inside, and a turntable that is driven to rotate; is arranged at the same pitch as the container holder,
a cap suction head which is supported to be vertically movable and rotate in synchronization with the turntable and has a cooling water passage formed therein; a fixed cam which controls the vertical movement of the cap suction head; the neck holder and the cap suction head. A far-infrared heater is arranged in an arc shape along these rotating orbits and fixed to the machine frame so as to be located midway between the container holder and the cap suction head. The cap is held by suction and the welded part is heated by the container and the cap passing through the far-infrared heater section, and after passing through the far-infrared heater section, the cap suction head descends to the opening of the container. A sealing device characterized in that the caps are brought into pressure contact and fused together. 2. Claim 1, characterized in that an N _{2 gas ejection nozzle for ejecting N 2 gas} into the container and the cap is provided on the machine frame on the downstream side in the rotational direction of the turntable following the far-infrared heater. Sealing device as described in Section.