TWI641537B - Container processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a container processing device that can be quickly heated to a desired temperature.

The container processing device 1 includes a transfer device 30 that continuously transfers the container 100 filled with the product liquid, and a nozzle 13 that sprays warm water of the heating container 100 toward the container 100 that is transferred by the transfer device 30. The conveying device 30 includes a conveying conveyor 40 which is a rolling area that lays the container 100 horizontally and rotates the container 100 around a central axis orthogonal to the conveying direction of the container 100 as a rotation center. .

Description

Container processing device

The present invention relates to a container processing device called a sterilizer, a warmer, and a cooler. The container is filled with a product liquid while being conveyed, and the container is heated or cooled by spraying water.

Container handling devices called sterilizers, warmers, and coolers, which have been heated or cooled by spraying with water during the transfer of containers filled with product liquid, Use differently.

For example, as described in Patent Documents 1 to 3, if a plurality of upright containers are densely packed and conveyed by a wide belt conveyor, for example, as described in Patent Documents 1 to 3, they are adjusted to warm water at a desired temperature. Spray the container group from above the container in a spray form. In addition, the warmer is used when, for example, a carbonated beverage filled at about 2 to 20 ° C is heated to 25 ° C to 40 ° C.

[Prior technical literature] [Patent Literature]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-71697

[Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-215437

[Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2012-166806

In a system for producing a beverage by filling a product liquid into a container, it is always required to improve In the container processing apparatus which is a component of the system, the production efficiency must shorten the time required for heating or cooling to a desired temperature.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a container processing apparatus that can be heated or cooled to a desired temperature more quickly than before.

For this purpose, the container processing apparatus of the present invention includes: a conveyor that transports a container filled with a product liquid; and a nozzle that sprays the processing water that heats or cools the container onto the container that is transported by the conveyor; A scrolling area that lays horizontally and rolls while moving in the container conveying direction.

According to the container processing device of the present invention, since the container is lying horizontally, if a can container is taken as an example, the product liquid is also in contact with the inner surface of the upper cover and the inner surface of the bottom cover, and because the upper cover and the bottom cover are also heated Water pouring, so it is not effective for upright tank containers. The top and bottom covers also become effective heat transfer surfaces. The heat transfer surface including the tank body is increased compared to the upright containers.

Also, inside the tank container lying horizontally and rolling, the product liquid near the inner surface of the tank body is stirred along the circumferential direction, in other words, the up and down direction, as the tank body rolls. To the entire product liquid, so the temperature difference between the product liquid caused by convection can be eliminated.

From the above, according to the container processing apparatus of the present invention, the entire product liquid can be quickly heated to a specific temperature.

In the container processing apparatus of the present invention, the conveyor may include: a main conveyor, which is a plurality of conveyor elements arranged in a vertical direction, and repeatedly performs one conveyor element adjacent to the vertical direction toward the other conveyor The container is transferred by the reversing action of the element transfer; it is moved into the conveyor, which transfers the container received from the previous step to the main conveyor; and it is moved out of the conveyor, which delivers the container received by the autonomous conveyor to the subsequent steps.

In the container processing apparatus of the present invention, the main conveyor is a conveyor element so that The container is allowed to stand and be transported, and on the other hand, the area where the return operation is performed functions as a rolling area.

In the container processing apparatus of the present invention, one or both of the carry-in conveyor and the carry-out conveyor can function as a rolling area.

In the container processing device of the present invention, the rolling area can be configured to include: a plurality of rotation rollers, which are arranged along a circular track, and move along with the movement of the circular track; and a fixed friction body, which is in contact with the plurality of rotation rollers. Shaft contact, along with the movement of the ring track, causes the plurality of rotation rollers to rotate by friction; and causes the containers to rotate individually by friction, while supporting the rotation by the adjacent rotation rollers.

In the container processing apparatus of the present invention, when the main conveyor moves from the conveyor element located at the uppermost stage toward the conveyor element located at the lowermost stage, and transports the tank container downward, one of the conveyor in or out of the conveyor or Both can be used to climb containers.

According to the container processing device of the present invention, since the container is laid horizontally, the effective heat conduction area is increased, and because the container is rolled, the product liquid is stirred in the circumferential direction due to the rolling of the product body, so the products inside the container can be The entire liquid is rapidly heated to a specific temperature.

1‧‧‧ container processing device

10‧‧‧Treatment tank

11‧‧‧Slot body

11A‧‧‧ Entrance

11B‧‧‧ Relocated

12‧‧‧ warm water piping

13‧‧‧Nozzle

15‧‧‧ pump assembly

16‧‧‧ Warm water tank

17‧‧‧ units

30‧‧‧ transfer device

40‧‧‧ moved into the conveyor

41, 41‧‧‧ conveyor belt

43‧‧‧Roller

45‧‧‧Fixed friction plate

47‧‧‧ support shaft

48‧‧‧ sprocket

50‧‧‧Main Conveyor

51‧‧‧Conveyor elements

51A‧‧‧Conveyor elements

51B‧‧‧Conveyor elements

51C‧‧‧Conveyor elements

51D‧‧‧Conveyor elements

51E‧‧‧Conveyor elements

52‧‧‧ conveyor belt

53‧‧‧ support shaft

54‧‧‧Pulley

55‧‧‧Return guide

55A‧‧‧Return guide

55B‧‧‧Return guide

55C‧‧‧Return guide

55D‧‧‧Return guide

56‧‧‧ access

60‧‧‧moving out of the conveyor

100‧‧‧ container

101‧‧‧tank

102‧‧‧ Upper cover

103‧‧‧ bottom cover

110‧‧‧moved out of the conveyor

120‧‧‧ moved into the conveyor

A‧‧‧ current

AG‧‧‧Air gap

B‧‧‧ current

C‧‧‧Convection

E‧‧‧ discharge end

F‧‧‧ Transport direction

HW‧‧‧ Warm water

L‧‧‧ product liquid

P1‧‧‧Contact

P2‧‧‧Intersection

R1‧‧‧ clockwise

R2‧‧‧counterclockwise

S‧‧‧center axis

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of a container processing apparatus according to this embodiment.

FIG. 2 (a) and FIG. 2 (b) are side views showing a lot of the conveying device of the container processing device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a main conveyor of the container processing apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the conveyor elements of the container processing apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a return guide of the container processing apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG.

Fig. 6 (a) and Fig. 6 (b) show the heating state of the product liquid when the upright tank container was left standing and transported. Fig. 6 (a) shows a longitudinal section of the tank container. Fig. 6 (b) A cross section is shown.

7 (a) and 7 (b) show the heating state of the product liquid when the horizontally lying tank container is rolled and transported according to this embodiment, and FIG. 7 (a) shows a cross section of the tank container. (b) shows a longitudinal section.

8 (a) and 8 (b) show the heating state of the product liquid when the container is rotated around the central axis without rolling the container, and FIG. 8 (a) shows a longitudinal section, and FIG. 8 ( b) shows the cross section.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

It is assumed that the container processing device 1 of this embodiment is used as a heat preservation device. For example, while carrying a container 100 filled with a product liquid at a relatively low temperature of about 2 to 20 ° C, warm water is sprayed onto the container 100. . The container processing device 1 is characterized in that the container 100 is placed horizontally and rolled while the container 100 is being transported while pouring warm water, thereby rapidly raising the temperature of the product liquid. Hereinafter, after explaining the structure of the container processing apparatus 1, the effect | action and effect which can raise the temperature of a product liquid rapidly by the container processing apparatus 1 are demonstrated.

[Configuration of Container Processing Device 1]

As shown in FIG. 1, the container processing apparatus 1 is provided with a processing tank 10 that is heated by pouring warm water onto the container 100 that is transported inside, and a transporting device 30 that is a container that is received from the container processing apparatus 1 in a previous step. 100 is transported inside the processing tank 10 and delivered to the subsequent steps of the container processing apparatus 1. The container 100 is conveyed while rolling while being part of the entire stroke of the conveying device 30. In this embodiment, the container 100 is a tank container.

[Processing tank 10]

The processing tank 10 is shown in FIG. 1. In addition to the loading inlet 11A and the loading outlet 11B, the processing tank 10 also includes a tank body 11 that divides the inside and the outside, and a warm water pipe 12 provided on the top wall portion of the tank body 11 and supplying warm water And a nozzle 13 that sprays the hot water supplied to the hot water pipe 12 in a shower shape. The warm water sprayed from the nozzle 13 becomes spray-like and is poured to be transported below the nozzle 13 The container 100. In this embodiment, the nozzle 13 is a sprinkler nozzle.

The processing tank 10 includes a pump unit 15 that supplies warm water to the hot water pipe 12, and the pump unit 15 transfers the hot water stored in the adjacent hot water tank 16 to the hot water pipe 12.

The processing tank 10 is provided with a receiving shower stand 17 below the conveying device 30 described below. The receiving shower stand 17 receives warm water that is poured into the container 100 and passes through the conveying device 30 and guides it to the warm water tank 16. In this way, the warm water tank 16 functions as a warm water recovery tank.

As described above, the container 100 moved from the loading port 11A to the tank body 11 is transported inside the tank body 11 while being heated by warm water sprayed from the nozzle 13 and heated from the loading port 11B. Move out.

[Transporter 30]

As shown in FIG. 1, the transfer device 30 includes a transfer conveyor 40, a main conveyor 50, and a transfer conveyor 60. The container 100 is transferred in this order.

The carry-in conveyor 40 transfers the container 100 received from the carry-out conveyor 110 in the previous step to the main conveyor 50. The container 100 is transferred to the lying position during the process in which the carrying out conveyor 110 from the step before being carried in the upright state is transferred to the carrying in conveyor 40.

The carrying-in conveyor 40 is a person who moves the container 100 uphill as shown in FIG. 1, and the container 100 rolls during the climbing process. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a nozzle 13 is also provided above the carrying-in conveyor 40 to pour warm water on the climbing container 100. The specific configuration of the carry-in conveyor 40 will be described later.

The main conveyor 50 transports the container 100 received from the carry-in conveyor 40 while winding it, and delivers it to the carry-out conveyor 60. The main conveyor 50 is provided with a plurality of conveyor elements 51 arranged at intervals in the vertical direction or the vertical direction, and the discharge side E and the arrangement of the conveyor elements 51 arranged in the upper stage are provided for realizing the conveyance. A return guide 55 between the receiving side S of the lower conveyor element 51.

In the main conveyor 50, the container 100 that is conveyed in the horizontal direction among the conveyor elements 51 is guided by the return guide 55, and is turned while rolling, while turning from the discharge end E. Move to next conveyor element 51. The container 100 delivered to the main conveyor 50 is repeatedly transported in the above horizontal direction and turned back. The container element 51 provided at the top is transported to the conveyor provided at the bottom. Element 51.

In addition, the main conveyor 50 is in the return guide 55 and the container 100 is rolled, but in the conveyor element 51, the container 100 is not rolled and is conveyed in a stationary state.

The container 100 carried on the main conveyor 50 is transferred to the carrying-out conveyor 60 and is delivered to the carrying-in conveyor 120 in a subsequent step. During the transfer, the container 100 is changed from the lying state to the upright posture.

The conveying conveyor 60 is a person who climbs uphill and transports the container 100 in the same way as the conveying conveyor 40, and the container 100 rolls during the climbing. As shown in FIG. 1, a nozzle 13 is also provided above the unloading conveyor 60 to pour warm water onto the climbing container 100. The unloading conveyor 60 has the same configuration as the unloading conveyor 40.

[Carry-in conveyor 40]

The configuration of the carry-in conveyor 40 will be described with reference to Figs. 2 (a) and 2 (b) in addition to Fig. 1. The transport conveyor 60 also has the same configuration.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 (b), the carry-in conveyor 40 is provided obliquely upward from the upstream in the carrying direction F of the container 100 toward the downstream.

The carrying-in conveyor 40 includes a pair of conveying chain belts 41 and 41 provided at intervals in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction F; a plurality of rollers 43 are rotatably provided by the conveying chain belts 41 and 41, 41 supports, and moves toward the conveying direction F with the movement of the conveyor chain belts 41, 41; a pair of fixed friction plates 45, 45, which are in contact with the lower surface of the roller 43; and a pair of support shafts 47, 47, which The conveying chain belts 41 and 41 are wound around, and are provided at intervals along the conveying direction F.

The support shafts 47 and 47 are connected to an electric motor (not shown) that imparts a rotational driving force to each of the support shafts 47 and 47. The support shafts 47 and 47 also include sprocket wheels 48 and 48 that mesh with the conveyor chain belts 41 and 41 and rotate integrally with the support shafts 47 and 47. .

The container 100 is carried between the adjacent rollers 43 and 43 located on the upper section of the endless track formed by the conveying chain belts 41 and 41.

The operation of the carry-in conveyor 40 will be described.

When the electric motor is started and one of the support shafts 47 and 47 is rotated, the conveyor chain belts 41 and 41 hung around the sprocket wheels 48 and 48 start to move. The conveying chain belts 41 and 41 climb and move obliquely upward. As the conveyor chains 41 and 41 move, the roller 43 also moves. Since the roller 43 is in contact with the fixed friction plates 45 and 45, the roller 43 is rotated by the frictional force between the fixed friction plates 45 and 45. Here, based on FIG. 2 (b), it is defined as a person rotating in a clockwise direction (R1).

The container 100 to be transported is placed horizontally between the adjacent rollers 43 and 43, so the rollers 43 and 43 are rotated in the counterclockwise direction (R2) by being rotated clockwise.

Here, the contact point P1 between the container 100 and the adjacent roller 43 contacting and supporting on the lower side is in the conveying direction F compared to the intersection point P2 between the outer peripheral surface of the roller 43 and the line segment passing through the vertical direction of the rotation axis. (Or the moving direction of the conveyor belts 41, 41). Therefore, the container 100 can perform climbing without falling.

As described above, the container 100 is conveyed on the loading conveyor 40 while lying on the rollers 43 and 43 horizontally.

[Main Conveyor 50]

Next, a description will be given of the main conveyor 50 that transfers the container 100 transferred from the carrying conveyor 40.

As described above, the main conveyor 50 includes a plurality of conveyor elements 51 and a plurality of return guides 55. This embodiment is provided with five conveyor elements 51 and four return guides 55. As shown in FIG. 3, each of the conveyor elements 51 and the return guides 55 are referred to as conveyor elements 51A, 51B, 51C, 51D, and 51E, and return guides 55A, 55B, 55C, and 55D.

The transferred container 100 is conveyed in the conveyor element 51A toward the return guide 55A to the right in the figure, and at the return guide 55A, the conveyance direction is reversed to the left, and is delivered to the conveyor element 51B. . The container 100 delivered to the conveyor element 51B is moved to the left in the figure In the return guide 55B, the conveyance direction is reversed to the right and delivered to the conveyor element 51C. Thereafter, in the same manner, the container 100 is transferred in the order of the return guide 55C, the conveyor element 51D, the return guide 55D, and the conveyor element 51E, and is delivered to the unloading conveyor 60.

As described above, the container 100 is transported from the conveyor element 51A located at the uppermost stage to the conveyor element 51E located at the lowermost stage while meandering. The container 100 is a shower-like warm water sprayed from the nozzle 13 among the conveyor elements 51A, 51B, 51C, 51D, and 51E.

The conveyor elements 51A, 51B, 51C, 51D, and 51E have basically the same structure. In each of them, the container 100 is conveyed in a horizontally lying state, but may be conveyed without rolling. However, the same configuration as that of the carrying-in conveyor 40 may be used to rotate the container 100. However, in order to make it easier to drop the warm water from the upper stage to the lower stage, it is preferable that there are many gaps for the warm water to pass through the conveyor elements 51A, 51B, 51C, 51D, and 51E. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the main conveyor 50 having a plurality of stages of conveyor elements has a simple structure without the constituent elements for rolling the container 100.

[Conveyor element 51A]

Hereinafter, the configuration of the conveyor element 51 will be described with reference to FIG. 4.

The conveyor element 51 includes a pair of conveyor belts 52 and 52 provided at intervals in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction F and support shafts 53 and 53 around which the conveyor belts 52 and 52 are wound, and The conveying direction F is provided at intervals.

The support shafts 53 and 53 are connected to an electric motor (not shown) that applies a rotational driving force to each of the support shafts 53, and further include pulleys 54 and 54 wound around the conveyor belts 52 and 52 and rotating integrally with the support shafts 53 and 53.

When the electric motor is started and one of the support shafts 53 and 53 is rotated, the conveyor belts 52 and 52 hung on the pulleys 54 and 54 start to move. As the conveyor belts 52 and 52 move, the container 100 placed on the conveyor belts 52 and 52 is conveyed toward the return guide 55.

In the conveyor belts 52 and 52, it is preferable that the deflection-preventing part holding the container 100 is provided on the surface on which the container 100 is placed in such a manner that the container 100 does not deviate from a specific position.

The conveyor element 51A is a space between the conveyor belts 52 and 52. Therefore, warm water sprayed in a shower shape passes through the space between the conveyor belts 52 and 52, and easily reaches the conveyor element 51B in the lower stage. The same applies to the conveyor element 51B and the conveyor element 51C, the conveyor element 51C and the conveyor element 51D, and the conveyor element 51D and the conveyor element 51E. The same applies to the uppermost conveyor element 51A. The warm water reaches the bottom conveyor element 51E, and then reaches the receiving shower station 17. Furthermore, the lower the temperature of the warm water system poured onto the conveyor element 51A, the lower the temperature.

[Return guide 55]

Next, the return guide 55 will be described with reference to FIG. 5. The return guide 55A is taken as an example.

The turning guide 55 includes an arc-shaped member provided between, for example, the conveyor element 51A on the upper level and the conveyor element 51B on the lower level, and the concave side is arranged toward the conveyor elements 51A, 51B. The concave portion It becomes the passage 56 of the container 100.

As shown in FIG. 5, the non-rotated container 100 is received in the passage 56 of the return guide 55A. At the beginning of receiving to the passage 56, the container 100 contacts the conveyor belts 52, 52, so as shown in FIG. 5, while rotating and rolling in a clockwise direction, the container 100 falls on the passage 56 and once it contacts the return guide 55, Then, it starts to rotate and roll in the counterclockwise direction, and reaches the next conveyor element 51B, and the conveyor element 51B conveys to the next turning position, that is, the turning guide 55B. It should be noted that the clockwise and counterclockwise directions are merely the cases shown in FIG. 5, and the reverse guide 55B is the opposite. In addition, although the rotation and rolling of the plurality of containers 100 that are continuously conveyed are not the same, the product liquid inside each container 100 is vigorously stirred while passing through the return guide 55, so that the product liquid can be used in The desired purpose of heating up in a short time.

[Operation of Container Processing Device 1]

The container processing apparatus 1 provided with the above structure operates to heat the product liquid in the container 100 as follows. The premise is that the pump unit 15 is operated, and hot water is sprayed from the nozzle 13 to the carry-in conveyor 40, the main conveyor 50, and the carry-out conveyor 60.

The container 100 received by the unloading conveyor 110 from the previous step is heated while being poured and sprayed with warm water while being rolled while being transported in the unloading conveyor 40. During the rolling, the product liquid in the container 100 is stirred, so that the temperature can be raised to a desired temperature in a short time. This point will be described later.

The container 100 delivered from the carry-in conveyor 40 to the main conveyor 50 is heated by pouring hot water in each process of sequentially transferring among the conveyor elements 51A, 51B, 51C, 51D, and 51E, thereby heating the product liquid. And the lower the temperature, the higher the temperature. In the main conveyor 50, the container 100 rolls on the return guides 55A, 55B, 55C, 55D.

The container 100 delivered by the autonomous conveyor 50 to the carry-out conveyor 60 is heated during the process of being carried in the carry-out conveyor 60 by being sprayed with warm water while being rolled.

The sprayed warm water is recovered to the warm water tank 16 by being guided by the spraying stand 17 through each of the carry-in conveyor 40, the main conveyor 50, and the carry-out conveyor 60, and the pump assembly 15 is used to pass through the warm water pipe. 12 is supplied and sprayed from the nozzle 13 into a shower-like warm water.

[Function and effect of container processing device 1]

The operations and effects of the container processing apparatus 1 described above will be described.

(1) Improvement of heating capacity

This embodiment is based on two factors of pouring warm water (the first factor) to the container 100 while lying horizontally, and pouring hot water (the second factor) to the container 100 while rolling, thereby increasing the utilization temperature. The heating capacity of water can raise the product liquid to the desired temperature in a shorter time. Hereinafter, the first factor and the second factor will be described in order.

First, the first factor will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 (a) (b) and 7 (a) (b).

6 (a) and 6 (b) show a previous example in which the container 100 stands upright.

The container 100 is in a state of being transported upright, and the shower-like warm water HW is poured onto the top cover 102 of the container 100. However, there is an air gap AG containing a gas between the upper cover 102 and the product liquid L. Therefore, the air gap AG becomes a heat insulation layer, and the upper cover 102 cannot be a heat conducting surface effective for the product liquid L. In addition, the bottom cover 103 of the container 100 that is being carried upright may be recessed upward. Since the sprayed warm water does not directly contact the bottom cover 103, the bottom cover 103 cannot be an effective heat conduction surface for the product liquid L. Therefore, only the tank body 101 which is the container 100 which is uprightly poured with warm water becomes a heat conductive surface effective for the product liquid L.

In contrast to the above, as shown in FIG. 7 (a) (b), the horizontally lying container 100 is a product liquid L contacting the inner surface of the upper cover 102 and the inner surface of the bottom cover 103, and if the container 100 falls, it is placed on the upper cover. 102 and bottom cover 103 are also poured with warm water HW, so they are not effective when standing up. The top cover 102 and bottom cover 103 also become effective heat conducting surfaces, and the heat conducting surface including the tank 101 is increased compared to the upright. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the heating ability can be improved.

Next, the second factor will be described with reference to Figs. 6 (a) to 8 (b).

In Figure 6 (a) (b) above, if warm water HW is sprayed onto the upright container 100, the effective heat transfer surface, that is, the product liquid L near the inner surface of the tank 101 is heated (the heating system is based on H represents), but because the product liquid L generates convection C inside the container 100, the temperature of the upper part of the product liquid L is higher, and the temperature of the lower part is lower, resulting in a temperature difference. Since the container 100 is only standing upright and left standing, it takes a long time to heat the entire product liquid L to a specific temperature.

In contrast to the above, as shown in Figs. 7 (a) and (b), according to this embodiment, when the warm water HW is poured on the container 100 lying horizontally and rolling, the product liquid L near the inner surface of the tank 101 is heated. And convection C is generated. However, in this embodiment, because the container 100 rolls, a convection C is generated in the product liquid L inside the container 100. In addition, the product liquid L near the inner surface of the tank body 101 rolls with the tank body 101, so it runs along the tank body. Water flow A is generated in the circumferential direction of 101. As shown in FIG. 7 (a), the water flow A has a component opposite to the direction of the convection C, so the convection C is stirred. If the rolling of the container 100 is repeated, the stirring effect due to the water flow A will spread to the entire product liquid L, and the entire product liquid L can be quickly heated to a specific temperature. according to The research by the inventors and others assumes that the spraying conditions of warm water are the same. If lying horizontally and rolling, it can be heated to a specific temperature in about 1/2 time compared to the case of standing and standing.

Here, FIG. 8 (a) (b) shows the case where the upright container 100 is rotated about the central axis S as a center. In this case, because the product liquid is driven to roll on the inner surface of the tank 101, as shown in FIG. 8 (b), although the water flow B is generated, the water flow B is in the horizontal direction and there is basically no Effect of stirring convection C in the flow direction. That is, the convection C continues to be generated substantially as it is. Therefore, even if the upright container 100 is rotated, the improvement of the heating capacity is small.

(2) Provincial installation space

Next, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 (a) (b), the container processing apparatus 1 is configured to pour warm water to the main conveyor 50 of the container 100 in a maximum amount in the conveying apparatus 30, The elements 51A, 51B, 51C, 51D, and 51E are arranged in the vertical direction, and the conveying distance can be obtained even if the installation space is narrow. Therefore, according to this embodiment, even if the installation space is narrow, the container processing apparatus 1 having excellent heating ability can be realized.

(3) Before. Convergence of subsequent steps is facilitated

Next, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 (a) (b), the container processing apparatus 1 can transfer the containers 100 carried in a single line to the carry-in conveyor 40 to the carry-out conveyor 60 in a single line. Here, in a case where the containers 100 transferred in a plurality of lines are subjected to heat treatment, there are cases where the containers 100 must be singulated when delivered to a subsequent step. In this case, a structure for singularization is required. In contrast, the present embodiment can perform processing in a state that the container 100 is kept in a single line, so before. The composition of the connecting part of the later step is easier.

(4) Simplification of the structure of warm water spraying

The container processing apparatus 1 is installed in the main conveyor 50, and the warm water poured onto the uppermost conveyor element 51A drops due to gravity. In addition, since the conveyor elements 51A, 51B, 51C, 51D, and 51E easily pass warm water, the warm water sprayed on the uppermost stage can also be poured to The container 100 conveyed in the lowermost conveyor element 51E. That is, even if the nozzle 13 is not provided corresponding to each of the conveyor elements 51A, 51B, 51C, 51D, and 51E, it is only necessary to provide the nozzle 13 that sprays warm water toward the uppermost conveyor element 51A. Hot water is poured during transportation on all conveyor elements 51A, 51B, 51C, 51D, and 51E. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the configuration for spraying warm water can be simplified.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention may be selected from the structures listed in the above embodiments or may be appropriately changed to other structures without departing from the scope of the present invention.

In the case of a series of heating or cooling processing steps, it is necessary to pour containers with warm water or cold water of different temperatures, as long as a plurality of units, for example, two container processing apparatuses 1 are arranged in series, and different temperatures are sprayed on each Just warm or cold water. In this case, since the area occupied by each of the container processing apparatuses is small, the degree of freedom in layout, and further, the design freedom of the filling production line including the product liquid of the container processing apparatuses are large.

In the above embodiment, the main conveyor 50 is the conveyor element 51A from the uppermost stage toward the conveyor element 51E of the lowermost stage, and the container 100 is turned back on one side and conveyed downwards on the other side, but it may also be reversed from the lowest stage The conveyor element 51E is conveyed upward toward the uppermost conveyor element 51A. Since the transfer in the opposite direction is from the bottom to the top, the temperature of the hot water poured becomes higher, which is consistent with the heating mode in which the temperature of the product liquid increases as the transfer proceeds. However, in order to transfer the container 100 from, for example, the conveyor element 51E at the lower stage to the conveyor element 51D at the upper stage, a drive source is required. In contrast, the downward movement only needs to use gravity, so it has the advantage of not requiring a drive source. .

In this embodiment, although an example of heating the product liquid has been described, even when the present invention is used to cool the product liquid by pouring cooling water into the container, the liquid agitation caused by rolling can be used to improve the product liquid. Cooling efficiency.

The container to be heated or cooled is not limited to a can, but may be any container such as a bottle or a bottle. However, in the case of a tank container, the heating effect The case where the improvement effect of the energy efficiency or cooling efficiency is more significant is as described above.

In this embodiment, an example in which only the product liquid is filled in the container 100 is shown, but a solid substance may be included.

Claims (6)

A container processing device, comprising: a conveyor that conveys a container filled with a product liquid; and a nozzle that sprays treated water that heats or cools the container toward the container that is conveyed by the conveyor; and the conveyor includes A rolling area is a horizontal area where the container is lying horizontally, and the container is rolled in the conveying direction of the container while being conveyed. The conveyor includes a main conveyor, which is a plurality of conveyor elements along a vertical direction. Arrange and repeatedly carry out the reversing operation of moving the container from one of the conveyor elements adjacent to the other in the vertical direction to another of the conveyor elements to carry the containers. Each of the conveyor elements is provided with the treated water. Through the plurality of gaps, the nozzle sprays the treated water toward the container conveyed by the conveyor element at the uppermost stage. For example, the container processing device of claim 1, wherein the conveyor further includes: a carry-in conveyor that moves the container received from the previous step toward the main conveyor; and a conveyor that removes the above-mentioned container received from the main conveyor The container is delivered to the next step. In the container processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the main conveyor is the conveyor element, the container lying horizontally is transported by standing, and the area where the reversing operation is performed functions as the rolling area. The container processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein one or both of the carrying-in conveyor and the carrying-out conveyor function as the rolling area. The container processing device of claim 1, wherein the rolling area includes: a plurality of rotation rollers, which are arranged along a circular track, and move along with the movement of the circular track; and a fixed friction body, which is in contact with the plurality of rotation rollers. The contact of the shafts, along with the movement of the circular orbit, causes the plurality of rotation rollers to rotate by friction; and the containers are each rotated by the friction force, while rolling while being supported by the adjacent rotation rollers. For example, the container processing device of claim 2, wherein the main conveyor is to transport the tank container downwards from the conveyor element on the uppermost layer toward the conveyor element on the lowermost layer; and the carrying-in conveyor and the carrying-out conveyor Either or both are used for climbing the containers.