US3766709A - Sterilizing device for container filling machines - Google Patents

Sterilizing device for container filling machines Download PDF

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Publication number
US3766709A
US3766709A US00221521A US3766709DA US3766709A US 3766709 A US3766709 A US 3766709A US 00221521 A US00221521 A US 00221521A US 3766709D A US3766709D A US 3766709DA US 3766709 A US3766709 A US 3766709A
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Prior art keywords
tunnel
containers
sterilizing
machine
machine according
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Expired - Lifetime
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US00221521A
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English (en)
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S Zausner
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Zausner Foods Corp
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Zausner Foods Corp
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    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
    • B65B55/00—Preserving, protecting or purifying packages or package contents in association with packaging
    • B65B55/02—Sterilising, e.g. of complete packages
    • B65B55/04—Sterilising wrappers or receptacles prior to, or during, packaging
    • B65B55/10—Sterilising wrappers or receptacles prior to, or during, packaging by liquids or gases

Definitions

  • FIG. '1 is a fragmentary elevational view, partly in section, of an intermediate portion of the machine showing transport of the sterilized containers and the cooling and capping and sealing thereof;
  • FIG. 2 is a fragmentary elevational view showing a modified type of tunnel having a removable cover and novel form of sterilizing medium inlet;
  • FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view, partly in elevation, taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2;
  • FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3-but taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 1; a
  • FIG. 5 is a fragmentary elevational .view, partly in section, of the entrance end of the tunnel and the container feed; and Q FIG. 6 is an elevational portion of the sterilizing tunnel. 7
  • FIG; '5'whic h shows the construction at the entrance'end to the tunnel 1t the coverportion 11 of which is made in several parts which areunattached to the bottom and side tunnel walls and therefore removable merely by lifting off the same, there is a modified formlof inlet pipe l 2,for hot air or other heated sterilizing'mediurn whichmay be any.
  • the vertical end plate 13 of the tunnel is attached to the bottom plate 14 and side walls 11' of the tunnel within which the endless conveyor belt 15 operates in-a manner per se known on driven rollers 16, it being understood that the upper flight of the conveyor belt moves fromright to left in FIG. 5 as indicated by the arrow and that the individual containers 17, which are preferably of frusers 17 as contrasted with the upward feed of my said co-pending application. It will be seen from F IG.
  • containers 17 are individually de-nested and fed to or dropped upon the container support bar 19 which is stationary, but along which the individual containers are propelled by means of the cross rods or bars 20 spaced along the upper and lower edges of the endless conveyor belt 15.
  • the containers are denested at the very beginning of their travel as they enter and'pass through the machine rather than being denested by the helical rod construction'shown in my.
  • FIG. 2 which represents a portion of the machine disposed forwardly of that portion of the machine shown in FIG. 5,the individual containers 17 continue to be moved along on the support 19 and the cover 11 of the tunnel is. removable by lifting it off as already stated since it-merely rests on the remaining'portions of the tunnel or on supports provided forthat'purpose such as shown'at'22"; andtliespace through which the containers travel is .keptheated to a sterilizing temperature by one or more additional inlet pipes or tubular members 12, it being understood that all'the, sterilizing medium inlets 12 are connected to any suitable source of sterilizing medium, the nature of I which is per Se known and which hasnot been illustrat'ed in the drawings,'i. e. themembers 12 are connected to a sourceof superheated steam or hot dry air or other sterilizinginedium of a fluid or gaseous nature.
  • the portion of the machine shown in FIG. 1 illus trates how the containers 17-come' to'the end of the support member 19 in tunnel 10 and pass individually onto and down inclined plate 23 from' which they are taken by the transfer mechanism 24 and depos'itedindividually and successively on the cup inserts 251 of conveyor belt 26 which independent of the conveyor belt 15, but which has its movement synchronized with conveyor belt 15 via the bevel gearing 27 and interconnecting linkage 28 in the same general manner as in my aforesaid co-pending application, although it will be noted that the extension of the tunnel at this area is configured in that there'is a long downwardly and forfying and rendering more practicable the construction of the extension of the tunnel.
  • Conveyor belt 26 has its upper flight moving from right to left as shown by the arrow and the path of this conveyor belt is essentially rectangular within the housing shown, as will be clear from its return passage over the rolls 31 and 32 which are mounted on suitably driven transverse shafts 33 in known manner. It will also be seen that the bevel gearing 27 is actuated by a vertical shaft 34 having at its lower end additional bevel gearing 35 driven in any suitable or known manner by horizontal shaft 36 which is only fragmentarily shown.
  • the containers passing through the tunnel up to the point of the transport member 23 and the transfer mechanism 24 are heated by the sterilizing medium, i.e. have been propelled through a heated and closed area to a sufficiently high temperature to effect rapid sterilization, i.e. a temperature of about 150C or in the range of 90C to 150C while moving the individual containers at the rate of about 30/minute for a tunnel length of 7 meters and the traverse time of each container within the tunnel is approximately 25 minutes.
  • a sufficiently high temperature to effect rapid sterilization i.e. a temperature of about 150C or in the range of 90C to 150C
  • the containers 17 pass from the sterilizing tunnel proper they are exposed to infrared light designated at 37 which has a supplemental heating and sterilizing effect particularly into the interior of the individual containers as they pass thereunder (see the upper right hand portion of FIG.
  • lids 39 are provided for the same purpose as in my said co-pending application and likewise are secured to indicating or recording devices (not shown) so that a visual record is obtained for control purposes.
  • each sterilizing medium inlet 12 diverges into two legs 12' at its lower end and is provided with terminal caps 47.
  • inholder(s) 40 protected by a casing 41 and that the said lids are individually removed and applied to containers in the same manner as'in my aforesaid copending application exceptthat it has been found to be desirable to provide a second outer housing 42 to ensure absence of access of germs to the lids 39 and also to provide an additional insulating space 43 which aids in maintaining the lids at the desired temperature conditions.
  • a second means for irradiation of the underside of the lids is positioned as shown at 44 where it has been found to effectively and rapidly effect I complete sterilization of the lids, which are of course fed at a relatively rapid rate commensurate with the movement of the individual containers.
  • the tunnel construction is made up of a plurality of sections or parts, one of which is shown'in FIG. 6, wherein the cover member 11 is removable as explained above, because it is not fastened down or secured to any other part of the tunnel.
  • Each such section is also provided with a glass window or other transparent member 10 by means of which the interior of the tunnel can be inspected.
  • Member 10' is preferably made of heatresistant glass.
  • the filling device designated at 45' is of per se known construction and is known as Paal filler which is a roller membrane-type of filler with a distribution tube having one side provided with a connection to a supply of the product to be filled into the containers and the other side provided with'an upstanding pipe, level probe and sterile. ventilation'filter.
  • Paal filler is a roller membrane-type of filler with a distribution tube having one side provided with a connection to a supply of the product to be filled into the containers and the other side provided with'an upstanding pipe, level probe and sterile. ventilation'filter.
  • Paal filler is a roller membrane-type of filler with a distribution tube having one side provided with a connection to a supply of the product to be filled into the containers and the other side provided with'an upstanding pipe, level probe and sterile. ventilation'filter.
  • members 39 and 40' of FIG. 1 this is a station where caps and lids are applied to the filled containers which has a measured or predetermined quantity of product therein upon reaching
  • each lid as it is removed from the stack of lids by suction must turn through an angle of and is exposed for 1.8 seconds to infrared light or radiation such as that designated at 44. After exposure to the infrared light the lids are immediately applied to the succession of containers.
  • the infrared light installation is the known conventional type, such as manufactured by Ellstein and others.
  • the tunnel proper terminates at the right hand portion of FIG. 1 where the sterilized containers move from support 19 to inclined plate 23 and thence to transfer mechanism 24, the latter part of the machine forwardly of the end of support 19 is known as a Hamba machine.
  • the penumatic sealing station designate as 45 can be turned through an angle of 90 for. cleaning purposes and the heat sealing of the applied lids takes place under 6 atmosphere pressure equal to 36 kg/cm sealing area. This unit is the same as in my co-pending application.
  • the present machine is also provided with a liquid filled pan 49, the liquid 50 of which canbe heated and sprayed on the underside of the conveyor belt 26 for cleaning purposes as by the spray pipes 51 and subsequently in the return travel fo the conveyor belt 26 the thus cleaned belt is subjected to hot air drying by means of the device shown at 52, these being essentially the same as in my co-pending application.
  • the machine is provided in the usual way with adjustable supporting legs or feet 53 supported by surface 54 which may be a cement flooring in a suitable building or other form of support and whereby the machine can be kept level irrespective of any irregularities that may exist in the supporting surface.
  • an enclosed tunnel containing therin means for sterilizing each container by passing it through a zone of elevated temperature for a sufficient period of time to render the containers sterile, means for cooling the underside of each such container, means for filling the containers, means for capping them and means for aseptically discharging the filled, capped and sealed containers from the machine wherein a forward extension for said tunnel is provided comprising an inclined plate for receiving sterilized containers propelled through said tunnel on a support therefor and means for transferring said sterilized containers to a conveyor belt synchronously connected with the conveyor belt operating in said tunnel.
  • said tunnel is constructed in a plurality of sections each of which has a removable cover portion and an inspection glass of heat resistant material.
  • the tunnel has a plurality of sterilizing medium inlets located in spaced relationship along the tunnel cover, each such inlet comprising a tubular portion disposed in an opening in the tunnel cover and having diverging leg portions for distributing the fluid or gaseous sterilizing medium within the adjacent space in the tunnel.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Apparatus For Disinfection Or Sterilisation (AREA)
US00221521A 1972-01-28 1972-01-28 Sterilizing device for container filling machines Expired - Lifetime US3766709A (en)

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US22152172A 1972-01-28 1972-01-28

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Cited By (12)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3859774A (en) * 1972-03-23 1975-01-14 Hamba Maschf Apparatus for the sterile packaging of foodstuffs
US3911640A (en) * 1972-08-11 1975-10-14 Tetra Pak Dev Method for the packing under aseptic conditions of sterile goods into containers
US4633645A (en) * 1982-07-15 1987-01-06 Shikoku Kakooki Co., Ltd. Packaging machine
US4979347A (en) * 1988-05-19 1990-12-25 Snow Brand Milk Products Co., Ltd. Fill- and pack in a non-germ atmosphere machine
US4987721A (en) * 1989-01-10 1991-01-29 Gasti Verpackungsmaschinen Gmbh Method of and apparatus for the sterilization of stacked packaging elements
US5123229A (en) * 1989-11-21 1992-06-23 Dardaine Industries S.A. Method of and device for transferring lids, covers or the like into a machine for the sterile conditioning of containers
US5487253A (en) * 1993-04-23 1996-01-30 Tetra Laval Holdings & Finance S.A. Device for conveying and processing packs for liquids
US5673535A (en) * 1994-03-02 1997-10-07 Tl Systems Corporation Vial filling apparatus
ES2232269A1 (es) * 2003-01-21 2005-05-16 Probitas Pharma, S.A. Procedimiento para la dosificacion esteril de viales.
USRE38747E1 (en) 1994-03-02 2005-06-28 Robert Bosch Packaging Technology, Inc. Vial filling apparatus
US20050230492A1 (en) * 2004-04-16 2005-10-20 Shao-Hua Chu Infrared ray activity pipe
US20120031040A1 (en) * 2008-12-03 2012-02-09 Fabio Federici Plant for packaging confectionary products in a sterile manner

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2685520A (en) * 1951-07-23 1954-08-03 Dole Eng Co James Apparatus and method for preserving products in sealed containers
US3050914A (en) * 1959-05-25 1962-08-28 Reddi Wip Inc Sterilizing procedures for aseptic canning
US3478489A (en) * 1967-02-15 1969-11-18 Top Seal Inc Cup filling machine and elements
US3694997A (en) * 1970-07-10 1972-10-03 A E J Corp Food packaging machine with synchronized drive mechanism

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2685520A (en) * 1951-07-23 1954-08-03 Dole Eng Co James Apparatus and method for preserving products in sealed containers
US3050914A (en) * 1959-05-25 1962-08-28 Reddi Wip Inc Sterilizing procedures for aseptic canning
US3478489A (en) * 1967-02-15 1969-11-18 Top Seal Inc Cup filling machine and elements
US3694997A (en) * 1970-07-10 1972-10-03 A E J Corp Food packaging machine with synchronized drive mechanism

Cited By (13)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3859774A (en) * 1972-03-23 1975-01-14 Hamba Maschf Apparatus for the sterile packaging of foodstuffs
US3911640A (en) * 1972-08-11 1975-10-14 Tetra Pak Dev Method for the packing under aseptic conditions of sterile goods into containers
US4633645A (en) * 1982-07-15 1987-01-06 Shikoku Kakooki Co., Ltd. Packaging machine
US4979347A (en) * 1988-05-19 1990-12-25 Snow Brand Milk Products Co., Ltd. Fill- and pack in a non-germ atmosphere machine
US4987721A (en) * 1989-01-10 1991-01-29 Gasti Verpackungsmaschinen Gmbh Method of and apparatus for the sterilization of stacked packaging elements
US5123229A (en) * 1989-11-21 1992-06-23 Dardaine Industries S.A. Method of and device for transferring lids, covers or the like into a machine for the sterile conditioning of containers
US5487253A (en) * 1993-04-23 1996-01-30 Tetra Laval Holdings & Finance S.A. Device for conveying and processing packs for liquids
US5673535A (en) * 1994-03-02 1997-10-07 Tl Systems Corporation Vial filling apparatus
USRE37471E1 (en) 1994-03-02 2001-12-18 Robert Bosch Packaging Technology, Inc. Vial filling apparatus
USRE38747E1 (en) 1994-03-02 2005-06-28 Robert Bosch Packaging Technology, Inc. Vial filling apparatus
ES2232269A1 (es) * 2003-01-21 2005-05-16 Probitas Pharma, S.A. Procedimiento para la dosificacion esteril de viales.
US20050230492A1 (en) * 2004-04-16 2005-10-20 Shao-Hua Chu Infrared ray activity pipe
US20120031040A1 (en) * 2008-12-03 2012-02-09 Fabio Federici Plant for packaging confectionary products in a sterile manner

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Publication number Publication date
SE387913B (sv) 1976-09-20

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