WO2019198659A1

WO2019198659A1 - Sterile air spry nozzle for sterile filling machine

Info

Publication number: WO2019198659A1
Application number: PCT/JP2019/015293
Authority: WO
Inventors: 原田　学
Original assignee: 大日本印刷株式会社
Priority date: 2018-04-13
Filing date: 2019-04-08
Publication date: 2019-10-17
Also published as: JP2022075790A; JP2019182509A; JP7040247B2; JP7380727B2

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to improve the effect of spraying sterile air in a sterile filling machine. The present invention has a shape in which a center opening is provided in a tip center part of a sterile air spray nozzle used in a sterile filling machine, and peripheral openings having a smaller opening area than the opening area of the center opening are disposed around the center opening.

Description

Aseptic air blowing nozzle for aseptic filling machine

The present invention heats a preform, molds the heated preform into a container, sterilizes the molded container, fills the sterilized container with contents such as a sterilized beverage, and fills the contents The present invention relates to an aseptic air blowing nozzle for an aseptic filling machine that blows aseptic air used for sterilization of a container to the container in container sterilization of an aseptic filling machine that seals the sealed container with a sterilized lid.

Conventionally, the preform was heated, the heated preform was molded into a container, the molded container was sterilized, and the sterilized container was filled with sterilized beverages and other contents, and the contents were filled In an aseptic filling machine that seals a container with a sterilized lid, sterilization of the container is performed by spraying a sterilizing gas to the molded container and then spraying heated sterile air (

Patent Document

1, 2, 3).

The sterilization of the container is performed when the sterilizing agent is sprayed, but the sterilization is completed by the activation of the sterilizing agent by the subsequent spraying of heated aseptic air. Therefore, the sterilizing agent spraying amount and the sterilizing agent spraying temperature are factors that affect the sterilizing effect, but the sterilizing air spraying method, the sterilizing air spraying amount, the sterilizing air temperature, and the sterilizing air spraying time also determine the sterilizing effect. It is an element to do.

The temperature of sterile air and the blowing time of sterile air can be easily changed by adjusting the temperature and blowing time of aseptic air to be supplied under the condition of blowing sterile air related to the sterilizing effect to the container. Also, the amount of sterile air sprayed can be changed by adjusting the supply amount. However, the method of spraying aseptic air cannot be easily changed once the device is manufactured. Usually, aseptic air is sprayed onto the inner surface of the container by a nozzle. The method of spraying aseptic air is determined by the shape and operation of the nozzle. In Patent Document 1 (FIG. 1 S12, FIG. 4 S22), Patent Document 2 (FIG. 2), and Patent Document 3 (FIGS. 1 and 2), the tip of the sterile air blowing nozzle is cylindrical and has an opening. The shape is circular. The cylindrical nozzle blows sterile air into the container from the mouth of the container, or inserts the cylindrical nozzle into the container from the mouth of the container and blows sterile air into the container.

After the sterilizing agent is sprayed on the container, the sterilizing air is sprayed on the container for the purpose of activating the sterilizing agent for improving the sterilizing effect, removing the remaining sterilizing agent, and removing foreign substances in the container. Aseptic air spraying is required to achieve these objectives in a balanced manner. Although the tip opening shape of the nozzle that blows aseptic air onto the container after spraying the sterilizing agent is circular, a nozzle that has an opening at the tip or side of the cylindrical nozzle has been proposed as a nozzle for the purpose of removing foreign matter in the container. (Patent Document 4).

International Publication No. 2003/022689 JP 2010-1078 A International Publication No. 2012/046555 JP 2012-170852 A

The preform is heated, the heated preform is molded into a container, the molded container is sterilized, the sterilized container is filled with sterilized beverages and other contents, and the container filled with the contents is removed. In an aseptic filling machine that seals with a sterilized lid, when the container is sterilized, the sterilizing agent is sprayed on the container, sterilizing air is sprayed on the sterilizing agent remaining on the surface of the container, and the sterilizing air that is blown activates the sterilizing agent. By sterilizing the container surface, the disinfectant remaining on the container surface is removed and the foreign matter inside the container is removed.

The sterilization of the container, the removal of the sterilizing agent, and the removal of foreign substances require a higher level than the outside for the inside of the container filled with the contents. The blowing of sterile air into the container greatly affects the achievement of these three purposes. In particular, the shape of the nozzle that blows aseptic air into the container is considered to be affected. However, conventionally, the shape of the opening of the tip of the nozzle that blows aseptic air into the container has been circular. The opening diameter of the nozzle tip balances with the supply amount of sterile air, determines the flow rate of sterile air flowing into and out of the container, and removal of the sterilizing agent remaining on the container surface is relatively fast. It has been discussed to be effective for eliminating foreign substances inside the container.

The aseptic filling machine is operated with sufficient effects of sterilization of the container obtained by the cylindrical sterile air blowing nozzle having a circular opening at the tip, removal of the sterilizing agent, and removal of foreign matters. However, a higher level of effect is required by spraying sterile air onto the container.

The present invention is for an aseptic filling machine capable of achieving at a higher level the purpose of aseptic air blasting onto a container, such as sterilization of the container, removal of the sterilizing agent, and elimination of foreign matters, which are required for the above-described aseptic air blasting nozzle. A sterile air blowing nozzle is provided.

The aseptic air blowing nozzle for an aseptic filling machine according to the present invention is a nozzle that sprays sterilizing agent on the inner surface of a container and sprays aseptic air on the inner surface of the container on which the sterilizing agent is sprayed, and has a central opening at the center of the nozzle tip. And a peripheral opening having an opening area smaller than the opening area of the central opening is provided around the central opening.

In the aseptic air blowing nozzle for an aseptic filling machine according to the present invention, it is preferable that the central opening is circular, and four or more peripheral openings are provided at equal distances around the central opening.

Further, in the aseptic air blowing nozzle for an aseptic filling machine according to the present invention, it is preferable that the central opening is circular, and slits as the peripheral opening having an arc shape are provided at equal distances around the central opening.

In the aseptic air blowing nozzle for an aseptic filling machine according to the present invention, it is preferable that the opening area of the central opening is larger than the total opening area of the peripheral openings.

When the container is sterilized, a sterilizing agent is sprayed on the container, and aseptic air is sprayed on the inner surface of the container where the sterilizing agent remains, so that the remaining sterilizing agent activated by the sterilized air sprayed sterilizes the container surface and remains on the container surface. Remove the disinfectant and remove foreign matter inside the container. By sterilizing air to a container sprayed with a sterilizing agent by using the sterilizing air blowing nozzle according to the present invention, the sterilizing effect is significantly improved as compared with the case where sterilizing air is sprayed by a nozzle having a circular tip opening shape. be able to. The removal of the disinfectant remaining on the surface of the container and the removal of foreign matter inside the container are comparable to conventional cylindrical nozzles. Therefore, the sterilization ability of the aseptic filling machine can be improved by providing the aseptic air blowing nozzle for the aseptic filling machine of the present invention.

It is a top view which shows the outline of an example of an aseptic filling machine provided with the aseptic air blowing nozzle for aseptic filling machines concerning embodiment of this invention. A preform supply process (A), a preform heating process (B), a blow process (C), and a bottle removing process (example) in an example of an aseptic filling machine including an aseptic air blowing nozzle for an aseptic filling machine according to an embodiment of the present invention ( D). Bactericide gas spraying step (E-1, E-2), aseptic air spraying step (F-1, F-) in an example of an aseptic filling machine provided with an aseptic air blowing nozzle for an aseptic filling machine according to an embodiment of the present invention 2) A filling step (G) and a sealing step (H) are shown. 1 shows a bactericide gas generator in an example of an aseptic filling machine including an aseptic air blowing nozzle for an aseptic filling machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. An example of the front-end | tip opening of the aseptic air spray nozzle for aseptic filling machines which concerns on embodiment of this invention is shown. An example of the front-end | tip opening of the aseptic air spray nozzle for aseptic filling machines which concerns on embodiment of this invention is shown. An example of the front-end | tip opening of the aseptic air spray nozzle for aseptic filling machines which concerns on embodiment of this invention is shown. An example of the front-end | tip opening of the aseptic air spray nozzle for aseptic filling machines which concerns on embodiment of this invention is shown.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described.

FIG. 1 shows an outline of an example of an aseptic filling machine including an aseptic air blowing nozzle for an aseptic filling machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. This is an aseptic filling machine that sterilizes bottles as containers. It consists of a preform supply to heating part, molding part, inspection part, bottle sterilization part, aseptic air spraying part, filling part, sealing part and discharge part. An outline will be described with reference to FIG. 1, and details of each part will be described with reference to FIGS. Furthermore, the aseptic air blowing nozzle for an aseptic filling machine according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 5, 6, 7 and 8. The sterilization effect can be improved remarkably as compared with the prior art by spraying aseptic air to the container sprayed with the sterilizing agent by the sterilizing air blowing nozzle for the sterilizing filling machine according to the present embodiment.

(Outline of the embodiment)
As shown in FIG. 1, an aseptic filling machine including an aseptic air blowing nozzle for an aseptic filling machine according to the present embodiment includes a preform supply device 4 that supplies the preform 1, and a temperature at which the preform 1 is molded into the bottle 2. A heating unit 6 that heats the bottle 1, a molding unit 16 that molds the heated preform 1 into a bottle 2, a bottle sterilization unit 30 that sterilizes the molded bottle 2, and a sterile air spray unit that blows sterile air onto the sterilized bottle 2 34, a filling part 39 for filling the sterilized contents into the bottle 2 to which aseptic air is blown, a cap sterilizing part 52 for sterilizing the cap 3 which is a sealing member, and a cap sterilized for the bottle 2 filled with the contents 3 is a non-sterile zone by means of a sealing unit 44 that seals the bottle 2, a discharge unit 47 that places the sealed bottle 2 on the discharge conveyor 50, and the discharge conveyor 50. An outlet portion 51 for discharging the.

The heating unit 6 is the heating unit chamber 12, the molding unit 16 is the molding unit chamber 17, the bottle sterilization unit 30 is the bottle sterilization unit chamber 33, the aseptic air spraying unit 34 is the aseptic air spraying unit chamber 36, and the filling unit 39 is the filling unit chamber 41. The sealing part 44 is shielded by the sealing part chamber 46, the discharge part 47 is shielded by the discharge part chamber 49, and the outlet part 51 is shielded by the outlet part chamber 53. An atmosphere blocking chamber 27 is provided between the molding unit 16 and the bottle sterilization unit 30 so that the gas or mist of the sterilizing agent generated in the bottle sterilization unit 30 or a mixture thereof does not flow into the molding unit 16. The bactericidal gas or mist generated in the bottle sterilization unit 30 or a mixture thereof does not flow into the molding unit 16 when the atmosphere blocking chamber 27 is exhausted. Here, the heating unit 6 and the molding unit 16 may be shielded by a single chamber. Moreover, the cap sterilization part 52 and the sealing part 44 may also be shielded by a single chamber. Furthermore, the sealing part 44 and the discharge part 47 may also be shielded by a single chamber.

During operation of the aseptic filling machine, the bottle sterilization part chamber 33, the sterile air blowing part chamber 36, the filling part chamber 41, the sealing part chamber 46, the discharge part chamber 49 and the outlet part chamber 53 are sterilized by a sterilization filter. Aseptic air is supplied, and the sterility of the aseptic filling machine is maintained by making the pressure in each chamber positive. The positive pressure is the highest in the filling part chamber 41 and is set lower as it goes upstream from the sterile air blowing part chamber 36 and the bottle sterilization part chamber 33. Moreover, the pressure which makes the inside of a chamber a positive pressure is set so low that it goes downstream from the filling part chamber 41 to the sealing part chamber 46, the discharge part chamber 49, and the exit part chamber 53. The atmosphere blocking chamber 27 is evacuated, so that the pressure in the atmosphere blocking chamber 27 is maintained substantially the same as the atmospheric pressure. For example, if the pressure in the filling part chamber 41 is 20 Pa to 40 Pa, the pressure in the other chambers is lower than the pressure in the filling part chamber 41.

The aseptic air blowing nozzle 38 for an aseptic filling machine according to the present invention is used for spraying aseptic air to the bottle 2 on which the sterilizing agent is sprayed by the aseptic air blowing section 34.

(Details of the embodiment)
First, the preform 1 shown in FIG. 2A is continuously conveyed from the preform supply device 4 shown in FIG. 1 to the heating unit 6 by the preform supply conveyor 5 at a desired speed.

The preform 1 is a test tubular bottomed cylindrical body, and a mouth 1a similar to the bottle 2 shown in FIG. A male screw is formed at the mouth 1a simultaneously with the molding of the preform 1. In addition, a support ring 1b for conveyance is formed in the preform 1 below the mouth portion 1a. The preform 1 or the bottle 2 is gripped by the gripper 22 through the support ring 1b and travels through the aseptic filling machine. The preform 1 is molded by injection molding, compression molding or the like. The preform 1 is made of a thermoplastic resin such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthalate, polypropylene, or polyethylene, and may be a single resin or a mixture of these resins, or may include a recycled thermoplastic resin. In order to impart barrier properties, a thermoplastic resin such as an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer or a polyamide having an aromatic amine such as metaxylylenediamine as a monomer may be included as a layer or a mixture.

The preform 1 supplied to the heating unit 6 is conveyed by wheels 7 and 8 provided with a number of grippers 22 at a constant pitch, and reaches the heating unit conveyance wheel 9. Here, as shown in FIG. 2B, the gripper 22 is released, and the spindle 19 is inserted into the mouth 1a of the preform 1 and conveyed.

As shown in FIG. 2 (B), the preform 1 is heated to a temperature suitable for subsequent blow molding by an infrared heater 14 or other heating means. This temperature is preferably 90 ° C to 130 ° C.

In addition, the temperature of the mouth 1a of the preform 1 can be suppressed to a temperature of 70 ° C. or lower in order to prevent deformation and the like.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the preform 1 has a spindle 19 inserted into the mouth 1a, is heated by an infrared heater 14, and is conveyed by an endless chain 13 while rotating. The spindle 19 is provided on the endless chain 13 at regular intervals. Endless chain 13 is rotated by

pulleys

10 and 11. By inserting a mandrel into the preform 1 instead of the spindle 19, it is possible to convey the preform 1 while rotating it in an inverted state.

The heated preform 1 is released from the spindle 19, is gripped by the gripper 22, passes through the wheel 15, and is conveyed to the molding wheel 18 of the molding unit 16. As shown in FIG. 2 (C), the preform 1 is blow-molded into the bottle 2 by the mold 20 provided in the molding wheel 18. A plurality of molds 20 and blow nozzles 21 are arranged around the molding wheel 18 and turn around the molding wheel 18 at a constant speed as the molding wheel 18 rotates. When the heated preform 1 arrives, the mold 20 sandwiches the preform 1. Subsequently, the blow nozzle 21 is joined to the preform 1, and a stretching rod (not shown) is guided to a hole provided in the blow nozzle 21 and inserted into the preform 1, whereby the preform 1 is longitudinally stretched. At the same time, a gas such as air is blown into the preform 1 from the blow nozzle 21 and laterally stretched, whereby the bottle 2 is formed in the mold 20. As shown in FIG. 2D, the molded bottle 2 is taken out from the mold 20, the support ring 1 b is gripped by the gripper 22 provided on the inspection wheel 23, and delivered to the inspection wheel 23.

When the molded bottle 2 is inspected by the inspection equipment 24 provided around the inspection wheel 23, the bottle temperature, the bottle body, the support ring, the top of the bottle mouth, the bottom of the bottle, etc. Is discharged out of the aseptic filling machine by a discharge device (not shown). Although the bottle is inspected in the molding part chamber 17, it may be shielded by a separate chamber as an inspection part.

ボトル Bottle temperature inspection determines the quality of the bottle 2 by checking the surface temperature of the bottle 2. The temperature sensor is, for example, an infrared radiation thermometer (infrared radiation camera), but other thermometers can also be used. It is necessary for the bottle 2 to properly sterilize that the residual heat from the bottle formation remains in the bottle 2. The temperature detected by the temperature sensor is preferably 50 ° C. or higher.

Also, the body of the bottle, the support ring, the top of the bottle mouth, and the bottom of the bottle are imaged by a camera and the state of each part is inspected. The captured image is processed by the image processing apparatus, and it is determined whether there is an abnormality such as a scratch, a foreign object, deformation, or discoloration. The bottle 2 exceeding the allowable range is determined to be abnormal.

The bottle 2 that has not been determined to be abnormal by the inspection by the inspection equipment 24 has the molding unit 16 and the bottle sterilization unit so that the gas or mist of the bactericide generated in the bottle sterilization unit 30 or a mixture thereof does not flow into the molding unit 16. 30 is conveyed to the bottle sterilization unit 30 through the

wheels

25 and 26 in the atmosphere blocking chamber 27 provided between them.

The bottle 2 conveyed to the bottle sterilization unit 30 is sterilized at the wheel 28. FIG. 3E-1 shows a sterilizing gas spraying process on the bottle 2 for sterilizing the bottle 2. In order to spray the sterilizing gas on the bottle 2, a sterilizing gas spray nozzle 31 is provided. The disinfectant gas spray nozzle 31 is fixed so that the nozzle hole at the tip thereof can directly face the opening of the mouth portion 1a of the bottle 2 that travels directly below. Further, if necessary, a sterilizing gas blowing tunnel 32 is provided below the sterilizing gas blowing nozzle 31 along the traveling path of the bottle 2 as shown in FIG. The number of the sterilizing gas spray nozzles 31 may be one or plural. The disinfectant gas sprayed on the bottle 2 flows into the bottle 2 and sterilizes the inner surface of the bottle 2. At this time, the bottle 2 travels through the sterilizing agent gas blowing tunnel 32, so that the sterilizing agent gas or mist or a mixture thereof also flows to the outer surface of the bottle 2, and the outer surface of the bottle 2 is sterilized.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3E-2, the sterilant gas spray nozzle 31 is made to follow the conveyance of the bottle 2, and the sterilizer spray nozzle 31 is inserted into the bottle 2 so that the sterilant gas or mist Or you may spray these mixtures directly on the inner surface of the bottle 2. The sterilizing gas or mist overflowing from the bottle 2 or a mixture thereof collides with a guide member 31 a provided surrounding the sterilizing gas spray nozzle 31, flows to the outer surface of the bottle 2 and contacts the outer surface of the bottle 2. To do. The guide member 31 a is provided with a flange portion coaxial with the nozzle 31 and an annular wall portion protruding outward from the flange portion.

The germicide gas or mist or a mixture thereof is a germicide gasified by the germicide gas generator 55 shown in FIG. 4 or a mist condensed with a gasified germicide or a mixture thereof. The sterilizing agent gas generator 55 heats the sterilizing agent supply unit 56 that is a two-fluid spray nozzle that supplies the sterilizing agent in the form of drops, and the sterilizing agent supplied from the sterilizing agent supply unit 56 to a decomposition temperature or lower. A vaporization unit 57 for vaporization. The sterilizing agent supply unit 56 introduces the sterilizing agent and the compressed air from the sterilizing agent supply path 56a and the compressed air supply path 56b, respectively, and sprays the sterilizing agent into the vaporizing unit 57. The vaporizing section 57 is a pipe having a heater 57a sandwiched between inner and outer walls, and heats and vaporizes the bactericide blown into the pipe. The vaporized bactericidal gas is ejected from the bactericidal gas spray nozzle 31 to the outside of the vaporizing section 57. The vaporizing section 57 may be heated by dielectric heating instead of the heater 57a.

As operating conditions of the sterilizing agent supply unit 56, for example, the pressure of the compressed air is adjusted in the range of 0.05 MPa to 0.6 MPa. Further, the bactericide may be a gravity drop or a pressure may be applied, and the supply amount can be freely set. For example, the bactericide is supplied to the bactericide supply path 56a by 1 g / min. To 100 g / min. Supplied in the range of Moreover, the sprayed disinfectant vaporizes by heating the inner surface of the vaporization part 57 from 140 degreeC to 450 degreeC.

The germicide gas is sprayed onto the bottle 2 from the germicide gas spray nozzle 31 as shown in FIG. The amount of spray of the germicide gas or mist or a mixture thereof is arbitrary, but the spray amount is determined by the amount of germicide supplied to the germicide gas generator 55 and the spray time. A plurality of bactericidal gas generators 55 may be provided. The amount of spraying also varies depending on the size of the bottle 2.

The bactericidal agent preferably contains at least hydrogen peroxide. The content is suitably in the range of 0.5% to 65% by weight. If it is less than 0.5% by mass, the sterilizing power may be insufficient, and if it exceeds 65% by mass, it becomes difficult to handle for safety. Furthermore, 0.5 mass% to 40 mass% is more preferable, and it is easier to handle at 40 mass% or less, and since the concentration is low, the amount of the disinfectant remaining in the bottle 2 after sterilization can be reduced. .

When the sterilizing agent is hydrogen peroxide solution, the amount of hydrogen peroxide solution sprayed is as follows. The amount of hydrogen peroxide adhering to the inner surface of the bottle 2 by the gas of hydrogen peroxide water sprayed from the disinfectant gas spray nozzle 31 to the inner surface of the bottle 2 is the amount of hydrogen peroxide water containing 35% by mass of hydrogen peroxide. 30 μL / bottle to 150 μL / bottle is preferable, and 50 μL / bottle to 100 μL / bottle is more preferable. Further, the hydrogen peroxide concentration of the hydrogen peroxide water sprayed on the bottle 2 is preferably 2 mg / L to 20 mg / L, more preferably 5 mg / L to 10 mg / L.

In addition, the bactericidal agent contains water, but alcohols such as methyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, normal propyl alcohol, and butyl alcohol, ketones such as acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, and acetylacetone, glycol ethers, and the like or You may include 2 or more types.

Furthermore, bactericides include organic acids such as peracetic acid and acetic acid, chlorine compounds such as sodium hypochlorite, compounds having a bactericidal effect such as ozone, cationic surfactants, nonionic surfactants, phosphate compounds, etc. The additive may be included.

The bottle 2 sterilized by the bottle sterilization unit 30 is conveyed to the sterile air blowing unit 34 through the wheel 29 as shown in FIG. In the bottle 2, aseptic air blowing wheel 35 shown in FIG. 1, aseptic air is blown onto the bottle 2 in an upright state by a sterile air blowing nozzle 38 as shown in FIG. 3 (F-1). Aseptic air may be at normal temperature, but is preferably heated. The temperature of the sterile air is preferably 40 ° C to 170 ° C. If it is less than 40 degreeC, decomposition | disassembly of the disinfectant by heating is inadequate and the improvement of the disinfection effect by heating cannot be expected. When it exceeds 170 degreeC, there exists a possibility that the bottle 2 may deform | transform.

The sterile air blowing nozzle 38 that follows the bottle 2 to be conveyed is directed so that the nozzle surface at the tip thereof can directly face the opening of the mouth portion 1a of the bottle 2 that travels directly below, and toward the mouth portion 1a of the bottle 2. And spray with sterile air. Further, as shown in FIG. 3 (F-2), the bottle 2 may be turned upside down and aseptic air may be blown into the bottle 2. In this case, it is more effective than the upright state for removing foreign substances. Furthermore, in order to exclude foreign substances, it is preferable to suck the vicinity of the mouth portion 1a of the inverted bottle 2.

Aseptic air supplied to the aseptic air blowing nozzle 38 is obtained by passing air from a blower or a compressed air generator through a sterilization filter. The amount of sterile air to be blown is preferably 2.5 L to 125 L per bottle. If it is less than 2.5L, the bactericidal effect is small and the removal of the remaining bactericides is insufficient. On the other hand, if it exceeds 125 L, aseptic air blowing becomes longer and the productivity is inferior.

Blowing of the sterile air onto the bottle 2 is performed by a sterile air blowing nozzle 38 that moves by following the bottle 2 that is gripped by the gripper 22 and conveyed around the outer periphery of the sterile air blowing wheel 35 at a constant speed.

The body of the sterile air blowing nozzle 38 has a cylindrical shape, and the cross section thereof may be any shape such as a circle or a polygon. The tip of the nozzle is a plane perpendicular to the axis of the nozzle, and there is a central opening 60 at the center of the plane, and a peripheral opening 61 having an opening area smaller than the opening area of the central opening around the central opening. Is provided. The peripheral opening 61 is provided at an equal distance from the center point of the central opening 60. The aseptic air blowing nozzle 38 is fixed so that the central opening 60 of the aseptic air blowing nozzle 38 is located at the approximate center of the mouth 1a of the bottle 2 and the peripheral opening 61 is located from the center in the mouth 1a of the bottle 2 to the periphery. Then, aseptic air is sprayed from the mouth portion 1 a of the bottle 2 into the inside of the bottle 2 from the aseptic air spray nozzle 38.

As shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7, the central opening 60 on the distal end surface of the sterile air blowing nozzle 38 is circular, and the circular peripheral opening 61 is provided equidistantly around the central opening 60. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the central opening 60 is 5 mmφ, and four peripheral openings 61 of 2 mmφ are located at a position 9 mm from the central point of the central opening 60 at an equal angle of 90 ° with respect to the central point of the central opening 60. Provided. The inside diameter of the mouth of a normal beverage bottle is 28 mmφ, and aseptic air blown from the central opening 60 and the peripheral opening 61 can be blown into the inside of the bottle 2 from the mouth 1 a of the bottle 2.

As shown in FIG. 6, the central opening 60 is 6 mmφ, and eight 1 mmφ peripheral openings 61 are provided at an equal angle of 45 ° with respect to the central point of the central opening 60 at a position 9 mm from the central point of the central opening 60.

7, the central opening 60 is 5 mmφ, and 12 peripheral openings 61 of 1 mmφ are provided at an equal angle of 30 ° with respect to the central point of the central opening 60 at a position 9 mm from the central point of the central opening 60.

5, 6 and 7, the diameter of the central opening 60, the diameter of the peripheral opening 61, the position of the peripheral opening 61 from the center of the central opening 60 and the number of the peripheral openings 61 are arbitrary. However, the diameter of the peripheral opening 61 is smaller than the diameter of the central opening 60, and the peripheral opening 61 must be located within the inner diameter of the mouth portion 1a of the bottle 2 to which aseptic air is blown.

When sterilized air is blown into the inside of the bottle 2 by a cylindrical nozzle having a single circular opening as in the prior art, the sterilized air that has been blown reaches the bottom of the bottle 2 and moves along the side surface of the bottle 2. It is discharged from the second mouth 1a. When sterile air is blown into the inside of the bottle 2 by the sterile air blowing nozzle 38 of the present invention, the sterile air blown from the central opening 60 reaches the bottom of the bottle 2, and the mouth of the bottle 2 along the side surface of the bottle 2. Although it tries to come out of the bottle 2 from 1a, it collides with the sterilized air which blows from the peripheral opening 61 and flows through the side surface side of the bottle 2, and it is estimated that the sterilized air stays on the side surface of the bottle 2. It is estimated that the accumulation of aseptic air generated in the vicinity of the side surface of the bottle 2 and the inner surface of the mouth portion 1a contributes to the improvement of the sterilizing effect by the aseptic air. Therefore, if the flow rate of sterile air blown from the peripheral opening 61 is larger than the flow rate of sterile air blown from the central opening 60 and reaching the bottle bottom and reversing the side of the bottle from the bottom, the flow of sterile air to be blown Residue inside the bottle occurs, and the remaining sterilizing agent is discharged, and it is obstructed to remove foreign matter inside the bottle 2. Therefore, the diameter of the peripheral opening 61 provided on the tip flat surface of the sterile air blowing nozzle 38 must be smaller than the diameter of the central opening 60.

Further, the flat surface of the tip of the sterile air blowing nozzle 38 according to the present invention has a circular central opening 60 as shown in FIG. 8, and arc-shaped slits as peripheral openings 61 are provided at equal distances around the central opening 60. It doesn't matter. In FIG. 8, four peripheral openings 61 that are arc slits of approximately 90 ° having a width of 0.4 mm are provided at regular intervals on a 9 mm circumference from the center of the 6 mmφ central opening 60.

As described above, aseptic air blown into the inside of the bottle 2 must be excluded from the inside of the bottle 2. Therefore, the opening area of the central opening 60 provided in the distal end plane of the sterile air blowing nozzle 38 is set so that the sterilized air that prevents the sterilizing air from being prevented from staying inside the bottle 2 does not stay. It is desirable that it is larger than the total opening area of the peripheral openings 61 provided in the periphery.

As shown in FIG. 1, the bottle 2 to which aseptic air is blown by the sterile air blowing unit 34 is conveyed to the filling unit 39 through the wheel 37. In the filling unit 39, the contents are filled into the bottle 2 by the filling nozzle 42 by the filling wheel 40 shown in FIG. 1 as in the filling step shown in FIG. The contents are sterilized in advance, and the bottle 2 is filled with a certain amount of contents such as a beverage by the filling nozzle 42 that runs synchronously with the bottle 2.

The bottle 2 filled with the contents is conveyed to the sealing part 44 through the wheel 43 shown in FIG. In the sealing wheel 45 provided in the sealing part 44, the cap 3 which is a sealing member sterilized by the cap sterilization part 52 is connected to the cap supply wheel by the sterilization cap conveyance path 54 as in the sealing process shown in FIG. 58 and the cap receiving wheel 59 are supplied to the sealing wheel 45, and the bottle 2 is sealed by being wound around the mouth 1a of the bottle 2 by a capper (not shown).

The sealed bottle 2 is transferred from the gripper 22 of the sealing wheel 45 to the gripper 22 of the discharge wheel 48 of the discharge unit 47. The bottle 2 delivered to the discharge wheel 48 is placed on the discharge conveyor 50. The bottles 2 placed on the discharge conveyor 50 are discharged from the outlet chamber 53 to the outside of the aseptic filling machine.

The inside of the bottle sterilization part chamber 33, the aseptic air blowing part chamber 36, the filling part chamber 41, the sealing part chamber 46, the discharge part chamber 49 and the outlet part chamber 53 is sterilized before the operation of the aseptic filling machine.

Before the start of the operation of the aseptic filling machine, the inside of the bottle sterilization part chamber 33, the sterile air blowing part chamber 36, the filling part chamber 41, the sealing part chamber 46, the discharge part chamber 49 and the outlet part chamber 53 is sterilized. In each chamber, a one-fluid spray or a two-fluid spray for spraying a sterilant mixed with compressed air is provided as a sterilizer spray nozzle. The disinfectant spray nozzle sprays the disinfectant so that it adheres to the entire area in each chamber that needs to be disinfected. Each chamber is sterilized by the sprayed sterilizing agent. The disinfectant spray nozzle is arranged so that the disinfectant adheres to the entire area in each chamber. After the sterilizing agent is sprayed, each chamber is sprayed with normal temperature or heated aseptic air to activate and disinfect the sterilizing agent remaining in each chamber. The sterilizing agent may be eliminated by spraying sterile water into each chamber before spraying sterile air.

The bottle sterilization part chamber 33, the sterile air blowing part chamber 36, the filling part chamber 41, the sealing part chamber 46, the discharge part chamber 49 and the outlet part chamber 53 are sterilized and then sterilized by a sterilization filter. Air is supplied and the inside of each chamber is maintained at a positive pressure. By maintaining the inside of each chamber at a positive pressure with aseptic air, the sterility in the aseptic filling machine downstream from the bottle sterilization unit chamber 33 is maintained. The pressure at which each chamber is held at a positive pressure is highest in the filling portion chamber 41, and is set lower as far upstream as the sterile air blowing portion chamber 36 and the bottle sterilizing portion chamber 33. The atmosphere blocking chamber 27 is evacuated so that the inside thereof is maintained at a pressure almost equal to the atmospheric pressure.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described by way of examples.

(Method of operation)
Bacillus atrophaeus bacteria were allowed to adhere to 2.3 × 10 ⁴ cfu, 2.3 × 10 ⁵ cfu and 2.3 × 10 ⁶ cfu inside a 500 ml PET bottle 2 having an inner diameter of 28 mmφ. Thereafter, hydrogen peroxide containing 35% by mass of hydrogen peroxide was gasified by the bactericidal gas generator 55 shown in FIG. 4, and the obtained bactericidal gas was sprayed inside the bottle 2. The gasification conditions were as follows: the temperature of the vaporization unit 57 was 300 ° C., and the supply amount of hydrogen peroxide was 50 g / min. Met.

Sterilized air at 95 ° C. is 250 L / min. At a flow rate of 2 seconds, each nozzle was sprayed for 2 seconds. The tip of the sterile air blowing nozzle 38 was separated from the mouth of the bottle 2 by 4 mm.

In Example 1, the central opening 60 is 6 mmφ, and four peripheral openings 61 of 2 mmφ are provided at an angle of 90 ° with respect to the central point of the central opening 60 at a position 9 mm from the central point of the central opening 60. In Example 2, the central opening 60 was 5 mmφ, and eight peripheral openings 61 of 1 mmφ were provided at an equal angle of 45 ° with respect to the central point of the central opening 60 at a position 9 mm from the central point of the central opening 60. In Example 3, the central opening 60 was 5 mmφ, and twelve peripheral openings 61 of 1 mmφ were provided at an angle of 30 ° with respect to the central point of the central opening 60 at a position 9 mm from the central point of the central opening 60. Moreover, the comparative example 1 was a cylindrical aseptic air spray nozzle having only an opening of 7 mmφ. In Comparative Example 2, twelve 2 mmφ openings were provided on a 13 mmφ circumference on the nozzle tip plane.

(Bactericidal effect measurement)
The bottle 2 after being sprayed with sterile air was filled with 50 ml of SCD medium, sealed, stored at 35 ° C. for 7 days, and judged whether or not it was sterilized by the turbidity of the medium. Based on this result, the bactericidal effect was expressed as LRV = log (number of adherent bacteria) / (number of surviving bacteria).

(Measurement of residual hydrogen peroxide)
The bottle 2 after being sprayed with sterile air was filled with sterile water, and the amount of hydrogen peroxide in the sterile water was immediately measured.

(Results of Examples and Comparative Examples)
Table 1 shows the bactericidal effect (LRV) and the amount of residual hydrogen peroxide (ppm) of Examples and Comparative Examples.

According to the above embodiment, a conventional cylindrical nozzle such as Comparative Example 1 or Comparative Example 2 is obtained by spraying sterile air into the bottle after spraying the sterilizing gas by the sterile air blowing nozzle 38 according to the present invention. Thus, the sterilization effect was better than that of the aseptic air spray nozzle having no central opening and only the peripheral opening, and the result was that the amount of residual hydrogen peroxide was comparable to that of Comparative Example 1.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Preform 2 ... Bottle 3 ... Cap 30 ... Bottle sterilization part 34 ... Aseptic air spraying part 36 ... Aseptic air spraying part chamber 38 ... Aseptic air spraying nozzle 60 ... Center opening 61 ... Peripheral opening

Claims

A nozzle that sprays sterilizing agent on the inner surface of the container and sprays sterile air on the inner surface of the container on which the sterilizing agent is sprayed,
An aseptic air blowing nozzle for an aseptic filling machine, characterized in that there is a central opening at the center of the tip of the nozzle, and a peripheral opening having an opening area smaller than the opening area of the central opening is provided around the central opening.
In the sterile air blowing nozzle for aseptic filling machine according to claim 1,
An aseptic air blowing nozzle for an aseptic filling machine, wherein the central opening is circular, and four or more peripheral openings are provided at equal distances around the central opening.
In the sterile air blowing nozzle for aseptic filling machine according to claim 1,
An aseptic air blowing nozzle for an aseptic filling machine, wherein the central opening is circular, and a slit as the peripheral opening having an arc shape is provided at an equal distance from the central opening.
In the aseptic air blowing nozzle for an aseptic filling machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
An aseptic air blowing nozzle for an aseptic filling machine, wherein an opening area of the central opening is larger than a total opening area of the peripheral openings.