JP2000168745A - Method and apparatus for sterilizing package - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten a sterilization time for a package filled with contents at a high temperature and to prevent the package which has been insufficiently sterilized from being shipped even when packages which have been filled at a low temperature are mixed. SOLUTION: In filling contents into a packaging bag 3 by a filling and packaging machine, sealing a bag mouth to provide a package 6 and continuously feeding the packages to a sterilizer 12 for sterilization, a filling temperature of the contents and corresponding sterilization time are specified in advance, and the filling temperature of the contents is measured for each of the packages at appropriate timing before and after filling. While the packaging bags which are filled at a high temperature are continuously fed, the sterilization time of the sterilizer 12 is set short corresponding to the temperature, and when a packaging bag which has been filled at a low temperature is mixed, sterilization conditions of the sterilizer 12 should be changed to longer sterilization time corresponding to the low temperature while the bag filled at the low temperature remains in the sterilizer 12.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for disinfecting a package filled with contents and sealing a bag opening, and more particularly, to a method for continuously filling and sealing a package filled with high-temperature contents. The present invention relates to a sterilization method and an apparatus particularly suitable for performing a sterilization treatment by sending the same to a sterilization apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Foods such as hamburgers and curries are filled into packaging bags by a filling and packaging machine, and are subjected to a vacuum treatment as required, and the bag mouth is sealed. Subsequently, the package is continuously sent to the sterilizer by the transport device, and is immersed in, for example, hot water and subjected to heat sterilization (hot water sterilization) for a predetermined time. As an example, a case of packaging with a known two-rotor type filling vacuum packaging machine (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-339723) shown in FIG. 4 will be described. These contents cooked at a high temperature are once cooled in a tank. After the packing bag 3 is filled on the filling machine 1 side and the bag mouth is temporarily sealed, it is sent to the vacuum packing machine 2 side by the transfer device 4 and vacuum-processed in the vacuum chamber 5, and the bag is stored in the vacuum chamber. The mouth is completely sealed, discharged as a package 6 onto a belt conveyor 7, and continuously sent out to a sterilization apparatus (not shown).
In addition, 8 is a hopper for filling a solid material, 9 is a nozzle for filling a liquid material, and 10 is a temporary sealing device.

Here, the contents cooked at a high temperature are once cooled, filled, and vacuum-processed. When the high-temperature contents are vacuum-processed, the liquid in the bag causes a boiling phenomenon and the bag mouth is opened. This causes problems such as spilling over, insufficient measurement of contents, and contamination of bags and equipment. However, it takes a considerable amount of time (several hours to one day) to cool the contents of the tank from the cooking temperature (high temperature) to around room temperature.
Further, when the contents are cooled, there is a possibility that various bacteria enter and propagate until the contents are filled in the packaging bag. Therefore, conventionally, it has been necessary to set the sterilization processing time of the package in the sterilization processing apparatus to be somewhat long.

[0004]

On the other hand, if the contents can be filled in a packaging bag at a high temperature and vacuum-processed and sealed (sealing) can be performed, an extra step of cooling the contents is not required, and sterilization processing is performed. There is an advantage that the energy required for reheating to the temperature is reduced, the chance of various bacteria entering the contents is reduced, and the high temperature causes little propagation of the various bacteria, thereby shortening the sterilization treatment time. For this reason, the temperature of the contents is measured for each packaging bag, and the ultimate vacuum degree and the deaeration rate are automatically controlled in accordance with the temperature so that the high-temperature contents can be vacuum-filled while suppressing the boiling phenomenon. A vacuum control method and apparatus have been developed (for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 10-48707).

Thus, the contents can be filled at a high temperature,
The sterilization time of the package can be shortened according to the filling temperature. However, if the sterilization processing time is set on the premise of filling at a high temperature equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature (eg, 90 ° C. or higher), a package filled at a temperature lower than the predetermined temperature (eg, 70 ° C.) may be mixed. If
There is a possibility that the sterilization processing time of the package is insufficient, and the sterilization becomes poor. Note that the contents are filled at a predetermined temperature or less, for example, in the following cases, the contents may be generated in plural units (to) or may be generated in single units (). Cool while moving from the cooking area to the filling area. A warmer that keeps the contents cooked at a high temperature until the time of filling is broken down, causing a temperature drop. The same lot cools down over time. For example, in the case of a hamburger, the solid and the seasoning liquid are separately charged, but even in the same lot, a cooled solid may be mixed.

As described above, even though high-temperature filling can be performed, there is always a possibility that packages to be filled at a low temperature may be mixed. At present, there is no setting of the sterilization processing time on the premise of high-temperature filling because there is a risk that the package is shipped as a product. The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and aims to shorten the sterilization processing time by taking advantage of high-temperature filling, and at the same time, to prevent a poorly sterilized package from being shipped as a product.
Another object of the present invention is to generalize, so that sterilization processing can be performed under sterilization processing conditions according to the filling temperature of contents, and at the same time, a package body with poor sterilization is not shipped as a product.

[0007]

According to the method for sterilizing a package according to the present invention, the contents are filled in a packaging bag by a filling and packaging machine, the bag mouth is sealed to form a package, and the package is sterilized. When sent to the processing device for sterilization processing, the temperature of the contents and the sterilization processing conditions corresponding thereto are set in advance,
The temperature of the contents is measured for each package at an appropriate timing before and after filling, and based on the correspondence between the previously set contents temperature and the sterilization processing conditions, the sterilization processing conditions of the sterilization processing apparatus, It is characterized in that it is matched with the highest level of sterilization processing conditions among the sterilization processing conditions sent to the sterilization processing apparatus and corresponding to each package in the sterilization processing apparatus. A sterilization apparatus corresponding to this sterilization method includes a sterilization processing apparatus for sterilizing a package body filled with contents and a sealed bag mouth, and packaging at an appropriate timing before and after filling the contents with a filling and packaging machine. A temperature measuring device that measures the temperature of the content for each body, and the sterilization processing conditions corresponding to the temperature of the content and the content are set in advance, based on the correspondence between the preset temperature of the content and the sterilization processing condition, A control device for matching the sterilization processing conditions of the sterilization processing apparatus to the highest level of the sterilization processing conditions sent to the sterilization processing apparatus and corresponding to each package in the sterilization processing apparatus is provided. It is characterized by.

In this sterilization method and apparatus, for example, when low-temperature packaging bags having different sterilization conditions are mixed in a high-temperature packaging bag, while the low-temperature packaging bags are in the sterilization apparatus, the sterilization apparatus is not used. The sterilization processing conditions are changed to more severe sterilization processing conditions corresponding to the temperature of the packaging bag (for example, the sterilization time is extended). Therefore, all the packages sent into the sterilization apparatus are subjected to sterilization processing under sterilization processing conditions corresponding to the respective temperature measurement values or sterilization processing conditions that are stricter than those, and poor sterilization is prevented. The present invention is particularly suitable when the package is continuously conveyed to the sterilizing apparatus and the package is continuously subjected to the sterilizing process even in the sterilizing apparatus.

Further, the method for sterilizing a package according to the present invention comprises the steps of:
The contents are filled into the packaging bag by the filling and packaging machine, and the bag mouth is sealed to form a package, and when the package is sent to the sterilization apparatus for sterilization, the sterilization conditions of the sterilization apparatus are The temperature range of the corresponding content is set in advance, the temperature of the content is measured for each package at an appropriate timing before and after filling, and before sending the package to the sterilization apparatus, based on the measured value. Then, the package is separated into a packaging bag within the temperature range and a packaging bag outside the temperature range, and a package whose measured value falls within the temperature range is sent to the sterilization apparatus. A sterilizing apparatus corresponding to this method includes a sterilizing apparatus for sterilizing a package filled with contents and a sealed bag mouth, and a package at an appropriate timing before and after filling of the contents by a filling and packaging machine. A temperature measuring device that measures the temperature of the contents for each, a separation device that separates the package during transportation to the sterilization device, and a temperature range of the contents corresponding to the sterilization processing conditions of the sterilization device in advance are set. And a control device for controlling the operation of the sorting device based on the measured temperature value of each package and the set temperature range, wherein the sterilization processing device is configured to perform the package whose temperature measured value falls within the set temperature range. It is characterized by being sent to.

In this sterilization method and apparatus, for example, when a low-temperature packaging bag outside the above-mentioned temperature range is mixed in a high-temperature packaging bag, the low-temperature packaging bag is removed before being sent to the sterilization treatment apparatus. Only packaging bags within the temperature range are allowed to enter the sterilizer. The removed packaging bag is appropriately processed such as taking out the contents, cooking again, and repackaging. Further, in this sterilization method and apparatus, two or more sterilization apparatuses having different sterilization processing conditions can be installed. In this case, a temperature range corresponding to each of the sterilization devices is set, and the packaging bag is separated into ones in the temperature range corresponding to each of the sterilization devices based on the measured temperature values, and sent to the corresponding sterilization devices. Alternatively, if necessary, the mixture may be further separated into those outside the temperature range (lower temperature), and the above-described processing may be performed on this. The present invention is particularly suitable for a case where the package is continuously transported to a sterilization apparatus and is continuously separated during the transport.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a sterilization method and apparatus according to the present invention. For example, a package body 6 whose contents are filled at a high temperature by a filling vacuum packaging machine shown in FIG. , And continuously sent to the sterilization apparatus 12.

The sterilization apparatus shown in FIG.
2, a temperature measuring device 13 and a control device 14 are provided. In the sterilization apparatus 12, the package 6 is continuously conveyed by a conveyor or the like (not shown), and is immersed in, for example, high-temperature hot water for a predetermined time during the conveyance to sterilize the hot water. However, the method of the sterilization treatment is not limited to this. Temperature measuring device 13
Is placed near the packaging bag 3 immediately after filling, and a temperature data signal is sent to the control device 14. The measuring device 1
3 is for knowing the temperature of the contents at the time of filling,
The installation location is not limited to the above-mentioned position, but the temperature of the contents suddenly drops after vacuum processing. Therefore, when vacuum processing is involved, it is desirable to measure before vacuum processing.

In the control device 14, the contents temperature (measurement temperature) and the sterilization processing conditions corresponding thereto are set in advance, for example, as follows. Note that the sterilization processing conditions here are the processing time, that is, the package 6 is the sterilization processing apparatus 12.
It is the time to enter and undergo hot water sterilization, and is adjusted by the transport speed of a conveyor or the like. High temperature: 90 ° C or higher → 20 minutes Medium temperature: 50 ° C or higher, lower than 90 ° C → 30 minutes Low temperature: Lower than 50 ° C → 40 minutes

The control device 14 receives the temperature signal from the temperature measuring device 13 and, based on the previously set correspondence between the temperature of the contents and the sterilization processing conditions, the processing time (transport speed) of the sterilization processing device 12. And the sterilization processing conditions of the sterilization processing apparatus 12 are made to match the highest level sterilization processing conditions among the sterilization processing conditions corresponding to each package. For example, while the high-temperature packaging bag () continues, the processing time is controlled to be 20 minutes. However, when a medium-temperature packaging bag () is detected between the high-temperature packaging bags (), the corresponding packaging is performed. bag()
The transport speed is reduced so that the processing time becomes 30 minutes from the time of entering the sterilization processing device 12. Also, when the above-mentioned medium-temperature packaging bag () comes out of the sterilization apparatus 12 and all the packaging bags in the sterilization apparatus 12 become high-temperature packaging bags (), the processing time becomes 20 minutes again. Increase the transfer speed. As a result, all the packages sent into the sterilization apparatus 12 are subjected to the sterilization processing for the processing time corresponding to the respective measured temperatures or more, and the sterilized package is shipped as a product. In addition, there is an advantage that the processing time can be shortened when the high temperature package continues.

As in the above example, the whole package 6 sent from the filling vacuum packaging machine may be sent to the sterilization apparatus 12, but, for example, a sorting apparatus as described later is provided on the belt conveyor 7, It is also possible to eliminate the low-temperature package below a predetermined value on the way and prevent the sterilization by the sterilization apparatus 12. For example, when the package () in the lowest temperature range is excluded, only the high-temperature () and medium-temperature () packaging bags need to be sterilized by the sterilization device 12, thereby improving the operation efficiency of the device.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of another sterilization method and apparatus according to the present invention. For example, a package body 6 whose contents are filled at a high temperature by a filling vacuum packaging machine shown in FIG. 4, vacuum-processed and sealed (sealed). Is conveyed by a belt conveyor 7, the package 6 is separated according to the temperature, and only the packaging bags falling within the set temperature range are continuously sent to the sterilization apparatus 12.
The sterilizer shown in FIG. 2 includes a sterilizer 12, a temperature measuring device 13, a sorting device 15, and a control device 16 (FIG. 1).
The same reference numerals are given to the same components as in the above). The operation of the separation device 15 is controlled by the control device 16 and the conveyor belt 7
The package 6 that is continuously conveyed above is passed (virtual line position) or excluded (solid line position). The sorting device 15
The installation position of may not be operated on the conveyor belt as long as it can be separated before sending the package 6 to the sterilization apparatus 12.

The temperature range of the contents corresponding to the sterilization processing conditions of the sterilization processing apparatus 12 is set in the control device 16 in advance, for example, as follows. Here, the sterilization processing condition is the processing time, and is fixed at, for example, 20 minutes in the sterilization processing apparatus 12. 90 ° C or higher → To sterilization processing device Less than 90 ° → Exclusion The control device 16 receives a signal from the temperature measurement device 13,
When a packaging bag whose measured value is within the set temperature range is transported on the conveyor belt 7, the sorting device 15 is not operated at the virtual line position, and when a packaging bag outside the set temperature range is transported, the solid line is displayed. It is reciprocated to the position and separated into high-temperature packaging bags within the set temperature range and medium-low temperature packaging bags outside the set temperature range. The removed medium-temperature package is sent to another sterilization device (not shown), or the content is taken out, cooked again, repackaged, and the like.

The sterilizer shown in FIG. 3 is provided with two sterilizers 12 and 17 having different sterilization processing conditions, and a controller 18 sorts the separators 19 a and 19 on the conveyor belt 7.
The operation of b is controlled so that the packaging bags 6 sent from the filling vacuum packaging machine are separated into three (the same reference numerals are given to the same ones as in FIG. 1). For example, the sterilization apparatuses 12, 17
The sterilization processing times are 20 minutes and 30 minutes, respectively, and the following settings are made in the control device 18 and the signals from the temperature measurement device 13 are received to control the separation devices 19a and 19b. In other words, the packaging bags whose measured values are 90 ° C. or more are separated into
9b is sent to the sterilization apparatus 12 without being operated, and the packaging bags having a temperature of 50 ° C. or more and lower than 90 ° C. are sent to the sterilization apparatus 17 via the belt conveyor 20 by operating the sorting apparatus 19b.
The packaging bag having a temperature of less than 0 ° C. is removed by operating the sorting device 19a without sending it to any of them. 90 ° C or higher → to the sterilization apparatus 12 for 20 minutes 50 ° C. or higher and lower than 90 ° C. → to the sterilization apparatus 17 for 30 minutes → less than 50 ° C → excluded It is appropriately processed, for example, sent to the apparatus, or the contents are taken out, cooked again, and repackaged.

In each of the sterilizing apparatuses of the present invention described above, the sterilizing apparatus is intended for hot water sterilization, but other sterilizing means such as steam sterilization and ultraviolet sterilization can be used. In addition to the time, temperature, intensity of ultraviolet light, and the like can be used as appropriate. In each sterilizing apparatus, the package is continuously transported to the sterilizing apparatus and is continuously processed in the sterilizing apparatus. However, the present invention can be applied to batch-type transport and sterilizing processing. Furthermore, although a vacuum treatment is taken into consideration, the present invention can be applied to a package that does not perform the vacuum treatment.

[0020]

According to the present invention, sterilization can be performed under sterilization processing conditions according to the filling temperature of the contents, and at the same time, a package with poor sterilization can be prevented from being shipped as a product. For example, it is possible to shorten the sterilization treatment time by taking advantage of the high-temperature filling, and at the same time, prevent a package having a poor sterilization from being shipped as a product.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a sterilizer according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of another sterilization apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of another sterilization apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of a filling vacuum packaging machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

 6 Package 7 Conveyor belt 12, 17 Sterilization treatment device 13 Temperature measurement device 14, 16, 18 Controller 15, 19 (a, b) Sorting device

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A method for filling contents in a packaging bag by a filling and packaging machine and sealing the bag mouth to form a package, and sending the package to a sterilization apparatus for sterilization, the temperature of the contents. And sterilization processing conditions corresponding thereto are set in advance, and the temperature of the contents is measured for each package at an appropriate timing before and after filling, and the correspondence relationship between the previously set contents temperature and the sterilization processing conditions is set. On the basis of the sterilization processing conditions of the sterilization processing apparatus, to match the highest level sterilization processing conditions among the sterilization processing conditions corresponding to each package that is sent to the sterilization processing apparatus and is in the sterilization processing apparatus. The method for sterilizing a package according to claim 1, wherein the package is sterilized. 2. A sterilization apparatus for sterilizing a package filled with contents and having a sealed bag mouth, and a content for each package at an appropriate timing before and after filling of the contents by a filling and packaging machine. A temperature measuring device that measures the temperature of the contents, and the temperature of the contents and the sterilization processing conditions corresponding thereto are set in advance, and based on the correspondence relationship between the preset contents temperature and the sterilization processing conditions, A package comprising a control device for matching sterilization processing conditions to the highest level of sterilization processing conditions among sterilization processing conditions sent to the sterilization processing apparatus and corresponding to each package in the sterilization processing apparatus. Body sterilizer. 3. The disinfection device according to claim 1, wherein the contents are filled in the packaging bag by a filling and packaging machine, and the bag mouth is sealed to form a package, and the package is sent to a disinfection device for disinfection. The temperature range of the contents corresponding to the sterilization processing conditions is set in advance, the temperature of the contents is measured for each package at an appropriate timing before and after filling, and before sending the package to the sterilization apparatus, The packaging, wherein the packaging is separated into a packaging bag within the temperature range and a packaging bag outside the range based on the measured value, and the package whose measured value falls within the temperature range is sent to the sterilization apparatus. How to sterilize the body. 4. A sterilization apparatus for sterilizing a package filled with contents and having a sealed bag mouth, and a content for each package at an appropriate timing before and after filling of the contents by a filling and packaging machine. A temperature measuring device for measuring the temperature of the package, a separating device for separating the package during the transportation to the sterilizing device, and a temperature range of the contents corresponding to the sterilizing process conditions of the sterilizing device are set in advance. A control device for controlling the operation of the sorting device based on the measured temperature of the body and the set temperature range, and sending the package whose temperature measured value falls within the set temperature range to the sterilization treatment device. Characteristic package sterilizer.