JPH0577810A - Manufacture of bottled beverage - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To replace air in a head space of a bottled beverage efficiently with an inert gas by an extremely simple operation, and in addition, adjust the vacuum degree. CONSTITUTION:When a cap 11 which is fed by a cap chuter 8 is applied at a bottle mouth 10a of a bottle which is filled with a content, a mixed inert gas, which consists of nitrogen gas and carbon dioxide gas, is jetted from an injection port 12 of a nozzle 7 toward a hollow space in the cap when the cap 11 is covered half on the bottle mouth. Thus, air in the hollow space in the cap is replaced by the mixed inert gas, and at the same time, air in the head space of the bottle is replaced with the mixed inert gas which has hit the wall surface of the hollow space in the cap and been reflected, to adjust the vacuum degree.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for producing a bottled beverage, and more particularly, to an empty portion of a bottled beverage in a container,
The present invention relates to a method of efficiently replacing the air in the so-called head space with a mixed inert gas composed of nitrogen gas and carbon dioxide gas to adjust the degree of vacuum in the bottle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a beverage in a sealed container is manufactured by filling a container such as a can or a bottle with contents such as fruit juice and then sterilizing and sealing the container. Occurs. If air (particularly oxygen) remains in this headspace, the contents react with oxygen over time, causing deterioration in quality such as deterioration of flavor, decay, and change in color tone. For example, in the case of a bottled juice drink using a transparent bottle, the color tone of the contents is important in product design as well as the flavor, but if oxygen remains in the headspace, the color tone of the juice drink changes. However, there is a problem that the product value is impaired.

Therefore, as a method for solving the above problem,
For example, the method described in JP-A-62-135184 has been proposed. This method, as shown in FIG.
At the injection position of, the inert gas injection nozzle (parallel to the longitudinal direction) installed below the cap shooter (19) toward the bottle mouth (17a) of the bottle (17) filled with the content (40). After injecting the inert gas (15) from 16), the cap shooter (1
This is a method in which the cap (18) is supplied onto the bottle mouth (17a) from 9) and then the cap is tightened.

However, in this method, the inert gas injection nozzle (16) is installed farther from the cap shooter (19) so as not to obstruct the supply of the cap (18) onto the bottle mouth (17a). I have to do it. Therefore, there will be a certain distance between the time when the inert gas is injected into the bottle (17) and the time when it is sealed with the cap (18), and the ambient air is introduced into the bottle (17) during that time. It was mixed again, and the headspace (4
The air in 1) cannot be completely replaced with an inert gas.

Further, since the inert gas is directly jetted toward the liquid surface of the content (40) in the bottle (17), the residual air on the back surface of the cap cannot be replaced. Further, there is a drawback that the content (40) is easily scattered by the pressure at the time of jetting, and the area around the bottle mouth (17a) and the area around the jet nozzle mouth (16a) are soiled.

Therefore, as another method, there has been proposed a method in which the inert gas is not directly jetted toward the liquid surface of the contents (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-296624). This method, as shown in FIG. 7 (a), includes a cap shooter (19).
Inert gas injection nozzles (21) and (22) are installed from two directions different from the longitudinal direction of the nozzle toward the bottle mouth (17a). Then, as shown in (b) of FIG. 7, the inert gas (15) is simultaneously jetted from the respective nozzles, and the inert gas (15) is caused to collide with each other in the sky above the bottle mouth (17a), and the downward The inert gas is caused to flow into the headspace (41) of the bottle (17) by flowing the inert gas into the headspace (41).

In this method, the cap shooter (1
9) without contacting the gas injection nozzle (21),
Since (22) is installed, the nozzle injection port can be installed near the cap delivery position as shown in FIG. Therefore, the interval from the injection of the inert gas to the tightening of the cap can be shortened, so that the surrounding air is not mixed again and the replacement rate of the inert gas in the head space can be increased. it can.

However, according to this method, the bottle (17)
Although the replacement rate of the inert gas in the head space (41) of the cap increases, the air remaining on the back surface of the cap cannot be replaced. Therefore, when the cap is supplied to the bottle mouth and tightened, the back surface of the cap remains. The air eventually mixed in,
The rate of replacement with an inert gas is deteriorated.

Therefore, as a method for replacing the air remaining in the inner space of the cap on the back surface of the cap, a method of actual exploitation 64-23
It has been proposed to use the device described in Japanese Patent No. 408. In this method, as shown in FIG. 8, an inert gas injection nozzle (27) is inserted from the cap shooter bottom plate (26a) into the cap shooter (26) to inject the inert gas, and as shown in FIG. In addition, by injecting the inert gas from the inert gas injection nozzle (28) also to the back surface of the cap and the bottle mouth (17a) in front of the cap delivery position, the rate of replacement with the inert gas is increased.

However, in this method, it is necessary to refill the cap shooter (26) with a structure having high airtightness in order to prevent the gas from flowing out and to prevent the gas from flowing out. Further, the injection of the inert gas to the back surface of the cap and the bottle mouth (17a) is performed by the same nozzle (28), but in this case, the inert gas is injected between the injection holes (31) and (32). Since the ejection amount is not constant, the substitution rate of the inert gas tends to vary.

Further, since the injection nozzle (28) needs to be installed so as not to abut the cap delivery position of the cap shooter (26), the interval from the inert gas injection to the cap tightening is long. , Meanwhile, the surrounding air is mixed again. Moreover, in this method, since the inert gas is ejected at a total of three places, a large amount of inert gas is required, which leads to an increase in cost.

Further, for bottled beverages, it is necessary to inspect the hermeticity of the product after production of the product, and the most commonly used apparatus in the production line of bottled beverages is that the inside of the product bottle has an appropriate vacuum. It is a device that inspects by the optical focusing method that uses the dent on the top surface of the cap that occurs when the state is changed (measures that the concave surface due to the dent is replaced by the change in the focal length).

When this apparatus is used, when the degree of vacuum in the bottle is low or the diameter of the cap is small, it is impossible to inspect because the dents cannot be sufficiently removed. In the conventional method for producing a bottled beverage, since the degree of vacuum in the bottle after sealing becomes low due to the presence of air (oxygen) and the presence of an inert gas,
It was difficult to inspect the sealability using the above device. Therefore, the sealability cannot be continuously inspected in the production line, resulting in poor productivity.

Therefore, as a method of reducing the amount of inert gas and increasing the degree of vacuum in the bottle while removing the residual oxygen in the head space, the degree of vacuum is increased by using steam together with the inert gas. But in this case,
The vapor condenses due to the inert gas and adheres to the bottle as water droplets, which easily causes contamination of various bacteria.

As described above, the conventional technique for replacing the air in the head space with the inert gas has a poor replacement efficiency, requires a modification of the device, causes a variation in the replacement rate, and causes a vacuum. There was a problem that the degree could not be adjusted.

[0016]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and in order to replace air in the head space of a bottle with an inert gas at a high replacement rate, a nozzle is simply used. Instead of injecting an inert gas with the cap, when the cap is half-covered diagonally at the bottle mouth when it is supplied to the bottle mouth, direct nitrogen gas and carbon dioxide gas toward the inner space of the cap. A mixed inert gas consisting of the following is jetted, the air in the head space is replaced by the mixed inert gas by the reflection jet, and the bottle is filled with the mixed inert gas in the inner space of the cap on the back surface of the cap. It has been found that a method of feeding and sealing the cap on the mouth is preferred.

Further, when carbon dioxide gas is used as the inert gas, the carbon dioxide gas is dissolved in the contents, so that the degree of vacuum in the bottle can be controlled. Therefore, if nitrogen gas and carbon dioxide gas are combined, The inventors have found that the degree of vacuum inside can be adjusted appropriately, and have reached the present invention.

That is, the object of the present invention is to
An object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a bottled beverage in which the air in the headspace of the bottled beverage can be efficiently replaced with an inert gas by a simple operation, and the degree of vacuum in the bottle can be adjusted without contamination by various bacteria.

[0019]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The above object is a method for producing a bottled beverage, which comprises filling a bottle with contents and then supplying a cap to the bottle mouth of the bottle to seal the bottle mouth. In the process of supplying, when the cap is half-covered diagonally to the bottle mouth, a mixed inert gas consisting of nitrogen gas and carbon dioxide gas is jetted toward the inner space of this cap to empty the inner space of the cap. While replacing the air of the part with this gas, this gas reflected on the inner wall surface of the cap, replaces the air in the head space of the bottle, by the method for producing a bottled beverage characterized by adjusting the degree of vacuum To be achieved.

In the method of the present invention, a bottle made of glass, plastic or the like is filled with a beverage such as fruit juice, coffee or milk drink, and then the air in the head space of the bottle mouth is replaced with an inert gas. When supplying the cap to the bottle mouth, when the cap is just half over the bottle mouth,
To the inner space of the cap, from the nozzle, a mixed inert gas consisting of nitrogen gas and carbon dioxide gas is injected to replace the air in the inner space of the cap with the mixed inert gas,
The mixed inert gas reflected by the wall surface of the inner space of the cap enters the head space of the bottle and replaces the air in the head space with the mixed inert gas. Furthermore, in the head space after replacement and sealing. Of the mixed inert gas, the carbon dioxide gas is dissolved in the contents, and the amount of gas in the head space is reduced, so that the inside of the container can be made to have a desired degree of vacuum (reduced pressure state).

Next, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing an embodiment of the device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 shows a state when the device shown in FIG. It is an enlarged explanatory view shown. In the figure, (7) is a nozzle for injecting a mixed inert gas consisting of nitrogen gas and carbon dioxide gas, (12) is its gas injection port, and (6) is a nozzle (7).
Is a gas supply pipe for supplying gas to. (8) is a cap shooter, and (9) is a cap shooter bottom plate.
Also, (10) is a bottle filled with the content (40), (1
1) is a cap to be supplied to the bottle mouth (10a).

This apparatus is installed so that the cap supply means is located above the bottle mouth of the bottle (10) filled with the contents (40) and conveyed. That is, the cap (11) is the cap shooter bottom plate (9).
The lower part of the cap shooter (8) is installed so as to be located close to the upper part of the bottle mouth so as to be supplied to the bottle mouth.

Further, this apparatus uses, as gas injection means,
The nozzle (7) is installed at the following position with respect to the cap supply means. That is, the nozzle (7) has the cap (1) sent from the cap shooter (8).
When 1) is caught at one end of the bottle mouth (10a) and is in an oblique half-covered state, gas is jetted from the gas jet port (12) toward the inner space of the cap (11). , Installed close to the cap shooter (8).

This nozzle (7) is, as shown in FIG.
Its shape is a horseshoe shape that is slightly larger than the diameter of the bottle so as to completely cover half the circumference of the bottle mouth, and this nozzle has a gas supply pipe (6) and an injection port (12) for injecting gas into the inner space of the cap. ) Is preferably used.

Instead of the above nozzle, one or a plurality of tubular nozzles may be used. In addition, the gas injection angle from the injection port of the nozzle, the injected gas is reflected on the wall surface of the inner space of the cap, and becomes a reflection jet,
Angle so that it enters the headspace (41) of the bottle.
The device for adjusting the mixed gas consisting of nitrogen gas and carbon dioxide gas supplied to the nozzle is not shown, but is not particularly limited and may be a commonly used device. Further, as the cap shooter (8), a commonly used one may be used.

Using the above apparatus, the manufacturing method of the present invention is
For example, it is performed as follows. That is, first, the bottle (1) filled with the content (40) is filled by a normal filling method.
0) is transported into the cap supply unit at a transport speed of 25 m / min.

Then, when the cap (11) is supplied from the cap shooter (8) to the bottle mouth (10a), the cap (11) is caught at one end of the bottle mouth (10a), and is in a half-covered state at an angle. Then, a mixed inert gas composed of nitrogen gas and carbon dioxide gas is injected from the gas injection port (12) of the nozzle (7) toward the inner space of the cap (11). At this time, the gas supply pressure to the nozzle (7) is
The range of 0.1 to 0.5 kg / cm ² is preferable.

In the present invention, the inert gas used is
It is essential that it is a mixed inert gas composed of nitrogen gas and carbon dioxide gas. By using the mixed inert gas, air in the head space of the bottle is replaced, and after sealing the bottle, carbon dioxide gas among the mixed inert gas is dissolved in the content (40), and the inside vacuum of the bottle is reduced. You can increase the degree.

Further, the mixing ratio of nitrogen gas and carbon dioxide gas is such that a desired degree of vacuum, for example, a degree of vacuum necessary for sufficiently detecting a dent on the top surface of the cap in the subsequent sealing test step is obtained. You can set it so that This varies depending on the shape of the bottle, the amount of head space, the shape of the cap, etc., and is appropriately set.

The flow of mixed inert gas and air around the bottle mouth and nozzle at this time is shown in FIG. 4C. That is, as indicated by the solid arrow, the mixed inert gas injected from the gas injection port (12) of the nozzle (7) toward the inner space of the cap (11) hits the inner wall surface of the inner space of the cap (11). It reflects and becomes a reflected jet and enters the head space (41) of the bottle (10).

By flowing the mixed inert gas in this manner, the air in the inner space of the cap (11) and the air in the head space (41) of the bottle (10) are discharged to efficiently produce the mixed inert gas. Can be replaced. Immediately after being replaced with the mixed inert gas, the cap (11) was attached to the bottle mouth, and the bottle (10) was conveyed to the winding machine and sealed,
A bottled beverage is obtained.

The bottled beverage thus obtained is then bottled with a desired degree of vacuum by dissolving carbon dioxide gas in the content (40) of the mixed inert gas in the headspace. It becomes a drink.

Furthermore, the nozzle (7) has a gas injection port (1
3a) and (13b) are provided, and the mixed inert gas is injected into the inner space of the cap, and at the same time, the mixed inert gas is injected in a direction opposite to the air around the bottle mouth entrained by the above injection. Is obtained. That is, FIG.
In order to block the air that is drawn in from the direction of the dotted arrow on the nozzle side of the bottle mouth, the mixed inert gas is jetted in opposition to this air as shown in C.

Further, prior to the replacement with the inert gas and the cap supply according to the present invention, the air in the head space of the bottle is replaced with nitrogen gas and carbon dioxide gas in the middle of the conveying path from the content filling end point to the cap supply section. It is preferable to provide a preliminary replacement step of replacing the mixed inert gas to a certain extent.

As a device for performing the preliminary replacement, for example, a device as shown in FIG. 3 is suitable. In FIG.
(3) is a preliminary replacement nozzle, (2) is a gas supply pipe, (4)
Is a gas injection port, (1) is a suction pipe, and (5) is an air suction port. The preliminary replacement nozzle (3) is
It should be installed in front of the cap supply part and close to the upper part of the bottle mouth.

Using such a device, the mixed inert gas is injected from the gas injection port (4) toward the head space of the bottle (10) being conveyed, and at the same time, the mixed inert gas is generated by the mixed inert gas. By sucking the discharged air from the air suction port (5), the replacement can be efficiently performed. Thus, by providing the preliminary replacement step, the replacement rate of the mixed inert gas can be further increased.

Next, the present invention will be specifically described based on examples.

[Embodiment] Using a bottle having a size of 110 ml and a roll-on cap (pill fur proof cap) having a diameter of 28 mm, 100 ml of the contents were filled, mixed inert gas was replaced, and sealed according to the above-mentioned manufacturing method, and a sealing test was conducted. The suitability (degree of vacuum) was investigated.

The sealability inspection suitability of the sealability inspection apparatus used in the present embodiment is that the amount of depression of the cap top surface is 0.1 to
Good in the range of 0.25 mm. The number of tests is 2
It was set to 0. The results are shown in Table 1.

[0039]

[Comparative example] Using only nitrogen gas as the inert gas,
Other than the above, a bottled beverage was prepared in the same manner as in Example, and the suitability for sealing test (vacuum degree) (test number 20) was examined. The results are shown in Table 1.

[0040]

[Table 1]

From the above results, in the embodiment using the mixed inert gas of nitrogen gas and carbon dioxide gas, the degree of vacuum suitable for the sealability inspection, that is, the amount of the depression on the top surface of the cap was sufficiently obtained, and continuous. It was possible to perform a sealability test. On the other hand, in the comparative example, the degree of vacuum was low, and the amount of the depression on the top surface of the cap was insufficient, so that it was not possible to perform the sealing test.

[0042]

As described above, according to the present invention, the air (oxygen) in the head space of the bottle can be replaced with a mixed inert gas composed of nitrogen gas and carbon dioxide gas at a replacement rate of 90 to 95%. It is a thing. That is, since the method of replacing the air by the gas injection to the inner space of the cap and its reflection jet is used, both the air remaining in the head space of the bottle and the air remaining in the inner space of the cap are sealed by the bottle mouth almost at the same time. Immediately before stopping, it can be replaced with a mixed inert gas consisting of nitrogen gas and carbon dioxide extremely efficiently, and it is possible to prevent air from being mixed again in the bottle and the gas from flowing out. Therefore, almost no oxygen remains in the bottled beverage obtained by this method, and the beverage with stable quality can be obtained for a long period of time.

Further, since the gas is once injected into the inner space of the cap and then made to flow down into the bottle, the contents of the bottle do not scatter. Further, according to this injection method, it is possible to replace the gas when the bottle mouth is half-covered with the cap, so that the interval from the gas injection to the cap closure of the bottle mouth can be shortened. Therefore, the gas replacement can be performed with the minimum gas injection amount, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

After the replacement sealing, the carbon dioxide gas among the mixed inert gas consisting of the nitrogen gas and the carbon dioxide gas is dissolved in the content liquid and the inside of the bottle can be made to have a desired vacuum degree. By adjusting the degree of vacuum suitable for the use of the sex inspection device, it is possible to inspect the hermeticity of the bottle inline even in the continuous production, and the productivity can be improved.

Further, since the apparatus is also simple, it is not necessary to modify the conventional equipment, and it is easy to switch according to the shape and height of the bottle and maintain it during manufacturing.
It is extremely useful in the production of bottled beverages.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing an embodiment of an apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a state when the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is viewed from a direction.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing an embodiment of the device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing the flow of air by the manufacturing method according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a conventional technique.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a conventional technique.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a conventional technique.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a conventional technique.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Suction pipe 2 Gas supply pipe 3 Preliminary replacement nozzle 4 Gas injection port 5 Air suction port 6 Gas supply pipe 7 Replacement nozzle 8 Cap shooter 9 Cap shooter bottom plate 10 Bottle 11 Cap 12 Gas injection port 13 Gas injection port (prevention of air entrapment) 16) Inert gas injection nozzle 17 Bottle 18 Cap 19 Cap shooter 21, 22 Inert gas injection nozzle 26 Cap shooter 26a Cap shooter bottom plate 27 Inert gas injection nozzle 28 Inert gas injection nozzle 31 Injection hole 32 Injection hole 40 Contents Object 41 Headspace

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A method for producing a bottled beverage, comprising filling a bottle with contents and then supplying a cap to the bottle mouth of the bottle and sealing the bottle, wherein the cap is a bottle in the step of supplying the cap to the bottle mouth. When the mouth is half covered, the mixed inert gas consisting of nitrogen gas and carbon dioxide gas is injected toward the inner space of the cap to replace the air in the inner space of the cap with this gas. At the same time, the gas in the head space of the bottle is replaced by this gas reflected on the wall surface of the inner space of the cap,
A method for producing a bottled beverage, which comprises adjusting the degree of vacuum. 2. Prior to the above step, a mixed inert gas consisting of nitrogen gas and carbon dioxide gas is jetted toward the head space of the bottle filled with the contents to discharge the air in the head space of the bottle. At the same time, the method for producing a bottled beverage according to claim 1, wherein a preliminary replacement step is provided so as to suck the discharged air.