JPH03240634A - Sterilized germ-free packaging method and its packaging machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To package foods such as sauce, daily dish, custard pudding, and the like in a container under germ-free condition by a method wherein an item to be treated is introduced into a first sterilizing tank, transferred to a second sterilizing tank to sterilize it and led into a germ-free chamber to package it. CONSTITUTION:A fist sterilizing chamber 3 and a second sterilizing chamber 4 of a sterilizing tank 2 are separated from each other by a partition 6 so that sterilizing gas 5 inside the tank is allowed to horizontally move through the upper space. As the sterilizing tank 2 is a bottomless type, a base 7 of the first sterilizing chamber 3 is connected to the outside, and a base 8 of the second sterilizing chamber 4 is connected to a germ-free chamber 9. For example, after an open-top container 14 is put on a conveyer 12, it is led into the first sterilizing chamber 3 and sterilized by the sterilizing gas 5 while it is transferred to the second sterilizing chamber 4. Immediately after that, the container 14 is transferred into the germ-free chamber 9 which is connected to the base 8 of the second sterilizing chamber 4, and sterilized foods are filled in the container 14 by a feeder 10. Then, the container 14 is sealed and packaged under germ-free condition by a packaging machine 11.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention 2. Industrial Fields of Application 2. The present invention relates to a sterilization and aseptic packaging method in which, for example, after sterilizing a container, the contents such as food are immediately filled and packaged under aseptic conditions. This article relates to a device that can efficiently implement 7+ forces.

2) Prior Art 2) Various sterilization methods have been proposed for containers and the like used in aseptic packaging. For example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 1-167029: Before filling the container with contents, a high-temperature, high-humidity mixture of hot air and steam is injected into the inside of the container, and then the hot air is blown into the container. A method of drying a container is disclosed. Specifically, sterilization and filling is performed using a container assembly device and a container sterilization, filling, and sealing device provided within the sterile chamber. However, with this method,
When feeding paper containers into a sterile chamber, there is a risk of contamination with bacteria, and since the entire device is housed in a sterile chamber, the equipment becomes large-scale and production costs increase. There's a problem.

It has also been disclosed that after the container is sterilized, the contents are aseptically filled in a separate process while the container is temporarily sealed and the inside is maintained in a sterile state. When introducing the aseptic filling device into the aseptic filling device, there is a risk that various germs may be mixed into the aseptic filling device.

On the other hand, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-94280 discloses a method of using a sterilizer in which a sterile room containing a container sterilization station and a sterile room containing a filling station are divided by a partition. There is a risk of contamination with bacteria when the container is placed in a sterile room that includes a sterilization station, and it may not be possible to fill the container in completely sterile conditions.

E. Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a sterilization and aseptic packaging method that can significantly reduce the risk of contamination with various germs. Additionally, the present invention makes the sterilization and aseptic packaging method more efficient.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a sterilization and aseptic packaging device that can carry out sterilization.

[Means to solve the problem]

The present invention is lighter than air, and 5) the bottom entrance of the sterilization tank containing the sterilization gas is placed into the sterilization tank, and the object to be processed is stirred from bottom to top, i.e., in the first sterilization chamber. Bottom population - 1st
This was done based on the knowledge that the above problem can be efficiently solved by moving the product from the upper part of the sterilization chamber to the upper part of the second sterilization chamber to the bottom outlet of the second sterilization chamber, then immediately placing it in the sterilization chamber and packaging it under sterile conditions. It was.

That is, in the present invention, a first sterilization chamber and a second sterilization chamber containing a sterilization gas lighter than air are connected horizontally via a partition plate so that the sterilization gas inside can be moved horizontally at the upper part. The object to be treated is introduced into the first sterilization chamber from the bottom of the first sterilization chamber of a bottom-open type sterilization tank, and then the object to be treated is sterilized without being moved to the second sterilization chamber. Provided is a sterilization and aseptic packaging method, characterized in that the object to be processed is packaged under aseptic conditions by introducing the article from the bottom outlet of a second sterilization chamber into a sterile chamber connected to the bottom outlet.

The sterilization and aseptic packaging method of the present invention can be carried out using various devices, but the first sterilization chamber and the second sterilization chamber containing the sterilization gas, which are lighter than air, are arranged horizontally and internally. The sterilizing gas is horizontally movable at the top and connected via a partition plate to the bottom open type sterilizing tank, which is connected to the bottom outlet of the second sterilizing chamber of the sterilizing tank, and is heavier than the sterilizing gas. )
a sterile chamber containing gas and equipped with packaging equipment;
The sterilization can be carried out very efficiently by using a sterilization and aseptic packaging apparatus equipped with a conveyor that is introduced from the bottom of the first sterilization chamber and passes through the first sterilization chamber, the second sterilization chamber, and the sterilization chamber.

Next, the present invention will be explained using the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 shows
It is a schematic cross-sectional view of the sterilization and aseptic packaging device 1 according to the present invention, in which a first sterilization chamber 3 and a second sterilization chamber 4 are partitioned into a sterilization tank 2 so that the sterilization gas 5 inside can be moved horizontally at the upper part. It is partitioned and formed by a plate 6. The sterilization tank 2 is of an open-bottom type, and the bottom 7 of the first sterilization chamber 3 is connected to the outside, and the bottom 8 of the second sterilization chamber 4 is connected to a sterile chamber 9'7). In the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, the partition plate 6 also has the role of preventing the sterile chamber 9 from coming into contact with the outside. The apparatus shown in Figure 1 is a sterile puncher 9.
A filling device 1 and a tag packaging machine 1 are installed inside the building.
Ru. In addition, a conveyor 12 that moves through the first sterilization chamber 3, the second sterilization chamber 4, and the sterile chamber 9 is installed.
Ru.

Examples of objects to be sterilized in the present invention include packaging containers, food ingredients, medical tools, and the like.

5) The sterilizing gas 5, which is lighter than air with which to fill the sterilizing tank 2, includes sterilizing gases such as steam at 70 to 100°C, superheated steam at 100 to 300°C, and ethanol vapor.

Among these, steam is preferably used from the viewpoint of ease of handling, sterilization, and post-treatment. When carrying out the sterilization and aseptic packaging method of the present invention, it is preferable to interpose an air layer 13 below the sterilization gas 5 in the sterilization tank 2, as shown in FIG. This is because by doing so, it is possible to efficiently prevent the sterilizing gas from leaking out of the sterilizing tank 2.

Specifically, in the sterilization tank 2, an air layer of 30 to 150
It is best to intervene at a height of 5 cm.

At this time, in order to prevent the air layer in the first sterilization chamber 3 from flowing into the second sterilization chamber 4, the partition plate 6 should be raised above the air layer 13, for example, by 130 to 150 cm. It's good to do it).

On the other hand, the sterile chamber 9 is filled with a gas heavier than the sterilizing gas 5, such as sterilized air, to prevent microorganisms from entering from the outside. Specifically, examples of the sterile chamber 9 include a chamber whose internal air is treated with a sterilizing filter, a chamber whose interior has been sterilized with ozone or ultraviolet rays, and the like. As mentioned above,
By putting a sterilizing gas lighter than air into the sterilizing tank and a gas heavier than the sterilizing gas into the sterile chamber, the second
The sterilization room and the sterile chamber can be easily connected without using any special equipment, while completely eliminating the possibility of contamination with germs.

In the present invention, for example, first, an open container is placed on the conveyor 12, then introduced into the first sterilization chamber 3, and then, while being moved to the second sterilization chamber 4, the container 14 is sterilized with the sterilization gas 5. Thereafter, the sterilized contents are immediately transferred to a sterile chamber 9 connected to the bottom of the second sterilization chamber 4, where the sterilized contents are filled into containers 14 using a filling device 10. sealed and packaged under aseptic conditions.

Effects of the present invention: According to the present invention, sterilization and sterile packaging can be efficiently performed by continuously passing through a sterilization tank and a sterile chamber. Further, according to the device of the present invention, the sterilizing tank and the sterile chamber can be connected with a simple structure, and the possibility of contamination of the sterile chamber with various germs can be significantly eliminated.

Therefore, according to the method of the present invention, foods such as sauces, soups, side dishes, and desserts such as pudding can be aseptically filled and packaged in containers.

Next, the present invention will be explained by examples.

[Example 1] Using the sterilization and aseptic packaging apparatus shown in FIG. , was introduced into the first sterilization chamber 3. In the next step 5), the molded container was sterilized for about 10 seconds while being moved from the upper part of the first sterilization chamber to the upper part of the second sterilization chamber 4 to the bottom of the second sterilization chamber. did. Next, the molded container subjected to the steam sterilization treatment is introduced from the bottom outlet 8 of the second sterilization chamber into a sterile chamber 9 connected to the bottom outlet and in which the internal air is treated with a sterilization filter. ,
Here, the sterilized curry sauce is filled into the molded container using the filling device 10, and the upper flange of the molded container and the lid material (material: polypropylene), which has been sterilized in advance, are heat welded and sealed, filled and packaged. I got curry sauce.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a sterile and aseptic packaging device used in the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a sterilization and aseptic packaging device, 2 is a sterilization tank, 3 is a first sterilization chamber, 4 is a second sterilization chamber, 5 is a sterilization gas, 6 is a partition plate,
9 indicates a sterile machine; 10 indicates a filling device; and 10 indicates a packaging machine.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A bottom section where a first sterilizing chamber and a second sterilizing chamber, which contain a sterilizing gas lighter than air, are connected horizontally via a partition plate so that the sterilizing gas inside can move horizontally at the top. The object to be treated is introduced into the first sterilization chamber from the bottom of the first sterilization chamber of the open type sterilization tank, and then sterilized while being moved to the second sterilization chamber. A method for sterilizing and aseptic packaging, characterized in that the object to be processed is introduced from a bottom outlet into a sterile chamber connected to the bottom outlet and packaged under sterile conditions. (2) A bottom section where the first sterilization chamber and the second sterilization chamber, which contain a sterilization gas lighter than air, are connected horizontally via a partition plate so that the sterilization gas inside can move horizontally at the top. an open sterilization tank, a sterile chamber connected to the bottom outlet of the second sterilization chamber of the sterilization tank, containing a gas heavier than the sterilization gas and equipped with a packaging device; A sterilizing and aseptic packaging device comprising a first sterilizing chamber, a second sterilizing chamber, and a conveyor that passes through the sterile chamber.