JP3927990B1 - Manufacturing method of container with contents, cleaning method of container with contents, and container with contents - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention has been made in view of the problems of the above-described conventional cleaning method, and drastically changes the process of attaching a cap to a container mouth after filling the contents into the container. The gap between the cap and the container mouth can be cleaned more effectively by carrying out in combination with the process of heat sterilizing the gap between the cap and the container mouth. A method is provided that allows for the production of filled containers.
According to the present invention, there is provided a method for producing a container having a cap with a cap attached to the mouth, wherein the inner surface of the cap c is wetted with a clean liquid before being attached to the mouth, and the cap with the wet inner surface is placed in the container. It is characterized by being attached to the mouth m.
[Selection] Figure 6

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for producing a container with contents, and more specifically, after filling the container with contents such as a contents liquid, a cap is attached to the mouth of the container, and the gap between the mouth and the cap is washed. The present invention relates to a container manufacturing method, a container-containing cleaning method, and a container containing a container.

  As shown in Patent Documents 1 and 2 below, for example, a method for cleaning the mouth of a container with a cap after filling the container with contents such as a beverage and attaching a cap to the mouth of the container, Various proposals have been made. Among them, the method described in Patent Document 1 has a large number of small holes near the top plate portion of the cap integrally formed with the peripheral wall portion of the cap, that is, the cap attached to the mouth portion of the container, that is, the cap. Is formed in a circumferential direction, and a cleaning liquid is injected into the gap between the bottle mouth and the peripheral wall portion of the cap through the small hole for cleaning. In addition, the method described in Patent Document 2 forms vent slits at a plurality of longitudinal positions in at least one of a thread part formed on the outer peripheral part of the container mouth part or a thread part of a cap screwed with the thread part. After filling the container with the internal solution, a cap is attached to the container mouth, and pressure wash water is injected into the gap between the lower end of the cap and the neck support of the container.

JP-A-5-65151 Japanese Patent No. 2944994

However, the method described in Patent Document 1 has a problem that it is difficult to clean dirt that is difficult to clean, such as tea astringency, and the cleaning time becomes long. That is, even after the mouth washing process, the gap g between the mouth m of the container v and the cap c attached to the mouth m as shown in FIG. 1 is formed at the base of the mouth m. The washed liquid collects inside the fin f portion at the cap opening end (the lower end in FIG. 1) that engages with the crown-shaped locking projection p, and is contained in the accumulated liquid as the container dries. As shown in FIG. 2, the components of the content liquid that had been adhered to the lower region (portion adjacent to the fin f of the cap c) r around the container mouth m. For this reason, when the content liquid is tea, tea astringent, and when it is fruit juice, the components of the fruit juice will adhere to that part.
Further, in the method described in Patent Document 2, since it is necessary to form a vent slit in the mouth of the container instead of forming a small hole in the cap, there is a problem that the conventional container cannot be used as it is. is there. Moreover, even with the method described in Patent Document 2, it is difficult to completely solve the problem of adhesion of the components of the above-mentioned content liquid.

  The present invention has been made in view of the problems of the above-described conventional cleaning method, and has drastically changed the process of attaching the cap to the container mouth after filling the contents in the container (capping process). It is possible to carry out at low cost without performing the process, and by carrying out in combination with the process of pasteurizing the gap between the cap and the container mouth (pasto cooler process or pastrizer process), the gap between the cap and the container mouth It is an object of the present invention to provide a method that makes it possible to produce a container with contents that has been cleaned more effectively.

According to the invention described in claim 1 of the present application, in the method for manufacturing a container with a content, in which the content liquid is filled and the cap is attached to the mouth,
Wet the inside of the cap with clean liquid before mounting to the mouth,
There is provided a method for producing a container with contents, wherein the cleaning liquid is injected into a gap between the cap and the mouth part after the cap with the inner surface wet is attached to the mouth part of the container.
According to the invention described in claim 2 of the present application, in the manufacturing method of the container for the content liquid according to claim 1 , injection of the cleaning liquid into the gap between the mouth and the cap is performed in the vicinity of the top of the cap. A method for producing a container with contents is provided, wherein a cleaning liquid is injected through a slit formed in a circumferentially spaced manner.
According to the invention described in claim 3 of the present application, in the manufacturing method of the container for the content liquid according to claim 1 , injection of the cleaning liquid into the gap between the mouth portion and the cap is performed at the open end of the cap. The manufacturing method of the container with a content characterized by performing through the slit formed in the position close to is provided.
According to the invention described in claim 4 of the present application, in the method for manufacturing the container for the content liquid according to claim 1 , injection of the cleaning liquid into the gap between the mouth and the cap is performed with the lower end of the cap. There is provided a method for producing a container with a content, which is performed through a gap formed between the neck support and the upper surface of the neck support.
According to invention of Claim 5 of this application, in the manufacturing method of the container with a content in any one of Claim 1 thru | or 4, the said cleaning between the said cap and a mouth part is complete | finished at the time of completion | finish of mounting | wearing of the said cap. There is provided a method for producing a container with a content, characterized in that a fresh liquid is present.
According to invention of Claim 6 of this application, in the manufacturing method of the container with a content of Claim 5, manufacture of the container with a content characterized by being able to discharge | emit the said clean liquid to the exterior of a cap. A method is provided.
According to the invention described in claim 7 of the present application, in the method for manufacturing the container with contents according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , the cap is attached to the cap by capping the inner surface of the cap with a clean liquid. Provided is a method for producing a container with contents, which is performed by spraying a clean liquid on the inner surface of a cap while being held by an attachment.
According to the invention described in claim 8 of the present application, in the method for manufacturing a container with contents according to any one of claims 1 to 7 , the cap is supplied to the capper so as to wet the inner surface of the cap with a clean liquid. A method for producing a container with a content is provided, which is performed by spraying a clean liquid on the inner surface of the cap before the operation.
According to invention of Claim 9 of this application, in the manufacturing method of the container with a content in any one of Claim 1 thru | or 8 , the manufacturing method of the container with a content whose said clean liquid is aseptic water is provided. The
According to invention of Claim 10 of this application, In the manufacturing method of the container with a content in any one of Claim 1 thru | or 9 , The said clean liquid is heated. A manufacturing method is provided.
According to invention of Claim 11 of this application, In the manufacturing method of the container with a content in any one of Claim 1 thru | or 10 , Furthermore, in the clearance gap between the inner surface of the said cap, and the outer surface of the said opening part. There is provided a method for producing a container with contents, characterized in that an existing liquid layer is discharged by injecting compressed air into the gap.
According to the invention described in claim 12 of the present application, in the method for cleaning a container with a content, in which the content liquid is filled and a cap is attached to the mouth,
Wet the inside of the cap with clean liquid before mounting to the mouth,
Injecting a cleaning liquid into a gap between the cap and the mouth after attaching the cap with the inner surface wet to the mouth of the container;
There is provided a method for cleaning a container with a content.
According to invention of Claim 13 of this application, the container with a content wash | cleaned by the washing | cleaning method of the container with a content of Claim 12 is provided.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the inside of the cap is wetted with a clean liquid in advance before the cap is attached to the mouth of the container, a liquid layer is formed between the inner surface of the cap and the outer surface of the mouth. Even if droplets of contents such as green tea and juice jump out of the container due to vibrations caused by the movement of the container after installation , not only does it not easily adhere to the outer peripheral surface of the container mouth. When the cleaning liquid is injected between the container mouth and the cap, the cap inner surface is wetted with a clean liquid in advance, so that the cleaning liquid can be promoted and the cleaning effect can be improved. A container with contents can be manufactured. Moreover, it is possible to use caps with slits that have been used in the past, and it is possible to use caps at low cost without the need to provide special equipment by blowing cleaning liquid between the cap and the container mouth by the methods used in the past. A container with contents can be manufactured.
According to invention of Claim 7 or 8 , the washing | cleaning method can be implemented by some improvement of the apparatus currently used conventionally, and the container with a content with a cap can be manufactured cheaply.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
In FIG. 3, a cap c to be attached to the mouth of a container filled with a content liquid is shown in a partial cross section. This cap may have the same structure as that conventionally used, and the top (upper side in FIG. 3) has a top plate b, and the inner surface has a mouth portion shown in FIG. 1 of a container such as a plastic bottle. A female screw t2 screwed with a male screw t1 formed in m is formed, and a fin f is formed in the opening on the inner surface. In the peripheral wall w of the cap c, a plurality of slits s1 are formed at positions close to the top plate b, and a plurality of slits s2 are formed at positions close to the opening end so as to penetrate each other in the circumferential direction and into and out of the peripheral wall. ing. The slit s2 is provided for breaking when the cap-equipped container is opened. The container to which this cap is attached may also have a conventional structure. For example, a collar-like neck support portion q may be formed at the base of the container mouth. When the male screw t1 formed in the mouth m and the female screw t2 are screwed together, a gap g2 is formed between the lower end of the cap c and the upper surface of the neck support portion q.

  FIG. 4 shows a schematic configuration of a line 1 for filling a container, for example, a beverage such as tea and juice, attaching a cap to the mouth of the container, and sterilizing and washing the filled container. . Since the configuration and function of each device that performs this line work are almost the same as those used in the past, only the device name and its operation (or function) are described for the sake of simplicity. Detailed description will be omitted. In FIG. 4, 2 is a filler that fills a predetermined amount of a liquid such as juice and tea into a container such as a PET bottle or bottle, while the container is moved along a circular path. It is a thing of the well-known structure which fills the inside liquid in the container from the opening part. Reference numeral 3 denotes a capper for attaching a cap to the mouth of the container filled with the content liquid by the filler 2 while moving the container along the circular path, and has a known structure. Reference numeral 4 denotes a transfer device that receives a container filled with the content liquid with the filler 2 at the position A and delivers the container to the cap 3 at the position B. Reference numeral 5 denotes a cap transport device that receives a cap from a cap supply device (not shown) and transfers it to a capper at a position C that is circumferentially separated from the position B. Reference numeral 6 denotes a transfer device that transfers a container having a cap attached to the mouth by a capper to the conveyor 7 at a position D.

  In the present invention, the inner surface of the cap c conveyed to the capper 3 by the cap conveying device 5 is previously filled with aseptic and clean liquid such as pure water or aseptic water (hereinafter, clean liquid refers to a liquid in an aseptic state). It is supposed to be wet. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 5, the cap c is held by the cap attachment attachment 31 of the capper 3 with the opening portion facing downward and is transported from the position C to the position B (FIG. 4). An injection device 32 for injecting clean liquid is provided, and while moving between them, aseptic liquid L is injected into the cap by the injection device. Between position C and position B, the container (filled with the contents liquid) has not been sent immediately below the cap attachment 31, so that the liquid droplet falls down due to the spraying of the liquid on the inner surface of the cap. There is no problem. The liquid L is preferably sprayed in the form of a mist so that the liquid adheres to the entire inner surface of the cap. It goes without saying that a guard or the like is provided so that the liquid is not scattered around by the spraying of the liquid. Further, the cap attachment may be of a known structure shown in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-246394 related to an application by the present applicant.

  After the clean liquid is sprayed on the inside of the cap c, the cap is sent to the capper by the cap conveying device. The cap sprayed with the clean liquid is attached to the mouth of the container by the cap attachment attachment 31 by a known method. Therefore, even when the mounting of the cap is completed, a liquid layer exists on the inner surface of the cap (therefore, between the inner surface of the cap c and the outer surface of the mouth b). Even if the content liquid is scattered by the vibration of the container or the like during the cap attaching process by the capper or just before that, it is prevented from directly adhering to the outer periphery of the container mouth. Even if it adheres and becomes a semi-dry state, the scattered and semi-dried content liquid is wetted again by the clean liquid adhering to the inside of the cap, or diluted and easily flows. The liquid layer in the gap g is cleanly compressed air from the slit s1 or slit s2 formed in the cap, or the gap g2 formed between the lower end of the cap c and the neck support part q of the mouth. May be injected and discharged to the outside. In this case, the scattered content liquid can be discharged to the outside more effectively. By doing in this way, the washing | cleaning process mentioned later can be skipped.

In order to further sufficiently clean the gap g, the following cleaning process is performed.
The container fitted with the cap is transferred from the capper 3 to the conveyor 7 by the transfer device 6. The container fitted with the cap is sent to the past cooler 8 by the conveyor 7. This past cooler 8 has a known structure as a device for heat sterilizing and cleaning a fitting portion between a container mouth portion and a cap. In this past cooler, the container with the cap is conveyed along a predetermined path in a standing state, and the outer periphery of the cap is in the meantime, as shown in FIG. Aseptic cleaning liquid such as pure water and sterile water is sprayed from above. The aseptic cleaning liquid may be at room temperature or may be heated.
Since the plurality of slits s1 are formed in the circumferential direction at the position on the top plate side of the peripheral wall of the cap c as described above, the sprayed cleaning liquid passes through the slit s1 and the mouth portion and the cap inside the cap. Enters the gap g between the two and flows out from the opening (lower side in the figure) of the cap. As a result, the gap g can be effectively cleaned using the capillary phenomenon using the liquid L sprayed on the inner surface of the cap. In this case, if a vent slit is formed in the thread portion on the outer periphery of the mouth of the container, it is more effective because the vent slit is discharged to the outside. Since the top plate of the cap and the open end of the container mouth are in close contact, the cleaning liquid does not enter the container.

In addition, as long as the fitting part of a container mouth part and a cap is wash | cleaned, you may spray a washing | cleaning liquid with the pasteurizer which heat-sterilizes a container and a content liquid in this heat sterilization and washing | cleaning, in this case, FIG. By spraying from the cleaning liquid ejecting portion 91 as shown in FIG. 7A, as shown in FIG. 7A, through the slit s1 formed in the cap c mounted on the container to be transported, FIG. As shown in FIG. 7B, through the slit s2 formed in the cap c, or as shown in FIG. 7C, the gap g ′ between the lower end of the cap c and the neck support portion q. The cleaning liquid may be injected into the gap g via
Further, after the cleaning liquid is injected by the method shown in FIG. 6 or 7, the slit s1 or the slit s2 formed in the cap, or between the lower end of the cap c and the neck support portion q of the mouth portion is formed. Clean compressed air may be injected from the formed gap g ′, and the cleaning liquid present in the gap g may be discharged to the outside.

  FIG. 8 shows a modification of the method for spraying aseptic liquid onto the inner surface of the cap. In this method, the inner surface of the cap c conveyed to the capper 3 by the cap conveying device 5 is previously wetted with aseptic clean liquid such as aseptic water such as pure water. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 7, an ejection nozzle 54 is provided at the liquid ejection position at the position of the notch 53 formed in the support plate 52 in the middle of the transport path by the transport star 51 of the cap transport device 5. When the cap comes to the liquid jet position by the jet nozzle, the cleaning liquid is sprayed into the cap c by the jet nozzle 54.

  It can be used to manufacture PET bottled beverages.

(A) is a sectional view showing an example of a container mouth part and a cap attached to the mouth part. (B) is a partial sectional view showing another example of a container mouth part and a cap attached to the mouth part. It is. It is a figure which shows the state in which deposits, such as tea astringent, adhered to the container mouth part. It is a fragmentary sectional view which shows the example of the cap used when enforcing the method of this invention. It is a schematic explanatory drawing of the line which enforces the washing | cleaning method of the container with a cap of this invention. (A) is a schematic side view of a capper, (B) is a figure which shows the method of spraying a sterilization liquid on the cap currently hold | maintained by the cap mounting | wearing attachment of a capper. It is a figure which shows the state which sprays a cleaning liquid from the upper part of a container with a content by the cleaning liquid injection part of a past cooler. (A) thru | or (C) is a figure which shows injection of the washing | cleaning liquid to the container performed in a pastoriser. It is a figure which shows another method of spraying aseptic liquid on a cap, Comprising: (A) is a partial top view which shows the conveyance star of a cap conveyance apparatus, (B) is the side view.

Explanation of symbols

c Cap b Top plate
g, g2 Clearance m Mouth
q Neck support section s1, s2 Slit v Container 1 Production line for containers with caps
2 Filler 3 Capper
4, 6 Transfer device 5 Cap transport device
31 Cap attachment 32 Liquid ejector

Claims (13)

In the manufacturing method of the container with the contents in which the inside is filled with the content liquid and the cap is attached to the mouth,
Wet the inside of the cap with clean liquid before mounting to the mouth,
Injecting a cleaning liquid into a gap between the cap and the mouth after attaching the cap with the inner surface wet to the mouth of the container;
A method for producing a container with contents, which is characterized by the above. In the manufacturing method of the container with a content liquid of Claim 1 ,
Injecting the cleaning liquid into the gap between the mouth and the cap through a slit formed in the vicinity of the top of the cap,
A method for producing a container with contents, which is characterized by the above. In the manufacturing method of the container with a content liquid of Claim 1 ,
Injecting the cleaning liquid into the gap between the mouth and the cap through a slit formed at a position near the opening end of the cap,
A method for producing a container with contents, which is characterized by the above. In the manufacturing method of the container with a content liquid of Claim 1 ,
Injecting the cleaning liquid into the gap between the mouth and the cap through a gap formed between the lower end of the cap and the upper surface of the neck support portion of the mouth,
A method for producing a container with contents, which is characterized by the above. The method of manufacturing a contents filled container according to any one of claims 1 to 4, contents filled container, characterized in that the presence of the clean liquid between the cap and the mouth portion is mounted upon completion of the cap Manufacturing method. The method for producing a container with contents according to claim 5 , wherein the clean liquid can be discharged to the outside of the cap. In the manufacturing method of the container with a content in any one of Claim 1 thru | or 6 ,
The method for producing a container with a content, wherein the inner surface of the cap is wetted with a clean liquid by spraying the clean liquid on the inner surface of the cap while the cap is held by the cap mounting attachment of the capper. The method of manufacturing a contents filled container according to any one of claims 1 to 6, that wetting the cap inner surface with a clean liquid, the cap for spraying the cleaning liquid to the cap inner surface before it is supplied to the capper The manufacturing method of the container with a content characterized by performing by this. The method for producing a container with contents according to any one of claims 1 to 8 , wherein the clean liquid is sterile water. The method for producing a container with contents according to any one of claims 1 to 9 , wherein the clean liquid is heated. In the manufacturing method of the container with a content in any one of Claim 1 thru | or 10 , Furthermore,
Discharging the liquid present in the gap between the inner surface of the cap and the outer surface of the mouth by injecting compressed air into the gap;
A method for producing a container with contents, which is characterized by the above. In the washing method of the container with the contents in which the content liquid is filled and the cap is attached to the mouth,
Wet the inside of the cap with clean liquid before mounting to the mouth,
Injecting a cleaning liquid into a gap between the cap and the mouth after attaching the cap with the inner surface wet to the mouth of the container;
A method for cleaning a container with a content. The container with a content wash | cleaned by the washing | cleaning method of the container with a content of Claim 12 .

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