Method and apparatus for sterilizing preform

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10137217-B2
Application number	US-201415030163-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 13, 2014
Priority date	Nov 14, 2013
Publication date	Nov 27, 2018
Grant date	Nov 27, 2018

Abstract

A method of sterilizing a preform includes steps of: sterilizing bacteria adhering to a preform ( 1 ) made of resin by gasifying a sterilizer, discharging a sterilized gas (G) from a nozzle ( 6 ) toward a preform ( 1 ), now traveling, so as to adhere to the preform ( 1 ); activating the sterilizer adhering to the preform ( 1 ) by blasting hot air (P) to the preform; and sterilizing bacteria adhering to the preform, and removing the sterilizer adhering to the preform ( 1 ), wherein the above steps are performed sequentially in order. According to the above-mentioned steps, the sterilizer does not enter a blow-molding machine.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of sterilizing a preform, comprising the steps of:
sterilizing bacteria adhering to the preform made of resin by gasifying a sterilizer, discharging a sterilizer gas toward the preform in a chamber whose pressure is lower than atmospheric pressure, now traveling, so as to adhere to the preform by discharging the sterilizer gas from a nozzle;
activating the sterilizer adhering to the preform by blasting hot air to the preform; and
sterilizing the bacteria adhering to the preform, and removing the sterilizer adhering to the preform,
wherein the above-mentioned steps are performed subsequently in order.

2. The preform sterilizing method according to claim 1 , wherein the sterilizer is atomized in an evaporator to be gasified as a gas, and the gas is discharged toward the preform from the nozzle.

3. The preform sterilizing method according to claim 1 , wherein the nozzle or a plurality of nozzles are disposed so as to face a preform traveling path and the sterilizer gas is blasted toward the preform from the nozzle or the plurality of nozzles.

4. The preform sterilizing method according to claim 1 , wherein flow of the sterilizer gas is branched into a plurality of flows, one of which flows toward a mouth portion of the preform and another of which flows toward an outer surface of the preform.

5. The preform sterilizing method according to claim 4 , wherein a surrounding of the one sterilizer gas flow of the plurality of flows discharged from the nozzle is surrounded by an umbrella-shaped member, and gas or mist, or mixture thereof leaking from the mouth portion of the preform after entering the preform is guided by the umbrella-shaped member to the outer surface of the preform.

6. The preform sterilizing method according to claim 1 , wherein the sterilizer is a solution including at least 1% by mass of hydrogen peroxide component.

7. The preform sterilizing method according to claim 1 , wherein foreign substance existing in the preform is removed by the hot air.

8. The preform sterilizing method according to claim 1 , wherein an umbrella-shaped member covers above a mouth portion of the preform at a time when the preform is heated to a temperature for a blow-molding step.

9. The preform sterilizing method according to claim 1 , wherein an aseptic air is blasted to the mouth portion of the preform at a time when the preform is conveyed toward a mold after heating the preform to the temperature for a blow-molding step.

10. An apparatus for sterilizing a preform comprising:
a traveling unit that transfers the preform or a bottle from a supplying stage of the preform to a molding stage of the bottle;
a nozzle that supplies a sterilizer gas to the preform in a chamber whose pressure is lower than atmospheric pressure; and
an air nozzle that activates a sterilizer adhering to the preform by blasting a hot air to the preform and removes the sterilizer adhering to the preform therefrom,
wherein the sterilizer gas supplying nozzle, and the hot air supplying nozzle are arranged in subsequently from an upstream side toward a downstream side of the traveling unit.

11. The preform sterilizing apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein a sterilizer is atomized by a spray nozzle to form the sterilizer gas, and the sterilizer gas supply nozzle is arranged to a front end portion of an evaporator from which the sterilizer gas is discharged toward the preform.

12. The preform sterilizing apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the nozzle or a plurality of nozzles that supplies the sterilizer is disposed along a preform traveling path, and the sterilizer gas is discharged toward the preform from the sterilizer gas supplying nozzle or the plurality of nozzles.

13. The preform sterilizing apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the sterilizer gas supplying nozzle is branched into a plurality of pipe lines, one of the pipe lines has a discharge port facing an opening of the preform so that the discharge port faces an outer surface of the preform, and another pipe line extends toward the outer surface of the preform so that a discharge port thereof faces the outer surface of the preform.

14. The preform sterilizing apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein a surrounding of the one of the pipe line is surrounded by an umbrella-shaped member, and gas or mist, or mixture thereof leaking from the mouth portion of the preform after entering the preform is guided by the umbrella-shaped member to the outer surface of the preform.

15. The preform sterilizing apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein a sterilizer to be the sterilizer gas is a solution including at least 1% by mass of hydrogen peroxide component.

16. The preform sterilizing apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the air nozzle is provided with a blasting port in form of slit for blasting the hot air and the blasting port extends along the traveling direction of the preform.

17. The preform sterilizing apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein a foreign substance existing in the preform is removed by the hot air.

18. The preform sterilizing apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein an umbrella-shaped member that covers above a mouth portion of the preform is provided within a heating furnace.

19. The preform sterilizing apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein a cover is arranged on the preform traveling path along which the preform travels from a heating furnace to a mold, and an aseptic air is blasted from a cover side toward the mouth portion of the preform.

Assignees

• Dainippon Printing Co Ltd

Inventors

• Hayakawa Atsushi
• WADA Yuiko

Classifications

• A61L2103/23

  Containers other than laboratory or medical, e.g. bottles or mail · CPC title

• B29C2049/4697

  Clean room · CPC title

• B65B55/06

  by heat · CPC title

• A61L12/124 Primary

  Hydrogen peroxide; Peroxy compounds · CPC title

• B29C2049/4682

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic