AU654172B2

AU654172B2 - A device for taking aseptic samples of products

Info

Publication number: AU654172B2
Application number: AU13127/92A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Willy Hugelshofer; Rudolf Schmied
Original assignee: Societe des Produits Nestle SA; Nestle SA
Current assignee: Societe des Produits Nestle SA
Priority date: 1991-04-24
Filing date: 1992-03-23
Publication date: 1994-10-27
Anticipated expiration: 2012-03-23
Also published as: EP0510355B1; ATE118887T1; JPH05118970A; NZ242174A; CA2064450A1; ES2069334T3; DE69201455T2; DK0510355T3; CH686053A5; AU1312792A; EP0510355A1; DE69201455D1

Abstract

The device comprises a valve (4) for drawing off products, a vapour and sterile-air intake pipe (20), and a product-sampling pipe (23), in which device the drawing-off valve includes a blocking cone (7) bearing, in the closed state, on a valve seat (6), the plane of contact of the said cone with the said seat being situated virtually at the level of the surface of the enclosure, the vapour intake pipe ends directly on the head space of the valve, and the product-sampling pipe is in the extension of the vapour intake pipe. <IMAGE>

Description

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AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPEC I F I CATI ON FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

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I Iclc( r 1 Name Si I

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of Applicant: Actual Inventors: I I Address for Service: i Invention Title: SOCIETE DES PRODUITS NESTLE S.A.

Willy Hugelshofer and Rudolf Schmied SHELSTON WATERS 55 Clarence Street SYDNEY NSW 2000 "A DEVICE FOR TAKING ASEPTIC SAMPLES OF

PRODUCTS"

ee :s The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us:i, la This invention relates to a device for the aseptic sampling of products accommodated in an aseptic enclosure from that enclosure. The device in question is particularly intended for use in the field of foods, more especially for the sampling of fresh, refrigerated or long-life dairy products, or in the pharmaceutical field, for example for monitoring during the filling of flexible bags with products for enteral or parenteral administration.

GB 1567285 already describes an aseptic sampling device of the type in question. The disadvantage of this device is that the valve through which the product is drawn off forms between itself and the sampling enclosure a dead zone in which the products stagnate, creating a serious risk of bacterial growth. On the other hand, this device is complicated and difficult to operate and is not particularly suitable for drawing off products containing solid pieces.

The object of the present invention is to obviate the disadvantages mentioned above by means of a simple device which is easy to use and which minimizes the risks of contamination.

The invention relates to a device for the aseptic sampling of products accommodated in an aseptic 25 enclosure, said device comprising: a valve in fluid communication with said enclosure for drawing off said products, said valve adapted to be welded on an exterior wall of said enclosure, said valve having a closure cone movable within a head space in the valve between open and closed positions, the cone in the closed position rests on a valve seat formed in a plane substantially coincident with the exterior wall; a product sampling pipe in fluid communication with the head space; and an inlet pipe also in fluid communication with /PLi the head space for the introduction of steam and sterile o V air, said inlet pipe being adapted for permitting 0I

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2 selective passage of steam and sterile air into the head space and the product sampling pipe.

The enclosure from which the samples are taken may be both a pipe and a reservoir. Unlimited volumes of sterile products may be taken as samples. The device according to the invention may be used both for viscous liquid products and even for products containing solid pieces.

Due to the valve seat being formed in a plane substantially coincident with the exterior wall of the enclosure there is no residual product to stagnate on the product size and there is virtually no risk of bacterial growth. On that side of the closure cone which is not in contact with the product in the closed position, i.e. in what is termed the head space in the present specification, the steam is directly introduced so that the head space can be sterilized. The steam thus purges the entire zone from the head space to the product sampling pipe. In this way, the device can be repeatedly used and re-sterilized after each sampling.

The product to be sampled must be able to arrive under light pressure in the sampling bottle, above all if it contains solid pieces. To this end, the diameter of the valve seat is substantially equal to twice the diameter of the product sampling pipe.

To collect the product, a circular plate with a recess in which the upper edge of the bottle to be filled slides during sampling is provided at the end of pthe sampling pipe. The product may also be collected from a flexible pipe.

When the device is not in use, the circular plate is covered with a disc to keep the device as a whole sterile.

The device according to the invention and its mode of operation are described in more detail in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 2a Figure i is a partial section through the device according to the invention before sampling; Figure 2 is a partial section through the same device during sampling.

An opening is formed in the wall of the

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m /y /y o i/ 3 enclosure from which the samples are to be taken. A drawoff valve is welded in the opening at This valve comprises a valve body with a valve seat (6) which is closed by a closure cone provided with a seal The cone is integral with a guide rod (8) designed to slide in a part fixed to the valve body by a locking collar The valve is sealed by a flexible membrane (11) held between the closure c ne and the rod on the one hand and the valve body and the part on the other hand. The valve is opened and closed by a knob (12) fixed to a cylindrical sleeve (13) which is formed internally with a screwthread (14) engaging in a corresponding screwthread (15) of the part The sleeve 1 (13) further comprises an annular protuberance (16) which bears against stops (17) (18) to allow displacement of the guide rod when the knob (12) is rotated. The valve body additionally comprises a pipe (20) for the introduction of steam through the valve (21) and sterile air through the valve (22) and a product sampling pipe (23).

This pipe opens onto a circular plate (24) closed by a disc comprising a central bore (26) for the outlet of sterile air to guarantee good sterilization conditions.

The mode of operation of the device is as follows: Before the product (27) is sampled, the head space (28) has to be sterilized. To this end, the valve (21) is opened and steam at 120°C and under an excess pressure of i..o.approx. 1 bar is admitted for six minutes. The steam flows along the pipe (23) to the bore The valve (21) is Se. then closed and the valve (22) opened. Sterile air is admitted to cool the system. This air is allowed to flow for as long as a sample needs to be taken. Before sampling, the disc (25) is unscrewed and a sterile product recovery bottle (29) is placed in position (Fig. The top of the bottle is engaged in the recess (30) of the circular plate With the valves (21) and (22) closed, iiI 4 the knob (12) of the draw-off valve is turned so that the cylindrical sleeve (13) is displaced and the closure cone is removed from the valve seat The product (27) flows in the direction of the arrows in Fig. 2 and is recovered in the bottle When the bottle is full, the knob (12) is turned in the opposite direction and the closure cone is returned to the valve seat The flexible membrane (11) provides for effective sealing of the draw-off valve and for simple operation of the device according to the invention.

The bottle (29) is removed, the system is freed by rinsing from the condensed steam which has accumulated therein and is then resterilized with steam and sterile air is allowed to flow until the next sample needs to be taken.

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Claims

1. A device for the aseptic sampling of products accommodated in an aseptic enclosure, said device comprising: a valve in fluid communication with said enclosure for drawing off said products, said valve adapted to be welded on an exterior wall of said enclosure, said valve having a closure cone movable within a head space in the valve between open and closed positions, the cone in the closed position rests on a 28 valve seat formed in a plane substantially coincident with the exterior wall; a product sampling pipe in fluid communication with the head space; and i an inlet pipe also in fluid communication with ,I I 15 the head space for the introduction of steam and sterile air, said inlet pipe being adapted for permitting ,1 selective passage of steam and sterile air into the head space and the product sampling pipe.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in 20 that the diameter of said seat is substantially equal to twice the diameter of said product sampling pipe.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the product sampling pipe is terminated by a circular plate formed with a recess to I receive the upper edge of a receptacle to be filled.

4. A device as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that the circular plate is closed by a disc when the device is not in use. to t A device for the aseptic sampling of aseptic I 6. "0 products accommodated in an enclosure substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED this 12th day of JULY, 1994 Attorney: CAROLINE M. BOMMER Fellow Institues of Patent Attorneys of Australia of SHELSTON WATERS 1 A