GB1186182A - Method and Apparatus for Sterilising Containers. - Google Patents

Abstract

1,186,182. Bottling; sterilizing bottles. NATIONAL RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT CORP. 17 April, 1967 [19 Jan., 1966(2)], Nos. 2517/66 and 2518/66. Heading B8T. Bottles &c. to be filled with sterilized milk &c. are first preheated externally in steam to a temperature above 100 degrees centigrade, and are then sterilized internally by steam. Preheating bottles &c. :-Bottles are fed by a conveyer 7, Fig. 1, to a starwheel 4 which places them individually upon pedestals 10 of a rotary-table preheater 2. Each pedestal 10 has a platform 16, Fig. 3, which rises to seal the neck of a bottle &c. 21 against a resilient disc 35 in an upper table 31. A sleeve 20, below the platform 16, is raised by a lever 44 to seal its open end against the upper table 31, as shown, with rotation of the table. Ports &c. 37, 38, 42, 43 in the rotary-table are now aligned with an arcuate valve slot 48 in a stationary column 46 journalling the table. Saturated steam under pressure is supplied to a pipe 51 in the column 46, and is accordingly fed through the port 43 &c. to the space 25 surrounding the bottle &c. 21. Since the bottle &c. neck is sealed by the disc 35, condensate does not form inside the bottle &c. 21 to dilute the milk &c. with which it is later filled. Continued rotation of the preheater 2 slides the port 43 off the valve slot 48, and instead aligns it with a vent port, through which the steam escapes. The sleeve 20 is then lowered, and so is the platform 16, to release the bottle &c. neck from the resilient disc 35. A starwheel 5, Fig. 1, picks-up the heated bottle &c. 21, and transfers it to a rotary-table sterilizing, filling and capping machine 3. Sterilizing, filling, and capping bottles &C The bottles &c. 21, Fig. 4, are received on platforms, similar to that described above, surrounded by sleeves 20 which are raised to enclose the bottles. Caps 76 may be loosely fitted to the bottles &c. before entering the machine, so that each bottle &c. 21 can be raised to fit its cap into a radially-slidable cap holder 75, where it is retained by an automatically operated jaw assembly (not shown). As the table 58 &c. rotates, a cam follower roller 82 sliding in a cam groove 83 in a stationary centre column 97 of the machine acts through a rod 81 &c. to slide the cap holder 75 radially in-and-out. Alternatively, caps 76 may be fed individually to each cap holder 75 for application to the bottles &c. 21. As the table 58 rotates, a port 88 is aligned with an arcuate valve port 91 in the stationary central column 97, connected through a pipe 94 with an evacuation pump, which reduces the pressure. Continued rotation of the table 58 slides the port 88 off the vacuum port 91, and instead aligns it with an arcuate valve port (100), Fig. 5 (not shown), to which saturated steam under pressure is supplied. Steam passes the cap holder 75, sterilizing the cap 76, and enters the enclosed space 25 surrounding the preheated bottle 21 &c. The bottle &c. 21 is thus sterilized both inside and out. As the table 58 continues to rotate, the port 88 slides off the steam port (100), and on to a long arcuate vent port (102) which allows the escape of steam from the space 25 around the bottle &e. 21. The cap holder 75 is slidden leftwards of Fig. 4, and the bottle &c. 21 raised to engage a seal ring 62 and a filling valve 67. A spring 72 is compressed as the filling valve 67 is raised away from a fixed valve head 68, and sterilized milk &c. flows from a tank 66 on the rotary table 58, into the bottle &c. 21. When the bottle &c. 21 has been filled, it is lowered away from the valve 67, which is closed by its spring 72. The cap holder 75 is slidden rightwardly again, back to the position shown. The bottle &c. 21 is again raised, to pick up the cap 76, held on the bottle &c. neck by steam cooling in the bottle &c. The bottle &c. 21 is once more lowered, the sleeve 20 is lowered, and the bottle &c. picked-up by a starwheel 6. It is then transferred on to a conveyer 14.