JP2008265860A - Dew condensation prevention device and method for filling nozzle, flushing method for dew condensation prevention device, and cap used in flushing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a dew condensation prevention device with simple constitution, and a method for preventing trouble caused by dew condensation of a filling nozzle. <P>SOLUTION: The dew condensation prevention device for preventing dew condensation of the filling nozzle 50 for use in filling contents into a container is equipped with a chamber 10 surrounding an outer periphery of a front edge part of the filling nozzle 50. The filling nozzle 50 is provided with a supply port 20 for supplying dry gas, and a dry gas current rectification passage 30 for guiding the dry gas supplied from supply port 20 into a nozzle peripheral surface 51 and supplying dry gas current toward a nozzle front edge 52 along the nozzle peripheral surface 51. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a dew condensation prevention device and a dew condensation prevention method for preventing dew condensation occurring in a filling nozzle of a filling device for filling a container with contents, and in particular, a dew condensation prevention device and a dew condensation prevention method using dry gas such as dry air, and The present invention relates to a cleaning method and a cap used in the cleaning method.

In the filling nozzle that fills the contents having a temperature lower than room temperature, the outer peripheral surface of the filling nozzle is condensed due to moisture in the room atmosphere. When the filling nozzle is condensed, the condensed water droplets travel along the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle and fall from the nozzle tip and outer periphery to the inner and outer surfaces of the container, resulting in foreign matter contamination and poor appearance.
As a countermeasure against the dew condensation of such a filling nozzle, various dew condensation prevention devices that prevent the dew condensation using dry air have been proposed.

Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-279424) is provided with a dry air chamber opened so as to surround a filling nozzle and flowing dry air into the dry air chamber.
In Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-101025), an air flow guide is provided so as to surround at least the upper part of the filling nozzle, and dry air is allowed to flow.
In Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-91701), an attempt is made to prevent condensation of the filling nozzle by flowing dry air, which is mostly or partially covered by the filling nozzle.

However, those described in these patent documents have a structure in which the periphery of the filling nozzle is covered with a chamber through which dry air flows, and the filling container and its peripheral devices are covered with a cover, so that the structure is large and complicated. .
Further, in order to make the flow of dry air blown out from the chamber covering the filling nozzle uniform, the chamber is partitioned by a baffle plate (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-101025), but the structure is complicated, There was also a problem of poor cleanability.
JP-A-4-279424 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-101025 JP-A-11-91701

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and an object thereof is to provide a dew condensation prevention device and a dew condensation prevention method for a filling nozzle that can effectively prevent dew condensation with a simple structure. The present invention also provides a cleaning method and a cap used for the cleaning method.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is directed to a dew condensation preventing device for a filling nozzle for preventing dew condensation of a filling nozzle for filling a container with contents.
A chamber surrounding the outer periphery of the tip of the filling nozzle is provided, and the chamber is provided with a supply port to which dry gas is supplied, and the dry gas supplied from the supply port is guided to the nozzle outer peripheral surface, and the nozzle is arranged along the nozzle outer peripheral surface. A dry air flow rectifying path for supplying a dry air flow flowing toward the tip is provided.
In the invention according to claim 2, the dry air flow rectifying passage has an annular flow path that is formed between the chamber and the nozzle outer peripheral surface and opens downward, and the dry gas supplied from the supply port is passed through the annular flow path. It is the structure which produces | generates dry airflow by guiding to.
In the invention according to claim 3, the chamber is provided with a gas reservoir for storing dry gas between the supply port and the annular flow path, and an ejection hole is provided between the gas reservoir and the annular flow path. The structure is characterized in that the dry gas is ejected from the gas reservoir to the annular channel through the ejection hole.

The invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that a water droplet receiving portion for receiving water droplets generated by condensation in a portion above the chamber of the filling nozzle is provided.
The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that the chamber is provided with a skirt surrounding the outer periphery of the nozzle and extending downward from the tip of the nozzle.
The invention according to claim 6 is characterized in that the front end surface of the skirt is an inclined surface.
The invention according to claim 7 is a method for preventing dew condensation on the filling nozzle for preventing dew condensation on the filling nozzle for filling the contents into the container, wherein a chamber surrounding the outer periphery of the tip of the filling nozzle is provided and provided in the chamber. The dry gas is supplied from the supplied supply port, and the dry airflow flowing toward the nozzle tip along the nozzle outer peripheral surface is supplied to the nozzle outer peripheral surface through the dry air flow rectifying path provided in the chamber, and the nozzle outer peripheral surface is supplied. The atmosphere along is replaced with a dry gas.

The invention according to claim 8 is a cleaning method of the dew condensation prevention device for the filling nozzle described above, wherein the cleaning agent is made to flow by causing the drying air flow straightening path of the chamber and the nozzle port to communicate with each other and flowing the cleaning agent from the filling nozzle. The dry air flow straightening path is made to flow backward, and the dry air flow straightening path and the supply port in the chamber are washed simultaneously with the cleaning of the filling nozzle.
The invention according to claim 9 is a cap used in a method of cleaning a dew condensation prevention device for a filling nozzle, and is a cap body that is sealed and attached to a chamber including the nozzle opening from below the nozzle opening of the filling nozzle. And a communication path that connects the nozzle port and the opening of the dry airflow rectification path is formed in a space sealed by the cap body.

According to the first aspect of the invention, since the dry airflow flowing along the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle is supplied through the dry airflow rectifying path provided in the chamber, the atmosphere along the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle is replaced with the dry gas, No condensation occurs on the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle regardless of the room atmosphere.
Further, since the chamber is insulated by the dry gas, the outer periphery of the chamber does not condense.
As described above, it is possible to effectively prevent the dew condensation from dropping from the nozzle tip while having a simple configuration in which a chamber is provided only at the tip of the filling nozzle.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the dry air flow rectifying path has an annular flow path formed between the chamber and the nozzle outer peripheral surface. A uniform dry airflow can be generated.
According to the invention which concerns on Claim 3, since the gas reservoir of the dry gas is provided in the chamber and the dry gas is jetted to the annular flow path through the gas reservoir, the dry air flow should be a stable flow. Can do.

According to the invention which concerns on Claim 4, since the water droplet receiving part was provided in the upper part of the chamber, the flow-down of the dew condensation water produced in the upper part rather than the chamber can be prevented.
In the invention according to claim 5, since the chamber is provided with a skirt extending below the tip of the filling nozzle, it is possible to block the splashing of liquid during filling and the flow of wind from the surroundings.
If the tip surface of the skirt is inclined as in the invention according to claim 6, even if droplets scatter on the outer periphery of the skirt, the liquid flows down the inclined surface, so that it falls to the inside and outside of the container. Can be prevented.
According to the method for preventing condensation of the filling nozzle according to the seventh aspect, the atmosphere along the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle is replaced with dry gas, and no condensation occurs at the nozzle tip regardless of the surrounding indoor atmosphere.

According to the cleaning method of the dew condensation prevention device for the filling nozzle of the invention according to claim 8, by flowing the cleaning agent from the upstream of the filling nozzle and backflowing it to the dry air flow rectifying path in the chamber, Can be washed.
According to the cap relating to the ninth aspect of the invention, the cap main body is attached to the chamber, whereby the nozzle opening at the tip of the nozzle and the opening of the dry airflow rectifying passage communicate with the space sealed by the cap main body. A passage can be formed and cleaning can be performed quickly.

The present invention will be described below based on the illustrated embodiments.
FIG. 1 (A) shows a dew condensation prevention device for a filling nozzle according to an embodiment of the present invention.
In the filling nozzle dew condensation prevention apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, a chamber 10 is provided so as to surround the nozzle tip of the filling nozzle 50.
In the chamber 10, a supply port 20 to which dry gas is supplied, and the dry gas supplied from the supply port 20 is guided to the nozzle outer peripheral surface 51 and flows toward the nozzle tip 52 along the nozzle outer peripheral surface 51. A dry air flow rectifying passage 30 for generating F is provided.
As the dry gas, dry air is used in this embodiment. For example, a hydrophobic film is disposed in an air conduit, and moisture is removed from the air by passing the hydrophobic film through the air to obtain dry air. be able to.
The dry airflow rectification path 30 stores an annular flow path 31 formed between the chamber 10 and the nozzle outer peripheral surface 51 and opened downward, and a dry gas provided between the supply port 20 and the annular flow path 31. And an injection hole 33 that communicates the gas reservoir 32 with the annular flow path 31.

The chamber 10 is attached to the outer peripheral surface 51 of the nozzle and forms a circular channel 31 between the outer peripheral surface 51 of the nozzle and the chamber body 11 fitted between the outer periphery of the chamber main body 11 and the chamber main body 11. Are provided with a ring member 12 that forms a gas reservoir 32, and a lock nut 13 that fixes the chamber body 11 and the ring member 12.
The chamber main body 11 is provided with a female screw on the inner periphery of the upper half 111 and is screwed and fixed to a screw portion 53 provided on the nozzle outer peripheral surface 51. The threaded portion 53 of the nozzle outer peripheral surface 51 has a one-step larger diameter from the tip side, and an annular flow path 31 is formed between the inner periphery of the lower half 112 of the chamber body 11 and the nozzle outer peripheral surface 51. Further, at the upper end position of the annular flow path 31, an inward annular convex portion 113 is provided on the inner circumference of the chamber body 11 so as to face the threaded end surface 54, and the inward annular convex portion 113 and the nozzle outer circumferential surface 51 are threaded. A space between the end surfaces 54 is sealed by a seal member 55.

A flange 116 projecting outward is provided at the upper end of the chamber main body 11, and is abutted in the axial direction against a flange 56 provided on the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle.
The ring member 12 has a cylindrical shape, is fitted to the outer periphery of the chamber body 11 from below, and the upper end is in contact with the flange 116. An annular recess 114 is provided on the outer periphery of the chamber body 11, and the annular recess 114 is covered with the ring member 12 to form an annular gas reservoir 32. The outer periphery of the chamber body 11 and the fitting surface of the ring member 12 are sealed by a seal member 14.

The position of the gas reservoir 32 is shifted toward the upper half 111 of the chamber main body 11 with respect to the annular channel 31 on the inner peripheral side, and the gas reservoir 32 is viewed when projected in a direction orthogonal to the central axis N. The positional relationship is such that the lower end portion of 32 and the upper end portion of the annular channel 31 overlap. And the injection hole 33 is penetratingly formed toward the center so that this overlapping part may be connected. The injection holes 33 are fine pores extending linearly in a direction orthogonal to the central axis N, and a plurality of injection holes 33 are provided in the circumferential direction.
The lock nut 13 is screwed and fixed to a one-step small diameter screw portion 115 provided on the outer periphery of the lower end portion of the chamber body 11, and is fastened and fixed so that the upper end of the ring member 12 abuts against the flange 116.

The ring member 12 is connected to a tubular joint portion 21 constituting the supply port 20. The joint portion 21 extends in a direction orthogonal to the central axis N, one end is connected to a hole 12a communicating with a gas reservoir 32 provided in the ring member 12, and the other end is connected to a dry gas supply pipe (not shown). Connected.
In the illustrated example, the chamber 10 is disposed above the lower end position of the nozzle tip 52, but may be disposed at the same height as the nozzle tip 52 or below the nozzle tip 52.

The chamber 10 does not need to cover the tip of the nozzle, but in order to block the liquid splash at the time of filling and the flow of air from the surroundings, a skirt 60 surrounding the nozzle tip 52 as shown in FIG. May be provided. The skirt 60 has a cylindrical shape, and an upper end is fitted and fixed to the outer periphery of the chamber 10, and a lower end extends downward from the nozzle tip 52. The skirt 60 need not cover the container to be filled.
In addition, in order to prevent the liquid droplets scattered around the outer periphery of the skirt 60 from falling into and out of the container, as shown in FIG. 2 (B), the inclined surface 61 is formed by cutting off the tip of the skirt at an acute angle. Is effective. In this way, since the liquid droplets gather at the lowermost point portion 61a, if the position of the point portion 61a is shifted to the outside of the container, there is no possibility that the water droplet will drop into the container.

Next, the operation of the dew condensation prevention device for the filling nozzle of this embodiment will be described.
FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram including a filling valve of a filling device to which the dew condensation prevention device for the filling nozzle is applied.
As shown in the drawing, the filling nozzle 50 is connected to the valve body 101 as a part of the filling valve 100, and a container 102 to be filled is disposed below the filling nozzle 50. In the illustrated example, a dome-shaped screen, various screens for preventing dripping, and a rectifying plate for rectification are mounted on the inner periphery of the valve body 101, but the internal structure is not particularly limited. The supply of the contents is controlled by the valve body 101, and the contents are filled into the container 102 through the filling nozzle 50.

During the filling operation, dry gas is continuously supplied from the supply port 20. As shown in FIG. 1, the supplied dry gas is stored in the gas reservoir 32, blown out from the gas reservoir 32 through the injection hole 33 toward the center, and flows into the annular flow path 31. The dry gas that has flowed into the annular flow path 31 becomes a dry air flow F that flows downward toward the lower end opening of the annular flow path 31 along the nozzle outer peripheral surface 51, and flows toward the nozzle tip 52. The atmosphere in 31 is replaced by dry gas.
The nozzle outer peripheral surface 51 on the nozzle tip side of the annular flow path 31 is exposed to the indoor atmosphere, but the dry air flow F blown out from the annular flow path 31 flows along the nozzle outer peripheral surface 51 from the nozzle tip 52 downward. The atmosphere near the nozzle outer peripheral surface 51 is replaced with dry gas. Therefore, even if the low-temperature contents pass through the filling nozzle 50 and the temperature of the nozzle outer peripheral surface 51 is lowered, it is covered with the dry gas that hardly contains water vapor, so that condensation due to water vapor can be prevented. it can.
Further, since the chamber 10 is thermally insulated from the filling nozzle by the internal air reservoir 32 and the annular flow path 31, the temperature of the outer periphery of the chamber 10 does not decrease so much and the outer periphery of the chamber 10 does not condense.

On the other hand, since the nozzle portion above the chamber 10 remains exposed to the room atmosphere, condensation occurs when the low-temperature contents are passed. For the sake of safety, assuming that the condensed water flows down above the chamber 10, it is possible to prevent the condensed water from flowing down from the upper side to the chamber side by providing a tray-shaped water droplet receiver 57 at the top of the chamber. it can. For example, in FIG. 1 (A), the water drop receiving portion 57 uses the upper surface of the flange 56 of the nozzle, and as shown by a two-dot chain line in the drawing, an annular jetty 57a is provided at the outer end of the flange 56, Try to prevent. The water droplet receiving portion 57 may be provided not on the nozzle side but on the flange 116 of the chamber 10.
This method can be used for both a method in which the container and the filling nozzle are in contact with each other and a method in which the container is filled in a non-contact manner.

Next, a method of cleaning the dew condensation prevention device for the filling nozzle will be described with reference to FIG.
A cap 70 is used for this cleaning. The cap 70 has a cap body 71 that is attached to the chamber 10 in a sealed state including the nozzle port 52 a from below the nozzle tip 52 of the filling nozzle 50, and the nozzle port 52 a is sealed in the space sealed by the cap body 71. A communication path 72 that communicates with the opening of the annular flow path 31 is formed.

The cap body 71 has a bottomed cylindrical shape including a cylindrical annular wall 75 and a disk-shaped bottom wall 73, and the upper end surface of the annular wall 75 is in contact with and separated from the lower end surface of the lock nut 13. Yes. With the upper end surface of the annular wall 75 in contact with the lower end surface of the lock nut 13, a gap is formed between the bottom wall 73 and the nozzle tip 52, and the nozzle port 52 a of the filling nozzle 50 and the annular flow path 31. A communication path 72 that communicates with each other is formed.
A support bar 74 extending downward is provided on the bottom wall 73 of the cap body 71, the support bar 74 is connected to a drive mechanism (not shown), and drive control is performed in a direction in which the cap body 71 contacts and separates from the chamber 10. Is done.

With the cap 70 attached, a cleaning agent is flowed from the upstream side of the filling nozzle 50. The cleaning agent is guided from the nozzle tip 52 to the outer peripheral side through the communication passage 72, flows back to the supply port 20 through the annular flow path 31, the ejection hole 33 and the air reservoir 32, and simultaneously with cleaning of the inside of the filling nozzle 50 and the outer periphery of the tip portion. The inside of the chamber 10 can be cleaned.
It is also possible to apply to a filling valve for aseptic filling by changing the cleaning agent to a disinfectant and sterilizing the dew condensation prevention device and the dry gas.

The dry gas is not limited to dry air. For example, if an inert gas such as nitrogen gas is used, the air in the bubbles generated when the container is filled with the content liquid can be replaced. It is possible to increase the headspace replacement efficiency.
Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the gas reservoir 32 is provided in the dry airflow rectification path 30 which produces | generates a dry airflow, dry gas is directly supplied from the supply port 20 to the annular flow path 31 without providing the gas reservoir 32. It is good also as a structure which supplies. Further, the injection hole 33 may be a direction in which the injection hole 33 is inclined in a downward direction or a direction in which the injection is performed in a direction parallel to the central axis N, not in a direction orthogonal to the central axis N. Further, the annular flow path 31 may not be provided between the inner periphery of the chamber 10 and the nozzle outer peripheral surface 51, and the structure may be such that the air is directly blown downward along the nozzle outer peripheral surface 51 from the plurality of injection holes 33. Various configurations can be employed in which the dry airflow F that flows toward the nozzle tip 52 along the nozzle outer peripheral surface 51 is generated, and the atmosphere in contact with the nozzle outer peripheral surface 51 is replaced with the dry gas.

FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view of a dew condensation prevention device for a filling nozzle according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view showing the cleaning method of FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of a state where a skirt is attached to the dew condensation prevention device of the filling nozzle of FIG. 1, and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of a form in which the tip of the skirt of FIG. . FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a filling valve to which the dew condensation prevention device for a filling nozzle in a form with a skirt shown in FIG. 2 (B) is applied.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Condensation prevention device of filling nozzle 10 Chamber 11 Chamber main body 112 Lower half part 113 Inward annular convex part 114 Annular concave part 115 Screw part 116 Flange 12 Ring member, 12a Hole 13 Lock nut 14 Seal member 20 Supply port 21 Joint part 30 Drying Air flow straightening path 31 Annular flow path 32 Gas pool 33 Injection hole 50 Filling nozzle 51 Nozzle outer peripheral surface 52 Nozzle tip 52a Nozzle port 53 Screw part 54 Screw part end face 55 Seal member 56 Flange 57 Water drop receiving part, 57a Annular jetty 60 Skirt 61 Inclined Surface, 61a Pointed portion 70 Cap 71 Cap body 72 Communication path 73 Bottom wall 74 Support bar 75 Annular wall 100 Filling valve 101 Valve body 102 Container F Dry air flow N Center axis

Claims (9)

In a dew condensation prevention device for a filling nozzle that prevents dew condensation of a filling nozzle for filling a container with contents,
A chamber surrounding the outer periphery of the front end of the filling nozzle is provided. In the chamber, a supply port to which dry gas is supplied, and the dry gas supplied from the supply port are guided to the nozzle outer peripheral surface, along the nozzle outer peripheral surface. A dew condensation prevention device for a filling nozzle, characterized in that a dry air flow rectifying passage for supplying a dry air flow flowing toward the nozzle tip is provided.   The dry air flow rectifier has an annular flow channel that opens downward and is formed between the chamber and the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle, and generates dry air flow by guiding the dry gas supplied from the supply port to the annular flow channel. The dew condensation prevention device for a filling nozzle according to claim 1, wherein the device is configured to perform the above.   The chamber is provided with a gas reservoir for storing dry gas between the supply port and the annular flow path, and an ejection hole is provided between the gas reservoir and the annular flow path, and the dry gas is removed from the gas reservoir through the ejection hole. The dew condensation prevention device for a filling nozzle according to claim 1, wherein the device is configured to eject the water into the annular flow path.   The dew condensation prevention device for a filling nozzle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a water droplet receiving portion for receiving water droplets generated by dew condensation in a portion above the chamber of the filling nozzle.   The dew condensation prevention device for a filling nozzle according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the chamber is provided with a skirt that surrounds the outer periphery of the nozzle and extends below the tip of the nozzle.   6. The dew condensation prevention device for a filling nozzle according to claim 5, wherein the tip surface of the skirt is an inclined surface. A condensation nozzle condensation prevention method for preventing condensation of a filling nozzle for filling a container with contents,
A chamber surrounding the outer periphery of the tip of the filling nozzle is provided, and a dry gas is supplied from a supply port provided in the chamber, and through a dry airflow rectification path provided in the chamber, along the nozzle outer peripheral surface. A method for preventing dew condensation on a filling nozzle, characterized in that a dry airflow flowing toward the nozzle tip is supplied, and the atmosphere along the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle is replaced with a dry gas.   A method for cleaning a dew condensation prevention device for a filling nozzle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the drying air flow rectifying passage of the chamber and the nozzle opening at the tip of the nozzle are connected to each other, and the cleaning agent is allowed to flow from the filling nozzle. Thus, a cleaning agent is caused to flow back into the dry airflow rectification path, and the dry airflow rectification path and the supply port in the chamber are cleaned simultaneously with the cleaning of the filling nozzle, and the cleaning method for the filling nozzle dew condensation prevention apparatus is characterized.   A cap used in the cleaning method of the dew condensation prevention device for a filling nozzle according to claim 8, comprising a cap body that is sealed and attached to the chamber including the nozzle port from below the nozzle port of the filling nozzle. And a cleaning method for a dew condensation prevention device for a filling nozzle, characterized in that a communication path that connects the nozzle opening and the opening of the dry air flow rectification path is formed in a space sealed by the cap body. Cap used.

Images