JP2012170852A - Foreign matter removing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a foreign matter removing device capable of efficiently removing, using a small amount of clean air, foreign matter clinging to the bottom and the inner surface of a container for energy saving and lower running costs.SOLUTION: The foreign matter removing device inserts a nozzle 22 into an inverted container, and removes foreign matter in the container using clean air ejected from the nozzle 22. The nozzle 22 includes an upper exhaust opening 31 for ejecting the clean air from its tip to the bottom of the container, and a horizontal exhaust hole 32 for ejecting the clean air toward the inner surface of the container. The foreign matter removing device also includes a switching unit 33 for switching the order of ejection of the clean air ejected from the upper exhaust opening 31 and the horizontal exhaust opening 32, to the order of the upper exhaust opening 31 to the horizontal exhaust opening 32.

Description

  The present invention relates to a foreign substance removing apparatus that cleans a container filled with a liquid such as a soft drink or a carbonated drink with clean air and removes foreign substances adhering to the inner surface of the container.

  When filling various containers such as PET bottles, glass bottles, and cans with various liquids such as soft drinks such as tea and mineral water and carbonated drinks, it is essential to prevent contamination of germs. For this reason, an aseptic filling system that performs a series of steps such as container sterilization, cap sterilization, product liquid filling, and cap mounting in a clean room is used. In this case, as a sterilization method for the container, for example, a sterilization method using a peracetic acid-based sterilization solution or a sodium hypochlorite solution is employed. After sterilization, the container is rinsed with sterile water or city water. I am doing so.

  However, in order to rinse a container sterilized with a sterilizing solution with aseptic water or city water, it is inevitable to use a large amount of water, and there is a problem that a treatment facility for the water to be used is required and the running cost is increased. For this reason, it is strongly required to reduce the amount of water used. In recent years, dry sterilization techniques that do not use water have been proposed. As one of such dry sterilization techniques, for example, an electron beam sterilization apparatus that sterilizes a container by irradiating an electron beam is known.

  However, in this electron beam sterilization device, there is a limit to the transmission power of the electron beam, so that when foreign matter adheres to the container, the electron beam is blocked by the foreign matter, and the shadowed portion of the foreign matter cannot be sterilized. There was sex. Therefore, in order to take advantage of the electron beam sterilization apparatus that can sterilize the container without using water, a foreign substance removal apparatus that removes foreign substances by rinsing the inside of the container without using water has been proposed. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP 2010-179927 A

  Patent Document 1 discloses a foreign substance attached to the inner surface of a container by scanning the nozzle by reciprocating from the mouth to the vicinity of the bottom while jetting gas (clean air) from the nozzle. Is blown away and discharged from the mouth of the container to the outside, and gas (clean air) is simultaneously discharged from the plurality of upper and side jets opened at the tip and side parts of the nozzle. It is constructed so that clean air can be ejected evenly.

  However, in such a nozzle structure, clean air is dispersed and ejected from a plurality of upper jet nozzles and side jet nozzles, so that the rinsing force is weak and the removal performance may be insufficient depending on the adhesion state of foreign matter. It was. Although this problem can be solved by increasing the flow rate of clean air, there are problems such as an increase in consumption of clean air and an increase in running cost.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and foreign substances adhering to the bottom and inner surface of the container are efficiently removed with a small amount of clean air to achieve energy saving and low running cost. It is an object of the present invention to provide a foreign matter removing apparatus that can perform such a process.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the foreign matter removing apparatus of the present invention employs the following means.
That is, the foreign matter removing apparatus according to the present invention is a foreign matter removing device that inserts a nozzle into an inverted container and removes the foreign matter in the container with clean air ejected from the nozzle. An upper jet nozzle for jetting the clean air from a part toward the bottom of the container, and a horizontal jet nozzle for jetting the clean air toward the inner surface of the container. There is provided switching means for sequentially switching the jet order of the clean air jetted from the outlet in the order of the upper jet outlet and the lateral jet outlet.

  According to the present invention, the nozzle that ejects clean air is provided with an upper ejection port that ejects clean air toward the bottom of the container, and a lateral ejection port that ejects clean air toward the inner surface of the container, Since there is a switching means for sequentially switching the order of clean air jetted from the upper jet outlet and the horizontal jet outlet in the order of the upper jet outlet and the horizontal jet outlet, the switching means is used when air rinsing the inside of the container with clean air. The clean air is ejected sequentially from the top and side nozzles of the nozzle in the order of the top and side nozzles, so that the total flow rate of the clean air is directly concentrated on the bottom and inner surface of the container. The rinsing force can be increased by spraying, and the entire surface of the container can be air-rinsed. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently remove the foreign matter adhering to the bottom and inner surface of the container with a small amount of clean air without increasing the amount of clean air ejected, thereby achieving energy saving and low running cost.

  Furthermore, the foreign matter removing apparatus according to the present invention is the above foreign matter removing device, wherein the switching means is slidably interposed in the clean air passage of the nozzle, and the horizontal jet outlet is started when the supply of the clean air is started. It is located in the lower part which closes, and when moved to the upper part by the clean air pressure, it is composed of a core which closes the upper jet and opens the lateral jet.

  According to the present invention, the switching means is slidably interposed in the clean air passage of the nozzle, and is located in the lower part that closes the lateral jet outlet when the supply of clean air is started. The upper air outlet is closed and the side air outlet is opened, so that the order of clean air injection from the upper air outlet and the horizontal air outlet is determined by the clean air pressure. It is possible to sequentially switch the jets in order of the upper jet port and the horizontal jet port through the sliding core. Accordingly, it is possible to automatically switch the order of clean air ejection without providing any special control means, and to efficiently rinse the inside of the container with a small amount of clean air.

  Furthermore, in the foreign matter removing apparatus according to the present invention, in the foreign matter removing device, the core is opened in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal passage and a longitudinal passage penetrating the tip portion, and the upper portion. And a lateral passage that communicates with the lateral outlet when moved to.

  According to the present invention, the core is opened in a direction substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal passage passing through the tip portion thereof, and is communicated with the transverse jet when moved to the upper portion. Since a horizontal passage is provided, a core provided with a vertical passage that penetrates the tip portion of the jet of clean air from the upper jet port and the horizontal jet port and a horizontal passage that is substantially orthogonal thereto, It can be easily switched by sliding under the clean air pressure. Therefore, the order of clean air ejection can be switched through the switching means with a simple configuration, and the reliability can be ensured.

  Furthermore, the foreign matter removing apparatus according to the present invention is the above-described foreign matter removing device, wherein the core has a throttle portion for obtaining a propulsive force when sliding to the upper portion at a lower portion in the longitudinal passage. Is provided.

  According to the present invention, since the throttle part for obtaining the propulsive force when sliding to the upper part is provided in the lower part in the longitudinal passage of the core, the longitudinal part of the core is interposed through this throttle part. By obtaining a propulsive force from clean air supplied in the direction passage, the core can be reliably slid from the lower part to the upper part. Accordingly, it is possible to steadily switch the clean air jet port from the upper jet port to the horizontal jet port, thereby efficiently rinsing the container.

  Furthermore, the foreign matter removing apparatus of the present invention is the foreign matter removing device, wherein the switching means is rotatably installed in the clean air passage of the nozzle, and the clean air is supplied when the clean air supply is started. When it is turned to a rotational position that can be supplied to the upper jet port and rotated by receiving the clean air pressure, the supply of the clean air to the upper jet port side is prevented, and from the side jet port, It is comprised from the valve plate which injects the said clean air.

  According to the present invention, the switching means is interposed rotatably in the clean air passage of the nozzle, and at the start of supply of clean air, the switching means is a rotation position capable of supplying clean air to the upper jet port, When it is rotated by the clean air pressure, it consists of a valve plate that prevents the supply of clean air to the upper outlet side and ejects clean air from the side outlet. The ejection order of the clean air to be ejected can be sequentially switched in the order of the upper ejection port and the lateral ejection port via the valve plate rotated by the clean air pressure. Accordingly, it is possible to automatically switch the order of clean air ejection without providing any special control means, and to efficiently rinse the inside of the container with a small amount of clean air.

  Furthermore, in the foreign matter removing apparatus according to the present invention, the foreign matter removing device may be configured such that the switching unit is configured to supply the clean air individually to the upper jet port and the lateral jet port. In this case, the opening / closing valve is provided individually.

  According to the present invention, the switching means is constituted by open / close valves individually provided for the clean air passages in which clean air can be individually supplied to the upper jet nozzle and the horizontal jet nozzle. By sequentially opening and closing the individual open / close valves provided in the separate clean air passages for the upper jet nozzle and the horizontal jet nozzle, the jet order of the clean air jetted from the upper jet nozzle and the horizontal jet nozzle can be changed. It can be ejected by sequentially switching in the order of the outlet and the lateral outlet. Therefore, the clean air injection sequence can be sequentially switched only by a simple opening / closing operation of the open / close valve without providing any special switching means, and the inside of the container can be efficiently air-rinsed with a small amount of clean air.

  Furthermore, the foreign matter removing apparatus according to the present invention is the above described foreign matter removing device, wherein the nozzle is inserted to the vicinity of the bottom of the inverted container, and the clean air is ejected from the upper jet outlet at the tip thereof. After the start, the clean air is ejected from the lateral ejection port while being moved in the height direction of the container, and is configured to be operated so as to remove foreign substances in the container.

  According to the present invention, the nozzle is inserted to the vicinity of the bottom of the inverted container, and after the clean air starts to be ejected from the upper ejection port at the tip, the nozzle is moved from the lateral ejection port while being moved in the height direction of the container. Because it is configured to eject clean air and remove foreign substances in the container, clean air is supplied only from the upper jet outlet at the tip of the nozzle that is approaching the bottom of the container when clean air supply is started. After jetting air and air rinsing the bottom of the container, clean air can be jetted from the side jet outlet while scanning by moving the nozzle in the height direction of the container, and the inner surface of the container can be rinsed. Therefore, the entire surface of the container can be air-rinsed by the backward scanning of the nozzle, and the air can be efficiently rinsed with a small amount of clean air, thereby saving energy and reducing running costs.

  Furthermore, the foreign matter removing apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that, in any of the above-described foreign matter removing apparatuses, the lateral ejection port is formed as a slit-like opening provided in at least two stages while being displaced in the vertical direction. And

  According to the present invention, since the horizontal outlet is a slit-like opening provided in at least two stages shifted in the vertical direction, while jetting clean air from at least the upper and lower two-stage slit-like openings, By scanning the nozzle in the height direction of the container and air rinsing the inner surface of the container, it is possible to eliminate the occurrence of vertical streak-like dead spots. Therefore, the air rinsing effect can be improved, and the foreign matter adhering to the inner surface of the container can be efficiently removed with a small amount of clean air.

  Furthermore, the foreign matter removal apparatus of the present invention is the foreign matter removal apparatus according to any one of the above-described foreign matter removal devices, wherein the horizontal ejection port is a container having a rectangular cross section, the lateral ejection port corresponding to the short side of the container. The size is increased, and the size of the horizontal jet outlet corresponding to the long side of the container is reduced.

  According to the present invention, with respect to a container having a rectangular cross section, the size of the horizontal jet outlet corresponding to the short side of the container is increased, and the size of the horizontal jet corresponding to the long side of the container is reduced. Therefore, the horizontal jet outlet on the short side of the container where the reach distance from the horizontal jet outlet becomes long is enlarged, and the horizontal jet outlet on the long side of the container with short reach distance is reduced to adjust the amount of clean air jetted Accordingly, clean air can be sprayed substantially uniformly over the entire inner surface of a container having a rectangular cross section. Accordingly, the air rinsing effect on the container having a rectangular cross section can be enhanced, and the inside of the container can be efficiently air rinsed with a small amount of clean air.

  Furthermore, the foreign matter removing apparatus according to the present invention is the above foreign matter removing device, wherein a seal member that seals the mouth of the container is provided on the nozzle side, from the inside of the container through the seal member. An intake means for sucking the clean air and foreign matter is connected.

  According to the present invention, a seal member that seals the mouth of the container is provided on the nozzle side, and the suction means for sucking clean air and foreign matter from the inside of the container is connected via the seal member. Clean air ejected toward the bottom and the inner surface of the container and foreign matters and the like removed from the inner surface of the container can be immediately sucked by the suction means and forcibly removed from the container. Therefore, residual foreign matter remaining in the container can be reliably eliminated, and the air rinse effect can be further improved.

  According to the present invention, when the inside of the container is air-rinsed with clean air, the clean air is sequentially ejected from the upper jet outlet and the horizontal jet outlet of the nozzle through the switching means in the order of the upper jet outlet and the horizontal jet outlet. The rinsing force can be increased by spraying the entire flow rate of clean air directly onto the bottom and inner surface of the container, and the entire surface of the container can be air-rinsed. Further, the foreign matter adhering to the bottom and inner surface of the container can be efficiently removed with a small amount of clean air, and energy saving and low running cost can be achieved.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the whole structure of the drink filling system using the foreign material removal apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram explaining the outline of the filling process of the drink by the drink filling system shown in FIG. It is a schematic diagram explaining the structure of the carrying-in conveyor shown in FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view explaining the structure of the bottleneck guide shown in FIG. It is a schematic diagram explaining the structure of the index screw shown in FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the foreign material removal apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention installed in the foreign material removal part shown in FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view explaining the structure of the foreign material removal apparatus shown in FIG. FIGS. 7A and 7B are longitudinal sectional views (a) and (b) of a state where a core is located at a lower part and a state where the core is located at an upper part, explaining the configuration of the nozzle portion of the foreign substance removing apparatus shown in FIG. It is a cross-sectional view explaining the state which the nozzle shown in FIG. 8 was inserted in the container of a rectangular-shaped cross section. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view explaining the structure of the nozzle part of the foreign material removal apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view explaining the structure of the nozzle part of the foreign material removal apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[First Embodiment]
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram for explaining the overall configuration of a beverage filling system using the foreign matter removing apparatus according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram for explaining the outline of the filling process. Yes.
This embodiment demonstrates the example which applied the foreign material removal apparatus to the drink filling system 1 which fills a PET bottle B with a drink.
As the container B, in addition to PET bottles, bottles formed from other resins can be used, and the material and shape thereof are not particularly limited.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the beverage filling system 1 includes a sterilization container cleaning unit (container cleaning device) having a foreign substance removal unit 2 that performs a foreign substance removal process on a container B and a sterilization unit 3 that performs a sterilization process. ) 4, a filling part 5 for performing a filling process for filling the container B with a beverage, and a mounting part 6 for performing a capping process for mounting a cap on the container B are mainly provided. Furthermore, the beverage filling system 1 is provided with a carry-in conveyor 7, an indexing screw 8, a star wheel 9, a carry-out conveyor 10 and the like that convey the container B between the processes.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view for explaining the configuration of the carry-in conveyor 7, and FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view for explaining the configuration of the bottleneck guide of FIG.
The carry-in conveyor 7 is for transporting the container B formed by the blow molding machine to the beverage filling system 1, and in this embodiment, the container B is transported by blowing purified air onto the container B. Although the Example to perform is described, other well-known conveyance methods may be applied and it is not limited to the carry-in conveyor 7. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the carry-in conveyor 7 includes a bottleneck guide 71 and a blower 72.

  The bottleneck guide 71 supports the container B in a posture in which the mouth B1 of the container B is disposed on the upper side, and guides the container B toward the beverage filling system 1. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the bottleneck guide 71 extends along the carry-in conveyor 7 and extends downward from the ceiling surface of the carry-in conveyor 7, and a lower end of the side plate 73. And a support plate 74 extending in a direction approaching each other. The container B is disposed in a slit-like gap formed between the pair of support plates 74, and is supported by a collar portion B2 formed at a lower portion of the mouth portion B1 being in contact with the upper surface of the support plate 74. ing.

  The blower 72 is configured to clean the air and blow the cleaned air onto the container B supported by the bottleneck guide 71. That is, the blower 72 is disposed on the upper surface side of the carry-in conveyor 7 and transports the container B by blowing purified air against the mouth B1 of the container B. The blower section 72 is provided with a pre-filter 75, a blower 76, a HEPA filter (High Efficiency Particulate Air Filter; details are described in JIS Z 8122) 77, and a nozzle section 78. In place of the HEPA filter 77, a ULPA filter defined in JIS Z 8122 may be used.

  The pre-filter 75 removes relatively large dust contained in the air sucked into the blower 72 and cleans it. The HEPA filter 77 further purifies the air cleaned by the pre-filter 75 and cleans it. It increases the degree. The blower unit 76 blows air to the container B, and is disposed between the pre-filter 75 and the HEPA filter 77. The nozzle part 78 adjusts the flow of the air sprayed with respect to the container B to the conveyance direction (right direction of FIG. 3) of the container B.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining the configuration of the indexing screw 8.
The indexing screw 8 widens the interval between the containers B conveyed by the carry-in conveyor 7 to a predetermined interval. Specifically, the interval between the containers B is increased in accordance with the interval between the grippers G provided on the star wheel 9 adjacent to the indexing screw 8. As shown in FIG. 5, the indexing screw 8 is a substantially columnar member extending along the conveying direction of the container B by the carry-in conveyor 7, and is rotationally driven around its central axis.

  The index screw 8 is provided with a wall portion 81 extending radially outward from the central axis and spirally extending along the central axis, and the container B includes an adjacent wall portion 81 and a wall portion 81. It is arranged in the groove between the two and is rotated toward the star wheel 9 adjacent to the indexing screw 8 by the rotation of the indexing screw 8. The plate thickness of the wall portion 81 is formed so as to become thicker as it approaches the star wheel 9 adjacent to the index screw 8, and the plate thickness of the wall portion 81 closest to the star wheel 9 is provided on the star wheel 9. The gripper G is formed to have a thickness equivalent to the arrangement interval of the grippers G.

  The star wheel 9 is for conveying the container B between the above-described steps. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, between the indexing screw 8 and the foreign matter removing unit 2, between the foreign matter removing unit 2 and the sterilizing unit 3, between the sterilizing unit 3 and the filling unit 5, filling The container B is transported between the section 5 and the mounting section 6 and between the mounting section 6 and the carry-out conveyor 10. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 5, the star wheel 9 has a plurality of grippers G for gripping the container B arranged at equal intervals on the circumference of a rotating body formed in a disk shape. In FIG. 1 and FIG. 5, only a part of the grippers G is shown and other grippers G are omitted for easy understanding.

  The star wheel 9 disposed between the indexing screw 8 and the foreign matter removing unit 2 has a mechanism for turning the container B upside down, that is, the mouth B1 of the container B that has been directed upward until then. A mechanism is provided. On the other hand, the star wheel 9 disposed between the sterilization unit 3 and the filling unit 5 has a mechanism for returning the inverted container B, that is, the mouth B1 of the container B directed downward. A mechanism is provided for directing the upper side upward.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating the configuration of the foreign matter removing apparatus 20 installed in the foreign matter removing unit 2 in FIG. 1, and FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof.
The foreign matter removing device 20 blows clean air onto the inner surface of the container B and removes (air rinses) the foreign matter attached to the inner surface of the container B. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the foreign matter removing apparatus 20 includes a wheel 21, a gripper G, a nozzle 22, a shaft 23, a cam follower 24, an arm 25, and a cam 26.

  The wheel 21 is formed in a disk shape, and is rotationally driven in a substantially horizontal plane by a drive source (not shown) such as a motor. In the wheel 21, grippers G for holding the container B in an inverted state on the outer peripheral portion are arranged at a certain interval in the circumferential direction of the wheel 21. The gripper G extends radially outward from the outer peripheral portion of the wheel 21 and grips the vicinity of the mouth B1 of the container B. In FIG. 6, five sets of grippers G are representatively shown in order to facilitate understanding of the operation of the foreign matter removing apparatus 20. The number of grippers G provided on the wheel 21 may be more or less than five sets, and is not particularly limited.

  The nozzle 22 is for ejecting clean air into the inverted container B. The nozzle 22 is disposed below the gripper G, and is disposed at a position where the nozzle 22 can enter the mouth B1 of the container B held by the gripper G. Further, the nozzle 22 is provided at the upper end of the shaft 23 and is configured to be able to supply clean air from the shaft 23. The nozzle 22 is provided with a plurality of jet outlets for jetting clean air toward the outer periphery thereof. The plurality of jet outlets are preferably arranged so that clean air can be jetted around the entire outer circumference of the nozzle 22. The detailed structure of the nozzle 22 will be described later.

  The shaft 23 is disposed below the gripper G so as to extend in the vertical direction (vertical direction in FIG. 6) and is supported by the arm 25 so as to be movable in the vertical direction. A nozzle 22 is disposed at the upper end of the shaft 23, and a cam follower 24 is disposed at the lower end. Further, a supply pipe (not shown) through which clean air supplied to the nozzle 22 flows is provided in the shaft 23.

The cam follower 24 slides along the upper end surface of the cam 26 and is moved in the vertical direction along the cam surface together with the shaft 23 and the nozzle 22.
The arm 25 supports the nozzle 22, the shaft 23, and the cam follower 24 so as to be movable in the vertical direction. The arm 25 extends along the radial direction of the wheel 21, and a shaft 23 is attached to an end portion on the outer side in the radial direction.

  The cam 26 moves the shaft 23 and the nozzle 22 in the vertical direction together with the cam follower 24. The cam 26 is a cylindrical member disposed coaxially with the wheel 21 and is disposed below the wheel 21. The upper end surface of the cam 26 is a surface on which the cam follower 24 slides, and the upper end surface of the cam 26 is higher than the other portions in a part in the circumferential direction and has a shape protruding toward the wheel 21 side. In other words, the portion protruding above the upper end surface of the cam 26 inserts the nozzle 22 and the shaft 23 into the container B, gradually raises it to the vicinity of the bottom, and then gradually lowers the container B during that time. In order to be able to remove the foreign matter by scanning in the direction, it has a chevron shape with a horizontal top.

  Here, the clean air supplied to the nozzle 22 is air (air) pressurized by a factory compressor, for the purpose of removing foreign matter (filter having an opening of 10 μm level) and removing moisture. The filter is filtered by a filter (a filter having an opening of 5 μm level), a filter for removing oil mist (a filter having an opening of 0.3 μm level), or the like. As these filters, for example, filters formed of resin can be used. In addition, instead of clean air using air, the pressure of other gas such as nitrogen may be increased and filtered with the above filter, and in the present invention, this is also included in clean air. To do.

  Further, the sterilized clean air may be sterilized clean air by filtering through a filter capable of steam sterilization. The filter capable of steam sterilization is a filter having resistance to high temperatures, for example, a filter formed of metal. In addition, when performing steam sterilization, the installation which supplies the high temperature steam used for sterilization is needed.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, before the container B is sterilized by irradiating the electron beam, the foreign substance removing device 20 performs air rinsing. The sterilization unit 3 irradiates the container B with an electron beam to sterilize the container B. In addition, as the sterilization part 3, a well-known electron beam sterilizer can be used. Furthermore, in this sterilization part 3, you may make it sterilize by irradiating an electron beam with respect to the cap with which the mounting part 6 is mounted | worn with the container B, These are not specifically limited.

  The filling unit 5 is for filling a sterilized container B with a beverage. The attachment part 6 attaches a cap to the mouth of the container B filled with beverage. In addition, as a filling part 5 and the mounting part 6, a well-known structure can be used and it is not specifically limited. The carry-out conveyor 10 carries out a container B filled with a beverage and fitted with a cap from the beverage filling device 1 to the outside. In addition, as a carrying-out conveyor 10, a well-known structure can be used and it is not specifically limited.

Next, the nozzle structure of the foreign matter removing apparatus 20 which is a characteristic part of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 8A shows a state in which clean air is ejected upward from the nozzle 22, and FIG. 8B shows a state in which clean air is ejected from the nozzle 22 in the lateral direction (horizontal direction). FIG.
In the foreign matter removing apparatus 20, the nozzle 22 provided at the upper end of the shaft 23 is pressurized by a compressor, and clean air supplied through a clean air supply pipe (not shown) in the shaft 23 is supplied to the inner surface of the container B. Is provided with a clean air passage 30 to which a clean air supply pipe is connected.

  At the tip portion of the nozzle 22, a plurality of upper jet ports 31 that communicate with the clean air passage 30 and open in the vertical direction and jet clean air toward the bottom of the container B are provided. Is provided with a plurality of horizontal jet ports 32 that communicate with the clean air passage 30 and open in the horizontal direction and jet clean air toward the inner surface of the container B. The plurality of horizontal jet outlets 32 are provided in at least two stages with their positions shifted in the vertical direction, and each of them is preferably a slit-like opening.

  In addition, in the case of the container B having a circular cross section, the plurality of horizontal jet outlets 32 may all have the same size opening, but as shown in FIG. 9, the cross section of the container B having a rectangular cross section may be used. In this case, it is desirable that the size of the horizontal jet outlet 32A corresponding to the short side of the container B is increased and the size of the horizontal jet outlet 32B corresponding to the long side of the container B is reduced. Inside the clean air passage 30 of the nozzle 22 is a core (switching means) for automatically switching the order of clean air jetted from the nozzle 22 in order of the upper jet port 31 and the horizontal jet port 32. Means) 33 is provided. FIG. 9 shows an example in which one side jet 32A is provided on the short side and one side jet 32B is provided on the long side with respect to the four side surfaces. The number of nozzle holes is not limited.

  The core 33 is interposed in the clean air passage 30 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction. The core 33 has a vertical passage 34 that is vertically penetrated through the center and has one end opened at a tip portion, and is opened in a direction substantially orthogonal to the vertical passage 34. A lateral passage 35 is provided which communicates with the lateral outlet 32 when moved to the upper part. Further, the core 33 is formed with a throttle portion 36 for restricting the longitudinal passage 34 at a lower portion of the longitudinal passage 34, and a propulsive force is obtained when the core 33 is moved to the upper portion by the clean air pressure. It is configured to be.

  Further, the core 33 receives the clean air pressure and is slid in the vertical direction. As a result, as shown in FIG. 8A, when the clean air supply is started, When the upper jet port 31 is opened, the horizontal jet port 32 is closed, clean air is jetted only from the upper jet port 31, and when the clean air pressure is received and moved to the upper site, As shown in FIG. 8 (b), the upper jet port 31 is closed, the horizontal jet port 32 is opened, and clean air is jetted only from the horizontal jet port 32.

With the configuration described above, the foreign matter removing apparatus 20 of the present embodiment has the following operational effects.
When the container B is transferred from the gripper G of the star wheel 9 to the gripper G on the foreign matter removing device 20 side in an inverted state, the container B, the nozzle 22, the shaft 23, the cam follower 24, etc. rotate together with the wheel 21, and these are stationary. It moves relative to the cam 26. The cam follower 24 moves along the upper end surface of the cam 26 and is moved upward together with the shaft 23 and the nozzle 22 at the protruding portion of the cam 26, whereby the nozzle 22 enters the inside of the container B.

  When the nozzle 22 is inserted into the container B and raised to the vicinity of the bottom thereof, the supply of clean air is started. The clean air is first ejected from the upper ejection port 31 of the nozzle 22 toward the bottom of the container B, thereby colliding with the bottom of the container B and removing foreign matter attached to the part. This foreign matter is discharged from the mouth B1 of the container B together with clean air. While the cam follower 24 moves on the top portion of the protruding portion of the cam 26, the nozzle 22 continues to blow out clean air while facing the vicinity of the bottom of the container B. During this time, the core 33 is moved from the lower portion to the upper portion by the clean air pressure. Is slid.

  When the core 33 is slid to the upper part, the upper jet port 31 is closed via the core 33 and the horizontal jet port 32 is opened. Thereby, the jet of clean air is switched from the upper jet 31 to the horizontal jet 32, and the clean air jetted from the horizontal jet 32 toward the inner side of the container B collides with the inner side of the container B, Foreign matter adhering to the part is removed. The nozzle 22 starts descending when the cam follower 24 passes the top portion of the cam 26, and scans the inner surface of the container B in the vertical direction until reaching the mouth B1 of the container B. Remove foreign matter and discharge to the outside.

Thus, according to this embodiment, when rinsing the inside of the container B with clean air, the upper jet port 31, the upper jet port 31 and the horizontal jet port 32 of the nozzle 22 are connected via the switching means (core) 33. By sequentially ejecting clean air in the order of the horizontal ejection ports 32, the rinsing force is increased so that the entire flow rate of the clean air is directly sprayed to the bottom and the inner surface of the container B, respectively. Can be air rinsed.
Therefore, the foreign matter adhering to the bottom and inner surface of the container B can be efficiently removed with a small amount of clean air without particularly increasing the amount of clean air jetted, and energy saving and low running cost can be achieved. Can do.

  Further, the core 33 as the switching means is slidably interposed in the clean air passage 30 of the nozzle 22 and is located at a lower portion that closes the lateral jet port 32 when the supply of clean air is started. The upper jet port 31 is closed and the horizontal jet port 32 is opened when the upper jet port 31 is moved to the upper part by pressure, and the jet order of clean air jetted from the upper jet port 31 and the horizontal jet port 32 is configured. Can be easily switched in order of the upper outlet 31 and the lateral outlet 32 through the core 33 that is slid by the clean air pressure. For this reason, it is possible to automatically switch the order of jetting clean air without providing any special control means, and to efficiently rinse the inside of the container B with a small amount of clean air.

  Further, the core 33 is opened in a direction substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal passage 34 penetrating the tip portion thereof, and is communicated with the lateral jet port 32 when moved to the upper portion. A lateral passage 35 is provided. For this reason, the core 33 provided with the vertical passage 34 that penetrates the tip portion of the clean air from the upper jet port 31 and the horizontal jet port 32 and the horizontal channel 35 that is substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal passage 34 is clean air. By being slid under pressure, it can be easily switched, and therefore the order of clean air ejection can be switched by a switching means having a simple configuration, and its reliability can be ensured.

  Further, the core 33 is provided with a throttle portion 36 for obtaining a propulsive force when sliding to the upper portion in the lower portion in the vertical passage 34. For this reason, the core 33 can be reliably slid from the lower part to the upper part by obtaining the propulsive force from the clean air supplied in the longitudinal passage 34 of the core 33 through the throttle part 36. . Therefore, the jet port of clean air can be steadily switched from the upper jet port 31 to the horizontal jet port 32, and the container B can be air-rinsed efficiently.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the nozzle 22 is inserted to the vicinity of the bottom of the inverted container B, and starts to eject clean air from the upper jet port 31 at the tip, and then moves in the height direction of the container B. Clean air is ejected from the lateral ejection port 32 to remove foreign substances in the container B. For this reason, at the start of supply of clean air, after clean air is ejected only from the upper jet port 31 at the tip of the nozzle 22 approaching the bottom of the container B and the bottom of the container B is air rinsed, the nozzle 22 is While moving in the height direction of B, clean air can be ejected from the lateral ejection port 32 to air rinse the inner surface of the container B. Accordingly, the entire surface of the container B can be air-rinsed only by the backward scan of the nozzle 22, efficient air rinsing with a small amount of clean air, energy saving and low running cost can be achieved.

  The horizontal outlet 32 is formed as a slit-like opening provided in at least two stages with its position shifted in the vertical direction. For this reason, while ejecting clean air from at least the two-stage slit-like openings, the nozzle By scanning 22 in the height direction of the container B and air rinsing the inner side surface of the container B, the occurrence of vertical streak-like dead spots can be eliminated. As a result, the air rinsing effect is improved, and the foreign matter adhering to the inner surface of the container B can be efficiently removed with a small amount of clean air.

  Further, in the lateral ejection port 32, the size of the lateral ejection port 32A corresponding to the short side of the container B is increased with respect to the container B having a rectangular cross section, and the lateral ejection corresponding to the long side of the container B is performed. The size of the outlet 32B is reduced (see FIG. 9). In this way, the horizontal jet port 32A on the short side of the container B where the reach distance from the horizontal jet port 32 becomes long is enlarged, and the horizontal jet port 32B on the long side of the container B with short reach distance is made small and clean. By adjusting the amount of air jetted, clean air can be sprayed substantially uniformly over the entire inner surface of the container B having a rectangular cross section. For this reason, the air rinse effect with respect to the container B whose cross section is rectangular can be enhanced, and the inside of the container B can be efficiently air rinsed with a small amount of clean air.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
The present embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the configuration of switching means for switching the order of clean air ejection. Since other points are the same as those in the first embodiment, description thereof will be omitted.
In the present embodiment, as a switching means for switching the order in which clean air is ejected from the upper ejection port 31 and the lateral ejection port 32, a valve plate 37 is provided in the clean air passage 30 as shown in FIG. The structure which installed so that rotation was possible was employ | adopted.

  The valve plate 37 is rotatably supported with respect to the nozzle 22 via a shaft 38, and is normally opened to the nozzle tip portion by a spring 40 interposed between the valve plate 37 and the support member 39. The clean air passage 30 is opened so that clean air is supplied to the upper jet port 31, and communicates with the upper jet port 31 when rotated by receiving the pressure of the clean air. The clean air passage 30 is shielded, and the clean air is ejected only from the lateral ejection port 32.

  As described above, the switching means for switching the order of jetting the clean air is the valve plate 37 that is rotatably installed in the clean air passage 30 of the nozzle 22, and this valve plate 37 starts supplying clean air. At this time, the rotation position is such that clean air can be supplied to the upper jet port, and when it is rotated by receiving the clean air pressure, the supply of clean air to the upper jet port 31 side is prevented, and only the horizontal jet port 32 is provided. The clean air is ejected from the upper ejection port 31 and the lateral ejection port 32 in the order of the upper ejection port 31 and the lateral ejection port 32 through the valve plate 37. Sequential switching can be carried out.

  Therefore, according to the present embodiment as well as the first embodiment, the clean air ejection sequence is automatically switched without providing any special control means, and the inside of the container B is efficiently air-rinsed with a small amount of clean air. Thus, energy saving and low running cost of the foreign matter removing device 20 can be achieved.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
The present embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the configuration of the switching means for individually switching the order of clean air ejection to the upper ejection port 31 and the lateral ejection port 32. Since other points are the same as those in the first embodiment, description thereof will be omitted.
In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, clean air passages 41 and 42 are individually connected to the upper jet port 31 and the lateral jet port 32 provided in the nozzle 22, and this clean air passage 41. , 42 are provided with opening and closing valves 43, 44, respectively. As a result, the order in which clean air is ejected from the upper ejection port 31 and the lateral ejection port 32 can be sequentially switched using the opening / closing valves 43 and 44 as switching means.

  As described above, the open / close valves 43 and 44 are individually provided for the clean air passages 41 and 42, which can individually supply clean air to the upper jet port 31 and the horizontal jet port 32, respectively. , 44 as a switching means, and the order of clean air jets from the upper jet port 31 and the horizontal jet port 32 can be sequentially switched, so that the jet order of clean air jetted from the upper jet port 31 and the horizontal jet port 32 can be changed. Then, the upper jet port 31 and the horizontal jet port 32 can be sequentially switched and ejected. Therefore, also in this embodiment, without providing a special switching means, the order of clean air injection is sequentially switched only by the simple opening / closing operation of the opening / closing valves 43, 44, and the inside of the container B can be efficiently performed with a small amount of clean air. Can be air rinsed.

[Other Embodiments]
In the said 1st thru | or 3rd embodiment, the foreign material removed from the inner surface of the container B with the clean air after cleansing the inside of the container B and clean air is discharged | emitted from the opening B1 of the container B to the exterior. However, a configuration in which foreign matter or the like can be forcibly excluded may be employed. For this reason, a sealing member for sealing the mouth of the container B is provided on the nozzle 22 side, that is, in the above-described embodiment, on the shaft 23 side that is an integral part of the nozzle 22, and the sealing member is cleaned from the inside of the container B. An air intake means for sucking air and foreign matter may be connected.

By adopting such a configuration, clean air ejected from the nozzle 22 toward the bottom and inner surface of the container B and foreign matter removed from the inner surface of the container B by the ejection are immediately sucked by the suction means, It becomes possible to forcibly remove from the container B. As a result, the removed foreign matter is reliably eliminated from remaining in the container B, and the air rinse effect can be further improved.
In addition, this invention is not limited to the invention concerning the said embodiment, In the range which does not deviate from the summary, it can change suitably.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Beverage filling system 2 Foreign substance removal part 20 Foreign substance removal apparatus 22 Nozzle 30 Clean air passage 31 Upper jet 32, 32A, 32B Horizontal jet 33 Core (switching means)
34 Longitudinal passage 35 Lateral passage 36 Throttle part 37 Valve plate (switching means)
41, 42 Clean air passages 43, 44 Opening and closing valves (switching means)
B Container B1 Mouth of container

Claims (10)

In a foreign matter removing apparatus that inserts a nozzle into an inverted container and removes foreign matter in the container with clean air ejected from the nozzle,
The nozzle includes an upper jet nozzle that jets the clean air from the tip portion toward the bottom of the container, and a horizontal jet nozzle that jets the clean air toward the inner surface of the container.
A foreign matter removing apparatus comprising switching means for sequentially switching the jet order of the clean air jetted from the upper jet port and the horizontal jet port in the order of the upper jet port and the horizontal jet port.   The switching means is slidably interposed in the clean air passage of the nozzle, and is located in a lower part that closes the lateral jet outlet when the supply of the clean air is started. 2. The foreign matter removing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a core that closes the upper jet port and opens the horizontal jet port when moved.   The core has a longitudinal passage penetrating through a tip portion thereof, and a transverse passage that is opened in a direction substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal passage and communicates with the transverse jet port when moved to the upper portion. The foreign matter removing apparatus according to claim 2, comprising:   The foreign object according to claim 3, wherein the core is provided with a throttle part for obtaining a driving force when sliding to the upper part in a lower part in the longitudinal passage. Removal device.   The switching means is rotatably disposed in the clean air passage of the nozzle, and is configured to be a rotational position where the clean air can be supplied to the upper jet outlet when the supply of the clean air is started. When rotated by receiving a clean air pressure, the supply of the clean air to the upper jet port side is prevented, and the valve plate is configured to jet the clean air from the side jet port. The foreign matter removing apparatus according to claim 1.   The switching means is configured by open / close valves individually provided for the clean air passages in which the clean air can be individually supplied to the upper jet port and the horizontal jet port. The foreign matter removing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein   The nozzle is inserted to the vicinity of the bottom of the inverted container, and after the clean air starts to be ejected from the upper ejection port at the tip, the nozzle is moved from the lateral ejection port while being moved in the height direction of the container. The foreign matter removing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the foreign matter removing device is configured to eject clean air and remove foreign matter in the container.   The foreign matter removing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the horizontal ejection port is formed as a slit-shaped opening provided in at least two stages while being shifted in the vertical direction.   The horizontal jet outlet has a rectangular cross section, the size of the horizontal jet outlet corresponding to the short side of the container is increased, and the size of the horizontal jet outlet corresponding to the long side of the container is The foreign matter removing device according to claim 1, wherein the foreign matter removing device is made small. A sealing member for sealing the mouth of the container is provided on the nozzle side, and an intake means for sucking the clean air and foreign matter from the inside of the container is connected via the sealing member. The foreign matter removing device according to claim 1.

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