阅读说明：本技术 物品杀菌装置 (Article sterilization device ) 是由 崔钟宣 于 2018-09-06 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及一种物品杀菌装置,将即食饭或即食拉面之类的包装食品等的物品投入于杀菌腔室内部并执行规定的杀菌处理,根据本发明,使得门上下移动而不是使其旋转,并用夹具强力地加压门的边缘部分,从而使得杀菌腔室密封,进而可以执行通过蒸汽的加热杀菌。因此,门的开闭操作时,几乎不会发生与密封件的摩擦,从而可以使得密封件的更换周期大幅增长,并且也可以非常简便地执行密封件的更换作业。(The present invention relates to an article sterilization apparatus for performing a predetermined sterilization process by putting articles such as packaged food such as instant rice and instant noodles into a sterilization chamber, and according to the present invention, a door is moved up and down without being rotated, and an edge portion of the door is strongly pressed by a jig, thereby sealing the sterilization chamber, and further, heat sterilization by steam can be performed. Therefore, friction with the seal hardly occurs at the time of opening and closing operation of the door, so that the replacement cycle of the seal can be greatly increased, and the replacement work of the seal can be very simply performed.)

1. An apparatus for sterilizing an article, comprising:

a main body including a sterilization chamber for sterilizing an article introduced through an opening formed in the main body in an open manner;

a sterilization unit that performs sterilization of the articles introduced into the sterilization chamber;

a door which is provided at the outer side of the opening of the main body in a vertically movable manner and opens and closes the opening;

a door closing unit provided to the body, the door closing unit performing an operation of closing the opening portion by the door by pressurizing the door from an outer side of the body to an inner side;

an actuator for moving the door up and down relative to the body.

2. The apparatus for sterilizing articles as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a movable coupling portion coupled in a manner to enable the door to move relative to the actuator.

3. The article sterilization apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the door closing unit includes:

a plurality of clamps which are arranged at the outer side of the body in a horizontally reciprocating manner and press the edge part of the door to the inner side of the body;

and a jig operating part which horizontally reciprocates the respective jigs.

4. The apparatus for sterilizing articles according to claim 3,

the clamp operating part is a hydraulic cylinder.

5. The apparatus for sterilizing articles as claimed in claim 3, further comprising:

and a jig rotating device for rotating the jig by a certain angle around one axis.

6. The apparatus for sterilizing articles according to claim 5,

the jig rotating apparatus includes a rotation driver provided outside the body, and a rotation shaft rotated at a certain angle by an air pressure or a hydraulic pressure or a power source applied from the outside is combined with the jig operating part, so that the jig operating part and the jig are rotated at a certain angle together as the rotation shaft rotates.

7. The apparatus for sterilizing articles according to claim 5,

the jig rotating apparatus includes a rotary driver connected to the jig operating member so as to horizontally reciprocate by the jig operating member and rotate the jig by a certain angle while rotating by an air pressure or a hydraulic pressure or a power source applied from the outside.

8. The apparatus for sterilizing articles according to claim 1,

a sealing member made of a soft material for preventing gas from leaking out as it is pressed by the door is provided outside the opening portion.

9. The apparatus for sterilizing articles as claimed in claim 2, wherein the movable coupling member comprises:

a link having an upper end rotatably connected to one end of the actuator;

and a connecting bracket, the upper end of which is rotatably connected to the lower end of the connecting rod, and the lower end of which is coupled to the upper end of the door.

10. The apparatus for sterilizing articles according to claim 1,

the heating chamber and the opening have a rectangular shape having a width longer than a length.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an apparatus for heat-sterilizing an article, and more particularly, to an apparatus for sterilizing an article by introducing an article such as a packaged food container such as instant rice or instant noodles into a sterilization chamber and performing a predetermined sterilization process.

Background

Recently, an aseptically packaged food obtained by aseptically packaging a food such as rice or flour in a heat-resistant container has been produced through a sterilization treatment process for the purpose of preserving or preserving the food for a long period of time. Generally, a food sterilization apparatus for performing heat sterilization of food includes a sterilization chamber for receiving a plurality of food items, a steam supply unit for supplying high-temperature steam into the sterilization chamber, and a door device for closing an opening serving as an entrance of the sterilization chamber from the outside.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an article sterilization apparatus that minimizes friction between a door and a sealing member when the door opens and closes an opening of a sterilization chamber, thereby making it almost unnecessary to replace the sealing member, and that minimizes damage and breakage of a driving part that opens and closes the door, thereby improving durability, and that increases the door opening and closing speed, thereby improving production efficiency.

An object sterilization device according to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object is characterized by comprising: a main body including a sterilization chamber for sterilizing an article introduced through an opening formed in the main body in an open manner; a sterilization unit that performs sterilization of the articles introduced into the sterilization chamber; a door which is provided at the outer side of the opening of the main body in a vertically movable manner and opens and closes the opening; a door closing unit provided to the body, for performing an operation of closing the opening portion by the door by pressing the door from an outer side of the body to an inner side; an actuator for moving the door up and down relative to the body.

According to the first embodiment of the present invention, the door is moved up and down instead of being rotated, the edge portion of the door is strongly pressed by the jig, so that the sterilizing chamber is sealed, and thus heat sterilization by steam can be performed.

Therefore, friction with the seal hardly occurs at the time of performing the opening and closing operation of the door, so that the replacement cycle of the seal can be greatly increased, and the replacement work of the seal can also be performed very simply.

Also, excessive force is not applied to the actuator that operates the door, so that there is less risk of damage or breakage of the actuator, and durability can be improved.

In addition, there is an effect that the opening and closing operation of the door is very rapidly performed and a plurality of articles can be sterilized at one time, so that productivity can be greatly improved.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing an article sterilization apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention, in a state where a door closes a sterilization chamber.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the article sterilization apparatus of fig. 1, as viewed from the side.

Fig. 3 is a front view of the article sterilization apparatus of fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a plan view illustrating a state where a door constituting the article sterilizing apparatus according to the present invention opens the sterilizing chamber.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of a state where a door constituting the apparatus for sterilizing articles according to the present invention is opened so that a sterilization chamber is opened.

Fig. 6 is a front view of a state in which a door constituting the apparatus for sterilizing articles according to the present invention is such that a sterilization chamber is opened.

Fig. 7 to 10 are a front view, a plan view, a side view, and a partial sectional view, respectively, showing an article sterilization apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 11 to 12 are a plan view and a partial sectional view, respectively, showing an article sterilization apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the apparatus for sterilizing articles according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to fig. 1 to 3, an article sterilization apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention includes: a main body 10 including a sterilization chamber 12 and an opening 11 communicating with the sterilization chamber 12; a sterilization unit that sterilizes the articles introduced into the sterilization chamber 12; a door 30 which is provided outside the opening 11 of the main body 10 so as to be movable up and down and which opens and closes the opening; door closing units provided at both side portions of the body 10, for performing an operation of closing the opening portion 11 by the door 30 by pressing the door 30 from an outer side to an inner side of the body 10; an actuator 40 for moving the door 30 up and down with respect to the body 10; a movable coupling member 60 coupled in such a manner that the door 30 is movable with respect to the actuator 40.

To assist understanding, the left side on the drawings is designated as the front of the body 10, and the right side on the drawings is designated as the rear of the body 10 and is illustrated.

The main body 10 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped box made of metal such as stainless steel, and has a sterilization chamber 12 formed therein for performing a sterilization process of an article, two openings 11 formed in a front surface and a rear surface, respectively, and the two openings 11 are formed to communicate with the sterilization chamber 12 and are used for introducing an article a into the sterilization chamber 12 and discharging the article a from the sterilization chamber 12. Of the two openings 11, the opening 11 formed in the front surface of the main body 10 functions as an inlet for loading the article, and the opening 11 formed in the rear surface of the main body 10 functions as an outlet for taking out the article.

In the embodiment, the sterilization chamber 12 and the opening 11 have a rectangular shape having a width longer than a length, so that a plurality of articles can be put in at a time to be sterilized. In other words, since the sterilization chamber 12 and the opening 11 have a rectangular shape having a width longer than a length, the articles a can be fed into the sterilization chamber 12 in a form of a plurality of rows (3 rows in this embodiment) instead of one row. Therefore, the number of articles that can be thrown into the sterilizing chamber 12 at one time can be increased over the prior art, thereby doubling the productivity. In this way, it is possible to configure the opening 11 of the main body 10 and the sterilization chamber 12 in a rectangular shape having a long left-right width, because the door 30 is configured not to open and close the opening 11 by a rotational movement but to open and close the opening 11 by a vertical linear movement, as will be described later.

In addition, soft and heat-resistant sealing members 70 like rubber or silicone are provided along the outer sides of the edges of the opening part 11 at the front and rear sides of the body 10, respectively, so that it is possible to prevent high-temperature and high-pressure gas inside the sterilization chamber 12 from leaking to the outside as being pressed by the door 30 when the door 30 closes the opening part 11.

The sterilization unit is configured to perform a heat sterilization process on the articles by repeatedly supplying and discharging high-temperature steam into the sterilization chamber 12, but in this embodiment, the sterilization unit includes: a supply pipe 21 and an air inlet valve 22 (let valve) provided at an upper portion of the main body 10 and supplying steam into the sterilization chamber 12; a discharge pipe 23 and a discharge valve 24(outlet valve) for discharging the steam from the sterilization chamber 12. Preferably, the supply pipe 21 and the intake valve 22, and the discharge pipe 23 and the discharge valve 24 are alternately arranged.

The door 30 is configured to open and close the opening 11 while moving up and down by an actuator 40 outside the front and rear surfaces of the main body 10. The door 30 is made of metal having excellent heat resistance, and has a rectangular flat plate shape slightly larger than the opening 11.

The actuator 40 is provided on a fixed block 15, and is configured to move the door 30 up and down by a predetermined distance, and the fixed block 15 is provided at a front portion and a rear portion of the body 10 in a manner of extending upward. The actuator 40 may use a hydraulic cylinder or a pneumatic cylinder.

When the door 30 is moved downward by the actuator 40, the door closing unit is required to close the opening 11 while moving horizontally from the outside to the inside of the body 10, that is, while moving horizontally by a certain distance in the front-rear direction. Therefore, the door 30 is coupled to the actuator 40 via the movable coupling member 60 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction to some extent.

In this embodiment, the movable coupling member 60 includes: a link 61 whose upper end is rotatably connected to the lower end of the piston rod 41 of the actuator 40 via a first hinge pin 62; and a connecting bracket 63 having an upper end rotatably connected to a lower end of the link 61 via a second hinge pin 64, and a lower end of the connecting bracket 63 coupled to an upper end of the door 30.

Therefore, when the door 30 is lowered and aligned with the right outside of the opening portion 11, if the door closing unit presses the door 30 toward the opening portion 11 side of the body 10, relative rotational movement of the link 61 and the link bracket 63 is generated, and at the same time, the door 30 moves in the front-rear direction with respect to the actuator 40, thereby opening and closing the opening portion 11.

The door closing unit performs a function of closing the opening 11 by pressurizing the door 30 toward the opening 11 side when the door 30 is lowered and positioned outside the opening 11. The door closing unit includes: a plurality of clamps 51 which are provided at the outer sides of the front and rear surfaces of the body 10 in a horizontally reciprocating manner and press the edge portion of the door 30 toward the inner side of the body 10; and a jig operating member 52 that horizontally reciprocates the respective jigs 51. In this embodiment, four clamps 51 and four clamp operating members 52 are provided at the front and rear portions of the main body 10, respectively, and press corner portions of the door 30 against the main body 10.

In order not to be pushed by the high pressure inside the sterilizing chamber 12 and to provide a force for pressurizing the door 30, it is preferable that the jig operating member 52 uses a hydraulic cylinder.

When the clamp 51 does not press the door 30, in order that the article a or the carrier C on which the article a is mounted, etc. passing through the opening 11 are not interfered by the clamp 51, it is preferable that the clamp 51 is rotated by a certain angle, for example, 90 °. To this end, the door closing unit includes a jig rotating means for rotating the jig 51 by a certain angle centering on a horizontal axis.

In this embodiment, the jig rotating means includes a rotation actuator 53, and the rotation actuator 53 is provided outside the body 10, and a rotation shaft (not shown) rotated by a certain angle by a pneumatic pressure or a hydraulic pressure or a power source applied from the outside is combined with the jig operating part 52, so that the jig operating part 52 and the jig 51 are rotated together by a certain angle (90 °) as the rotation shaft is rotated. The rotary actuator 53 may use a rotary cylinder generating a rotational force by hydraulic pressure or pneumatic pressure, a motor generating a rotational force by electric power, or the like.

In addition, in this embodiment, the jig operating member 52 is coupled to the rotation shaft of the rotary actuator 53, and the jig 51 is rotated together with the rotation of the jig operating member 52, but in contrast, the jig operating member 52 may be fixed to the body 10, the rotary actuator 53 may be coupled to the linear moving portion of the jig operating member 52, and the jig 51 may be coupled to the rotation shaft of the rotary actuator 53, so that when the door 30 is pressurized, the rotary actuator 53 and the jig 51 are horizontally moved together and the door 30 is pressurized, and if the rotation shaft of the rotary actuator 53 is rotated, only the jig 51 is rotated alone.

The apparatus for sterilizing articles of the present invention configured as described above operates as follows.

Before sterilizing the article, as shown in fig. 5 and 6, the piston rod 41 of the actuator 40 is contracted and the door 30 is lifted, so that the opening 11 of the main body 10 is opened. At this time, the jig 51 is released to the outside of the opening 11 by the operation of the rotary actuator 53.

In this state, the article transfer robot pushes the carrier C on which the plurality of articles a are loaded into the sterilization chamber 12 through the opening 11 formed in the front portion of the main body 10.

As described above, if the article a is thrown into the sterilization chamber 12, the piston rod 41 of the actuator 40 is lowered so that the door 30 is positioned directly outside the opening 11, as shown in fig. 2 and 3. Subsequently, the jig operating member 52 and the jig 51 are rotated by 90 ° by the operation of the rotary actuator 53, whereby the jig 51 is switched to a state in which the door 30 can be pressurized. Then, the jig 51 is horizontally moved by the jig operating member 52, and the door 30 is pressed toward the opening 11. As described above, since the door 30 is connected to the actuator 40 so as to be movable to some extent by the movable connecting member 60, the door 30 can be naturally moved toward the opening 11 by the jig 51.

At this time, the door 30 seals the opening 11 and pressurizes the sealing member 70 provided outside the opening 11, thereby completely sealing the inside of the sterilization chamber 12.

The opening and closing operations of the door 30 are simultaneously performed at the front and rear portions of the body 10.

In this way, if the front and rear openings 11 of the main body 10 are completely sealed by the door 30, the inlet valve 22 of the sterilization unit is opened to supply high-temperature steam into the sterilization chamber 12 through the supply pipe 21, thereby performing a sterilization operation, and after a certain time has elapsed, the outlet valve 24 is opened to discharge the steam to the outside. The sterilization unit performs a sterilization process by performing a process of supplying and discharging steam into and from the sterilization chamber 12 a set number of times.

When the sterilization process is completed, the jig 51 is horizontally moved outward of the opening 11 by the jig operating member 52, and then rotated by 90 ° by the rotation driver 53, thereby returning to the initial position. Then, the door 30 is raised while the piston rod 41 of the actuator 40 is contracted, thereby returning to the original open position.

If the door 30 is raised and the front and rear side openings 11 of the body 10 are all opened, the carrier C loaded with the article a is taken out to the outside through the rear side opening 11. Then, the sterilization process is performed for the new item while repeating the aforementioned process.

As described above, the apparatus for sterilizing articles according to the present invention can perform heat sterilization by steam by moving the door 30 up and down, not rotating it, and strongly pressurizing the edge portion of the door 30 with the jig 51, thereby sealing the sterilization chamber 12.

Therefore, friction with the seal 70 is hardly generated at the time of performing the opening and closing operation of the door 30, so that the replacement cycle of the seal 70 can be greatly increased, and the replacement work of the seal 70 can also be very simply performed.

Also, excessive force is not applied to the actuator 40 that operates the door 30, so there is an advantage in that the risk of damage or breakage of the actuator 40 is less and durability can be improved.

In addition, there is an advantage in that the opening and closing operation of the door 30 is very rapidly performed and a plurality of articles can be sterilized at once, so that productivity can be greatly improved.

Fig. 7 to 10 are drawings showing an article sterilization apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention, in which the door 130 is rotated 180 degrees eccentrically around the eccentric shaft 131 to open and close the opening 111, and when the door 130 is rotated to reach the open position and the closed position, the door 130 collides with the damper 145 (shockkabsober) to be buffered, so that the door 130 can be opened or closed slowly, and the rotary cylinder 140 for rotating the door 130 can be prevented from being damaged.

The door 130 and rotary cylinder 140 assembly is advanced and retracted by a distance of 80 to 100mm by the advance and retraction cylinder 160, thereby preventing the door 130 from colliding with the seal 170 around the opening 111 when rotating. Unexplained reference numeral 132 is a coupling for connecting the eccentric shaft 131 to the shaft of the rotating cylinder 140.

The article sterilization apparatus of the second embodiment may feed and sterilize a total of 5 articles a in a row and a row of five columns inside the sterilization chamber.

Fig. 11 to 12 are drawings showing an article sterilization apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention, which is configured such that a door 230 opens and closes an opening 211 while a body 210 eccentrically rotates 180 degrees around an eccentric shaft 231, and a driving device for rotating the door 230 includes: an air cylinder 240; a rotation link 242 rotated by a certain angle by the air cylinder 240; a power gear 243 connected to the center of the rotating link 242; a shaft rotating gear 244 engaged with the power gear 243 to obtain transmission of a rotating force, and connected with the eccentric shaft 231 to rotate the eccentric shaft 231; a rotation gear 245 for preventing impact, which is engaged with the shaft rotation gear 244, thereby obtaining transmission of the rotation force.

Description of the reference symbols

10: a body 11: opening part

12: the sterilization chamber 15: fixing block

21: supply pipe 22: air inlet valve

23: discharge piping 24: discharge valve

30: the door 40: actuator

41: piston rod 51: clamp apparatus

52: the jig operating member 53: rotary drive

61: the connecting rod 63: connecting support

70: sealing element A: article with a cover

C: carrier