Abstract:
A method and a machine for preparing and filling containers with a product, for which method and machine the containers are grouped in rows at right angles to the transporting direction with the container openings facing upwardly and aligned at a distance from one another. The containers are swiveled, row by row, into an at least approximately vertical position with the container openings facing downwardly and rinsed jointly on the inside with a cleansing agent. The rinsed containers are dried on the inside in a first drying station and, after passing through the first drying station, are charged into a sterile environment. After a row of containers has entered the sterile environment, the containers are sterilized on the inside by means of a sterilizing agent and, in a second drying station, residues of sterilizing agent are expelled from the sterilized containers. In the event that the containers are to be filled with a carbon dioxide-containing and/or a nitrogen-containing material, the containers are wetted subsequently on the inside with sterile water and, after being dried, are swiveled in a second turning process into a filling position with the container openings facing upwardly. The containers subsequently are filled with the specified amount of product and, in a sealing station, sealed at least provisionally with a stopper part, after which the sealed containers are discharged from the sterile region.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to a method and to a machine for preparing containers for being filled and for filling containers, especially polyester containers, with a material forming a beverage. 
     In order to ensure their keeping qualities, numerous beverages have to be filled under special conditions, which are described by the concepts of “clean”, “ultraclean” or “aseptic” and contain certain germ count limits (10 −4 , 10 −6 ). To ensure the respective conditions, it is customary, for example, to fill the material at an elevated temperature, such as 92° C. The sterilization of bottles and the filling of sterilized bottles in a sterile environment is also known (DE 37 01 915 A1), the bottles initially being heated to a relatively high temperature by infrared radiators and subsequently cooled before the filling process. Such methods can be used for glass bottles and thick-walled plastic bottles, but not for thin-walled polyester bottles, which offer only a slight dimensional stability and may not be heated to a temperature above 45° C., if they are not to experience loss of dimensional stability. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention is concerned with the problem of providing a method and a machine, which enable thin-walled polyester bottles to be filled at a high efficiency under aseptic conditions. 
     The inventive method and the inventive machine group the bottles in transverse rows. A larger number of bottles, such as nine bottles, can be subjected simultaneously in a transverse row to the treatment processes. The turning of the bottles into a position, in which the opening points downward, makes possible the simple, effective and rapid cleaning and drying, sterilization with a sterilizing agent suitable for the purpose, as well as a subsequent expulsion of the residues of the sterilizing agent and finally, if necessary, also a wetting of the bottles with sterile water in the event that the bottles are to be filled with a beverage containing carbon dioxide or nitrogen. After the bottles are turned once more, they can then be filled with the intended material. During their sterilization and until they are sealed after being filled, the bottles are in an aseptic environment so that, despite the fact that the temperature in the bottle material has dropped below the load limit temperature of 45° C., it is assured that, in all processing stations, the beverages, filled into the bottles, have the required keeping qualities of, usually, about six months. 
     Further details and advantages arise out of the following description and the drawing, in which an example of the object of the invention is illustrated diagrammatically in greater detail. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 shows a diagrammatic plan view of the conveying equipment of the inventive machine, 
     FIG. 2 shows a diagrammatic side view corresponding to FIG. 1, 
     FIG. 3 shows a flow diagram of the handling and processing processes, 
     FIG. 4 shows a diagrammatic representation, similar to the flow diagram of FIG. 3, of the processing and treatment units of the inventive machine, 
     FIG. 5 shows a diagrammatic cross section through a blast lance, 
     FIG. 6 shows a truncated presentation of a detail of the drying agent feeding pipe with control sensor, and 
     FIG. 7 shows a diagrammatic representation, partially sectional, of a sterilizing agent injector. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the inventive machine comprises a machine frame  1 , which supports conveying equipment  2 . The conveying equipment  2  is constructed as an endless chain conveyor and comprises bottle carriers  5 , which can be swiveled relative to the conveying chains  3 ,  4  on the outside and locked in two different swiveling positions and which in each case have a number of bottle holders  7 , disposed next to one another transversely to the transporting direction  6 . The bottle carriers  5  form a modular unit, which extends transversely essentially over the width of the conveying equipment  2 , and are supported consecutively at the conveying chains  3 ,  4  at mutually identical distances. 
     With the help of the conveying equipment  2 , the bottles, which are to be filled, are transported along a straight conveying path, which is defined by a guide  8  of the machine frame  1 , through the machine from a loading station  9  to a discharging station  10 , the bottles  11  being grouped in rows transversely to the transporting direction  6  and aligned at a distance from one another independently of their diameter and centered, and moreover with the help of self-aligning gripper parts  12 ,  13  of the bottle holders  7 . 
     Downstream from the loading station  9  in the transporting direction  6 , diagrammatically indicated turning equipment  14  (FIG. 2) is disposed, in which the bottles  11 , supplied to the loading station  9  with upwardly pointing bottle openings and taken over in this position by the bottle holders  7 , are swiveled transverse row by transverse row into a vertical position with downwardly pointing bottle openings, this being done by swiveling in each case a whole bottle carrier  5  relative to the conveying chain  3 ,  4  supporting this bottle carrier  5 . 
     The transverse rows of bottles, transported discontinuously, initially pass through spray equipment  15  for, at the same time, introducing cleansing agent in an upwardly directed jet into the interior of the bottles  11  of a transverse row. By these means, the bottles  11  are rinsed on the inside and any particles, such as dust particles or the like, contained in them are cleaned out. As cleansing agent, preferably sterile water is used, which is under a pressure ranging from 2 to 4 bar and preferably of 4 bar and has a temperature ranging from 40° to 50° C. and preferably of about 45° C. 
     The cleaned bottles  11  next pass through first drying equipment  16 , by means of which residues of cleansing agent, remaining in the interior of the bottles  11 , are expelled simultaneously from all bottles  11  of the transverse row located in the drying station. As drying agent, preferably heated, sterile, compressed air is used, which is blown into the interior of the bottles and is under a pressure of about 2 to 4 bar and preferably of 3 bar and has a temperature ranging from about 40° to 90° C. and preferably of about 60° C. Even if the temperature of the compressed air is higher than the load limit temperature for the material of the bottles  11 , then this does not lead to any thermal impairment of the bottles  11  since, given the brevity of the action of the compressed air, the walls of the bottles  11  do not reach temperatures, which exceed the load limit. 
     Up to the first drying station  16 , the bottles  11  are in a non-sterile input and washing area  17   a  (FIG.  3 ). Upon further transport to spray equipment  18  forming a sterilization station, the row of bottles, leaving the drying station, passes through a charging opening  19  into a closed interior space  20  of a housing  21 , in which there is a sterile atmosphere. This is formed by sterile air, which is blown into the interior space  20 , takes up all of the space and flows out of the charging opening  19  and a discharging opening  22  to the outside, in order to prevent the entry of germ-laden air. The sterile air is supplied by a source  23  of sterile air, to which the tunnel-like housing  21 , defining a sterile region  17   b , is also connected. The tunnel-like housing  21  can, however, also be acted upon by sterile air from an independent source 
     From the spraying equipment  18 , the interior of the bottles  11  in a row is acted upon simultaneously by a sterilizing agent, which is introduced into the interior of the bottles with an upwardly directed jet. As sterilizing agent, preferably hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) is used. However, any other sterilizing agent, in liquid or vapor form, sterilizing by chemical and/or physical means, can be used. In pressure and temperature, the sterilizing agent can correspond to the cleansing agent. 
     After the sterilization, the bottles  11  reach a second drying station  24 , in which residues of sterilizing agent are expelled from the interior of the bottles  11  in much the same way as in the first drying station  16  with the help of heated sterile air. The sterile air for the second drying station  24 , like that for the first drying station  16 , originates from the sterile air source  23 . The pressure can be between 2 and 4 bar and preferably is about 3 bar, and the temperature of the compressed air for the second drying equipment  24  is between 40° and 90° C. and preferably is about 60° C. 
     Upon leaving the second drying station formed by the second drying equipment  24 , the bottles  11  reach a wetting station  26  which, however, is required or operated only if the bottles  11  are to be filled with a material containing carbon dioxide or nitrogen. In the wetting station formed by the wetting equipment  26 , the interiors of all the bottles  11  in a transverse row are wetted simultaneously with sterile water, the equipment, similar to the equipment  15  or  16 , being constructed as spraying equipment, which delivers the sterile water into the interior of the bottles from below with an upwardly directed jet. 
     Upon leaving the wetting equipment  26 , the bottles  11  reach the second turning equipment  27 , in which they are turned once again and, after that, aligned at least approximately vertically with the opening of the bottles directed upwards. In this position, the bottles are filled with the liquid material, preferably soft drinks and, moreover, row by row simultaneously by means of filling equipment  28 . 
     When filled, the bottles  11  reach the first sealing equipment  29 , in which the bottle openings are supplied with a stopper part (not shown). The stopper part may, for example, be a screw cap, as used for screw type closures of different kinds. It can also form a provisional seal and the final seal can then be formed by screwing on the cap in the subsequent second sealing equipment  30 . However, the stopper part can also be put in place and the bottle finally sealed already in the first sealing equipment, in which case the second sealing equipment  30  can be omitted. 
     In the region of the first sealing equipment  29 , the bottles  11  leave the interior  20  of the housing  21  forming the sterile region  17   b , passing through the discharging opening  22 . At this time, the aseptic filling is concluded and contamination of the bottle contents with microorganisms is precluded. Even after leaving the sterile region  17   b , the bottles  11 , until they reach the discharging station  10 , are in a clean region  17   c , before they are then supplied over the discharging station  10  to optional further processing stations, such as labeling or printing stations, a packing station, etc. 
     As can be inferred particularly from FIGS. 3 and 4, the cleaning equipment  15  and the wetting equipment  26  preferably are acted upon with sterile water, which originates from the same source  31  and is formed from sterile condensate, the cleansing agent that drains being collected by a bottom part  33  and transferred by this to a collector  34  or to a drain. The source  31  of sterile water can also supply the spray heads  35 ,  36  of the sterile region  17   b  of the machine with sterile water when CIP cleaning processes are carried out. However, while the production is running, the spray heads  35  serve to blow sterile air into the interior  20  of the housing  21 , in order to form and maintain the sterile pressurized atmosphere. Likewise, the spray heads  36  can also be connected to the source  23  of sterile air. 
     The material, which is to be filled into the bottles, is supplied from a reservoir  37 , which can also be subjected to CIP cleaning as is symbolized by the indicated spray head  36 . 
     The spray equipment  18  for introducing sterilizing agent is supplied from a source  38  of sterilizing agent, from which an inlet pipe  39  can also be supplied, which discharges into the sterile air pipe  39  in the region of a heat exchanger  40  for heating the sterile air supplied by the source  23  and makes it possible to treat the sterile air with sterilizing agent. If the sterile air, introduced into the interior space  20  during a production process or during a CIP cleaning process, is treated with sterilizing agent, sterile air, enriched with sterilizing agent, can be withdrawn over the blowers  40 ,  41 , upstream of which in each case a catalyst  42  is disposed for separation purposes. 
     Over a drainpipe  43 , sterile water is supplied to a collector  44  or to a drain corresponding to the collector  34 . However, sterile water can also be taken from and supplied to the interior space  20  in a cycling system, as can be seen from the circulation pipe  45  (FIG.  4 ). 
     Sterile air, in the form of a laminar curtain, also flows through the clean region  17   c  adjoining the housing  21  in the transporting direction  6 , into which housing  21  the conveying equipment  2  enters once again on its way back for sterilizing purposes, so that microorganisms are carried over into the clean region  17   c  only by caps, which have not been sterilized. In order to prevent the possibility of microorganisms in the cap region facing the bottle opening gaining access to the bottles  11  and to the material contained therein, the caps can either be sterilized as a whole before they enter the clean region  17   c  (in which case the sealing equipment  29  and also  30  can be disposed in the sterile region  17   b ) or, before they are put in place on the bottles, sterilized only in the bottle-ready region by being sprayed with hot steam, a sterilizing aerosol, etc. with the help of a spray nozzle indicated at  46 . The second sealing equipment  30  can follow exhaust equipment  47 , the function of which is to suck off residues of sterilizing agent adhering on the outside to the stopper part and at the neck of the bottle if, for example, sterile air, enriched with sterilizing agent, is also used in the clean region  17   c.    
     The drying equipment  16 ,  24  for expelling residues of cleansing agent and sterilizing agent from the interior of the bottles  11  comprise a number of blast lances  50 , which corresponds to the number of bottles in a transverse row. The blast lances  50  can be introduced simultaneously in each case from below into the bottles of a transverse row assigned above and moved out of these once again. This is illustrated in FIG. 5 by the arrows  51 . 
     The blast lances  50  comprise, in detail, an outer pipe  52  and an inner pipe  53 , which are disposed concentrically to one another and connected with each other at the front end of the blast lance  50 . In the front end of the blast lance  50 , a first outlet opening  54  for a drying medium is provided which, through the inner pipe  53 , is supplied with drying medium, which is supplied over a separate feed pipe  55  to the inner pipe  53 . Close to their front ends, the blast lances have second outlet openings  56  at their periphery. These second outlet openings  56  are connected to a separate second feed pipe  57 , from which they are supplied over the annular space between the pipes  52 ,  53  with drying medium. 
     In operation, the blast lances  50 , together with carrier part  58 , are shifted from a position, in which the front ends are below the bottle openings, into an upper end position, in which the front ends of the blast lances  50  are close to the bottom of the bottles. As soon as this position is reached, the drying medium is blown out through the outlet openings  54  and, by these means, the region of the bottles  11 , close to the bottom, is freed from residues of cleansing agent or sterilizing agent. After that, the blowing out of drying medium through the outlet openings  54  is ended and the drying medium is blown out through the outlet openings  56 , which impose an outward and inclined downward direction to the flow of the drying medium, so that, when the downwards motion of the blast lances  50  commences, a strong expulsion effect is exerted on the liquid residues, which are still present in the region of the bottles  11  remote from the bottom. 
     The blast lances  50  are provided in their base region with a guiding organ  59 , which is disposed above their carrier part  58 . The guide organ  59  imposes a flow directed back to the neck of the bottle, to the drying medium emerging from the bottle opening. In this way, the outer region of the neck of the bottle is also subjected to cleaning or sterilization by the entrained residues of cleansing agent and sterilizing agent. 
     In order to support the expulsion effect of the drying medium emerging from the outlet openings  54 ,  56  of the blast lances  50 , a groove  58 ′, which surrounds the base of each blast lance  50  and can be connected over a suction duct  58 ″ to a source of vacuum, is formed in the upper side of the carrier part  58 . This improves and accelerates the flow of drying medium out of the bottle opening, which has been narrowed by the blast lance  50 . The expelled liquid residues, which otherwise can also be drawn off over the outlet  59 ′ at the guiding organs  59 , can also be sucked off over this suction. 
     As soon as the blast lance  50  has ended its downwards motion, the expulsion of blast air through the outlet openings  56  is also ended. This is undertaken by valves, the details of which are not illustrated and which are disposed in the feed pipes  55 ,  57  and can be actuated independently of one another. 
     Sensors  60  for checking the action of drying medium on the feed pipes  55 ,  59 , are provided in the feed pipes  55 ,  57  as is illustrated for a feed pipe  55  in FIG.  6 . Such sensors can have any suitable known construction. Preferably, however, they consist of a flexible sleeve  61 , which forms an outer part of the outer boundary of the respective feed pipe  55 ,  57 , expands when acted upon with drying medium on the inside and activates over a push rod  62  a control switch which, when not actuated, causes an error message to be displayed. By means of this control, it is ensured that each bottle receives the same treatment. 
     In the spray equipment  18 , the sterilizing agent can be sprayed in with the help of a spray nozzle, as indicated in FIGS. 2 and 4. Instead of this, it is also possible to wet the interior of the bottles with a mist of sterilizing agent, hydrogen peroxide preferably being used as sterilizing agent. The sterilizing action is particularly advantageous here and is based on the fact that the mist of sterilizing agent can be applied specifically on the whole inner surface of the bottle in a finely dispersed form. 
     As is illustrated in greater detail in FIG. 7, a mist of sterilizing agent is generated by an ultrasonic generator  62  and fed into a stream of sterile air, which is supplied by the source  23  of sterile air, carried in a pipe  63 , and generated in phase with the spraying equipment  18  and conveys the mist of sterilizing agent into the interior of the bottles  11  in the spraying equipment  18 . The introduction of the mist of sterilizing agent into the interior of the bottles  11  takes place with the help of an injector  64 , which can be moved by means of a lifting mechanism, the details of which are not shown, such as a pressure medium cylinder, in the direction of the arrows  65  vertically out of a lower starting position below the path of motion of the bottles  11  into the operating position, which is illustrated in FIG.  7  and in which its injection nozzles  66  engage the interior of each bottle  11  of a row of bottles in the sterilization position. 
     In each case, an electrically insulated, supported electrode  67  is assigned to the injection nozzles  66  and extends preferably coaxially through the nozzle pipe of the injection nozzles  66  and protrudes beyond this nozzle pipe some distance. Each electrode  67  interacts with a counter-electrode  68 , which is assigned to the outside of the bottles  11  in the sterilization position, in order to build up an electrical field, which acts between the injection nozzle  66  and the wall of the bottles  11  and causes the mist droplets of sterilization agent, which are charged electrically by the electrode  67 , to be moved selectively along the lines of force towards the interior wall of the bottles and to be deposited there. For generating this electric field, the electrode  67  and the counter-electrode  68  are connected to a source  69  of direct current. 
     As for the example illustrated in FIG. 7, the counter-electrode is constructed preferably as a cylindrical body, which in each case surrounds a bottle  11  at the outer periphery and at the bottom. By means of a driving mechanism that is not shown, such as a pressure medium cylinder, the counter-electrodes can be moved out of their lowered operating position shown vertically upwards into a starting position, in which they are outside of the path of motion of the bottles and permit the transverse row of bottles  11 , which are to be sterilized, to be moved into the sterilization position. 
     After a transverse row of bottles  11 , which are to be sterilized, has moved into the sterilization position, the counter-electrodes  68  are simultaneously lowered into the operating position shown and the injector  64  is raised out of its lower starting position into the also shown operating position, after which the electrical field is built up by connecting the two electrodes with the source  69  of direct current and, synchronously with the working cycle of the equipment, a flow of sterile air is generated in the pipe  63 , which is connected to the source  23  of sterile air and conveys the mist of sterilizing agent into the interior of the bottle. 
     The ultrasonic generator  62 , which generates the mist of sterilizing agent, can be connected over a closed-loop system  70  with the source  38  of sterilizing agent; however, it can also be connected with a (not shown) separate sterilization source on the advancing or receding side.