Patent Description:
As the beverage industry has higher and higher requirements for food safety, more and more attention is paid to its pollution during the beverage packaging process. Especially for dairy beverages, contamination of packaging utensils will directly affect the quality of the product. At present, most of the industry uses disinfectant to sterilize utensils and then wash them, but there is a large consumption of disinfectant and sterile water, and there are even residual problems, which are likely to cause secondary pollution.

At present, there are methods and devices for blowing a bottle after spraying a disinfectant on a preform, then heating and sterilizing it. In such a device, high temperature disinfectant vapor is sprayed to make it condense on the surface of the preform. With this method, it is not only necessary to keep the preform at a low initial temperature (lower than the condensation temperature of the disinfectant vapor), but also to preheat the liquid disinfectant to prepare the disinfectant vapor, which consumes a lot of energy and has a relatively high preparation cost of the equipment; at the same time, due to the high temperature of the disinfectant vapor, the disinfectant is partially decomposed in the vapor state, which affects its disinfection effect.

<CIT> provided a method and a device for sterilizing the surface of a space-to-be-sterilized which are safe to the human body, which are effective even for sterilizing spore-forming bacteria, which do not require the space-to-be-sterilized to be highly shielded, and which can sterilize the surface of the space efficiently with inexpensive equipment. The disclosed method involves: spraying a low-concentration sterilizing agent in the form of fine particles into the space-to-be-sterilized and making the sterilizing agent adhere to the surface thereof, the low-concentration sterilizing agent being any one of a <NUM>-<NUM> wt % aqueous solution of hydrogen peroxide, a <NUM>-<NUM> wt % aqueous solution of peracetic acid, or a <NUM>-<NUM> wt % aqueous solution of hypochlorous acid; adjusting the humidity in the space-to-be-sterilized; and air-drying the sterilizing agent. Thus, a high level of sterilization can be achieved in a short time and at low cost.

<CIT> involves preheating a preform (<NUM>) by a heating unit (<NUM>) e.g. infrared lamp, till a set point temperature (TC1). The preform is exposed to UV emitted by a sterilizing unit (<NUM>) during a determined time lag. The preform is heated by another heating unit (<NUM>) till another set point temperature so as to sterilize an external surface (<NUM>) of a tubular body (<NUM>) of the preform till determined decontamination degree. The sterilizing unit is formed of UV lamp (<NUM>) and reflectors (<NUM>). Independent claims are also included for the following: (<NUM>) an installation for fabricating sterile containers (<NUM>) a furnace for thermal conditioning of a preform.

The first object of the present disclosure is to provide a preform disinfection method, in which the disinfectant solution is directly sprayed after ultrasonic atomization, so that it is uniformly attached to the surfaces of the preforms. There is no need to heat the disinfectant solution to the vaporization temperature, allowing low energy consumption, and avoiding the loss caused by making the disinfectant solution into disinfectant solution vapor.

To achieve the above purpose, the technical solution employed by the present disclosure is:.

More preferably, the disinfection method further comprises an auxiliary disinfection step:
(<NUM>) after step (<NUM>), spraying the disinfectant solution aerosol onto the preforms heated to the first temperature again.

More preferably, the first temperature is less than or equal to the blow molding temperature of the preforms and greater than or equal to the vaporization temperature of the disinfectant solution, so that the disinfectant solution evaporates from the preforms.

The second object of the present disclosure is to provide a bottle manufacturing device, which adopts the above-mentioned preform disinfection method, in which the disinfectant solution is directly sprayed after ultrasonic atomization, so that it is uniformly attached to the surfaces of the preforms. There is no need to heat the disinfectant solution to the vaporization temperature, allowing low energy consumption, and avoiding the loss caused by making the disinfectant solution into disinfectant solution vapor.

To achieve the above purpose, the technical solution employed by the present disclosure is:
A bottle manufacturing device for producing sterile bottles from plastic preforms, the preforms being continuously conveyed to the bottle manufacturing device, comprises the following components successively arranged along the conveying direction of the preforms:.

Preferably, the heating unit is to heat the preforms after being sprayed by the spraying unit to the first temperature which is greater than or equal to the vaporization temperature of the disinfectant solution aerosol, so as to evaporate the disinfectant solution from the preforms.

Preferably, the disinfectant solution is a solution containing hydrogen peroxide, which is to be activated after the preforms are heated to a temperature exceeding the activation temperature.

Due to the use of the above technical solutions, the present disclosure has the following advantages over the prior art: In a preform disinfection method and a bottle manufacturing device of the present disclosure, the disinfectant solution is directly sprayed after ultrasonic atomization, so that it is uniformly attached to the surfaces of the preforms. There is no need to heat the disinfectant solution to the vaporization temperature, allowing low energy consumption, and avoiding the loss caused by making the disinfectant solution into disinfectant solution vapor. This method can not only avoid the problem of insufficient gasification that affects the bottle molding quality due to excessive accumulation of disinfectant solution on the surfaces of the preforms, but also saves the consumption of disinfectant solution to a large extent and saves costs.

Wherein, <NUM> - preform; <NUM> - spraying unit; <NUM> - heating unit; <NUM> - molding unit; <NUM> - bottle; <NUM> - ultrasonic atomizer; <NUM> - sprayer; <NUM> - first conveying mechanism; <NUM> - second conveying mechanism.

In the following, the technical solution of the present disclosure is further described combining with the accompanying drawings.

Referring to <FIG>, the above-mentioned bottle manufacturing device is to produce sterile bottles <NUM> through plastic preforms <NUM>, and the preforms <NUM> are continuously conveyed to the bottle manufacturing device. The bottle manufacturing device comprises a spraying unit <NUM>, a heating unit <NUM> and a molding unit <NUM> through which the preforms <NUM> are transferred.

The preforms <NUM> are tubular as a whole, one end of each tubular preform <NUM> is closed, and the other end is the same shape as the neck of the bottles <NUM> after molding. Since the bottle manufacturing device is used to manufacture sterile bottles <NUM>, the preforms <NUM> need to be disinfected and sterilized and then blown, so that the preforms <NUM> have a certain degree of sterility. The disinfection and sterilization step is used to disinfected and sterilize at least the inner surfaces of the preforms <NUM> (the inner surfaces include the inner walls and the inner sides of the necks).

Referring to <FIG>, the spraying unit <NUM> comprises an ultrasonic atomizer <NUM> for ultrasonically vibrating and atomizing the disinfectant to form a disinfectant solution aerosol, and a sprayer <NUM> for spraying the disinfectant solution aerosol to uniformly attach it to at least the inner surfaces of the preforms <NUM>. And the outlet of the ultrasonic atomizer <NUM> communicates with the inlet of the sprayer <NUM>. The ultrasonic atomizer <NUM> utilizes the principle of ultrasonic oscillating atomization to generate disinfectant solution aerosol, which is sprayed into the preforms <NUM> through the sprayer <NUM> to cover at least the inner surfaces of the preforms <NUM>, so as to attach a substantially uniform thin layer of disinfectant solution on at least the inner surfaces of the preforms <NUM> to be disinfected, in this embodiment, the disinfectant solution is a solution containing hydrogen peroxide, which is to be activated after the preforms <NUM> are heated to a temperature exceeding the activation temperature. The disinfectant solution is activated after reaching or exceeding the activation temperature, having the best disinfection effect. Specifically, the hydrogen peroxide is activated after reaching or exceeding the activation temperature, and rapidly decomposes to produce new oxygen, which destroys the protein on the surface of the microorganisms through oxidation, thereby killing the microorganisms.

In this embodiment, the spraying unit <NUM> further comprises a heater (not shown in the figures) for heating the disinfectant solution or disinfectant solution aerosol to raise a temperature of the disinfectant solution aerosol to a second temperature, which is slightly higher than the temperature of the preforms <NUM>. The heater can be to first heat the disinfectant solution to the second temperature, and then the disinfectant solution with the second temperature passes through the ultrasonic atomizer <NUM> to prepare the disinfectant solution aerosol with the second temperature; the heater can also directly heat the disinfectant solution aerosol produced by the ultrasonic atomizer <NUM> to make it have the second temperature.

The sprayer <NUM> is to spray the disinfectant solution aerosol with the second temperature so as to uniformly attach it onto at least the inner surfaces of the preforms <NUM>, so as to attach a substantially uniform thin layer of disinfectant solution on at least the inner surfaces of the preforms <NUM> to be disinfected. Through this configuration, a temperature difference is generated between the disinfectant solution aerosol and the preforms <NUM>, and the attachment effect of the disinfectant solution aerosol is improved. The heater is only used to raise a temperature of the disinfectant solution aerosol to a second temperature greater than the temperature of the preforms <NUM>, and the energy consumption is relatively low. The second temperature is much lower than the first temperature.

The heating unit <NUM> comprises a heating furnace for radiation heating the preforms <NUM> to a first temperature, the first temperature is less than or equal to the blow molding temperature of the preforms <NUM>. In this embodiment, the first temperature is equal to the blow molding temperature. Through this configuration, when the preforms <NUM> with the first temperature reaches the blow molding temperature (namely the rubbery state temperature), they can be blow molded directly in the molding unit <NUM> without heating the preforms <NUM> again before blow molding.

The first temperature is greater than or equal to the activation temperature of the disinfectant solution aerosol. Through this configuration, when the preforms <NUM> enter the heating unit <NUM> and are heated to the first temperature, the disinfectant solution aerosol is activated to disinfect and sterilize at least the inner surfaces of the preforms <NUM>.

The first temperature is greater than or equal to the vaporization temperature of the disinfectant solution aerosol. Through this configuration, when the preforms <NUM> enter the heating unit <NUM> and are heated to the first temperature, the disinfectant solution aerosol can be evaporated from the surfaces of the preforms <NUM>, avoiding the disinfectant solution aerosol remaining on the surfaces of the preforms <NUM> and affecting the molding quality of the bottles <NUM>.

The molding unit <NUM> comprises a blow molding station for blowing the preforms <NUM> to produce bottles <NUM>, and the blow molding station is to blow mold the preforms <NUM> in a mold cavity. The blow molding station should comprise a mold cavity for loading the preforms <NUM>, for blowing sterile compressed air into the preforms <NUM> so that the inside of the preforms <NUM> is compressed and expanded to the shape of the mold cavity, so as to produce sterile bottles <NUM>.

<FIG> are schematic structure diagrams of the first embodiment of the device for manufacturing sterile bottles by applying the method of the present disclosure, the bottle manufacturing device further comprises a first conveying mechanism <NUM>, and the first conveying mechanism <NUM> is to convey the preforms <NUM> to pass through the spraying unit <NUM>, the heating unit <NUM> and the molding unit <NUM> successively. The first conveying mechanism <NUM> may be composed of a plurality of conveying star wheels. The first conveying mechanism <NUM> feeds the preforms <NUM> with a thin layer of disinfectant solution substantially uniformly attached to at least the inner surfaces thereof to the heating unit <NUM>, the heating unit <NUM> heats the preforms <NUM> to the first temperature, the disinfectant solution is used for disinfecting and sterilizing at least the inner surfaces of the preforms <NUM>, and the residual disinfectant solution is evaporated, and the first conveying mechanism <NUM> then sends the sterilized preforms <NUM> with the first temperature to the molding unit <NUM> for blow molding.

Since the blow molding temperature, the vaporization temperature and the activation temperature are relatively close, when the preforms <NUM> are conveyed in the heating furnace, the activation and vaporization of the disinfectant solution are gradually realized in the process that the temperature gradually rises to the first temperature.

<FIG> are schematic structure diagrams of the second embodiment of the device for manufacturing sterile bottles by applying the method of the present disclosure, the bottle manufacturing device further comprises a second conveying mechanism <NUM>, and the second conveying mechanism <NUM> is to convey the preforms <NUM> to pass through the heating unit <NUM>, the spraying unit <NUM> and the molding unit <NUM> successively. The second conveying mechanism <NUM> may be composed of a plurality of conveying star wheels. The second conveying mechanism <NUM> feeds the preforms <NUM> with the first temperature into the spraying unit <NUM>, the spraying unit <NUM> sprays disinfectant solution aerosol to the preforms <NUM>, the disinfectant solution disinfects and sterilizes at least the inner surfaces of the preforms <NUM>, the residual disinfectant solution is evaporated, and the second conveying mechanism <NUM> then sends the sterilized preforms <NUM> to the molding unit <NUM> for blow molding. The first temperature is less than or equal to the blow molding temperature, and since the blow molding temperature is the rubbery state temperature of the preforms <NUM>, the preforms <NUM> will not deform at the rubbery state temperature, and heating the preforms <NUM> first will not affect the disinfecting effect of the disinfectant solution aerosol. When the preforms <NUM> pass through the spraying unit <NUM> and the temperature drops below the blow molding temperature, the preforms <NUM> are heated again to the blow molding temperature, and then the preforms <NUM> are sent to the molding unit <NUM>.

The following specifically describes the working process of this embodiment:
The disinfection method for disinfecting the plastic preforms <NUM> used for molding in the device for producing sterile bottles <NUM> comprises at least the following steps:.

The disinfection method further comprises an auxiliary disinfection step:
(<NUM>) after step (<NUM>), spraying the disinfectant solution aerosol onto the preforms <NUM> heated to the first temperature, to further disinfect the preforms <NUM>.

In this embodiment, the first temperature is equal to the blow molding temperature of the preforms <NUM> and greater than or equal to the vaporization temperature of the disinfectant solution, so that the disinfectant solution evaporates from the preforms <NUM>; at the same time, the preforms <NUM> with the first temperature meet the blow molding conditions.

It is also possible to first heat the preforms <NUM> by radiation to raise a temperature of at least the inner surfaces of the preforms <NUM> to the first temperature, and then spray the disinfectant solution aerosol formed by ultrasonic vibration and atomization to the preforms <NUM> to disinfect and sterilize at least the inner surfaces of the preforms <NUM>. According to needs, the disinfectant solution aerosol can also be sprayed to the outer surfaces of the preforms <NUM> at the same time, so as to disinfect and sterilize the inners and outers surfaces of the preforms <NUM> at the same time.

When step (<NUM>) and step (<NUM>) are performed in sequence, in step (<NUM>), the disinfectant solution or disinfectant solution aerosol can be heated first so that the disinfectant solution aerosol rises to the second temperature, which is greater than that of the preforms <NUM>, then, the disinfectant solution aerosol raised to the second temperature is sprayed to at least the inner surfaces of the preforms <NUM>. The temperature difference generated between the disinfectant solution aerosol and the preforms <NUM> improves the attachment effect of the disinfectant solution aerosol.

After the preforms <NUM> are disinfected, they are fed into the molding unit <NUM>, and the preforms <NUM> are blow molded in the mold cavity by the blow molding station.

Claim 1:
A preform disinfection method, the preforms (<NUM>) being disinfected and molded in a device for producing sterile bottles (<NUM>), the disinfection method comprises at least the following step:
(<NUM>) making a disinfectant solution into disinfectant solution aerosol by means of an ultrasonic atomizer (<NUM>), and spraying the disinfectant solution aerosol onto the preforms (<NUM>), so as to attach a substantially uniform thin layer of disinfectant solution to at least the inner surfaces of the preforms (<NUM>) to be disinfected;
(<NUM>) heating the preforms (<NUM>) treated in step (<NUM>) by radiation to raise a temperature of at least the inner surfaces of the preforms (<NUM>) to a first temperature, where the first temperature is greater than or equal to the activation temperature of the disinfectant solution, so as to disinfect at least the inner surfaces of the preforms (<NUM>);
in step (<NUM>), first heating the disinfectant solution or the disinfectant solution aerosol to raise a temperature of the disinfectant solution aerosol to a second temperature, then spraying the disinfectant solution aerosol raised to the second temperature onto the preforms (<NUM>), where the second temperature is greater than the temperature of the preforms (<NUM>) before heating in step (<NUM>) and lower than the first temperature.