JP7406728B2 - Container sterilization method, container sterilization device and contents filling system - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to a container sterilization method, a container sterilization device, and a content filling system.

An aseptic filling system (aseptic filling system) is known in which a sterilized container (PET bottle) is filled with sterilized contents in an aseptic environment, and then the container is closed with a cap.

Specifically, in an aseptic filling system, a shaped container is supplied to the aseptic filling system, and within the aseptic filling system, the container is sprayed with an aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution as a disinfectant. Thereafter, this is dried to sterilize the container, and then the contents are aseptically filled into the container. As a sterilization method for sterilizing containers, for example, a sterilization method is known in which a nozzle is inserted into a PET bottle and then the PET bottle is sterilized (for example, see Patent Document 1).

By the way, when sterilizing a container, it is required to sterilize not only the inner surface of the container but also the top surface of the mouth of the container.

Patent No. 4526820

The present disclosure has been made with these points in mind, and provides a container sterilization method, a container sterilization device, and a content filling system that can efficiently sterilize the inner surface of the container and the top surface of the mouth of the container. The purpose is to provide

A container sterilization method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a transportation step of transporting a container having a mouth portion to be filled with contents, and inserting a nozzle for spraying a disinfectant into the container being transported. a nozzle insertion step, a disinfectant supply step of supplying the disinfectant to the container into which the nozzle is inserted, and at least one of before the nozzle insertion step and after the disinfectant supply step, The container sterilization method includes a top surface sterilization step of spraying the disinfectant from the nozzle onto the top surface of the mouth of the container.

In the container sterilization method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in the top surface sterilization step, the distance between the top surface of the mouth and the tip of the nozzle may be 2 mm or more and 100 mm or less.

In the container sterilization method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in the top surface sterilization step, the time for spraying the sterilizer from the nozzle may be 0.1 seconds or more and 5.0 seconds or less.

In the container sterilization method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the nozzle includes a small diameter portion that constitutes a tip of the nozzle, and a small diameter portion that is located upstream of the small diameter portion in the flow direction of the disinfectant. The disinfectant may include a large diameter portion having a large inner diameter, and a reduced diameter portion located between the large diameter portion and the small diameter portion and having an inner diameter gradually decreasing toward the downstream side in the flow direction of the disinfectant. .

In the container sterilization method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the inner diameter of the mouth is d1 and the outer diameter of the nozzle is D1,
2mm≦d1-D1≦25mm
The following relationship may be satisfied.

In the container sterilization method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the nozzle includes a flange portion that protrudes from the nozzle in a radial direction, and an annular wall portion that protrudes from the periphery of the flange portion toward the distal end side of the nozzle. and the wall portion may cover at least a portion of an outer surface of the mouth portion when the nozzle is inserted into the container.

In the container sterilization method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the inner diameter of the wall portion is d2 and the outer diameter of the mouth portion at the upper end of the mouth portion is D2,
5mm≦d2-D2≦30mm
The following relationship may be satisfied.

In the container sterilization method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a tapered surface may be formed between the tip of the nozzle and the outer surface of the nozzle.

In the container sterilization method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the mouth portion of the container includes a threaded portion and a support ring provided below the thread, and when the nozzle is inserted into the container, In a vertical section, the support ring has a first imaginary line extending radially outward from the tip of the nozzle along the horizontal direction, and a second imaginary line extending radially outward from the tip of the nozzle along the tapered surface. It may be placed between the virtual line and the virtual line.

In the container sterilization method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in the disinfectant supply step, the disinfectant may be supplied to the container while the support ring is held from below.

The container sterilization method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may further include a preheating step of heating the container between the nozzle insertion step and the sterilizer supply step.

In the container sterilization method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the container may be heated with hot air or infrared rays in the preheating step.

A container sterilizer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a conveyance mechanism that conveys a container having a mouth portion filled with contents, and a supply supply that supplies a sterilizer to the container being conveyed by the conveyance mechanism. The supply unit includes a nozzle for spraying the disinfectant, and the nozzle supplies the disinfectant to the container while being inserted into the container, and The container sterilizer sprays the disinfectant onto the top surface of the mouth of the container when the container is not inserted into the container.

In the container sterilizer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the nozzle sprays a disinfectant onto the top surface, the distance between the top surface of the mouth and the tip of the nozzle is 2 mm or more. It may be 100 mm or less.

In the container sterilizer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the time during which the nozzle sprays the disinfectant onto the top surface may be 0.1 seconds or more and 5.0 seconds or less.

In the container sterilizer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the nozzle includes a small diameter portion that constitutes a tip of the nozzle, and a small diameter portion that is located upstream of the small diameter portion in the flow direction of the disinfectant. The disinfectant may include a large diameter portion having a large inner diameter, and a reduced diameter portion located between the large diameter portion and the small diameter portion and having an inner diameter gradually decreasing toward the downstream side in the flow direction of the disinfectant. .

In the container sterilizer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the inner diameter of the mouth is d1 and the outer diameter of the nozzle is D1,
2mm≦d1-D1≦25mm
The following relationship may be satisfied.

In the container sterilizer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the nozzle includes a flange portion that projects in the radial direction from the nozzle, and an annular wall portion that projects from the periphery of the flange portion toward the distal end side of the nozzle. and the wall portion may cover at least a portion of an outer surface of the mouth portion when the nozzle is inserted into the container.

In the container sterilizer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the inner diameter of the wall portion is d2, and the outer diameter of the mouth portion at the upper end of the mouth portion is D2,
5mm≦d2-D2≦30mm
The following relationship may be satisfied.

In the container sterilizer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a tapered surface may be formed between the tip of the nozzle and the outer surface of the nozzle.

In the container sterilizer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the mouth portion of the container includes a threaded portion and a support ring provided below the thread, and when the nozzle is inserted into the container, In a vertical section, the support ring has a first imaginary line extending radially outward from the tip of the nozzle along the horizontal direction, and a second imaginary line extending radially outward from the tip of the nozzle along the tapered surface. It may be placed between the virtual line and the virtual line.

In the container sterilizer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the transport mechanism may include a holding member that holds the container, and the holding member may hold the support ring from below.

In the container sterilizer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the supply unit may heat the container before supplying the sterilizer to the container.

In the container sterilizer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the supply unit may heat the container with hot air or infrared rays.

A content filling system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a container sterilization device according to an embodiment, a filling device that fills the container with content, and a cap installation device that closes the container with a cap. , is a content filling system.

According to the present disclosure, the inner surface of the container and the top surface of the mouth of the container can be efficiently sterilized.

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing a content filling system according to this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the container sterilizer according to this embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view showing the container sterilizer according to this embodiment. FIG. 4 is a schematic front view showing an enlarged nozzle of the container sterilizer according to this embodiment. FIG. 5 is a sectional view illustrating the relationship between the nozzle and the bottle of the container sterilizer according to this embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a content filling method using the content filling system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 7 is a schematic front view showing a content filling method using the content filling system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a modification of the content filling method using the content filling system according to the present embodiment.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 7 are diagrams showing one embodiment of the present invention.

(Contents filling system)
First, a content filling system (aseptic filling system, aseptic filling system) according to an embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

The content filling system 10 shown in FIG. 1 is a system that fills a bottle (container) 100 with a drink or the like into a bottle (container) 100 having a mouth 110 (see FIG. 4) into which the content is filled. The bottle 100 can be manufactured by biaxially stretching blow molding a preform manufactured by injection molding a synthetic resin material. Note that the bottle 100 may be manufactured by direct blow molding. As the material for the bottle 100, it is preferable to use a thermoplastic resin, particularly PE (polyethylene), PP (polypropylene), PET (polyethylene terephthalate), or PEN (polyethylene naphthalate). In addition, the container may be glass, a can, paper, a pouch, or a composite container thereof. In this embodiment, a case where a bottle is used as the container will be explained as an example.

As shown in FIG. 1, the contents filling system 10 includes a bottle forming section 30, a sterilizer (container sterilizer) 11, an air rinse device 14, a sterile water rinse device 15, a filling device (filler) 20, It is equipped with a capping device (capper, tightening and capping machine) 16 and a product bottle delivery section 22. These bottle forming section 30, sterilizing device 11, air rinsing device 14, sterile water rinsing device 15, filling device 20, cap attaching device 16, and product bottle unloading section 22 are arranged from upstream to downstream along the conveyance direction of bottle 100. They are arranged in this order. Furthermore, a plurality of conveyance wheels for conveying the bottle 100 between the adjustment conveyance unit 5, sterilization device 11, air rinse device 14, sterile water rinse device 15, filling device 20, and cap attachment device 16 are provided between these devices. 12 are provided.

The bottle molding section 30 sequentially receives preforms 100a from the outside, molds the bottles 100, and then transports and supplies the molded bottles 100 toward the sterilizer 11. As described above, since the bottle molding section 30 is configured to receive the preform 100a and mold the bottle 100, in the content filling system 10, the process from supplying the preform 100a to molding the bottle 100 is possible. , filling the bottle 100 with contents and closing the bottle 100 can be performed continuously. In this case, since it is possible to transport from the outside to the content filling system 10 in the form of a preform 100a with a small volume rather than in the form of a bottle 100 with a large volume, transportation costs can be reduced.

The bottle molding unit 30 includes a preform transport unit 31 that transports the preform 100a, a blow molding unit 32 that molds the bottle 100 by performing blow molding on the preform 100a, and transports the molded bottle 100. It has a bottle conveyance section 33.

Of these, the preform conveying section 31 includes a receiving section 34 that receives the preform 100a supplied from the preform supplying device 1 via the preform supply conveyor 2, and a receiving section 34 that receives the preform 100a from the receiving section 34 while conveying the preform 100a. It includes a heating section 35 that heats the preform 100a, and a delivery section 36 that receives the preform 100a heated by the heating section 35 and delivers it to the blow molding section 32. Of these, the receiving section 34 is provided with a preform sterilizer 34a for sterilizing the preform 100a. This preform sterilizer 34a sprays a hydrogen peroxide aqueous solution mist or gas onto the preform 100a to sterilize the preform 100a (preliminary sterilization).

The sterilizing agent for sterilizing the preform 100a may have the property of inactivating microorganisms, such as hydrogen peroxide, peracetic acid, acetic acid, pernitric acid, nitric acid, chlorine-based agents, and water. Alcohols such as sodium oxide, potassium hydroxide, ethyl alcohol, and isopropyl alcohol, chlorine dioxide, ozone water, acidic water, and surfactants may be used alone, or two or more of these may be used in combination. .

The heating section 35 is provided with a heater 35a that heats the preform 100a. This heater 35a may be, for example, an infrared heater. The preform 100a is heated, for example, to about 90° C. or more and 130° C. or less by the heater 35a. Note that the temperature at the mouth of the preform 100a is suppressed to 70° C. or lower to prevent deformation and the like.

The blow molding section 32 includes a mold (not shown), and the bottle 100 is molded by performing blow molding on the preform 100a using this mold.

Further, an adjustment conveyance section 5 is provided between the bottle forming section 30 and the sterilizing device 11, which receives the bottle 100 from the bottle conveying section 33 of the bottle forming section 30 and delivers the bottle 100 to the sterilizing device 11. At least a portion of this adjustment conveyance section 5 is housed inside an atmosphere blocking chamber 70b, which will be described later. In the illustrated example, the adjustment conveyance section 5 is arranged so as to straddle a forming section chamber 70a, which will be described later, and an atmosphere blocking chamber 70b, which will be described later. In this way, by providing the atmosphere blocking chamber 70b in which at least a portion of the adjustment conveyance unit 5 is housed, the sterilizing agent gas or mist generated in the sterilizing agent spraying chamber 70c, which will be described later, or these It is possible to prevent the mixture from flowing into a molding section chamber 70a, which will be described later, that accommodates the bottle molding section 30.

Here, in the illustrated example, a single conveyance wheel 12 is provided between the adjustment conveyance section 5 and the bottle conveyance section 33 of the bottle forming section 30. That is, between the blow molding section 32 of the bottle molding section 30 and the sterilizer 11, the bottle conveyance section 33 of the bottle molding section 30, the single conveyance wheel 12, and the adjustment conveyance section 5 are provided. Thereby, the content filling system 10 can be made more compact compared to the case where a plurality of conveyance wheels 12 are provided between the adjustment conveyance section 5 and the bottle conveyance section 33 of the bottle forming section 30. . Although not shown, only the adjustment conveyance section 5 may be provided between the blow molding section 32 of the bottle molding section 30 and the sterilizer 11. In this case, the content filling system 10 can be made even more compact.

The sterilizer 11 sterilizes the inside of the bottle 100 by injecting a sterilizer into the bottle 100. Thereby, the bottle 100 is sterilized by the sterilizing agent before filling with the contents. As the disinfectant, for example, an aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution is used. In the sterilizer 11 , a mist or gas of an aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution is generated, and the mist or gas is sprayed onto the inner and outer surfaces of the bottle 100 . Since the bottle 100 is thus sterilized with the mist or gas of the hydrogen peroxide aqueous solution, the inner and outer surfaces of the bottle 100 are sterilized evenly.

The air rinse device 14 supplies sterile heated air or room temperature air to the bottle 100, thereby activating hydrogen peroxide and removing foreign matter, hydrogen peroxide, etc. from inside the bottle 100. Further, if necessary, a condensed mist of low concentration hydrogen peroxide may be mixed with sterilized air at room temperature to gasify the hydrogen peroxide, and the gasified hydrogen peroxide may be supplied to the bottle 100. Note that the configuration of the air rinse device 14 may be substantially the same as the sterilization device 11 shown in FIG. 2, which will be described later.

The sterile water rinsing device 15 cleans the bottle 100, which has been sterilized with hydrogen peroxide, which is a sterilizing agent, with sterile water at a temperature of 15° C. to 85° C. As a result, hydrogen peroxide adhering to the bottle 100 is washed away and foreign matter is removed.

The filling device 20 fills the bottle 100 with pre-sterilized contents from the mouth 110 of the bottle 100. In this filling device 20, contents are filled into an empty bottle 100. In this filling device 20, contents are filled into the inside of the bottles 100 while the plurality of bottles 100 are being rotated and conveyed.

The cap attachment device 16 closes the bottle 100 by attaching the cap 80 to the mouth 110 of the bottle 100. In the cap attachment device 16, the mouth portion 110 of the bottle 100 is closed by the cap 80, and the bottle 100 is sealed to prevent outside air and microorganisms from entering. In the cap attachment device 16, the caps 80 are attached to the mouth portions 110 of the plurality of bottles 100 filled with contents while rotating (revolving). By attaching the cap 80 to the mouth 110 of the bottle 100 in this manner, a product bottle 101 is obtained.

The cap 80 is sterilized in advance by the cap sterilizer 18. The cap sterilizer 18 is disposed, for example, outside the sterile chamber 70f (described later) and near the cap attachment device 16. In the cap sterilizer 18 , a large number of caps 80 brought in from outside the content filling system 10 are collected in advance and conveyed in a line toward the cap mounting device 16 . On the way to the cap mounting device 16, the cap 80 is sprayed with hydrogen peroxide mist or gas toward the inner and outer surfaces of the cap 80, and then dried with hot air and sterilized.

The product bottle unloading section 22 continuously transports the product bottles 101 to which the caps 80 have been attached by the cap attaching device 16 to the outside of the content filling system 10 .

The content filling system 10 includes a molding chamber 70a, an atmosphere isolation chamber 70b, a sterilizer spray chamber 70c, a first sterilizer removal chamber 70d, a second sterilizer removal chamber 70e, and a sterile chamber 70f. , and an outlet chamber 70g. Among these, the blow molding section 32 of the bottle molding section 30 is housed inside the molding section chamber 70a, and at least a part of the adjustment conveyance section 5 is housed inside the atmosphere blocking chamber 70b.

Here, a camera may be provided inside the atmosphere blocking chamber 70b. Then, by using a camera, it may be inspected whether the bottle 100 has any problems in molding. Furthermore, a thermometer may be provided inside the atmosphere isolation chamber 70b. The temperature of the bottle 100 before sterilization may be measured by this thermometer. Here, the temperature of the bottle 100 is one of the important factors that influences the sterilization efficiency of the bottle 100. That is, by keeping the temperature of the bottle 100 at an appropriate temperature, the sterilization efficiency of the bottle 100 can be improved. Therefore, by measuring the temperature of the bottle 100 before sterilization with a thermometer, the temperature of the bottle 100 during sterilization can be maintained at an appropriate temperature, and the sterilization efficiency of the bottle 100 can be improved.

Further, a sterilizer 11 is housed inside the sterilizer spray chamber 70c, an air rinse device 14 is housed inside the first sterilizer removal chamber 70d, and a sterile water rinsing device 15 is housed inside the second sterilizer removal chamber 70e. It is accommodated. Among these, a pressure gauge 71 (see FIG. 2) is attached to the disinfectant spray chamber 70c to measure the pressure inside the disinfectant spray chamber 70c.

Furthermore, the above-described filling device 20 and cap mounting device 16 are housed inside the sterile chamber 70f, and the product bottle delivery section 22 is housed inside the outlet chamber 70g. Among these, a pressure gauge (not shown) is installed at least inside the sterile chamber 70f to measure the internal pressure of the filling environment. Note that pressure gauges for measuring internal pressure may also be attached to the molding section chamber 70a, the atmosphere isolation chamber 70b, the first sterilizer removal chamber 70d, the second sterilizer removal chamber 70e, and/or the outlet chamber 70g.

Such a filling system 10 may comprise, for example, an aseptic filling system. In this case, the interiors of the disinfectant spray chamber 70c, the first disinfectant removal chamber 70d, the second disinfectant removal chamber 70e, the sterile chamber 70f, and the outlet chamber 70g are maintained in a sterile state. In the illustrated example, the conveyor wheel 12 provided between the sterilizer 11 and the air rinse device 14 and the conveyor wheel 12 provided between the air rinse device 14 and the sterile water rinse device 15 are respectively It may be placed in a sterile space surrounded by the chamber wall 12a. Furthermore, a chamber (not shown) that connects a sterile zone in a sterile state and a non-sterile zone in a non-sterile state may be provided downstream of the outlet chamber 70g.

Next, with reference to FIG. 2, the sterilizer (container sterilizer) 11 according to this embodiment will be described in detail. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the sterilizer 11. As shown in FIG. 2, the sterilizer 11 includes a transport mechanism 40 that transports the bottles 100, and a supply unit 50 that supplies a sterilizer to the bottles 100 that are being transported by the transport mechanism 40. In this embodiment, the transport mechanism 40 includes a rotatable wheel 41 and a gripper (holding member) 42 that is connected to the wheel 41 and transports the bottle 100 while holding it.

Of these, the wheel 41 is configured to rotate with power from a predetermined drive source, and is horizontally attached to a pivot shaft 44 that stands up on a machine stand 43. A support 45 extends upward from the surface of the wheel 41, and a manifold 52 of the supply section 50, which will be described later, is connected to the upper end of the support 45.

Further, another support 48 extends upward from the board surface of the wheel 41, and the gripper 42 of the bottle 100 is attached to the upper part of this support 48. A large number of columns 48 and grippers 42 are arranged around the wheel 41 at a predetermined pitch. A large number of grippers 42 are connected to the wheel 41 via struts 48 and rotate as the wheel 41 rotates. Further, a tunnel 49 is provided around the wheel 41 so as to surround the passage of the bottle 100 held by the gripper 42. A sterilizing agent sprayed from a nozzle 90, which will be described later, is retained in the tunnel 49, and as the bottle 100 passes through the tunnel 49, the outer surface of the bottle 100 is evenly sterilized.

Note that by providing the tunnel 49, it is possible to efficiently sterilize the outer surface of the bottle 100, but the tunnel 49 may not be provided. For example, a chamber wall is provided between the wheel 41 and the wheels placed on both sides of the wheel 41 (in the example shown in FIG. 1, the transport wheels 12 placed on both sides of the sterilizer 11), and the chamber wall By forming a space with a compact volume, it is also possible to efficiently sterilize the outer surface of the bottle 100.

Next, the supply section 50 of the sterilizer 11 will be explained. The supply unit 50 supplies a disinfectant to at least the inner surface of the bottle 100. Note that the supply unit 50 may supply the disinfectant to the inner and outer surfaces of the bottle 100. This supply section 50 has a nozzle 90 for spraying the disinfectant. This nozzle 90 is attached to the support column 48 in a vertically movable manner, and the opening of the tip 90a (see FIGS. 4 and 5) of the bottle 100 held by the gripper 42 ( (see FIGS. 4 and 5). The nozzle 90 is configured to be inserted into the bottle 100 by moving vertically. With this configuration, when the wheel 41 rotates, the nozzle 90 rotates around the pivot shaft 44 together with the bottle 100 held by the gripper 42, and in synchronization with the bottle 100 being conveyed by the gripper 42 of the conveyance mechanism 40. The sterilizer (hydrogen peroxide gas) is sprayed onto the bottle 100 while moving.

By the way, it is preferable that the gripper (holding member) 42 holds the support ring 112 of the bottle 100 from below. That is, it is preferable that the gripper 42 grips a portion located below the support ring 112. Here, when the nozzle 90 descends and the disinfectant is blown into the bottle 100, the bottle 100 is pressed downward by the wind pressure of the disinfectant. Therefore, even if the internal pressure of the bottle 100 is increased by increasing the supply air volume of the sterilizer by gripping the portion below the support ring 112 by the gripper 42, the horizontal position of the bottle 100 is lowered. It is possible to suppress misalignment. Therefore, it becomes possible to transfer the bottle 100 to the next wheel without any problem.

The supply unit 50 also includes a manifold 52 into which hydrogen peroxide gas flows. A conduit 53 extends upward from the center of the upper part of the manifold 52 on an extension of the axis of the pivot shaft 44, and this conduit 53 is held via a bearing 54 on a frame member of a disinfectant spray chamber 70c connected to the machine base 43. be done. Thereby, the manifold 52 can rotate around the pivot shaft 44 integrally with the wheel 41.

Hydrogen peroxide gas supply pipes 55 extend from around the manifold 52 toward each gripper 42, and the above-described nozzle 90 is attached to the tip of each supply pipe 55.

A conduit 57 is connected to the upper end of the conduit 53 of the manifold 52 via a seal member 56 . Conduit 53 rotates integrally with manifold 52 relative to conduit 57, and sealing member 56 prevents hydrogen peroxide gas from leaking from the connection between tubes 53 and 57. A valve 58a is attached to the conduit 57 to control passage of hydrogen peroxide gas within the conduit 57. The conduit 57 also includes a pressure gauge P for measuring the pressure inside the nozzle 90, a concentration meter C for measuring the concentration of hydrogen peroxide gas, a thermometer T for measuring the temperature of hydrogen peroxide gas, and a hydrogen peroxide gas. A flow meter F is attached to measure the gas flow rate.

A gas supply device including a blower 60, a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air Filter) filter 61, and an electric heater 62 is provided on the upstream side of the conduit 57. A hydrogen peroxide adding device 63 is incorporated in one or both of the front and rear of the electric heater 62. When the hydrogen peroxide addition device 63 is installed downstream of the electric heater 62, it is preferable that the hydrogen peroxide addition device 63 adds hydrogen peroxide in a gas state to the piping. If the hydrogen peroxide added to the pipe is not in a gaseous state, the residual value of hydrogen peroxide in the bottle 100 tends to increase. On the other hand, when the hydrogen peroxide addition device 63 is installed upstream of the electric heater 62, the hydrogen peroxide transfer device 3 may add hydrogen peroxide in liquid form, such as by spraying, into the piping. In that case, the set temperature of the electric heater 62 is preferably set to be equal to or higher than the boiling point of the sterilizing agent to be supplied, but may be set to 100° C. or higher (preferably 130° C. or higher) depending on the sterilizing strength of the bottle 100. Alternatively, another electric heater may be provided further upstream of the hydrogen peroxide addition device 63, and liquid hydrogen peroxide may be sprayed onto sterile hot air (80° C. or higher). Alternatively, the hydrogen peroxide addition device 63 may be incorporated both before and after the electric heater 62.

Here, when the material of the bottle 100 is PET (polyethylene terephthalate), hydrogen peroxide is easily adsorbed and the residual value tends to increase, but when the material is HDPE (high density polyethylene), the amount of hydrogen peroxide adsorbed is 1 /5 to 1/20, which is extremely low. Therefore, when the material of the bottle 100 is HDPE (high-density polyethylene), not only a method of gasifying the hydrogen peroxide solution and adding it to sterile air, but also a method of spraying the hydrogen peroxide solution and creating an air mixture is adopted. Also good. This hydrogen peroxide gas is supplied into manifold 52 through conduit 57 and blown out through supply pipe 55 from nozzle 90 to bottle 100 to sterilize bottle 100. The disinfectant may contain 1% or more of hydrogen peroxide. A 35% hydrogen peroxide solution diluted with ethanol may also be used.

Note that when hydrogen peroxide is used as the disinfectant, the stabilizer contained in the hydrogen peroxide component accumulates in the conduit 57. Therefore, in order to prevent clogging of the nozzle 90 due to the stabilizer accumulated in the conduit 57, a cleaning solution such as water, alkali, acid, etc. is flowed into the supply section 50, and the supply section 50 is constructed to be CIP (Cleaning In Place). That's good. In the illustrated example, a conduit 64 for CIP and a valve 58b for controlling passage of cleaning liquid in the conduit 64 are attached to the upstream side of the valve 58a. Note that the CIP conduit 64 may be attached to one or both of the front and rear of the hydrogen peroxide addition device 63, or the CIP conduit 64 may be attached directly to the hydrogen peroxide addition device 63. good. On the other hand, in order to prevent the chemical liquid used in CIP from coming into contact with the blower 60, HEPA filter 61, and electric heater 62, it is preferable to prevent the chemical liquid from flowing upstream. For example, in this case, a valve may be provided between equipment such as the blower 60 and the CIP conduit 64.

Next, the nozzle 90 of the supply section 50 will be explained in more detail. The nozzle 90 according to this embodiment is configured to create a slightly positive pressure inside the bottle 100 by being inserted into the bottle 100. In this case, by inserting the nozzle 90 into the bottle 100, the static pressure within the conduit 57 connected to the nozzle 90 and the pressure within the bottle 100 become approximately the same. Therefore, when the nozzle 90 is inserted into the bottle 100 to create a slightly positive pressure inside the bottle 100, the static pressure inside the conduit 57 increases, and the disinfectant sprayed from the nozzle 90 is released from the mouth 110 of the bottle 100. The flow velocity when blowing out to the outside can be increased. Thereby, when the disinfectant is sprayed into the bottle 100 from the nozzle 90, the temperature of the bottle 100 can be efficiently raised. Note that, as described above, the pressure within the bottle 100 is approximately the same as the static pressure within the conduit 57. Therefore, the pressure inside the bottle 100 can be measured by the pressure gauge P attached to the conduit 57.

The nozzle 90 maintains the pressure inside the bottle 100 at 1 kPa or more and 20 kPa or less. When the nozzle 90 maintains the pressure inside the bottle 100 at 1 kPa or more, the flow rate when the disinfectant sprayed from the nozzle 90 is blown out from the mouth 110 of the bottle 100 can be made faster, and the pressure inside the bottle 100 is increased. Temperature can be increased more effectively. In addition, since the nozzle 90 maintains the pressure inside the bottle 100 at 20 kPa or less, deformation of the bottle 100 can be suppressed even if the bottle 100 is made thinner.

Further, at this time, by inserting the nozzle 90 into the bottle 100, the pressure inside the nozzle 90 is increased by 0.01 kPa or more and 2.0 kPa or less (preferably 0.05 kPa or more and 1.5 kPa or less). That is, by inserting the nozzle 90 into the bottle 100, the static pressure within the conduit 57 is increased by 0.01 kPa or more and 2.0 kPa or less (preferably 0.05 kPa or more and 1.5 kPa or less). By increasing the pressure inside the nozzle 90 by 0.01 kPa or more, the flow rate at which the disinfectant sprayed from the nozzle 90 is blown out from the mouth 110 of the bottle 100 can be made faster, and the temperature of the bottle 100 can be increased. can be improved more effectively. Further, by setting the increase in pressure within the nozzle 90 to 2.0 kPa or less, it is possible to suppress deformation of the bottle 100 when the disinfectant is sprayed from the nozzle 90.

Here, in the sterilizer 11, the ratio of the nozzles 90 inserted into the inside of the bottle 100 among the plurality of nozzles 90 may be 56% or more and 86% or less. In other words, as shown in FIG. 3, among the bottles 100 transported by the transport mechanism 40, the center angle of a fan shape (area shown in matte finish) in which the locus of the bottle 100 into which the nozzle 90 is inserted forms an arc. (In other words, the rotation angle at which one nozzle 90 rotates when inserted into the bottle 100) θ1 is preferably 200° or more and 310° or less. By setting the central angle θ1 to 200° or more, the number of nozzles 90 inserted into the bottle 100 can be increased. Thereby, the static pressure within the conduit 57 can be effectively increased. Furthermore, since the central angle θ1 is 310 degrees or less, the conveyor wheel 12 that delivers the bottles 100 to the sterilizer 11 and the conveyor wheel 12 that receives the bottles 100 from the sterilizer 11 may interfere with each other, or the so-called container shake may occur. It is possible to eliminate defective deliveries. In this specification, "container shaking" means that the bottle 100 shakes due to the disinfectant sprayed from the nozzle 90.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the nozzle 90 has a small diameter portion 91 that constitutes the tip 90a of the nozzle 90, and is located upstream of the small diameter portion 91 in the flow direction of the disinfectant and has a larger inner diameter than the small diameter portion 91. It includes a large diameter portion 92 and a reduced diameter portion 93 located between the large diameter portion 92 and the small diameter portion 91 and whose inner diameter gradually decreases toward the downstream side in the flow direction of the disinfectant. Thereby, the flow rate of the disinfectant sprayed from the nozzle 90 can be increased.

Here, the inner diameter dn1 of the small diameter portion 91 may be, for example, 2 mm or more and 15 mm or less, and preferably 3 mm or more and 10 mm or less. Since the inner diameter dn1 of the small diameter portion 91 is 2 mm or more, the disinfectant sprayed from the nozzle 90 can be efficiently attached not only to the inner surface of the bottle 100 but also to the outer surface. Therefore, not only the inner surface of the bottle 100 but also the outer surface of the bottle 100 can be sterilized. Furthermore, since the inner diameter dn1 of the small diameter portion 91 is 15 mm or less, the disinfectant can be effectively sprayed onto the inner surface of the bottle 100, and as described later, the bottle 100 can be sterilized while being heated to a desired temperature. can do. Further, the inner diameter dn2 of the large diameter portion 92 may be, for example, 5 mm or more and 30 mm or less.

Further, the length of the small diameter portion 91 of the nozzle 90 is preferably 5 mm or more and 400 mm or less. Since the length of the small diameter portion 91 is 5 mm or more, the propulsive force of the sterilizing agent gas can be maintained favorably. In addition, since the length of the small diameter portion 91 is 400 mm or less, the length of the nozzle 90 can be prevented from becoming too long, and the time required for raising and lowering the nozzle 90 can be shortened. Therefore, it is possible to maintain the fully lowered state of the nozzle 90 for as long as possible. Here, the internal pressure of the bottle 100 and the static pressure within the conduit 57 connected to the nozzle 90 reach their respective maximums when the nozzle 90 is fully lowered. Therefore, by setting the length of the small diameter portion 91 to 400 mm or less, it is possible to maintain a state where the internal pressure of the bottle 100 and the static pressure within the conduit 57 connected to the nozzle 90 are maximized for as long as possible. becomes.

Further, the nozzle 90 is provided with a flange portion 95 that protrudes from the nozzle 90 in the radial direction, and an annular wall portion 96 that protrudes from the periphery of the flange portion 95 toward the tip 90a of the nozzle 90. In the case of such an umbrella-shaped nozzle 90, among the hot air supplied into the bottle 100, the hot air blown out from the mouth 110 of the bottle 100 to the outside of the bottle 100 can be guided to the outer peripheral side of the mouth 110. Thereby, preheating and sterilization of the mouth portion 110 can be effectively performed. Therefore, the boundary portion between the outer surface and the inner surface of the bottle 100 (such as the top surface 115 of the mouth portion 110 (see FIG. 5)) can be efficiently and reliably sterilized.

Here, as shown in FIG. 5, when the nozzle 90 is inserted into the bottle 100, the opposing surface 95a of the flange portion 95 that faces the mouth portion 110 of the bottle 100 is recessed on the side away from the mouth portion 110. It includes a curved surface 95b. Thereby, the hot air blown out from the mouth 110 of the bottle 100 to the outside of the bottle 100 can be effectively guided to the outer circumferential side of the mouth 110. The radius of curvature R of this curved surface 95b may be 1 mm or more and 5 mm or less.

Next, the relationship between the nozzle 90 and the mouth portion 110 of the bottle 100 will be described in more detail. Here, the mouth portion 110 of the bottle 100 includes a threaded portion 111 that is screwed onto the cap 80 and a support ring 112 provided below the threaded portion 111.

As mentioned above, nozzle 90 is configured to be inserted into bottle 100. As shown in FIG. 5, when the nozzle 90 is inserted into the bottle 100, the insertion amount L1 of the nozzle 90 into the bottle 100 in the vertical direction (direction along the central axis of the bottle 100) is, for example, 5 mm or more. It may be 50 mm or less. When the insertion amount L1 is 5 mm or more, when the nozzle 90 is inserted into the bottle 100, the pressure inside the bottle 100 can be effectively improved. Further, by setting the insertion amount L1 to 50 mm or less, the moving distance of the nozzle 90 in the vertical direction can be shortened, and the working time for supplying the disinfectant can be shortened. Furthermore, by setting the insertion amount L1 to 50 mm or less, it is possible to prevent the high-temperature disinfectant from being sprayed onto the bottom of the bottle 100, thereby suppressing deformation of the bottom of the bottle 100. Can be done.

Further, when the inner diameter of the mouth 110 of the bottle 100 is d1 and the outer diameter of the nozzle 90 is D1,
2mm≦d1-D1≦25mm
It is preferable that the following relationship is satisfied.
Thereby, when the nozzle 90 is inserted into the bottle 100, the pressure inside the bottle 100 can be effectively increased. Moreover, the flow rate when the disinfectant sprayed from the nozzle 90 is blown out from the mouth 110 of the bottle 100 can be made faster, and the temperature of the bottle 100 can be improved more effectively. Moreover, when the disinfectant is sprayed from the nozzle 90, deformation of the bottle 100 can be suppressed. Here, in this specification, "nozzle outer diameter D1" refers to the outer diameter of the portion of the nozzle 90 that is located inside the bottle 100 when the nozzle 90 is inserted into the bottle 100. .

Further, when the nozzle 90 is inserted into the bottle 100, the wall portion 96 is configured to cover at least a portion of the outer surface of the mouth portion 110. Thereby, among the hot air supplied into the bottle 100, the hot air blown out from the mouth 110 of the bottle 100 to the outside of the bottle 100 can be guided more reliably to the outer circumferential side of the mouth 110. Thereby, preheating and sterilization of the mouth portion 110 can be performed more effectively.

In this case, the amount of overlap L2 between the wall portion 96 and the mouth portion 110 in the vertical direction (direction along the central axis of the bottle 100) may be, for example, 1 mm or more and 25 mm or less. By setting the overlap amount L2 to 1 mm or more, the flow rate of the hot air guided to the outer peripheral side of the mouth portion 110 can be increased. Therefore, the sterilizing agent gas can be attached to the threaded portion 111 having a complicated shape to sterilize it. Further, by setting the overlap amount L2 to 25 mm or less, when the disinfectant is sprayed into the bottle 100 from the nozzle 90, it is possible to prevent the pressure inside the bottle 100 from becoming too high. Therefore, even if the bottle 100 is made thinner, deformation of the bottle 100 can be suppressed. Further, since the overlap amount L2 is 25 mm or less, the moving distance of the nozzle 90 in the vertical direction can be shortened, and the working time for supplying the disinfectant can be shortened. Furthermore, if the wall portion 96 is too close to the support ring 112, the internal pressure of the bottle 100 may increase and the bottle 100 may be deformed. Therefore, the wall portion 96 should be located at least above the support ring 112. is preferred.

The wall 96 may be moved closer to the gripper 42 to increase the internal pressure of the bottle 100. In this case, the distance L3 between the wall portion 96 and the gripper 42 in the vertical direction is preferably 1 mm or more and 25 mm or less. By setting the distance L3 between the wall portion 96 and the gripper 42 to be 1 mm or more, it is possible to prevent the pressure inside the bottle 100 from becoming too high. Further, since the distance L3 between the wall portion 96 and the gripper 42 is 25 mm or less, it is possible to sufficiently secure the internal pressure necessary for sterilization. Further, by setting the distance L3 between the wall portion 96 and the gripper 42 to be 25 mm or less, the flow rate of hot air guided to the outer peripheral side of the mouth portion 110 can be increased. Therefore, the sterilizing agent gas can be attached to the threaded portion 111 having a complicated shape to sterilize it.

Further, when the inner diameter of the wall portion 96 is d2 and the outer diameter of the mouth portion 110 at the upper end of the mouth portion 110 is D2,
5mm≦d2-D2≦30mm
It is preferable that the following relationship is satisfied.
Thereby, the flow rate of hot air guided to the outer peripheral side of the mouth portion 110 can be effectively increased. Furthermore, when the disinfectant is sprayed into the bottle 100 from the nozzle 90, it is possible to effectively prevent the pressure inside the bottle 100 from becoming too high, and even when the bottle 100 is made thinner, 100 can be prevented from being deformed.

Further, a tapered surface 90c is formed between the tip 90a of the nozzle 90 and the outer surface 90b of the nozzle 90. As a result, when the hot air blown into the bottle 100 is blown out from the mouth 110 of the bottle 100, the traveling direction of the hot air blown onto the tapered surface 90c changes, and the hot air is blown into the mouth of the bottle 100. The support ring 112 of the section 110 is sprayed. Here, the support ring 112 is thicker than other parts, and takes longer to heat up than other parts which are thinner. On the other hand, by blowing the hot air blown into the bottle 100 onto the support ring 112, the temperature of the support ring 112, which is thicker than other parts, can be effectively raised. Thereby, the temperature of the mouth portion 110 of the bottle 100 can be efficiently raised.

Here, when the nozzle 90 is inserted into the bottle 100, the support ring 112, in the vertical cross section, connects the first imaginary line IL1 extending radially outward from the tip 90a of the nozzle 90 along the horizontal direction and the nozzle 90. It is preferable that the second imaginary line IL2 be disposed between the tip end 90a and a second imaginary line IL2 extending radially outward along the tapered surface 90c. Thereby, the amount of hot air blown onto the support ring 112 can be increased. Therefore, the temperature of the support ring 112, which is thicker than other parts, can be raised more effectively. In this case, in the vertical section, the angle θ2 between the first imaginary line IL1 and the second imaginary line IL2 may be 5° or more and 80° or less, and may be 45° as an example.

Further, the nozzle 90 supplies the disinfectant to the bottle 100 when inserted into the bottle 100, and supplies the disinfectant to the top surface 115 of the mouth 110 of the bottle 100 when it is not inserted into the bottle 100. Configured to spray a disinfectant. Thereby, the sterilization efficiency of the top surface 115 of the mouth portion 110 can be improved.

When the nozzle 90 sprays a disinfectant onto the top surface 115 of the mouth portion 110, the distance L4 (vertical distance, see FIG. 7) between the top surface 115 of the mouth portion 110 and the tip 90a of the nozzle 90 is as follows. It is preferably 2 mm or more and 100 mm or less. Thereby, the disinfectant can be applied to the entire top surface 115 of the mouth portion 110.

Further, the time period during which the nozzle 90 sprays the disinfectant onto the top surface 115 of the mouth portion 110 is preferably 0.1 seconds or more and 5.0 seconds or less. By spraying the disinfectant from the nozzle 90 for 0.1 seconds or more, a sufficient complementary effect can be obtained. Further, by setting the time for spraying the disinfectant from the nozzle 90 to 5.0 seconds or less, the risk of deformation of the mouth portion 110 can be reduced.

(Content filling method)
Next, a content filling method using the above-described content filling system 10 (FIG. 1) will be explained with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

First, the preform supply device 1 sequentially supplies a plurality of preforms 100a to the receiving section 34 of the preform conveyance section 31 via the preform supply conveyor 2 (preform supply step, reference numeral S1 in FIG. 6). ). At this time, the preform 100a is sterilized by being sprayed with hydrogen peroxide mist or gas in the preform sterilizer 34a, and then dried with hot air.

Next, the preform 100a is sent to the heating section 35, and heated by the heater 35a to, for example, about 90° C. or higher and 130° C. or lower. Next, the preform 100a heated by the heating section 35 is sent to the delivery section 36. The preform 100a is then sent from the delivery section 36 to the blow molding section 32.

Next, the bottle 100 is blow-molded by blow-molding the preform 100a sent to the blow-molding section 32 using a mold (not shown) (bottle-molding step, reference numeral S2 in FIG. 6). The blow-molded bottle 100 is then sent to the bottle transport section 33.

Next, in the sterilizer 11, the bottle 100 is sterilized using an aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution as a sterilizer (container sterilization step, reference numeral S3 in FIG. 6). At this time, the hydrogen peroxide aqueous solution is a gas or mist that has been vaporized at a temperature above the boiling point, and is supplied toward the bottle 100. The hydrogen peroxide aqueous solution mist adheres to the inner and outer surfaces of the bottle 100 and sterilizes the inner and outer surfaces of the bottle 100.

At this time, first, the bottle 100 is transported by the transport mechanism 40 (transport step, reference numeral S31 in FIG. 6). In this embodiment, the bottle 100 is conveyed by a gripper 42 (see FIG. 2) connected to a wheel 41. At this time, the bottle 100 is transported with the support ring 112 held from below by the gripper 42 (see FIG. 5). The bottle 100 then moves from point A to point B shown in FIG. Further, at this time, as shown in FIG. 7, the bottle 100 is conveyed with a predetermined distance between it and the nozzle 90 in the vertical direction. Note that in FIG. 7, points A to F correspond to points A to F in FIG. 3, respectively.

Also, at this time, a disinfectant is sprayed from the nozzle 90 onto the top surface 115 of the mouth portion 110 of the bottle 100 (top surface sterilization step, reference numeral S32 in FIG. 6). In this case, the disinfectant is first supplied to the nozzle 90 through the conduit 57 . The disinfectant supplied to the nozzle 90 is then supplied to the bottle 100. By the way, as will be described later, after the nozzle 90 is inserted into the bottle 100, the bottle 100 is sterilized while being heated. On the other hand, in this top surface sterilization step, it is possible to supplement the sterilization of the mouth portion 110 of the bottle 100 by spraying a sterilizer onto the bottle 100 from above the bottle 100. In addition, in the above-mentioned conveyance process, the disinfectant may be sprayed onto the top surface 115 of the mouth portion 110 of the bottle 100 from the nozzle 90 at the same time as the bottle 100 is delivered to the gripper 42 .

Here, as shown in FIG. 7, when spraying the disinfectant from the nozzle 90 to the top surface 115 of the spout 110 (when the bottle 100 moves from point A to point B), the nozzle 90 The vertical position does not change. That is, the disinfectant is sprayed from the nozzle 90 onto the bottle 100 with a predetermined distance between the nozzle 90 and the bottle 100 in the vertical direction. At this time, the distance L4 between the top surface 115 of the mouth portion 110 and the tip 90a of the nozzle 90 is preferably 2 mm or more and 100 mm or less. Thereby, the disinfectant can be applied to the entire top surface 115 of the mouth portion 110.

Further, at this time, the time for spraying the disinfectant from the nozzle 90 is preferably 0.1 seconds or more and 5.0 seconds or less. By spraying the disinfectant from the nozzle 90 for 0.1 seconds or more, a sufficient complementary effect can be obtained. Further, by setting the time for spraying the disinfectant from the nozzle 90 to 5.0 seconds or less, the risk of deformation of the mouth portion 110 can be reduced.

Next, a nozzle 90 for spraying a disinfectant is inserted into the bottle 100 being transported (nozzle insertion step, reference numeral S33 in FIG. 6). At this time, the bottle 100 moves from point B to point C shown in FIG. Moreover, at this time, as shown in FIG. 7, the nozzle 90 is inserted into the bottle 100 by moving downward. Then, by inserting the nozzle 90 into the bottle 100, the inside of the bottle 100 is brought to a slightly positive pressure. Here, the disinfectant continues to be sprayed from the nozzle 90. Therefore, by inserting the nozzle 90 into the bottle 100, the pressure inside the bottle 100 increases due to the disinfectant sprayed into the bottle 100. Further, by inserting the nozzle 90 into the bottle 100, the pressure inside the bottle 100 increases due to the volume of the nozzle 90. Therefore, by inserting the nozzle 90 into the bottle 100, the inside of the bottle 100 becomes slightly positive pressure.

Furthermore, by inserting the nozzle 90 into the bottle 100, the static pressure within the conduit 57 connected to the nozzle 90 and the pressure within the bottle 100 become approximately the same. Therefore, when the nozzle 90 is inserted into the bottle 100 to create a slightly positive pressure inside the bottle 100, the static pressure inside the conduit 57 increases, and the disinfectant sprayed from the nozzle 90 is released from the mouth 110 of the bottle 100. The flow velocity when blowing out to the outside can be increased. Thereby, when the disinfectant is sprayed into the bottle 100 from the nozzle 90, the temperature of the bottle 100 can be effectively increased.

Further, in this case, by inserting the nozzle 90 into the bottle 100, the pressure inside the bottle 100 is preferably maintained at 1 kPa or more and 20 kPa or less. Further, by inserting the nozzle 90 into the bottle 100, it is preferable to increase the pressure inside the nozzle 90 by 0.01 kPa or more and 2.0 kPa or less.

Next, a sterilizer is supplied to the bottle 100 into which the nozzle 90 is inserted (a sterilizer supply step, reference numeral S34 in FIG. 6). In this embodiment, the nozzle 90 continues to spray the disinfectant. Therefore, by inserting the nozzle 90 into the bottle 100, more disinfectant is supplied to the bottle 100. At this time, the bottle 100 moves from point C to point D shown in FIG. Moreover, at this time, as shown in FIG. 7, the vertical position of the nozzle 90 with respect to the bottle 100 does not change. In addition, after the above-mentioned top surface sterilization step (symbol S32 in FIG. 6), spraying of the sterilizer from the nozzle 90 is stopped, and after the above-mentioned nozzle insertion step (symbol S33 in FIG. 6), the sterilization is started again from the nozzle 90. The agent may be configured to be sprayed. In this case, for example, a valve (not shown) may be provided in the nozzle 90, and the valve may be opened only for a necessary time at a predetermined timing. Thereby, the amount of disinfectant used can be reduced.

Here, the bottle 100 is being transported with the support ring 112 being held from below by the gripper 42. Therefore, the sterilizer is supplied to the bottle 100 while the support ring 112 is held from below by the gripper 42. Thereby, even if the bottle 100 is pressed downward by the wind pressure of the disinfectant, it is possible to suppress the horizontal position of the bottle 100 from shifting downward.

Further, the nozzle 90 supplies the disinfectant to the bottle 100 while moving in synchronization with the bottle 100 being transported by the gripper 42 of the transport mechanism 40 . Furthermore, the disinfectant is supplied to the bottle 100 while the inside of the bottle 100 is maintained at a slightly positive pressure. Thereby, the bottle 100 can be heated to a desired temperature.

Furthermore, by moving the nozzle 90 in synchronization with the bottle 100 being transported by the gripper 42 of the transport mechanism 40, the nozzle 90 can supply the sterilizer to the bottle 100 while following the bottle 100. Thereby, the disinfectant can be efficiently supplied to the inner surface of the bottle 100, and the amount of disinfectant used can be reduced. Further, by efficiently supplying the sterilizing agent to the inner surface of the bottle 100, the bottle 100 can be heated to a desired temperature by the heat of the sterilizing agent.

In this case, when the disinfectant supplied into the bottle 100 is hydrogen peroxide gas, the concentration of the hydrogen peroxide gas may be, for example, 5 mg/L or more and 600 mg/L or less. When the concentration of hydrogen peroxide gas is 5 mg/L or more, a sufficient sterilizing effect can be achieved. Further, since the concentration of hydrogen peroxide gas is 600 mg/L or less, it is possible to suppress the supply time of hot air for removing residual hydrogen peroxide from becoming longer, and thereby, the sterilizer 11 and The content filling system 10 can be downsized. Further, when the disinfectant is a hydrogen peroxide mist, the amount of the hydrogen peroxide mist may be, for example, 5 μL/bottle or more and 100 μL/bottle or less in terms of 35% by weight. When the amount of hydrogen peroxide mist is 5 μL/bottle or more, the sterilizing effect can be sufficiently expressed. In addition, by setting the amount of hydrogen peroxide mist to 100 μL/bottle or less, it is possible to suppress the supply time of hot air for removing residual hydrogen peroxide from becoming longer, and thereby, the sterilizer 11 And the content filling system 10 can be downsized.

Further, when the disinfectant is 35% by weight hydrogen peroxide, the flow rate of the disinfectant per nozzle 90 may be 30 L/min or more and 400 L/min or less, preferably 50 L/min or less and 300 L/min. /min or less. By setting the flow rate of the sterilizing agent to 30 L/min or more, the sterilizing efficiency of the bottle 100 can be improved. Further, by setting the flow rate of the sterilizing agent to 400 L/min or less, it is possible to reduce costs while maintaining the sterilizing efficiency of the bottle 100.

Moreover, the temperature of the disinfectant may be 70°C or more and 200°C or less. By setting the temperature of the sterilizing agent to 70° C. or higher, the sterilizing efficiency of the bottle 100 can be improved. Further, since the temperature of the disinfectant is 200° C. or lower, even if the bottle 100 is thinned, deformation of the bottle 100 due to the heat of the disinfectant can be suppressed.

Furthermore, the time for supplying the disinfectant to the bottle 100 into which the nozzle 90 is inserted may be 0.1 seconds or more and 10 seconds or less, preferably 0.5 seconds or more and 10 seconds or less. . By supplying the sterilizer for 0.1 seconds or more, the sterilization efficiency of the bottle 100 can be improved. Moreover, by supplying the disinfectant for 0.5 seconds or more, the bottle 100 can be effectively warmed by the heat of the disinfectant. In addition, since the time for supplying the disinfectant is 10 seconds or less, the working time for supplying the disinfectant can be shortened while maintaining the disinfection efficiency of the bottle 100.

Next, the bottle 100 moves from point D to point E shown in FIG. Moreover, at this time, as shown in FIG. 7, the nozzle 90 is taken out from the bottle 100 by moving upward.

Thereafter, the bottle 100 moves from point E to point F shown in FIG. Further, at this time, as shown in FIG. 7, the bottle 100 is conveyed with a predetermined distance between it and the nozzle 90 in the vertical direction. Note that when the bottle 100 moves from point D to point F shown in FIG. , reference numeral S35 in FIG. 6). Thereby, the sterilization effect of the mouth portion 110 of the bottle 100 can be improved. Note that the above-mentioned top surface sterilization step may be performed only before the nozzle 90 is inserted into the bottle 100 (before the above-mentioned nozzle insertion step), or after the nozzle 90 is taken out from the bottle 100 (as described above). (after the disinfectant supply step).

Next, the bottle 100 is sent to the air rinse device 14, where the hydrogen peroxide is activated by supplying sterile heated air or room temperature air, and foreign substances and hydrogen peroxide are removed from the bottle 100. etc. are removed (air rinse step, reference numeral S4 in FIG. 6). In the air rinsing process, when sterilized hot air is sent into the bottle 100, the hot air heats the bottle 100 from the inside, increasing the sterilizing effect of the sterilizing agent mist. Furthermore, adsorption and permeation of hydrogen peroxide into the bottle 100 is suppressed, making it easier for hydrogen peroxide to float on the inner surface of the bottle 100. Furthermore, the mist floating inside the bottle 100 is discharged to the outside of the bottle 100 by the hot air. At this point, the disinfectant mist adhering to the inner surface of the bottle 100 has already sufficiently sterilized the bottle 100, so even if the mist floating in the interior space of the bottle 100 is discharged, the sterilizing effect will not be impaired, but rather the excess By discharging the mist early, excessive adsorption and penetration of hydrogen peroxide into the inner surface of the bottle 100 can be suppressed. Note that, if necessary, hydrogen peroxide may be gasified by mixing a condensed mist of low concentration hydrogen peroxide with sterile heated air or sterilized air at room temperature, and then supplied to the bottle 100. .

When sterile heated air is mixed with a condensed mist of hydrogen peroxide to gasify hydrogen peroxide and supplied to the bottle 100, the amount of hydrogen peroxide contained in the hot air supplied to the bottle 100 is It is preferably 1 mg or more and 10 mg or less, more preferably 2 mg or more and 8 mg or less per liter. Further, the time period for supplying the heated air to the bottle 100 may be within a range that allows all of the sterilizing agent floating inside the bottle 100 to be discharged and to compensate for any sterilization failure caused by the sterilizing agent. From the viewpoint of removing hydrogen peroxide in the bottle 100, it is desirable to set the temperature of the hot air as high as possible without deforming the bottle 100. For example, when the bottle 100 is a PET bottle, the temperature of the hot air used for air rinsing is preferably set in a range of 50°C or more and less than 150°C, preferably in a range of 75°C or more and less than 120°C. Further, when the bottle 100 is an HDPE bottle, the temperature of the hot air used for air rinsing is preferably set in a range of 100°C or more and less than 200°C, preferably in a range of 110°C or more and less than 180°C. When the temperature of the hot air and hydrogen peroxide gas is higher than the heat-resistant temperature of the bottle 100, care must be taken because if the blowing time is too long, the bottle 100 may be heated beyond the heat-resistant temperature and deformed. The blowing time of the hot air and hydrogen peroxide gas is set, for example, to 2 seconds or more and 5 seconds or less. Furthermore, in this embodiment, it is desirable that the time from when the introduction of the disinfectant mist is stopped until the blowing of hot air is started is as short as possible. It is desirable to set the time to within 10 seconds at most, preferably within 5 seconds.

The bottle 100 is then transported to a sterile water rinse device 15. In this sterile water rinsing device 15, washing (rinsing) with sterile water at a temperature of about 15° C. to 85° C. is performed (sterile water rinsing step, reference numeral S5 in FIG. 6). Specifically, sterile water at about 15° C. or higher and 85° C. or lower is supplied into the bottle 100 at a flow rate of 5 L/min or higher and 15 L/min or lower. At that time, preferably, the bottle 100 is in an inverted state, and sterile water is supplied into the bottle 100 from the downward facing mouth 110, and this sterile water flows out of the bottle 100 from the mouth 110. This hot water washes away hydrogen peroxide adhering to the bottle 100 and removes foreign substances. Note that washing the bottle 100 with sterile water is not limited to washing the bottle 100 while flowing sterile water. Furthermore, in order to remove residual water from the sterile water in the sterile water rinsing process, sterile air may be supplied to the bottle 100 after rinsing the bottle 100 with sterile water. In this case, for example, residual water may be removed by supplying sterile air to the bottle 100 at a pressure of 0.1 MPa or more from a sterile air supply device (not shown) and blowing for 0.5 seconds or more. Furthermore, by replacing this sterile air with sterile nitrogen, it is also possible to reduce the oxygen concentration within the bottle 100.

Subsequently, the bottle 100 is transported to the filling device 20. In this filling device 20, the contents are filled into the bottle 100 from its mouth 110 while the bottle 100 is rotated (revolution) (filling step, reference numeral S6 in FIG. 6).

Before filling the bottle 100 with this filling device 20, the contents are prepared in advance and heat sterilized. The heating temperature is generally about 60° C. or more and 120° C. or less when the acidity of the contents is less than 4.0, and about 115° C. or more and 150° C. or less when the pH is 4.0 or more. This sterilizes all microorganisms that may grow within the product bottle 101 in the contents before filling. The heat-sterilized contents are cooled to a temperature of about 3°C or higher and 40°C or lower.

In the filling device 20, the sterilized bottle 100 is filled at room temperature with the contents that have been sterilized and cooled to room temperature. The temperature of the contents during filling is, for example, approximately 3°C or higher and 40°C or lower.

Subsequently, the bottle 100 filled with the contents is transported by the transport wheel 12 to the capping device 16 .

On the other hand, the cap 80 is sterilized in advance by the cap sterilizer 18 (cap sterilization process, reference numeral S7 in FIG. 6). During this time, the cap 80 is first carried into the cap sterilizer 18 from outside the contents filling system 10 . Next, the cap 80 is sprayed with hydrogen peroxide mist or gas in the cap sterilizer 18 to sterilize its inner and outer surfaces, dried with hot air, and sent to the cap attachment device 16 .

Next, in the cap attaching device 16, the sterilized cap 80 is attached to the mouth portion 110 of the bottle 100 conveyed from the filling device 20, whereby the bottle 100 is closed and a product bottle 101 is obtained (closure step, Fig. 6 code S8).

Thereafter, the product bottle 101 is transported from the capping device 16 to the product bottle unloading section 22, and is transported out of the content filling system 10 (bottle discharging step, reference numeral S9 in FIG. 6). The product bottle 101 is then transported to a packaging line (not shown) and packaged.

Note that each process from the container sterilization process to the bottle discharge process is performed in a sterile environment surrounded by a sterilizer spray chamber 70c, a first sterilizer removal chamber 70d, a second sterilizer removal chamber 70e, a sterile chamber 70f, or an outlet chamber 70g. It is carried out in a sterile atmosphere, that is, in a sterile environment. The inside of the disinfectant spray chamber 70c, the first disinfectant removal chamber 70d, the second disinfectant removal chamber 70e, the sterile chamber 70f, and the outlet chamber 70g are sterilized in advance by spraying hydrogen peroxide, peracetic acid, hot water, etc. being processed. After the sterilization process, the sterilizer is sprayed so that sterile air is constantly blown out from the sterilizer spray chamber 70c, the first sterilizer removal chamber 70d, the second sterilizer removal chamber 70e, the sterile chamber 70f, and the outlet chamber 70g. Positive pressure sterile air is supplied into chamber 70c, first sterilizer removal chamber 70d, second sterilizer removal chamber 70e, sterile chamber 70f, and outlet chamber 70g. In this case, the sterile air and the sterilizer used in bottle sterilization are evacuated from the atmosphere isolation chamber 70b, the sterilizer spray chamber 70c, and the outlet chamber 70g. At that time, the first sterilizer removal chamber 70d, the second sterilizer removal chamber 70e, and the sterile chamber 70f are each adjusted to a positive pressure of 1 Pa or more, preferably 10 Pa or more. At this time, the outlet chamber 70g may be adjusted to have a positive pressure of 1 Pa or more, preferably 10 Pa or more, like the first sterilizer removal chamber 70d and the like.

Note that the production (transportation) speed of the bottles 100 in the content filling system 10 is preferably 100 bpm or more and 1500 bpm or less. Here, bpm (bottle per minute) refers to the transport speed of bottles 100 per minute.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the supply unit 50 has the nozzle 90 for spraying the disinfectant, and the nozzle 90 sprays the disinfectant onto the bottle 100 while being inserted into the bottle 100. At the same time, the disinfectant is sprayed onto the top surface 115 of the mouth portion 110 of the bottle 100 while it is not inserted into the bottle 100. Thereby, the inner surface of the bottle 100 and the top surface 115 of the mouth portion 110 of the bottle 100 can be efficiently sterilized.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the nozzle 90 is located upstream of the small diameter portion 91 in the flow direction of the disinfectant than the small diameter portion 91 that constitutes the tip 90a of the nozzle 90, and has an inner diameter smaller than the small diameter portion 91. It includes a large diameter portion 92 and a reduced diameter portion 93 located between the large diameter portion 92 and the small diameter portion 91 and whose inner diameter gradually decreases toward the downstream side in the flow direction of the disinfectant. Thereby, the flow rate of the disinfectant sprayed from the nozzle 90 can be increased. Therefore, when the disinfectant is sprayed into the bottle 100 from the nozzle 90, the temperature of the bottle 100 can be improved more effectively.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the nozzle 90 includes a flange portion 95 that protrudes from the nozzle 90 in the radial direction, and an annular wall portion 96 that protrudes from the periphery of the flange portion 95 toward the tip 90a of the nozzle 90. It is provided. In the case of such an umbrella-shaped nozzle 90, among the hot air supplied into the bottle 100, the hot air blown out from the mouth 110 of the bottle 100 to the outside of the bottle 100 can be guided to the outer peripheral side of the mouth 110. Thereby, preheating and sterilization of the mouth portion 110 can be effectively performed. Therefore, the boundary between the outer surface and the inner surface of the bottle 100 can be efficiently and reliably sterilized.

Further, according to the present embodiment, a tapered surface 90c is formed between the tip 90a of the nozzle 90 and the outer surface 90b of the nozzle 90. Thereby, the hot air blown into the bottle 100 can be blown onto the support ring 112 of the mouth 110 of the bottle 100. Therefore, the temperature of the support ring 112, which is thicker than other parts, can be effectively raised. Thereby, the temperature of the mouth portion 110 of the bottle 100 can be efficiently raised.

Further, according to the present embodiment, when the nozzle 90 is inserted into the bottle 100, the support ring 112 has the first support ring 112 extending radially outward from the tip 90a of the nozzle 90 along the horizontal direction in the vertical cross section. It is arranged between the imaginary line IL1 and a second imaginary line IL2 extending radially outward from the tip 90a of the nozzle 90 along the tapered surface 90c. Thereby, the amount of hot air blown onto the support ring 112 can be increased. Therefore, the temperature of the support ring 112, which is thicker than other parts, can be raised more effectively.

Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the gripper 42 holds the support ring 112 from below. Therefore, the sterilizer is supplied to the bottle 100 while the support ring 112 is held from below by the gripper 42. Thereby, even if the bottle 100 is pressed downward by the wind pressure of the disinfectant, it is possible to suppress the horizontal position of the bottle 100 from shifting downward.

In addition, in the embodiment described above, an example was described in which the sterilizing agent supplying step is performed after the nozzle insertion step, but the supply unit 50 heats the bottle 100 before supplying the sterilizing agent to the bottle 100. You may. Thereby, the temperature of the bottle 100 can be easily raised to a desired temperature. As a result, the sterilization efficiency of the bottle 100 can be further improved.

In this case, the supply unit 50 may heat the bottle 100 with hot air. For example, the supply unit 50 may heat the bottle 100 by supplying hot air into the bottle 100 from the nozzle 90, or may heat the bottle 100 using a heating mechanism (not shown). Alternatively, the supply unit 50 may heat the bottle 100 using infrared rays.

In this modification, when filling the contents, for example, similarly to the symbols S1 to S2 in FIG. conduct.

Next, in the sterilizer 11, the bottle 100 is sterilized using an aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution as a sterilizer (container sterilization step, reference numeral S13 in FIG. 8).

At this time, first, in the same manner as S31 to S33 in FIG. 6, a conveyance process (S131 in FIG. 8), a top surface sterilization process (S132 in FIG. 8), and a nozzle insertion process (S133 in FIG. 8) are carried out. Do it in order.

Next, the bottle 100 is heated (preheating step, reference numeral S134 in FIG. 8). At this time, the bottle 100 is heated by, for example, hot air. In this manner, by heating the bottle 100 before supplying the disinfectant to the bottle 100, the temperature of the bottle 100 can be easily raised to a desired temperature. As a result, the sterilization efficiency of the bottle 100 can be further improved. The preheating process for the bottle 100 may be performed by inserting the nozzle 90 into the bottle 100 while making the nozzle 90 follow the bottle 100, as shown in FIG. 5 described above. In this case, it is possible to raise the temperature of the entire bottle 100. Alternatively, a method may be used in which the nozzle 90 is made to follow the bottle 100 without inserting the nozzle 90 into the bottle 100 in a non-inserted state. In this case, the temperature of the mouth portion 110, where the temperature of the bottle 100 after molding may be low, can be actively increased.

Next, similarly to S34 to S35 in FIG. 6, a disinfectant supply step (S135 in FIG. 8) and a top sterilization step (S136 in FIG. 8) are performed in this order.

After that, in the same way as S4 to S9 in FIG. 6, an air rinse step (S14 in FIG. 8), a sterile water rinsing step (S15 in FIG. 8), a filling step (S16 in FIG. 8), and a cap sterilization step ( The steps S17 in FIG. 8), the capping step (S18 in FIG. 8), and the bottle discharging step (S19 in FIG. 8) are performed in this order. In this way, the bottle 100 is capped and a product bottle 101 is obtained.

According to this modification, by heating the bottle 100 before supplying the disinfectant to the bottle 100, the temperature of the bottle 100 can be easily raised to a desired temperature. Therefore, the sterilization efficiency of the bottle 100 can be further improved.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which a sterilizer that performs hydrogen peroxide sterilization and hot water sterilization is used as the container sterilizer, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, even if the container sterilization device uses a peracetic acid sterilization method in which the inside and outside surfaces of the bottle are sterilized with a peracetic acid solution (or gas, mist, or a mixture thereof), the inside and outside surfaces are rinsed with sterile water. good. Alternatively, the container sterilization device may be a sterilization device that uses peracetic acid, acetic acid, pernitric acid, nitric acid, sodium hypochlorite, chlorine, caustic soda, etc. alone as a sterilizing agent in addition to hydrogen peroxide and ethanol. , or a sterilizer that uses a combination of two or more of these sterilizers. Furthermore, the sterilizer may be used not only to sterilize bottles but also to sterilize preforms, cups, pouches, paper containers, or composites thereof.

Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, an example was described in which the transport mechanism 40 includes a rotatable wheel 41 and a gripper 42 that is connected to the wheel 41 and transports the bottle 100 while holding it. It is not limited to this. For example, a star wheel (holding member) or a conveyor may be employed as the conveyance mechanism 40.

Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, a case has been described in which the content filling system 10 includes the bottle forming section 30, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the content filling system may be configured to sequentially receive molded empty bottles 100 from the outside by air conveyance or the like, and convey the received bottles 100 toward the sterilizer 11. Even in this case, the above-mentioned effects can be obtained. In particular, when the content filling system 10 sequentially receives molded empty bottles 100 from the outside, the bottles 100 to be sterilized by the sterilizer 11 may have cooled down from the heat generated by blow molding. Even in this case, the bottle 100 can be heated to a desired temperature by the heat of the sterilizer, so the sterilization efficiency of the bottle 100 can be improved without providing temperature control equipment downstream of the blow molding section 32. can.

It is also possible to appropriately combine the plurality of components disclosed in the above embodiments and modifications as necessary. Alternatively, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the above embodiments and modifications.

10 Content filling system 11 Container sterilizer 16 Cap mounting device 20 Filling device 40 Conveying mechanism 42 Gripper 50 Supply section 80 Cap 90 Nozzle 90a Tip 90b Outer surface 90c Tapered surface 91 Small diameter section 92 Large diameter section 93 Reduced diameter section 95 Flange section 96 Wall 100 Bottle 110 Mouth 115 Top

Claims (25)

a conveyance step of conveying a container having a mouth portion to be filled with contents;
a nozzle insertion step of inserting a nozzle for spraying a disinfectant into the container being transported;
a disinfectant supplying step of supplying the disinfectant to the container into which the nozzle is inserted;
A top surface sterilization step of spraying the disinfectant from the nozzle onto the top surface of the mouth of the container before the nozzle insertion step;
In the conveyance step, the container is conveyed by a conveyance mechanism having a holding member that holds the container,
In the top surface sterilization step, the nozzle sprays the sterilizer onto the top surface while following the container being transported, and at the same time the container is transferred to the holding member, the nozzle sprays the disinfectant onto the top surface while following the container being transported. A container sterilization method comprising spraying a disinfectant onto the top surface . The container sterilization method according to claim 1, wherein in the top surface sterilization step, a distance between the top surface of the mouth and the tip of the nozzle is 2 mm or more and 100 mm or less. The container sterilization method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein in the top surface sterilization step, the time for spraying the sterilizer from the nozzle is 0.1 seconds or more and 5.0 seconds or less. The nozzle includes a small diameter part that constitutes a tip of the nozzle, a large diameter part that is located upstream of the small diameter part in the flow direction of the disinfectant and has a larger inner diameter than the small diameter part, and the large diameter part. The container sterilization method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: a reduced diameter part located between the small diameter part and whose inner diameter gradually decreases toward the downstream side in the flow direction of the disinfectant. . When the inner diameter of the mouth is d1 and the outer diameter of the nozzle is D1,
2mm≦d1-D1≦25mm
The container sterilization method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which satisfies the following relationship. The nozzle is provided with a flange portion that protrudes radially from the nozzle, and an annular wall portion that protrudes from the periphery of the flange portion toward the tip side of the nozzle, and the nozzle is inserted into the container. The container sterilization method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the wall portion covers at least a portion of the outer surface of the mouth portion. When the inner diameter of the wall is d2, and the outer diameter of the mouth at the upper end of the mouth is D2,
5mm≦d2-D2≦30mm
The container sterilization method according to claim 6, which satisfies the following relationship. The container sterilization method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a tapered surface is formed between a tip of the nozzle and an outer surface of the nozzle. The mouth portion of the container includes a threaded portion and a support ring provided below the thread, and when the nozzle is inserted into the container, the support ring is arranged such that when the nozzle is inserted into the container, the tip of the nozzle is and a second imaginary line extending radially outward from the tip of the nozzle along the tapered surface. Container sterilization method described in . The container sterilization method according to claim 9, wherein in the disinfectant supply step, the disinfectant is supplied to the container while the support ring is held from below. The container sterilization method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, further comprising a preheating step of heating the container between the nozzle insertion step and the disinfectant supply step. The container sterilization method according to claim 11, wherein in the preheating step, the container is heated by hot air or infrared rays. a conveyance mechanism that conveys the container, which has a holding member that holds the container and has an opening that is filled with contents;
a supply unit that supplies a sterilizer to the container being transported by the transport mechanism,
The supply unit has a nozzle for spraying the disinfectant,
The nozzle supplies the sterilizing agent to the container when inserted into the container, and supplies the sterilizing agent to the top surface of the mouth of the container when not inserted into the container. spray the agent,
When spraying the disinfectant from the nozzle onto the top surface, the nozzle sprays the disinfectant onto the top surface while following the container being conveyed, and also sprays the disinfectant onto the top surface while the container is being transported. A container sterilizer that sprays the disinfectant onto the top surface at the same time as the container is delivered to the holding member . The container according to claim 13, wherein when the nozzle sprays the disinfectant onto the top surface, a distance between the top surface of the mouth and the tip of the nozzle is 2 mm or more and 100 mm or less. Sterilizer. The container sterilizer according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the time during which the nozzle sprays the disinfectant onto the top surface is 0.1 seconds or more and 5.0 seconds or less. The nozzle includes a small diameter part that constitutes a tip of the nozzle, a large diameter part that is located upstream of the small diameter part in the flow direction of the disinfectant and has a larger inner diameter than the small diameter part, and the large diameter part. The container sterilizer according to any one of claims 13 to 15, further comprising a reduced diameter part located between the small diameter part and whose inner diameter gradually decreases toward the downstream side in the flow direction of the disinfectant. . When the inner diameter of the mouth is d1 and the outer diameter of the nozzle is D1,
2mm≦d1-D1≦25mm
The container sterilizer according to any one of claims 13 to 16, which satisfies the following relationship. The nozzle is provided with a flange portion that protrudes radially from the nozzle, and an annular wall portion that protrudes from the periphery of the flange portion toward the tip side of the nozzle, and the nozzle is inserted into the container. 18. The container sterilizer according to any one of claims 13 to 17, wherein the wall portion covers at least a portion of the outer surface of the mouth portion. When the inner diameter of the wall is d2, and the outer diameter of the mouth at the upper end of the mouth is D2,
5mm≦d2-D2≦30mm
The container sterilizer according to claim 18, which satisfies the following relationship. The container sterilizer according to any one of claims 13 to 19, wherein a tapered surface is formed between a tip of the nozzle and an outer surface of the nozzle. The mouth portion of the container includes a threaded portion and a support ring provided below the thread, and when the nozzle is inserted into the container, the support ring is arranged such that when the nozzle is inserted into the container, the tip of the nozzle is and a second imaginary line extending radially outward from the tip of the nozzle along the tapered surface. The container sterilizer described in . The container sterilizer according to claim 21, wherein the holding member holds the support ring from below. The container sterilizer according to any one of claims 13 to 22, wherein the supply unit heats the container before supplying the disinfectant to the container. The container sterilizer according to claim 23, wherein the supply unit heats the container with hot air or infrared rays. The container sterilizer according to any one of claims 13 to 24,
a filling device for filling contents into the container;
A content filling system comprising: a capping device for closing the container with a cap.

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