JPH08254273A - Sealing structure of airtight vessel - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide the sealing structure of an airtight vessel which can maintain airtightness whether its inside is used in a pressurizing condition or used in a pressure reducing condition. CONSTITUTION: In the sealing structure of an air tightness housing apparatus housed in a high temperature high pressure disinfection device and the like, flanges 5, 6 are arranged on a main body 2 and a cover body 3. A groove is formed on the flange 5 of the main body 2 side, pressurizing is carried out in the groove, and the inside of the groove is opened to the atmosphere. A gasket 4 is inserted in the groove. The cross sectional shape of the gasket 4 is formed in a L-shape, and lip sides 17, 20 are arranged on both end surface thereof.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sealing structure for an airtight container. The present invention relates to an airtight container in which both pressurization and depressurization are loaded, such as a sterilization tank built in a high-temperature high-pressure sterilizer or a steam cooker built in a high-temperature steaming device, and a vacuum dipping device. It is suitable as a seal structure for an airtight container, which is mainly used by decompressing the inside like a built-in immersion tank. And the present invention is
It is applied to an airtight container used in processing steps such as cooking, sterilization, dipping, dyeing, defoaming, mixing, heating, fermentation and reaction, and an airtight container used for storage.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An airtight container whose inside is depressurized or pressurized is commonly used in the fields of food processing and general industry. By the way, when the lid (including the door) of the airtight container is rarely opened, the seal structure of the airtight container is sufficient by interposing a simple sealing member between the lid and the main body. Although the effect can be expected, if the lid is frequently opened to some extent, it is necessary to devise a device for easy opening and maintaining airtightness.

A seal structure as shown in FIG. 5 is known as a seal structure for such a purpose. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a structure of a seal part of a conventional airtight container, and specifically shows a seal part of a high temperature and high pressure sterilizer.
In the conventional seal structure, the main body 100 side and the lid body 101 side are provided with flanges 102 and 103, respectively.
The seal member 105 is interposed between them.

The seal member 105, which is also called a gasket or packing, is inserted into a groove 106 formed in the flange 102 on the main body 100 side. A hole 107 communicating with the outside is provided at the bottom of the groove 106, and the hole 107 is connected to an external pressure source via a valve 109. In a conventional airtight container,
When sealing the inside, use a vise 108 to attach the flange 102,
Fix 103 so that it does not open. Then valve 106
Open and pressurize the inside of the groove 106 to move the seal member 105 to the flange 103 side of the lid body 101.
The top surface of No. 5 is pressed against the flange surface of the lid body 101.

[0005]

In the seal structure of the airtight container of the prior art, the inside of the groove 106 is pressed to seal the seal member 1.
Since 05 is forcibly pressed to the lid 101 side, the airtight effect is high. Further, since the airtight effect can be exhibited without extremely tightening the vise, there is an advantage that the workability is good. However, in the conventional airtight container seal structure,
The airtight container in which pressurization and depressurization are repeated has a drawback that the airtightness in vacuum is poor. For example, in the above-mentioned high temperature and high pressure sterilizer, the inside pressure is reduced prior to the injection of steam,
It is necessary to degas foods. At that time, as described above, the lid 101 of the airtight container is closed, and the groove 10 is closed for airtightness.
The inside of 6 is pressurized. However, at this time, the pressurized air in the groove 106 leaks and enters the airtight container, so that the inside cannot be sufficiently deaerated.

This problem frequently occurs when the seal member deteriorates. And especially in the high temperature high pressure sterilizer described above,
Since the seal member is exposed to high temperature due to steam, there is a problem that the seal member deteriorates quickly and a seal failure occurs relatively early. In order to solve this problem, a method of stopping the pressurization to the groove 106 when decompressing the inside of the airtight container can be considered, but the configuration of the conventional technique is basically the seal member 1.
Since the airtightness is generated by the pressing force generated by pressurizing 05, if the pressurization to the groove 106 is stopped, the joining force between the seal member 105 and the flange 103 is reduced, and eventually air enters inside. I will end up. Therefore, especially in the technical field of high-temperature and high-pressure sterilizers, the development of a seal structure that replaces the conventional structure has been desired. The present invention focuses on the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a seal structure for an airtight container that can maintain airtightness even when the inside is used in a reduced pressure state. is there.

[0007]

The features of the present invention for achieving the above-mentioned object are composed of a main body and a lid,
A seal structure for an airtight container whose inside is decompressed or pressurized, wherein a main body and a lid are provided with a pair of flanges, a groove is formed in at least one of the flanges, and an annular shape is formed in the groove. In the configuration in which the seal member is attached, the seal member is provided with a lip portion on a groove side portion and a side surface, and the inside of the groove can be pressurized and can be opened or reduced to the atmosphere. It is in the seal structure of the sex container.

[0008]

In the seal structure of the airtight container of the present invention, when the airtight container is pressurized and used, the groove is pressurized. Here, since the seal member is installed in the groove and the lip portion is provided at the groove side portion of the seal member, the inside of the groove is airtight. Therefore, by pressurizing the inside of the groove, the seal member is pressed outward from the groove and pressed against the opposing flange. As a result, the flanges on the main body side and the lid side are in close contact with each other, and the airtightness inside and outside the airtight container is exhibited.

When the inside of the airtight container is depressurized and used, the inside of the groove is opened to the atmosphere or depressurized. Therefore, in the present invention, air for pressurizing the groove does not flow into the airtight container. Although the pressing force of the seal member disappears by opening the inside of the groove to the atmosphere, in the seal structure of the airtight container of the present invention, since the lip portion is provided on the side surface of the seal member, Airtightness is maintained. That is, when the pressure inside the airtight container is reduced, the lid of the airtight container is pushed toward the main body by the atmospheric pressure. As a result, the lip portion on the side surface of the sealing member comes into contact with both the main body and the flange of the lid, and the airtightness inside and outside the airtight container is maintained.

[0010]

EXAMPLES Specific examples of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a seal structure for an airtight container according to a specific embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a sectional perspective view of the groove and the seal member of the airtight container body. FIG.
(A) (b) is sectional drawing of the principal part of the sealing structure of the airtight container of the specific Example of this invention, (a) shows the state when pressurizing the inside of an airtight container, (B) shows a state when the inside of the airtight container is depressurized. 4 (a) (b)
FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a main part of a seal structure of an airtight container according to a modified example of the present invention, (a) shows a state when the inside of the airtight container is pressurized, and (b) shows an airtight container. The state when the inside of the container is decompressed is shown.

In this embodiment, the constitution when the present invention is applied to a high temperature and high pressure sterilizer will be described. 1 and 3
The configuration shown in (a) and (b) is the airtight container 1 of the high temperature and high pressure sterilizer. The airtight container 1 of the present embodiment includes a main body 2
And a lid 3, and a seal member 4 is interposed between them to form a seal portion. Describing sequentially, a pair of flanges 5 and 6 are provided at the ends of the main body 2 and the lid body 3. Further, the flange 5 on the main body 2 side is provided with a groove 8 as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. The inner wall surface 10 of the groove 8 is made higher than the outer wall surface 11 as shown in FIGS. Therefore, the inner part 9 of the flange 5 is
Higher than the outer part 13. Both wall surfaces 10 and 11 of the groove 8 are precisely finished. Further, the bottom of the groove 8 is provided with a hole 12 that communicates with the outside. The hole 12 is connected to a pressure source (not shown) via a three-way valve 15. The contact surface of the flange 5 on the lid 2 side is
It is flat.

The seal member 4 is made of synthetic rubber or synthetic resin typified by fluororesin, and is formed in an annular shape. The cross-sectional shape of the seal member 4 is generally "L" -shaped as shown in FIGS. And groove 8
On the end face of the side portion, that is, one end face of “L”, a lip portion 17 that spreads outward is provided. A groove 18 is provided at the center of the lip portion 17. This groove 18
This is for adjusting the expansion and contraction of the seal member 4.

The width of the seal member 4, that is, the lip portion 17
The width of the base of the groove is slightly smaller than that of the groove 8. On the other hand, the width of the tip portion of the lip portion 17 is larger than the width of the groove 8 described above. A lip portion 20 is also provided on the outer peripheral portion of the upper portion of the seal member 4 in the drawing, in other words, at the other end of "L". This lip portion 20 also extends outward.
The thickness of the root of the lip portion 20 is substantially equal to the difference in height between the inner wall surface 10 and the outer wall surface 11 of the groove 8. Lip part 20
Similarly, a groove 23 for adjusting the expansion and contraction of the seal member 4 is also provided in the central portion of the.

The above-mentioned seal member 4 is mounted in the groove 8 provided in the flange 5 on the main body 2 side as shown in FIG.
The lip portion 20 of the seal member 4 is in close contact with the wall surfaces 10 and 11 of the groove due to the reaction force, and maintains airtightness. The lid 3 is placed on the main body 2, and the upper surface of the lip portion 17 of the seal member 4 is in contact with the flange 6. Next, the action of the seal structure of the airtight container of the present embodiment will be described following the work procedure of the high temperature and high pressure sterilizer. In the high temperature and high pressure sterilizer, the inside of the airtight container 1 is depressurized prior to sterilization. Therefore, match the lid 3 with the main body 2,
Fix with a vise 30 (not shown in FIG. 1) so that they do not open. At this time, the three-way valve 15 is tilted to the open side and the groove 8
Is open to the atmosphere.

Then, the inside of the airtight container 1 is depressurized by a vacuum pump (not shown). As described above, since the upper end of the lip portion 20 of the seal member 4 is in contact with the surface of the flange 6 of the lid body 3, the airtight container 1 is inherently airtight to some extent. Therefore, the depressurization work produces a negative pressure inside, and the pressure difference between the inside and outside increases as the work progresses. Therefore, the pressure that the seal structure should bear increases, and the seal portion is more likely to leak. However, in the seal structure of the airtight container of the present embodiment, the airtightness increases as the pressure difference between the inside and the outside increases, and the invasion of air into the airtight container 1 is prevented.

That is, when the inside of the airtight container 1 is depressurized, the lid 3 is pressed by the atmospheric pressure and tends to come into close contact with the main body 2. Then, the seal member 4 is pushed into the groove 8 via the flange 6. Here, since the inside of the groove 8 is open to the atmosphere and the air in the groove can be exhausted, the seal member 4 gradually sinks into the groove 8 without great resistance. The surface of the flange 6 contacts the inner portion 9 of the flange 5 of the main body 2, and the flange 6 stops with a slight gap between it and the outer portion 13 of the flange 5. As described above, the difference in height between the inner portion 9 and the outer portion 13 of the flange 5 is approximately equal to the thickness of the base of the lip portion 20, so that the lip portion 20 fits between the flanges 5 and 6, and The portion 20 is deformed, and the reaction force causes the tip of the lip portion 20 to come into close contact with both the flanges 5 and 6.

As a result, the airtightness inside the airtight container 1 is maintained. Further, at this time, since no pressure is applied to the groove 8, the pressurized air in the groove 8 does not enter the airtight container 1 as has been a problem in the prior art. When the pressure inside the airtight container 1 is reduced, the airtightness is mainly the lip portion 2.
Although it depends on the reaction force of 0, when decompressing the inside of the airtight container 1, the pressure difference between the inside and the outside cannot exceed 1 atm, and therefore the reaction force of the lip portion 20 is sufficient. Airtightness is secured.

When the depressurizing operation of the high temperature high pressure sterilizer is completed, steam is injected into the airtight container 1. At this time, the three-way valve 15 is switched to pressurize the inside of the groove 8. Then, the seal member 4 receives pressure at the portion 22 where the inner surface of the lip portion 17 has a chevron cross section, and the seal member 4 is pressed toward the flange 6 of the lid 3. Then, the top 31 of the seal member 4 is pressed against the flange 6 with a strong force to prevent the vapor in the airtight container 1 from leaking to the outside.

In the above-described embodiment, the inside 9 of the flange 5 on the main body 2 side is raised to form a gap with the flange 6 on the lid 3 side. This configuration has the effect of preventing leakage due to excessive deformation of the lip portion 20, and is a recommended configuration. The configuration is also excellent in that it has an effect of preventing unexpected deformation of the lip portion 20 due to an eccentric load of the lid 3. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and a configuration in which the lip portion 20 of the seal member 4 is sandwiched between flanges having no step may be adopted.

In the above embodiment, the bottom of the groove 8 is flat, but it is also possible to form the portion into a mountain shape to provide a sealing action. FIG. 4 shows a configuration in which a groove 40 is provided on the bottom of the groove 8. According to this structure, when the sealing member 4 is pushed by the lid 3 during depressurization as shown in FIG. 6B, the chevron 40 of the groove 8 is closely attached to the chevron portion 22 inside the lip portion 17 of the seal member 4, and Airtightness is exhibited between.

In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the height of the inside 9 of the flange 5 on the main body 2 side is set lower than the thickness of the base of the lip portion 20. Therefore, when the inside of the airtight container 1 is depressurized, the lid 3 contacts only the seal member 4 and presses the seal member 4 with a stronger force than in the previous embodiment.
In the structure as shown in FIG. 4, the force applied to the seal member 4 is larger than that in the structure shown in FIG. 3 and the lid 3 is pressed against the seal member more strongly, so that the airtightness is maintained even if the seal member is slightly damaged. Secured. Therefore, it is recommended that this configuration be applied to an apparatus in which it is expected that the seal member will be deformed with time and deteriorated significantly by heat.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the seal member 4 has a cross section of a substantially "L" shape, but it may be a substantially "T" shape. Further, although the lip portion 20 on the side surface of the seal member is provided on the outer side surface of the seal member 4 in the above-described embodiment, it is also possible to provide it on the inner side surface.
However, if anything, it is easier to manufacture the seal member 4 if the lip portion 20 is provided on the outer surface as in the present embodiment, and if the lip portion is provided on the outer surface, it receives atmospheric pressure. It is recommended in that the lip part will be pressed by the flanges 5 and 6. In the previous embodiment, the seal member 4
Although it is provided on the flange 5 on the main body 2 side, it can be provided on the flange 6 on the lid 3 side, conversely.

In the above embodiment, when decompressing the inside of the airtight container 1, the three-way valve 15 is switched to open the inside of the groove 8 to the atmosphere. However, the inside of the groove 8 may be decompressed further. . When the pressure inside the groove 8 is reduced, the sealing member 4 is drawn into the groove 8, and therefore, the lid 3 can be easily opened after the work.

[0024]

According to the seal structure of the airtight container of the present invention, since the groove portion of the seal member is provided with the lip portion, the seal member is pushed out of the groove by pressurizing the inside of the groove. It is pressed toward and is pressed against the opposite flange to exhibit airtightness. On the contrary, when the airtight container is used under reduced pressure, by opening the groove to the atmosphere or reducing the pressure, the lip portion on the side surface is deformed by being pressed by the atmospheric pressure, and the airtightness is exhibited by the reaction force. Further, in the present invention, there is no concern that pressurized air, which has been a problem in the prior art, leaks into the airtight container. Therefore, the sealing structure of the airtight container according to the present invention has an effect of exhibiting sufficient airtightness under both pressure and pressure reduction. In addition, in the seal structure of the airtight container of the present invention, it is not said that a specific portion is fatigued, so that there is an effect that the seal member lasts a long time.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a seal structure for an airtight container according to a specific embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional perspective view of a groove and a sealing member of the airtight container body.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a sealing structure of an airtight container according to a specific embodiment of the present invention, (a) shows a state when the inside of the airtight container is pressurized, and (b) shows it. The state at the time of decompressing the inside of the airtight container is shown.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a main part of a sealing structure of an airtight container according to a modified embodiment of the present invention, (a) shows a state when the inside of the airtight container is pressurized, and (b) shows an airtight container. The state when the inside of the sex container is decompressed is shown.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts showing the structure of a seal portion of a conventional airtight container.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Airtight container 2 Main body 3 Lid body 4 Seal member 5 Flange 6 Flange 8 Groove 17 Lip part 20 Lip part

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A seal structure for an airtight container comprising a body and a lid, wherein the body and the lid are provided with a pair of flanges, and a groove is formed in at least one of the flanges. In a configuration in which an annular seal member is mounted in the groove, the seal member is provided with a lip portion on a groove side portion and a side surface, and the inside of the groove can be pressurized and can be opened to the atmosphere or depressurized. Characteristic airtight container seal structure.