Sterilizing device for sterilizing closures

• US 20050169796A1
• Filed: 12/15/2004
• Published: 08/04/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Stork Food & Dairy Systems B.V. (John Bean Technologies Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Stork Food & Dairy Systems B.V. (John Bean Technologies Corporation)
• Inventors: Krakers, Bernardus Antonius Johannes, Zalm, Arie
• Granted Patent: US 7,815,877 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 422/28
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2/202 Ozone
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2/204 Formaldehyde
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2/206 Ethylene oxide
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2/208 Hydrogen peroxide
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 55/04 Sterilising wrappers or receptacles prior to, or during, packaging sterilising bottles B67C7/00
• CPC Class Codes: B67B 2201/08 Aseptic features
• CPC Class Codes: B67B 3/003 Pretreatment of caps, e.g. cleaning, steaming, heating or sterilizing

Abstract

The invention relates to a sterilizing device (10) for sterilizing closures (16), such as lids and caps for containers, such as bottles and jars, which device comprises a housing (12), provided with a closure entry (14) for supplying closures, a closure exit (18) for discharging sterilized closures from the device, a sterilizing-agent feed (21) for feeding sterilizing agent into the device and a discharge (28; 30) for discharging used sterilizing agent, as well as pass-through means (20) for passing closures (16) through the housing (12), the pass-through means (20) comprising a non-rectilinear pass-through path (58) in the plane parallel to the main plane of the closures. A sterilizing method is also described.

Claims

1. Sterilizing device for sterilizing closures, such as lids and caps for containers, such as bottles and jars, which device comprises a housing, pass-through means for passing closures through the housing under the influence of the force of gravity, which housing is provided with a closure entry for supplying closures at the top of the pass-through means, a closure exit for discharging sterilized closures from the device at the bottom of the pass-through means, a sterilizing-agent feed for feeding sterilizing agent into the device and a discharge for discharging used sterilizing agent, the pass-through means comprising a non-rectilinear pass-through path in the plane parallel to the main plane of the closures.

2. Sterilizing device according to claim 1, in which the pass-through path comprises a wavy path.

3. Sterilizing device according to claim 1, in which the pass-through means comprise box-section parts which interact with one another and have edge parts facing one another, which box-section parts are disposed so as to leave clear a narrow exit gap for sterilizing agent between the edge parts.

4. Sterilizing device according to claim 3, in which at least one edge part of a box-section part is provided with a section which extends obliquely away from that edge part of a box-section part which interacts with it.

5. Sterilizing device according to claim 3, in which the base of the box-section parts comprises at least one feed opening for feeding sterilizing agent to the closures.

6. Sterilizing device according to claim 5, in which the feed openings in the interacting box-section parts are arranged offset with respect to one another, as seen in the plane of the pass-through path.

7. Sterilizing device according to claim 1, in which the sterilizing-agent feed comprises feed tubes which are disposed between the base of the box-section parts and the housing and have at least one discharge opening directed towards the base of a box-section part.

8. Sterilizing device according to claim 7, in which the dimensions of the discharge openings of the feed tubes are smaller than the feed openings of the box-section parts.

9. Sterilizing device according to claim 7, wherein the sterilizing-agent feed comprises distribution means for feeding sterilizing agent to the ends of the feed tubes.

10. Sterilizing device according to claim 1, in which the housing is also provided with a carrier-gas feed, which is located in the centre as seen in the direction in which the closures are conveyed, for feeding a carrier gas to the space between the pass-through means and the housing, the discharge for sterilizing agent comprising discharges in the vicinity of the top side and the underside of the housing.

11. Sterilizing device according to claim 1, in which the closure entry comprises an entry lock.

12. Sterilizing device according to claim 11, in which the entry lock comprises two pins which can be moved into the feed path of closures.

13. Sterilizing device according to claim 1, in which the closure exit comprises an exit lock.

14. Sterilizing device according to claim 13, in which the exit lock comprises two pins which can be moved into the exit path of the closures.

15. Sterilizing device according to claim 1, which sterilizing device comprises a control device for controlling the closure entry and closure discharge on the basis of signals originating from proximity sensors for detecting the presence of closures.

16. Device according to one claim 1, which is designed to sterilize closures under aseptic conditions.

17. Method for sterilizing closures, such as lids and caps for containers, such as bottles and jars, comprising an exposure step involving exposing the closures to a sterilizing agent, with the position of successive closures with respect to one another being altered during at least part of the exposure step.

18. Method according to claim 17, in which the successive closures come into contact with one another.

19. Method according to claim 17, in which the exposure step takes place under aseptic conditions.

20. Method according to claim 17, in which the alteration to the position of successive closures with respect to one another comprises at least one rotary movement of the closures.