Food processing plant with several enclosed rooms, between which a container conveyor is arranged.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a food processing plant with several enclosed spaces between which a container conveyor is arranged.

[0002] When processing food, care must be taken to ensure that the food is not contaminated by the room air, and oxidation processes should be avoided, particularly when processing at elevated temperatures. For this reason, food processing operations are generally carried out in closed containers or at least in enclosed spaces. When several consecutive processing operations are carried out, it is often necessary to convey the food in a container from one room to an adjacent room. If the rooms have different atmospheres, conveying the food from room to room should result in as little gas exchange between the rooms as possible. Mechanical flaps or curtains are suitable for this purpose, but they can only reduce gas exchange; gas curtains or locks, on the other hand, are complex to manufacture and maintain.DE 25 09 611 A1 discloses, by way of example, a device for sterile packaging of goods in containers.

[0003] Therefore, the invention is based on the object of further developing a food processing plant with several enclosed spaces, between which a container conveyor is arranged, in such a way that the containers can be easily transported from one space to the other by means of the container conveyor without this resulting in a considerable exchange of gases.

[0004] This is achieved with a generic food processing plant according to the claims, in which the container conveyor has a plurality of container carrier elements, the container carrier elements have a flat surface and receptacles for containers therein, so that the containers protrude less than 5 mm, preferably less than 3 mm, above the flat surface, and a container cover which covers the flat surface during the conveyance of a container carrier element from one room to the adjacent room.

[0005] It is particularly advantageous if the containers do not protrude beyond the flat surface at all. In practice, it has proven effective to position the upper edge of the containers approximately 1 mm below the flat surface to ensure that the containers do not protrude beyond the container support element.

[0006] A food processing facility is any facility suitable for processing food. This includes processing steps such as filling, mixing, heating, cooking, filling, and sealing containers filled with the food.

[0007] The enclosed spaces can be rooms within a building separated by walls or partitions. However, they can also be enclosed areas within a facility that are designed to accommodate different atmospheric conditions, such as temperature, gas pressure, or gas composition.

[0008] The container conveyor makes it possible to transport containers from one room to another, whereby an opening is provided between the enclosed rooms.

[0009] The container support elements serve to hold the packaging material or a container in which food processing is carried out. The container support elements have a substantially flat or planar surface, although this does not generally need to be absolutely flat, as the containers can protrude slightly above the surface without significantly impairing the function of the food processing system.

[0010] The container cover covers the top of the container carrier element and the containers accommodated therein in such a way that as little gas exchange as possible occurs between the rooms when the container carrier element is conveyed from one room to the adjacent room.

[0011] It is understood that the upper side of the container support elements only needs to be flat in the area in which the receptacles for the containers are arranged.

[0012] To prevent gas from passing from one enclosed space into the adjacent enclosed space between individual container support elements, it is recommended that the container cover be longer in the conveying direction than the container support element. This ensures that the transitions between individual consecutive container support elements remain covered during conveying between the spaces.

[0013] The container cover should be positioned as close as possible to the container support element and the containers, while the container support element moves relative to the container cover. It is particularly advantageous if the container cover covers the container support element without contact. This means that a gap remains between the container cover and the container support element, which can enable gas exchange. However, as long as the pressure differences between the adjacent spaces are only in the range of less than 100 mbar and preferably less than 10 mbar, no gas exchange occurs through such a gap, or it is at least negligible. This gas exchange can be further reduced by ensuring that the gap has a width of more than 5 cm in the conveying direction.

[0014] It is particularly advantageous if several adjacent rooms have a gas pressure that increases in the conveying direction in order to prevent air from outside these rooms from penetrating through the rooms into the room with the highest gas pressure in the conveying direction.

[0015] Practice has shown that it is advantageous if the adjacent spaces are only connected via gaps which have a width - measured as the distance between the container support element and the container cover - of less than 3 mm, preferably less than 2 mm.

[0016] A further development provides that the food processing plant has a base plate which is arranged opposite the container cover, wherein a container carrier element is arranged between the container cover and the base plate and preferably the container cover is longer in the conveying direction than the container carrier element.

[0017] This allows the container support element to be conveyed between the base plate and the container cover, and minimizes air exchange between adjacent spaces both above and below the container support element. The design of the gaps, and in particular their width below the container support element between the container support element and the base plate, preferably corresponds to the dimensions between the container support element and the container cover.

[0018] A preferred embodiment provides for the container conveyor to be an endless conveyor. The container carrier elements are guided through the enclosed spaces and preferably returned outside the enclosed spaces.

[0019] To disinfect a container and its lid together, it is proposed that the container support element have holders for containers and lids arranged side by side. This allows containers and lids to be conveyed and treated simultaneously, particularly sterilized. Separate lid disinfection, with the associated problems of sterile feeding, can thus be eliminated.

[0020] In order to be able to process as many containers as possible at the same time, it is proposed that the container carrier element has more than five, preferably more than ten holders for containers.

[0021] A particular application of the food processing system is sterilization and filling. Therefore, it is proposed that the food processing system include a filling system located in one of the chambers. It has multiple filling heads for each of several containers arranged transversely to the conveying direction, preferably for all containers of a container carrier element, for simultaneous filling. Coordinating the number and position of the filling heads with the container carrier element enables the rapid filling of multiple containers. In practice, therefore, all containers on at least one line transverse to the conveying direction should be capable of being filled simultaneously.

[0022] The filling or capping system creates a vacuum inside the container before closing it. This allows the container to be filled without steam. Particularly good results have been achieved with a brief vacuum inside the container and a lid preheater for applying a preheated lid to the container.

[0023] In order to minimize the influence of ambient air on the product, it is therefore further proposed that the food processing plant include a filling system and a container closing system in one of the enclosed spaces.

[0024] A continuous or synchronized processing process is facilitated by the fact that the food processing plant has an enclosed space for container disinfection and an enclosed space for container rinsing and gassing.

[0025] During the sterilization process up to filling, it is proposed that the container conveyor transports the container and container lid simultaneously through the enclosed spaces.

[0026] In order to promote the build-up of a pressure gradient between container feed and filling, it is proposed that more than two and preferably at least four enclosed spaces with different atmospheres are arranged in the conveying direction, between each of which a container cover is arranged.

[0027] The penetration of air in the area of ​​the transition of the containers from one enclosed space to the adjacent enclosed space is minimized by the fact that the pressure in the space increases in the conveying direction from one space to the adjacent space.

[0028] An embodiment of a food processing plant according to the invention is shown in the drawing and is explained in more detail below. Figure 1 shows a partially sectioned side view of a food processing plant, Figure 2 shows a top view of a container carrier element for cups, Figure 3 shows a top view of a container carrier element for jars with lids, Figure 4 shows a section of Figure 1 at the transition between two enclosed spaces and Figure 5 an enlarged view of a section of Figure 1 .

[0029] The Figure 1 shows a food processing plant 1 with several enclosed spaces 2, 3, 4 and 5. A container conveyor 6 serves to convey container carrier elements 7, 8 through the spaces 1 to 5. In the container carrier elements 7, 8, receptacles 9, 10 are provided for containers that can be arranged therein, such as heart-shaped bowls 11 or jars 12.

[0030] In Figure 2Two container carrier elements 7 are shown, each having fifteen receptacles 9 for fifteen heart-shaped plastic cups 11 (numbered only as an example).

[0031] The Figure 3 shows two container carrier elements 8, each having fifteen receptacles 10 for baby food jars 12 (numbered only as an example). Next to each receptacle 10 or container 12, Figure 3 A receptacle 13 for a container lid 14 is provided on the container support element 8 shown. This results in the container lid 14 with the container 12 being guided through the spaces 3 to 5 by means of the conveyor 6, and after the filler 15, the lid 14 lying next to the jar 12 on the container support element 8 can be easily grasped and placed on the jar 12.

[0032] The Figure 4shows how, between two spaces 2 and 3, 3 and 4 or 4 and 5 as well as at the inlet into space 2 and at the outlet from space 5, a container cover 16 is arranged above a container support element 7 and a base plate 17 is arranged below the container support element 7 very close to the container support element 7.

[0033] The container cover 16 and the base plate 17 are slightly longer in the conveying direction than the container carrier element 7, so that when several container carrier elements 7 are pushed between the container cover 16 and the base plate 17, the joint 19 between two container carrier elements 7 is always covered by the container cover 16 and the base plate 17 in the area of ​​the transition 18 between the spaces 2 and 3.

[0034] As a result, in the example shown, between spaces 2 and 3 there is only the gap between the container support element 7 and the container cover 16 and a further gap between the container support element 7 and the base plate 17.

[0035] In this case, room 2 is used for packaging disinfection by rinsing the packaging with peroxide. In room 3, the packaging is dried by rinsing with sterile air, and in room 4, the peroxide used is completely expelled by nitrogen purging. Adjacent to this is room 5, in which fifteen containers 11 or 12 are filled simultaneously using the filler 15 with fifteen filling heads and a fifteen-fold dosing rate. At the following station 20, immediately after the filling of the vials 12, preheated snap-on lids 14 are removed from the container support element 7 and placed onto the container 12.

[0036] The sealing station 21 (not according to the invention) serves to seal plastic containers 11 fed into the container carrier element 7 with a sealing film 22. This sealing film 22 is unrolled from a roll 23, passes through a sealing film disinfection station 24, and is sealed onto the containers 9 at the sealing station 21.

[0037] Filling and capping or sealing are carried out in room 5. This room has an atmosphere with a residual oxygen content of less than 0.2%. Furthermore, room 5 has a higher gas pressure than room 4. Room 4, in turn, has a higher gas pressure than room 3, and room 3 has a higher gas pressure than room 2. Room 2, in turn, has a slightly higher gas pressure than the ambient pressure.

[0038] This creates a gas pressure gradient in the conveying direction of the container conveyor 6 in the gaps 25 between the container cover 16 and the container support element 7 or 8 and the gaps 26 between the container support element 7 or 8 and the base plate 17. As a result of the small gap width in the vertical extension of approximately 1 mm and the length of the container support element 7, 8, the container cover 16 and the base plate 17 in the conveying direction of the container conveyor 6, the flow resistance in the gaps 25, 26 is so low that virtually no gas exchange takes place.

[0039] The container conveyor 6 consists of a device that pushes a plurality of container support elements 7 and 8, preferably guided on rails and preferably ball-bearing mounted, through the spaces in the conveying direction 27. The container support elements are so heavy that they can be pushed through the entire spaces 2 to 5 without being forced out of a horizontal plane. Outside of spaces 2 to 5, a lifting device 28 lifts the container support elements 7, 8 to an upper level 29, on which the containers 11 and 12 and the lids 14 are first placed onto a container support element 7, 8. The cup inserter 30 is used to insert the cups 11. The container support elements, together with the container and, if applicable, the lid, then undergo cup disinfection in space 2, cup drying in space 3, and nitrogen purging in space 4. The container support elements 7, 8 then enter the space 5 for filling and closing.The filler 15 fills all fifteen containers simultaneously with a food product, such as baby food. The lid applicator 20 heats the lids, creates a vacuum in the container, and places the lid on the container. The sterile environment allows the containers to be sealed without injecting steam.

[0040] The sealing station 21 (not according to the invention) is used in particular for plastic containers, with which containers are sealed which have a film as a closure instead of a lid.

[0041] Outside the space 5 for filling and closing, a punch 10 is provided before the containers are removed from the container carrier elements 7, 8 at the pick and place station 31 and transported away via the removal belt 32 for further processing.

[0042] A lowering device 35 lowers the container carrier elements 7 from the upper level 29 to a lower level 33, on which the container carrier elements 7 are first subjected to a container carrier element cleaning 34 in order to be conveyed further to the lifting conveyor 28.

[0043] While the container carrier elements 7, 8 are conveyed directly adjacent to one another on the upper level 29, the container carrier elements on the lower level 33 can be returned individually to the lifting conveyor 28. By transporting the container carrier elements more quickly on the lower level than on the upper level, the number of required container carrier elements can be reduced.

Claims

1. A food processing system (1) comprising several enclosed spaces (2 to 5), between which a container conveyor (6) is arranged, wherein the container conveyor (6) has several container carrier elements (7, 8), the container carrier elements (7, 8) have a flat surface and therein holders (9, 10) for containers (11, 12), so that the containers (11, 12) do not protrude at all or protrude less than 5 mm, preferably less than 3 mm, above the flat surface, characterized in that a container cover (16) covers the flat surface during the conveying of a container carrier element (7, 8) from a space (2, 3, 4) into the adjacent space (3, 4, 5), wherein the food processing system has a sealing system, wherein the sealing system has a lid preheating for applying a preheated lid to the container and wherein the sealing system generates a vacuum in the container before sealing the container.

2. The food processing system according to claim 1, wherein the lid is a slip lid.

3. The food processing system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the container is a jar.

4. The food processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the lid is applied at a residual oxygen content of less than 0.2%.

5. The food processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a negative pressure is generated in the container and the containers are sealed without blowing in steam.

6. The food processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the container contains baby food.