Filling method for degassing and filling powdered food, and degassed and filled powdered food

Abstract

To provide a more efficient vacuum packing method for powdered food. The powdered food is filled into a packaging bag, vibration is applied to the bag using a vibrating device, and the bag is evacuated and sealed using a vacuum sealer.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a filling method for deaerating and filling powdered food, and to a deaerated and filled powdered food. [Background technology]

[0002] Powdered foods such as supplements, flour, or dry seasonings are often produced and then packed in containers for storage, transportation, sale, etc. Conventionally, when handling such powdered foods, the powder may be degassed and then filled into a container to improve filling efficiency.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a powder degassing and filling machine equipped with an auger screw device that improves the efficiency of degassing powder while ensuring the necessary amount of powder transport. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-084311 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] When filling a bag with powdered food, a vacuum sealer is used to degas the bag after filling. However, if the degassing process is insufficient, the powdered food is likely to oxidize inside the bag. Furthermore, insufficient degassing not only reduces the filling efficiency but also makes the bag more likely to deform, which can cause problems during loading and transportation.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a more efficient method for vacuum-packing powdered food. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve the object of the present invention, a filling method according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises the following steps: filling a packaging bag with powdered food while degassing it, applying vibrations to the bag using a vibrating device, and degassing and sealing the bag using a vacuum sealer. and a step of manually degassing the bag by a user between the step of applying vibration by the vibration device and the step of degassing and sealing by the vacuum sealer, wherein the manual step is a pressing and shaping operation from the outside of the bag using a plate-like member. Includes. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, a more efficient method for deaerating and packing powdered food can be provided. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a powdered food filling method according to the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the scope of the invention as claimed, and not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the invention. Two or more of the features described in the embodiments may be combined in any desired manner. Furthermore, the same reference numerals are used to designate identical or similar components, and redundant descriptions will be omitted.

[0011] A method for filling and degassing a powdered food into a packaging bag according to one embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of filling the bag with the powdered food, vibrating the bag, and degassing and sealing the bag. These steps will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

[0012] FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing an example of a filling method according to this embodiment.

[0013] In S101, powdered food is vacuum-filled into a packaging bag. Hereinafter, this process may be simply referred to as the "filling process."

[0014] The powdered food in this embodiment is a supplement such as a protein, but is not limited to this as long as it is a powder that can be similarly filled into a bag. Examples of powdered foods that can be used include wheat flour, powdered sugar, dry seasonings, and powdered milk. Furthermore, the packaging bag is not particularly limited as long as it is a bag that can seal the powder using a vacuum sealer, and any bag can be used here. In this embodiment, the ground-contact portion of the bag is defined as the bottom, and the opposite side as the top. The following description assumes that a bag with a zippered opening at the top that can be closed by a vacuum sealer is used, and that the powdered food is filled from the top of the bag using an auger-type powder filler. Hereinafter, when simply referring to the "top" or "bottom," the side of the bag that is grounded is defined as the bottom, and the opposite side as the top.

[0015] The amount of powdered food to be filled in the filling process can be set arbitrarily depending on the size of the bag, etc. For example, the amount of powder to be filled may be 10 g or more, 50 g or more, 100 g or more, 250 g or more, 500 g or more, 700 g or more, 900 g or more, or 1500 g or more. Furthermore, the amount of powder to be filled may be 5000 g or less, 2500 g or less, 1000 g or less, 750 g or less, or 500 g or less.

[0016] In the filling step, any method can be used as long as it allows the powdered food to be filled into the bag. The powdered food according to this embodiment can be filled while degassing using, for example, a known auger-type powder filling machine (for example, as described in Patent Document 1). By using an auger-type powder filling machine, it is possible to fill the powdered food into the bag while applying an appropriate degassing pressure depending on the type of powdered food to be filled or the environment.

[0017] The filling process may also include manually filling the powdered food into the bags. For example, the filling process may include both filling the powdered food using an auger-type powder filling machine and manually filling the powdered food. For example, the filling process may first involve filling the powdered food using an auger-type powder filling machine, and then manually filling the powdered food as needed (for example, if the weight of the bag after filling is measured and an insufficient amount is found). When filling powdered food using these various methods, any general method for filling a bag with powder can be used.

[0018] In S102, the bag filled with the powdered food is vibrated by a vibrating device. Hereinafter, this step may be simply referred to as the "vibration step."

[0019] The vibration process according to this embodiment uses a vibrating device that repeatedly performs a predetermined driving motion horizontally relative to the ground. By loading a bag filled with powdered food onto the vibrating device, the bag can be vibrated. The vibration produced by this vibrating device can be, for example, a linear vibration (repeated forward and backward movement in a linear direction), a uniform circular motion on a plane, or a three-dimensional circular motion. The vibration is not particularly limited as long as it can vibrate the bag filled with powdered food. Furthermore, multiple patterns of vibration motion can be switched at predetermined intervals. Any vibrating device capable of performing such vibrations can be used.

[0020] In this embodiment, the vibrating device is a vibrating device that linearly vibrates a plate-like member that holds the bag. The vibration speed may be, for example, 0.10 mm / s or more, 0.20 mm / s or more, or 0.30 mm / s or more. The vibration speed may be 3.00 mm / s or less, 1.00 mm / s or less, 0.50 mm / s or less, or 0.30 mm / s or less. The vibration duration applied to the bag by such a vibrating device may be 15 seconds or more, 30 seconds or more, 40 seconds or more, or 60 seconds or more. The vibration duration applied to the bag by such a vibrating device may be 300 seconds or less, 120 seconds or less, 60 seconds or less, or 50 seconds or less. Applying vibration at an appropriate speed to the bag agitates the powdered food filled in the bag and induces air contained within the powder to the outside.

[0021] In order to more efficiently degas the bag during the vibration process, a pressing step from the outside of the bag (e.g., from above toward the ground) may be additionally performed during the vibration process. For example, a step in which the user presses the bag from above with their hand may be additionally performed during the vibration process.

[0022] In the filling method according to this embodiment, after the vibration step is completed, the bag is evacuated and sealed using a vacuum sealer (S104, sealing step, described below). However, the filling method according to this embodiment may further include a step between the vibration step and the sealing step, in which the user manually evacuates the bag. S103 is an example of such a manual degassing step.

[0023] In S103, as described above, the user manually degasses the bag. Hereinafter, this step may be simply referred to as the "manual step."

[0024] In this embodiment, the manual process includes pressing and shaping the bag from the outside. Here, pressing and shaping refers to applying pressure to the powdered food inside the evacuated bag to shape it into a predetermined shape. For example, it is conceivable to shape the powdered food inside the evacuated bag into a box-like (rectangular) shape to improve ease of handling (e.g., easier stacking) during storage and transportation of the filled bag. From this perspective, the pressing and shaping process may involve manually pressing the powdered food inside the evacuated bag from six directions to form a rectangular parallelepiped.

[0025] This pressing and shaping process may be performed, for example, by pressing the user's hand directly against the bag, or by using a plate-shaped member. The powdered food inside the bag is in a flattened state after the vibration process. Therefore, depending on the shape of the bag, the surface of the powdered food inside the bag that contacts the bag's ground surface and the surface of the powdered food on the opposite side (top) of the bag may be nearly horizontal. In this state, the bag is first held with the mouth facing upward and a plate-shaped member is pressed against it from above, shaping the bottom and top sides of the box-shaped powdered food (having six sides). Next, the bag is rotated 90 degrees (in any direction depending on the shape of the bag), and then another plate-shaped member is pressed against it from above, shaping two additional sides of the box-shaped shape. The bag is then rotated 90 degrees and a plate-shaped member is pressed against it from above again to shape the remaining two of the six sides forming the box shape. Repeating this process allows the powdered food inside the bag to be shaped while degassing the interior.

[0026] Although the description herein assumes that all six sides are pressed to form the desired shape, the shape to be formed and the pressing process used to form the desired shape are not limited to this. For example, even if the powdered food inside the bag, which has been leveled by the vibration process, is only pressed from above, it is possible to sufficiently degas the food by pressing, and then form the top and bottom sides by pressing to create a shape that is easy to stack. Furthermore, in addition to pressing the powdered food inside the bag, which has been leveled by the vibration process, from above, it is also possible to perform additional pressing and forming processes on only the two sides, the front and back of the bag. The front of the bag here refers to the front side of the powdered food package that displays the product name, etc., and the back of the bag refers to the side opposite the front side, but is not limited to this.

[0027] In this way, by manually degassing while molding, it is possible to more efficiently fill the bags. By degassing in this way efficiently, it is possible to reduce the risk of the powder being oxidized by the air remaining in the bags. Furthermore, by degassing the air remaining in the powder, it is also possible to reduce the risk of the bags being deformed and broken when the bags are unloaded or stacked.

[0028] In S104, the bag is evacuated and sealed using the vacuum sealer as described above. Hereinafter, this process may be referred to simply as the "sealing process." When the sealing process is completed, the filling of the powdered food into the bag is considered to be complete, and the process shown in Figure 1 ends.

[0029] The sealing process according to this embodiment is a process of removing excess air from the inside of the bag using a vacuum sealer and crimping and sealing it. Any commonly used vacuum sealer can be used as the vacuum sealer used here. Here, a vacuum sealer is used that clamps and fixes the mouth of the bag, degassing by inserting a nozzle through the mouth, and crimps and seals the mouth after degassing is complete. The degree of degassing by the vacuum sealer can be set arbitrarily according to desired conditions. The filling level of the powdered food after degassing can be evaluated, for example, by the density of the powdered food in the bag. Here, for example, the density inside the bag is 450.00 kg / m using the filling method according to this embodiment. 3 More than 500.00kg / m 3 More than 510.00kg / m 3 More than 530.00kg / m 3 More than 550.00kg / m 3 More than 580.00kg / m 3 or more than 600.00 kg / m 3 It is possible to obtain the above powdered food.

[0030] (Example) <Comparison of density by filling method> Below, we will explain the density of powdered food after filling and the effects of filling powdered food using the filling method of this embodiment in comparison with conventional methods.

[0031] Here, as examples of filling powdered food using the filling method according to the present embodiment, Example 1 (in which S101-S102 and S104 shown in FIG. 1 were performed) and Example 2 (in which S101-S104 shown in FIG. 1 were performed) were prepared. Furthermore, as an example of filling powdered food using a conventional filling method, Example 3 (in which S101 and S104 shown in FIG. 1 were performed) was prepared. Furthermore, as a comparative example, Example 4 (in which the steps were performed in the order S101, S103, S102, and S104) was prepared. Because the processing in each of the steps S101-S104 is the same in all examples, the following describes a specific example of Example 2, in which all processing is performed.

[0032] First, 1000g of protein powder (manufactured by Whatman Research) was filled into a packaging bag using an auger-type powder filling machine. After filling with the auger-type powder filling machine, any amount that was short of 1000g was replenished.

[0033] The bags filled with the powdered food were then placed on a vibrating device that vibrated linearly at a vibration speed of 0.24 mm / s for 45 seconds. After the vibration was stopped, the bags were lifted up and manually pressed and shaped from the outside. The pressing and shaping process consisted of pressing a plate-like member against the top of the bag while degassing to form the top and bottom surfaces, then rotating the bag 90 degrees and pressing a plate-like member against the top to form the front and back surfaces.

[0034] Furthermore, after 6 seconds of degassing using a vacuum sealer, the bags were sealed and the filling level of the powdered food was measured.

[0035] Here, the filling degree of the powdered food after degassing and filling was evaluated by density. Here, the density of the first example was 469.21 kg / m 3 , the density of the second example is 519.48 kg / m 3 , the density of the third example is 416.67 kg / m 3 , the density of the fourth example is 439.56 kg / m 3 It was.

[0036] As such, compared to the conventional example, Example 3, Example 1, which included a vibration process, had a higher density, making it possible to fill more efficiently. Furthermore, compared to the conventional example, Example 3, Example 2, which included a manual process in addition to the vibration process, had an even higher density than Example 1, making it possible to fill more efficiently. Furthermore, Example 4, in which vibration was applied after pressing and molding, not only had a lower density than Example 2, but also a lower density than Example 1, in which vibration was applied without pressing and molding. Thus, it became clear that filling could be made more efficient by using a procedure in which the powdered food was leveled by a vibration process and then pressed and molded by hand, rather than simply using a vibration process and pressing and molding.

[0037] Furthermore, in Example 4, in which all of S101 to S104 were performed but S102 (vibration step) and S103 (manual step) were performed in the reverse order to Example 2, the density was lower than Example 2. This result shows that more efficient filling is possible by manually pressing and molding after applying vibration.

[0038] The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the gist of the invention.

Claims

1. A filling method for vacuum-filling a powdered food into a packaging bag, comprising: filling the bag with powdered food; applying vibration to the bag by a vibration device; Degassing and sealing the bag with a vacuum sealer; a step of manually degassing the bag by a user between the step of applying vibration by the vibrating device and the step of degassing and sealing by the vacuum sealer; Including, The manual operation includes pressing and shaping the bag from the outside using a plate-like member.

2. 2. The filling method according to claim 1, wherein the vibration by the vibration device is at a vibration speed of 0.20 mm / s or more and 0.30 mm / s or less.

3. 3. The filling method according to claim 2, wherein the vibration by the vibration device is applied to the bag for 40 seconds or more.

4. The filling method according to claim 1, wherein the powdered food is a powdered supplement.

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